Kan-i-Gut

Kan-i-Gut (or Kanigut or Kani-Gut, "mine-of-loss") cave is a geological protected area (nature monument) located at north slopes of Turkestan Range in Batken Region of Kyrgyzstan. The cave consists of 18 large caverns, deep cavities, narrow passageways and tunnels. It is long and deep. From the 6th to the 11th century the cave served as a lead and iron mine. Silver and other metals and minerals were also mined here at the time. The first miners in the cave were Arabs, so the Chinese continued, and much later during World War II, Soviet political prisoners mined here.
A scientific study on the elemental composition of loose sediments in a cave mine was performed in due time, by the method of X - ray fluorescence analysis with the use of synchroton radiation.