Students of St. Petersburg Mining University - winners and prize-winners of the CASE-IN final

The final of the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship, which is held with the support of the Presidential Platform "Russia – the Land of Opportunities", has come to an end in Moscow. The teams of the Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University won first place in Metallurgy, second in Geological Exploration, and also received a special award in Mining.

The project of the Metal 4.0 team, which received the gold of the championship and special nominations from Nordgold Management LLC and partners in the Breakthrough Solution category, is aimed at modernizing aluminum production for RUSAL. The company is updating equipment at the Krasnoyarsk and Bratsk plants, where it is planned to launch new powerful aluminum electrolyzers. The problem when starting such machines is the risk of destruction of their internal carbon-graphite plate (an element of the device design) due to the introduction of sodium and a sharp temperature drop. In addition, the requirements of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" now require these plants to be turned on immediately at full capacity, which complicates smooth start-up.

"We have developed a combined method for safely starting the equipment. First, the structure is gradually heated with special diesel burners, and then liquid aluminum is poured inside and current is applied. At the same time, a protective salt solution created by the team is added to the hearth, a heavy electrolyte with the addition of barium and lithium fluorides. Due to the difference in weight, this compound forms a barrier between the hot metal and the carbon graphite base, seals microcracks and prevents aggressive sodium from destroying the elements. Calculations have shown that the technology reduces the preparation time of the equipment to two days, increases its service life by a third and saves 370 thousand rubles each time it is launched," said team captain Kirill Grishanov, a 3rd–year student at the Faculty of Mineral Processing.

The team of "Chthonologists" became the silver medalist in the field of "Geological exploration". The students drew up a detailed plan for the search for rare metals at the Tanbap site in Yakutia with an area of 43 square kilometers. The purpose of the research was niobium and rare earth elements necessary for the production of modern electronics.

"Using geological maps, we calculated the reserves of raw materials at a depth of up to 150 meters, where the volume of niobium alone at the site is estimated at 322 thousand tons. We have outlined step-by-step instructions for geologists: from collecting soil samples and scanning the ground from drones to drilling the first exploration wells. The site is located next to the already well-known large Tomtor deposit, which makes it possible not to build new roads and power lines from scratch, but to use ready-made infrastructure. According to calculations, the potential income from the development of this territory will amount to 2 billion rubles," said team leader Dmitry Khamkhoev, a 4th–year student at the Geological exploration Faculty.

The SAAS-GAZ team was awarded a special nomination "Breakthrough Solution" in the field of Mining. Their project solves the problem of underground mines in Yakutia, where, due to permafrost and humidity, the extracted ore often gets stuck in underground channels, forming dangerous blockages (freezes).

"Rock mass freezes lead to equipment downtime and threaten the safety of workers. As an innovation, we have developed an artificial intelligence-based algorithm that collects data from atmospheric sensors and LIDAR scanners, taking into account humidity, temperature and ore fraction. The system predicts risks in advance, and the dispatcher manages to warn the operator of the equipment in time. Pre–softening of the array with a fan of wells helps to prevent the formation of large chunks - this method has already been successfully used at the Udachny Mining and Processing Plant. To eliminate the blockages, a robotic SAAS-GAZ 2.0 installation has been proposed, which remotely destroys the plug with the energy of powder gases. The plant's management plans to introduce a similar installation this year. Due to the withdrawal of people from the danger zone, the risk of a fatal accident decreased by 7 times. The system pays off in 7 years and 7 months, bringing in 7.8 million rubles annually. At the same time, mine downtime is reduced from 5 to 1-2 hours, and associated costs are reduced by 20-25%," said team analyst Albina Vapaeva, a 4th–year student at the mining faculty.

A source