Аннотация:An analysis of the frst detailed radiocarbon data connected with the beginning of copper mining in the Southern Trans-Urals, as well as the periods of developing Southern Trans-Uralian deposits in the Bronze Age, is presented. A series of14 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon datings are conducted on the basis of materials obtained from thecultural layers of four ancient mines. The datings cover the period from the end of the 3rd to the beginning of the 1st mil-lennium cal BC. Median values narrow this interval to the twentieth to eleventh centuries cal BC. This prolonged period ofmine development included various stages coinciding with the existing archaeological periodization applied in the region:Sintashta-Abashevo, Srubnaya-Alakul, and Final Bronze Age. The evidence obtained suggest the existence of a completemetal-production cycle in the Southern Trans-Urals during the entire Late Bronze Age and the sequential use of a local orebase by the various populations inhabiting this region.