Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Tadjikistan is a mountainous country, with 93% of its territory being occupied by mountains with
narrow valleys in between. The main part of Tadjikistan belongs to the Tjan-Shan mountain system.
The southeastern part of the territory is located in the Pamir mountain system. All mining depart-
ments of the Republic were located on the southern spurs of Tjan-Shan and so were the mines of
Uzbekistan. Only a few mines (six prospecting mines) were located in the Pamir mountain system.
Deposits of nonferrous and rare metals (lead, zinc, bismuth, tungsten, molybdenum, etc.) are
concentrated mainly in North Tadjikistan. Almost all of them belonged to the Karamazar mining
region. In Central Tadjikistan, deposits of Hg, W, and luorspar were located (Takob region) and
some of the uranium mines were located in North Tadjikistan.
15.6 DIVERSITY OF MINING AND WORKING CONDITIONS
The complexity of the terrain causes great diversity in the climate of underground working sites.
North of the Republic, mines were located at an altitude of 1-2 km above sea level. The summer
weather is hot and dry with temperatures between 25°C and 28°C. The mines in Central Tadjikistan
had average temperatures of 112 and 212 in July and January, respectively (altitude 2100-2600 m).
Some mines, primarily involved in geology and prospecting, are located above 3 km and activity in
this region takes place only in the summer because daily temperatures are less than 15 during the
day and less than 0 at night. In this zone of permafrost, the walls and roofs of the pit were covered
with ice, which formed a solid monolith with the rock.
The mining departments in this area represented either the industrial complex, consisting of the
mining section with a concentration factory or simply a mining section, consisting of the mines,
which were independent in the sense of production and developed separate mining ields. Thus, a
mine represents a distinctive “organism” with distinctive characteristics of ventilation, geological
conditions, and production functions.
The mining industry, especially gold and silver mining, was primitive in this region. We were
told that these were open pit mines made by the soldiers of Alexander the Great. Skeletons in the
vertical position still exist in some mines.
The results of the primary and secondary studies in mines, together with measures for improv-
ing the working condition, were presented in the dissertations of A.D. Alterman and S.A. Urusov.
In all mines, only one type of technological working plan (exploitation) was used: boring (drilling)
of the blast hole (bore hole) with a pneumatic boring instrument (types PR-30k, TR-45) followed by
blasting, ventilation of the ore face, loading the ore mass in the trunk, and exporting (carting) by
electric locomotive to the vertical shaft or mouth (estuary) of the mining gallery. The most labor-
intensive activities were preparation and timbering (fastening) work, which required substantial
physical pressure, especially in a drift (a rise in the mine shaft).
All work is done by the “brigade” method. All members of a “brigade” (team) take part in the
management of any emergency situation (derailing of the trucks, water breaks in the main line, etc.)
and other hard work.
The important parameters for working conditions are the following:
•
Time distribution of work with known atmospheric decay product characteristics
•
Work load, which determines the breathing rate
For many job categories, it is dificult to determine the speciic work site (locksmiths, electri-
cians, mine surveyors, samplers, electric locomotive engineers, mining engineers, etc.). For them a
“working site” can be all of the working sites, including “nonworking sites.” A much more constant
working place exists for the drillers, despite the fact that in speciic situations their time at the
pit face can vary within broad limits. According to the time sheets provided on six shaft sinkers
(drifters) during two shifts, the working time varied from 8% to 92% of the shift time. Some of the
miners were constantly situated at the same working site.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search