How gold is mined (31 photos)
In the late 1920s, huge reserves of gold were discovered in the Aldan River basin in Yakutia. Naturally, the prisoners had to develop these lands, build settlements and mine gold. During the Great Patriotic War, the Ynykchanskaya artel alone produced more than 5 tons of gold per year. Now dozens of villages along the Aldan River are abandoned. Some, such as Ynykchan, Brindakit and Zvezdochka, are closed and are gradually being demolished. The soil on which the villages stood is being washed away in search of gold, and gray mountains of soil and stones remain in the place of the villages. The village of Solnechny is home to 800 residents. Most of them are somehow connected with gold mining.
1. Summer 2010, Ynykchan, Yakutia. Gold mined in one day. The fang-shaped nugget weighs 12 grams.
2. The landscape that the dredge leaves behind. This is the bed of the Aldan River.
3. The only working “shagar” in the area. Used for “stripping” - removing the fertile layer of soil (waste rock).
4. In the excavator cabin.
5. Boom 30 meters high.
6. Washing of gold-bearing rock.
7. Solnechny village.
8. Before the village administration.
9. Planning meeting.
10. Lunch. Always on time and always delicious.
11. Washing the concentrate.
12. Finishing gold. Pebbles and debris are removed with a brush.
13. Daily catch.
14. Search for gold markers.
15. Gold flakes are retained on the cellular rubber.
16. “Shooting.” Once a day, the deck is opened and the concentrate (gold with soil) is removed.
17. Night work.
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21. Smoke break on the “device”.
22. Assembly of complex units on the knee.
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24. Once every two weeks there is a disco in the only gym in the village.
25. Solnechny village in the morning.
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29. Workers of the gold reception desk.
30. The map of pits in the Ynykchan area has been maintained since the 30s.
31. Abandoned village of Ynykchan. At one time the largest in the area.
