Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine

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The Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine was a uranium processing plant in the Soviet Union. [1] It was founded in 1945 in Leninabad, Tajikistan, as a hydro-metallurgical uranium enterprise to exploit uranium deposits across Central Asia. [2] It was the first plant in the Soviet Union to produce yellowcake (a concentrated form of uranium). [3]

Contents

The plant provided material for the Soviet Union's defense and power industries, and contributed to the production of its first nuclear bomb test. [4] By 1953, it annually processed up to 1,000,000 tons of uranium ore. Operations stopped in 1992 when uranium mining ceased in Tajikistan. The plant left an environmental impact by dispersing radioactive waste into the surrounding areas, which has posed health hazards to nearby communities. Its successor, IA Vostokredmet, focuses on underground metal heap leaching. [5] [6]

Establishment and operations

The origins of the plant trace back to 1925, when a uranium deposit was discovered in Taboshary. [7] In 1943, an experimental radium production center was established near Leninabad. [8] By resolution of the State Defense Committee, the plant was established on May 15, 1945. [9] [10] In 1946, Chkalovsk was built within 10 kilometers of the plant [11] to support it. [12] [13] During the Soviet period, it was a strategically important location and classified as a closed city. The Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine comprised seven mines and five processing plants [14] for the extraction and enrichment of uranium ore, [15] becoming the first Soviet plant to produce yellowcake. [3]

The uranium ore was mined domestically from deposits such as Adrasmon and Taboshar in Tajikistan, [16] as well as from neighboring regions including Kyzyl-Jhar, Mayluu-Suu, Shekaftar, Töömoyun in Kyrgyzstan, [17] [18] and the Fergana Valley. [2] Most of the mining and transportation operations were performed manually, [19] with ore transported by donkeys and camels along the trails of the Pamir Mountains. [20] After processing, the enriched uranium was transported to a facility in the Ural region. [21]

From 1945 to 1950, the plant also treated uranium concentrates imported from East Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, making it a hub for Soviet uranium enrichment. [22] By 1947, it had processed 176,600 tons of uranium ore, and 66 tons of uranium, [23] producing yellowcake for Soviet nuclear power [24] and the production of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb test. [25] [26] [23] By 1953, its annual processing capacity had expanded to process 1,000,000 tons of uranium ore to produce over 400 tons of uranium. [27]

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the cessation of uranium mining in Tajikistan in 1992, IA Vostokredmet succeeded the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine, and specializes in heap leaching of ferromolybdenum, gold, and silver. [5] [6] [28]

Environmental impact

Uranium waste was returned to the rural spaces, and the valuable material was transported to Kazakhstan and Russia. [29] The plant's operations dispersed approximately 550 million tons of radioactive waste across nearby settlements, and polluted at least 180 hectares of land. [30] [31] Among the most notable tailing sites is the Digmai dump, located a few kilometers from Khujand, in the plains, posing an environmental threat. [32] Unaware of uranium dangers, Chkalovsk residents housed livestock on waste sites and learned the risks when sheep drinking pond water collapsed and died. [33]

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References

  1. ↑ Laruelle, Marlène (2015). Globalizing Central Asia: geopolitics and the challenges of economic development. Sebastien Peyrouse. London New York: Routledge. p. 207. ISBN   978-0-7656-3505-1.
  2. 1 2 "Leninabad region, Tajikistan: districts and cities". en.delachieve.com. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  3. 1 2 "PANNIER: Central Asia can aim for big league in critical raw materials | Newsbase". newsbase.com. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
  4. ↑ Bauer, Susanne (2022). "5". Tracing the Atom: Nuclear Legacies in Russia and Central Asia. Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe Series. Tanja Penter. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 90. ISBN   978-1-000-57801-0.
  5. 1 2 Kurç, Çağlar; Bitzinger, Richard A.; Neuman, Stephanie G. (September 2023). Defence Industries in the 21st Century A Comparative Analysis. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9780367554354. the Vostokredmet plant in Chkalovsk, the successor of the Soviet Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine
  6. 1 2 Egorov, Nikolai N.; Novikov, Vladimir M.; Parker, Frank L.; Popov, Victor K. (2014). The Radiation Legacy of the Soviet Nuclear Complex: An Analytical Overview. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p. 16. ISBN   978-1-134-19714-9. The Industrial Association Eastern Combine for Rare-Earth Metals (IA Vostokredmet) was established on the basis of the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine
  7. ↑ Nuclear Energy Agency, ed. (2002). Uranium 2001: Resources, production and demand (19 ed.). Paris: OECD. p. 273. ISBN   978-92-64-19823-4.
  8. ↑ "Таджикистан возобновляет переработку урана". Izvestia. June 14, 2009. [the first experimental plant in 1943 produced radium by hand.]
  9. ↑ "Руководство секретного таджикского завода посадили за измену родине". Lenta.RU (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-12-28. [The uranium mining and processing plant was established in May 1945]
  10. ↑ Kolosov, V. A.; Vendina, Olʹga; Institut geografii (Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk), eds. (2011). Rossiĭsko-Ukrainskoe pogranichʹe: dvadt︠s︡atʹ let razdelennogo edinstva. Sot︠s︡ialʹnoe prostranstvo (in Russian). Moskva: Novyĭ khronograf. p. 275. ISBN   978-5-94881-159-8. [Resolution of the State Defense Committee of the USSR on the creation of the Mining and Chemical Combine No. 6 was adopted in the first days after the end of the Great Patriotic War – 15 May 1945.]
  11. ↑ The History of the Soviet Atomic Industry. CRC Press. 23 September 2019. p. 188. ISBN   9780367395926.
  12. ↑ Автор (2017-09-05). "На севере Таджикистана демонтировали последний памятник Ленину". Радио Азаттык (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-12-29. [The city of Chkalovsk was founded in 1946 as a settlement near the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine.]
  13. ↑ "140 км проржавевших труб. Власти Бустона назвали причины проблем с водоснабжением в городе | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus". asiaplustj.info. Retrieved 2024-12-29. [the city of Chkalovsk was built up for the needs of the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine]
  14. ↑ Ilʹkaev, R. I.; Rossiĭskiĭ federalʹnyĭ i︠a︡dernyĭ t︠s︡entr--VNIIĖF, eds. (2004). Sozdateli i︠a︡dernogo oruzhii︠a︡: KB-11 (RFI︠A︡T︠S︡-VNIIĖF). Sarov: RFI︠A︡T︠S︡-VNIIĖF. p. 10. ISBN   978-5-9515-0005-2. [It consisted of seven mines and five enrichment plants.]
  15. ↑ Atomnyj proekt SSSR. T. 2,6: Atomnaja bomba 1945 - 1954. 2006. p. 774. ISBN   978-5-85165-402-2. [The complex was composed of mines and plants for uranium extraction from ores and production of concentrates.]
  16. ↑ "Exploration of two uranium fields completed in Tajikistan | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus". old.asiaplustj.info. Retrieved 2025-01-15. Mines in Taboshar and Adrasman provided uranium to the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine
  17. ↑ Egamberdieva, Dilfuza; Birkeland, Nils-Kåre; Li, Wen-Jun; Panosyan, Hovik, eds. (2021). Microbial communities and their interactions in the extreme environment. Microorganisms for sustainability. Singapore: Springer. p. 118, 319. ISBN   978-981-16-3731-5. Tyuya-Muyun Mine - Enterprise No. 15", "The main facilities for the extraction and processing of radioactive ores in Kyrgyzstan include the enterprises of the former Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine in Mailuu-Suu, Shekaftar, Kyzyl-Dzhar;
  18. ↑ Olcott, Martha B. (2012). Tajikistan's Difficult Development Path. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 212. ISBN   978-0-87003-273-8.
  19. ↑ "Смерть в наследство. Почему в Таджикистане не могут захоронить советские урановые отходы". ia-centr.ru (in Russian). 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2025-01-11. [up to 90% of all operations on mining, transportation and processing were carried out by hand.]
  20. ↑ The History of the Soviet Atomic Industry. CRC Press. 23 September 2019. p. 188. ISBN   9780367395926. uranium ore was brought to the processing plant through the Pamir mountain pathways in bags attached to donkeys and camels.
  21. ↑ А. Самохин, А. (2021). Записки пациента. Russia: Litres. ISBN   5043385235. [it was enriched and sent to the factory in the Urals.]
  22. ↑ Nuclear Energy Agency, ed. (2002). Uranium 2001: Resources, production and demand (19 ed.). Paris: OECD. p. 274. ISBN   978-92-64-19823-4.
  23. 1 2 "Смерть в наследство. Почему в Таджикистане не могут захоронить советские урановые отходы". Фергана.Ру. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  24. ↑ "Uranium in Uzbekistan - World Nuclear Association". world-nuclear.org. Retrieved 2025-01-15. to produce yellowcake for the Soviet nuclear power
  25. ↑ "The Legacy of Soviet Nuclear Industry in Tajikistan: Opportunities and Challenges". jamestown.org. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  26. ↑ "Кыргызстанский торий может потеснить уран | Экономика | Информационный портал Кыргызстана KGinform". kginform.com. Retrieved 2024-12-29. [It was here that the first nuclear reactor in the Union was launched and the first Soviet atomic bomb was made.]
  27. ↑ "Смерть в наследство. Почему в Таджикистане не могут захоронить советские урановые отходы". Фергана.Ру. Retrieved 2025-01-11. [in 1953 it reached the processing capacity of one million tons of ore per year, of which more than 400 tons of uranium were produced.]
  28. ↑ "Tajikistan Overview". The Nuclear Threat Initiative. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  29. ↑ Bauer, Susanne; Penter, Tanja, eds. (2022). Tracing the atom: nuclear legacies in Russia and Central Asia. Routledge histories of Central and Eastern Europe. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-032-16050-4.
  30. ↑ Рао/Ро (2010-03-11). "Партобгоҳҳои фаромӯшшудаи маргбор". Радиои Озодӣ (in Tajik). Retrieved 2024-12-27. [In total, 10 radioactive waste sites have been registered in the Sughd region, covering 180 hectares of land, containing about 550 million tons of such radioactive waste.]
  31. ↑ Bauer, Susanne; Penter, Tanja, eds. (2022). Tracing the atom: nuclear legacies in Russia and Central Asia. Routledge histories of Central and Eastern Europe. London ; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN   978-1-003-24689-3. Over the years, approximately 550 million tons of radioactive waste were spread at nearby habitations, polluting at least 180 ha of land.
  32. ↑ Merkel, Broder; Hasche-Berger, Andrea (2008). Uranium, mining and hydrogeology. International Conference on Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology. Berlin: Springer. ISBN   978-3-540-87746-2.
  33. ↑ Bauer, Susanne (2022). Tracing the Atom: Nuclear Legacies in Russia and Central Asia. Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe Series. Tanja Penter. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN   978-1-000-57801-0.
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