Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development December 2001 No. 111 Baseline Study of the Mining and Minerals Sector in the Republic of Khakassia Coordinated and Prepared by the Khakas Regional Public Charity Fund, “Chazy” This report was commissioned by the MMSD project of IIED. It remains the sole Copyright © 2002 IIED and WBCSD. All rights reserved responsibility of the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the MMSD project, Assurance Group or Sponsors Group, or those of IIED or WBCSD. Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development is a project of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The project was made possible by the support of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). IIED is a company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England. Reg. No. 2188452. VAT Reg. No. GB 440 4948 50. Registered Charity No. 800066 Contents Introduction 3 Foreword, by First Deputy President of the Government of the Republic of Khakassia, Mr V.Tsyganok 4 Part I. General Review of the Mining and Industrial Sector 8 The Republic of Khakassia. General Information. 8 The State of the mineral raw materials base 12 Natural mineral resources 12 Reserves of commercial minerals (prospected, exhausted, untapped) 14 Restoration of the mineral raw materials base 16 State support and the resources of the mining enterprises 16 Problem situations with conserving the mineral raw materials base 18 The Mining Industry (Large and Medium Enterprises in the Sector) 21 State Management of Natural Resources 30 General Characteristics of the Eco-Region 30 State Control 31 Expert State Ecological Assessment 33 Licensing 35 Part II. Socio-economic analysis of the industry. 36 Preservation of biodiversity. The state of enterprises in the industry. An Analysis of the economic state of enterprises under various forms of ownership. 36 Resource saving technologies. Restoration of disturbed landscapes and natural systems 39 Legal basis for the industry 47 Constitution of the Republic of Khakassia dated 25.05.1995 53 Laws of the Republic of Khakassia 54 Normative Regulatory Enactments 73 Draft Laws 78 Taxation 93 Safeguarding the environment 100 Assessing the Health of the Environment 104 Health of the population and habitat 114 Maintaining biodiversity in the Republic of Khakassia 119 Forms of OOPT in the Republic of Khakassia 119 Problems of maintaining biodiversity in the “Khakasskiy”game reserve. 121 The role of the “Khakasskiy” game reserve in the maintenance of the biodiversity of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion 122 Modern condition of the biological diversity in the Republic of Khakassia and measures for its protection and maintenance. 123 Part III Ensuring Sustainable Development in the Mining and Minerals Sector 125 Prospects for the development of enterprises in the industry 125 Using the Resources of the Mass Media, Authorities Exercising Executive and Legislative Power and the Representatives of Business 131 Training of Specialists. 132 Ecological Education and Awareness. 133 The Programme for Shaping the Ecological Culture of the Population of the Republic of Khakassia 134 Development of ecological Tourism in the Republic of Khakassia 136 Ecological Training of Specialists 138 The Prospect of Creating an Environmental Culture 143 2 Baseline Study of the Mining and Minerals Sector in the Republic of Khakassia Introduction The project for “Sustainable development and future prospects of the mining industry in the Republic of Khakassia and improvement of social and environmental factors” Participation in this international project is seen as one of the important mechanisms for integrating the Russian Federation into worldwide, global processes. Basic research in Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) in the Republic of Khakassia is geared towards bolstering the image of the mining enterprises and promoting their products on international markets. One of the practical aims of this project is to attract the investments needed to establish resource-saving, low-capacity technologies and methods for the rational use of natural resources in business practice applied by ore-mining enterprises in Khakassia, and also to develop and establish measures aimed at strengthening the mineral raw materials base and the environmentally sustainable development of the Republic of Khakassia in the social and economic sphere. Research carried out under the MMSD project will make it possible to study the interaction between the mining sector and other sectors of industry (energy, transport, engineering, agriculture etc.). Researching social and economic issues, human health and environmental health, and seeking out ways to reduce social and economic tension and raise employment levels are significant matters requiring study and analysis. An analysis of the existing legislative basis is required to develop new draft laws and other regulatory legal enactments to ensure the sustainable development of mining in the Republic of Khakassia. Over the course of the project, an analysis needs to be made of the possibilities for tax optimization – as this is a factor that affects the development of the sector. MMSD research will make it possible to study matters of licensing, expert assessment and state control. One of the important issues for the Republic of Khakassia is to restore disturbed landscapes and natural systems. This line of research must answer the question: what can be done about the consequences of industrial workings? Of no less importance for the Republic of Khakassia are matters associated with protection of the environment and maintaining biological diversity. It is planned that within the framework of the project a study should be made of the interaction between the mining sector and its impact on the various forms of natural resources (forest, water, nature conservation areas, commercial minerals). Moreover, a need has arisen to examine development of the mining sector with due regard to established cultural and historical traditions, questions of ecological education and awareness, and also analysis and proposals on staffing the sector and involving the mass media in its development. On the whole, the research needed in the Republic of Khakassia has been governed by the following conditions: Baseline Study of the Mining and Minerals Sector in the Republic of Khakassia 3 1. The need to attract significant volumes of investment. 2. The progressively ageing industrial base of the mining enterprises. 3. The low level of added value in the mining enterprises’ products. 4. The need to enhance the legislative, and regulatory base towards further improvement of market mechanisms and creating a favourable investment climate in the ore-mining industry. 5. Difficulties in promoting export production from the ore-mining companies of Khakassia Foreword, by First Deputy President of the Government of the Republic of Khakassia, Mr V.Tsyganok The Natural Resources of the Republic of Khakassia and the Prospects for Environmental Protection Information about the natural resources of the Republic of Khakassia and the prospects for environmental protection is provided by the First Deputy President of the Government of the Republic of Khakassia, Vassiliy Tsyganok. The Republic of Khakassia is one of the unique regions of Russia as regards its natural resources. Here, the riches to be found under the earth, the unparalleled structure of the landscape, the abundance off health-giving lakes and the diversity of the flora and fauna come together in an amazing combination. Whilst being actively involved in preserving its unique natural wealth, the Republic of Khakassia is at the same time making a solid contribution towards the economic development of the country. This primarily concerns the mining sector. Deposits of coal, iron, molybdenum, gold, barite, bentonite, gemstones and architectural facing stones have been located and are being developed on our territory. In total, the state balance sheet for the Republic of Khakassia includes 166 sites where such deposits exist. There are four fields in the Minusinsk hard coal basin where 5.3 billion tonnes of coal is concentrated, and where 3.6 billion tonnes of that is suitable for opencast mining. In this connection, the development by our Republic of a programme for coordinated mining of coal resources, and also a study into the impact of recovery and processing of types of coal on the environment, have become especially topical. Eight fields of magnetite ores have been prospected in Khakassia. Of these, three are currently being mined industrially. At one other – the one at Izykhgol – work is in progress in preparation for mining it. Future increases in the volume of iron ore recovered will be associated primarily with the development of the iron ore deposits in the Tyoysk group, but also with the completion of reconstruction work at the Abakan mine. Reserves of molybdenum in the Republic are significant. But only one site out of three is being industrially mined – the one at Sorsk. In this connection, I would like to point out 4 Baseline Study of the Mining and Minerals Sector in the Republic of Khakassia that the Limited Liability Company “Sorsk GOK” is the only company in Russia that produces molybdenum concentrate. Gold has been extracted from our lands since the first half of the 19th century. At the present time recovery of gold focuses on the resources of four indigenous deposits and 30 deposits of placer gold. According to the experts’ assessments the forecast gold resources amount to approximately 70 tonnes. Also, there are confirmed opportunities for Khakassia’s natural mineral wealth to satisfy the needs of Russia’s industrial complex for barite and bentonite, which are currently classified as types of unprocessed minerals in a shortage category. Deposits of natural stones for architectural facing are also being worked successfully. Alongside this, it should be specially stressed that Khakassia’s potential in resources requires further study. It is possible that targeted work in the context of the programme of geological study of the mineral resources may reveal deposits of antimony, wolfram, lead and zinc ores, and hydrocarbons – oil and gas.