This year, Yakutia is celebrating the 95th anniversary of its gold mining industry. As Polyus Aldan is the largest gold miner in the region, our company held a number of special events in association with the holiday, including our own internal Olympics (“Spartakiad”).
Nizhny Kuranakh is the birthplace of Yakutia’s gold mining industry, where the onset of commercial development of gold deposits began in 1924. As the successor to Aldanzoloto, Polyus Aldan oversees development in the region. Polyus decided to hold its Olympics in Yakutia this year and invited over 200 employees from the different regions across Russia.
Large-scale sports events require appropriate infrastructure, so our company invested heavily into infrastructure support and development. Polyus allocates around RUB 25 mln annually for the maintenance of Metallurg sports center in Nizhny Kuranakh, where some of the events for the 2019 Olympics were held. This facilitates the constant running of two swimming pools and 15 sports departments. Local people and Polyus Aldan employees can visit these facilities for free. The gym was upgraded in 2018, while the renovation of the other premises, including a new lounge and a sports hall, was completed by the start of the Olympics.
Metallurg is not the only sports facility in Polyus Aldan. A new installation, meeting the advanced technical requirements for the internal Olympics, was constructed on the site of a former children’s playground in Nizhny Kuranakh.
Alexey Noskov, Managing Director of Polyus Aldan, commented:“We see the construction of this new stadium as progress, and we intend to pay as much attention to its upkeep and maintenance as we do to all our facilities. We intend for this sports arena to stay in use for many years to come.”
The same goes for the construction of a 100-bed dormitory in Nizhny Kuranakh. The two-story building has a high safety margin, and a high level of comfort for its residents, the majority of whom will be Polyus employees. The new dormitory is another gift from Polyus to celebrate the anniversary.
For the first time, employees celebrated the anniversary not only in the Nizhny Kuranakh settlement but also in the town of Aldan. The celebration gained new momentum throughout the republic, attracting a wider audience.