(IDEX Online) - Russian mining giant Alrosa to finance a drone to monitor and protect wild reindeer.
Its environmental center is working with authorities in the remote tundra of Yakutia, in the east of the country, where Alrosa operates its Mir mine.
The company already has special paths for reindeer to cross ground installation lines and has developed a mechanism that blocks traffic so they can safely pass across haul roads.
It also equips state inspectors who try to prevent illegal reindeer hunters.
Under a new agreement Alrosa will fund a special wild reindeer protection unit's transport equipment and a drone for surveying and filming herds.