Coal fuel has been used by humans since ancient times. Its flammability and heat dissipation, the duration of heat retention in the hearth became the salvation of people in cold periods, which cyclically replaced each other on our planet. Coal is actively used even today; in the fuel and energy complex, it is in the top three raw materials along with oil and gas.
How were coal deposits formed?
Coal deposits were formed in the places of huge green areas. This is an ancient organic matter that remained after the death of tree plantations. In order for the dead plants to become coal, certain conditions are necessary: the wood residues must not rot under the influence of bacteria. This is possible only when they get under the swamp water, and then underground, where oxygen does not enter. Coal is considered a mineral extracted from rock layers at various depths.
How are coal deposits found and developed?
Places where there is coal have long been explored on the planet. Its reserves in different countries huge, they will be enough for the needs of heating and industry for almost three centuries. But according to geologists, there may be more, since not all parts of the world carried out deep geological prospecting for the presence of coal fuel. The development of coal deposits is relevant and brings tangible income to the states that are engaged in the extraction of this solid black gold. The process of developing deposits is carried out depending on the terrain and the depth of the coal seams.
coal called sedimentary rock formed during the decomposition of plant remains (tree ferns, horsetails and club mosses, as well as the first gymnosperms). The main reserves of hard coal currently mined were formed during the Paleozoic period, about 300-350 million years ago. Coal has been mined for several centuries and is one of the most important minerals. Used as solid fuel.
Coal consists of a mixture of high-molecular aromatic compounds (mainly carbon), as well as water and volatile substances with a small amount of impurities. Depending on the composition of coal, the amount of heat released during its combustion, as well as the amount of ash formed, also changes. The value of coal and its deposits depends on this ratio.
For the formation of a mineral, it was also necessary to comply with the following condition: rotting plant material had to accumulate faster than its decomposition occurred. That is why coal was formed mainly on ancient peatlands, where carbon compounds accumulated, and there was practically no access to oxygen. The source material for the emergence of coal is, in fact, peat itself, which was also used as a fuel for some time. Coal, on the other hand, was formed if peat layers were under other sediments. At the same time, peat was compressed, losing water as a result of which coal was formed.
Coal occurs when peat layers occur at a considerable depth, usually more than 3 km. At greater depths, anthracite is formed - the highest grade of hard coal. However, this does not mean that all coal deposits are located at great depths. Over time, under the influence of tectonic processes of various directions, some layers experienced uplift, as a result of which they turned out to be closer to the surface.
The method of coal mining also depends on the depth at which coal-bearing deposits are located. If coal lies at a depth of up to 100 meters, then mining is usually carried out in an open way. This is the name of the removal of the top above the deposit, in which the mineral is on the surface. For mining from great depths, the mine method is used, in which access to is carried out through the creation of special underground passages - mines. The deepest coal mines in Russia are about 1,200 meters below the surface.
The largest coal deposits in Russia
Elga field (Sakha)
This coal deposit, located in the south-east of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), 415 km east of the city of Neryungri, is the most promising for open-pit mining. The deposit area is 246 km2. The deposit is a gently sloping asymmetric fold.
The deposits of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous are coal-bearing. The main coal seams are located in the deposits of the Neryungri (6 seams, 0.7-17 m thick) and Undyktan (18 seams, also 0.7-17 m thick) formations.
The coals here are mostly semi-glossy with a very high content of the most valuable component - vitrinite (78-98%), medium and high ash, low sulfur, low phosphorus, good sintering, with a high calorific value. Elga coal can be enriched using a special technology, which will make it possible to obtain a product of a higher quality that meets international standards. Powerful flat coal seams are covered with deposits of small thickness, which is very important for open pit mining.
Elegest deposit (Tuva)
Located in the Republic of Tuva. This field has reserves of about 20 billion tons. Most of the reserves (about 80%) are located in a single layer 6.4 m thick. The development of this deposit is currently ongoing, so coal mining here should reach its maximum capacity around 2012.
Large deposits of coal (the area of which is thousands of km2) are called coal basins. Typically, such deposits are located in some large tectonic structure (for example, a trough). However, not all deposits located close to each other are usually combined into basins, and sometimes they are considered as separate deposits. This usually happens according to historically established ideas (deposits were discovered in different periods).
Minusinsk coal basin is located in the Republic of Khakassia. Coal mining began here in 1904. The largest deposits include Chernogorskoye and Izykhskoye. According to geologists, the coal reserves in this area amount to 2.7 billion tons. Stone long-flame coals with a high calorific value predominate in the basin. The coals are classified as medium ash. The maximum ash content is typical for the coals of the Izykh deposit, the minimum - for the coals of the Beyskoye deposit. Coal mining in the basin is carried out in different ways: there are both cuts and mines.
Kuznetsk coal basin (Kuzbass) one of the largest coal deposits in the world. Kuzbass is located in the south in a shallow basin between the mountain ranges, Mountain Shoria and. This is the territory Kemerovo region. The abbreviation "Kuzbass" is the second name of the region. The first deposit in the Kemerovo region was discovered back in 1721, and in 1842 the term "Kuznetsk coal basin" was introduced by the geologist Chikhachev.
There is also mining different ways. There are 58 mines and more than 30 cuts on the territory of the basin. In terms of quality, "" coals are diverse and are among the best coals.
The coal-bearing stratum of the Kuznetsk coal basin consists of approximately 260 coal seams of various thicknesses, unevenly distributed along the section. The predominant thickness of coal seams is from 1.3 to 4.0 m, but there are also thicker seams of 9-15 and even 20 m, and in some places up to 30 m.
The maximum depth of coal mines does not exceed 500 m (average depth is about 200 m). The average thickness of the developed coal seams is 2.1 m, but up to 25% of mine coal production falls on seams over 6.5 m.
One of largest industries fuel and energy complex - coal industry.
Back in the era of the USSR, Russia became a recognized leader in the field of coal mining and processing. Here, coal deposits make up about 1/3 of the world's reserves, including brown, hard coal, and anthracites.
Russian Federation ranks sixth in the world in terms of coal production, 2/3 of which is used to produce energy and heat, 1/3 - in chemical industry, a small part is transported to Japan and South Korea. On average, more than 300 million tons per year are mined in the Russian coal basins.
Characteristics of deposits
If you look at the map of Russia, then over 90% of the deposits are located in the eastern part of the country, mainly in Siberia.
If we compare the volume of coal mined, its total quantity, technical and geographical conditions, then the most significant of them can be called the Kuznetsk, Tunguska, Pechora and Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basins.
, otherwise Kuzbass, is the largest coal basin in Russia, and the largest in the world.
It is located in Western Siberia in a shallow intermountain basin. A large part of the basin belongs to the lands of the Kemerovo region.
A significant disadvantage is the geographical distance from the main consumers of fuel - Kamchatka, Sakhalin, the central regions of the country. It produces 56% of hard coal and about 80% of coking coal, approximately 200 million tons per year. The type of prey is open.
Kansk-Achinsk coal basin
Spread along the Trans-Siberian Railway on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Kemerovo and Irkutsk Regions. 12% of all Russian brown coal belongs to this basin, in 2012 its amount was 42 million tons.
According to information provided by geological exploration in 1979, the total coal reserves are 638 billion tons.
It should be noted that the local one is the cheapest due to its open-pit mining, has low transportability and is used to provide energy to local enterprises.
Tunguska coal basin
One of the largest and most promising basins in Russia, it occupies the territories of Yakutia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region.
If you look at the map, you can see that this is more than half of Eastern Siberia.
The local coal reserves are about 2345 billion tons. Here lie hard and brown coal, a small amount of anthracites.
Currently, work in the basin is poorly conducted (due to poor knowledge of the field and the harsh climate). About 35.3 million tons are mined annually by the underground method.
Pechora basin
Located on the western slope of the Pai-Khoi ridge, it is part of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic. The main deposits are Vorkuta, Vorgashorskoye, Inta.
The deposits are mostly represented by high quality coking coal, due to extraction exclusively by the mine method.
12.6 million tons of coal are mined per year, which is 4% of the total. Consumers solid fuel- enterprises of the North European part of Russia, in particular the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant.
Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basin
It stretches along the Upper Sayan from Nizhneudinsk to Lake Baikal. It is divided into the Baikal and Sayan branches. The volume of extraction is 3.4%, the extraction method is open. The deposit is remote from large consumers, delivery is difficult, so local coal is used mainly at Irkutsk enterprises. The reserve is about 7.5 billion tons of coal.
Industry issues
Nowadays, active coal mining is carried out in the Kuznetsk, Kansk-Achinsk, Pechora and Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basins, the development of the Tunguska basin is planned. The main mining method is open pit, this choice is due to its relative cheapness and safety for workers. Minus this method the fact that the quality of coal suffers greatly.
The main problem faced by the above basins is the difficulty of delivering fuel to remote regions, in connection with this, it is necessary to modernize the Siberian railways. Despite this, the coal industry is one of the most promising sectors of the Russian economy (according to preliminary estimates, Russian coal deposits should last more than 500 years).
Coal is a type of fossil fuel formed from parts of ancient plants underground without oxygen. Today we will visit one of the oldest enterprises in Kuzbass, where coal mining operations have been carried out since 1917.
Welcome to oldest enterprise Kuzbass - Mine No. 12 LLC, located in a small mining town near Novokuznetsk - Kiselevsk.
Combine:
To form coal abundant accumulation of plant mass is necessary. It forms when rotting plant material accumulates faster than it can be bacterially decomposed. The ideal environment for this is created in swamps, where stagnant water, depleted in oxygen, prevents the vital activity of bacteria and thereby protects the plant mass from complete destruction.
In ancient peat bogs, starting from the Devonian period (about 416 million years ago), the very same organic matter, from which fossil coals were formed without access to oxygen. Most commercial fossil coal deposits date from this period, although younger deposits also exist.
Coal cuts:
Coal mining methods depend on its depth. The development is carried out in an open way in coal mines if the depth of the coal seam does not exceed 100 meters. There are also cases when it is advantageous to develop a coal deposit by an underground method. Mines are used to extract coal from great depths. The deepest mines in Russia extract coal from a level of just over 1,200 meters.
Loading:
Coal has its own label. Depending on the degree of conversion and the specific amount of carbon in coal, there are its four types: brown coals (lignites), hard coals, anthracites and graphites. In Western countries, there is a slightly different classification - lignites, sub-bituminous coals, bituminous coals, anthracites and graphites, respectively.
5.5% of the world's coal reserves are concentrated in Russia, which is more than 200 billion tons. Such a difference with the percentage of proven coal reserves (19%) is due to the fact that most of it is not suitable for development, as it is located in Siberia in the permafrost region. 70% falls on brown coal reserves.
The use of coal is varied. It is used as a domestic, energy fuel, raw material for the metallurgical and chemical industries, as well as for extracting rare and trace elements from it.
As for the Kuznetsk coal basin, Kuzbass is one of largest coal deposits in the world. Currently, the name "Kuzbass" is the second name of the Kemerovo region.
KOMATSU mining dump truck with a carrying capacity of 90 tons. But as the drivers say, it happens that they load more than 90
In total, we were in Kiselevsk for a week, most of the time we were filming. It can't get boring, it's really interesting.
When exposed to oxygen, coal ignites spontaneously. Well, or smokes, as in the photo:
Loading:
Bucket of a walking mining excavator:
Even at a career in regime time, everything looks prettier. But shooting is difficult, everything is in motion:
Walking excavator:
At night, throughout the quarry, you can see how coal burns in some areas:
Technique. Everyone has a plan that must be followed. Therefore, the movement in the quarry never stops.
Well, maybe at the end of the shift for half an hour or an hour
Bucket tracks:
One such wheel costs 700,000 rubles, so they try to clear the roads from sharp stones:
In the cab of the excavator:
50-ton BELAZ followed by 90-ton KOMATSU:
IN cab of a walking excavator. This is a whole room. There is a couch, a microwave, a samovar, a washbasin and a bunch of posters with naked girls on the walls:
And this is from his arrow. Height 27 meters:
The welder is repairing the ladle:
These machines drill the ground, and explosives are poured into the dug 12 meter holes, produce undermining of the rock. He does this so that the rock becomes looser, large strong layers are broken into small stones, which then become much easier to develop with an excavator:
Explosive. We were unable to film the explosion itself.
And now, when the coal is dug out, it is taken to the enrichment plant. Enrichment- a set of processes for the primary processing of raw materials, namely the separation of coal from waste rock and sorting:
Atmospheric inside:
A place where both coal and rock travel along a conveyor belt, and women (!) separate this rock from coal, collect it and throw it away. There are large enough pieces that women alone cannot cope and throw off pieces of the breed together. In the rest of the workshops, everything is automated:
Car dumper:
Coal warehouse:
Loading coal into wagons that will go to consumers. It was a report from Kuzbass.
