Natural conditions and geographical location of the Norilsk industrial site

The Norilsk industrial hub, located on the Taimyr Peninsula in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, is one of the world's largest complexes for mining and metal production. Despite the fact that it is beyond the Arctic Circle and the climate here is very severe, almost 200 thousand people live in the settlements serving businesses.

History of development

The first traces of ore extraction in the area of the Norilsk industrial site date back to the Bronze Age - near Lake Pyasino found raw materials and the simplest tools for its smelting. And in the XVI-XVII centuries not far from here stood the city of Mangazeya, whose inhabitants were developing copper deposits. But the closure of the Northern Sea Route led to its decline.

In the 20-ies of the XX century the famous researcher Nikolai Nikolaevich Urvantsev conducted a number of expeditions and confirmed the presence of large reserves of minerals in the area. Built in 1921, the hut is considered the first house of Norilsk and preserved as a museum.

In view of the discovery of large reserves of natural resources, in 1935 it was decided to begin their development. Norillag was organized, the prisoners of which became the main labor force. The prisoners of the Gulag built factories, galleries, infrastructure and houses. Already by 1941, in the conditions of permafrost, they built an airport, a railway, 4 plants, dug out 6 mines and several quarries. The correctional camp was closed in 1956, and the further development of the territory of the Norilsk Industrial District (NDP) continued without the use of prison labor.

Natural conditions

The natural conditions of the Norilsk industrial hub are very difficult for permanent residence. In this region, the subarctic climate: the winter is snowy and cold, lasts almost 9 months, and the summer is short. The average July temperature does not exceed 15 degrees. However, snow in the summer months of local residents is not surprising. Under such conditions, the soil never warms up, and the permafrost imposes a serious imprint on the technology of building construction.

Also, in the vast area around the Norilsk industrial site there are almost no trees, although when the enterprises were just beginning to build, there were dense taiga forests. Now only shrubs are kept in small numbers. This is due primarily to the severe air pollution. In cities in recent years, put the trees of metal, which instead of leaves - LEDs.

The geographical position of the Norilsk industrial hub has another natural feature - polar days and nights. From May 19 to July 25 the sun does not set, but in the winter it dawns only for 2-3 hours. The need to constantly use artificial lighting not only increases electricity consumption, but also puts pressure on the mental state of people. To compensate for this harm, as well as the lack of greenery in the cities, the houses in Norilsk are painted in bright colors.

The main minerals of NDP

In the Norilsk region, a huge amount of resources are extracted: copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, gold, silver, palladium, iridium, rhodium and others. During the purification and processing of ores, sulfur and sulfuric acid, selenium and tellurium are also isolated. In addition, not all discovered natural resources of the Norilsk industrial node are currently being developed, and geologists continue to search.

Despite the fact that the population of the cities of the NDP is constantly decreasing, the enterprises continue to develop, and the interest to minerals on the Taimyr Peninsula is not reduced by the state.

Specialization of the region

The largest city is Norilsk. It was with its construction that the development of the district began. A little more than 100 thousand people live here. The city is adjoined by the Copper Plant, an enrichment plant, a mine is located 3 kilometers away. In 2005, all other settlements were deprived of their status and entered the city district of Norilsk as its districts.

The second largest district in the Norilsk industrial hub is Talnakh, it is located 25 km from the center. Its population is about 50 thousand people. Construction began here in 1960 after the discovery of a large deposit of copper-nickel ore. Its development continues to this day.

In third place is Kayerkan with a population of about 25 thousand people, who was also attached to Norilsk. The settlement was built next to the mines where coal was mined. However, already in the 70s of the last century the enterprises of the NDP switched to gas fuel, and the volume of extraction of the resource was greatly reduced. The district was not empty due to the discovery of Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant several kilometers away .

Also in the city district is the village of Snezhnogorsk, whose population serves Ust-Khantai HPP, and Oganer, where there is a hospital for 1000 places.

Problems of the region

The inconvenient geographical position of the Norilsk industrial hub causes a lot of problems, the main one being transport accessibility. The region has no land communication with other cities, except for the large seaport of Dudinka, located 90 kilometers away. It is here that the main water transport artery - the Yenisei River - passes through which the bulk of cargo flows to other regions. The main passenger traffic is carried by planes departing from the airport "Alykel". They also deliver goods when navigation on the Yenisei is closed.

Another serious problem of the Norilsk industrial hub is the high level of pollution. Plant pipes annually emit a huge amount of sulfur dioxide, phenols, heavy metal particles into the atmosphere. The scale is so great that Norilsk has been listed for many years in the list of the most polluted cities on the planet, and enterprises pay compensation to Canada for poisoning air in its territory.