Saint-Petersburg Mining University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia:

V. P. Zubov, Head of Chair of Mineral Mining, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, spggi_zubov@mail.ru

Trends of losses in coal and potash–magnesium salt rocks are reflective of inefficiency of techniques aimed at solution of problems connected with sound management of these nonrenewable resources. Salt rock mining is carried out mostly with short longwalls, and production loss of salt in pillars reach 70% of economic reserves. Pillars being left prevent neither mine flooding, nor social and environmental disasters. The proposed concept of salt rock mining proceeds from the fact that in view of the applied technologies groundwater inrushes in mined-out areas should be assumed inevitable and recommends backfill to ensure integrity of waterproof strata both in the period of operation and after closure of a mine. In coal mining, extraction of marketable reserves from gently dipping seams 1.4–6 m thick is mostly implemented by longwalling with pillars left between neighbor longwalls. Despite considerable coal loss, this system complying with the business interests is used in all promising coal mines in Kuzbass. Regarding this situation, some measures of technological improvement are offered as well. When seeking solution of problem connected with efficient management of nonrenewable resources, it is better to proceed from the following statements: mineral resources are the essential base ensuring long-term sustainable socio-economic development of Russia and prosperity of its nations both in the present time and in the future; the presence of competitive Russian mining companies on the world market is one of the first-order conditions of efficient Russian economy. Considering these statements, the way out of the “conflict of interests” between the State and subsoil users in mining and the vectors of the further advance of economically efficient technologies can be only determined on the ground of compromise decision based on the long-acting specified term legal documents targeted at the the rational, from the position of the State, management of nonrenewable resources with the financial motivation of mining companies to use resource-saving technologies.

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