Lopatinsky Quarries

East of Voskresensk spreads the industrial landscape of the former Lopatinsky phosphorite mine — one of Europe’s largest phosphorite deposits (part of the Yegoryevsk deposit). The area covers a broad zone between Voskresensk and Yegoryevsk around Lopatinsky, Fosforitny, Khorlovo and nearby villages. Soft beds lay near the surface, so mining was open-cast. Work began in the 1930s and peaked in the 1960s. Bucket-wheel excavators (absetzers) worked the pits; the mine had its own rail infrastructure. Ore went to fertiliser. By the late twentieth–early twenty-first century main extraction ended; some cuts were reclaimed and planted with pine, hollows filled as lakes — the “Martian” landscape of sand ridges and water described by welcome.mosreg.ru and trail guides (often starting at Shifernaya platform). This is not a roofed museum but a large open landscape: swimming spots, walking and cycling routes, ski in winter. Machines at some points have been removed or left to rust — do not expect an absetzer exhibit at every stop. Bring a map/track and water: distances deceive.