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The President descended into an ore mine to a depth of 800 metres and then viewed an exhibition of minerals mined there. Johnson Khagazheyev, general director of the Norilsk Nickel transpolar subsidiary, described the history of Norilsk and Oktyabrsky Mine to the President and presented him with a souvenir set of specimens of ores and metals mined by the subsidiary.

The deposit, now known as Oktyabrsky, was discovered in 1965. Today the giant mine has 11 vertical shafts going deep into the ground, and its workings have a length of almost 200 kilometers. Ore is mined at a depth of between 600 and 900 metres. The mine produces nickel, copper, gold, cobalt and silver.

During his visit to the mine President Putin spoke with miners, who wanted to know more about social protection and pensions and what was being done to control crime. The President noted, among other things, that drug addiction was the bane of the country and admitted that the effectiveness of the state’s efforts to wipe that evil out was low. He said that effectual punitive measures were not enough in the battle against the underworld and drug addiction. What was needed was a comprehensive programme of economic development, systematic efforts to solve social problems, control of poverty, targeted education of youth, and the strengthening of the law enforcement system.

Answering a question about the possibility of increasing pensions for Far North workers, the President said that the Government had done something to improve the pension scheme across the country, although it could not be claimed that the situation was drastically changed for the better. He also said that the Government must work out a programme for resettlement of people from the far north to other parts of the country.

The President gave high assessment to the organisation of work at the mine.