CHECK-SU

CHEK-SU company is engaged in a project whose goal is to create an industrial complex capable of providing Russian metallurgy with manganese. This metal is used in the production of various steels and special alloys. The start of production is strategically important ^[2] for Russia, since now the steel industry is 100% dependent on imports of manganese metal. This metal is included in the “Plan of measures for import substitution in the iron and steel industry of the Russian Federation” ^[3] , approved by order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia dated March 31, 2015, as a key type of product. The design capacity of the mining and metallurgical complex is 80,000 tons of electrolytic metal manganese per year. This volume will allow Russia to completely ^[4] refuse to purchase this raw material abroad.
According to the project, the complex includes a number of facilities located in the Republic of Khakassia and the Kemerovo region: the Usinsk deposit of manganese ore, which is the largest in Russia, the mining and processing plant (GOK) attached to it, a plant near the village of Tuim, Shirinsky district of Khakassia, a technological road (105 km). In particular, a highway was built from the border of the Kemerovo region to the Usinsky field.

The Usinsk manganese ore deposit was discovered by geologist Konstantin Vladimirovich Radugin in 1939. It is located 90 km from Novokuznetsk. According to an initial estimate based solely on visual studies, manganese ore reserves exceeded 100 million tons. A detailed exploration then showed that Radugin correctly estimated the size of the field. For his discovery, the scientist was awarded the Stalin Prize of the II degree.
The Usinskoye deposit is the largest ^[5] in Russia: it contains 55% of all manganese ore reserves in the Russian Federation (actual reserves at the GKZ - 128 million tons). It is great even by the standards of the CIS and takes the fourth place among those being developed. According to estimates, these reserves will be enough for more than 100 years of production.
In 2005, CHEK-SU acquired a license to develop the field. This license allows mining of manganese ores for 20 years and can be extended.
The volume of the field’s reserves was approved by the State Committee for Mineral Reserves in 2007, and in 2011 the field’s reserves were estimated ^[6] by IMC Montan according to international JORC standards.
The Usinsk deposit is planned to be developed by open pit mining. After 45 years of open cast mining in the bowels of the deposit, it is estimated that more than half of the ore reserves will remain.

The CHEK-SU project involves the construction of a mining and processing complex directly at the field. The mine will produce manganese concentrate for the plant, which is planned to be built in the Shirinsky district of the Republic of Khakassia.
The design capacity of the GOK will be ^[7] 750 thousand tons of raw ore (manganese content 19-24%) or about 400 thousand tons of concentrate per year (100 thousand tons of oxidized ore concentrates and 300 thousand tons of carbonate ore concentrates with manganese content of about 35%) .
According to preliminary data ^[8], about 600 people will work at the field.

The CHEK-SU plant for the production of manganese metal will be located ^[9] 2 km from the village of Tuim in Khakassia. On it, manganese concentrate from GOK will be processed into metallic manganese by electrolysis. The production capacity of the plant is 80,000 tons per year.
In the spring of 2015, CHEK-SU signed ^[10] a general contract for the construction of a plant with the Chinese company Sinosteel, one of the largest Chinese state-owned companies. The high environmental and production standards adopted by the company allowed Sinosteel to pass the competitive selection conducted by CHEK-SU. The plant will use the latest technology for the production of metal manganese, which does not require smelting furnaces.

“The construction of the plant will be (carried out) only if all the conditions are mandatory and the necessary licensing procedures are passed with a firm guarantee of environmental safety” ^[11] , - Head of Khakassia Viktor Zimin.

Manganese concentrate from the Usinsky GOK will be delivered to the plant with special four-axle dump trucks ^[7] with all the necessary precautions.
It is estimated that more than 1,000 people will work at the plant. It is also planned to create related infrastructure in the village of Tuim ^[12] .

CHEK-SU pays a lot of attention to environmental issues and the safety of its project, as well as informing the public: regular meetings are held with the public ^[13] and open online conferences ^{[14] [15]} , caring citizens can personally come to the company’s offices ^[16] and Get answers to your questions.
The project for the development of the deposit and the Usinsky GOK was approved by the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia in 2010 and 2012 ^[13] , and was also considered by the Moscow Vernadsky Institute. Design documentation of the plant will be sent to Glavgosekspetriza and the State Environmental Expertise in 2017.
In 2015, Vnesheconombank initiated yet another, optional verification of the Usinsk deposit development project, which was carried out by SHANEKO ^[17] . Her experts also considered that the project meets the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection.
From the zero stage, that is, even before the start of construction, the CHEK-SU project will regularly monitor the state of the environment based on samples of groundwater and surface water, atmosphere, soil, and vegetation. Streams flowing into Usu in the area of ​​the deposit will be diverted from quarries to reduce the volume of runoff. The difference in heights will not allow the runoff of the Usa River to interact with mining, the hydrological regime of the river will remain unchanged. Precipitation at the production sites will be directed to treatment plants with multicomponent filters.
For blasting, emulsion explosives and a multi-shot short-delay blasting method will be used, which will significantly reduce gas and dust emissions. Also, before blasting, the array will be irrigated.
The GOK will use purely mechanical technology for the processing of oxide and carbonate ore , without any chemical reagents and heat treatment.
The territory of the future construction of the plant is currently in a natural state and is separated from the village of Tuim by a forest that will become part of the sanitary protection zone.
The water recycling system of the plant ^[18] guarantees the absence of any liquid effluents. In the technological process, atmospheric precipitation will fall into the storage ponds at the industrial site. The plant will produce manganese from manganese concentrate in a chemical way, without the participation of smelters. All possible atmospheric emissions of gases and vapors, including from the ventilation system of the workshops, will undergo mandatory cleaning ^[13] .
The compact location of the plant's workshops will allow the use of a minimum of land resources. A sludge storage facility with a geomembrane for dry non-toxic sludge will be built on a specially prepared area. It is also likely that in the future, the sludge will go to a cement plant for the production of cement.

• Official site (inaccessible link)