OREANDA-NEWS. On 27 April 2009 was announced, that even under conditions of the crisis the mining complex remains one of the main resources of Karelian economy. It was declared by the Head of Karelia Sergey Katanandov at the session of the Government of the republic.

On results of the last year the production volume ofenterprises of the mining complex of Karelia has made 37 billion roubles. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the republic, this year in Karelia it has been produced 9,3 million tons of iron-ore pellets, 11,07 million cubic metres of building road metal and gravel (this parameter became a record) and 26,2 thousand cubic meters of blocks of natural stone. The aggregate number of employees of the branch has made 9433 people, and the monthly average wages have made 25,6 thousand roubles, that is 37% more, than in 2007, and exceeds the average salary in the region by 8 thousand roubles.

The crisis phenomena in economy should affect parameters of the mining complex of Karelia, nevertheless, the annual plan for 2009 is established at the level 6 million tons of iron-ore pellets, 11 million cubic meters of road metal and 26 thousand cubic meters of block stone. The wage level in the branch has decreased up to 20,5 thousand roubles, however, the enterprises consider it a provisional measure. The more so, as demand for production of the mining complex allows to work on already existing deposits, and to open new ones. Thus, this year it is planned to open three quarries. Among new customers of Karelian rubble there are the cosmodrome in Plisetsk and Olympic construction in Sochi.

To stimulate the mining complex, Ministry of Natural Resources of Karelia together with the Miners' Association of the republic have prepared the address to the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Valentina Pivnenko with a request to bring two bills in the Russian parliament which will help enterprises of branch to speed up their work. First, it is modification in the Forest Code of the Russian Federation which would let in the possibility of existence of two and more tenants of woodland on one site if spheres of exploitation of this site may combine and do not contradict each other. Also it is necessary to make changes to the Town-planning code of the Russian Federation with the purpose of excluding quarries possesing no capital constructions from the procedure of uniform state inspection of project documentation as it is stipulated for some other objects not related to mining.

Tasks of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of Karelia for 2009 include perfection of legislative base of the region in the sphere of subsoil use, geological studying and reproduction of mineral and raw-material base of the republic, control over performance of conditions of subsoil use, cooperation with Russian Railways, Inc., and power engineering specialists to maintain conditions of activity of the mining complex, rendering assistance to commissioning of new mining enterprises.