Abstract
The present paper considers aspects of underground iron ore mining in Ukraine, in particular the level of mine production and reserves of basic ore fields. It analyzes and generalizes the practice of using cemented rockfill under difficult mining and hydrogeological conditions of the Pivdenno-Bilozerske high-grade iron ore field. The Belozersky iron ore district is the only one in Ukraine that, without any technological cycle of beneficiation, can provide both domestic and foreign consumers with high-quality raw iron ore as required by world markets. The PJSC Zaporizhzhia iron ore plant extracts iron ore from the Pivdenno-Bilozerske field with an iron content of more than 60% using the low-waste, environmentally friendly technology of backfilling the mined-out area with a hardening mixture. The peculiarities of the technology for steep deposit mining and the main processes of backfilling operations in terms of preparation, transportation, and construction of the backfill mass with its stability assessment are explained in detail in this paper. As a result of using cemented rockfill, rock mass stability is provided, a considerable part of industrial waste is disposed of in the mined-out area, and the earth’s surface subsidence within the area is prevented (in comparison with mining enterprises in other fields).
Highlights
Ferrous metallurgy is widely developed in Ukraine, and the demand for iron ore is completely satisfied by its own reserves
Main shaft No.1, main shaft No.2, and service shaft are located on the central mine shaft forming the central shaft group (CSG)
In the practice of mining ore deposits with backfilling, cemented rockfill is used, which consists of a binding material, a coarse fraction, and water [49,50]
Summary
Ferrous metallurgy is widely developed in Ukraine, and the demand for iron ore is completely satisfied by its own reserves. The PJSC Zaporizhzhia iron ore plant is the only Ukrainian enterprise extracting highgrade iron ore without beneficiation cycle and with use of the low-waste, environmentally friendly method of backfilling the mined-out area with cemented rockfill [14,15,16]. This is a modern approach to develop economic and environmental strategies of underground mining [17]. As a result of the technological cycle of ore mining with backfilling at the PJSC Zaporizhzhia iron ore plant, the earth’s surface subsidence has been prevented. The natural factors of different mineral deposit occurrence have a significant impact on the mining technology and the rock mass stability [37,38,39,40]
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