#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. We have forgotten that many years ago the Imangdinskoye deposit was considered Norilsk-3, and geologists are still confident that it is underexplored and, possibly, will be on a par with the ore-bearing intrusions of Norilsk and Talnah.
Geologists Speit and Komarov found signs of a disseminated platinum-bearing sulfide ores deposit at Imangda back in 1940. In 1941, the search work continued, and the first house appeared on Imangda. An order was issued to create a geological exploration party in the area. But it was possible to bring technical cargo and food to the remote river only in the spring – on reindeer.
In April, a drilling rig engine started rattling there for the first time. Imangda turned out to be difficult to reach, but unique. In addition to sulfide ores, a rich coal deposit, gypsum, limestone, flux sandstone were found there. There were even forecasts for the possible oil-bearing capacity of the area.
But what is most interesting, in the same 1942, magnetite deposits were discovered there. There was a hope that Norilsk will get its own iron ore base. In 1943, the possibility of building a steel plant and a railway to it on Imangda was seriously considered.
In the 1950s, there were already two full-fledged geological settlements on Imangda: Imangda-Rudnaya and Imangda-Ugolnaya. They were inaccessible even by Norilsk standards: only all-terrain vehicles could drive along the impassable valley of the Rybnaya river.
Imangda’s inaccessibility outweighed all the explored reserves of ores and coal. Geological exploration was suspended several times, but geologists stubbornly returned to Imangda in the 1950s, and in the 1970s, and even in the early 1990s. The prospects of the region have not yet been fully disclosed, the ores are too deeply hidden there.
In the last issue of the History spot photo project, we talked about how the medical school in Norilsk began with 12 desks and a skeleton model.
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Text: Svetlana Samohina, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
