Arktikugol
| Arktikugol | |
|---|---|
| legal form | FGUP , state trust |
| founding | 1932 |
| Seat | Barentsburg , Svalbard, Norway |
| Branch | Mining |
| Website | http://www.arcticugol.ru/ |
Arktikugol ( Russian Арктикуголь , in German: arctic coal ; often Trust Arktikugol ; also Arcticugol ) is a coal mining company owned by the Russian (formerly Soviet ) state, which is located in Barentsburg on Svalbard ( Norway ). Arktikugol is heavily subsidized by the Russian government.
history
Soviet activities begin
After the Svalbard Treaty on February 9, 1920 granted all countries that signed this treaty equal rights to mine natural resources, the Soviet Union passed the first resolution on its interests in coal mining in the north on July 29 of this year .
The mines in Pyramiden were first exploited by a Swedish company, in 1917 they became part of the SpetsbergenSvenska Kolflt . The Anglo Russian Grumant Company was active in Grumantbyen from 1920 to 1926 and bought the Swedish company in 1926. Soyuzljesprom signed an agreement on June 12, 1931, as a result of which they took over the Anglorussian company in its entirety. Experimental mining operations began in Barentsburg in 1900, and the NV Nederlandsche SpitzbergenCompagnie (Nespico) was active here from 1921 to 1932 . In 1932 this mining facility finally came into the possession of the Russian company.
Origin and development of the trust
On July 30, 1931, Sergei Bergavinow, the head of the Soyuzljesprom company, suggested that the Soviet coal plants on Spitsbergen be reorganized into a trust. On September 25 of this year, Grigory Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze , chairman of the National Economic Council, presented the Soviet commissioners with a proposal for the establishment of the Arktikugol Trust, which was adopted on October 7, 1931. The statutes were signed on the same day; Moscow became the seat of the trust .
From 1941 to 1947 all mines were closed. The mines in Grumantbyen were then in operation until 1961, in 1998 the pyramids mines were closed due to poor economic efficiency. The settlement was completely preserved, but became a ghost town.
Current
Today Arktikugol is the only non-Norwegian mining company on Svalbard. The annual output of coal, around 120,000 tons, is considered unprofitable; Russia is still sticking to Spitsbergen, among other things in order to be able to use the deep fjords for its submarines. Arktikugol is currently planning to open a new mine in Colesbukta (between Longyearbyen and Barentsburg near Grumant , Norwegian: Grumantbyen), in the vicinity of which another (non-Russian) mine was closed in 1962. This project is controversial due to the ecological importance of the area and the rich tundra vegetation there, but has been approved by the Norwegian side. The company's own research station considers the road leading to the new mine to be the only possible problem for the environment - since the coal should not be transported by land but by ship, this environmental risk would also be avoided. Artikugol plans to open this mine in 2010 and wants to increase the annual production to more than half a million tons of coal, which is still well below the brand of Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, which mines around three million tons of coal per year. The new mine is expected to be in operation for 50 to 60 years.
On October 17, 2006, Norwegian inspectors discovered a smoldering underground fire in Barentsburg. An outbreak of an open fire was feared, as a result of which all of Barentsburg would have had to be evacuated for an indefinite period of time. Problems in the environment could not be ruled out either. On November 3, the fire appeared to be under control, but there are doubts that Arktikugol would be able to deal with such problems due to poor equipment. This is also not the only recent incident: 141 people were killed in a plane crash in 1996, around 20 Russian miners died in an explosion in September 1997, and on March 30, 2008 two Russian and one Ukrainian workers were killed in a Mi crash -8 -Helicopter company-owned died after it got caught in a gust of wind during the landing maneuver.
Work and life in society
The workers receive a two-year contract when they join the company. If both sides are satisfied, the workers can stay as long as they want after this time has elapsed. For the miners, the company operates its own housing estate in socialist prefabricated building architecture, in which almost 500 people live, including a few children and around 100 women. The latter find a job in a factory that makes Norwegian costumes. A revitalization of the mines in Grumant could double the population of the settlement Arktikugol to about 1000. In addition to a research station, Arktikugol also operates a canteen, a supermarket and a hotel.
While the mine workers in Arktikugol were still privileged in Soviet times, the lives of the approximately 600 workers today are characterized by extreme isolation, and flights to Murmansk and subsidies from the motherland are becoming increasingly rare. Most of the workers working today come from the Ukraine and earn barely a tenth of the workers at Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, the Norwegian company in Longyearbyen, but more than in other mines in the former USSR.
Own currency
The Arktikugol society had its own currency (rubles and copecks), which is often referred to as the northernmost in the world. Arktikugol coins and banknotes are rare and in demand with collectors. Banknotes exist in two series (1961 and 1979), coins from the 20th century in three (1946, 1993, 1998), the series from 1998 never being in circulation. The coins from 1993 had to be taken out of circulation after a few months, as Norway complained that the imprint of Российская Федерация (“Russian Federation”) and Шпицберген (“ Svalbard ”) gave the impression that the archipelago belonged to Russia. The coins were minted in St. Petersburg ; the first two series are considered tokens . Two commemorative coins for the Kursk accident and for the terrorist attacks in New York are known from 2001, but their status as a coin has been questioned. Postage stamps were also printed for Arktikugol.
Today, payment transactions in the company's own markets and canteens are cashless using chip cards, and workers only receive wages minus these expenses at the end of their employment relationship.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Svalbard Paper Money, Trust Arctic Coal (Arktikugol) 1931 Issues ( Memento of the original from May 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from numismondo.com, accessed March 12, 2017
- ^ Island Railways north of Europe at narrow-gauge.co.uk, last accessed October 30, 2008
- ^ Coal in the Ice - Mining on Svalbard ( Memento from February 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Spitzbergen today: Settlements and stations on spitzbergen.de, last accessed on January 14, 2012
- ↑ a b c d Tagesspiegel : Hot on ice - a boat trip around Spitsbergen , last accessed on May 19, 2008
- ↑ a b c Russian Coal Firm Aims to Reopen Arctic Mine on reuters.com, last accessed on January 23, 2016
- ↑ a b Grønfjord / Barentsburg-Colesdalen-Grumantbyen on spitzbergen.de, last accessed on January 14, 2012
- ↑ a b c Russian Coal Firm Aims to Reopen Arctic Mine , at planetark.org, last accessed on May 19, 2008
- ↑ International Herald Tribune : Smoldering coal waste on remote Arctic islands could threaten of Russian settlement , last accessed on May 5, 2008
- ↑ Aftenposten : Alvorlig i Barentsburg brann accessed, last 5 May 2008
- ↑ a b German hard coal : coal in ice - mining on Spitzbergen ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 233 kB), last accessed on May 5, 2008
- ^ A b St. Petersburg Times : Wealth Divides Two Arctic Mining Towns , last accessed on May 5, 2008
- ↑ Helicopter crashes in the Svalbards , on sikunews.com, last accessed on May 19, 2008
- ↑ z. B. from Adolf Kosel KG
- ↑ a b Arktikugol on janeriks.no, last accessed on May 5, 2008
- ↑ coinpeople.com ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 19, 2008
- ↑ 2001 Standard Catalog of World Coins. 28th edition. Page 1730
- ↑ train-coins.ru ( memento of November 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), last accessed on May 5, 2008
- ↑ briefmarken.delcampe.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 5, 2008
- ↑ Russia.ru : Icy memories of the Soviet Union ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 19, 2008
