The history of a small town in the Belgorod region is inextricably linked with the extraction of iron ore on the territory of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. In the next 250 years, Gubkin has a completely clear future: the reserves of local deposits will be enough to work for such a time. Unless a miracle happens and humanity completely abandons the use of iron.
General information
One of the most comfortable cities in Russia is located on two banks of the Oskolets River. It is located in the north-eastern part of the Belgorod region. The distance to the nearest city is 20 km, and 116 km to the regional center. You can get to Gubkin by rail along the Stary Oskol - Rzhava branch. The city covers an area of 1,526 hectares.
Gubkin City Day is celebrated on September 19th. It was on this day in 1939 that the small settlement received the status of a workers' settlement and its current name.
Foundation of the settlement
In the distant 18th century, the first settlements appeared. The population of Gubkin then consisted of forced peasants. RussianEmpress Catherine II donated the lands together with the inhabitants to General Saburov for services to the fatherland. A big fan of card games, the general lost part of his lands to his neighbor Korobkov, from whose estate the documented history of the territory of modern Gubkin began. Subsequently, this territory was called Sretenka, since it was on this church holiday that the village was won.
The first reliable evidence of the presence of iron ore deposits dates back to the 18th century. Then Belgorod merchants opened companies in the province for the extraction of ore in a semi-handicraft way. At that time, it was possible to find only deposits that were on the surface in ravines and gullies eroded by groundwater. Mining technologies were primitive, production volumes were very small.
Beginning of development of the Kursk anomaly
Special attention to this region began to be shown by scientists when a strange behavior of the compass was discovered in this area. The magnetic needle always deviated from the normal position. Since that time, scientists from many countries of the world have been trying to explain the mystery of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. Already under Soviet rule, they began practical research on local deposits. In 1924, exploration work began, and in September, the richest mineral deposits were discovered at a depth of 116.3 meters with a high concentration of iron, over 50 percent.
The modern history of the city began with the start of exploration work under the guidance of the famous geologist Ivan Mikhailovich Gubkin, on the spotthe village of S altykovo (now it is an urban microdistrict). In September 1931, the development of an exploration and development mine began, and a settlement for geologists was built nearby. In 1939, 400 people lived in the working settlement of Gubkin. Further development was suspended by the outbreak of the war.
Second half of the 20th century
With the beginning of the war, a significant part of the inhabitants (1900 people) voluntarily went to the front, and mining equipment and specialists were evacuated deep into the country. During the seven months of occupation, the workers' settlement was almost completely destroyed; about 2,000 young people from the area were driven away for forced labor in Germany. After the liberation of the village, in fact, there was no building, the buildings were destroyed, the mine was flooded.
After the restoration of the work of the mine, in the 50s, the extensive development of huge deposits of iron ore in the Kursk anomaly began. In 1953, on the basis of the mine and two processing plants, the first enterprise in the region for the extraction and enrichment of ore, the KMAruda plant, was organized. The expansion of production volumes required the creation of new jobs. Specialists were recruited from all regions of the country to work at the enterprise. As a result, the workers' settlement grew into a small mining town. In December 1955, Gubkin, Belgorod Region, was given the status of a city of district subordination.
Development of the Lebedinsky field
In 1956, one of the world's largest deposits was discovered. Construction began in 1959Lebedinsky mine, where for the first time in the country they began to extract iron ore in an open way. The construction of the mine was announced by the All-Union Komsomol construction, over 5,000 Komsomol members came to work in the mining town. As a result, in 1959 the population of Gubkin reached 21,333 people.
In 1967, the construction of a mining and processing plant with a capacity of 50 million tons of ferruginous quartzites per year began on the basis of the Lebedinsky deposit. The population of Gubkin has reached 42,000 inhabitants. In 1972, the first stage of the GOK was put into operation with a capacity of about 7.5 million tons of ore. In 1970, the city already had 54,074 inhabitants. In the 80-90s, the city was actively built up, the improvement of the center began, the House of Culture, schools, hospitals, a new residential neighborhood Zhuravliki were built. In 1987, the population of Gubkin was 75,000 people.
Present
In the post-Soviet period, the city of Gubkin continued to develop successfully; in 1992, 78,400 people lived in it. The city-forming enterprise was privatized in 1992, now the plant is controlled by Alisher Usmanov. The company expanded, began to introduce new technologies. In 1999, a hot briquetted iron plant was built, which required the involvement of additional labor resources. In 2000, the population of Gubkin reached 86,900 people. The maximum population of 88,600 was reached in 2011. In the last three years, the number of residents in the city of Gubkin has slightly decreased. In 2017, there were 86999 people.
