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Last modified: 2021-09-25 by ivan sache
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Flag and arms of Chiatura - Images by The State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia, 8 May 2021
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The municipality of Chiatura (12,803 inhabitants in 2014) is located in Imereti, 200 km north-west of Tbilisi and 80 km east of Kutaisi. Chiatura is mostly known as a manganese-mining town established under the Soviet rule.
Ivan Sache, 8 May 2021
The flag of Chiatura is vertically divided emerald green-blue with a yellow cross patty in canton.
The flag is a simplified banner of the municipal arms, "Per pale 1. Vert a cross patty or, 2. Azure the Katskhi pillar argent surmounted by a shrine or. A base sable three mining trolleys or. The shield surmounted by a three-towered mural crown argent fimbriated sable. Under the shield a scroll argent fimbriated sable charged with the name of the town in Georgian capital letters sable."
[State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia]
The Katskhi pillar is a natural limestone monolith that towers more than 130 feet, or 40 meters, into the air and on top of which stands what is probably the world's most isolated, and most sacred, churches. Situated approximately 200 kilometers west of Tbilisi, this remarkable landmark is notoriously difficult to reach. The final approach is done on foot, a 20-minute hike during which the monolith appears suddenly on the horizon of the vivid Georgian landscape. A steep climb up some half-finished steps is a sign that visitors are almost there.
The Katskhi complex is unique. Atop the column is a church built in the 6th to 8th centuries dedicated to Maximus the Confessor, a 7th century monk. There's also a burial chamber, a wine cellar, a curtain wall and three hermit cells. Each day, monks living below make the nerve-jangling 20-minute ascent via a thin metal ladder bolted to the side of the rock. The daily pilgrimage to say prayers at the top is said to bring them closer to God. Until 2015, they'd also encounter Father Maxime Qavtaradze, who spent most of his time there for 20 years and was the last monk to live on top. Qavtarade built a new church on the rock in 1995.
Beneath the column or rock stands the newly constructed church of Simeon Stylites, the monastery and the ruins of an old wall and belfry.
Only men from a religious order are now allowed to climb the stairway to the heavens. Women have not been allowed to scale the column at any point in history. Since 2018, the public have been banned from scaling the pillar to visit the church on top by an edict from Patriarch Ilia II, the spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
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For more than a century, Georgia had mined manganese ore from the Chiatura deposit. A portion of the ore was used to produce manganese ferroalloys at the Zestafoni ferroalloys plant. Since 2006, both the Chiatura Mine and the Zestafoni plant had been a part of Georgian Manganese Holding (which was owned by the Privat Group). As of the 1980s, the Chiatura deposit’s resources were estimated to be 215 million metric tons (Mt) of manganese ore; by 2010, about one-half of that amount had been mined. The Chiatura manganese mine included four mines and three open quarries; the mine’s annual production capacity was about 400,000 t/yr.
In April and May 2010, workers from the Chiatura and Zestafoni facilities held protest demonstrations demanding improvement in working conditions. Their demands included a 50% increase in pay, special pay for overtime and overnight work, and an increase in vacation time from 24 to 35 days per year. In June 2010, the Privat Group decided to satisfy workers’ demands partially and increased the base pay by 15%, introduced a 20% premium for the overnight shift, and increased the minimum wage by almost 40%.
[USGS 2010 Mineral Yearbook - Georgia]
In October 2012, Georgian American Alloys, Inc. of the United States acquired 100% ownership interest in the Chiatura Manganese Mine, the Zestafoni ferroalloys plant, and the Vartsikhe hydroelectric facility, which powered the Chiatura Mine and the Zestafoni plant. Felman Trading, Inc. was expected to continue to serve as the primary distributor of silicomanganese produced by Georgian Manganese.
[USGS 2012 Mineral Yearbook - Georgia]
In January 2016, the Georgian Manganese Co. announced that it planned to stop mining manganese at all mines of the Chiatura deposit for 4 months. The company cited the crisis in the world steel markets and historically low prices of ferroalloys, which had led to an oversupply of manganese. All 3,500 employees were placed on leave and paid 60% of their regular wages and retained their health insurance. On May 20, the mines reopened
and started production. Also in 2016, Georgian Manganese was found to have caused environmental damage in the city of Chiatura and fined 200 million laris ($82 million). The company claimed that it had conducted mine rehabilitation in a manner that had made the mines safer for the environment during the closure process. The Ministry of the Environment stated, however, that even after the court’s decision to impose a fine, the company continued to violate environmental regulations.
[USGS 2016 Mineral Yearbook - Georgia]
Ivan Sache, 8 May 2021
