The hard work of a miner, or how coal is mined. The largest coal deposits in Russia, the most significant basins for the country's economy Coal mining sites in our region

In Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, more than 80% of the country's coal is mined. Coal production has been growing in recent years. The industry leader is OJSC SUEK.

The largest branch (in terms of the number of workers and the cost of production fixed assets) of the fuel industry is coal mining in Russia. The coal industry extracts, processes (enriches) coal, brown coal and anthracite.

How and how much coal is produced in the Russian Federation

This mineral is mined depending on the depth of its location: by open (in open-pit) and underground (in mines) methods. During the period from 2000 to 2015, underground production increased from 90.9 to 103.7 million tons, and open-pit production increased by more than 100 million tons from 167.5 to 269.7 million tons. The amount of fossil mined in the country during this period, broken down by production method, is shown in Fig. one.

According to the Fuel and Energy Complex (FEC) in the Russian Federation, 385 million tons of black minerals were produced in 2016, which is 3.2% higher than the previous year. This allows us to conclude that the industry has a positive growth trend in last years and about the prospects, despite the crisis.

The types of this mineral, mined in our country, are divided into power-generating and coking coals. In the total volume for the period from 2010 to 2015, the share of energy production increased from 197.4 to 284.4 million tons. The volumes of coal production in Russia by type, see Fig. 2.

Source: Magazine "Ugol" according to Rosstat data

How much black fossil is in the country and where is it mined

According to Rosstat, the Russian Federation(157 billion tons) ranks second after the United States (237.3 billion tons) in the world in terms of coal reserves. The Russian Federation accounts for about 18% of all world reserves. See figure 3.

Source: Rosstat

Rosstat information for 2010-2015 indicates that production in the country is carried out in 25 constituent entities of the Federation in 7 Federal Districts. There are 192 coal enterprises. Among them are 71 mines and 121 open-pit mines. Their combined production capacity is 408 million tons. More than 80% of it is mined in Siberia. Coal production in Russia by region is shown in Table 1.

Source: Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation

In 2016, 227 400 thousand tons. mined in the Kemerovo region (such cities with one industry affiliation are called monocities), of which about 125,000 thousand tons were exported.

Kuzbass accounts for about 60% of domestic coal production, there are about 120 mines and open-pit mines.

At the beginning of February 2017, a new open-pit mine, Trudarmeysky Yuzhny, with a design capacity of 2,500 thousand tons per year, was launched in the Kemerovo Region.

In 2017, it is planned to produce 1,500 thousand tons of minerals at the open pit, and, according to forecasts, the open pit will reach its design capacity in 2018. Also, in 2017, three new enterprises are planned to be launched in Kuzbass.

Largest deposits

On the territory of the Russian Federation there are 22 coal basins (according to Rosstat information for 2014) and 129 separate deposits. More than 2/3 of the reserves that have already been explored are concentrated in the Kansk-Achinsk (79.3 billion tons) and Kuznetsk (53.4 billion tons) basins. They are located in the Kemerovo Region of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Also among the largest pools are: Irkutsk, Pechora, Donetsk, Yuzhno-Yakutsk, Minusinsky, and others. Figure 4 shows the structure of proven reserves by major basins.

Source: Rosstat

Import Export

The Russian Federation is among the top three largest exporters coal after Australia (export volume 390 million tons) and Indonesia (330 million tons) in 2015. The share of Russia in 2015 - 156 million tons of black fossil was exported. This figure for the country has grown by 40 million tons in five years. In addition to the Russian Federation, Australia and Indonesia, the six leading countries include the United States of America, Colombia and South Africa. The structure of world exports is shown in Fig. 5.

Rice. 5: Structure of world exports (largest exporting countries).

Russia boasts the most generous coal deposits, but they are often located in remote regions, which complicates their development. In addition, not all deposits are recoverable for geological reasons. We bring to your attention a rating of coal basins in the world, concealing colossal natural resources, most of which will remain in the bowels of the earth, without being extracted to the surface.

Tunguska Basin, Russia (coal reserves - 2.299 trillion tons)

Indisputable world leadership according to the criterion of the volume of coal deposits, it belongs to the Russian Tunguska Basin, which covers an area of ​​more than a million square kilometers and covers the territories of the Irkutsk Region, Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The block's reserves amount to 2.299 trillion tons of stone and brown coal... It is too early to talk about the full-scale development of the basin's fields, since most of the areas of possible production are still poorly understood due to their location in hard-to-reach areas. In those areas that have already been explored, mining is carried out by open and underground methods.

Kayerkansky coal mine, Krasnoyarsk Territory

Lena Basin, Russia (1.647 trillion tonnes)

In Yakutia and partly in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, there is the second of the world's largest coal basins - Lensky - with reserves of 1.647 trillion tons of brown and coal... The main part of the block is located in the Lena River basin, in the area of ​​the Central Yakutsk Lowland. The area of ​​the coal basin reaches 750 thousand square kilometers. Like the Tunguska basin, the Lensky block has been insufficiently studied due to the inaccessibility of the area. Extraction is carried out in mines and open-pit mines. At the Sangar mine, which was closed in 1998, a fire broke out two years later, which has not been extinguished to this day.

Abandoned mine "Sangarskaya", Yakutia

Kansk-Achinsk Basin, Russia (638 billion tonnes)

The third position in the ranking of the largest coal blocks in the world went to the Kansk-Achinsk basin, whose reserves amount to 638 billion tons of coal, mostly brown. The length of the basin is about 800 kilometers along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The block is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk and Kemerovo Regions. About three dozen deposits have been discovered on its territory. The basin is characterized by normal geological conditions for development. Due to the shallow bedding of the strata, the development of the sites is carried out in a quarry way.

Borodinsky coal mine, Krasnoyarsk Territory

Kuzbass, Russia (635 billion tonnes)

The Kuznetsk Basin is one of the largest developed blocks in the country. Geological reserves of Kuzbass coal are estimated at 635 billion tons. The basin is located within the Kemerovo region and partly in the Altai Territory and the Novosibirsk Region, where sub-bituminous coal and anthracite are mined, respectively. In Kuzbass, the predominant method is underground mining, which allows you to extract higher quality coal. Another 30% of the fuel volume is mined by open pit mining. The rest of the coal - no more than 5% - is extracted hydraulically.

Open-pit mine "Bachatskiy", Kemerovo region

Illinois Basin, USA (365 billion tonnes)

The fifth largest coal reserve in the world is the Illinois basin with an area of ​​122 thousand square kilometers, located in the state of the same name, as well as in the territories of neighboring regions - Kentucky and Indiana. Geological coal reserves reach 365 billion tons, of which for open development available 18 billion tons. The depth of extraction is average - within 150 meters. Up to 90% of the coal produced comes from only two of the nine available seams - "Harrisburg" and "Herrin". Approximately the same amount of coal is used for the needs of the heat and power industry, the rest is coked.

Crown III Coal Mine, Illinois, USA

Ruhr Basin, Germany (287 billion tonnes)

The famous German Ruhr block is located in the basin of the river of the same name, which is the right tributary of the Rhine. This is one of the oldest coal mining sites, known since the thirteenth century. Industrial reserves of coal lie on an area of ​​6.2 thousand square kilometers, at a depth of up to two kilometers, but in general, the geological strata, the total weight of which is within 287 billion tons, reaches six kilometers. About 65% of the deposits are coking coal. The extraction is carried out exclusively by underground method. The maximum depth of mines in the field is 940 meters (mine "Hugo").

Workers of the Auguste Victoria coal mine, Marl, Germany

Appalachian Basin, USA (284 billion tonnes)

In the eastern part of the United States, in the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama, is the Appalachian coal basin with reserves of 284 billion tons of fossil fuels. The basin area reaches 180 thousand square kilometers. There are about three hundred coal mining areas in the block. 95% of the country's mines are concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains, as well as approximately 85% of the quarries. The coal-mining enterprises of the basin employ 78% of the industry workers. 45% of coal is mined by open pit mining.

Removal of mountain peaks for coal mining, West Virginia, USA

Pechora Basin, Russia (265 billion tonnes)

In the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Komi there is the eighth largest coal basin in the world with an area of ​​90 square kilometers - Pechora. The coal deposits of this block are 265 billion tons. Fishing is carried out in permafrost regions, in the forest-tundra and tundra. In addition, difficult production conditions are associated with the fact that the reservoirs are unevenly bedded and are characterized by a high level of methane content. Working in mines is dangerous due to high concentrations of gas and dust. Most of the mines were built directly in Inta and Vorkuta. The development depth of the plots reaches 900 meters.

Open-pit mine "Yunyaginsky", Vorkuta, Komi Republic

Taimyr Basin, Russia (217 billion tonnes)

Another Russian coal block entered the world's top ten - the Taimyr Basin, which is located on the territory of the peninsula of the same name and covers an area of ​​80 thousand square kilometers. The structure of the seams is complex, part of the coal deposits is suitable for coking, and most of the reserves are energy grades. Despite the significant volumes of fuel reserves - 217 billion tons - at present, the basin's fields are not being developed. The prospects for the development of the block are rather vague due to its remoteness from potential consumers.

Coal layers on the right bank of the Shrenk River, Taimyr Peninsula

Donbass - Ukraine, RF, DPR and LPR (141 billion tons)

Donbass closes the rating of the largest coal basins with a volume of deposits of 141 billion tons, which covers the territory of the Russian Rostov region and a number of regions of Ukraine. On the Ukrainian side, part of the administrative territory in the basin area is engulfed in an armed conflict, is not controlled by the Kiev authorities, while being under the control of the unrecognized republics - DPR and LPR in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, respectively. The basin area is 60 thousand square kilometers. All major brands of bituminous coal are distributed in the block. Donbass has been intensively developed for a long time - since the end of the 19th century.

Mine "Obukhovskaya", Zverevo, Rostov region

The above rating in no way reflects the real situation with field development indicators, but only shows the scale of the largest geological reserves in the world without reference to the actual levels of exploration and extraction of minerals in a particular country. The total amount of proven reserves at all deposits in the states that are leaders in the coal mining industry is significantly less than the volume of geological deposits even in one large basin.

From the above diagram, it is obvious that there is no dependence not only between the volumes of proven and total geological reserves. There is also no link between the size of the largest basins and the proven amount of coal in the countries in which they are located. For example, despite the fact that Russia has four of the largest basins in the world, the country is inferior to the leadership of the United States in terms of proven reserves.

The ratings show the wealth of Russian mineral resources, but not at all the possibility of their development. In turn, production rates depend on other factors. For example, we recall that Pronedra wrote earlier that Russia will increase its coal exports in 2017. Decisions of this kind are made taking into account a number of conditions that do not depend on the volume of reserves. We are talking about the complexity of work at the fields, the technologies used, economic feasibility, the policy of the authorities and the position of industry operators.

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 coal and how is it used?

Coal is a solid and combustible mineral, a dark gray or black rock 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. The ancient Romans actively used coal to heat their homes. And the Chinese, in the 1st century BC, learned how to make coke from it.

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 mass was buried under the thickness of the earth. In conditions high temperature and pressure, the dead vegetation turned first into peat, and then into coal. This is how powerful carbon-rich strata arose underground. Coal was most actively formed in the Carboniferous, Permian and Jurassic periods.

Coal is used as a power fuel. It is on this resource that most of all thermal power plants operate. In the 18th-19th centuries, active coal mining became one of the decisive factors in the industrial revolution that took place in Europe. Today, 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

Today the total volume of industrial coal reserves on our planet reaches one trillion tons. Thus, this fuel resource will be enough for mankind for many more years (in contrast to the same oil or natural gas).

Coal mining is carried out in two ways:

• open;
• closed.

The first method involves the extraction of rock from the bowels of the earth in open pits (coal mines), 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 methods of coal mining has both advantages and disadvantages. So, the open way is much cheaper and safer than the underground one. On the other hand, mines do much less damage. environment and natural landscapes rather 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, combines, augers, etc.) are used for the same purposes. In addition, it is developed and improved completely new way extraction - hydraulic. Its essence is as follows: a powerful jet of water crushes a coal seam 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 distributed more or less evenly in the world. Deposits of this resource are present on all continents of the planet. Nevertheless, about 80% of all deposits are located in North America and 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), Henshuisky and Fushunsky (China), Karaganda (Kazakhstan), Donetsk (Ukraine), Upper Silesian (Poland), Ruhr (Germany).

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

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 is, of course, ecological in nature. Fossil coal contains mercury, cadmium and others heavy metals... When rock is extracted from the ground, all this falls into the ground, atmospheric air, surface and The groundwater.

In addition to the damage to the environment, the coal industry is also associated with enormous risks to human life and health. First of all, this applies to miners. Excessive dustiness 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 coal workers around the world.

But, despite all the problems and dangers, mankind is unlikely to be able to abandon this fuel resource in the near future. Especially against the background of the rapid decline in oil and gas reserves in the world. Today in the coal mining industry the tendency of anthracite production growth prevails. In some countries (in particular, in Russia, Turkey, Romania), the volumes of brown coal production are growing.

Coal mining in Russia

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

Today, the volume of coal production in Russia is over 300 million tons annually. In general, the depths of the country contain about 5% of the world's total reserves of this fuel resource. The largest coal basins in Russia are Kansko-Achinsky, Pechora, Tunguska and Kuzbass. Over 90% of all fields in the country are located in Siberia.

Man has been using coal fuel since ancient times. Its flammability and heat transfer, the duration of keeping heat in the hearth became the salvation of people in cold periods, which cyclically replaced each other on our planet. Coal is actively used today as well; in the fuel and energy complex it is in the top three raw materials along with oil and gas.

How did the coal deposits form?

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 dead plants to become coal, certain conditions are necessary: ​​wood residues should not rot under the influence of bacteria. This is possible only if they fall under swamp water, and then underground, where oxygen does not enter. Coal is considered a mineral, extracted from rock strata occurring at different depths.

How are coal deposits found and developed?

The places where there is coal have been explored on the planet for a long time. Its stocks 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 have 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.

Since I live in the land of miners, I could not help but become interested in the methods of extracting this mineral, of which, by the way, there are not so many. Taking this opportunity, I will try to briefly talk about the pros and cons of each of them.

Coal mining: mine method

Mining the fossil in this way offers a huge advantage, since the most valuable fuels are found at great depths. At the same time, coal practically does not contain waste rocks, which cannot be said about open way, but more about it later. So, in order to get to the deposits, deep vertical tunnels are drilled. As soon as a formation is found, its horizontal development begins. Sometimes the depth reaches 1.5 km, for example, the Gvardeyskaya mine, which is located in the Donbass. However, this method contains many disadvantages:

• the threat of flooding;
• since methane is an eternal companion of coal seams, it is fraught with suffocation of workers or undermining;
• the deeper the depth, the higher the temperature, which means there is a risk to people and equipment.

In the world, about 40% of the world's reserves are mined in this way.

Coal mining: open-pit or open-pit mining

In this case, there is no need not only for expensive drilling, but also for the construction of a number of ground communications. The bottom line is to undermine the waste rock, and then huge excavators, crushers and trucks come into play, which process the rock and take it to the dumps. This method is less dangerous, but still there are some risks associated with it. This is the threat of unplanned detonation, and the poisoning of workers by exhaust, and careless handling of traumatic equipment.

Hydraulic coal mining

In principle, this is the same mine, but there is one peculiarity: the transportation of the fossil is carried out by a stream of water under enormous pressure. It turns out that underground waters are a headache for miners, they work for their benefit. Today this method is considered one of the best, since it replaces the laborious process of transportation. The disadvantages include the dependence of production on the type of rock, and the constant contact of water with equipment.