[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Centre]

Court upholds decision of the Far Eastern Directorate of Rostekhnadzor to suspend operation of technical equipment at Dalpolimetall, 30 September 2025

The Far Eastern Directorate of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) conducted scheduled on-site inspections of Class II hazardous production facilities: the underground mines “Korolevsky,” “Silinsky,” and “Verkhny” operated by JSC Mining and Metallurgical Company Dalpolimetall.

More than 30 violations of mandatory industrial safety requirements were identified. It was established that:

• mining operations were carried out in deviation from the annual mine development plan;
  
• support systems and roof control procedures were not followed during mine workings;
  
• the procedure and type of barriers for mine workings where operations were temporarily suspended were not defined by the technical manager;
  
• mandatory sections were missing from the “Logbook of Support Inspection and Condition of Mine Workings”;
  
• the volume of air supplied by the main ventilation system was not recorded by automatic monitoring equipment;
  
• horizontal mine workings (adits), which serve as emergency exits, were not illuminated;
  
• there was no power supply scheme of the mine reflected in the mine plan;
  
• the mine surveying service at the Korolevsky mine did not conduct instrumental monitoring of the subsidence zone;
  
• staffing levels at the mines did not meet project requirements;
  
• defective technical equipment (K-4 electric locomotives) was allowed to operate.

A protocol was drawn up against the legal entity under Part 1 of Article 9.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for the temporary prohibition of activities involving the operation of technical equipment (K-4 electric locomotives) used at the Korolevsky mine. The case materials were submitted to court.

The Dalnegorsk District Court ordered an administrative suspension of the operation of the K-4 electric locomotive at the Korolevsky mine for a period of 90 days.

Five officials, including technical managers of the mines, were held administratively liable under Part 1 of Article 9.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and fined a total of 100,000 rubles.

A submission was issued to the company’s management requiring the elimination of the causes and conditions that contributed to the administrative offense.