The Environmental Prosecutor's Office found violations in the work of gold miners in the Larinsky Nature Reserve in the Tomsk Region.
The prosecutor's office established that the company's gold miners TISK Geogold Violate environmental legislation during well drilling and construction. For example, they dump drilling fluid on the "terrain."
The company is failing to conduct environmental surveys of the subsoil site or the necessary measures to protect the wildlife and plants of the reserve, and is using a site not designated for geological work. The inspection was carried out following widespread complaints from local residents.
"TISK, represented by Alexander Belyaev, has been trying for several years to push through and implement a gold mining project in the Larinsky Nature Reserve's protected area. This is being done through attempts to reduce the protected area's boundaries and shift this area through the use of administrative resources."— Tomsk residents complained in their latest video message. We oppose this project because the Larinsky Nature Reserve is a unique ecosystem. It is home to endangered species and plants. The Tugoyakovka is a pristine river and a contributor to the Tom River."
Larinsky Nature Reserve The area was established as a protected area more than 30 years ago. It covers an area of approximately 1,7 hectares, with a buffer zone to protect it reaching 6,5 hectares. But in 2019, the mining company TISK Geogold discovered placer gold deposits there and announced its intention to mine them.
Following the inspection, the prosecutor's office issued a notice to the director of the organization "TISK Geogold" and also initiated administrative offense cases under the articles "unauthorized occupation of a land plot" and "violation of the conditions stipulated by the license for subsoil use."
Regional Environmental Prosecutor Dmitry Grishachev also warned the head of the regional department of natural resources Alexandra Zaitseva on the inadmissibility of arbitrary changes to the boundaries and regime of the protected area of the reserve, which is home to approximately 40 species of animals, plants, and fungi included in the Red Data Books of Russia and the Tomsk Region.