Known as the “richest gold mine in the world,” this abundant resource remains incredibly difficult to exploit.
The Kubol Gold Mine in eastern Russia is one of the highest-grade gold mines in the world, with estimated mineral reserves of up to 4,500 tons. It has long been dubbed the “richest gold mine in the world.”
However, despite the abundant gold resources here, the Kubol Gold Mine has not been successfully exploited even after more than 80 years since its discovery.
Estimated mineral reserves at the Kubol mine reach 4,500 tons. (Illustrative image).
The Russians discovered the existence of this gold mine as early as the 1940s, and the entire region is also filled with other gold mines.
Nonetheless, exploiting this “huge treasure” has proven to be incredibly difficult and remains unsolved, even with the advent of many new supporting technologies. Despite the desire to utilize this natural resource, various challenges have hindered progress.
Extreme Geographic Conditions
More than a decade ago, the Russian government sent workers to build a road leading to the Kubol Gold Mine, spending a vast amount of money to start constructing a residential area near the mine and implementing generous welfare policies to attract more workers to mine the gold.
The government’s initial measures had some effect. Many people traveled long distances to move to Kubol—a freezing land of ice and snow—to live and work. The lowest temperatures here can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Mining in such extremely low temperatures is extraordinarily challenging.
Mining in extremely low-temperature environments is very difficult. (Illustrative image).
In addition, the geographic environment surrounding the gold mine is quite complex, with rugged terrain and inconvenient transportation, located 200 km from the nearest city, making it inaccessible by conventional vehicles. Each winter, the only road leading to the Kubol Gold Mine becomes blocked by ice and snow. Consequently, after a while, life and mining activities faced too many difficulties, leading to a significant decrease in the number of workers.
In a land dominated by ice, the harsh natural conditions are such that most living beings find it hard to survive, let alone humans.
Difficult Working Conditions
Another issue is that due to its high latitude, nights are very long here. Sunlight reaching the gold mine is scarce, limiting working hours significantly.
After many years of heavy rainfall, the rock inside the mine has become so hard that even electric drills cannot penetrate it. During the mining process, many tools have also been damaged. Furthermore, difficult access means that tools and machinery delivered by plane are very limited, resulting in slow mining progress.
The rock inside the mine has become so hard that even electric drills are ineffective. (Illustrative image).
It can be said that the environment and working conditions for miners are extremely poor. Workers must work continuously for 12 hours a day, even in darkness. Many have faced physical issues and had to give up. Additionally, gold mining carries risks of oxygen deficiency and tunnel explosions, which means fewer and fewer people are brave enough to work at Kubol.
In reality, there are many mines around the world, like the Kubol Gold Mine, that cannot be exploited or are difficult to exploit due to harsh natural conditions. However, the resource of 4,500 tons of gold should not be wasted uselessly. The Russian government is still actively brainstorming various methods to overcome the challenges at the Kubol Gold Mine. Currently, the anticipated solution involves technological advancements, utilizing machinery and robots to mine gold instead of relying solely on human labor.
