OPERATION FOCUS
This mining technique prevents dangerous
deformations of the underworked rock mass and
consequently eliminates the penetration of
underground water into the mined-out area.
Variations include mining with yielding pillars,
mining with support pillars, and a combination
of both.
JSC Belaruskali is also the only major potash
mining company today which uses the pillar
mining technique and longwall shearers. The
pillar mining of the 2nd and 3rd potash seams
by longwall mining (face mining) with roof
collapse has been used since 1969. The
following types of pillar mining are used:
I Complete mining of the 2nd seam and the
layers II, II-III and III of the 3rd seam without
longwall slicing
I Selective mining of the layers II, II-III and III
of the 3rd seam without longwall slicing
I Layer mining of the 2nd seam
I Layer mining of the 3rd seam.
At the present time about 70% of ore is mined
using longwall mining techniques with a fleet of
Eickhoff shearers (faces 180-300 m long). The
3rd potash level has three productive sylvinite
layers (II, III and IV) divided by seams of halite.
When using the combined system of mining, the
upper (IV) sylvinite layer is mined using the
pillar technique and the subsequent layers (II
and III) are mined by the chamber method of
mining. This system is now seldom used due to
a big loss of the mineral recovery from the
layers II and III.
Lastly, the development workings within the
deposit are driven by continuous mining
complexes, which consist of a continuous miner,
a conveyor hopper and a shuttle car. The
workings are 3.0, 4.0, 4.05, and 4.5 m wide
(depending on the type of continuous miner
used and the purpose of the workings). The
height is 2.4, 2.6, or 3.0 m and the floor of the
working can be undercut if necessary.
When sylvinite and halite are extracted
separately using the layer mining method the
content of potassium chloride (KCl) in the mined
ore rises up to 30-35% because in this case only
sylvinite layers are extracted, while halite is left
underground. Every year more than 1 Mt of
waste rock is stockpiled in the worked-out areas
underground, thus reducing the environmental
impact on the industrial district and preventing
deformations of the land surface.
JSC Belaruskali also now has the rights to use
the subsurface resources within the western
part of the Nezhinsky plot of the Starobin
deposit. The company additionally has the
possibility to mine the ore reserves of the
Darasinsky plot totalling 180 Mt.
The next mining phase involves opening the
4th potash level at PU 2. The reserves of the 1st
potash level at PUs 3 and 4 are also included in
14 International Mining | AUGUST 2017
plans for future mining. The improvement of
mining and processing techniques also allows
JSC Belaruskali to consider reserves located at a
depth of 1,000 m or more as the source of
replenishment of ore resources.
Production and exports, new
horizons
Total processed KCl fertiliser production from
the whole mining complex stood at about 9.5 Mt
in 2016, though this was lower than usual due to
delays in Chinese contracts and a low demand
globally. However, the company still maintained
a higher output than the other potash majors.
Belaruskali ships potash to southeast Asia,
Europe, Africa, Brazil and North and South
America. There are also so-called contract
markets, such as China and India. Overall the
group exports to more than 90 countries. Most
of the potash is railed to Klaipeda, a dedicated
potash port in Lithuania.
The company is also developing a completely
new mine and plant about 150 km away known
as Petrikov, where the first phase of the factory
will be commissioned in December 2019 and
where the designed capacity will be reached in
December 2021. The plant’s output capacity will
be at least 1.5 Mt of KCl per