Georgia: Chiatura-Zestaponi the city of mines

ita eng
31 July 2014

Chiatura-Zestaponi industrial cluster is less than 200 kilometres far from Tbilisi and it has been operating for more than one century. 

Chiatura was founded, in the second half of 1800, when manganese deposits were discovered in the nearby area. The city became famous because of its complex aerial ropeways system, built in the Soviet period between the 30s and the 50s. 

Images and text by Francesco Bagnardi

Georgia: le miniere di Chiatura-Zestaponi - 1
Chiatura lies on a plateau and expands on many levels between the mountains and the banks of Kvirila River.Mines are located mostly on the surrounding mountains peaks which are connected with the processing plants on the river with a system of aerial ropeways.    Read full reportage here:http://issuu.com
Georgia: le miniere di Chiatura-Zestaponi - 2
Despite the fact that plants and cable cars looks quite old and apparently dismissed, the machinery is still operating. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the whole industrial cluster remained a State property. In Shevardnadze’s Era the extraction activity was stopped. Industrial cluster started to work again following the privatization process undertook after the Rose Revolution in 2003. New private owners restored the industrial activity. However, they did not undertake relevant investments for maintenance or replacement of plants and equipments.The result is that today workers are still working in a factory that is more than 50 years old.
Georgia: le miniere di Chiatura-Zestaponi - 3
Fast and opaque privatization processes, lack of effective public control over environmental enforcement and monitoring activities and no will of the new owner company made Chiatura and Zesteponi a dramatically polluted area.Contaminated water springs and rivers polluted by processing activities and fine dusts increase dramatically the impact of respiratory diseases and tumours in the local community.
Georgia: le miniere di Chiatura-Zestaponi - 4
The ropeways system in Chiatura, was built in Soviet period, between the 30s and the 50s. It is still used by local population and by miners to reach mountains peaks that are still densely populated.
Georgia: le miniere di Chiatura-Zestaponi - 5
Ropeways are exactly the same since the time they have been installed. They still work every day and need urgent and compelling maintainace works as well as new investments to make transportation fully safe.