«Giproruda» JSC (Saint Petersburg, Russia):

Nalivayko V. A., Chief Design Engineer, e-mail: vnalivayko@giproruda.ru

“Arkhangelskgeoldobycha” JSC (Arkhangelsk, Russia):

Stakheev A. G. , Director of the V. Grib Mining and Processing Combine, e-mail: AStakheev@agd.lukoil.com
Opakhin А. А., Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Capital Construction, Head of Capital Construction Department, e-mail: AOpahin@agd.lukoil.com

The “Giproruda” Institute launched a diamond mine planning at Grib diamond deposit in 2009. Scientific supervision was charged to the Saint-Petersburg State Mining Institute. In addition, by order of the customer—“Arkhangelskgeoldobycha” JSC within “Lukoil” Oil Company, SRK Consulting Company of Great Britain carried out the project supervision and, in team-work with “Giproruda” JSC, accomplished the project feasibility study and the engineering design. All in all, the project involved 24 top design and scientific institutions. The scope of the project included all possible mining methods: open pit mine only, underground mine only, first open pit mining transferred then to underground mining; first underground mine later on transferred into open pit mine; simultaneous surface and underground mining. In accord with the calculated criterion of economic effect and completeness of mineral extraction, the in-series open pit-to-underground mining scenario was selected, with the payback period less than 10 years. The commercial diamond content minimum was calculated under the condition of profitable extraction of the better deposit part (down to the depth mark –700 m). Grib diamond deposit is situated in the tundra forest outback. The closest Lomonosov Deposit only runs a test field. For this reason, V. Grib Mining and Processing Combine (MPC) has been designed as a self-contained plant, with its own infrastructure and life-support system including: diesel engine power plant for energy and heat supply, a wholly own motorway, shift camp, drinking water intake, minimum required industrial zone (complete overhaul is to be done in Arkhangelsk); the feedstock to manufacture building material is local—sand-and-gravel aggregate, break stone and other local reserves. The state expertise review at the governmental and regional levels took 5 stages since 2010. Owing to this, construction and preliminary mining activities were started well in advance, at the first expertise review stage. The final stage of the state expertise review was successfully accomplished in June 2012.

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3. Nalivayko V. A. Napravlenie – Dalniy Vostok – Direction – Far East, 2012, No. 7, pp. 46–47.