"Choose life over gold": Residents of the Soloneshensky District in Altai once again protested against gold mining.
В the village of Soloneshnoye about 250 people went to the rally They protested the activities of the Novosibirsk-based Solnechnaya Artel LLC. They claimed that, in order to extract just a few dozen kilograms of gold, spread across a 50-kilometer stretch, prospectors were destroying the region's natural environment, threatening rare flora and fauna. The protesters held signs that read: "We choose life over gold," "Our nature is more valuable than any metal." etc.
Protesters believe that tourism and agriculture will bring far greater dividends to the municipality in the long term, but active gold mining prevents these sectors from developing.
"I want to convey to gold miners that these places are not about money, they are about life.", - said Tatyana Chefeneva in the Smolensk districtIn her opinion, information about gold mining in villages could put an end to tourist traffic, which is already weak.
Local farmer, US citizen Justas walker, known online by the nickname "the cheerful milkman," said he had previously encountered a similar problem when he lived in the Boguchansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai: "Hundreds of hectares of taiga were cut down, and they will never recover. We couldn't do anything back then. And I don't want to see a repeat of the same environmental terror here, but in a different form. We must clearly say: 'No.'"
In the resolution of the rally, people demanded that officials suspend the activities of gold mining companies in the area for the duration of all investigations and revoke their licenses. Soloneshensky, Altaisky and Charyshsky districts.
"NeMoskva" wrote about the protests in the village of Soloneshnoe began back in September, when on the local river Anuy A gold mining crew emerged. The prospectors cut down trees three kilometers from the village, removed the topsoil, and altered the river's course. Now, a muddy sludge flows past Soloneshnoye, and the drinking water level in the artesian wells has plummeted.