[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"I arrived in the fog, not in the city". How Sibai residents are fleeing toxic smog and trying to get help, 21 February 2019
For several months now, the Bashkir town of Sibai, with a population of 60,000, has been experiencing a toxic smog. The reason is the ore smouldering in the quarry....

It operates at a mine water neutralisation station at the edge of the Sibayskiy open pit, one of the deepest in the world. The quarry is owned by Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (its main owners are billionaires Iskander Makhmudov and Andrei Kozitsyn). The company did not respond to an enquiry from the BBC Russian Service.

Under the open pit mine, copper ore oxidises at a depth of several hundred metres. Because of this, the city of Sibai, which has a population of 60,000, has a toxic smog. Because of it, every now and then the nose and throat are scratchy, there is a metallic taste in the mouth, and chronic diseases are aggravated....

The development of the quarry is being carried out by the Uchalinsky Mining and Processing Plant....

Bashkiria's acting head Radiy Khabirov told the RIA Novosti news agency that in February residents of Sibai began filing lawsuits against the company because of the environmental situation in the city. They are demanding compensation for the damage to health...

After three months of ecological disaster, protests have started in Sibai. The residents decided to appeal directly to Vladimir Putin - at the "people's gathering" on 10 February....

As early as 18 February five activists - including Eduard Kadyrov - filed a notice of plans to hold a rally on 2 March. The aim of the action is to oppose "the concealment by UMMC Holding of the true reasons for the appearance of ore smouldering centres in Sibai", as well as to demand compensation for the damage to the city....