Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia:
N. G. Shkabarnya, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, shkabarnya_ng@mail.ru
S. P. Garbuzov, Associate Professor, Candidate of Geologo-Mineralogical Sciences
G. N. Shkabarnya, Leading Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Actual issues of rational brown coal open-cast mining in the Primorsky Krai are considered. The coals, which are currently used only as fuel, can be used as chemical-technological raw materials (piceous and bituminous residues), for humic fertilizers and for extraction of rare elements (first of all — germanium). The host rocks of coal deposits can be used as raw material for the porcelain industry (kaolin clay) and as construction materials (quartz sands), coal ash waste — to extract the associated useful components. A number of unique deposits in the Primorsky Krai are characterized by the presence of a various ore and non-metallic minerals, which complex exploitation is quite possible. As an example, the Pavlovsk brown coal deposit are considered. Application of geophysical methods allowed to establish its structure and to develop recommendations for the localization of ore mineralization areas. To improve the efficiency of coal deposits exploration with allocation of associated minerals the electrical resistivity tomography method is offered. This method uses the multielectrode system with computer control that allows you to explore the geological media in detail due to the density of the observation system. Electrical resistivity tomography is used for the detection and tracking of coal seams in the enclosing mudstones, siltstones and sandstones at the depth up to 100 m. Application of this method on the Bikin brown coal deposit and in several prospective areas shows that it can be used for solving problems of multipurpose exploitation of coal deposits in the conditions of slightly differentiated complex media.

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