- Andrey, it's 90 year of gold mining in Yakutia. So, where does the count start?

- In the past 90 years gold mining in Yakutia went through a difficult but glorious path of development – from wheelbarrows and trays, to the modern mining and processing equipment.

Start of gold mining in revolutionary Yakutia was historically recorded in the first half of the 19th century. Probably every schoolchildren knows the Lena shootings from the lessons of history. So, the tragedy of the miners was a harbinger of the tragedy of the whole country. After five years, Tsarist Russia failed and new Soviet Russia appeared. The new nation needed funds for modernization and development. Based on past experience, the leadership of the Soviet Yakutia sent Bertin expedition in 1923. And success was not long in coming – in August 1924, the expedition discovered gold placers on the Nezametny creek in Aldan area. Government of the Republic established the Yakutsk State gold-trust "Yakzoloto", the first director of which was Yegor Kharitonov. The countdown of gold mining in Yakutia started then. Therefore, this date has historically been considered as the beginning of a new history of gold mining in Yakutia after the 1917 revolution. Of course, there have been ups and downs of the industry for 90 years. Hard times have come with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Production volumes fell. After was stabilization, then overcoming of the milestone of 20 tonnes in the early 2000s.

- How it was possible to stabilize the industry? And overcome the barrier of 20 tons?

- The rapid development of the gold mining industry began in 70-80 years. In many respects it is a merit of the general director of the production association "Yakutzoloto" Taras Gavrilovic Desyatkin, his organizational talent. There has been a radical modernization of the branch, which has led to a sharp increase in gold production.

From 1975 until 1978, the maximum amount of gold was mined – more than 36 tons per year. For over three decades, from 1960 to 1990, the gold industry of Yakutia had been the leading sector in the USSR Metallurgy and firmly took third place, behind Magadan region and Uzbekistan.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, followed by the transition to a market economy, substantially changed the industrial potential of the republic. There have been dramatic changes in terms of ownership of the production means. The privatization process led to the destruction of large state-owned enterprises, the industry became highly fragmented, consisting of small and medium-sized enterprises. This was one of the main reasons, hampering the development of the republic gold mining industry.

- The history of the gold mining industry is impressive. And what do we have today? What is the state of the industry?

- Mineral resources potential of the republic as a whole allows to maintain the current level of gold production in the amount of 20-22 tons of gold a year, and even to increase it to 27 tonnes in case of the corresponding investment from both the government and subsoil users.

For decades, the flagship of the gold mining industry of Yakutia have been JSC "Aldanzoloto", current “Aldanzoloto GRK” as well as other gold mining companies: JSC "Seligdar", OJSC "Drazhnik", LLC" Progress " and others.

- What are the prospects of gold mining in Yakutia?

- Gold production will be carried out in the traditional gold-mining areas: in Aldan, Oimyakon, Ust-Maya, Nerungri, Olekma and in small amounts in Moma, Upper Yana, Ust-Yana and Lower Kolyma encampments in 2015-2019 years.

Now, after 90 years, I can confidently say – the gold has been mined, is mined, and will always be mined in Yakutia! I congratulate all the miners with anniversary!

We note the 90-year anniversary of the gold mining industry is widely celebrated in the republic. Today, 16 October, the Ministry of Industry conducted scientific-practical conference "Ways of solving urgent problems of extraction and processing of minerals. Gold mining in the Far North", which is designed to reflect the current state of the mineral resource base of Yakutia. Tomorrow, 17 October, the "Sergelyakh lights" cultural center will see a solemn ceremony to mark the anniversary.