Issues of providing solid fuel to the Arctic regions of Yakutia and their solutions based on the potential development of the local raw material base
Authors:   N. V. Chersky Mining Institute of the no.rth of the Siberian Branch of RAS, FEDOROV Vladislav Igorevich 
Published: December 2020

Relevance. The interest of science and practice in the large-scale development of subarctic and arctic territories, in particular the Russian Far East and Siberia, has sharply increased in the world. Coal enterprises in remote and inaccessible areas of the region in the face of intense inter-fuel competition are faced with the need to comprehensively increase production efficiency. The successful solution of these problems is counteracted by a complex of unfavorable factors, which, compared with the regions of traditional subsoil use, significantly increase the cost of any activity and predetermine high specific energy consumption in conditions of increased risks of various nature. They are most pronounced in the northern regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) with their extreme natural and climatic conditions, where due to the simultaneous effect of the low level of infrastructure development; very complex logistics; seasonality and discrepancies in the delivery of goods by water and road; scattered across a huge area of a small number of settlements, etc. there is a sharp complication of the conditions for the normal provision of all types of resources used. The priorities here are normal functioning of the local population, improving energy and environmental safety with acceptable economic and social efficiency. Purpose of the work: to substantiate the need and the possibility of adjusting geotechnological solutions when mining coal deposits with open pits of small and ultra-low thickness when they operate as part of local fuel and energy complexes to increase the efficiency and safety of deliveries to remote areas and improve the quality of coal shipped. Method of research. Generalization and analysis of scientific and technical literature. Using the method of analogy the selection of criteria for creation of micro-sections for coal mining in the Arctic regions of Yakutia and the effectiveness of their implementation in the system of providing solid fuel to consumers in hard-to-reach areas were made. Research results. A solid fuel supply scheme is proposed that meets the coal needs of remote areas of Yakutia, which is based on the concept of creating new local small coal mines near consumers to replace the existing expensive, complex and unreliable scheme. A complex of geotechnical criteria and boundary conditions oriented to small coal openings is presented, on the basis of which it is possible to reveal resource-saving, technical and technological capabilities of the chain, economically acceptable and environmentally efficient development of coal deposits. Link optimization can result from the immediate horizontal and vertical integration of small open cuts in the coal supply chain to consumers. Conclusions. The development of local deposits is one of the ways to increase the stability of the solid fuel supply chain to consumers, as well as the energy security of the inaccessible northern regions of Yakutia and support their economic and social development.