As part of preparations to launch the Bystrinsky Mining and Processing Plant, Nornickel has completed construction of a modern landfill site for solid waste. Designed to eliminate the plant’s environmental footprint, it is the only waste disposal site in the Trans-Baikal Territory today that is fully compliant with all sanitary regulations.
Nornickel treats environmental protection as a top priority. The company is committed to openness and engages in an ongoing dialogue with the stakeholders on matters related to environmental aspects of its operations. In 2016, Nornickel was among the Top 4 of the World Wildlife Fund’s Environmental Responsibility Rating of Metals and Mining Companies in Russia.
The solid waste landfill will take hazard class 4 and 5 waste generated by the plant. The technology employed by Nornickel for the Bystrinsky Mining and Processing Plant’s landfill ensures thrifty use of the available land resources. Its design capacity is 100 thousand tons of solid waste. With the annual amount of generated waste at 2,500 tons, the landfill’s operating life is estimated to span 40 years. After that, the land will be remediated and the ecosystem restored in full.
The construction of the 37.5 ha landfill started in 2013. It features all the necessary utility systems fully meeting present-day requirements: a drainage system, a wetting system, pumping stations and treatment facilities. The project includes a polymer-geomembrane watertight screen covered with a 0.5-meter protective clay loam layer to prevent groundwater pollution. To monitor the groundwater condition, there is a grid of observation wells in the sanitary protection zone.
The project also provides for a ditch network for rainwater and filtrate to be taken off the landfill and into regulating ponds for multi-stage water treatment. The treated water will be used for service road wetting and in the landfill’s fire suppression system. (Nornickel/Ukrainian metal)
