Karabashmed JSC (a subsidiary of RCC Group located in Karabash, Chelyabinsk region) has received an award of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia for a successful implementation of measures specified under an Agreement signed as part of the Year of the Environment in Russia in 2017.
The ceremony of the award presentation was held on December 12 in Moscow at the ECOTECH’17 International Forum during the 5th Nationwide Congress on environmental protection and the meeting of the Federal Environmental Council. The certificate for a robust environmental policy pursued in the Year of the Environment from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia was presented to Natalia Gonchar, RCC Vice President for Environmental and Industrial safety. In addition, during the event, the Federal Agency commended Chelyabinsk as a region with the most robust environmental policy pursued in the Year of the Environment.
Natalia Gonchar: “We are grateful to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia for the positive assessment of our work. It is important for us to feel the support and participation of relevant agencies, regional and municipal authorities when implementing environmental protection measures at the production site. It is the kind of support that we received under the agreement signed on the eve of launching the Year of the Environment in Russia. We are planning new projects to improve the environmental safety of RCC enterprises. We are confident of their success thanks to the smooth-running and effective cooperation with our partners.”
The Agreement on the implementation of environmental protection measures at Karabashmed in 2017 was signed in November 2016 between the plant, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) and the government of the Chelyabinsk region. Under the agreement, in 2017-2018, Karabashmed will implement a number of projects with a total cost of more than 2.3 billion rubles aimed at reducing the plant impact on the environment. Within the scope of the Agreement the plant has already mounted a new automated blister copper filling line, has started the installation of three new converters with gas-tight dust caps and is also upgrading the gas purification system. In addition, RCC has undertaken a commitment in relation to the project for remediation of disturbed land in the abandoned tailings of the former beneficiation factory of Karabash copper smelter, which was operational in the Soviet years. Due to the emissions and industrial waste discharge during the factory’s operation the concentration of harmful substances in the soil and Karabash water bodies significantly exceeds permissible limits. The natural topography of the area has completely changed with a vast area turning into a lifeless man-made wasteland.
The industrial waste dump is still a constant source of pollution of the atmospheric air, soils and water bodies. Surface dust becomes airborne in the wind and the tailings are washed away by rain and melt water. Under the RCC project a technological and biological remediation of disturbed land will be carried out. As a result, the former tailing area will transformed into a square distinguished by minor architectural forms and land improvement features. (MetalInfo/Ukrainian metal)
