“First came the geologists!..” - this is how the chronicle of any coal mining enterprise could begin!
From initial exploration of deposits to ongoing monitoring of mining operations, geologists are an important intellectual support for mineral extraction.
It is these experts in the field of subsoil management who are celebrating their professional holiday today and deservedly receiving words of gratitude for their ability to look deep into complex issues of subsoil use.
Today, 4 geologists work at the Vinogradovsky open pit, who provide geological support for mining operations at the open pit, perform all necessary measurements and calculations for planning the most efficient technological work on coal mining taking into account all safety requirements, analyze the reasons for actual deviations of mining and geological conditions from the predicted ones.
“At the stage of operational exploration, based on data from different points of the license area allocated for coal mining, geologists study in detail the mining and geological conditions of the occurrence of rocks, the structure, texture of coal and host rocks, tectonics and fracturing, changes in hydrogeological conditions, physical and mechanical properties of rocks. The peculiarity of our deposit is that the coal occurrence on one of the wings of the synclinal fold is gentle, rarely broken by disjunctives (shifts of the earth's crust). And the other wing, on the contrary, sharply changes the layers of coal falling right up to vertical ones.
During mining operations, geologists travel to active workings several times a week to assess the properties of rocks and the thickness of coal seams, changes in structure, visual observations of sides and slopes, and changes in the hydrogeological situation. The results of the measurements are recorded on site maps, which allow the progress of mining operations to be tracked. In addition, we collect coal samples and send them to the laboratory to determine the degree of spontaneous combustion.
“Our work is multifaceted, interesting and requires increased attention and constant professional development,” says Sergey Karabiber, chief geologist of the Vinogradovsky open pit.
Sergey Vladimirovich came to the profession under the impression of Oleg Kuvaev's book "Territory", which describes the strong character of researchers. He notes that there are no random people in geology, and everyone who chose this profession chose it with their soul.
"In our work, we use not only our own measurements, but also the results of aerial photography, which track the horizons of the open-pit development. We transfer the development contours to the profiles and plans of the sites, based on all this data, we determine the volumes of the extracted mineral and the degree to which this indicator corresponds to the plan. In addition, we determine in which place of the site the extraction will be most effective, i.e. it will entail fewer costs with a larger volume of extracted mineral. In essence, our task is to forecast and detail the execution of mining operations taking into account all the geological features of a given deposit,” says Deputy Chief Geologist Tatyana Oglezneva.
Tatyana came to the open pit 4 years ago, and before that she devoted 9 years to geological exploration with long shifts in the field. But the harsh experience did not cool her character, it only hardened her professionally. Tatiana simply exudes positive energy, explaining the complex components of her work in an easy to understand way.
“There are 23 monitoring wells in four mountainous areas of our open pit to determine the level and composition of groundwater. We record water level readings in special accounting documents several times a month, and also take samples from wells and compile a report on environmental monitoring programs for each site based on them. We pass some of the material and data to environmental control specialists.
We also monitor the condition of the hydraulic structures in the open pit. We annually forecast the water flows of the quarry and make reports on the compliance of the real situation with these forecasts,” says hydrogeologist Valeria Kolidenko about her work.
Valeria graduated from the Kuzbass State Technical University named after T.F. Gorbachev in 2023, and after receiving a diploma in mining engineering and geology, she immediately came to the Vinogradovsky open pit. She notes that the work is very exciting and impressive in its scale.
A friendly team, with careful mentoring and mutual assistance, as well as the opportunity to train spatial thinking and explore the depths - excellent grounds for a deep passion for this profession.
Interesting facts:
• The coal layers mined in the Kuzbass region, and in particular in the Vinogradovsky open pit, date back to the Permian period of the Paleozoic era (285 million years ago). Therefore, it is safe to say that the burning of ancient organic matter brings energy and warmth to people.
• The quality of coal is determined not by the length of time it has been underground, but by the factors of influence: pressure and temperature. The higher the pressure and temperature on organic matter, the higher the quality of the coal.
• Geologists are genuinely happy about any interesting finds in the form of ancient fossilized plants, mollusks and animals, as well as interesting inclusions of rocks. Almost everyone has their own small collections of "interesting things". Thus, recently, during a planned monitoring of the site, layers of pyrite, the so-called "fool's gold", were discovered in the coal seam. A piece of coal, covered with a golden mantle, found a home in the office of the open-pit geologists.
