National Research University of Belarus: Diamond Case

The regional stage of the international Engineering Case In Championship brought together student teams from Belgorod and Stary Oskol to solve a production problem. Future geologists, surveyors, environmentalists and economists focused on finding ways to develop diamond deposits in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Team Sergey Seryogin from the Starooskolsky branch of the Russian State Geological Exploration University, he sees diamond mining using a closed underground method, while diamonds in Yakutia are mined in an open pit. The decisive factor is permafrost. Nearby settlements, rivers, and reservoirs are adversely affected by open-pit mining.

"It is more convenient to mine underground, in a mine. It is unprofitable to make a tube, but this way there will be great savings and fast delivery of the material."– explained the student of the Starooskolsky branch of the Russian State Geological Exploration University Sergey Seregin.

A team of students from the Institute of Earth Sciences of Belgorod State University "Anthracite" went the other way. The participants of the engineering case championship consider the open method of field development to be economically efficient. According to Ruslana Uvarova This allows the company to reach full capacity in a short time and generate annual profits to recoup costs.

"First, we extract the rock, sift it, wash it and get diamond deposits. Then we process it underground, make a trunk, take out the host rock and deliver it to the processing site using special equipment".

And here is another participant of the Case In championship Vladislav Malgin. The fifth-year student of the National Research University "BelSU" participates in the intellectual assault for the second time. The team with the ambitious name Team of leaders, which means "team of leaders" in English, offered the best innovative solution for mining the mineral at this engineering championship.

"The ore lies in permafrost, and therefore we proposed to build not a vertical shaft, but an inclined one. We won't have huge overburden due to layered mining. This is the most environmentally friendly way to mine diamonds.", – I am sure the winner of the regional stage of the engineering case championship Case In Vladislav Malgin.

The approaches to the development of deposits were evaluated by representatives of Stoilensky, Lebedinsky, Yakovlevsky GOKs and scientists of the National Research University "BelSU".«We are partners of this engineering championship. I would like to note the increased training of future miners. We want to develop a thirst for knowledge among future specialists and attract them to work with us.", – said the head of the mining and transport division of the technical department of the Stoleynsky GOK Vladimir Derevyankin.

The Belgorod State National Research University has been hosting the regional stage of the International Engineering Case In Championship for the sixth year. The mining department is supervised by the Institute of Earth Sciences of this university. In the finals of international competitions, the BelSU National Research University teams consistently reach the top ten.

"Case In is an opportunity for students to build a career, get acquainted with the work of industry companies, upgrade their skills and demonstrate their abilities at the regional and then at the federal level. The winners of last season – students from Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk, Novocherkassk and Tomsk - cooperate with large companies"- said a representative of the organizing committee of the competition, a leading specialist of the Reliable Shift Foundation Anastasia Cherednichenko.

This year, 19 universities from 17 cities of Russia and Kazakhstan are represented in the mining field of the international championship. The final of the scientific competitions will be held in Moscow at the end of May.

Source: SCIENCE AND INNOVATION