Korkinsky incision today

As you know, coal is different. There are black and brown varieties of it, anthracite. Coal layers lie at different depths, and it is this depth that determines the ways of mining.

The layers at a depth of 100 to 150 meters are mined by a quarry method. All processes in coal mining from the quarry are conducted on the surface. With a deeper layer, the underground mining method is used. This is the most laborious method, but it allows you to develop the most powerful layers, the thickness of which can sometimes exceed 30 meters.

The most cost-effective method of coal mining is open mining. About 70% of all coal reserves of the Earth are developed in this way. The largest in Europe (and some experts believe that in the world) is the Korkinsky coal mine. It is located near the village of Rosa in the Chelyabinsk region. In its development, traditional technologies were used.

First, the stripping work was carried out and the overburden was removed. Then, with the help of drilling and blasting operations, coal was extracted. Korkinsky explosion, which opened the deposit, went down in history. In 1936, with this prepared explosion, more than a million cubic meters of land were raised in the air. The emission reached a height of 500 meters, and the explosion itself was registered by several seismic stations. The thickness of the layers found by geologists in 1932 exceeded 200 meters.

The Korkino section is so large that it accommodates not only all the necessary transport (excavators, bulldozers, railway cars and 14 electric locomotives), but also a power substation that provides electricity to the railway branch. Today the coal mine in Korkino has a depth of more than half a kilometer and a diameter exceeding 2.5 kilometers. Dumps from the waste rocks surround it for many kilometers. Coal mining is conducted in it since 1932 to this day. And all coal from the bottom of the quarry is exported by rail.

Korkino section today is not only the largest deposit, but also a source of economic and social problems. The walls of its sides are so deep that in 2012 there was a real threat of their collapse. The entire population of the village of Rosa was under threat, next to which there is the Korkino section.

In connection with these events, the field was visited by Minister of Emergency of Russia V. Puchkov. After inspecting the deposit, he suggested that the government of the Chelyabinsk region consider a closure program for the quarry. In addition, on the initiative of the Minister, an urgent resettlement of all the inhabitants of Rosa was undertaken. Only the first stage of a large-scale resettlement program cost the budget of the Chelyabinsk region more than five billion rubles.

Naturally, the court decision to stop the work caused excitement for all who work in a career. However, Vladimir Putin, who visited the deposit in February 2013, reassured the workers, saying that the Korkino section would function until they accepted an official project to eliminate it. Moreover, he offered to support the workers' cut (more than a thousand) with an additional order. After V. Putin's departure, agreements were concluded for the supply of coal mined in the section for a period of five years.

To successfully complete the resettlement program in the Chelyabinsk region, a federal cash transfer of two billion rubles was granted. In order to protect residents and workers from the collapse of the walls, a seismic station began operating at the bottom of the quarry since December 2012. Its task is to warn in a timely manner about the possible activity of the quarry walls.

There are several projects for reclamation of the section, but none of them have been officially approved yet. It is assumed that the pit can be transferred to the "Russian Copper Company" or other third-party user, or turned into a decorative pond.