The city of Mirny (Yakutia): a diamond quarry. History, description, photo

In Soviet times, a sufficient number of cities were built on the territory of our country, many of which are real unique in terms of their geographic location and engineering solutions used. This is the city of Mirny (Yakutia). The quarry for diamond mining, which is located in its line, is one of the wonders of the modern world, since it amazes even the most experienced specialists with its size.

"Peace Pipe"

By the way, in a scientific way this quarry is a "kimberlite pipe", called "Peace." The city itself appeared after its discovery and development, and therefore was named in her honor. The quarry has an unreal depth of 525 meters and a diameter of almost 1.3 km! The kimberlite pipe itself was formed in time immemorial, when the streams of lava and hot volcanic gases burst from the bowels of our planet at great speed. On the cut it resembles a glass or cone. Due to the huge explosion force, kimberlite was thrown out of the earth - this is the name of the breed containing natural diamonds.

The name of this substance came from the name of the South African city of Kimberley. There, in 1871, a diamond weighing almost 17 grams was found, and as a result, prospectors and adventurers from all over the world poured into that region with an uncontrollable stream. How did our city Mirny (Yakutia) originate? Career - this is the basis of his appearance.

As a deposit was discovered

In mid-June 1955, Soviet geologists in Yakutia searched for traces of kimberlite and came upon a fallen larch, whose roots were twisted from the ground by a powerful hurricane. This natural "harvesting" took advantage of the fox, dug a hole there. She did us a good service: according to the color of the earth, experts realized that under the fox hole there is an excellent kimberlite.

An encrypted radiogram was immediately sent to Moscow: "We lit a pipe of peace, excellent tobacco"! In just a few days, huge columns of construction equipment were pulled into the wilderness. That's how the city of Mirny (Yakutia) emerged. The quarry had to be developed under extremely difficult conditions. One has only to look at the excavation covered with snow, in order to understand the grandiose scope of the works carried out here!

Delegation from South Africa

To break through several meters of permafrost, we had to use tens of thousands of tons of powerful explosives. Already from the 60s of the last century, the deposit began to give stable two kilograms of diamonds, and at least 1/5 of them were of excellent quality and could be sent to jewelry stores after cutting. The remaining stones were intensively used in Soviet industry.

The field developed so rapidly that the South African company De Beers was simply forced to buy up Soviet diamonds in order to prevent a global recession in prices for them. The management of this organization filed a petition for a visit to the city of Mirny (Yakutia). Career struck them, only they stayed there for awhile ...

Industrial Tricks

The USSR government agreed, but demanded a response service - that Soviet specialists be allowed to enter the fields in South Africa. The delegation from Africa arrived in Moscow ... and there it was delayed, because the guests were constantly hosting banquets. When the experts finally arrived in the city of Mirny, they had no more than 20 minutes to inspect the quarry itself.

But what they saw was still struck to the core. For example, guests simply could not imagine the technology of mining diamonds without using water. However, there is nothing surprising in the Yakut climatic conditions for this: in those places almost seven months a year there is a subzero temperature, and it is not worthwhile to joke with permafrost for many years. In a dangerous place is the city of Mirny! The depth of the quarry is such that, if desired, even a miniature sea can be built here.

Brief production history

From 1957 to 2001, diamonds here were mined for more than $ 17 billion. The quarry near Mirny in Siberia in the process of development has expanded so much that from the bottom to the surface the length of the road for trucks was eight kilometers. It should be understood that in 2001 the deposit was not exhausted at all: just mining of diamonds by the open method became too dangerous. Scientists could learn that the vein stretches to a depth of more than a kilometer, and in these conditions, an underground mine is needed. By the way, it reached the design capacity of one million tons of ore already in 2012. Today, experts believe that it is possible to develop this unique deposit for another 35 years (approximately).

Some terrain problems

Helicopters flying above the quarry are strictly forbidden, since such a flight is a sure death for the car and the crew. The laws of physics simply throw the helicopter to the bottom of the quarry. The high walls of the tube also have shortcomings: there is not a phantom possibility that once precipitation and erosion lead to the formation of a monstrous landslide, which will completely swallow the city of Mirny (Yakutia). The quarry, the photo of which is in the article, can be used for purposes that some may find real fiction. It is about the possibility of creating a unique city of the future in a titanic pit.

"City of the Future": dreams or reality?

The head of this project was Nikolai Lyutomsky. The most difficult thing in the future work is to create a cyclopean concrete structure, which will not only strengthen the quarry walls, but will also propel it, providing additional strength. It will be an incredible tourist attraction, which only Mirny can boast!

The quarry, the photo of which can be seen in the review, is supposed to be covered from above with a transparent dome, on the sides of which solar batteries will be mounted. Of course, the climate in Yakutia is extremely harsh, but there are enough sunny days. Power engineers assume that in one year alone, batteries can produce at least 200 MW of energy. Finally, it will be possible to take advantage of the heat of the planet itself.

The fact is that in winter this area is cooled to -60 degrees Celsius. Yeah, it's hard to envy those for whom the city of Mirny (Yakutia) is the birthplace. The quarry, the photo of which strikes, is similarly imaged, but only to a depth of 150 meters. Below - constantly positive temperature. Futuristic city is supposed to be divided into three main tiers. At the very bottom, they want to grow agricultural products, on the average it is planned to mark out a full-fledged forest park zone.

The upper part is a zone for permanent residence of people, besides residential premises there will be offices, entertainment complexes and so on. If the construction plan is fully implemented, then the area of the city will be three million "squares". At the same time, up to 10 thousand people can live here. About 36 thousand citizens have a peaceful city (Yakutia). A quarry, the depth of which is half a kilometer, will allow them to rest comfortably, without flying for this to distant lands.

Other information on the project "Eco-city"

Initially, this project was named "Eco-City 2020", but today it is clear that by the scheduled date it will obviously not work. By the way, why are they going to build it? Business in the inhabitants: only five months of the year their living conditions more or less correspond to a comfortable rate, and all the rest of the time they live at temperatures that are more typical for the Arctic and Antarctica. The city will allow them to rest at any time of year, basking in the sun, and the production capacity of giant farms should not be forgotten: all residents and tourists will be more than provided with vitamin fruits and vegetables.

To get the lower levels enough light, in the center it is supposed to leave a lighting shaft of giant diameter. In addition to solar batteries, the efficiency of which is still rather doubtful (plus the difficulties with installation), some engineers propose a variant with the construction of a nuclear power plant. To date, all this is in the stage of very vague plans. I very much hope that the city of Mirny, whose diamond quarry is known all over the world, will become more comfortable for people living in it.

Interesting facts about diamond mining

As we said, in the 1960s, up to two kilograms of diamonds were mined here, the fifth of which was of high quality. A ton of rock accounted for a gram of pure raw materials, and among the stones there were many such that were suitable for jewelry processing. Today, about 0.4 grams of diamonds per ton of ore.

The largest diamond

In late December 1980, the largest diamond in the history of the deposit was found here. This giant, weighed 68 grams, received the solemn title "XXVI Congress of the CPSU."

When was the extraction of the open type stopped?

When did Mirny "finish off"? Diamond quarry became dangerous to develop in the 1990s, when the depth of development reached 525 meters. At the same time, the bottom of the foundation pit was flooded. It was Mir that became the largest diamond quarry in our country. The extraction lasted more than 44 years. Until then, the extraction was led by the Sakha company, whose annual profit exceeded $ 600 million. Today, the mine is managed by Alrosa. This corporation is one of the largest diamond producers in the world.

When did the idea of a closed mine come up?

Already in the 1970s, the construction of the first tunnels was started, as everyone understood the impossibility of constant extraction by the open method. But on a permanent basis, this method was transferred only in 1999. To date, it is known that the veins still exist at a depth of 1,200 meters. Perhaps, diamonds will be able to mine and deeper.

This is how the Republic of Yakutia is rich in raw materials: Mirny, a career in which everyone's imagination is terrific - one of the sources of national prosperity. The diamonds that are mined there go not only for the needs of jewelry companies, but also for the production of many sophisticated instruments and mechanisms.