The Pechora coal basin is a large coal basin, which is located immediately in three constituent entities of the Russian Federation: the Komi Republic, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Arkhangelsk Region. In terms of coal reserves in Russia, it is second only to the Kuzbass. It contains about thirty deposits. The mining method in the Pechora coal basin is mainly underground, but also found open.
Stock Characteristic
The total reserves of the Pechora coal basin are 344.5 billion tons. In its composition, it is diverse: both brown coals and lean, and even anthracites are mined here, but fatty (51%) and long-flame (35%) prevail. The general characteristics of the coals are quite high and are presented in the table.
Calorific value | 28-32 MJ / kg |
Humidity | 6-11% |
Mineral impurities | 4-6% |
Coal mining
The cost of coal in the Pechora basin is relatively high, but this is not due to its quality, but to the difficulty of mining. The thickness of the coal seams is approximately 1-1.5 meters, because of this they are constantly bent, broken and sag. The depth of their occurrence can be different from 150 to 1000 meters, which is generally deeper than in the Kuzbass. The largest deposits are: Intinsky, Vorkutinsky, Vorgashorskoye and Yunyaginskoye. The main mining method in the Pechora coal basin is underground. Only at Yunyaginsky and several other deposits, part of the coal is mined open-pit.
It makes mining and climate difficult. Some deposits are located beyond the Arctic Circle, in permafrost. This requires more powerful equipment for the destruction of the breed, as well as funds for the payment of allowances to workers. There is a lot of methane in the rock. This greatly increases the explosiveness of work in mines.
In general, according to the results of the last ten years, production volumes at the main fields are falling. The reason for this is not only the complication of the mining process itself, but also the drop in demand for coal in the domestic and world markets. Now funds are being allocated to reduce the cost of production, which in the future should increase demand.
History
The first information about the presence of coal in this region appeared back in 1828. But because of the difficulties in developing this area, they did not begin to develop the field and soon they forgot about it. Almost a century later, in 1919, the hunter V. Ya. Popov made a request for the discovery of coal near the Vorkuta river. Five years later, geological prospecting began under the direction of A. A. Chernov. Coal was found in the rivers Kosya, Necha, Inta, Kozhim. In addition to finding the deposits themselves, an approximate composition of coal was determined. Even then, researchers realized that the future basin will contain many types of coal.
Later, Chernov received his diploma and badge "Pioneer of the field" for his labors. In 1931, coal mining began. In the 70s, the basin was expanded to the borders of the Timan-Ural province.
The development of the field at first was extremely difficult. Coal lay at great depths, so in the Pechora coal basin mines were the method of coal mining. The climate and the lack of good equipment also affected the difficulties. The main labor force then were prisoners. The field began to gain production momentum only in the post-war years. In many respects, the Soviet ideology played a role: the Stakhanov movement and labor competitions. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many mines began to close due to strikes and the dismissal of workers. A new heyday began only in the 2000s. It was then that the Pechora coal basin began to be equipped with new equipment, wages to miners began to be paid in a timely manner, and product transportation was arranged.
Sales markets and development prospects
In the regions where the Pechora coal basin is located, as well as in the Vologda Oblast, almost all power plants operate on coal mined here. The largest such consumer is the Pechora State District Power Plant. The North-West region and the Kaliningrad region are half provided with Pechora coal, and the Volga-Vyatka and Central Black Earth regions are 20%.
There are no large metallurgical enterprises on the territory of the basin itself. The main consumers of coking coal are located in Cherepovets, the Central, Central Black Earth and Ural economic regions. Coal is delivered via the Northern Railway. It also negatively affects the cost of coal.
Ecology
As already mentioned, there are no large enterprises in the basin. This has a positive effect on the environmental situation in the region, but there are still some problems. The most basic is the violation of the circulation of ground and surface water as a result of large areas of coal production. Contaminated in the process of processing coal and air. As already mentioned, the mining method in the Pechora coal basin is underground. Mines must be constantly aired. Because of this, everything that was in them ends up in the atmosphere. The composition of the air undergoes changes: the carbon dioxide content increases, dust appears.
To improve the environmental situation, a number of measures are being applied today:
- Water in mines goes through several stages of filtration and sedimentation.
- The consumption of water for processing coal is reduced.
- Methane, which is often found in mines, is used as fuel for the needs of mining enterprises, and is not released into the atmosphere.