An incident at the “Belaruskaliy”

An intergovernmental commission Headed by First Vice-Premier Vladimir Semashko was established in Belarus to eliminate the threat of flooding of one of the mining sites at “Belaruskaliy”.

In late June 2011 “Belaruskaliy” suffered from the flooding of the mine pits of the 2nd pit-management by brine contained in the rock. Following the incident the company built a temporary waterproofing bridge and started maintenance works. At the time being the officials reported the brine inflow has declined. On 28 July journalists from the state-owned media were allowed to report from the mine pits to prove that engineers had full control over the situation.

Comment

Regardless of the official optimism, independent experts say there was still a possibility of complete flooding of the mine. The incident, the scope and consequences of which are carefully hidden, implies that the market value of the company will go down, as well as interest of potential investors. At the same time, the government seriously expects to sell 20-50% stakes of the company at $ 30 billion. Uncertainty with the emergency situation at the “Belaruskaliy” finally takes off the agenda the issue of selling of its shares at least until the end of 2011.