Assessment of the physical, mechanical and engineering properties of overburden rocks in the Elga coal deposit

Dorzho V. Hosoev, Alexander M. Burakov, Valery V. Kiselev, Agafya D. Nikiforova, Elena L. Alkova
Institute of Mining of the North of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federation
Mining Industry Journal (Gornaya Promyshlennost) №5/ 2026 p. 147-151

Summary: The article presents general information about the Elga coal deposit, which north-western part is currently mined using drilling and blasting methods. Geological and mineralogical characteristics are presented for the Quaternary sediments and the coal-bearing host rocks. The need to study the physical, mechanical and engineering properties of the overburden rocks is noted. The values of the physical, mechanical and engineering properties of the host rocks at the deposit are presented as tables, as well as the results of tests performed by the authors to determine these properties. The rocks are reported to have a low tendency to slaking, sticking, or adfreezing. The main types of the host rocks at the deposit are identified and classified into separate groups. The mineralogical and lithological composition of the host rocks of the Undytkan and Neryungri suites at the deposit is presented. The article emphasizes the need for preliminary loosening of the soils during the overburden removal operations.

Keywords: host rocks, overburden, Quaternary sediments, tensile strength, angle of internal friction

Acknowledgements: The study was carried out within the State Assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Topic No. FWRS-2026-0052, EGISU R&D No.126021217277-1) using the equipment of the Shared Research Center of the Yakutsk Federal Research Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

For citation: Hosoev Dorzho V., Burakov Alexander M., Kiselev Valery V., Nikiforova Agafya D., Alkova Elena L. Assessment of the physical, mechanical and engineering properties of overburden rocks in the Elga coal deposit. Mining Industry Journal (Gornaya Promyshlennost). 2026;(5):147–151. https://doi.org/10.30686/1609-9192-2026-5-147-151

Article info

Received: 03.05.2026

Revised: 22.06.2026

Accepted: 23.06.2026

Authors info

Hosoev Dorzho V. – Junior Research, N.V. Chersky Institute of Mining of the North of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federation; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1466-8509; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Burakov Alexander M. – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Senior Researcher, N.V. Chersky Institute of Mining of the North of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federa- tion

Kiselev Valery V. – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Senior Researcher, N.V. Chersky Institute of Mining of the North of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federa- tion

Nikiforova Agafya D. – Engineer, N.V. Chersky Institute of Mining of the North of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

Alkova Elena L. – Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Senior Researcher, N.V. Cher- sky Institute of Mining of the North of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

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