| Plast | Settelments of Chelyabinsk region | |
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Year of foundation – 1940 Territory – 1179 sq. km Nearest railway station – Nizhneuvelskaya Distance to the region center - 120 km The city is situated on the eastern slope of the Urals 38 km away from the railway station Nizhneuralskaya. Plast is the center of famous Kochkanar gold fields, starting its history from 1845. It is often called Zlatograd (the city of gold). The city formed in 1940 from a number of villages, such as Plast (on the basis of the former Kachkanar gold field), Novotritsk, Pchelnik, Vyselok, Aul, etc. Precious metals are extracted here even nowadays, deep mines are still working as well as modern technologies of gold and arsenic extraction. City's economy Plast is the center of the Kachkanar gold-mining region (gold has been mined since 1860s). The main enterprises: South Ural gold-mining industrial complex, Kachkanar mining metallurgical industrial complex. Marble fields and deposits of kaolin and talc are bedded near Plast. The leading branches of industry are transport and communications, non-ferrous metallurgy, building materials industry, chemical and petrochemical industry. In 2001 industry comprised 37,4%, agriculture – 14,0%, transport and communications – 43,4%, trade and public catering – 0,9% in the structure of production. The production of milk and growing of cattle and poultry prevail in agriculture. Growing of vegetables, potatoes and grain is developed. | |