Neodymium and neodymium oxide annual demand of the contemporary Russian industry is estimated at dozens thousand tons. As of today, the situation with production and demand of neodymium in Russia can be characterized as catastrophic. In the current market conditions it is often easier and cheaper to import neodymium and neodymium-based products from foreign countries irrespective of their high prices. To avoid losses of the valuable metal in production it is reasonable to reprocess the abrasion products for reutilization.

The article described the structure of global drill rig manufacture (manufacturers, types, models, upgraded or modified versions). The authors present the results of the analysis of drill rig supply structure behavior in Russia, as well as the analysis of drill rig prices. The estimates of market in monetary terms for various drill rig models are provided.

In the article are considered practical aspects of the indoor positioning and emergency alert systems for personnel as a parts of multifunctional safety systems in coalmines. It is shown, that currently existing systems in the mines for this purpose, do not meet the requirements of the Safety Rules in coalmines, taking into account the changes introduced by order of Rostekhnadzor of October 31, 2016, No. 450. The main deviations from the current requirements inherent in such systems is determination of the location of workers in the mine to the accuracy of mine’s areas (with the requirement to provide a resolution of ±20 m), as well as, the lack of guarantees in emergency alerts delivery to the miners.

The article discusses the application of acoustic methods of routine monitoring of coal-rock mass hazardous in terms of gas and coal dust outbursts and rock bumps, with three compulsory procedures: hazard risk forecast, application of hazard risk management method if the hazard is predicted by the forecast, and monitoring of the efficiency of the implemented method. Seismic scanning, acoustic emission (AE) and spectral-acoustic methods are analyzed. The authors prove that seismic scanning method is helpful for the detection of faults formed ahead of a driven working – one of the significant factors of outburst hazard. AE method can be reasonably used for the monitoring of poorly caving roof and/or coal seam hydrotreatment, which is accompanied by the development (growth) of fractures emitting acoustic emission pulses. Spectral-acoustic method is efficient for the monitoring of the face area stress state before and after implementation of a gas and dust outburst and rock bump hazard management method (for instance, hydrotreatment efficiency monitoring). The research was funded through a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 17-17-01143)

The analysis of a condition of the surrounding environment in areas of placement of large mining complexes of Russia which include mining, concentrating, metallurgical and power productions has shown that possibilities of steady functioning of natural ecosystems in the conditions of long-term intensive anthropogenic loadings, including technogenic, are insufficiently studied and much more surpass limits which are defined by the existing influence levels. Examples of noosphere approach to the solution of the ecological tasks connected with the mining enterprises are reviewed.

The article presents the results of studies aimed at the improvement of coal quality indices for bulk and selective mining of structurally complex coal seams of the Elga deposit with the application of KSM-2000R miners. The research has been performed with the use of MineFrame mining-geological information system. It has been found that in selective mining of structurally complex Н15 and Н15в coal seams with KSM-2000R miners, depending on the parameters of extracted layers, coal dilution decreases 1.8-6.5-fold, and coal ash is 1.3-2.5% lower as compared with bulk mining. In mining of structurally simple seams coal losses will sufficiently decrease, while in case of structurally complex coal seams with a great number of dirt bands the losses will insignificantly increase.

Mineral resources present a formidable source of wealth but a formidable challenge to regulate in order to maximize social welfare from their extraction. This paper identifies some of the good practice areas in mining regulation in Chile whose economy has shown strong growth over most of the last two decades. Some of the areas touched on in this paper are the taxation of the mineral sector, management of the tax revenue, and policies designed to foster spillovers into other sectors of the economy and make the most of Chile’s comparative advantage as a long-time global leader in the copper industry.

The article discusses the aspects of the selection of parameters for gas-fueled reciprocating engines of mine dump truck power plants with due account for mining and operation conditions. The authors describe methods reducing harmful agent emission resulting from exhaust gases of mine machinery power plants. One of the most promising areas to the authors’ opinion is the use of natural gas as a motor fuel. The rationale is provided for the application of power plants with reasonable parameters in various mining conditions.

The article describes the main principles of a new concept of mine development at the final stage of vein gold deposit mining. The authors prove that decision making on novel geotechnology solutions aimed at re-engineering of auriferous ore mining and processing with the subsequent utilization of wastes in underground mined-out areas has made possible for the Yuzhuralzoloto Group AO to reach a qualitatively new level of production with enhanced productivity, utmost possible safety-in-mining, as well as more complete extraction of the useful component from the earth.

Uralmashzavod PAO has entered the market of package mine winders (MW): skip winders for rock materials; cage winders for man, equipment and material. The main objective is to meet the demand, primarily of Russian mines and mining companies, and to cut MW imports.