Norilsk
city in Russia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Norilsk is a city in Krasnoyarsk Krai in Siberia, with almost 180,000 people. It lies about 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of the arctic circle, and over 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) north of Krasnoyarsk. There are many ore deposits in the region, especially nickel and copper. Mining ore is linked to heavy pollution of the environment. Norilsk was founded in 1935 as a site of industry, to be able to mine the ore. In 1939, the decision was taken to also build a city. Norilsk got the status of a city in 1953.
Norilsk is the northernmost city with more than 100.000 inhabitants. It is the second largest city within the arctic circle, only Murmansk is larger. Norilsk and Yakutsk are the only large cities built in the continuous permafrost zone. This means that even in summer, the ground remains frozen.
The nickel deposits of Norilsk-Talnakh are the largest-known nickel-copper-palladium deposits in the world. The smelting of the nickel ore is directly responsible for severe pollution, which generally comes in the form of acid rain and smog. By some estimates, one percent of global sulfur dioxide emission comes from Norilsk's nickel mines.[1]
Norilsk is a closed city. This means that a special permit is needed to be able to travel to Norilsk. This permit is issued both by the Russian government, and the local mining comany. Foreigners usually do not get this permit.