In the city of Mirny (Yakutia) there is one of the world's largest diamond quarries - the Mir kimberlite pipe. Even helicopters do not fly over this mine: a giant funnel with a depth of 525 meters and a diameter of more than 1 kilometer, initiating updrafts, sucks in aircraft of any size.
More recently, no human has set foot on these lands, where permafrost reigns. And this is not surprising: absolute value minimum temperature (frosts reach -70 ° C) Yakutia has no equal regions in the entire Northern Hemisphere. The diamond deposit has become a find of extreme importance.
The diamond industry had to double its economic potential Soviet Union. In particular, Nikita Khrushchev made the following statement regarding the strategic importance of diamonds: “It’s time for the aggressors-capitalists to show their “kuzka mother”, our Motherland will soon take a leading position in the international currency market, having developed new diamond deposits in Yakutia for the speedy creation of the material and technical base of communism in THE USSR".
In 1957, near the diamond-bearing vein, the working settlement of Mirny grew up, which in 1959 received the status of a city. To get here, the first columns of trucks overcame 2,800 kilometers of off-road. Already in the 1960s, more than $1 billion worth of diamonds were mined annually in the Soviet Union. One can only imagine how much effort has been invested in the development of a quarry: at a depth of many meters, aggressive waters saturated with methane, hydrogen sulfide and oil arrive at a speed of 3,500 cubic meters per day, and if a unique backfill screen had not been created, the mine would inevitably have been flooded.
Years passed, and thanks to the labor of workers and builders, Mirny turned from a tiny village into the center of the Russian diamond industry, modern city with 9-storey buildings and paved roads. Ore mining in the Mir quarry was stopped in 2001, and the bottom of the mine was mothballed to prepare for the development of the upper underground horizons. Geologists have found out that the depth of diamonds exceeds 1 kilometer, and it is unprofitable to extract them from the mine in an open way.
Today Mirny is the headquarters of the ALROSA company, which owns 75% of diamonds mined in Yakutia. The largest diamond ever mined in Russia was found in the Mir kimberlite pipe on the eve of 1981. It weighs 342.5 carats (68.5 grams) and bears the party name - "26th Congress of the CPSU".
Nedvano came up with the idea of creating a completely autonomous eco-city for 10,000 inhabitants in the foundation pit. It is planned to cover the top of the pit with a translucent dome, on which solar panels will be installed. The climate in Yakutia is harsh, but there are many clear days, and the batteries will be able to generate about 200 MW of electricity, which should provide more than the needs of the future city. The heat of the Earth is also planned to be used for the benefit of the project. In winter, the air in Mirny cools down to -60 C, but at a depth below 150 m (that is, below the permafrost), the ground temperature is positive, which adds energy efficiency to the project.
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Society, 23 September 2017, 10:25
ALROSA's management will be reduced salaries after the tragedy at the Mir mine ... Peaceful, a representative of the diamond mining holding told RBC. The final causes of flooding on mine « Peace"have not been established, added the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance, chairman of the supervisory board ... analysis of the causes and actions to eliminate the consequences of the accident at mine. accident on mine « Peace"will affect the total volume of diamond production, said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board... Rescuers stop searching for missing miners at Mir mine ... Search and rescue operations on an emergency mine « Peace” in Yakutia were discontinued due to the threat of further flooding. Rescuers acknowledged that ... eight missing miners are no longer alive Continuation of the rescue operation on mine « Peace» was deemed impossible due to the threat of mine flooding. This is stated ... material support will be paid in full. Water breakthrough on mine « Peace” in Yakutia occurred on August 4. At the time of the accident underground... ALROSA will pay 14 million rubles. relatives of miners who disappeared at the Mir mine ... material assistance to the relatives of miners who went missing in an accident at mine « Peace". This was said in a statement. By decision of the council, the company ... material assistance to the relatives of eight persons injured in an accident on an underground mine « Peace» Mirny Mining and Processing Plant of PJSC ALROSA 04.08.2017 ... was adopted unanimously. accident on mine « Peace” in Yakutia occurred on August 4. Water broke into underground horizons mine where at that moment was... ALROSA reported on the search and rescue operation at the Mir mine ... the use of aviation. "Smoked a pipe peace»: how people live in the diamond capital of Russia on August 15 rescue operation on the mine « Peace"at minus 310 m ... words, thus on mine trying to cover up multiple security breaches. ALROSA denied this information. Underground mine « Peace"was commissioned in 2009. From 1957 to 2001, diamonds from a kimberlite pipe " Peace» mined open... ALROSA to assess safety at all mines in August ... engineer at the Yakutniproalmaz Institute. "Final and full analysis causes of the accident mine « Peace» should be prepared by the commission of Rostekhnadzor. However, we are planning not... to be held from May of this year. As a result of water breakthrough mine « Peace"In the city of Mirny in Yakutia, 142 were evacuated on August 4 ... they are being searched. Earlier, on August 15, rescuers stopped searching for mine « Peace» at minus 310 m due to flooding. There presumably... Rescuers stop searching for four miners at the Mir mine ... on the mine « Peace was discontinued due to flooding. According to ALROSA, four out of eight blocked miners remained there. Rescuers stopped the search operation on mine « Peace... at a depth of 210 m organized a rescue base. August 4 on mine « Peace"there was a water breakthrough, as a result of which two horizons were flooded ... 143, eight more have remained blocked since then. Accidents on mine « Peace» Pavel Kazarnovsky Maria Kokoreva Sergey Vitko The quarry at the Mir mine in Yakutia was freed from water ... the bowl of a quarry on a diamond mine « Peace” managed to be freed from water, RBC was told in the press service of ALROSA. ... . “The fate of eight miners who have been in mine workings since the flooding mine « Peace"August 4, remains unknown for the time being," the company's press service added... these accusations. "Smoked a pipe peace»: how people live in the diamond capital of Russia Water breakthrough from a quarry to a mine mine « Peace”, owned by ALROSA, an... The Ministry of Emergency Situations announced the worsening of the situation due to the incoming water at the Mir mine ... On the mine « Peace» In Yakutia, the hydrological situation is becoming more complicated, water continues to flow into the mine. ... we keep people,” said the deputy head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. August 4th in the mine mine « Peace“There was a breakthrough of water from the quarry, there were 151 people underground ... a rescue operation, 143 miners were saved, the search for the remaining eight is underway. Mine owned by ALROSA. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on August 7... ALROSA attracted a helicopter for rescue operations at the Mir mine ... mine « Peace» in Yakutia. The company showed a video of its use. The footage shows how a helicopter with a cargo attached to it flies up to a flooded mine... news agency YakutiaMedia. The accident with a breakthrough of water in the mine occurred on mine « Peace» 4 August. 143 miners managed to get to the surface. The remaining eight ... added that the check was planned and was not related to the accident at mine « Peace". Vice President and CFO of ALROSA Igor Kulichik August 9... Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on flooding at the Yakut mine "Mir" ... Yakutia The Investigative Committee (IC) opened a criminal case on the flooding of the diamond mine « Peace» ALROSA. This was reported by the press service of the department. The case was initiated... Three workers were blocked at Horizon 310. Rescuers in this part mine the rock mass is unloaded with the help of two loaders. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations ... where is the mine " Peace". ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov said that by August 19 they would revise the production plan for mine in connection with...The head of ALROSA announced the search for nine miners at a flooded mine ... on a flooded diamond mine « Peace» ALROSA in Yakutia, rescuers are looking for nine miners. About it... . Ivanov Jr. clarified that at the time of flooding in the shift to mine there were 151 people. Of these, nine remained preparatory work... continues, the head of the diamond mining holding noted. In the flooded mine Alrosa remains 9 people In the mine mine « Peace» ALROSA broke through the water on August 4. Initially...
Putin reported on the accident at the diamond mine in Yakutia ... diamond mine « Peace» in Yakutia. This is reported by TASS with reference to the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov. Accident at the diamond mine « Peace» companies... . Rescuers established contact with 130 miners. Destiny 18 stuck in mine yet unknown. A TASS source reported about a hit in a mine near ... Vladimir Puchkov flew to Yakutia to coordinate rescue work at mine. It was decided to evacuate 150 people from the ALROSA mine due to a water breakthrough ... mine rescue units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. No casualties reported In the diamond mine mine « Peace» in Yakutia, owned by ALROSA, there was a breakthrough of water from a quarry ... that about 200 thousand cubic meters of water got into the mine. On the mine « Peace» employees of Rostekhnadzor arrived, who will participate in the creation of a commission of inquiry ... . The Yakut prosecutor's office also began checking. Accidents on mine « Peace» Against the backdrop of reports of flooding in mine ALROSA shares began to fall in price: their quotes...IN Soviet times a sufficient number of cities have been built on the territory of our country, many of which are real unique in their own way. geographic location and used engineering solutions. Such is the city of Mirny (Yakutia). The diamond quarry, which is located within its boundaries, is one of the wonders modern world, as it amazes with its size even worldly-wise specialists.
"Pipe of Peace"
By the way, scientifically this quarry is a "kimberlite pipe" called "Mir". The city itself appeared after her discovery and the start of development, and therefore was named after her. The quarry has an unrealistic depth of 525 meters and a diameter of almost 1.3 km! Itself was formed in time immemorial, when lava flows and hot volcanic gases burst out of the depths of our planet at great speed. On the cut, it resembles a glass or a cone. Thanks to the enormous force of the explosion, kimberlite was ejected from the bowels of the Earth - this is the name of the rock containing natural diamonds.
The name of this substance comes from the name of the South African city of Kimberley. There, in 1871, almost 17 grams were discovered, as a result of which prospectors and adventurers from all over the world poured into that area in an unstoppable stream. How did our city of Mirny (Yakutia) come about? The quarry is the basis of its appearance.
How the deposit was discovered
In mid-June 1955, Soviet geologists in Yakutia were looking for traces of kimberlite and came across a fallen larch whose roots had been uprooted from the ground by a powerful hurricane. The fox took advantage of this natural "preparation" by digging a hole there. It served us well: by the color of the earth, the experts realized that there was an excellent kimberlite under the fox hole.
A coded radiogram was immediately sent to Moscow: “They lit the pipe of peace, excellent tobacco!” Just a few days later, huge columns of construction equipment were pulled into the wilderness. This is how the city of Mirny (Yakutia) arose. The quarry had to be developed in extremely difficult conditions. One has only to look at the pit covered with snow to understand the grandiose scope of the work carried out here!
Delegation from South Africa
To break through several meters of permafrost, tens of thousands of tons of powerful explosives had to be used. Since the 60s of the last century, the deposit began to consistently produce two kilograms of diamonds, and at least 1/5 of them were of excellent quality and could be sent to jewelry stores after cutting. The remaining stones were intensively used in Soviet industry.
The deposit was developing so rapidly that the South African company De Beers was simply forced to buy up Soviet diamonds in droves in order to prevent a world decline in prices for them. The leadership of this organization applied for a visit to the city of Mirny (Yakutia). The quarry struck them, but they didn’t stay there for long ...
Industrial Tricks
The government of the USSR agreed, but demanded a reciprocal favor - that Soviet specialists be allowed into the fields in South Africa. A delegation from Africa arrived in Moscow ... and was greatly delayed there, because banquets were constantly arranged for the guests. When the specialists finally arrived in the city of Mirny, they had no more than 20 minutes to inspect the quarry itself.
But what they saw still shocked them to the core. For example, the guests simply could not imagine the technology of diamond mining without the use of water. However, there is nothing surprising in the conditions for this: in those places for almost seven months a year there is a sub-zero temperature, and you should not joke with permafrost. The city of Mirny stands in a dangerous place! The depth of the quarry is such that, if desired, even a miniature sea can be arranged here.
Brief history of mining
From 1957 to 2001, more than $17 billion worth of diamonds were mined here. The quarry near the city of Mirny in Siberia during the development process expanded so much that from the bottom to the surface the length of the road for trucks was eight kilometers. It should be understood that in 2001 the deposit was not depleted at all: it was simply that open-pit diamond mining became too dangerous. Scientists were able to find out that the vein stretches to a depth of more than a kilometer, and in these conditions an underground mine is already needed. By the way, it reached its design capacity of one million tons of ore already in 2012. Today, experts believe that it is possible to develop this unique field for another 35 years (approximately).
Some terrain issues
Helicopters are strictly forbidden to fly over the quarry, since such a flight is certain death for the machine and crew. The laws of physics just throw the helicopter to the bottom of the quarry. The high walls of the tube also have their drawbacks: there is a far from illusory possibility that one day precipitation and erosion will lead to the formation of a monstrous landslide that will completely swallow the city of Mirny (Yakutia). The quarry, the photo of which is in the article, can also be used for purposes that some may consider real fiction. It's about about the possibility of creating a unique city of the future in a titanic pit.
"City of the Future": dreams or reality?
Nikolay Lutomsky was appointed the head of this project. The most difficult thing in the upcoming work is to create a cyclopean concrete structure that will not only strengthen the walls of the quarry, but will also burst it, providing additional strength. It will be an incredible tourist attraction that only the city of Mirny can boast of!
The quarry, the photo of which can be seen in the review, is supposed to be closed from above with a transparent dome, on the sides of which solar panels will be mounted. Of course, the climate in Yakutia is extremely harsh, but there is enough sunny days. Power engineers assume that batteries alone will be able to generate at least 200 MW of energy per year. Finally, it will be possible to take advantage of the warmth of the planet itself.
The fact is that in winter this area cools down to -60 degrees Celsius. Yes, it is difficult to envy those for whom the city of Mirny (Yakutia) is their homeland. The quarry, whose photo is amazing, is frozen in the same way, but only to a depth of 150 meters. Below - constantly positive temperature. The futuristic city is supposed to be divided into three main tiers at once. At the lowest level they want to grow agricultural products, on the middle one it is planned to mark out a full-fledged forest park zone.
The upper part is a zone for permanent residence of people, in addition to residential premises, there will be offices, entertainment complexes, and so on. If the construction plan is fully implemented, the area of the city will be three million "squares". Up to 10 thousand people can live here at the same time. Peaceful city (Yakutia) has about 36 thousand citizens. The quarry, whose depth is half a kilometer, will allow them to rest comfortably without flying to distant lands for this.
Other information on the Ecocity project
Initially, this project was given the name "Ecocity 2020", but today it is clear that it will obviously not be possible to implement it by the scheduled date. By the way, why are they going to build it at all? It's about the residents: only five months a year their living conditions more or less correspond to a comfortable norm, and the rest of the time they live at temperatures that are more typical for the Arctic and Antarctica. The city will allow them to relax at any time of the year, basking in the sun, and you should not forget about the production capacity of giant farms: all residents and tourists will be more than provided with vitamin fruits and vegetables.
In order for the lower levels to receive enough light, it is supposed to leave a lighting shaft of gigantic diameter in the center. In addition to solar panels, the effectiveness of which is still quite doubtful (plus installation difficulties), some engineers offer the option of building a nuclear power plant. To date, all this is in the stage of very vague plans. I really hope that the city of Mirny, whose diamond quarry is known all over the world, will become more comfortable for people to live in it.
As we said, in the 60s, up to two kilograms of diamonds were mined here a year, and a fifth of them were of high gem quality. There were up to a gram of pure raw materials per ton of rock, and among the stones there were many that were suitable for jewelry processing. Today, there are approximately 0.4 g of diamonds per ton of ore.
The largest diamond
At the end of December 1980, the most in the history of the deposit was found here. This giant, weighing 68 grams, received the solemn name "XXVI Congress of the CPSU."
When was open pit mining stopped?
When did they "finish off" Mirny? The diamond quarry became dangerous to develop in the 1990s, when the working depth reached 525 meters. At the same time, the bottom of the pit was flooded. It was Mir that became the largest diamond quarry in our country. Mining lasted more than 44 years. Until that time, the production was managed by the Sakha company, whose annual profit exceeded $600 million. Today the mine is run by Alrosa. This corporation is one of the largest diamond producers in the world.
When did the idea of the closed mine come about?
Already in the 1970s, the construction of the first tunnels began, as everyone understood the impossibility of continuous open-pit mining. But this method was transferred to a permanent basis only in 1999. To date, it is known for sure that there is still a vein at a depth of 1200 meters. It is possible that diamonds will be mined even deeper.
Here is what kind of raw materials the Republic of Yakutia is rich in: the city of Mirny, the quarry in which staggers the imagination of everyone, is one of the sources of national prosperity. The diamonds that are mined there are used not only for the needs of jewelry companies, but also for the production of many complex devices and mechanisms.
Near the city of Mirny, in the Yakut region of permafrost, on the left bank of the middle course of the Irel River, there is the largest diamond quarry in the world, which is called the Mir kimberlite pipe.
Today, a diamond quarry in Yakutia has the following impressive parameters:
- Its depth is 525 meters.
- The volume of ore extracted from the quarry is 165 million cubic meters.
- The bottom diameter is 160-310 meters.
- The diameter along the outer ring is 1.2 kilometers.
- The depth that has been explored is up to 1200 meters.
At first glance, one of the largest quarries in the world, where diamonds are mined, impresses with its scope and amazes the imagination. The formation of a kimberlite pipe is a consequence of a volcanic eruption, when gases at a huge temperature and highest pressure through the earth's crust burst forth from the bowels of the earth. A volcanic explosion brings to the surface of the Earth a rock containing diamonds - kimberlite.
The tube has the shape of a glass and looks like a funnel of enormous proportions. The breed bears the same name with the city of Kimberley, located in South Africa, where in 1871 a diamond was found, the weight of which was equal to 85 carats. Found 16, 7 gram "pebble" gave rise to Diamond Rush.
History of the Mir kimberlite pipe
Back in the early 19th century, rumors began to emerge about the presence of precious stones in the territory of Yakutia and the western lands bordering it. Teacher Petr Starovatov after civil war In Kempendyai I got into a conversation with an old man who told him about his discovery a couple of years ago in one of the local rivers - it was a sparkling pebble the size of a pinhead. He sold the find to a merchant for two bottles of vodka, a sack of cereals and five bags of tea. After a while, another person said that he also found precious stones on the banks of the Kempendyak and Chona rivers. But it was only in 1947-1948 that a targeted search for diamonds began for the first time on the territory of the Siberian Platform. In the autumn of 1948, a group of geologists led by G. Fanshtein launched prospecting work on the Vilyuy and Chona rivers, and on August 7, 1949, the first diamond was found on the Sokolina sandy spit, and subsequently a diamond placer was discovered here. The prospecting work of 1950-1953 was also crowned with success - several diamond placers were discovered, and on August 21, 1954, the first kimberlite pipe in the Soviet Union, called Zarnitsa, was discovered.
Soon, on June 13, 1955, the geological party saw a tall larch with exposed roots, where the fox dug a deep hole. The bluish color of the earth suggested that it was kimberlite. This is how a team of geologists discovered a diamond pipe that turned out to be the largest and richest in the world. The following telegram was sent to the authorities: "They lit the pipe of peace, the tobacco is excellent." By means of this classified radiogram, Soviet geologists reported to the capital about the discovery of the Mir kimberlite diamond pipe. The phrase excellent tobacco said that diamonds contained a large number of.
This discovery was extremely important for the USSR, since after the start of industrialization, the country experienced an acute shortage of industrial diamonds. It was believed that the use of diamond tools would double the country's economic potential, and soon the Mirny settlement arose, where convoys moved off-road, overcoming 2,800 km of the way. At the beginning of 1960, the USSR was already actively mining diamonds worth $1 billion a year, and the village of Mirny became the center of the Soviet diamond mining industry, and today 40,000 people live here.
The richest diamond mine in the world
The deposit was developed in extremely difficult climatic conditions, and in order to break deep into the permafrost, the earth had to be blown up with dynamite. Already in 1960, the annual production of diamonds was 2 kilograms, and 1/5 of them were of gem quality.
Diamonds, after appropriate cutting, turned into amazingly beautiful diamonds, which were used to create jewelry. Soviet citizens planning to get married could afford to buy exquisite diamond engagement rings, in which diamonds were mined in the Yakut Mir kimberlite pipe. The remaining 80% of mined diamonds have been used for industrial purposes, since according to the Mohs scale of reference minerals, this is the hardest mineral in the world with the highest thermal conductivity, dispersion and refraction.
The active development of the Mir kimberlite pipe was of most concern to the South African company De Beers, which was forced to buy Soviet-made diamonds in order to control prices on the world market. The first persons of the company, after negotiations with the Soviet leadership, agreed on the arrival of a delegation from their side in the village of Mirny. A positive answer was given, but with one condition - a delegation from the USSR, in turn, would visit diamond quarries in South Africa.
The delegation of the South African company in 1776 arrived in Moscow with the aim of further flight to the village of Mirny, but it was deliberately delayed, arranging endless meetings and banquet feasts. When the delegation nevertheless arrived in Yakutia to inspect the Mir kimberlite pipe, they had only 20 minutes to inspect it. Despite this, the De Beers specialists were strongly impressed by the scope of what they saw, and were surprised that the Soviet specialists did not use water when processing the ore. Given that this region has been experiencing sub-zero temperatures for 7 months, it is simply impossible to do this.
Today, the city of Mirny has turned from a small tent settlement into a modern industrial city with asphalt roads, developed infrastructure and nine-story high-rise buildings. There is an airport, two diamond processing factories, a city park, bars, restaurants, an art gallery, swimming pools, a stadium, 3 libraries, an art school, a modern Palace of Culture and a 4-story hotel. For a provincial town, there is a rather high intellectual potential here. The research institute "Yakutniproalmaz" has been working here for many years and the Polytechnic Institute is open to applicants.
For 44 years of operation of the Mir quarry (between 1957 and 2001), diamonds were mined here, the cost of which amounted to $ 17 billion. The scale of the quarry increased to such latitudes that trucks had to travel almost 8 km along a spiral road in order to rise from the bottom of the quarry to the surface.
Today, the diamond quarry is owned by the Russian company ALROSA, which in 2001 stopped mining ore in the Mir quarry using open pit technology. main reason- low efficiency and danger.
Research by scientists has shown that diamonds lie at a depth of more than 1,000 meters, and in order to establish effective mining, not a quarry is needed, but an underground mine. The design capacity of such a mine, according to the plan, will be about a million tons of ore annually. The total period planned for the development of the field is 34 years.
Interesting facts about the kimberlite pipe
- Helicopters are strictly prohibited from flying over the deep quarry. The reason is as follows - a huge funnel causes turbulence in the air masses, in which aircraft cannot maneuver safely.
- The walls of the quarry are incredibly high, and they are dangerous not only for helicopters. There is an increased risk of landslides here.
According to rumors, local residents are afraid that one day a huge quarry can absorb the territories adjacent to it, including those that are built up for human habitation, but these are just urban legends of the Mirny village.
Ecological city of the future on the site of a former diamond quarry
Today, an empty huge pit is of interest to scientists, and ideas are already emerging to create an eco-city in this funnel. The head of the architectural bureau of Moscow, Nikolai Lutomsky, shared his plans for an incredible solution. “The main part of the project is a huge concrete structure, which will play the role of a kind of plug, bursting open the quarry from the inside. A light-transparent dome will cover the pit from above, and it is planned to install solar panels on it.
Despite the harsh climate of Yakutia, there are a lot of clear days a year, and the batteries can generate about 200 MW of electricity. It will be enough "with a head" to meet the needs of the future city. In addition, you can use the heat of the Earth, and if in winter the air temperature is minus 60 degrees Celsius, then the temperature of the soil at a depth below 150 meters will be positive (below permafrost). This fact adds energy efficiency to the future project. The city is planned to be divided into three parts:
- Upper will be used for permanent residence. It will contain residential buildings, buildings and structures of socio-cultural and administrative significance;
- middle tier- a zone where a forest and a park zone will be spread, designed to purify the air in the city;
- lower tier will be a so-called vertical farm - agricultural products will be grown here to meet the needs of the city.
The total planned area of the project is 3 million square meters. The city will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 tourists, farm workers and service personnel.
On August 21, 2009, a new significant date in the history of diamond mining, the Mirny underground mine was launched. This is the pinnacle of many years of work of thousands of people, a powerful production unit of AK ALROSA, which makes it possible to extract about 1 million tons of ore containing diamonds. Last years Russia confidently holds the palm in diamond mining, thanks to ALROSA. During the year, diamonds were exported in the amount of 1.7 billion dollars, and most of them are in European countries.
Kimberlite pipes from which diamonds are mined are the result of eruptions underground volcanoes that happened millions of years ago. Under the influence of high temperatures and enormous pressure, carbon received a strong crystal lattice and turned into a gem. Subsequently, the discovery of this property made it possible to establish the production of artificial diamonds. But natural stones, of course, are much more valuable.
In the photo - a view of the main quarry of the Udachny mining and processing plant - "Udachny". Mining operations at the field of the same name began in 1971, and over the past 25 years, the plant has been the leading enterprise in the diamond mining industry in Russia and one of the largest open pits in the world. In 2010, the share of Udachninsky GOK accounted for 33.8% of diamond production in value terms and 12.5% of mining operations from the total volume for the Alrosa group.
The first large-scale industrial diamond mining began in southern Africa about a hundred years ago. In Russia, kimberlite pipes were discovered only in the middle of the last century - in Yakutia. This discovery laid the foundation for Alrosa, today the world leader in diamond mining. Thus, the company's forecast reserves are about a third of the world's, and the explored reserves are enough to maintain the current level of production for 25 years without reducing the quality of raw materials. If in numbers, then the diamond reserves in the deposits owned by Alrosa are (according to data published in May 2011) 1.23 billion carats according to the Russian classification (1.014 billion proven and 0.211 billion probable).
For the past five years, the company has annually allocated from 2.5 to 3.5 billion rubles for exploration work. In 2011, exploration costs amounted to about 4 billion rubles, and in 2012 it is planned to allocate over 5.36 billion rubles for these purposes.
Alrosa produces about 35 million carats of diamonds per year at its deposits, being the world's largest producer of this rough in physical terms: it accounts for about 97% of Russian production and 25% of the world. At the same time, the content of diamonds in the ore of kimberlite pipes is traditionally low - usually a few carats per ton. The Yakut deposits are advantageous in this regard, and are considered one of the richest in content.
In 2010, Alrosa's sales of rough and polished diamonds amounted to $3.48 billion, and in 2011, according to preliminary data, the company sold products worth $5 billion, a record high in its history. The company's revenue in the first half of 2011 under IFRS amounted to 66.15 billion rubles. (+3% on the previous year), and net profit increased five times to 26.27 billion rubles.
Kimberlite pipes have the shape of a cone, expanding upwards, so their development usually begins with open-pit mining. The design depth of the Udachny quarry, shown in these photographs, is 600 m. To get up from the bottom of the quarry to the surface, the dump truck overcomes a path about 10 km long along the serpentine.
And this is how mining is carried out in quarries. The drilling rig makes a well into which an explosive is laid (in the photo - the process of laying). By the way, although diamond is the hardest mineral, it is quite fragile. Therefore, sparing technologies are used in blasting operations to preserve the integrity of the crystals as much as possible. After the explosion, rock fragments are loaded into dump trucks and taken to the processing plant.
The main enterprises of the company are located in Western Yakutia, on the territory of four districts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - Mirninsky, Lensky, Anabarsky, Nyurbinsky - in one of the most severe regions of the planet, with a sharply continental climate, a large temperature difference, in the permafrost zone. In Udachny, winter lasts up to 8 months, the temperature in winter sometimes drops to -60 C. Therefore, most of the equipment is made to order - these are machines adapted to work in conditions low temperatures. As a result, work at the fields is carried out all year round in all weather conditions. A large number of equipment is simultaneously involved in quarrying - wheel loaders, dump trucks, excavators. There are only about 300 heavy dump trucks in the Alrosa fleet, with a carrying capacity of 40 to 136 tons - mostly BelAZ trucks, there are also Cat and Komatsu.
After reaching a certain depth, the reserves within the quarry are exhausted, and open pit mining becomes unprofitable. On average, quarries are developed to a depth of about 600 m. However, kimberlite pipes lie underground to a depth of 1.5 km. A mine is being built for further development. Underground mining is more expensive than quarrying, but it is the only cost-effective way to get to deep-seated reserves. In the future, Alrosa is going to significantly increase the share of underground diamond mining. The company is now completing open development quarry "Udachny" and in parallel is building an underground mine. It is expected to be launched in 2014.
The cost of transition to underground diamond mining is estimated at $3-4 billion, but in the future this should lead to cost reductions. Largely due to the construction of underground mines, Alrosa's debt by the acute phase of the crisis in 2008 increased by 64% to 134.4 billion rubles. But the state did not leave the company in trouble: it was included in the list of backbone enterprises, non-core gas assets were bought by VTB for $620 million, and when the demand for diamonds fell, Gokhran began buying Alrosa products.
When you hear the word “diamond mines”, you involuntarily imagine a beautiful picture: a cave, within the walls of which precious stones shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. In fact, a diamond mine is not the most romantic place on earth. The walls do not sparkle with a diamond shine, and looking at the ore, it is generally difficult to assume that the future is hidden in it. best friends girls." The photo shows workers in one of the ventilation horizontal workings of the future underground mine, the depth is 380 meters.
The construction of mines takes place in unique mining and geological conditions. In addition to permafrost, it is complicated by aggressive underground waters, which, due to high mineralization, can not only erode the walls of mine workings, but also corrode (!) wheel tires of dump trucks. In addition, there are bitumen and oil shows at Alrosa's fields, which also complicate diamond mining.
In parallel, the construction of surface facilities of the future mine is underway - for example, ventilation and air heaters. The underground mine "Udachny" will become one of the largest in the world - its productivity is expected at the level of 4 million tons of ore per year. This is not the company's first underground mine: since 1999, Alrosa has been working at the International mine. In addition, in August 2009 the company commissioned the Mir underground mine. It is expected that when all mines reach full capacity, the share of underground mining in the total volume of Alrosa's operations will grow to 40%. In total, the company mines diamonds in Russia at 9 primary and 10 alluvial deposits located in Yakutia and the Arkhangelsk region. In addition, the company owns the Katoka diamond mining enterprise in Angola, together with the local state-owned company Endiama.
What will underground mining at Udachny look like in 2–3 years? For example, a photograph of the already operating Mir mine. Mining of diamond ore underground is carried out mainly by combine driving (pictured). Also, the company's specialists are studying the possibility of using traditional mining blasting - when the rock is destroyed by explosives placed in drilled wells. Further, the scheme is the same: loading machines take the ore and take it to the surface, from where it will go to the processing plant. Now we will go to it.
The initial stage of enrichment of diamond ore looks the same as for any other mineral. Initially, large pieces of rock up to several meters in size enter the factory. After coarse crushing in jaw or cone crushers, the ore is fed to wet self-grinding mills (pictured), where, using water, rock fragments up to 1.5 m in size are crushed to a size of 0.5 m or less.
A controlling stake in Alrosa (51%) is federally owned (from 2006 to 2008, 10% of this stake was owned by VTB), 32% of the shares belong to the government of Yakutia, and 8% control the uluses of this subject of the federation. In April 2011, the company was transformed from a CJSC into an OJSC in order to be able to raise funds on the market. Since the middle of last year, Alrosa shares have been traded on Russian stock exchanges, but the volume of transactions in them is small due to low liquidity (only shares of minority shareholders were listed on the stock exchange). In the fall of 2011, Suleiman Kerimov's Nafta-Moskva, which bought up about 1% of the company's shares on the market, became one of Alrosa's shareholders.
At the next stage, spiral classifiers separate the raw material depending on its density and size. The principle of operation is very simple. Water picks up small particles and carries them down the drain. Large particles (up to several centimeters in size) can no longer be carried away by water - they settle in the lower part of the tank, after which the spiral lifts them up.
Now we need to somehow isolate diamonds from small pieces of ore obtained after crushing. Pieces of medium-sized ore are sent to jigging machines and for heavy-medium enrichment: under the influence of water pulsation, diamond crystals are isolated and deposited as a heavy fraction. Fine "powder" passes through pneumoflotation, during which, interacting with reagents, small diamond crystals adhere to foam bubbles.
At the next stage, all raw materials will undergo the main procedure - X-ray luminescent separation (RLS).
It’s just that it’s impossible to show what happens inside the separator during its operation: the radar principle is based on constant x-ray radiation. To look inside during the operation of the separator, to put it mildly, is unsafe. If described in words, then the method is based on unique property Diamond is the only mineral that luminesces in X-rays. Crushed ore is constantly moving along the conveyor belt inside the separator, irradiated with X-rays. As soon as a diamond enters the irradiation zone, the photocells record a luminescent flash and the air flow “knocks out” the sparkling fragment into a separate tank.
Of course, the air flow inside the separator cannot separate only one small crystal - along with it, a certain amount of waste rock is also eliminated. In fact, the whole process of ore beneficiation is aimed only at minimizing the amount of this “empty” material and then facilitating manual processing. Moreover, “manual” in the literal sense of the word: experts select crystals, clean them and carry out the so-called “final finishing”. No matter how popular the desire to automate all production processes in general is now, it is absolutely impossible to do without the human factor in diamond mining. The number of employees of the company (as of December 2010) is more than 31,000 people.
Whose hands were those?
One way or another, but it was under Fyodor Andreev that Alrosa began to prepare for an IPO, and the company was included in the privatization program for 2012–2013. It is currently awaiting a government decision on the parameters and timing of privatization. Representatives of Yakutia stated that the republic sees no obstacles to the privatization of part of the package, but insists that control should remain with the state. Recently, the shareholders agreed that only 14% of the shares (7% each from the Federal Property Management Agency and the Ministry of Property of Yakutia) will be sold on the market, for which it is planned to raise about $1 billion.
From the final finishing shop, all rough diamonds are sent to the Sorting Center in Mirny. Here, raw materials are divided into main groups and given an initial assessment, after which they can be sent for sale through the Unified Sales Organization of Alrosa.
By the way, about half of Alrosa's products are sold outside of Russia. Until recently, the company sold its diamonds to the world market using the services of the De Beers monopoly. However, in early 2009, they stopped cooperation and Alrosa began reorganizing its sales system, providing for sales under direct contracts and an equal approach to foreign and Russian buyers, worked out the client base and introduced the practice of "long" contracts.
In general, raw materials from each of the deposits have their own distinctive features. Experienced experts, when looking at a diamond, can determine from which mine it came. But this applies only to general signs. No two diamonds are the same. Therefore, there are no organized exchange trading in diamonds, for example, like gold or copper - this is not a standardized commodity, each stone has unique characteristics.
Such uniqueness significantly complicates both sorting and evaluation. When evaluating, experts take as a basis three characteristics: size, color and purity (no inclusions inside, transparency). The most expensive stones are "pure water", absolutely transparent and without a pronounced color. Each of the characteristics has different gradations. As a result, depending on the size, color and other parameters, about 8,000 possible positions of rough diamonds are obtained.
