UNDERWATER MINING OF SOLID MINERALS: TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Abstract

Currently, along with mining on the continents, minerals extraction from the bottom of the continental shelf is becoming very promising. In this regard, the topic of underwater mining becomes relevant, which requires the creation of new technologies and tools that ensure safe, efficient and reliable operation. The necessity of developing the offshore mining industry in Russia is substantiated.

The article shows that the coastal zones of the seas of the Russian Far East have rich natural potential and ones of the main resources are the deposits of coastal-marine ilmenite-titanomagnetite sands as raw materials for the production of iron and titanium, which must be involved in development. The development of placers, such as the extraction of sea sand, is considered an important area, since it is accompanied by the formation of significant volumes of waste rock.

The analysis of existing modern methods of underwater mining is carried out. The development of deposits at the bottom of the seas and oceans has its own characteristics and requires the use of special methods for the development and use of a number of types of mining machinery and equipment. It is shown that promising equipment for underwater mining of minerals concentrated in low-power deposits are self-propelled remotely controlled dredging units, through which nodules or sands can be developed. In turn, the design of a self-propelled dredging unit equipped with a sorting device for separating unproductive fractions from the rock mass will reduce the energy intensity for the extraction process and for the lifting minerals to the surface and will increase the profitability of work.