Khaidarkan mercury 24 | 25
Environmental issues and approaches in Khaidarkan
Most of the mercury and other pollutants that enter the has had comparable amounts of waste stored on the
environment from the Khaidarkan kombinat consist of surface – most of these facilities “backfilled” such waste
gaseous emissions from the mercury smelter or from into the shafts or buried it beneath soil and clay caps.
waste streams that are generated during mining and
processing of the ore. Over 13 million tonnes of slag, There are a number of straightforward measures that
4 million tonnes of tailings and several million tonnes of can reduce the local and global negative environmen-
waste rock deposited in close proximity to the town are tal impacts from these sites. Such activities comprise
posing significant instability and pollution risks to the capping, water drainage modifications, and re-vegeta-
community. Next to these huge deposits, there also is tion. National experience of such remediation work is
a smaller sludge pond that contains several thousand limited but the technical requirements can be fulfilled
tonnes of high concentration mercury waste originating with existing workforce. Implementation of remediation
from the mercury purification process. Water is draining measures would also create relevant employment in
from all these waste sites, none of which are contained Khaidarkan over several years and create skills which
or fenced off. Water is used for irrigation or is drunk by can then be utilized at other hazardous waste sites in
cattle in the area. Mercury is probably transported away the region. Given that Khaidarkan is a state-owned
from these areas, slowly but steadily, entering the global company, there is limited local capacity for investing in
cycle. None of the other mercury mines recently closed environmental remediation.