Mining Institute, Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia:

N. N. Melnikov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences
A. I. Kalashnik, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, kalashnik@goi.kolasc.net.ru
D. V. Zaporozhets, Leading Engineer
A. Yu. Dyakov, Researcher

After many-years extraction of apatite ore, Tsentralny Mine, Apatit, has generated huge waste heaps millions of tons in volume on nearby mountain slopes of the Rasvumchorr plateau. Today’s open pit mining project involves ore reserves directly under the waste heaps. Rehandling of the waste heaps appears to be difficult as the heaps are composed of different size fragments of rock mixed with ice and snow, that, under conditions of nearly always negative temperatures, transform into snow–ice–-rock conglomerates. Standard drilling-and-blasting applied demonstrates low efficiency of disintegration of the waste heaps. Optimization of drilling-and-blasting requires knowing beforehand about the presence and dimension of such conglomerates, which is possible using low-cost on-line geophysical methods, in particular, GPR sounding which enjoys successful application in handling various engineering problems in mines on the Kola Peninsula. Using the GPR data on a test area of the waste heaps to be rehandled, radargrams—profiles of the waste heaps are plotted and interpreted together with the digital surface of the bottom boundary and 3D model of snow-and-rock heap structure. The GPR sounding has allowed more detailed information on subsurface structure of the waste heaps, which makes a specific quantitative basis for drilling-and-blasting planning and implementation towards higher quality fragmentation of waste heaps meant for rehandling.
The studies have been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Project No. 5-05-05835.

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