[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Centre]

Ecological and geochemical assessment of the state of the Urup River in the area of the Urupsky Mining and Processing Plant, 7 July 2025

The article is devoted to a comprehensive ecological and geochemical assessment of the condition of the Urup River within the impact zone of the decommissioned tailings storage facility of the Urup Mining and Processing Plant.

Based on the research conducted, the following conclusions can be drawn. At present, the geo-ecological situation in the area affected by the Urupsky Mining and Processing Plant is complex, with almost all components of the natural environment having been subjected to contamination. The negative impact has become irreversible. More than 30 years of deposit exploitation has disrupted the natural balance and turned the entire area into a zone with high anthropogenic pressure and a significant level of risk for human activity and the normal existence of local flora and fauna.

Within the territory of the Urupsky Mining and Processing Plant, changes have occurred in the ecological condition of water bodies: the quality of water and bottom sediments in the Urup River has deteriorated as a result of contamination from mine water and industrial effluents. The results of water studies in the Urup River show that the water quality class ranges from VII – “extremely dirty” (monitoring points at the settlements of Urup and Yubileyny and the station of Pregradnaya), which is caused by the influence of runoff from the tailings storage facility, to V – “dirty” (the stations of Peredovaya and Udobnaya – Sanykov farm).

At monitoring points 4–6, the values of the Water Pollution Index (WPI) change by 2.5 times – from class VI water quality, “very dirty” (Besskorbnaya station), to class V. A slight increase in WPI values at monitoring point 6 (Besskorbnaya station) is due to the discharge of untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater from municipal utilities.

Patterns of chemical element migration in the “tailings storage – aquatic environment” system in the area of the copper-pyrite deposit were identified. Toxic elements in water solutions and dust particles spread beyond the boundaries of the tailings storage facility, forming pollution halos that lead to the development of technogenic and biogeochemical anomalies. Elevated background levels of manganese, copper, iron, and other elements are also explained by the fact that rocks in the area contain significant amounts of these elements.

The majority of pollutants accumulate in bottom sediments, as evidenced by high coefficients of bottom accumulation and a high total pollution index. In this regard, it can be concluded that there is a very serious level of chronic pollution of the Urup River in the area influenced by the mining and processing plant.