Berezniki, Russia-JSC Silvinit said that as of Sept. 4 the distance between the sinkhole and the rail bypass at Berezniki remained the same as two months before – 100 m. The sinkhole continues to expand, though, in the direction opposite to the railroad. According to the executive staff at the Emergency Commission of the Perm region, the size of the sinkhole as of Sept. 4 was 410 by 310 m. The size of the crater in the bedrock increased to 400 by 260 m from 380 by 260 m as of July 31. The Berezniki 1 mine is flooded to a considerable degree. According to the latest information, the volume of the brine in the mine has reached 73.5 million cubic meters. Silvinit’s sinkhole woes in the past few years and its alleged impact on the potash market were given as an example in the recently filed potash antitrust cases in the U.S. (GM Sept. 22, p. 1).
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