Potash producer JSC Silvinit said Dec. 20 that the 53 km Yaiva-Solikmansk railroad was opened in Russia’s Perm region. The bypass was built beyond the mine fields under development and those planned for development at the Verkhnekamsk deposit of potassium and magnesium salts. Silvinit said the bypass completely removes the threat of disruption of potash shipments from the company. The threat came after the appearance of a sinkhole in July 2007 in the area of the flooding at Berezniki-I of JSC Uralkali, and had persisted (GM Archives).
Construction of the 53 km railroad followed the launch of a bypass in early 2007 that was later within the expansion area of the sinkhole. In January 2008 a new 6 km bypass was opened. However, the possibility of an expansion of the sinkhole and crack that appeared in October 2008 was not ruled out, as there was still a risk of the negative influence of subsurface processes. As a result, a possibility persisted that shipments of potash from JSC Silvinit could stop.
Silvinit put the cost of the overall project at around 12.3 billion rubles (US$407.9 million). The railroad is part of the Belkomur project, which in the future envisages construction of an Arkhangelsk-Syktyvkar-Gainy-Solikamsk railroad and will give White Sea access to enterprises based in the Perm region, including potash producers.
In the meantime, Urallaki reported that it has completed the payment of some 7.8 billion rubles (US$258.6 million) to the federal, regional, and municipal governments, as well as the Russian Railway, to cover the costs associated with the mine accident and to bridge the financing gap for the construction of the railway link.