A tiger refuge in the Russian Far East is in serious danger

Today I published an extensive article analyzing the response from the Far Eastern Environmental Prosecutor’s Office regarding the threat looming over the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve. The situation is becoming increasingly tense and remains completely unresolved: both society is suppressed, and the state apparatus is constrained (people are afraid to show initiative or take action under such conditions). In general, there is a kind of vacuum that is difficult to escape from, and at the same time it is an extremely dangerous situation — because industrial lobbying groups are taking advantage of it.

I am continuing my research, and I will need the next couple of days to expand my knowledge of the reserve itself. I think that, gradually, we will incorporate these data into a future project to establish a Territory of Full Ecological Tranquility (TFET) there.

The most dangerous feature of “Glukhoye” (the proposed gold-mining site) is its location in the upper reaches of the watershed system. The Groznaya River and Buynyi Stream carry runoff from the site into the Kolumbe River, a significant part of which flows through the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve. In other words, quite literally, everything will then spread through these waterways — like through the circulatory system of our own bodies — across the reserve. The Kolumbe flows into the Bolshaya Ussurka near Melnichnoye, after which the water continues into the Ussuri and then the Amur — meaning that potential pollution would have a pathway extending far beyond the mine itself.

For this mountainous region, the chronic cumulative effect is particularly dangerous. Overburden removal (the removal of the upper layer of soil and barren rock lying above the ore body in order to reach the mineral deposit), the open pit, roads, and waste-rock dumps create a constant source of fine particulate material — during the rain-driven floods characteristic of this basin, this material can repeatedly be washed downstream, settle in river channels, pools, and floodplains, and then be resuspended by subsequent floods. Such contaminated bottom sediments can become a secondary source of impact for years, even after the original input has ceased. In fact, this is precisely what has been documented in our country for many years: gold-mining operations are slowly killing TENS OF THOUSANDS of kilometers of rivers across the Russian Far East and Siberia.

But!

I have found even more alarming data: as far as I know, there is a much more serious geochemical factor here — the ores at “Glukhoye” contain pyrite and arsenopyrite, with their combined content in mineralized zones reported to range from 2% to 12%. Excavation, crushing, and prolonged exposure of sulfide-bearing rock to oxygen and water create a risk of mobilizing arsenic and other components. This is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS for the natural ecosystems of the region.

This is also mentioned in the material I published today: the reserve itself previously reported that after exploration work at “Glukhoye” in 2017, changes were detected in the condition of the watercourse and in the composition of aquatic organisms, and even six years later the community had still not recovered. In other words, even exploration alone left a biological impact lasting for years. And what are they planning now? A huge industrial cluster, open pits, a mining and processing plant, waste-rock dumps, and large-scale infrastructure for decades to come.

Despite the relatively close proximity of the Sea of Japan coast, the rivers here are interconnected and the water drains along entirely different pathways — the “Glukhoye” deposit is not simply located next to a river, as many people may think, but in a key upper section of the watershed, practically at the beginning of the chain through which water drains across the western slope of the Sikhote-Alin into the Amur River basin. This is far more dangerous than simply having pollution “washed out” into the sea.

Accordingly, the Kolumbe flows into the Bolshaya Ussurka near Melnichnoye. The confluence of the Kolumbe is located approximately 302 km from the mouth of the Bolshaya Ussurka. The Bolshaya Ussurka then flows toward Dalnerechensk and empties into the Ussuri. From the mouth of the Bolshaya Ussurka to the mouth of the Ussuri itself, there are approximately another 357 km of river channel. This means that from the point where the Groznaya flows into the Kolumbe to the Amur, the hydrological pathway extends for roughly 703 km of river channel. Let us calculate it approximately: 44 km along the Kolumbe + 302 km along the Bolshaya Ussurka + 357 km along the Ussuri ≈ 703 km.

This is a potential hydrological pathway for the transport of hazardous substances, which may settle throughout this entire river system and accumulate in local ecosystems.

There is something else. The Bolshaya Ussurka basin is fed predominantly by rainfall, and up to 96% of its annual runoff occurs between April and September. In other words, the system is characterized by very pronounced seasonal flood pulses. It creates a kind of natural pump — during calmer periods, some of the fine material settles on the riverbed, on riffles, in backwaters, and across floodplain areas. During the next major flood, water velocity and discharge increase, and some of the material that had previously accumulated is resuspended and transported farther downstream. The next flood repeats the process.

So you understand the danger, right? The consequences could be catastrophic.

And here I am speaking only about the river network — the circulatory system of the Russian Taiga in the Far East. This is without even mentioning that migration routes for animals and plants will be isolated, vital natural processes will be disrupted, and this will lead to the slow but inevitable degradation of local ecosystems. Refuges for wildlife.

Yes, all of this needs to be thoroughly investigated! Yes, scientific work, research, and on-site expert assessments are needed. But for now, we have neither the money nor the capabilities, while the pressure is enormous. Meanwhile, those who are trying to multiply their capital through gold mining at any cost have enormous financial resources at their disposal.