Flooding of Sibay open-pit mine will eliminate oxidation spots by 100% - UGOK representative

UFA, 12 February 2019. /Bashinform News Agency, Ksenia Kalinina/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

The technical director of the local branch of Uchalinsky Mining Plant (UGOK) Ilyas Akhmedyanov told the Bashinform News Agency about how the quarry would be flooded on February 12.

According to him, the two-kilometer quarry in diameter and a depth of 500 meters will be flooded by 100 meters.

“We will exclude oxygen access to the spots of smoldering and will cool the solid monolith,” said the company representative. “Together with the "Uralmehangornobr" institute, we have developed a project for the partial conservation of mining in the quarry. We started flooding of the pit bottom. Now 4 meters of the horizon are flooded, and 469 meters more should be flooded. We plan to increase the flow of water to 10 thousand cubic meters per day. Now 6 thousand cubic meters are delivered. We take water from underground sources, from natural water inflow, and from the neighboring Kamagan open pit. When we make sure that the spots are extinguished, we will start pumping this water out, then let it through the sewage treatment plant and dump it into the river. We already have the necessary permission. ”

According to him, the works will take quite a long time due to their large amount. Approximately, the flooding will be finished before March 20.

“It is the flooding that will eliminate the hot spots by 100%,” said the technical director.

Today, there is haze in the quarry, and the maximum permissible concentration for sulfur dioxide has been excessed by 12 times. As it is explained by the UGOK representative, this is due to weather conditions.