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New mining technology

RIA Novosti

New ways of extracting iron ore from the ground beneath have been developed by scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A new technology for breaking up ore deep under the ground by means of large-scale explosions has been developed at the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is already being exploited on Siberian iron ore deposits even in seismic areas, said the newspaper Nauka v Sibiri.

New technology

The use of newly constructed big-sized special charges combined with block caving of the ore has made it possible to reduce the number of blasts at mining enterprises from the ordinary 6 to 8 down to one year. This greatly lessens the negative effects of explosions and gives considerable economic savings, because the preparation of ore mass for blasting is the most energy-consuming process of mineral development.

Professor Andrei Yeremenko, of the Institute of Mining of the Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian branch, told the paper that “our special charges act on the principle of a piston effect, and the mass of ore is destroyed in a more sedate way.” All this occurs at a depth of down to one kilometer. Commercial blocks are prepared for blasting at levels separated by a distance of between 60 and 90 meters. One block is 27 meters wide and 60-120 meters long. “We have attempted to develop a safe technology both for mining workers and for machines,” Yeremenko said. “We investigated the effect of explosions on underground workings and on life on the surface - buildings, structures and, naturally, the wellbeing of people living nearby. In the process of our explosion, the ore is cut off by a special method, and the charge does not affect the whole mass.”