River Urmaral. Destruction of the Floodplain Forest
After the suspension of gold mining at the mouth of the Urmaral River by the company "Polyus Gold KG," proper reclamation of the deposit was not carried out, which originally included the complete restoration of the quarry to its original state, including the restoration of the biological soil layer and the planting of trees.
The company "Polyus Gold KG" received a license for geological exploration of the Urmaral deposit in the spring of 2017. Over the course of a year, geological exploration of the area was conducted, along with other necessary project works, after which "Polyus Gold KG" was granted a license to develop only that part of the deposit where exploratory work had been carried out, and the mineral reserves were approved by the State Commission on Mineral Reserves (GKZ). The area of the deposit is 625 hectares, with gold reserves of about 11.3 kilograms.
The company's activities were suspended after residents of the Talas region held a rally against gold mining at the deposit located on Mount Urmaral in the Bakai-Ata district. According to the protesters, "Polyus Gold KG" is polluting the Urmaral River with gold washing, from which residents of five villages drink water. According to local authorities, the company did not notify about the start of work and cut down red-listed trees in one area. For the residents of the Bakai-Ata district, this means one thing – the forest covering an area of 208 hectares will not be restored, there is nowhere to graze livestock, and there is also a risk of contaminating the source of the river, which is used for irrigating fields.
Discuss?
