#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. It was the merchant Sotnikov who broke the first adit on mount Rudnaya, opened the vein and mined the first ‘copper’ ore. The content of other metals in it was not yet known at that time.
During the development of the Norilsk deposit, in 1937, in order to develop a rich chalcopyrite vein, tunneling of adits began at the same place. The ores of this rich deposit were distinguished by high contents of nickel, copper and platinoids. In those years, all the adits in Norilsk were nameless and had only serial numbers. In 1940, that promising one was the very first to be transformed into mine 2/4, which was then named – the Morozov’s mine.
Morozov was the secretary of the Taimyr district party committee. He died in 1938 at the Kayerkan railway station in a train crash. According to recollections, the accident happened on the way from Dudinka, as a result narrow-gauge cars caught fire. Prisoners dragged Morozov out of the car, but he died due to extensive burns.
Later, the mine bearing Morozov’s name was combined with another and gave them a common name Taimyr (not to be confused with its Talnah namesake). In the 1960s, the former Morozov’s mine was completely closed, as its reserves were depleted.
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Text: Svetlana Samokhina, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
