Podmoskovnaya coal mine (42 photos)

Today we are going to a coal mine, we will go down to a depth of 70 meters and see how it works. You will also find out where the half-abandoned mast 120 meters high is located!

The Podmoskovnaya coal mine, located in the Tula region (9 km from the village of Gritsovsky), is currently the only coal mine in the entire central region of Russia. The mine has always been considered a very promising enterprise, but recently the central region has been abandoning the use of coal for energy production. The decline began in the 90s, and earlier in the Tula region alone there were more than 30 coal mines, and there were also mines in the Ryazan, Tver and Smolensk regions.

The chief engineer of the mine, Yuriy Lvovich Sysoev, gave a wonderful tour, changed into work clothes and spoke in detail about the internal structure of the mine. He has been working at the mine for more than 25 years.

1. Construction of the mine began in 1967, it was assumed that it would be one of the largest mines in the Moscow region coal basin. The mine was put into operation in 1974.

2. At the moment, the company employs about 80 people who work in 4 shifts. Coal production is carried out in very small volumes, and given the current selling price of coal, all this is completely unprofitable for the mine.

3. The main mode of transport at the mine is a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 900 mm. There are 3 electric locomotives operating on the ground section, and 7 underground.

4. A mountain of waste rock (heap waste heap) located in the distance is filled using a very interesting technology. A trolley travels there along a cable attached to the mast. The cable car is doubly unique in that it is single-masted. The height of the waste heap is approximately 50 meters, and the top point of the mast is about 120 meters.

5. General view of the mine. The last shot was taken from a huge star at the highest point of the mine building. The red star, more than 1 meter in size, has long since burned out...

6. We can say that the coal mining industry is on the verge of death.

6. We can say that the coal mining industry is on the verge of death.

8. Let's get acquainted with the general plan of the mine workings. Mining of the corner is carried out on one horizon, at a depth of 74 meters from the surface of the earth. Two trunks go underground - the main and auxiliary. Through the main shaft, coal rises to the surface and air is pumped in. The auxiliary shaft is used to lift and lower people and equipment. The mine has three wings - northern, southern and eastern, they are clearly visible on the presented map. The southern wing is partially flooded, and the eastern wing is polluted. The total length of the underground tunnels is approximately 26 kilometers.

9. There are also classrooms in the administrative building of the mine. Students used to do internships here. Extensive information material introduces in detail the structure of the mine.

10. Conveyor line diagram. I will describe in more detail, this will allow you to better understand the footage presented directly from the mine. On the right is a roadheader. On the left there is a vertical ventilation drift, parallel to it there is a haulage road through which trolleys with rock are transported. At the bottom of the diagram there is a conveyor drift, where a conveyor belt is laid, along which the rock is moved from the mining site to the trolleys. A side drift runs horizontally at the top. Below on the stand are relays and switches that control electrical equipment.

11. Training model of the 4PP-2 roadheader. Only here can it be seen in its entirety, because underground it is assembled from parts on site, and is sandwiched on all sides by rock.

11. Training model of the 4PP-2 roadheader. Only here can it be seen in its entirety, because underground it is assembled from parts on site, and is sandwiched on all sides by rock.

13. Main clock. Previously, a special computer was installed in the building, and each miner had a personal token that had to be marked on these devices. Now all this is disabled. Afterwards, you need to go through a gateway with an electric door drive, where the air pressure is equalized.

14. Zero, place of landing in the cage for descent underground.

15. There are warning signs in front of the cage door that are lit one after another.

16. We go into the cage. The descent underground goes quite quickly, as you can see in the last photo, rails approach the cage, which are also located on the floor of the cage. This is how the trolleys are lowered underground. The barrel is lined with cast iron tubes.

16a. Having descended underground, you must undergo “acclimatization” in a special room.

17. Each person descending underground must check in during the descent and report their route, and as they pass through the telephone installed in the tunnels, call the person on duty and report their location. We started moving along the ventilation drift to the northern wing.

18. There used to be lighting here, but now it has been dismantled. About electricity: the entire mine complex is supplied with a voltage of 6 kilovolts. Depending on the rock pressure, different types of support are installed in different areas of the mine. Here you can see arched concrete linings with boards.

19. In the tunnel on the left there is a trapezoidal support. There is also no contact wire in this area.

20. Some areas are flooded. The haulage tracks use both wood and reinforced concrete sleepers, some of which have not been repaired since the mine opened.

21. On the left you can see an impassable junction towards the eastern wing. Entry there is prohibited due to gas pollution. Under the ceiling you can see a fire water supply pipe, which constantly contains water under high pressure.

22. One of the stopping points where there is a telephone. Yuri Lvovich called the trunk and reported our location. And then everything goes crazy...

23. In front of the area where the arch subsidence occurred due to the influx of groundwater, to prevent collapse, the drift arches were strengthened with additional supports.

24. Another glitch. Here we turn left

25. Now turn right. In total, we walked underground for more than 7 kilometers.

26. The haulage drift goes to the left. It is closed with a door to prevent air leakage. In general, the mine ventilation system is designed in such a way that fresh air is drawn from the surface by powerful fans.

27. In some areas there are carts with pumping units. They are necessary in case the direction of groundwater flow changes and begins to flood one or another part of the tunnel. We go up to the right to get to the roadheader.

28. Finally we approach the lava (this is the place of underground mining). There is a telephone on the wall on the left, and through the arched iron support you can see the rock being mined. There is a so-called “energy train” on the tracks, which provides power to the mechanized complex.

29. We climb directly into the workings. On the left is a mass of coal (longwall face), and on the right side you can see the supports of the roadheader, which support the loose arches of the already traversed area. In the center, a “pigtail” of power wires leading to the drives of the roadheader is clearly visible.

30. We are located directly above the supports, the hydraulic drives of the supports are clearly visible on the left, and on the right the drive of the augers with which the excavation is carried out. The height here is just over a meter.

31. Then, the cut rock is fed to the conveyor.

32. Conveyor drive.

33. Mine starters are visible on the left; they are designed to control electric motors. On the right is a conveyor belt.

34. On the left is the exit of the conveyor drift to the haulage road. It is here that the rock is loaded from the conveyor into trolleys. The tunnel lighting lamps are still preserved here.

35. In most areas, wooden sleepers are constantly in a flooded state. Electric trolleys are suspended from the ceiling. This means that it is forbidden to take off your helmet and do not raise your arms above your head.

36. And this is another slaughter. Before going into this part of the drift, the forced ventilation system was turned on.

37. Trolleys loaded with disassembled fire water supply pipes in the ventilation drift.

38. An electric locomotive moves trolleys with coal along a long haulage drift to the main shaft. Here they are unloaded in a tipper. The car dumper accommodates two trolleys, while the design of the mine coupling allows this operation to be carried out without coupling.

39. An underground electric locomotive depot, repairs and maintenance of electric locomotives are also carried out here; they do not rise to the surface. The depot is located in the east wing and part of the workings are maintained in a passable condition for access to the depot. Electric locomotive K10 with the extreme 7th serial number (during the intensive operation of the mine, there were more than 45 electric locomotives underground).

We return back to the mine yard, call the stem one and wait for the cage to descend. We get up, hand over the inverter...

The work done in the mine is impressive and it is very sad to realize that very soon all this will disappear. The mine has a debt on electricity, and if the power supply is turned off, it will be completely flooded within 6 hours. Theoretically, it will still be subject to restoration, but it is unlikely that anyone will do this. Although the coal reserves in the mine will last for many more decades...