COMPLETE EXTRACTION OF COAL IN MOSKVOUGOL' COMBINE MINES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310164-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 15, 2011
• Sequence Number: 164
• Publication Date: May 22, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION CONFiii:;NTV j0%fIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
Economic - Coal
Monthly periodical
Moscow
May 1949
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAIN! INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING Of ESPIONAGE ACT SO
U. 5. C.. SI AND SD. A! AMENDED. ITS TRANSMI5510H OR THE REVELATION
OF ITS CONTENTS IN ANT MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PRO.
HIEITED RT LAW. REPRODUCTION Of THIS FORM 15 PROHIBITED.
ugol', No 5, 1949.
DATE DISTv?-ZMay 1950
NO. OF PAGES 7
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
ff-igures are appended]
A plan to increase coal production 50 percent in the next few years has
been placed before the miners of the Moscow Coal Basin. This task can be
accomplished only after the fulfillment of several measures. Besides expand-
ing the working faces in the mines (by increasing the number of mines, in-
creasing the degree of mechanization of mining, and other measures which will
guarantee a rise in production), reducing losses from unmined coal in the
mines can and must become one of the sources of supplementing present coal
supplies. Additional expenditures and not required to accomplish this decrease
in loss of coal.
Formerly, the combine's active mines extracted only 75 percent of the coal
in the ;corked-out areas, leaving 25 percent as loss.
These losses are distributed in the following-ma nner: 4.9 percent in un-
mined safety pillars, 14.8 percent resulting from the system of mining (unmined
thickness), 3.9 percent.resulting from incorrect conducting of mining.opera-
tions (unmined area), and'1.3 percent resulting frQm geological and hydrogeo-
logical conditions, a total of 24.9, or roughly 25 percent.
As is evident, operational losses, i.e., losses caused by the system of
mining,.and losses from incorrect conducting of mining operations (in toto
18.7 percent of the total coal supply) predominated. The other factors of
loss, amounting to a total of about 6 percent, will not be considered in this
article.
COi~FlDEN1lMM
CLASSIFICATION
STATE )(I NAVY X NSRB
ARMY AIR JAI FBI
11-1 Ili- 11 WIN_ 10
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For better operating accounting in enterprises of the combine, purely
operational losses are entered in a local Form No 2, as well as in Form
No 11 ShP. Form No 2 refers not to all the resources in the exhausted areas,
but merely to resources in the worked-out areas. (All further examination of
operational losses is based on the percentage of loss which is entered on form
No 2. The term "operational losses" is replaced by "losses.")
The following table shows
bine for the past 6 years.
the amounts of losses in the mines of the com-
Year
Losses
Unmined
Thickness
(in percent)
Unmined
Area Total
1943
11.9
5.3
17.2
1944
11.9
5.9
17.8
1945
11.8
6.4
18.2
1946
13.1
6.9
20.0
1947
13.2
6.8
20.0
1948
10.2
5.3
15.5
The graph in Figure 1 shows operational losses in trusts of the Moskvougol'
Combine from 1943 to 1948.
In trusts working seams of average thickness (Molotovugol', Donskoyugol',
Shcherbakovugol', and Oktyabr'ugol'), the losses were about the same. Greatest
1ubSd5 ww in tiie mines of the Stalinogorskugol' and Krasnoarmeyskugol' trusts,
which work thick seams. In the Stalinogorskugol' Trust, losses increased from
28.2 percent in 1943 to 32.9 percent in 1947. Losses in unmined thickness pre-
dominated, whereas coal losses from unmined area fluctuated between 3.4 and 6.7
percent.
Many mines working thick seams extracted only 50 to 60 percent of the coal,
leaving the rest in the floor and roof of the seam. In 1947, for example, the
loss in one of the mines of the Stalinogorskugol' Trust amounted to 39.1 percent,
of another 34 percent.
In 1948, much more attention was given to the problem of coal losses than
previously. As a result of measures taken in the mines of the Moskvougol' Com-
bine, in 1948 mining operation methods improved considerably and losses in
unmined coal were reduced, especially in the mines and trusts working thick
seams (see Figure 2).
Coal losses in the combine decreased from 20 percent in 1947 to 16.9 per-
cent in the first half of 1948, and to 14.1 percent in the second half of 1948.
This decrease was effected mainly by reducing losses from unmined thickness,
which were lowered from 13.2 percent in 1947 to 11.4 percent in the first half
of 1948 and to 8.9 percent in the second half of-1948. Losses from unmined
area were reduced only in the first quarter of 1948 (5.7 percent instead of
6.8 percent in 1947), and during the rest of the year remained at about-the
same level.
Operational losses in the trusts of Moskvougol' Combine in 1948 are shown
in the graph in Figure 2. According to this graph, the greatest reduction in
coal losses took place in the mines of the Stalinogorskugol' Trust (from 30.1
to 19.8 percent) and in the mines of the Krasnoarmeyskugol' Trust (from 24 to
19 percent), which work thick seams.
M
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Loss
Loss
Month
(in percent)
Month
(in percent)
January
30.7
July
21.9
February
29.9
August
21.7
March
24.3
September
21.3
April
24.3
October
19.1
May
22.9
November
20.0
June
22.1
December
19.8
Reduction of losses was less significant in mines of the other trusts,
which are working seams of average thickness.
In 1948, Josses decreased mainly as a result of the partial execution
of the following measures:
2. Losses in unmined area were reduced in the between-face pillars, which
up to 1948 were removed to only a small degree.
The significant decrease in coal losses in 1948 indicates a considerable
improvement in mining activities of the mines of the combine. However, there
are still many mines (especially those working thick layers) where losses,
up to this time, are considerably higher than the established norms. In spite
of the inconsistency in the thickness of the coal seams and the varied struc-
ture of surrounding rock layers, these high losses in the mines of the com-
bine's six trusts are explained by the fact that the mines practice only two
mining systems. The basic system consists of mining by long columns (stolb),
with the longwall system used in single layers. An auxiliary system, which
is used only when the first system is not practicable, consists of mining out
the tailings and pillars, etc.
Of course, the varied seam thickness and structure observed in the com-
bine's mines make it impossible to select for all the mines a single mining
system which will simultaneously satisfy three basic requirements: maximum
working safety, minimum production cost, and minimum coal loss.
The practice of using only one system of mining which is efficient for
seams of average thickness has proved unsuitable in thick seams and leads to
intolerably high coal losses in the roof and floor of the seam, and to a waste
of the deposit.
In 1948, a special decree of the Collegium of the former Ministry of Coal
Industry of the Western Regions was devoted to the problem of lowering coal
losses and introducing new mining systems in the mines of the Moscow Coal Basin.
This decree offered concrete measures, which, if carried out, would solve the
problem of losses in unmined thickness.
Technical engineers and scientific workers of Moscow Oblast have offered
several plans for a new system of mining thick seams. These plans provide
for mining the seams in layers.
The Collegium ordered the management of the Moskvougol' Combine, before
1 October 1948, to conduct industrial experiments on the new methods of working
thick seams, to work out and approve the conversion of mines to the working of
thicker seams by the approved systems, to prohibit mining of seams more than
3.5 meters thick by the one-layer system, and to increase the working depth of
the faces to 2.8-3.0 meters in seams less than 3.5 meters thick.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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CQNFIDERTIAL
The decision of the Collegium to increase the working thickness of the
faces to 2.8-3.0 meters, in cases where single-level cutting was done in
mines working seams up to 3.5 meters thick, was carried out to a great extent.
The leading miners of the combine did not limit themselves to mining
the working faces to the established thickness, but continue to increase
the thickness. Miners of Mine No 22 of the Stalinogorskugol' Trust showed
the most progress in this task. Until recently, in view of the instability
of rock layers in the Moscow Coal basin, 3 meters was considered the maximum
working thickness. The miners in Mine No 22 showed that it was possible to
mine the seams to a thickness of 3.5 meters. This was a significant achieve-
ment which broke old norms and made it possible to increase coal production
and to prolong the life of the mine.
For many years, Mine No 22 (and other mines which worked thick seams)
worked seams, as a rule, to not more than 2.7 meters and averaged only 2.3
to 2.5 meters. Much coal was left in the roof and floor of the seam.
In the second half of 1948, coal losses dropped sharply and seams were
worked to a thickness of 3.0 to 3.5 meters.
This success was assured first by good reinforcing, well-timed and com-
plete collapsing of the worked-out sections, satisfactory labor concentration,
and preliminary drainage of flooded sections, i.e., by the fulfillment of the
requirements for mining seams of any thickness, with the difference that these
requirements had to be carried out more carefully and accurately in working
the thicker seams.
At first, difficulties were encountered in supporting the worked-out sec-
tions, but this problem was quickly solved.
As can be expected, increasing the working depth of the seams increased
production indexes in the mine. Labor productivity in section No 4, for
example, increased 9 percent in the second half of 1948 (in comparison with
the first half of the year), and in section No 1 it increased 28 percent.
In the last months labor productivity increased even more, 15 and 48 percent,
respectively. Consumption of timber supports in the sections decreased 5-20
percent.
Whereas average coal production per linear meter of preliminary cutting
varied from 70 to 90 tons in the sections, after the working thickness of the
seams was increased, this production was increased to 110 to 125 tons. At
present, a single cutting from a face 60 meters long produced 500 tons of coal.
It would also be possible to quote examples d other mines where the work-
ing thickness was increased to 3 meters or more.
Some mine directors, in increasing the working thickness in the seams, do
not pay enough attention to mine safety. In many cases the roof of the seam
is insufficiently supported while the seams are being worked to increased
thicknesses.
Although the Collegium's decision to increase the working depth in the
seams met with much success in the combine's mines, experiments and introduc-
tion of new mining systems for thick seams met with entirely different results.
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Cr Gi F EEA T I A L
Experiments with the new layer systems of mining progressed too slowly
and on too small a scale. Mine No 32 of the Krasnoarmeyskugol' Trust is
experimenting with the layer system of mining, according to the plan of
Professor Sonin. Mine No 26 of the Stalinogorskugol' Trust is conducting
experiments in the layer system of mining according to Engineer Babokin's
plan, and at several faces, according to the plan of "Mosbasshakhtoproyekt."
The organization of experimental work in Mine No 32 was unsatisfactory
from the very beginning. Many crude technical mistakes were permitted since
there was no special technical supervision. Although the final results of
mining coal from both layers are not yet available, it can already be pre-
dicted that coal losses will be large, especially in the lower layer, because
of these mistakes.
The incorrect conducting of tests of the new mining system inevitably
caused mistakes. There are already individual technical workers in the mines
and trusts who have a preconceived opinion of the system. They discredit the
layer system f mining according to Professor Sonin's plan although there is,
as yet, no basis for considering it ineffi,ient or unsuitable.
In Mine No 26, where two layer systems are being tested, cleaning removal
is being done only on the upper level. Here, as in Mine No 32, the organiza-
tional side of the experiment is unsatisfactory. Experimental work is carried
on without special technical supervision, and as a result serious technical
mistakes are permitted.
One of the basic mistakes made in this experiment is that too thin a
lower layer of coal is left in testing the "Mosbasshakhtoproyekt" system.
When the seam is an average of 4, meters thick, 2.2 to 2.3 meters are often
mined in the upper layer instead of the 2 meters planned. Besides that, 20
centimeters or more of coal are left on the roof as a protective layer. There
is no good reason for leaving this layer of coal, since, in a majority of cases,
compact clay and 'L%1.ayey shale, i.e., adequately firm rocks, form the immediate
roof. In this way, only 1.4 to 2.0 meters, or an average of 1.7 to 1.8 meters,
are left in the lower layer.
Such a division of the 4-meter seam (2.2 to 2.5 meters in the upper layer
and 1.4 to 2.0 meters in the lower) artificially creates unequal conditions
for working these two layers. Mining in the upper layer is accomplished with
the advantage of a stable, undisturbed roof which is further protected by a
protective layer of coal. In working the lower layer, however, work is done
with disturbed and consequently less stable rocks, in a layer with only a :i
1.7-meter average thickness. A protective layer of coal left in the roof
would be more necessary in this case.
In conclusion, it can be said that the 4.5-percent decrease in coal losses'
in 1948 (compared with 1947) in the mines of the Moskvougol' Combine is due to
the successes of Moscow miners. Hundreds of thousands of tons of coal which
formerly had been left in the mines as loss were recovered in 1948. This was
accomplished without additional expense.
However, in'spite of successes in decreasing coal losses in 1948 (in com-
parison with previous years), many mines, mainly those working thick seams,
continue to leave intolerably large amounts of coal as loss.
Conclusions
In order further to improve mining methods in mines of the Moskvougol'
Combine and to decrease coal losccs to the established norms, the follgwing
measures are necessary:
GONFlDFNTIAL
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i)fS ow 19AS /946 /947 /9.5
Y ear s
Figure 1. Operational Losses in Mos-
kvougol' Combine Trusts,
1943 - 1948
1. Total losses in the Moskvougol' Combine; 2. Stalinogorskugol' Trust;
3. Krasnoarmeyskugol' Trust; 4. Donskoyugol' Trust; 5. Shcherbakovugol'
Trust; 6. Molotovugol' Trust; 7. Oktyabr'ugol' Trust; 8. Losses in
unmined thickness in the Moskvougol'.Combine; 9., Losses in unmined area
in the Moskvougol' Combine.
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1. Testing and introduction of new layer systems of mining for work-
ing thick seams must be considered the paramount task.
2. In mines working thick seams (up to 3.5 meters), increasing the
working thickness of the faces to the established norm is the most efficient
method of decreasing coal losses.
3. In connection with increasing the working thickness of the faces,
it is necessary for the technical departments of the trusts and combine to
re-examine the condition of the timbers at the faces and to work out special
protection for the workers from pieces of rock falling from the roof. This
protection can be heavy spanning timbers, suspended metal screens, or some
other form of safety device, but this problem must be solved as soon as pos-
sible.
1;. As the inspection has shown, the majority of mines in the combine
are still capable of reducing their coal losses both in area and in thick-
ness.
Kppended figures follow-7
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V
8 4
I I! i ir r i2r J JII a 2 31 M
Month s
Figure 2. Operational Losses in Mos-
kvougol' Combine Trusts,
1948
1. Total losses in the Moskvougol' Combine; 2. StalinogorShc h0l' Trust;
3. Krasnoarmeyskugol' Trust; 4. Donskoyugol' Trust;
Trust; 6. Molotovugol' Trust; 7. Oktyabr'ugol' Trust; 8. Losses in
unmined thickness in the Moskvougol' Combine; 9. Losses in unmined area
in the Moskvougol' Combine.
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