I found these small pieces of iron ore in the Kochubey Adits near the village of Annivka. At the beginning of the 20th century, this was the site of the Kochubey Mine, where high-grade iron ore was extracted from 1904 to 1915. Due to the relatively small size of the deposit, further mining became economically unprofitable, and the mine was eventually closed. For more than a century, the adits remained abandoned, gradually becoming one of the most fascinating examples of Central Ukraine’s industrial heritage.
Iron ore is a naturally occurring rock containing a high concentration of iron. In deposits similar to those of the Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin, rich ores typically contain 55–65% iron, making them suitable for use with little or no beneficiation. After processing, the ore is transformed into iron and steel, which are used to manufacture building structures, railway tracks, automobiles, machinery, and countless everyday products.
In 2016–2017, the Kochubey Adits became one of the filming locations for the Ukrainian feature film “Chervonyi”, based on the novel by Andriy Kokotyukha. The abandoned underground workings portrayed the mines of a Soviet Gulag labor camp. For the production, wooden staircases, mine carts, and other props were specially constructed. Some of these film set pieces remained inside the adits for several years, serving as reminders of the movie, although most have since deteriorated or disappeared.
To me, these pieces of iron ore are more than just interesting rocks. They are small fragments of the Kochubey Mine’s history, preserving the memory of the miners who once worked here extracting iron ore. A century later, this forgotten place found a new life through cinema and the growing interest of industrial heritage explorers.
