Justification of the possibility to extract the boundary reserves of the flooded Sibay open pit mine
V.N. Kalmykov1, O.V. Zoteev2, A.S. Tarabaev3
1 Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation
2 Projects and Technologies Ural Region LLC, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation
3 UralGeoProject LLC, Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation
Russian Mining Industry №5S/ 2025 p. 43-51
Abstract: Because of a spontaneous fire, the underground workings and the Sibay open pit mine were flooded in 2019. Significant ore reserves remain outside the outer boundary of the open pit mine, but their extraction is complicated by a number of circumstances, i.e. the possibility of fire recurrence when pumping mineral solutions from the open pit, a lack of water treatment facilities of adequate capacity, a significant time required to remove water, and the location of industrial reserves near the open pit boundary, which generally prevents the combination of underground operations with dewatering processes. The article proposes an option for mining the remaining reserves based on the developed technology and justified parameters that ensure the safety and efficiency of mining operations for the further development of the deposit. A distinctive feature of the proposed option is replacement of the mineral solution in the bottom part of the open pit with a built-up rock mass to prevent the oxidizing processes in the stoping zone and perform the mining activities under protection of a backfilled geobarrier, including the mining systems based on the caving methods. Presence of fine wet mineral processing wastes in the created insulating geobarrier made of caved rocks and debris, sand-and-clay mixtures supplied from the day-surface to suppress the oxidation processes, excludes the possibility of spontaneous fire development. A low probability of a sudden inflow of such a mixture into the stoping zone is achieved, as shown by the calculations, by controlling the particle size distribution of the blasted ore, the moisture content of the insulating mass, ensuring the required rheological properties and a low permeability rate of the fine-grained component in the ore mass and caved rock, and through constant monitoring of the properties and condition of the insulating rock mass.
Keywords: open pit mine, curtain wall, spontaneous fire, mining system, sublevel caving, sand-and-clay soils, preventive silting, rheological properties of the rock mass
For citation: Kalmykov V.N., Zoteev O.V., Tarabaev A.S. Justification of the possibility to extract the boundary reserves of the flooded Sibay open pit mine. Russian Mining Industry. 2025;(5S):43–51. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.30686/1609-9192-2025-5S-43-51
Article info
Received: 23.08.2025
Revised: 06.10.2025
Accepted: 20.10.2025
Information about the authors
Vyacheslav N. Kalmykov – Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Oleg V. Zoteev – Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Projects and Technologies Ural Region LLC, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Andrey S. Tarabaev – Engineer, UralGeoProject LLC, Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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