From success to collapse: a brief history of the Dzhida plant in Buryatia
BABR tells about the birth and death of the Dzhida tungsten-molybdenum plant in Buryatia, as well as the consequences of its activities that affect the current ecological state of Zakamensk.
Dzhidinsky tungsten-molybdenum plant with an area of 12 cubic kilometers is located in the city of Zakamensk, Dzhidinsky district of Buryatia. The key activity of the plant in the past was the extraction and enrichment of tungsten ores in Western Transbaikalia and in the south-west of the Buryat ASSR.
The birth of the plant took place in 1929-1937. By 1933, the Kholtosonskoe and Buluktaevskoe deposits and coal deposits were discovered. The development of the plant itself began in 1934. At the same time, the construction of mining and processing facilities was underway. Then, at the beginning of the year, the Dzhida tungsten mine administration was created, and in the autumn the construction of the Dzhidastroy (Zakamensk) began, and a working transport was allocated. At the same time, a number of specialists expanded, and the production of the plant began to gain momentum: by the end of the year, the team of workers included 123 people, and the volume of extracted tungsten concentrate amounted to 100 tons.
A year later, in the autumn of 1935, the plant managed to exceed the annual plan for tungsten concentrate by 150 tons, having produced 500 tons. In terms of concentrate production, the plant took first place in the country, since the share of Dzhida tungsten then amounted to 65% of the country’s total indicators. For some time, the plant held the leading position.
Thanks to the successful work of the plant, rapid construction of infrastructure began in the region: a school, a city hospital, a bridge, a locomotive power plant and car repair shops.
In 1937, the first stage of the plant’s development was completed, and active exploitation of primary deposits began until 1947. During these years, the first compressor station was built, the Holtoson mine, a tungsten factory and a temporary molybdenum factory were put into operation. Everything went towards expanding the raw material base of the plant and increasing the turnover of manufactured products.
The enterprise did not lose capacity even during the war years, sometimes overfulfilling the annual plan by 10-25%. In 1946, the factory’s productivity even doubled. This was achieved, among other things, thanks to the Japanese prisoners of war and women – special settlers from Germany who arrived at the plant. In addition, during these years the government of the country constantly allocated considerable funds for the development of the plant.
At this pace, the Dzhida plant continued to flourish and stay afloat until 1992.
State of the Dzhida plant, autumn 2021.
During the conversion of military production that took place in the country in 1992, tungsten concentrate became unclaimed and greatly depreciated, its consumption was more than halved – the Dzhida plant was overtaken by a crisis. Despite the difficult situation and long delays in wages, the workers continued to work and even supported the enterprise for some time. However, without financial support from the state, the zeal of the workers could not save the plant from the stage of complete liquidation.
By 1996, the enterprise completely stopped the technological process, sold off stocks of tungsten concentrate and equipment remnants. This helped to pay off accounts payable and pay off debts to employees.
Currently, the technical condition of the buildings and structures of the former enrichment plant is in emergency condition, henceforth it is not subject to reconstruction.
The city of Zakamensk and the Modon-Kul River, where the plant’s waste flows to this day.
Recall that over the course of 60 years of successful operation, the Dzhida plant has caused serious damage to the ecological state of the region. Over the years, it has been accumulating man-made waste, which still contains heavy metals of I-III hazard classes. At the same time, even after the plant was shut down, its management did not comply with sanitary and environmental requirements, as it should be when closing enterprises. That is, now toxic substances are carried by the wind, washed away by rains and spread throughout the district.
According to the results of ecological and geological studies, the soil pollution zone covers more than half of the city. An analysis of the soil cover in the area of the Dzhida plant showed an average fourfold excess of the MPC for the following metals: nickel, copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and manganese. At some points in the tailings, there is an excess of the MPC for lead by 50 times.
The quality of drinking water from the central water supply complies with the standards for all indicators, except for iron, the MPC level of which is exceeded three times. Another situation is with water in public and private wells, where the concentration of iron is as much as 21 times higher than the norm, and lead – four times higher.
Despite the obviously dangerous neighborhood of an abandoned factory with Zakamensk, the authorities of Buryatia are shelving the reclamation of man-made waste. Back in 2012, the government of Buryatia was obliged to enter the territory into the register of objects of accumulated harm. In the winter of 2021, the Supreme Court of the Republic again ordered the regional government to eliminate the environmental impacts resulting from the operation of the enterprise. Years later, none of the decisions were implemented.