ALROSA Shares Its Environmental Efforts in 2017 with A RUB 4.4 Bn Budget
ALROSA Shares Its Environmental Efforts in 2017 with A RUB 4.4 Bn Budget.Mining giant ALROSA, allocated a RUB 4.4 bn budget for environmental programs for 2017. Recently, it announced the conclusive outcomes of its ecological programs and events it undertook in 2017.
Thee budget supported ALROSA to implement a significant project for both the regions and itself and to increase monitoring over the state of the environment.
Two projects implemented last year were timely, being in sync with the Environment Year in Russia. One project restores sewage treatment facilities of a capacity of 15 thousand cubic meters per day in Udachny. The project is important for the fishery region. The restoration additionally helped clean out the sewage waters from organic pollution to reach threshold level values of fisheries water reservoirs.
The second project involved construction of a centre for pumping quarry and drainage waters from Internatsional underground mine to the western fissure. To prevent mineralized water penetrating into the landscape and surface water objects, a return pumping complex and a pressure wells network were constructed. The underground waters from Metegero-Ichersky underground reservoir come back without polluting the environment.
Among republican events dedicated to the Environment Year, there was a keen focus on fighting poaching – installing access barriers, putting in place round-the-clock posts on roads and ALROSA employees participating in raids to resist illegal hunting or fishing.
A decision to create ALROSA’s Single Environmental Centre, was a prominent result of the year. The Centre unites and centralizes the environment protection functions earlier vested in separate enterprises and divisions. The new unit will develop an environmental strategy for further integration into the overall development strategy of ALROSA.
ALROSA also expanded its monitoring program. Its ecologists took about 1.5 thousand samples of water, air, soil and bed deposits. This work enables ALROSA to be more transparent, to more precisely determine the degree of the industry’s impact on the environment and adjust its environmental policy.
Polina Anisimova, Head of ALROSA Environmental Centre, shared insights into ALROSA’s environmental approach. “Protection of the environment is one of the most important areas of ALROSA’s work.”
Anisimova added that the company not only focuses on ‘minimizing any impact on the nature but in helping to resolve the existing problems in the region of its presence. Simultaneously with nature protection actions, ALROSA implements a whole range of projects that will have a long-time effect. For example, it gradually transfers its machinery to gas fuel which is more environment friendly, or introduces energy saving technologies.”
Speaking on ALROSA’s outlook Anisimova said, “Our aim is to preserve the nature and beauty of Yakutia for many years. The company’s efforts in this area have been already lauded by independent organisations, but we shall proceed with development and improvement of this work. In particular, in 2018 financing for environmental activities will increase up to RUB 5.3 bn.”
