Magnezit Satka
Satka is one of the largest magnesite deposits in the world.
The mineral was discovered here by three businessmen Markuson, Schuppe and Neirovski in 1900. The magnesite was used for production of bricks and refractories.
Shortly after the Great October Revolution the entire plant was nationalized in 1918 and mining production declined.
Production increased again after major modernization and railroad expansion in 1927. By the 1940, the magnesite plant in Satka was already one of the largest producers of refractory materials in the entire USSR.
In the 1980s, the extraction of magnesite was also expanded by deep mining, which soon became dominant.
The mineral is transported to the electric smelter by few miles long aerial ropeway.