Vostochno-Bulandinsky Quarry

Vostochno-Bulandinsky Quarry (Восточно-Буландинский карьер) is an old iron-ore pit in the Chelyabinsk region, in the Satka municipal district, on the eastern slope of the Bulandikha ridge, near the village of Tyazhyoly. The quarry has long been closed and is now a pit partly filled with water of an unusual colour.

History

The quarry was part of the Bakal mining administration and belonged to the Irkuskan mine. Originally there were two separate pits here, Vostochny (Eastern) and Bulandinsky, which were eventually merged into one working. The combined quarry had a designed capacity of 1.1 million tons of raw ore per year, with planned dimensions of 1,900 by 500 metres and a depth of up to 370 metres.

The deposit yielded siderite, with reserves estimated at about 12.8 million tons, and brown iron ore, with reserves of around 615,000 tons. Waste rock was piled up as spoil heaps on Mount Bulandikha; according to local historians, an old quartzite plant ended up buried under one of these heaps.

Mining stopped in 1996, when the quarry was put into wet mothballing. Since then the pit has gradually been filling with water on its own.

Today

Vostochno-Bulandinsky Quarry is now a deep pit with steep ledges, its bottom covered by water of an unusual dark turquoise colour. With its bare rock walls and almost no vegetation, the landscape is often compared to that of Mars.

The site is known among tourists and off-road drivers: stages of the nationwide "Yuzhny Ural" (South Urals) car rally are held here.

Getting there

The quarry can be reached by car along dirt roads from the village of Tyazhyoly. From the usual parking spot it takes about a ten-minute walk to reach the edge of the pit itself.