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The minefield was discovered 100 years ago, in 1913. A hunter from the village Staryy (Old) Sibay was digging a marten hole, and came across a heavy red clay with glitter of pyrite, and at the end of 1912 a resident of the village Novyy (New) Sibay Amir Abdulkasimovich Hudayberdin taking away several bags of clay, went to Baimak to Kabanov A.F. the Managing Director of South-Ural Mining Joint Stock Company. Researches showed the presence of ironstone with the impurities of gold and silver in clay. In 1915 an exploring mine with depth of 42 meters was dug. The minefield turned out to be extremely rich, but during the Civil War, the mine was flooded and its restoration started in the 1925. The situation in the country remained difficult and the industrial development of the mine began only in the 1930s. In 1938, Sibay received the status a working village, and in 1955 it was transformed into the city Sibay.
There is a modern interpretation of the name: “Сибай” – Си (cuprum) – copper. “Бай” (from Bashkir) – “rich”. So, “Сибай” (Sibay) means rich with copper.
Until recently, rock hoisting along the serpentinous road of the pit was made only by BelAZ vehicles. Now the mining is carried out by mining method (blue roofs of mines are seen behind the control room). On the hillside you can see a skip winder, once having been kibbling in special freight cars (dump cars), and now it is non-working. The photography of one of the panoramas was taken from the control room of this skip winder. There is an observation site for the tourists nearby. You can find industrial jasper under your feet. Several points can be noticed on the spherical panoramas. These are 40-ton BelAZ vehicles which move to the mines and back. Rock slides often occur here (places of rock slides are seen on the aerial panorama). The serpentinous road is periodically watered by special BelAZ – “water cars” in order to prevent rock slides. Refuse heaps are seen long before the approaching to the pit and stretch for miles. You can see the plant of Sibay branch of Joint Stock Company "Uchalinsky GOK" in the distance.
Sibay open pit mine refers to the closed secure facilities and tourists need permission from the security service of the company for sightseeing.
Depth, m | over 500 |
Diameter, m | about 2000 |
Year of discovery |
1913 |
Mining |
Copper-zinc and copper-pyrites |
GPS-coordinates: | N 52° 41'43"; E 58° 38'16" |
Distance from Ufa, km | 530 |
The project team of “Virtual Bashkortostan” thanks
Sigunov Alexander E. and Yandavletov Ilgam M. for contributing in spherical photography management.