English Russia » Places

Inside a Russian Coal Mine

spanic — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:20:23 +0000

Today we’ll go down to a depth of 70 meters below the surface, into one of Russia’s many coal mines and see how it all works. Plus, you’ll find out where the 120 meter semi-abandoned mast is located.

Coal mine “Moscow” located in the Tula region (9 km from the village Gritsovsky) is currently the only coal mine in the whole central region of Russia. This mine used to be very productive in the early 80’s but today, since people refuse to use coal as energy, the mine barely produces any coal at all. The decline began in the 90’s and at that time the Tula region alone employed more than 30 coal mines. There were also mines in Ryazan, Tver and Smolensk regions.

Construction of the mine began in 1967. It was assumed that this will be one of the largest mines of the Moscow coalfield. The mine was completed in 1974.

At the moment, the mine employs 80 people who are working in 4 shifts. Coal is produced in very low volumes and at the current price, it’s not very profitable for the mine.

The main mode of transportation in the mine is a narrow-gauge railroad with a track of 900 mm. There are 3 electric coal carriers working on the surface of the mine and 7 below.

The pile of slagheap (tailings) is located not far away from the mine and is accumulated in a very interesting manner. The container carrying the slagheap is rope fastened to the mast. It carries the material all the way to the top of the tower and then dumps it into the large pile of tailings. The height of the pile is about 50 meters and the height of the tower is 120.

General view of the mine.

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There are ongoing projects to continue the development of this industry, but so far no real action is taken. Before the decline of the coal industry this mine employed over 1800 people.

Here’s the plan of the mine. There are two shafts going into the surface. The main shaft is used to carry out coal and to pump oxygen. The auxiliary shaft is used to carry workers and equipment. This mine has three wings – the north wing, the south wing and the east wing. They can be easily identified on the map. The southern wing is partially flooded and the southeastern is filled with gases. The total length of the underground tunnels is about 26 kilometers.

The administrative building of the mine also has classrooms. Previously, students who wanted to become workers in this facility were trained in this building.

Scheme of the conveyor line.

A model of the 4PP-2 miner. It is only here that you can see the whole machine since it is assembled underground, in the tunnels, and is covered with earth from all of it’s sides.

Before descending into the mine, everybody has to get acquainted with the safety rules, change into working cloths, get a helmet, flashlight and a self-rescuer (a device for respiratory protection)

The main clock. Previously, the building was equipped with a special computer and each miner had a personal token which had to be stamped on these devices every time they started work. Today everything is turned off.

After this, everyone must go through an isolated chamber where the air pressure is equalized.

Elevator boarding point. The rails are for carrying equipment into the elevator on small wagons.

On top of the elevator we can see warning signs which are lit one after another.

The descent is quite fast.

After the descent everybody must pass the “acclimatization” tests in a special room.

Before going further into the tunnels, everybody must tell the supervisors their destination and the route that they will be taking. Also, while going through the tunnels, everybody must stop at checkpoints and report their position.

Everything used to be illuminated. The effect is demonstrated here with the use of exposure photography.

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Some levels of the mine are flooded.

The tunnel of the left is closed due to the large amount of gases that is contained in that area. There is a high pressure water pipe leading into that tunnel, just in case something happens.

One of the checkpoints. The head of the group had to report our position by using the phone located on the wall.

In this part of the tunnel there was a lot of substance on the ground due to the previous inflow of ground water. Everything has been repaired and the tunnel was reinforced to prevent this from happening again.

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An electric pump used to pump out water in case of a flood. These are located all over the place and are needed all the time. Without water pumps, the mine will be flooded in about 6 hours.

We are approaching the mining zone. On the picture above we can see what they call an “Electrotrain”. It is used to supply energy to the whole mechanized complex.

The mining zone. On the left we can see the material which will be extracted from the earth, in this case coal, and of the right we can see one side of the mining combiner.

The height of this tunnel is about 1.5 meters.

The cut coal is fed to the conveyor.

Conveyor drive.

Conveyor line on the right.

This is where all the coal is loaded from the conveyor line into the wagons.

In some places, the tunnels are supported by wooden sleepers which are not always in very good condition due to previous floods. This is why throughout the tunnels we can see these metal wires attached to the ceiling. They are under high tension and are used to support the ceiling if it starts to collapse.

One of many air pumps.

Water pipes which are no longer needed.

The electric trains take the coal to the main shaft, where it is unloaded into an elevator and sent to the surface.

The electric train depot. They are serviced and repaired here since they never go to the surface. There used to be 45 of these working at the same time, but today only a few remain functional.

Color Photography from the Early 1900’s

spanic — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:20:10 +0000

The photographs of Russian photographer and chemist, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, show Russia just before World War I and the arrival of the revolution. From 1909-1912 and in 1915, Prokudin-Gorskii traveled across the Russian Empire, documenting the life of citizens, landscapes and the work of Russain people. His images were to be a photographic survey at that time. He traveled in a special train-car transformed into a dark room to process his color images, a technology that was just discovered in the early 1900’s. Prokudin-Gorskii left Russia in 1918, after the Russian Revolution had destroyed the Russian Empire he spent years documenting.

Church in the village of Shaidoma.

Peasant children, Russia. The young women offer berries to visitors.

Trans-Siberian Railway metal truss bridge on stone piers, over the Kama River near Perm, Ural Mountains Region.

Cotton textile mill interior with machines producing cotton thread, probably in Tashkent.

Man and camel loaded with packs.

Three yurts, man seated in doorway of yurt in foreground.

Altar side of the Dmitrievskii Cathedral, Vladimir.

Bashkir switchman.

Isfandiyar, Khan of the Russian protectorate of Khorezm (Khiva), full-length portrait, in uniform, seated on chair, outdoors.

Austrian prisoners of war near a barrack, near Kiappeselga.

Photographer posing with two others

Shuia River

In Little Russia (Ukraine)

Alim Khan, Emir of Bukhara, seated holding sword

Log buildings in the Ural Mountain Region

Corner tower of the Trinity Cathedral in the Solovetskii Monastery, Solovetski Islands

Boy standing by wooden gatepost

Work at the Bakalskii mine

Bashkir’s yard, Ekhia

Rafts on the Peter the Great Canal. City of Shlisselburg, Russia.

City of Cherdyn

Old church of Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker, Nyrob

Church in Vetluga settlement

Andrei Petrov Kalganov. Former master in the plant. Seventy-two years old, has worked at the plant for fifty-five years. He was fortunate to present bread and salt to His Imperial Majesty, the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II, Zlatoust

Dvinsk, Roman Catholic church

Mills in Ialutorovsk district of Tobolsk Province

Molding shop at the Kasli plant

On the Karolitskhali River, self portrait of photographer Prokudin-Gorskii in suit and hat, seated on rock beside the Karolitskhali River, with mountains in background

Assumption Cathedral in the Goritskii Monastery, near Pereiaslavl-Zalesskii

Chapel on Olga hill, Russia

Garden of the M.P.S. (Ministry of Communication and Transportation) and Saint Paul sluice, Deviatiny, Russia.

Pinkhus Karlinskii, eighty-four years. Sixty-six years of service. Supervisor of Chernigov floodgate, Russia.

Crew of the steamship “Sheksna” of the M.P.S. (Ministry of Communication and Transportation), Russia.

Sawmill, Oka River, Several men standing near a sawmill.

Church of the Resurrection in the Grove (from the other side), Kostroma.

Dagestani types, Group of women posed outdoors.

Gallery in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Rostov Velikii.

Construction of iron-concrete frames for the lock’s walls, Beloomut, Uniformed man posed in framework of lock.

Mosque in Vladikavkaz

General view of the Shakh-i Zindeh mosque (evening photo), Samarkand.

Shepherd posed near a hillside, Samarkand.

Georgian woman standing on a carpet, outside, near a tree.

Mugan, Settler’s family, Settlement of Grafovka.

Group of workers harvesting tea. Greek women, Chakva.

Dagestani types, Man and woman posed outdoors.

General view of the Likanskii palace from the Kura River.

Portion of entrance door on right side of Tillia-Kari, Samarkand.

On the Saimaa Lake.

Camel caravan carrying thorns for fodder, Golodnaia Steppe.

Melon vendor, Samarkand.

At work on the upper reaches of the Syr-Darya, Golodnaia Steppe, Four men on a horse-drawn cart, next to a cliff.

Migrant farmstead in the settlement of Nadezhdinsk with a group of peasants, Golodnaia Steppe.