Northern Mining and Processing Plant (Northern GOK, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region), part of the Metinvest Group, will sow rye on 75 hectares of tailings storage facilities as part of a dust suppression and soil fertility restoration program.
According to the company, throughout September, work is continuing on sowing cereal crops on dry areas of the tailings pond at the Northern Mining and Processing Plant’s technical supply and sludge management facility. The measures are being carried out as part of the City Program for Solving Environmental Problems in Kryvbas and Improving the State of the Natural Environment.
It should be noted that Metinvest’s enterprises are making efforts to maintain production and, even during these extremely difficult times, have not abandoned their commitments to addressing environmental issues.
This year, Northern GOK has planned and is already carrying out large-scale work using green technologies that will help prevent the dispersion of dry tailings ponds. Ten tons of seeds and four tons of complex fertilizers will be used to sow the disturbed land. Currently, the cereals sown in the first ten days of September have already sprouted.
“We conducted our first experiment with sowing rye on the tailings pond of Northern GOK in 2021. At that time, we had doubts about whether the crop would take root in areas with highly mineralized tailings. The positive result gave us the confidence to continue this practice in the future. Through experimentation, we also found that winter rye provides the best protection for surfaces. It has time to sprout before the cold weather sets in and form a dense network of roots, which prevents dry tailings from scattering in windy weather,” explained Oleg Bereza, lead dust control engineer at Northern GOK, explaining the essence of the method.
According to the specialist, today the area of the Northern GOK tailings pond is almost 170 hectares. Of these, 75 hectares of dry ponds will be planted with rye. About 60 hectares of the tailings pond are currently involved in increasing the level from +165 meters to +169 meters. Irrigation of this territory is carried out by a contracted construction organization. On more than 35 hectares of maps, uniform silting is carried out and the design water level in the storage pond is maintained. Also, to prevent dust formation, irrigation equipment is operating on the technological roads of the shop according to the schedule.
Northern GOK is part of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and the Smart Holding group of companies (23.76%). The managing company of the Metinvest Group is Metinvest Holding LLC.
dust suppression, Pivdenny GOK, tailings storage facilities, WHEAT
