Yet, this is only the beginning. Once the ore is actually obtained, loaded tractors will transport it to the mouth of a neighboring river also within the Zapovednik's buffer zone. This river bears the symbolic name Zolotaya, or Gold River, and is one of the largest mineral rivers on the Kurile Islands. A plant to process the gold ore is proposed to be built near the mouth of the river. This process entails the use of sodium cyanide, a substance that is subject to the regulations of the 1997 International Convention on the Banning, Development, Production, Storage, and Use of Chemical Weapons.
Sodium cyanide dissolves instantly in water, turning into hydrocyanic acid.
Headed by V.F. Pernashin, from 1992 to 1996 this company conducted exploratory work that ravaged the natural habitats of the Severyanka River and the salmon spawning grounds along its course. Moreover, none of the many promised or planned environmental protection measures, such as the construction of bridges, the reclamation of disturbed land, or the building of roads, was ever implemented. Specifically, they focused on the supplementary prospecting for gold ore, glossing over the part about the enrichment plant. The company has somehow managed to evade providing the details concerning the plant, claiming that the extracted ore will only be hauled away and stored at a special site in the Zolotaya River Valley. Furthermore, company officials argue that since there are no fish present in the Zolotaya River due it high mineral content, there is no harm in their development plans for this area.