Uralkali reports new sinkhole near potash mine
Russian potash producer Uralkali reported on Nov. 19 that a 30-40 meter sinkhole has been detected to the east of its Solikamsk-2 production site. Uralkali suspended all work at the Solikamsk-2 mine and evacuated personnel to above-ground on Nov. 18 after higher levels of brine inflow were detected at the mine.
Uralkali said the sinkhole is located outside of the Solikamsk metropolitan area, but access to the site has been prohibited “to ensure safety in the area of potential soil subsidence.” Uralkali’s Solikamsk-2 mine is adjacent to its Solikamsk-1 mine, and the company said it continues to closely monitor both minefields.
“The company continues to work closely with the relevant state authorities and scientific experts,” said Uralkali CEO Dmitry Osipov. “The accident is not catastrophic to the company’s operations or people living in the area. The impact is being localized and we have a clear plan to tackle the situation promptly. We will take all necessary measures to minimize the impact of the incident on the company, our investors, partners, and the inhabitants of Solikamsk and the surrounding area. At the same time, we will consider the possibility of bringing forward the commissioning of new mining capacities at Ust-Yayvinsky and Polovodovsky blocks.”
Uralkali has five mines and seven ore-treatment mills near the Russian cities of Berezniki and Solikamsk. The Solikamsk-2 mine has annual capacity of approximately 2.3 million mt, or roughly 3 percent of global capacity for 2014. Solikamsk-1 reportedly has 1 million mt/y of production capacity. Uralkali’s total capacity is approximately 13 million mt/y, and the company has been running at 90 percent utilization this year.
Uralkali has been plagued in the past by sinkholes and flooding that swallowed rail lines and damaged mines. The company’s Mine-1 near Berezniki was flooded in 2006 (GM Oct. 30, 2006), and a sinkhole in 2010 affected a railroad spur near Berezniki and swallowed at least one potash railcar (GM Dec. 6, 2010). Just this summer (GM Aug. 25, p. 12), residents of at least 11 houses in Berezniki were evacuated due to increasing subsidence or sinking. The city said then that there was risk of a sinkhole forming in 2015 should the pace of soil movements continue.
Alexander Baryakh, general director of the Mining Institute of the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, said the site of the current inflow overlaps with the site of an incident that occurred at Silvinit Solikamsk-2 on Jan. 5, 1995. “This enables us to conclude that the 1995 accident and its consequences are directly linked to the accident on Nov. 18,” Baryakh said. “There is currently no threat to the surrounding populated areas.”