Industrial landmark of the Sverdlovsk region. The quarry is located near the city of Asbest. Its length is 11 kilometers, width – 2.5 kilometers, depth – 350 meters. The giant moat produces a surprise effect. KAMAZ trucks are so small, tiny, like toys, in fact, I fit loosely on the wheel.
The quarry belongs to the Bazhenov deposit and is managed by the Uralasbest company. The extraction and processing plant traces its history back to 1889 and provides a complete cycle from extraction to finished products.
They brought us a new BelAZ and let us climb it. Think about it, the dump truck caused such a delight among adults! A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the plant in Zhodino where these super machines are made, but in a race, the giant makes an even bigger impression.
The Bazhenovskoye field is the largest in the world. The explored reserves will last approximately 120 years. Asbestos is the common name for a group of minerals, in this case we are talking about chrysotile. There is often a topic about the harmfulness of asbestos, without specifying the type. Chrysotile asbestos is considered safe, it does not contain amphiboles. Chemically, it is hydrated magnesium silicate. An interesting fact: chrysotile fibers are more resistant to tearing than steel wire.
I never noticed an interest in the stones, however, it just blows up the roof in the quarry. You go, you go, you go, you go, you go. And you are very happy when you find something green. This is serpentenite, also known as serpentine.
Above, I wrote that the quarry is located near the city of Asbest, in fact, this city of Asbest is located next to the quarry. The Ural Asbestos Mining and Processing Plant is a city-forming enterprise. Initially, the working settlement of Kudelka appeared, and in the 1930s it was given the status of a city. Unfortunately, the historic building has not been preserved, everything went to the quarry. The first palace of culture is no longer there, in the photographs it looks monumental, thus in the spirit of constructivism. The city park is now also located on the territory of the company. Asbest city was reborn several times, it is forced to move together with the quarry.
I made a short video to give you an idea of the scale. In addition to the Uralasbest plant, chrysotile is mined in Orenburg, as well as in Kazakhstan, Canada and Zimbabwe. Brazil seems to have exited the market. Uralasbest represents around 21% of world production. The production volume is 450 thousand tons per year. And this is not the limit, in 1976-1979 the quarry produced more than 1 million tons.
Asbestos is called mountain flax. It looks weird until you see it. The uniqueness of the Bazhenov deposit lies not only in the colossal reserves of chrysotile, but also in the fibers of different lengths. That is, you can get any brand from 0-7 chrysotile groups.
Asbestos is used in a wide variety of areas: in construction, the automotive industry, and rocket science. From it, roofing materials, pipes, brake pads, fire-resistant fabrics and much more are produced. The rock has a high content of magnesium, before everything went to the dumps, then magnesium salt and sports magnesia began to be produced.
After the quarry, we went to the Ecover plant to see how the thermal insulation panels are made. It looks like magic: they dug up the rock from the ground, heated it in the oven, fluffed it, pressed it, cut it into slabs – the insulation is ready.
The company “Uralasbest” was recently opened for visits. The tour was organized as part of the “Moscow through the eyes of an engineer” project. This is the “Ural Industrial” tour, description here. They usually have a lot of extraordinary. Easy to follow on social networks:
Telegram – https://t.me/engineerhistory
Vkontakte – https://vk.com/moscoweng
Odnoklassniki – https://ok.ru/group/59770443857945
Impossiblegram – @engineer-history.ru
In conclusion, a few more words about asbestos. The mineral has been known since ancient times. In Egypt and India, priests wore clothes made of asbestos cloth, which allowed them to pass through fire. The ancient historian Strabo wrote of “stones that are scratched like wool and spun into cloth.” They also tell a story about Peter I, who was shown the properties of his new snow-white tablecloth by Nikita Demidov. During the meal, he casually knocked over a glass of red wine. He immediately ripped the tablecloth off the table and threw it into the fireplace. He fried it there and there was not a single stain left on it. At that time, women’s hats, gloves, handbags, bags and lace were made from chrysotile asbestos. And what is convenient, you do not need to wash it, it is calcined, cooled and you can put it back.
Industrial landmark of the Sverdlovsk region. The quarry is located near the city of Asbest. Its length is 11 kilometers, width – 2.5 kilometers, depth – 350 meters. Giant Pit Produce…
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Source: IXBT
