Who is the owner of the copper mountain?
Metallurgical companies are attempting to enter the Kyrkty-Tau ridge in Bashkortostan for the second time. Locals are prepared to fight, authorities are deploying security forces to the area, and observers are predicting another act of state corporate raiding.
🔸 Five years later, Russian Copper Company has resumed plans to develop a copper deposit near the Kyrkty-Tau ridge in Bashkortostan. The authorities and the company promise minimal environmental impact and economic benefits for the region.
🔸 Even scientists have joined the project's promotion. However, their arguments are dubious and fail to convince people: "We don't want a mine under our windows. We don't want a quarry instead of a ridge. We don't want to sacrifice our nature for someone else's profit."
🔸 Despite assurances of a "closed water cycle," locals fear the impact on water resources. Regardless of the production cycle, giant piles of ore waste are unavoidable during mining operations, and they are a source of heavy metal pollution.
🔸 People are recording video messages and creating a petition to protect the ridge. In response, they're facing prosecutions for false reports of terrorism and LGBT propaganda, active counter-propaganda on social media, direct threats on television, and the deployment of security forces to the area.
🔸 Observers say a "second Kushtau" is brewing in Bashkortostan. At the same time, they predict a new act of state corporate raiding and the seizure of the Russian Copper Company.
"We defended it once, and we'll defend it again. We don't want conflict; we just want them to leave us and our nature alone. Please tell the authorities: we're not just fighting for ourselves; we're standing up for the beauty of these places," a Magnitogorsk resident said in an interview with a Chelyabinsk media outlet. The article was published at the end of May and has now, for some reason, been removed from the publication's website, but the Magnitogorsk resident's words remain. journalist's blog.
"Defended" refers to the events of 2020. Back then, residents of Bashkortostan also fought for Mount Kushtau, and these protests resonated throughout Russia. The protests in defense of Kyrkty-Tau were less visible, but they ultimately had an impact: Russian Copper Company put its plans on hold. Five years later, it returned to them.
NeMoskva learned how authorities and developers are trying to calm locals down, and why they're still not calming down.
The Kryktytau Range, also known as Kyrkty-Tau, is located in the Abzelilovsky District of Bashkortostan, in the heart of the Southern Urals. It is cut by the Bolshoi and Maly Kizil Rivers, hence the name: in Bashkir, the range is called "Kyrkty-Tau," meaning "cut mountain." The rivers flow into the Ural River, which supplies a vast territory from Bashkortostan and the Chelyabinsk Region to Kazakhstan.
"Nothing leaked, nothing was contaminated."
Copper deposit was found Near Kyrkty-Tau, the Abzelilovsky geological exploration party was discovered half a century ago, in the 60s. Copper ore reserves are estimated at 208 million tons, with a copper content of 0,4%. Today Russian Copper Company plans to carry out geological exploration work here, and in the future, to build a mining and processing plant.
For RMK, this is already the second attempt to begin exploration of the Salavat field: in 2020, work had to stop due to protests by local residents. Events around Mount Kushtau and the Kyrkty-Tau Ridge unfolded simultaneously. Bashkir Soda Company wanted to use Kushtau as a source of raw materials, but mass protests led to the project being halted. At the same time, in the Abzelilovsky District, people protested against RMK's plans, holding public gatherings and flash mobs. One of the most notable was stockDuring the protest, local residents formed a human chain and unfurled a kilometer-long Bashkortostan flag near the ridge. Russian Copper Company also paused work. However, it appears they haven't abandoned their plans. Five years later, they returned to Bashkortostan.
The authorities promise to implement the project “under strict state control” and assure: concerns about possible harm to nature are unfounded, and the plant is economically necessary for the region. The words Director LLC "Salavatskoye" Tagira Bakhtigareeva, this is an additional 1,500 new jobs and 250 million rubles in taxes to the local budget annually.
For specially organized meetings Salavatsky's leadership soothes Residents of nearby villages say it's still a long way from geological exploration to construction of the mining and processing plant. The geological survey is planned to be completed by 2027, at which time a project will be developed, public hearings will be held, and then a state expert review will be conducted. In short, the plant won't be launched before 2029, and it's not a given that it will be, and if it does, the environmental impacts will be minimal. Specifically, industrialists promise to use the technology closed water cycle, which involves the use of quarry and storm water and eliminates wastewater discharge.
Scientists have also joined in promoting the RMK project. Copper reserves at the Salavat deposit are gradually leaching and leaking into rivers. If they aren't developed, this process will continue, posing a threat to human and animal health. claims Acting Head of the Department of Geology, Hydrometeorology and Geoecology at the Ufa University of Science and Technology Vladimir Nikonov.
Locals are most concerned about the pollution of their water resources—Lake Asly-Kul and the Bolshoi and Maly Kizil rivers (their sources are near the deposit). Tagir Bakhtigareev responded mentions Lake Sibay is three kilometers from one of the world's largest copper mines"I'm from Sibay, I know. No lake overflowed into the quarry; there are fish there, and they even opened a business there. A river flows next to the quarry, and it hasn't turned or flowed anywhere. It's the same at the Tominsky Mining and Processing Plant: there's a pond 500 meters away and the source of the Kamenka River. And nothing flowed out, nothing was polluted."
A monstrous wound on the surface of the earth
The local lake, Kultuban, located 10-15 kilometers from the Sibay quarry, has indeed been unaffected by copper mining; it's in good condition. The same can't be said for the river. KaragailyThe facts of its contamination with copper, zinc, manganese and other metals were confirmed in state report on the state of the environment from 2017, then in research Ural scientists of 2018. In scientific report In 2023, researchers concluded that Karagayli remains problematic even after the plant's shutdown: secondary pollution continues due to sediments accumulated over decades.
Karagaily isn't a major source of drinking water for populated areas, but the Bolshoi and Maly Kizil rivers, which flow near the Salavat field, feed Magnitogorsk in Chelyabinsk, Sibay in Bashkortostan, and dozens of villages in the Republic and some regions of Kazakhstan. "The Bolshoi and Maly Kizil originate in the same mountain region, from the same springs. This is a rare natural phenomenon—a bifurcation: when a single water system feeds two rivers flowing in opposite directions. This makes the region hydrologically vulnerable," are worried creators of the website "Kyrgyzstan, live".
Vladimir Nikonov, a candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences, argues that development must begin to prevent metal leaching, but other scientists are unconvinced.
— Copper and other metals in the deposit are in an untouched state, and after they are extracted to the surface, they are crushed, processed and transported to dumps- that's when they "wake up" and become dangerous to the environment, — comments Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor Mars Safarov. He described these processes in his book Sibay is in trouble.
The influence of so-called tailings—what remains after extracting useful components from ore—is confirmed by other studies. In particular, Dmitry Ulrikh, Associate Professor of the Department of Water Removal at South Ural State University, пишетthat chemical analyses of ore waste samples show repeated excesses of the maximum permissible concentrations of heavy metals (zinc, lead, nickel, copper).
Safarov calls the aforementioned Sibay quarry "a monstrous wound on the earth's surface." It could hold 227 Great Pyramids of Giza. "The same thing will happen in the Abzelilovsky district," Safarov predicts, meaning tailings dams will sprout up around the Salavatsky quarry.
According to the site map, three such projects are planned here: 80, 176, and 300 hectares. That's nearly 800 football fields.
"What's wrong with them? Firstly, they take up a huge area. Secondly, they're exposed to wind, sun, and rain. Heavy metals—copper, tungsten, iron, and so on—are also washed out of these storage facilities and end up in rivers, where they're the main pollutants."
Local residents are also concerned about the area's tourism potential. Ten kilometers from the mine lies Lake Yakty-Kul (also known as Lake Bannoye), the deepest lake in Bashkortostan and the third largest by volume. Its shores are home to the Yakty-Kul and Yubileiny sanatoriums, as well as the Bannoye ski resort, one of the most visited in the Ural Federal District, attracting over 300 visitors annually. If copper mining were to begin here, tourists would "vote with their feet." fear local.
They already have plenty of reasons to distrust the promises of the authorities and industrialists. Economist Rustem Shayakhmetov calls The reclamation of mineral deposits is "one of Bashkiria's most pressing problems." He believes local concerns are "justified"—recall the Sibay quarry and the gold mining operations that leave behind a lunar landscape.
The economist believes the problem could be solved by legally requiring mine developers to transfer reclamation funds to a guarantee fund. However, the authorities are not initiating anything of the sort: as Shayakhmetov suggests, this is because "the interests of influential companies are affected."
They don't wait, they prepare
The petition "Stop the Destruction of the Ural River Sources! Against Copper Exploration and Mining in the Kryktytau Ridge" is currently underway. subscribed More than seven thousand people. Its authors demand that development at the Salavat site be prevented and that Kyrkty-Tau be recognized as a specially protected area. Similar demands are being published on social media. At the end of May, residents of the villages of Burangulovo and Iskhakovo recorded video message to Putin. "We don't want a mine under our windows. We don't want a quarry instead of a ridge. We don't want to sacrifice our nature for someone else's profit," they say.
The authorities were quick to respond with counter-propaganda. Various public pages and chats featuring the ridge's name appeared. In particular, in April 2025, a VKontakte group, "Kyrkty live", where information supporting the development of the field is posted. It has approximately 4,5 members—ten times more than, for example, chat opponents of the development.
Chief editor of the state agency "Bashinform" Ruslan Sharafutdinov call He dismissed the protesters as "assorted provocateurs and manipulators" and, in essence, sounded a "first warning": "Standing in the way of the fulfillment of a crucial state task in a de facto war, when everything is for the front, everything is for victory—this is punishable. They've gone too far, although even an empty drum understands that one shouldn't gamble with the state."
The propagandist recommended studying Article 207 of the Criminal Code ("Knowingly false report of an act of terrorism"). It is this article that is now impute Ural Baibulatov, whom detained in early June. Previously an activist addressed In his Telegram channel, he addressed the head of the FSB Directorate for the Republic of Bashkortostan: he recalled that "biased coverage of the situation in Kushtau" in 2020 led to conflict and mass protests, and proposed "pursuing an open information policy." Security forces conducted a search. came also to Ildar Khabirov, a businessman from Magnitogorsk who spoke out in defense of the mountain range. And to activist Kira Belaya drew up a protocol about LGBT propaganda—for the rainbow emoji that was in her Telegram username. "I was so shocked, I told them, 'Guys, you might as well file a case against heaven!' And the prosecutor told me they already had established case law," says Kira: She's convinced the police are trying to intimidate activists in this way.
At the end of May, law enforcement began deploying to the area. "Up to 150 law enforcement officers will be stationed at the dormitory of the Trans-Ural Agro-Industrial College in the village of Abzelil for two weeks," says "Preparatory work to welcome guests is currently underway," the Ural Batyr Info Telegram channel reported. "We are closely monitoring the situation; it's possible that RMK, represented by Salavatskoye LLC, will attempt to begin geological exploration at Kyrkty-Tau as early as next week."
19 June, сообщил The "Insider Bashkortostan" channel reports that equipment has entered the field. "Roads leading to the geological exploration site are either blocked by security forces or dug up with ditches, making it impossible for vehicles to pass," conveyed A few days later, "Our Kyrkty-Tau".
May 23. Security forces are being deployed to the Abezilovsky district center. Photo source: Ural Batyr info
Like in Kushtau again?
"RMK is a victim in a play. They need a reason to chew them up for the state's benefit; they've been targeted for a long time," suggests former leader State Public Institution "Information and Analytical Center" Dilara Gundorova recalls how, following the events in Kushtau, the ownership of the Bashkir Soda Company changed. Before the protests in August 2020, 38% of BSC belonged to the Republic, and 62% to a Cypriot offshore company. Afterward, on Putin's orders, the company was first transferred to the state, then to the management of Russian Hydrogen (now Roskhim). Dilara Gundorova suggests that something similar could happen now.
— Kyrkty-Tau is the most painful topic today for the head of the republic, Khabirov, — An official familiar with the situation (he spoke to NeMoskva on condition of anonymity) disagrees with the hypothesis. "If he gives up the field, he'll stay in power. If he doesn't, he'll lose his job. He's telling the Kremlin he's in control! If some organized force can be found that sets up tents there, stages a hunger strike, or other protests, then the people will come out. A situation like Kushtau could arise."
A source from the leftist movement, also on condition of anonymity, reported that "the idea of setting up a tent camp there [on the ridge], as was done at Kushtau," is being discussed. He recalled that at Kushtau, "leftists" were among the most active protesters.
The official assessed the likelihood of active confrontation as "50/50." Other local residents interviewed by him had different opinions. One doubted that "anyone will rise up" in the Abzelilovsky district: "Everyone is scared [after Baimak events]. Unless the SVO members return to those parts, they certainly won't be afraid to stand up for their land." Another is confident that protests are possible: "I know some hotheads who are capable of such things." Another environmental activist answers the question: "If a burglar comes to your house, what will you do?" And answers himself: "Resist."
