It is worth been reminded that the Arctic has enjoyed a long period
of investment by
Russia almost independent of a creditable economic rationale outside mining needs. Sustaining that paid for infrastructure is the present challenge.
Russia almost independent of a creditable economic rationale outside mining needs. Sustaining that paid for infrastructure is the present challenge.
Canada faces the same challenges and ultimately will build a network
of costly roads to open up this country. This has largely been
driven by mining and will surely continue to be. Road building can
be done along high ground through known mineral provinces.
The problem with these roads is that they need to be gravel dams in
order to separate the road bed from the permafrost. Just sourcing
that much rock is daunting.
The fact remains though is that most mines are developed near handy
infrastructure because that are simply able to economically handle
lower grades. Thus it truly behooves government to drive roads well
ahead of actual mining.
A great example of that is a very rich deposit was found in the
Stikine in the Early Eighties and was swiftly mined out with a road
built in to make it possible. What is forgotten is that proven world
class reserves in excess of 10,000,000 ounces had been found in the
region and developed up long before with grades that would have
assured production further south on a highway. Those reserves are
still there.
The problem of the tundra is there is no creditable economic
agricultural base to lock in a population. That will not change.
Russia's
unique economic position in the Arctic
by Staff Writers
The Arctic Region
acquired its economic and geopolitical importance in the Soviet days.
This chapter in the Russian history witnessed a number of successes
in the intensive development of the Arctic resources. oscow
(Voice of Russia) Sep 05, 2012
Historically, the
Arctic Region has been part and parcel of the Russian economy. Due to
the decades-long support from the Russian government, it boasts a
powerful industrial infrastructure and the scale of its economic
activity far surpasses the economic performance of other Arctic
nations.
Compared to any other
Arctic country, Russia has made remarkable achievements in the
Arctic. It has succeeded in creating a powerful industrial and social
infrastructure in the harsh conditions of the Arctic.
Undoubtedly, this
gives Russia a clear edge over competitors in further development of
the Arctic resources. In what is seen as a unique setting, Russia has
built whole industrial cities behind the Arctic Circle along with
vast industrial zones comparable to such industrial areas as Ruhr,
Wales and Silesia.
At present, the
Russian part of the Arctic incorporates 46 cities and villages and is
home to more than 5,000 residents. Four cities - Murmansk, Norilsk,
Novy Urengoy, and Noyabrsk - are populated by more than 100,000
people and have the world's largest iron and steel plants, coal
mines, mining and processing facilities, oil and gas production
plants, pipelines, and nuclear power plants (the Kola and Bilibino
NPPs). The Russian Northern Fleet has its operational zone in the
Arctic and Russia's major defense industry facilities are
concentrated in the Arctic Region as well.
The Arctic Region
acquired its economic and geopolitical importance in the Soviet days.
This chapter in the Russian history witnessed a number of successes
in the intensive development of the Arctic resources.
During this period
Russia adopted the Concept of Pocket Development for the northern
regions. The so-called "pockets" or transportation hubs
that were created in port cities stimulated industrial growth.
Marketing was encouraged by the construction of sawmills, timber
processing plants, fish canning factories and mining plants.
The industrialization
of the Arctic acquired a finished form during the implementation of
the Northern Sea Route Project. Such large scale construction efforts
made it possible to build an integrated transport infrastructure that
had no equivalents elsewhere in the world and that guaranteed
trouble-free operation of the Northern Sea Route. This infrastructure
embraced the following:
+ Icebreaker,
transport, and technical fleet;
+ Port terminals;
+ Navigation,
hydrographic support;
+ Meteorological
service;
+ Arctic aviation;
+ Tracking system;
+ Construction
industry;
+ Shipbuilding and
ship repair facilities.
The discovery of
numerous oil and gas deposits in the Arctic served as yet another
foundation for the creation and subsequent development of industrial
"pockets". The town of Apatity in the Murmansk Region came
into being due to the discovery of the world's largest deposit of
apatite, a raw mineral used in the production of phosphorus mineral
fertilizers, in the 1920s. In turn, exploration and development of
coal reserves in the basin of the Pechora River led to the appearance
of the city of Vorkuta.
The city of Norilsk
sprang up as part of an ambitious Arctic project aimed to establish
an industrial area in the Arctic. The development of adjacent
territories took place parallel to the construction of the city of
Norilsk and the Mining and Metallurgical Company "Norilsk
Nickel". The construction of the Ust-Khantaika HPP and the
development of the Messoyakhskoye oil and gas field were among the
projects that concentrated around Norilsk as a core element of the
social and industrial infrastructure that was built around it.
As a result, Norilsk
has developed into a top-ranked administrative center with a
high-level servicing and management system and a balanced internal
environment. There are no equivalents of the city of Norilsk and the
Norilsk Industrial Area elsewhere. MMC Norilsk Nickel was part of a
group that united a number of plants throughout the country on the
basis of a common copper-nickel sulfide ores processing technology.
The history of the
development of the Russian Arctic can match or even surpass the scope
of building major construction projects in the Soviet Union. An
equivalent of two annual budgets of the Soviet Union was spent on the
construction of the city of Norilsk and MMC Norilsk Nickel and its
infrastructure.
Equally hefty
investments went into the creation of transport infrastructure,
including ports, roads, airlines, and railways, which were necessary
to ensure the functioning of the Northern Sea Route.
The creation of
industrial and social infrastructure of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous
District in the 1970s made a special chapter in the history of the
exploration of the Arctic. Given that the district abounded in gas
and oil reserves, it was important to build oil and gas facilities,
thousands of kilometers of trunk pipe lines, power plants and roads.
At present, the ambitious plans for Yamal's gas reserves have opened
a new chapter in the industrial development of the region.
Source: Voice of
Russia
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