Those who live in the Russian city of Norilsk, just inside the Arctic Circle, have been posting photos on social media of what a red river is. If we did not know its origin and the reasons for this river has turned its color to red, surely we could say that we would be at the end of time, as it would have happened centuries ago.
Russian authorities they have started to investigate and they're looking at a mine that extracts metals as the possible culprit. Norilsk is an industrial city with a lot of pollution and is home to Norilsk Nickel, a gigantic mine that has nickel extraction as its raw material par excellence.
The Russian military minister and local forces said the bloody red color it was possibly caused by a break in one of the Norilsk Nickel pipes. It is the experts who are saying that the Russian authorities are probably looking in the right direction.
That bright red color is mainly due to the rusty iron contained in residual waste. It is not clear what kind of nickel process has been used in the metal plant, but it is known that some types of high temperature or pressure oxidation processes convert any sulfide mineral to iron oxide. If mixed with water, the residue turns bright red.
It is also possible that the processed nickel ore it also contains high amounts of iron, which discards it as waste. In this case, the iron-rich residue could have ended up in the river, turning it red, says Ronald Cohen, a professor of environmental and civil engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.
If it were a chemical filtration, the town is in danger. Water with high concentrations of mining waste can be toxic, depending on what type of chemicals leaked into the water and in what concentration.
It's not the first time that something similar happens in the city of Norilsk, since this same June also happened as the locals comment.