Fields of activity

Polyus’ environmental activities cover a number of fields: atmosphere and natural waters protection, water recycling, production waste recycling, and land rehabilitation.

To reduce air exhausts all ore processing installations are supplied with air cleaning equipment, including aspiration systems, battery cyclones, foam gas filters, exhaust neutralizers. Efficiency of these air protection measures is tested against state air pollution industrial standards.

Natural waters protection and rational water usage program implemented on Polyus’ mines allows to minimize fresh water intake for technological needs. In order to attain this multiple water recycling systems are used, including tailings dam water recycling, processing plant water recycling, non-industrial water treatment and recycling.

Waste waters are collected through a sewer system and transported to biological treatment station. Waters from the mines are purified in sediment basins followed by mechanical filtration and sorption cleaning. Purified wasted waters are used for industrial purposes. Surface run-off waters from mine sites are collected and then used for road washing. As a result fresh water consumption in 2004 comprised only 7.2% from total water usage.

Polyus Group also develops and implements nature's friendly ore processing technologies, including cyanide-free leaching, tailings treatment, and dry tailings storage when constructing new mines and reengineering existing facilities.

Quality and efficiency of Polyus’ environmental activities is checked in the framework of an ecological monitoring program, which controls air, surface and subsurface waters, and soil condition on a regular basis. Tests carried out under this program show stable environmental conditions at and around Polyus’ mines, which is also verified by respective state environmental authorities.