Gold Mining in Siberia as a Source of Mercury
Contamination of the Environment
T.G. LAPERDINA, M.V. MELNIKOVA, and T.E. KIIVOSTOVA
The results of research on estimation of mercury contamination in the areas impacted by gold mining
in Siberia - the oldest gold mining region of Russia - were considered. Investigations were carried out
at the sites of gold ore and placer deposits in the Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Republic of Buryatia, the
Republic of Yakutia, the Chita Oblast and the refining plant in Novosibirsk. Mercury concentrations
in the environmental compartments of the industrial areas and background zones ranged from <0.001
to 4.0 mg/kg for rocks and minerals; from m-' for industrial air; from 0.013 to 18.9 mg/kg for soils; from <5 to 5000 ngll for dissolved mercury
and from <5 to 27800 ngll for particulate mercury of natural and industrial waters; from 0.008 to
54.2 mg/kg for bottom sediments. The influence of severe landscape climatic conditions of Siberia
with massive or island spreading of permafrost on the extent of mercury contamination in gold
mining areas was considered.
1
Introduction
Siberia is the oldest gold mining region of Russia. The first domestic gold was
produced in Zabaikalye (Transbaikalia) from silver Nerchinsk Ores in 1719
(Ignatkin 1994). The intensive gold mining began later, when placer and ore gold
deposits were discovered. In the middle of the 19th century gold mining in Russia
ran to 26 t a year (40% of the world's total production), most of the gold being
mined in Siberia. Up to 1917, a total of 2754.17 t of gold had been mined, 73.3% of
this amount in Siberian mines (Foss 1963; Vyazelshchikov and Paritzky 1963). At
present, the significant decrease in gold mining and the change in its structure
are observed in the country due to complex economic conditions and transformation of territorial border lines. Thus, gold mining expected for 1996 accounts
for 60 tons, that is less by 20%, than in 1995 and by 50% than in 1990. The
proportion of ore gold is decreasing steadily, due to great investments in its
mining, especially in working of new ore deposits and exhaustion of the richest
ores in the old mines. For the period from 1966 to 1990 ore gold mining
decreased by 15.4% and amounted to 30.293 t in 1990 (24.3% of the total amount
of gold production). are gold mining has been decreasing in recent years even
more rapidly. Thus, the corporation Zabaikalzoloto produced a total of 12.543 t of
gold in 1990 and only 4.871 t (38.8%) of ore gold (Pluteshko 1993). In 1995 the
total production in the Chita Oblast accounted for 8.729 t and the part of ore gold
was only 14%.
Environmental Science
Mercury Contaminated Sites (ed. by R. Ebinghaus el al.)
~) Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999
Contamination of the Environment
T.G. LAPERDINA, M.V. MELNIKOVA, and T.E. KIIVOSTOVA
The results of research on estimation of mercury contamination in the areas impacted by gold mining
in Siberia - the oldest gold mining region of Russia - were considered. Investigations were carried out
at the sites of gold ore and placer deposits in the Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Republic of Buryatia, the
Republic of Yakutia, the Chita Oblast and the refining plant in Novosibirsk. Mercury concentrations
in the environmental compartments of the industrial areas and background zones ranged from <0.001
to 4.0 mg/kg for rocks and minerals; from m-' for industrial air; from 0.013 to 18.9 mg/kg for soils; from <5 to 5000 ngll for dissolved mercury
and from <5 to 27800 ngll for particulate mercury of natural and industrial waters; from 0.008 to
54.2 mg/kg for bottom sediments. The influence of severe landscape climatic conditions of Siberia
with massive or island spreading of permafrost on the extent of mercury contamination in gold
mining areas was considered.
1
Introduction
Siberia is the oldest gold mining region of Russia. The first domestic gold was
produced in Zabaikalye (Transbaikalia) from silver Nerchinsk Ores in 1719
(Ignatkin 1994). The intensive gold mining began later, when placer and ore gold
deposits were discovered. In the middle of the 19th century gold mining in Russia
ran to 26 t a year (40% of the world's total production), most of the gold being
mined in Siberia. Up to 1917, a total of 2754.17 t of gold had been mined, 73.3% of
this amount in Siberian mines (Foss 1963; Vyazelshchikov and Paritzky 1963). At
present, the significant decrease in gold mining and the change in its structure
are observed in the country due to complex economic conditions and transformation of territorial border lines. Thus, gold mining expected for 1996 accounts
for 60 tons, that is less by 20%, than in 1995 and by 50% than in 1990. The
proportion of ore gold is decreasing steadily, due to great investments in its
mining, especially in working of new ore deposits and exhaustion of the richest
ores in the old mines. For the period from 1966 to 1990 ore gold mining
decreased by 15.4% and amounted to 30.293 t in 1990 (24.3% of the total amount
of gold production). are gold mining has been decreasing in recent years even
more rapidly. Thus, the corporation Zabaikalzoloto produced a total of 12.543 t of
gold in 1990 and only 4.871 t (38.8%) of ore gold (Pluteshko 1993). In 1995 the
total production in the Chita Oblast accounted for 8.729 t and the part of ore gold
was only 14%.
Environmental Science
Mercury Contaminated Sites (ed. by R. Ebinghaus el al.)
~) Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999