Chukotka, a region revived in the last eight years by the $2.5 billion investment of Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich, produced a fifth of Russia’s gold in the first half of this year. Gold is the region’s passport to growth after Abramovich quit as governor last July.
Only South Africa holds more gold than Russia, but Moscow’s fragmented industry has struggled to access vast reserves in its inhospitable Far East. The region was first mined in the 1930s by prisoners of the Gulags set up by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
Senior Commodities Correspondent Robin Paxton and Moscow-based video journalist Heleen van Geest return from the Chukchi Peninsula with a series on the revival of gold mining in the Gulag region.
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Informative article. Calling Alaska home the remote mines fierce weather conditions are no big thing. You work inside mostly, and learn to deal with the weather. I think that Russia should get the gold out and allow their people to share in the wealth. In the US we have a lot of people who want no progress, no mining, no fishing, and no oil production. I call them the Know Nothing people.
- Posted by f belz