Salair

Salair grew around silver-bearing mines in the low hills of the Salair Ridge. The prospector Dmitry Popov found the deposit in 1781 by following traces of older workings, and mining began the following year. Further mines were opened in 1786 and 1798. A silver smelter was built nearby in 1792–94, linking the ores of Salair with the mining and metallurgical enterprises of the Altai region.