Russian Megafactories: Nazarovsky mine, the perfect setting for Mad Max

Nazarovsky coal mine is one of the biggest deposits of the Kansk-Achinsk coal basin spread around Krasnoyarsk, the largest city in Eastern Siberia.

The mines around Krasnoyarsk began to mushroom during the Stalin-era industrialization.

Today the Kansk-Achinsk coal basin produces more than 40 mln tons of brown coal per year consumed mainly by regional thermal stations.

The bucket-wheel excavator TAKRAF SRs(K)-4000 that extracts coal at Nazarovsky mine looks really tremendous. It's the biggest machine of its kind in Russia.

48 meters high, it makes heavy trucks look like toy cars. Its total weight is 9800 tons, more than the Eiffel Tower.

Since its establishment in 1951, miners have extracted around 45 mln tons of coal.

The estimated coal reserves are approximately 210 mln tons.

Almost all the coal is consumed by the nearby Nazarovskaya thermal station. The extracted coal is delivered by railway.

The giant wheel operates 24 buckets with a maximum capacity of 20 cubic meters.