Sentachan Mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Sakha Republic | |
| Country | Russia |
| Coordinates | 66°27′58″N 136°55′05″E / 66.466°N 136.918°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Antimony, gold |
| History | |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Owner | |
| Company | GeoProMining |
The Sentachan Mine is an antimony and gold mine in the Sakha Republic, Russia. It is estimated that more than 110,000 tonnes (120,000 tons) of the ore remains, with around 20 to 25 percent antimony content as well as gold, silver and arsenic. The deposit at Sentachan was discovered in the 1960s and open-pit mining began in 1989; underground mining has been used since the late 1990s. In the 2020s, work was carried out to construct an ore processing plant on the site.
Ore
[edit]The antimony-bearing ore deposit at Sentachan is an offshoot of the Sarylakh deposit, located around 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the south-southeast.[1] The Quartz-Stibnite lodes were deposited in hydrothermal veins up to 6 metres (20 ft) thick.[2][1] The veins are held within Triassic sedimentary rock beds (sandstones, siltstones and shales), with granite intrusions. The geology shows that the area was subject to volcanic activity.[1]
The Sentachan deposit, taken with the Sarylakh ores, is the largest antimony deposit in Russia, comprising perhaps 5% of the world antimony supply.[1] Estimates of quantity and quality of the ore remaining at Sentachan vary between 110,000 tonnes (120,000 tons) and 180,000 tonnes (200,000 tons) and at antimony content of between 20 and 25%.[1][3] The gold content of the ore has been estimated at between 32 and 38.2 grams per tonne and the silver content at 13.4 grams per tonne.[1] The deposits also contain harmful quantities of arsenic.[4]
Extraction
[edit]The ore deposits were discovered in the 1960s and extraction began at Sentachan in 1989.[5][4] Initially the ore was removed by open-pit mining at some point between 1997 and 2000 extraction switched to underground mining.[5][6]
The Sentachan and Sarylakh mines are the only two locations in Russia that extract antimony.[7] The mineral rights to both are owned by GeoProMining Ltd;[7] the Sentachan mine is operated by the Zvezda & Sarylakh subsidiary company.[8] By 2015 the two mines were the main suppliers of antimony to the Commonwealth of Independent States; gold was extracted as an incidental product.[9]: 769 In 2000 it was estimated that there remained sufficient ore to continue extraction at Sentachan for another 30 years.[6]
In 2016 the industry news site Mining.com ranked Sentachan as the second coldest operational mine in the world with a minimum average temperature of -45.8C.[8] The site lies 700 kilometres (430 mi) from the nearest town and in 2013 was reported as being accessible only by helicopter and, in the winter (February to April), by ice road. The ice road ran along the Elgi and Adycha rivers and was used to transport ore away from the mine and to bring in diesel and other supplies to last the rest of the year. It was reported that milder winters were threatening the continued use of the ice road.[10]: 139
By 2020 Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko had become an investor in GeoProMining and helped finance a new ore processing plant at Sentachan.[11] This would allow minerals to be extracted on site rather than the ore having to be transported to Saylakh for processing.[12] In May 2022 a fire broke out at Sentachan which destroyed a dormitory housing construction workers. There were no fatalities or injuries.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Schulz, K. J.; DeYoung, John H.; Seal, Robert R.; Bradley, Dwight C. (2017). Critical Mineral Resources of the United States: Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply. Government Printing Office. p. C8. ISBN 978-1-4113-3991-0.
- ^ Rubinstein, Julius (15 August 2002). Non-Ferrous Metal Ores: Deposits, Minerals and Plants. CRC Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-040-19211-5.
- ^ Filella, Montserrat (5 July 2021). Antimony. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 90. ISBN 978-3-11-066545-1.
- ^ a b Mineral resources of Russia (in Russian). PGO T͡Sentrgeologii͡a. 1998. p. 5.
- ^ a b Hausen, Donald M.; Petruk, W.; Hagni, Richard D. (1997). Global Exploitation of Heap Leaching Gold Deposits. TMS. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-87339-358-4.
- ^ a b Minerals Yearbook: Area Reports: International .... Europe and Central Eurasia. Volume III. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 1999. p. 35.4.
- ^ a b Maximova, Svetlana G.; Raikin, Roman I.; Chibilev, Alexander A.; Silantyeva, Marina M. (30 March 2023). Advances in Natural, Human-Made, and Coupled Human-Natural Systems Research: Volume 2. Springer Nature. p. 89. ISBN 978-3-030-78083-8.
- ^ a b Els, Frik (4 January 2016). "The world's 10 coldest mines". Mining.com. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
- ^ Krenev, V.; Dergacheva, N.; Fomichev, S. (September 2015). "Antimony: Resources, application fields, and world market". Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering. 49 (5): 769–772. doi:10.1134/S0040579515050115.
- ^ "Logistical Solutions for Remote Sites: Meeting the Need for Access, Comfort and Convenience". Engineering & Mining Journal: 138–141. April 2013.
- ^ "Trotsenko continues to mull new gold projects". Russia & CIS Business & Financial Newswire. 18 November 2020.
- ^ "GeoProMining plans to invest $133 mln in 3 years and boost output 44%". Interfax: Kazakhstan Mining Weekly. 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Russia: Zvezda shift workers say they didn't receive compensation in full after dormitory fire, co. denies allegations". Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (in Burmese). 7 June 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2025.