The Sibanthracite Group’s Verkhneteshsky Open-Pit Mine has completed the reclamation of the spoil dump at the Anzherskoye Mine Management site in Kemerovo Region in accordance with the terms of its mining license concerning liquidation work. Some 15,000 coniferous trees were planted on an area of five hectares.

The abandoned slagheap, which formed as a result of mining at the Voskhod mine, has been a serious problem for Anzhero-Sudzhensk and the entire region for many years. After the closure of the mine, the subsurface user did not fulfill its obligations to revegetate the old mine’s rock-disposal site and simply abandoned it. Locals literally couldn’t breathe on days when rock at the spoil dump was either blown away by the wind or ignited.

Upon obtaining a license for the right to use the Verkhneteshsky site in the Novokuznetsk District, the Sibanthracite Group assumed obligations to reclaim the spoil dump in Anzhero-Sudzhensk. Reclamation work began in 2022. At the mining stage of reclamation, the height of the slagheap was lowered by 30 meters, and the territory was also leveled. The biological stage involved distributing a fertile layer of soil and planting trees. For this purpose, the Verkhneteshsky Open-Pit Mine purchased 15,000 coniferous trees. Employees of the coal enterprise, as well as forestry workers, representatives of the city administration, and local residents, took part in the planting.

According to the Verkhneteshsky Open-Pit Mine’s General Director, Mikhail Rudakov, after the biological stage is completed, the environmental well-being of the territory will be ensured:

“Kuzbass has been considered a coal region for more than a hundred years, and, unfortunately, there are enterprises here that, at one time, did not wrap up their mining activities properly, namely, they did not restore the land. This problem is most acute in Anzhero-Sudzhensk. Sibanthracite is carrying out all liquidation work at the Anzherskoye Mine Management site, including reclamation of the spoil dump. Today we are planting thousands of trees, which will turn into a rich coniferous forest that will delight local residents in a few years.”

In addition to the reclamation work, Sibanthracite provides financial assistance to the Anzhero-Sudzhensk Urban District.