By most
standards Khaidarkan is remote, wedged in
the precipitous
mountains of south-west Kyrgyzstan and
reached by a narrow road over a
2,300-metre pass. The
mercury mine and smelter date from 1941,
from the days of the
Soviet Union. The mine equipment and
infrastructure were located at Khaidarkan
following evacuation of
industrial facilities from Ukraine
during the Second World
War. The Khaidarkan region had
exploitable mercury deposits and it was
unthinkable that the enemy could reach
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Central Asia.
The remoteness of the mine, which was an
advantage during the war, is now
considered a challenge
to the further economic development
of the region.
Significant mercury reserves remain at deeper
depths at Khaidarkan,
but investment has not been forthcoming to
allow their exploitation. Even if
this were possible, there
are also significant cash flw
challenges, which impact
on workers’ pay. The region, much as
many other regions |
While other
mines have long closed their mining
activities within Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere
in the world,
Khaidarkan remains the only operation which
supplies primary
mined mercury to the global market place.
Mines in Slovenia and Algeria have
ceased operations due
to economic and technical difficulties,
others like the
Almaden mine in Spain also experienced
pressure from growing
international concern regarding mercury
pollution which led to closure of
this, the biggest mercury mine in the world
in 2004. China also has some
mines but it is believed that their
production remains
within the country.
So why is
Khaidarkan the only one still mining mercury
for the global market? The main
reason is the economic challenges facing
Kyrgyzstan, particularly the
region where the mine is located. The
company that manages
the complex has been struggling with
fluctuating mercury prices and continuous
technical difficulties such as low ore grades
and flooding of shafts
with underground water. Many times the
state-owned company has had to request subsidies and
state support for continuing its operations
and the initial efforts
to privatize the mine did not yield
results. Due to a lack |
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of international
regulations and control, Khaidarkan
primary mercury is still in demand on the
international
market which contributes to the continuation
of mining operations.
The Khaidarkan
plant remains important to the local
community, both as a source of income and
also
for the people’s identity. Before mining
started in the
early 1940s, there was no urban settlement
in Khaidarkan, people came with the mine to
be miners. At its
height about 12,000 people lived there, now
it is
below 10,000. For them it is their home,
they do not
want to leave. In other places in Kyrgyzstan
where
industry vital to a town’s existence has
collapsed,
people have been forced to leave, many
ending up
in the outskirts of Kyrgyzstan’s capital
Bishkek where
they try to make a living. The government
seeks to
avoid these movements commonly associated
with
increased poverty by keeping relevant
industries alive
as long as possible. While it is recognized
that mercury mining poses environmental
risks, the means to
invest in new industries or restructure the
regions that could
help the transition away from such
activities
have to date been very limited. |