Coal. Development of coal mines and basins How coal is mined

The coal mining industry is the largest segment of the fuel industry. Worldwide, it outnumbers any other in terms of the number of workers and the amount of equipment.

What is the coal industry

The coal mining industry involves the extraction of coal and its subsequent processing. Work is carried out both on the surface and underground.

If the deposits are located at a depth of no more than 100 meters, the work is carried out in a quarry way. Mines are used to develop deposits at great depths.

Classic coal mining methods

Working in coal mines and underground are the main methods of mining. Most of the work in Russia and in the world is carried out in an open way. This is due to financial gain and high speed mining.

The process is as follows:

• With the help of special equipment, the upper layer of the earth covering the deposit is removed. A few years ago, the depth of open works was limited to 30 meters, the latest technology allowed to increase it by 3 times. If the top layer is soft and small, it is removed with an excavator. A thick and dense layer of earth is pre-crushed.
• Coal deposits are beaten off and taken away with the help of special equipment to the enterprise for further processing.
• Workers restore natural relief to avoid damage environment.

The disadvantage of this method is that coal deposits located at a shallow depth contain impurities of dirt and other rocks.

Coal mined underground is considered cleaner and of better quality.

The main task of this method is to transport coal from great depths to the surface. For this, passages are created: an adit (horizontal) and a shaft (inclined or vertical).

In the tunnels, coal seams are cut by special combines and loaded onto a conveyor that lifts them to the surface.

The underground method allows you to extract a large amount of minerals, but it has significant drawbacks: high cost and increased danger to workers.

Unconventional methods of coal mining

These methods are effective, but do not have mass distribution - at the moment there are no technologies that allow you to clearly establish the process:

• Hydraulic. Mining is carried out in a mine at great depths. The coal seam is crushed and brought to the surface under strong water pressure.
• The energy of compressed air. It is both destructive and lifting force compressed air is under strong pressure.
• Vibroimpulse. The formations are destroyed under the influence of powerful vibrations generated by the equipment.

These methods were used in the Soviet Union, but did not become popular due to the need for large financial investments. Only a few coal mining companies continue to use unconventional methods.

Their main advantage is the absence of workers in potentially life-threatening areas.

Leading countries in coal mining

According to the statistics of world energy, a ranking of countries that occupy leading positions in coal production in the world has been compiled:

1. India.
2. Australia.
3. Indonesia.
4. Russia.
5. Germany.
6. Poland.
7. Kazakhstan.

For many years, China has been the leader in terms of coal production. In China, only 1/7 of the available deposits are being developed, this is due to the fact that coal is not exported outside the country, and the existing reserves will last at least 70 years.

On the territory of the United States, the deposits are evenly scattered throughout the country. They will provide the country with their reserves for at least 300 years.

Coal deposits in India are very rich, but almost all of the coal produced is used in the energy industry, since the available reserves are of very low quality. Despite the fact that India occupies one of the leading positions, artisanal methods of coal mining are progressing in this country.

Australia's coal reserves will last approximately 240 years. The mined coal has the highest quality rating, a significant part of it is intended for export.

In Indonesia, the level of coal production is growing every year. A few years ago, most of the produced was exported to other countries, now the country is gradually abandoning the use of oil, in connection with which the demand for coal for domestic consumption is growing.

Russia has 1/3 of the world's coal reserves, while not all the country's lands have yet been explored.

Germany, Poland and Kazakhstan are gradually reducing coal production due to the non-competitive cost of raw materials. Most of the coal is intended for domestic consumption.

The main places of coal mining in Russia

Let's figure it out. Coal mining in Russia is carried out mainly by open-pit mining. Deposits across the country are scattered unevenly - most of them are located in the eastern region.

The most significant coal deposits in Russia are:

• Kuznetsk (Kuzbass). It is considered the largest not only in Russia, but throughout the world, located in Western Siberia. Coking and hard coal is mined here.
• Kansko-Achinsk. Production is carried out here. The field is located along the Trans-Siberian Railway, occupying part of the territories of the Irkutsk and Kemerovo regions, the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
• Tunguska coal basin. Represented by brown and hard coal. It covers part of the territory of the Republic of Sakha, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
• Pechora coal basin. Mining is carried out at this deposit Works are carried out in mines, which makes it possible to extract high-quality coal. It is located on the territories of the Komi Republic and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
• Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo coal basin. It is located on the territory of the Upper Sayan. Provides coal only to nearby enterprises and settlements.

To date, five more deposits are being developed that can increase the annual volume of coal production in Russia by 70 million tons.

Prospects for the coal mining industry

Most of the coal deposits in the world have already been explored, from an economic point of view, the most promising belong to 70 countries. The level of coal production is growing rapidly: technologies are being improved, equipment is being modernized. This increases the profitability of the industry.

Coal is a sedimentary rock that forms in the earth's seam. Coal is an excellent fuel. It is believed that this is the most ancient type of fuel used by our distant ancestors.

How coal is formed

For the formation of coal, a huge amount of plant matter is needed. And it is better if the plants accumulate in one place and do not have time to decompose completely. The ideal place for this is swamps. The water in them is poor in oxygen, which prevents the vital activity of bacteria.

Vegetation mass accumulates in swamps. Not having time to completely rot, it is compressed by the following soil deposits. This is how peat is obtained - the source material for coal. The next layers of soil, as it were, seal the peat in the ground. As a result, it is completely deprived of access to oxygen and water and turns into a coal seam. This process is lengthy. So, most of the modern reserves of coal were formed in the Paleozoic era, that is, more than 300 million years ago.

Characteristics and types of coal

(Brown coal)

The chemical composition of coal depends on its age.

The youngest species is brown coal. It lies at a depth of about 1 km. There is still a lot of water in it - about 43%. Contains a large amount volatile substances. It ignites and burns well, but gives little heat.

Hard coal is a kind of "middling" in this classification. It occurs at depths up to 3 km. Since the pressure of the upper layers is greater, the water content in coal is less - about 12%, volatile substances - up to 32%, but carbon contains from 75% to 95%. It is also highly flammable, but burns better. And due to the small amount of moisture, it gives more heat.

Anthracite is an older breed. It occurs at depths of about 5 km. It has more carbon and almost no moisture. Anthracite - solid fuel, poorly ignites, but the specific heat of combustion is the highest - up to 7400 kcal / kg.

(Anthracite coal)

However, anthracite is not the final stage in the transformation of organic matter. When exposed to harsher conditions, coal transforms into shuntite. At higher temperatures, graphite is obtained. And when subjected to ultra-high pressure, coal turns into diamond. All these substances - from a plant to a diamond - are made of carbon, only the molecular structure is different.

In addition to the main "ingredients", the composition of coal often includes various "rocks". These are impurities that do not burn, but form slag. Contained in coal and sulfur, and its content is determined by the place of formation of coal. When burned, it reacts with oxygen and forms sulfuric acid. The less impurities in the composition of coal, the higher its grade is valued.

Coal deposit

The place of occurrence of coal is called a coal basin. Over 3.6 thousand coal basins are known in the world. Their area occupies about 15% of the earth's land area. The largest percentage of deposits of the world's coal reserves in the United States - 23%. In second place - Russia, 13%. China closes the top three leading countries - 11%. The largest coal deposits in the world are located in the USA. This is the Appalachian coal basin, whose reserves exceed 1600 billion tons.

In Russia, the largest coal basin is Kuznetsk, in the Kemerovo region. The reserves of Kuzbass amount to 640 billion tons.

The development of deposits in Yakutia (Elginskoye) and in Tyva (Elegestskoye) is promising.

Coal mining

Depending on the depth of the coal, either a closed mining method or an open one is used.

Closed, or underground mining method. For this method, mine shafts and adits are built. Mine shafts are built if the depth of coal is 45 meters or more. A horizontal tunnel leads from it - an adit.

There are 2 closed mining systems: room and pillar mining and longwall mining. The first system is less economical. It is used only in cases where the discovered layers are thick. The second system is much safer and more practical. It allows you to extract up to 80% of the rock and evenly deliver coal to the surface.

The open method is used when the coal is shallow. To begin with, an analysis of the hardness of the soil is carried out, the degree of soil weathering and the layering of the covering layer are ascertained. If the ground above the coal seams is soft, the use of bulldozers and scrapers is sufficient. If the upper layer is thick, then excavators and draglines are brought in. A thick layer of hard rock lying above the coal is blown up.

The use of coal

The area of ​​use of coal is simply huge.

Sulfur, vanadium, germanium, zinc, and lead are extracted from coal.

Coal itself is an excellent fuel.

It is used in metallurgy for iron smelting, in the production of iron, steel.

The ash obtained after burning coal is used in the production of building materials.

From coal, after its special processing, benzene and xylene are obtained, which are used in the production of varnishes, paints, solvents, and linoleum.

By liquefying coal, a first-class liquid fuel is obtained.

Coal is the raw material for producing graphite. As well as naphthalene and a number of other aromatic compounds.

As a result of the chemical processing of coal, more than 400 types of industrial products are currently obtained.

Coal is one of the most famous fuel resources. The ancient Greeks were the first to learn about the combustible properties of this mineral. How is coal mining carried out in the modern world? Which countries are leading in its production? And what are the prospects coal industry soon?

What is charcoal and how is it used?

Coal is a solid and combustible mineral, a rock of dark gray or black color with a slight metallic sheen. “This substance flares up and burns like charcoal” - this is how Theophrastus of Eres, a student of Aristotle, described the breed. Coal was actively used by the ancient Romans to heat their homes. And the Chinese learned how to make coke from it back in the 1st century BC.

How was coal formed? In ancient geological eras, large areas of the earth's surface were covered with dense forests. Over time, the climate changed, and all this wood pulp was buried under the earth. In conditions high temperature and pressure, dead vegetation turned first into peat, and then into coal. Thus, powerful layers enriched with carbon appeared underground. The most active coal was formed in the Carboniferous, Permian and Jurassic periods.

Coal is used as an energy fuel. It is on this resource that most of all thermal power plants operate. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the active mining of coal became one of the decisive factors in the industrial revolution that took place in Europe. Nowadays, coal is widely used in ferrous metallurgy, as well as in the production of the so-called liquid fuel(by liquefaction).

Based on the amount of carbon in the composition of the rock, there are three main types of coal:

• brown coal (65-75% carbon);
• hard coal (75-95%);
• anthracite (over 95%).

Coal mining

To date, the total volume of industrial coal reserves on our planet reaches one trillion tons. Thus, this fuel resource will be enough for humanity for many years to come (unlike the same oil or natural gas).

Coal mining is carried out by two methods:

• open;
• closed.

The first method involves the extraction of rock from the bowels of the earth in quarries (coal cuts), and the second - in closed mines. The depth of the latter varies widely from several hundred meters to one and a half kilometers. Each of these coal mining methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. So, open method much cheaper and safer than underground. On the other hand, mines cause much less harm to the environment and natural landscapes than quarries.

It should be noted that coal mining technologies do not stand in one place. If a hundred years ago, primitive carts, picks and shovels were used to mine coal seams, now the latest technical machines and equipment (jackhammers, harvesters, augers, etc.) are used for the same purposes. In addition, developed and improved completely new way extraction - hydraulic. Its essence is as follows: a powerful jet of water crushes a layer of coal and carries it into a special chamber. From there, the rock is delivered directly to the factory for further enrichment and processing.

Geography of world coal mining

Coal deposits are located in the world more or less evenly. Deposits of this resource are present on all continents of the planet. Nevertheless, about 80% of all deposits are located in North America and in the post-Soviet countries. At the same time, one sixth of the world's coal reserves are contained in the subsoil of Russia.

The largest coal basins of the planet are Pennsylvania and Appalachian (USA), Henshui and Fushun (China), Karaganda (Kazakhstan), Donetsk (Ukraine), Upper Silesian (Poland), Ruhr (Germany).

As of 2014, the top five leading hard coal producing countries in the world are as follows (in brackets is the percentage of global coal production):

1. China (46%).
2. USA (11%).
3. India (7.6%).
4. Australia (6.0%).
5. Indonesia (5.3%).

Problems and prospects of the coal industry

The main problem of the coal mining industry, of course, is environmental. fossil coal contains mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals. When extracting rock from the ground, all this gets into the soil, atmospheric air, surface and groundwater.

In addition to the damage caused to the environment, the coal industry is also associated with huge risks to human life and health. First of all, it concerns the miners. Excessive dust content in the air in closed mines can lead to serious diseases such as silicosis or pneumoconiosis. We should not forget about the large number of tragedies that annually claim the lives of hundreds of workers in the coal industry around the world.

But, despite all the problems and dangers, humanity is unlikely to be able to abandon this fuel resource in the near future. Especially against the background of the rapid reduction of oil and gas reserves in the world. To date, the coal mining industry is dominated by an upward trend in anthracite production. In some countries (in particular, in Russia, Turkey, Romania) the production of brown coal is growing.

Coal mining in Russia

Russia was first introduced to this mineral by Peter the Great. While relaxing on the banks of the Kalmius River, the king was shown a piece of black rock that burned beautifully. “If not for us, then this mineral will be useful for our descendants,” the sovereign rightly summed up then. The formation of the Russian coal industry took place in the first half of the 19th century.

To date, the volume of coal production in Russia is over 300 million tons annually. In general, the country's bowels contain about 5% of the world's reserves of this fuel resource. The largest coal basins in Russia are Kansk-Achinsk, Pechora, Tunguska and Kuzbass. Over 90% of all deposits in the country are located in Siberia.

Despite the fact that alternative energy sources are being increasingly used today, coal mining is an important industry. One of the most important areas of application of this type of fuel is the operation of power plants. Coal deposits are located in various countries of the world, and 50 of them are active.

World coal deposits

The largest amount of coal is mined in the United States in deposits in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, in Illinois and Alabama, in Colorado, Wyoming and Texas. It produces hard and brown coal, as well as anthracites. The second place in the extraction of these minerals is occupied by Russia.

In third place in coal production is China. The largest Chinese deposits are located in the Shanxing coal basin, in the Great Chinese Plain, Datong, Yangtze, etc. A lot of coal is also mined in Australia - in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, near the city of Newcastle. India is a major coal producer, and the deposits are located in the northeast of the country.

Hard and brown coal has been mined in the Saar and Saxony, Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg deposits in Germany for more than 150 years. There are three coal basins in Ukraine: Dnieper, Donetsk, Lvov-Volyn. Anthracites, gas coal and coking coal are mined here. Sufficiently large-scale coal deposits are located in Canada and Uzbekistan, Colombia and Turkey, North Korea and Thailand, Kazakhstan and Poland, the Czech Republic and South Africa.

Coal deposits in Russia

One third of the world's coal reserves are located in Russian Federation. The largest number of deposits is located in the eastern part of the country, in Siberia. The largest Russian coal deposits are as follows:

• Kuznetsk - a significant part of the basin lies in the Kemerovo region, where about 80% of coking and 56% of hard coal are mined;
• Kansk-Achinsk basin - 12% of brown coal is mined;
• Tunguska basin - located in part of Eastern Siberia, anthracites, brown and hard coal are mined;
• The Pechora basin is rich in coking coal;
• The Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basin is a source of coal for Irkutsk enterprises.

Coal mining is a very promising sector of the economy today. Experts say that humanity consumes coal too intensively, so there is a threat that the world's reserves may soon be used up, but in some countries there are significant reserves of this mineral. Its consumption depends on the application, and if you reduce the consumption of coal, it will last for a longer time.