[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Centre]

The Upper Don Department of Rostekhnadzor suspended the operation of technical equipment at Mikhailovsky GOK named after A.V. Varichev, 8 June 2025

The Upper Don Department of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) has completed the investigation into a serious workplace accident that occurred at the hazardous production facility “Open-pit mine (quarry)” of JSC Mikhailovsky GOK named after A.V. Varichev.

During the investigation, and in accordance with the conclusion of the expert organization that carried out the technical assessment, it was established that the equipment was being operated with serious violations, including:

• detachment of fragments of longitudinal bracket loops; deformation and partial breakage of elements of the longitudinal side canopy;
  
• missing support elements of the body and destruction of the fastening of the supporting strip of the traction clamp;
  
• in violation of the operating documentation, the brake shoe axle was shifted by more than 20 mm; the distance between the closed longitudinal side and the end wall increased by more than 200 mm; wear of the holes in the longitudinal side brackets exceeded 20 mm;
  
• absence of the pin connecting the balancer to the bogie side frame;
  
• wear of the lugs of the pneumatic cylinder rod pins;
  
• deformation of the transverse beams of the body floor, multiple cracks, including a crack up to 1,200 mm in the lower flange of the center sill beam, etc.
  

The legal entity was held administratively liable under Part 3 of Article 9.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, resulting in the suspension of the operation of 11 technical units for 30 days.