Coal: mining in Russia and in the world. Places and methods of coal mining. School stage of the All-Russian Geography Olympiad Kansk-Achinsk coal basin

Coal is a type of fuel, the peak of popularity of which falls on the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. At that time, most engines used coal as fuel, and the consumption of this mineral was truly enormous. In the 20th century, coal gave way to oil, which in turn risks being displaced in the 21st century by alternative fuel sources and natural gas. But, nevertheless, coal is still a strategic raw material.

Coal is used to produce over 400 different goods. Coal tar and tar water are used to produce ammonia, benzene, phenol, as well as other chemical compounds, which, after processing, are used in the production of paints and varnishes and rubber. With deep processing of coal, rare metals can be obtained: zinc, molybdenum, germanium.

But still, first of all, coal is valued as a fuel. More than half of all coal produced in the world is used in this capacity. And about 25% of coal production is used in the production of coke for metallurgy.

The total proven world coal reserves are more than 890 billion tons, and the estimated reserves are very difficult to estimate, since many deposits are located in hard-to-reach areas. According to some estimates, the estimated coal reserves in Siberia alone can reach several trillion tons. Proved hard coal reserves are estimated at 404 billion tons, which is 45.39% of the total. The remaining 54.64% is lignite, whose quantitative reserves are estimated at approximately 486 billion tons. According to scientists, coal should be enough for humanity for about 200 years, while natural gas should be exhausted in 60 and 240 years, respectively.

Like other minerals, coal is unevenly distributed on the world map. Proved reserves of about 812 billion tons, which is 91.2% of all world coal deposits, are concentrated in 10 states. Russia ranks second in the world with just over 157 billion tons, of which 49.1 billion tons, or 31.2% of the total, is hard coal. And the United States of America is the leader in world coal reserves - more than 237.3 billion tons, of which 45.7% is hard coal.

At the end of 2014, 358.2 million tons of coal were mined in the Russian Federation. That is 1.7% more than in 2013. The production figure in 2014 is a record for Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the ranking of leading countries in coal mining, Russia ranks 6th. And China leads by a wide margin from its competitors, the country produces 3,680 million tons of coal, which is 46% of world production.

The dynamics of world coal production has two opposite directions. In the United States and developed countries of the European Union, coal production is gradually declining. According to experts, the drop in coal production by 2025 in the United States could reach 20%. This is primarily attributed to the low profitability of mines and low prices for natural gas. In Europe, coal production is declining due to the high cost of production, as well as the negative impact of coal enterprises on the environment. Compared to 2000, coal production in the United States decreased by 11%, and in Germany by 8%.

On the other hand, the countries of Southeast Asia are showing a huge increase in coal production. This is due to the sharp economic recovery in the countries of this region. And since these countries from minerals have only coal in large quantities, it is not surprising that the stake is made on this type of fuel. For example, in China, 70% of electricity is generated by coal-fired thermal power plants. In order to provide its industry with the necessary amount of electricity, China increased coal production by 2.45 times compared to 2000, India - by 1.8 times, Indonesia - by 4.7 times. Coal production in Russia increased by 25% compared to 2000.

On average, 3,900 million tons of coal is used worldwide every year. China is the world's main consumer. Every year this country consumes about 2,000 million tons of coal. This figure is 51.2% of the average annual world consumption. Russian consumers of coal, according to the results of 2014, used about 170 million tons of fuel. This is number 4 in the world. In general, 8 countries account for 84% of world consumption.

Coal is one of the three main energy minerals. To understand what kind of energy value each type of fuel has, a reference fuel was introduced, the heat content of one kg. which is taken equal to 29.306 MJ. Heat content is the thermal energy that is available for conversion into heat with a certain impact on the material. According to the results of 2014, 240 million tons of coal could be created from the coal mined in Russia. conventional fuel, which is 13.9% of the total amount of extracted energy resources.

About 153 thousand people are employed in the Russian coal industry. The average salary in the industry, at the end of 2014, amounted to 40,700 rubles, which is 24.8% more than the average salary in the country. But at the same time, the salary of workers in the coal industry is 26.8% lower than the salary of all enterprises involved in the extraction of minerals.

In 2014, 152 million tons of Russian coal was exported. This figure exceeded by 7.8% the number of exports in 2013. The total amount received for export coal in 2014 was US$11.7 billion. 12.76 million tons were exported to neighboring countries, and the main part of 139.24 million tons was sent to far-abroad countries. 63% of export coal was sent through seaports, the remaining 37% was sent through land border crossings. coal in the Russian Federation in 2014 amounted to 25.3 million tons, which is 15% less than in 2013. About 90% of imports are the delivery of thermal coals from Kazakhstan.

Geography of the industry

To date, 121 cuts and 85 mines are operating in the Russian Federation. The main centers of the coal industry is Siberia, where the Kuznetsk coal basin is located. Other large coal basins of the country are the Kansk-Achinsk, Pechora, Irkutsk, Ulug-Khem, Eastern Donbass. Promising for development are the Tunguska and Lena coal basins.

The Kuznetsk coal basin (Kuzbass) is one of the largest coal basins in the world. The total geological reserves of coal are estimated at 319 billion tons. Today, more than 56% of all hard coal in Russia is mined in Kuzbass, as well as about 80% of all coking coal.

Coal mining is carried out both underground and open pit. There are 58 mines and 38 coal mines in the basin. More than 30% of coal is mined in cuts, in addition, there are three mines in Kuzbass where mining is carried out by the hydraulic method. The thickness of the coal seams ranges from 1.5 to 4 meters. The mines are relatively shallow, with an average depth of 200 meters. The average thickness of the developed seams is 2.1 meters.

The quality of coal in the Kuznetsk basin is different. Coals of higher quality lie at depth, and closer to the surface, the content of moisture and ash increases in the composition of coals. To improve the quality of mined coal in Kuzbass, there are 25 processing plants. 40-45% of the mined coal is used for coking. The average heat content of coal is 29 - 36 MJ in 1 kg.

The main problem of the Kuznetsk coal basin is its remoteness from the main consumption centers. High transport costs for transporting coal by rail increase it, which negatively affects competitiveness. In this regard, investments aimed at the development of Kuzbass are decreasing.

Unlike Kuzbass, the Donetsk coal basin, the eastern part of which is located on the territory of the Russian Federation, occupies an advantageous geographical position. Geological coal reserves in Eastern Donbass are estimated at 7.2 billion tons. To date, mining in the region is carried out only by the underground method. There are 9 mines in operation, the total production capacity of which is about 8 million tons of coal per year.

More than 90% of coals in Eastern Donbass represent the most valuable grade of this fuel - anthracite. Anthracites are coals that have the highest calorific value - 34-36 MJ per 1 kg. Used in the energy and chemical industries.

Coal mining in the Eastern Donbass is carried out from a great depth. As a rule, the depth of the mines exceeds 1 km, while the thickness of the developed seams varies between 1.2 - 2.5 meters. Difficult mining conditions affect the cost of coal, in connection with which the government of the Russian Federation spent more than 14 billion rubles in the period from 2006 to 2010 to restructure the coal industry in the region. In 2015, a government program was launched to liquidate unprofitable coal enterprises in the Eastern Donbass. Now the program is at the stage of development of project documentation.

The Ulug-Khem coal basin is one of the most promising for development and investment. It is located in the Tyva Republic and has in-place coal reserves of 10.2 billion tons. The Elegetskoye coal deposit is located here, which has huge reserves of scarce coking coal of the Zh. For comparison, coals of this class are mined in Kuzbass from seams 2–2.3 meters thick.

The Mezhegeyskoye coal deposit with explored reserves of 213 million tons of Zh grade coal is also located here, as well as the largest coal mine in the Republic of Tyva - the Kaa-Khemsky coal mine. A thick layer of Ulug is developed in the section, the average thickness of which is 8.5 m. The annual production volume is more than 500 thousand tons of coal.

The Kansk-Achinsk coal basin is the largest in Russia in terms of brown coal production. This basin is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and partly on the territory of the Irkutsk and Kemerovo regions. Coal reserves are estimated at 221 billion tons. Most of the coal is mined in an open pit.

On average, more than 40 million tons of brown thermal coal are mined in the Kansk-Achinsk basin per year. The largest coal mine in Russia, Borodinsky, is located here. The average annual coal production at this enterprise is more than 19 million tons of coal. In addition to Borodinsky, there are Berezovsky open-pit mines with a production of 6 million tons of coal per year, Nazarovsky - 4.3 million tons per year, Pereyaslovsky - 4 million tons per year.

The Irkutsk coal basin has an area of 42,700 sq. km. Estimated coal reserves are more than 11 billion tons, of which 7.5 billion tons are explored reserves. More than 90% of the deposits are coal grades G and GZh. The thickness of the seams is 1-10 meters. The largest deposits are located in the cities of Cheremkhovo and Voznesensk.

The Pechersk coal basin is located in the Komi Republic and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The geological reserves of coal in this basin are estimated at 95 billion tons, and according to some sources, 210 billion tons. Mining is carried out underground and about 12 million tons of coal are mined annually. Coal enterprises are located in the cities of Vorkuta and Inta.

Valuable grades of coal are mined in the basin - coking coal and anthracite. Coal is mined in difficult conditions - the average mining depth is about 300 meters, and the coals have an average seam thickness of 1.5 m. The seams are subject to subsidence and bending, as a result of which they increase in coal extraction. In addition, the cost of coal is affected by the fact that mining is carried out in the conditions of the Far North and workers receive a “northern” salary supplement. But, despite the high coal, the role of the Pechersk basin is very important. It provides important raw materials to the enterprises of the North and North-West of Russia.

The Lena and Tunguska giant coal basins are located in the eastern part of Siberia and Yakutia. The area of the Lena basin is 750,000 sq. km., Tunguska - about 1 million square meters. km. According to the amount of coal reserves, the data vary greatly, the geological reserves of the Lena basin range from 283 to 1,800 billion tons, and the Tunguska - from 375 to 2,000 billion tons.

Coal mining in these basins is difficult due to the inaccessibility of the territories. Today, in the Lena basin, mining is carried out at 2 mines and 3 cuts, the average annual production is about 1.5 million tons of coal. In the Tunguska basin, mining is carried out by 1 mine and 2 cuts, the average annual production is about 800 thousand tons of coal.

Indicators of coal production and consumption in Russia

The coal industry of the Soviet Union, and after that of the Russian Federation, has experienced several ups and downs. After record-breaking coal production in the late 1980s, a crisis in the industry began in the mid-1990s. In 1988, a production record was recorded - 426 million tons, and after 10 years in 1998, production decreased by almost 2 times and amounted to only 233 million tons of coal.

The reasons for the crisis lie in the low profitability of the coal industry. In the 90s, it decided to close subsidized and unprofitable mines. 70 mines were closed, which in total produced more than 25 million tons of coal. In addition to the rather low productivity of the mines, the coal they mined belonged to substandard grades, and its further processing was very expensive. As a result of the crisis, the coal enterprises of the Moscow Basin practically ceased to exist. More than 50 mines were closed in the Eastern Donbass, which accounted for 78% of the total. In Kuzbass, production decreased by 40%. In the Urals and the Far East, production decreased by 2 times.

At the same time, the construction of 11 new mines and 15 coal mines began. As a result of the reforms, the share of open-pit coal increased to 65%, the productivity of mines increased by 80%, and mine cuts by 200%. Thus, it was possible to increase coal production, and at the beginning of the 2000s, an increase in coal production began, which continues to this day.

In 2014, 252.9 million tons of coal were mined by open pit mining, which accounted for 70% of the total. Compared to 2013, this figure increased by 0.8%. And if compared with 2000, this figure increased by 34%.

About 45% of the Russian coal mined is processed at processing plants. In 2014, out of 358 million tons of coal mined, 161.8 million tons were processed at factories. 43% of the coal mined in the Pechersk Basin is sent for processing, for the Eastern Donbass this figure is 71.4%, for the Kuzbass - 44%.

At the end of 2014, the largest amount of coal was mined in the Siberian Federal District - 84.5% of the total. For other federal districts, the situation is as follows:

Far Eastern Federal District - 9.4%
Northwestern Federal District - 4%
Southern Federal District - 1.3%
Ural Federal District - 0.5%
Privolzhsky Federal District - 0.2%
Central Federal District - 0.1%

In 2014, taking into account imports, 195.95 million tons of coal were supplied to the domestic Russian market. This is 5.5% less than in 2013. The distribution of coal in the market is as follows:

Provision of power plants - 55.1%
For coke production – 19.3%
Municipal consumers and population - 13.3%
The needs of metallurgy - 1.3%
OJSC Russian Railways - 0.7%
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation - 0.4%
Nuclear industry - 0.3%
Other needs (State reserve, cement plants, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, etc.) - 9.6%

The largest coal companies in Russia

The leader of the Russian coal industry is the Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK). At the end of 2013, SUEK enterprises produced 96.5 million tons of coal, which is 27.4% of the total amount of coal produced in Russia. The company has the largest explored coal reserves in Russia - 5.6 billion tons. This is the fifth indicator among all coal companies in the world.

The structure of the company includes 17 coal mines and 12 mines. SUEK's coal mining enterprises are located in 7 regions of the Russian Federation. At the end of 2013, in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, SUEK produced coal:

Kemerovo region - 32.6 million tons;
Krasnoyarsk Territory - 26.5 million tons;
Republic of Buryatia - 12.6 million tons;
Republic of Khakassia - 10.6 million tons;
Trans-Baikal Territory - 5.4 million tons;
Khabarovsk Territory - 4.6 million tons;
Primorsky Krai - 4.1 million tons;

SUEK's enterprises specialize in the extraction of coal grades D, DG, G, SS, as well as brown coal. In total, open-pit coal mining is 68%, and underground - 32%. The turnover of the Siberian Coal Energy Company in 2013 amounted to 5.4 billion US dollars. The number of employees of the company exceeds 33 thousand people.

The second largest coal company in the Russian Federation is OAO Kuzbassrazrezugol. The company specializes in open pit coal mining and operates in 6 coal mines. According to the results of 2013, 43.9 million tons of coal were mined at the open pits owned by Kuzbassrazrezugol.

The structure of the company includes coal mining enterprises with explored coal reserves of more than 2 billion tons. Kuzbassrazrezugol mines and sells coal grades D, DG, G, SS, T, KO, KS, more than 50% of its products are exported. At the end of 2013, the company's turnover amounted to 50 billion rubles. The total number of employees exceeds 25 thousand people. Coal mines owned by Kuzbassrazrezugol:

Taldinsky;
Bachatsky;
Krasnobrodsky;
Kedrovsky;
Mokhovsky;
Kaltan;

The SDS-Ugol company has the third indicator of coal production in Russia. In 2013, SDS-Coal enterprises produced 25.7 million tons of coal. Of these, 66% were mined by the open method, and 34% by the underground method. About 88% of the products were exported. The main importing countries of SDS-Ugol: Germany, Great Britain, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland.

SDS-Ugol is a subsidiary of the Siberian Business Union holding. The structure of "SDS-Ugol" includes 4 coal mines and more than 10 mines. Also in the structure of the company there are 2 processing plants "Chernigovskaya" and "Listvyazhnaya" with an annual processing capacity of 11.5 million tons of coal and 10 million tons of coal, respectively. The staff of the SDS-Ugol company is about 13 thousand people. The company's average annual turnover is about 30 billion rubles.

Vostsibugol is the largest coal company in Eastern Siberia and the fourth in terms of production in Russia. The company's coal mining enterprises provide 90% of fuel to OAO Irkutskenergo. In addition, coal is supplied to enterprises in the Angara region and other regions of the country. Coal mining in 2013 amounted to 15.7 million tons.

Vostsibugol manages 7 coal mines, a processing plant with a processing capacity of 4.5 million tons of coal per year, and an ore repair plant. The company mines coal grades 2BR, 3BR, D, SS, Zh, G, GZh. The total coal reserves at Vostsibugol's fields are estimated at 1.1 billion tons, of which 0.5 billion tons are hard coal and 0.6 billion tons are lignite. The company's average annual turnover is about 10 billion rubles. The number of employees is 5 thousand people.

Yuzhny Kuzbass is the fifth largest coal mining company in Russia. At the end of 2013, the company's enterprises produced 15.1 million tons of coal. Yuzhny Kuzbass is part of the Mechel holding and has 3 mines, 3 cuts and 4 processing plants. Explored coal reserves are about 1.7 billion tons.

Prospects for the development of the industry

According to analysts' forecasts, demand for coal will increase until about 2020. After that, the consumption of this type of fuel will gradually decrease. This forecast is associated with an increase in natural gas consumption in the future. And even the growing demand for coal in the countries of Southeast Asia and India will not be able to cover the decline in coal consumption in the developed countries of Europe and America.

Coal mining in Russia is a very important component of the country's economy. In addition to meeting domestic needs, coal is a strategically important export raw material. Demand for Russian coal is very high, but there is one problem that increases the cost of fuel. These are the costs of transporting coal.

In 2014, the average annual cost of a tonne of Kuzbass export coal was $76, while about half of the amount had to be spent on transporting fuel to Far Eastern seaports. Coal consumption in the domestic market is reduced due to the gasification of regions and enterprises, therefore, for the development of the industry, it is necessary to focus on exports.

In order to "stay afloat" Russian coal companies must necessarily reduce the cost of mining and transporting coal. It is also very important to develop technologies for enrichment and processing of raw materials in order to supply more expensive grades of coal to the market.

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Wthe collegiate stage of the All-Russian Olympiad in Geography for students of the 9th grade in the 2011-2012 academic year.

Run time - 120 minutes (2 hours).

Time to complete the theoretical round - 40 minutes, analytical - 80 minutes. An atlas can be used to perform an analytical tour. We wish you success!

PartI. Test tour.

Exercise 1

1. How many subjects of the Russian Federation are there now:

2. The largest subject of the Russian Federation in terms of area is:

2) the city of Moscow;

3) Republic of Sakha (Yakutia);

3. Think about what famous physical and geographical object unites such countries as Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan:

1) Ural mountains;

2) Caucasus mountains;

3) the Caspian Sea;

4) Caspian lowland?

4. Choose the type of transport leading in terms of cargo turnover in Russia:

1) railway;

2) automobile;

3) pipeline;

4) internal water.

5. The production of what type of transport engineering products is represented in such centers as Bryansk, Lyudinovo, Kolomna, Murom, Kaluga:

1) passenger cars;

2) subway cars;

3) electric locomotives;

4) locomotives?

6. Select the subject of the Russian Federation leading in coal mining:

2) Krasnoyarsk Territory;

7. Select the economic region in which electricity production per capita is the highest:

1) Central;

2) Northern;

3) North Caucasian;

4) East Siberian.

8. Choose from the proposed regions the region with the highest forest cover of the territory:

4) Republic of Komi.

9. Choose a location factor that is insignificant for the location of oil refining enterprises:

2) transport;

3) labor;

4) ecological.

10. The location of the sugar factory will mainly gravitate towards:

1) the consumer;

3) transport routes;

4) labor resources.

11. When it comes to focusing the production of a large volume of products on a small number of enterprises, we are talking about:

3) concentration;

4) specializations.

12. Imagine that you have received an offer from a well-known automobile concern in the world to locate a car assembly plant in Russia. In which of the proposed centers would you place such a production:

1) Vladivostok;

2) Saratov;

3) Novorossiysk;

4) Syktyvkar.

13. Which of the indicators of the proportion of children and adolescents under 16 can be in the North Caucasus region:

14. Which of the options correctly represents the largest peoples of Russia in ascending order:

1) Russians - Bashkirs - Tatars - Ukrainians;

2) Russians - Tatars - Ukrainians - Bashkirs;

3) Russians - Ukrainians - Tatars - Bashkirs;

4) Russians - Tatars - Bashkirs - Ukrainians.

15. Select the region in which the largest number of autonomous republics is represented:

1) European North;

2) Volga-Vyatka region;

3) the Volga region;

4) North Caucasus.

16. Choose a pair of states in which there are states with which Russia has the least extended land border:

1) Lithuania and Poland;

2) Kazakhstan and China;

3) North Korea and Norway;

4) Georgia and Azerbaijan.

17. Find an exception from the proposed options, which list the cities-"millionaires" of Russia:

1) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod;

2) Yekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk;

3) Perm, Ufa, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don;

4) Moscow, Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Kazan.

18. The average population density in Russia is:

1) 145 people/km2;

2) 8.5 people/km2;

3) 17 people/km2;

4) 2.5 people/km2.

19. You need to place an industrial enterprise, the main factor in the placement of which is only the availability of labor resources. In which of the proposed cities you will do it without a doubt:

1) Moscow;

2) Nalchik;

3) St. Petersburg;

4) Khanty-Mansiysk.

20. Recently, the problems of one of the types of cities have become aggravated, the name of which has already been established in domestic economic geography. Their features include the presence of so-called city-forming enterprises (i.e., enterprises that employ more than 30% of the able-bodied population of a given city and the infrastructure facilities of this enterprise serve more than 30% of the population of a given city). What are these cities called in economic geography:

2) satellite cities;

3) single-industry towns;

4) shift camps.

21. Imagine that you are the head of a metallurgical enterprise with a high volume of output (more than 5 million tons per year). The question arises before you, which type of transport you will choose to carry out regular deliveries of products to consumers, if you know that all types of transport are represented in the region:

1) automobile;

2) railway;

3) aviation;

4) pipeline.

22. You are faced with the task of where to locate a new aluminum smelter. It is known that in this place the raw material factor can be neglected. In which of the proposed regions of Russia would you do it:

3) Kaliningrad region;

23. What do the numbers mean in such city names as: Arzamas-16, Chelyabinsk-65, Tomsk-7:

1) this is the population of cities in thousand people;

2) these are the names of major railway stations;

3) these are closed administrative-territorial formations;

4) the number of residential yards in this settlement.

24. Plesetsk (Mirny), Kapustin Yar, Svobodny. Select which category of objects they belong to:

1) these are the centers of the automotive industry;

2) these are cosmodromes and centers for testing missiles and military equipment;

3) large transport hubs;

4) places where meteorites fall.

25. You have to open an energy-intensive production in a short time, but there is an acute shortage of electricity in the region of interest. However, your project may allow large investments in the development of industrial infrastructure, including energy. What type of power plant will you choose for construction, subject to the availability of hydropower resources in this place and the close passage of the gas pipeline:

4) solar.

26. What kind of industry can we talk about if the following is known about its impact on the environment: “it accounts for 14-21% of all industrial emissions into the atmosphere (more than 10 million tons per year), wastewater discharge is more than 6 % of the total Russian, moreover, these enterprises are located in fairly large cities”:

3) food;

4) metallurgy?

27. On which of the seas is there still an acute shortage of port facilities for Russia:

1) Japanese;

2) Black;

3) Baltic;

4) Barents.

Number of points - 27.

Answer:

Correct

Quantity

PartII. Analytical tour.

Exercise 1 .

"Road geography"

In the carriage of the train Moscow - Vladivostok, my companion - a technician from the gold mines - told me an excerpt from his biography:

“I was born and raised in a city named after the river on which it is located. I studied in another city, which was located east of the first: the distance between them is 945 km by rail. The name of the second city was also given by the river on which it lies. By the way, the names of these cities and rivers are similar, the difference is only in one initial letter. We will pass one of these cities. I'm going home, to a city whose name is read the same way on the right and on the left. The initial letter in the name of this city is the same as the city where I was born. And it is located in the basin of the river, the name of which is my daughter. If you want to know my name, then watch the stations we pass by. In the title of one of them. In the name of one of them, given in honor of the Russian Cossack explorer Khabarov, you will read my name and patronymic.

Try, using the data given in the story, to answer the following questions:

1. In what city was the narrator born, and on what river is this city located?

2. Where did he study (name of the city and river)?

3. What city is he going to.

4. In the basin of which river is this city located?

5. Name and patronymic of the narrator?

Number of points - 8.

Exercise 2 .

"Historical Parallels"

This city is located on the left bank of the Volga River. The estimated date of its foundation is 1152. In 1613, after the expulsion of the Polish-Lithuanian invaders from Moscow, their detachments continued to roam the country, robbing the population. One of these detachments came to the village of Derevenka, not far from this city. Enemies robbed barns, took away everything they could carry. After spending the night, the next morning they demanded a guide. They volunteered to be Ivan Osipovich Susanin. He deliberately led the detachment into an impenetrable swampy forest, for which he was cut down by the gentry. But none of the enemies survived - all died in an impenetrable swamp.

What's the name of this town? Which of the Orthodox shrines of Russia is located in this city?

Number of points - 4.

Exercise 3 .

"Literary Places" Federal Subject X borders several others. The following is known about them:

About the first:

Here is the source of the most full-flowing of the rivers of Russia, belonging to the Atlantic Ocean basin.

About the second:

About the third:

About the fourth:

"I was killed near Rzhev,

In the nameless swamp

In the fifth company, on the left,

With a hard raid "

subject X

Enter in the third column of the table the correct names of the desired subjects of the Federation, and in the first three - also the names of geographical objects in these subjects specified in the assignments.

Number of points - 9.

Exercise 4 .

"Mysterious Forces"

Why are the cities and towns of the middle and lower Volga region, located on the right bank, located near the river itself, and the settlements of the left bank, with rare exceptions, are located one or two kilometers further from the Volga?

Number of points - 4.

Exercise 5 .

"Travel City"

Can cities travel? Weird question! Of course not! But there are exceptions to every rule. In Russia, there is a “traveler” city that has changed its address three times, i.e., geographic longitude, and at the same time, latitude. They founded this amazing city at the mouth of the river and gave a name to it. Then he moved away from it, stayed there a little, went to the mouth of another river, and forgot to change the name.

What city are we talking about? Tell us about the stages of the "journey" of this city.

Number of points - 10.

Exercise 6 .

Here the Neva flows out of Ladoga.

About the second:

Here is the largest metallurgical plant in the basin of the deepest river in European Russia.

The Cherepovets plant (Severstal) is without a doubt the largest in the Volga basin.

About the third:

The Svyatogorsky Monastery located here is the resting place

The village of Pushkinskiye Gory

About the fourth:

The famous poem was written about the events in this territory.

"I was killed near Rzhev,

In the nameless swamp

In the fifth company, on the left,

For the Leningrad region - first subject

Over the Neva from Ladoga

For the Vologda region - second entity

For the Cherepovets Combine (Severstal)

For the Pskov region

Beyond the Pushkin Mountains

For the Tver region

For the desired subject - Novgorod region.

Incentive score (set if all geographical objects are fully indicated)

4. Answer:

In the middle of the last century, the Russian academician Baer explained the erosion of one bank by the river and the associated retreat of the river channel from the opposite side, as well as the often encountered steepness of the banks, by the rotation of the Earth around its axis. This force is also called the Coriolis force (Coriolis acceleration). This factor explains why rivers in the northern hemisphere deviate to the right bank and wash it more strongly, and in the southern hemisphere - to the left.

The Volga is a river of the northern hemisphere, and, therefore, the steep one is the right bank. Some villages and towns on this bank have repeatedly suffered from the washing away of the banks by the river. The cities of the left bank, which arose on the very bank of the Volga, are currently at a considerable distance from the river.

For mentioning the force of rotation around its axis (Coriolis force)

For a complete explanation, taking into account the change in the position of the settlements of the left bank and the erosion of the right bank on the river. Volga

5. Answer:

Orenburg.

It is located 268 km from the place where it was first laid. In 1735, at the confluence of the Or River with the Urals, the fortress of Orenburg, that is, a city on the Ori, was founded. However, it soon became clear that the new city was poorly located: there were no convenient roads to it. Therefore, in 1739 it was decided to move the fortress downstream of the Urals.

The second Orenburg began to build in the tract Krasnaya Gorka. But the city did not stay there either: the builders could not agree on where to build a fortress - on a mountain or under a mountain. And the city was moved another 74 km down the Urals.

The third Orenburg was founded in 1743 near the mouth of the Sakmara. Here he stands to this day. The geographically inaccurate name of the city reminds of the distant past of Orenburg. And what happened to the fortress at the mouth of the Ori? Later it was renamed the Orsk fortress, and it laid the foundation for the modern city of Orsk. We can assume that Orenburg and Orsk are namesakes.

For the correct city

For the correct and complete explanation of all stages of the "journey" of the city (2 points per stage)

6. Answer:

This is Lake Baikal.

It is located in two constituent entities of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region.

The Angara River flows out of the lake.

The river that gave the name to the ridge is called Barguzin. The ridge is Barguzinsky, the animal is Barguzinsky sable, the northeast wind is Barguzin.

The bay is called Proval, it is located at the mouth of the Selenga River.

The village is called Listvyanka.

For the right lake

For both subjects of the federation (0.5 points for each)

Over the outflowing Angara River

For the river that gave the name to the ridge, the animal, the wind

For the name of the animal

For the name of the submerged object

For the name of the river near which the submerged object is located

For the name of the village near which the hospital is located

7. Answer:

The northernmost one is the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha);

The most western is the Republic of Karelia;

The easternmost is the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha).

For each correctly named republic

8. Answer: This is peat.

Extraction issues: Peat extraction areas are often reference habitats for animals, more than 88% of the extraction area was proposed to be withdrawn from mining; often mining sites are not reclaimed; the balance of natural complexes is disturbed (flooding of territories, disturbance); violation of water protection zones, etc.

Usage Issues: Although this fossil can be used as a fuel, its great value can be found in agricultural use. Currently, not pure peat is used as a fertilizer, but with mineral additives, which is exported abroad in the same form. It is also necessary to talk about deeper processing of peat. There are many technologies for the production of yeast, wax, drugs that enhance the body's immunity, ethyl alcohol, oxalic acid, etc. from peat.

For defining a resource

For uncovering mining problems

For disclosure of directions of use

9. Answer:

Group 1 - these are urban settlements: city - town - metropolis.

Group 2 - these are rural settlements: village - village - kishlak - aul - farm.

For the definition of 1 group (urban)

For each object correctly assigned to this group

MAXIMUM POSSIBLE POINTS: 86 points

All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren

II (municipal) stage

Geography

Grade 9

Verification Criteria

Task 1 (test round).

1.1. How many subjects of the Russian Federation are there now:

1) 88; 2) 83; 3) 22; 4) 45?

1.2. The largest subject of the Russian Federation in terms of area is:

1) Krasnoyarsk Territory; 2) the city of Moscow; 3) Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); 4) Novosibirsk region?

1.3. Think about what famous physical and geographical object unites such countries as Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan:

1) Ural mountains; 2) Caucasus mountains; 3) the Caspian Sea; 4) Caspian lowland?

1.4. Select the type of transport leading in terms of cargo turnover in Russia:

1) railway; 2) automobile; 3) pipeline; 4) internal water.

1.5. The production of what type of transport engineering products is represented in such centers as Bryansk, Lyudinovo, Kolomna, Murom, Kaluga:

1) passenger cars; 2) subway cars; 3) electric locomotives; 4) locomotives?

1.6. Select the subject of the Russian Federation, the leader in coal production:

1) Kemerovo region; 2) Krasnoyarsk Territory; 3) Republic of Komi; 4) Rostov region

1.7. Select the economic region that has the highest per capita electricity generation:

1) Central; 2) Northern; 3) North Caucasian; 4) East Siberian.

1.8. Select the region leading in natural gas production in the European territory of Russia:

1) Yamalo-Nenets Aut. county; 2) Orenburg region; 3) Khanty-Mansiysk Aut. county; 4) Astrakhan region

1.11. Choose from the proposed regions the region with the highest forest cover of the territory:

1) Moscow region; 2) Kaliningrad region; 3) Orenburg region; 4) Republic of Komi.

1.12. Choose a location factor that is insignificant for the location of oil refining enterprises:

1) electric power; 2) transport; 3) labor; 4) ecological.

1.13. The siting of the sugar factory will mainly gravitate towards:

1) the consumer; 2) raw materials; 3) transport routes; 4) labor resources.

1.15. Imagine that you have received an offer from a well-known automaker in the world to locate a car assembly plant in Russia. In which of the proposed centers would you place such a production:

1) Vladivostok; 2) Saratov; 3) Novorossiysk; 4) Syktyvkar.

1.18. Select the region with the largest number of autonomous republics:

1) European North;

2) Volga-Vyatka region;

3) the Volga region;

4) North Caucasus.

1.19. Choose a pair of states in which there are states with which Russia has the least extended land border:

1) Lithuania and Poland;

2) Kazakhstan and China;

3) North Korea and Norway;

4) Georgia and Azerbaijan.

1.20. Find an exception from the proposed options, which list the cities-"millionaires" of Russia:

1) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod;

2) Yekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk;

3) Perm, Ufa, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don;

4) Moscow, Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Kazan.

1.21. The average population density in Russia is:

1) 145 people / km 2; 2) 8.5 people / km 2; 3) 17 people / km 2; 4) 2.5 people / km 2.

1.25. You are faced with the task of where to locate a new aluminum smelter. It is known that in this place the raw material factor can be neglected. In which of the proposed regions of Russia would you do it:

1) Ryazan region; 2) Stavropol Territory; 3) Kaliningrad region; 4) Irkutsk region?

1.27. Plesetsk (Mirny), Kapustin Yar, Svobodny. Select which category of objects they belong to:

1) these are the centers of the automotive industry;

2) these are cosmodromes and centers for testing missiles and military equipment;

3) large transport hubs;

4) places where meteorites fall.

1.28. You have to open an energy-intensive production in a short time, but there is an acute shortage of electricity in the region of interest. However, your project may allow large investments in the development of industrial infrastructure, including energy. What type of power plant will you choose for construction, subject to the availability of hydropower resources in this place and the close passage of the gas pipeline:

1) hydroelectric power station; 2) NPP; 3) TPP; 4) solar.

Number of points - 30.

Answer:

Number tasks	Correct answer	Quantity points
1.1.
1.2.
1.3.
1.4.
1.5.
1.6.
1.7.
1.8.
1.9.
1.10.
1.11.
1.12.
1.13
1.14.
1.15.
1.16.
1.17.
1.18.
1.19.
1.20.
Total:

Analytical round

Exercise 1.

"Historical Parallels"

What's the name of this town? Which of the Orthodox shrines of Russia is located in this city?

Number of points - 4.

Answer: This is the City of Kostroma. Ipatiev Monastery.

Task 2.

This reservoir is the deepest in Russia, it contains 1/5 of the planet's fresh water reserves (excluding glaciers). More than 300 rivers flow into it, and only one flows out of it. The shores of the reservoir are almost completely covered with coniferous forests. Reserves are open along the banks. In one of them, discovered in 1916, in the area of the ridge on the eastern shore, a valuable animal lives, which has the same name as the ridge, obtained by the name of the river, which flows into the reservoir. The same river gave its name to the northeast wind.

The reservoir is located in the zone of active tectonic movements. Therefore, earthquakes often occur in this area. In 1862, as a result of one of them, not far from the delta of the largest river flowing into a reservoir, a large area of land sank under water. In the 1920s, in the village, located at the source of the outflowing river, a station was opened to study the reservoir.

What is this reservoir?

In what subjects of the Russian Federation is it located?

What is the name of the river flowing out of the reservoir?

What is the name of the river that gave the name to the animal, the ridge and the wind? What is the name of this animal?

At the mouth of which river is the submerged object and what is its name?

What is the name of the village where the research institute is located?

Number of points - 9.

Answer:

This is Lake Baikal.

It is located in two subjects of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region.

The Angara River flows out of the lake.

The river that gave the name to the ridge is called Barguzin. The ridge is Barguzinsky, the animal is Barguzinsky sable, the northeast wind is Barguzin.

The bay is called Proval, it is located at the mouth of the Selenga River.

The village is called Listvyanka.

For the right lake	1 point
For both subjects of the federation (0.5 points for each)	1 point
Over the outflowing Angara River	1 point
For the river that gave the name to the ridge, the animal, the wind	1 point
For the name of the animal	1 point
For the name of the submerged object	2 points
For the name of the river near which the submerged object is located	1 point
For the name of the village near which the hospital is located	1 point
Total:	9 points

Task 3.

Which of the republics of the Russian Federation is the northernmost, southernmost, westernmost, easternmost?

The northernmost

The southernmost

The westernmost

The easternmost

Number of points - 4.

Answer:

The northernmost one is the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha);

The southernmost is the Republic of Dagestan;

The most western is the Republic of Karelia;

The easternmost is the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha).

Task 4.

The reserves of this mineral natural resource in the Kaliningrad region are estimated at more than 3 billion tons, 281 deposits have been explored. This mineral resource can serve both as a fuel and as a mineral fertilizer. Its extraction is carried out mainly in the Nesterovsky and Polessky districts of the region. Sometimes its calorific value reaches 5000 kcal, although since 1982 its use as a fuel has been prohibited by law. This resource is supplied to many European countries.

What resource are you talking about? What problems of its extraction and use do you know?

Number of points - 5.

Answer: This is peat.

Task 5.

Find the logical connections of geographical objects in the proposed list: city, village, village, urban-type settlement (urban settlement), kishlak, aul, farm, metropolis.

Select the groups yourself into which you can combine objects, and enter there the name of the group of objects and the names of the objects that you will attribute to the selected groups.

Object group name Objects

Number of points - 6.

Answer:

Group 1 - these are urban settlements: city - town - metropolis.

Group 2 - these are rural settlements: village - village - kishlak - aul - farm.

Task 1 (test round).

1.1. How many subjects of the Russian Federation are there now:

1.2. The largest subject of the Russian Federation in terms of area is:

1) Krasnoyarsk Territory;

2) the city of Moscow;

3) Republic of Sakha (Yakutia);

4) Novosibirsk region?

1.3. Think about what famous physical and geographical object unites such countries as Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan:

1) Ural mountains;

2) Caucasus mountains;

3) the Caspian Sea;

4) Caspian lowland?

1.4. Select the type of transport leading in terms of cargo turnover in Russia:

1) railway;

2) automobile;

3) pipeline;

4) internal water.

1.5. The production of what type of transport engineering products is represented in such centers as Bryansk, Lyudinovo, Kolomna, Murom, Kaluga:

1) passenger cars;

2) subway cars;

3) electric locomotives;

4) locomotives?

1.6. Select the subject of the Russian Federation, the leader in coal production:

1) Kemerovo region;

2) Krasnoyarsk Territory;

3) Republic of Komi;

4) Rostov region

1.7. Select the economic region that has the highest per capita electricity generation:

1) Central;

2) Northern;

3) North Caucasian;

4) East Siberian.

1.8. Select the region leading in natural gas production in the European territory of Russia:

1) Yamalo-Nenets Aut. county;

2) Orenburg region;

3) Khanty-Mansiysk Aut. county;

4) Astrakhan region

1.9. Which figure correctly shows the areas of sheep breeding in Russia?

1.10. Which of the cities indicated on the map of Russia is located within the main zone of settlement?

1) Krasnoyarsk;

2) Norilsk;

3) Yakutsk;

4) Magadan?

1.11. Choose from the proposed regions the region with the highest forest cover of the territory:

1) Moscow region;

2) Kaliningrad region;

3) Orenburg region;

4) Republic of Komi.

1.12. Choose a location factor that is insignificant for the location of oil refining enterprises:

1) electric power;

2) transport;

3) labor;

4) ecological.

1.13. The siting of the sugar factory will mainly gravitate towards:

1) the consumer;

3) transport routes;

4) labor resources.

1.14. When it comes to focusing the production of a large volume of products on a small number of enterprises, we are talking about:

1) combination;

2) cooperation;

3) concentration;

4) specializations.

1.15. Imagine that you have received an offer from a well-known automaker in the world to locate a car assembly plant in Russia. In which of the proposed centers would you place such a production:

1) Vladivostok;

2) Saratov;

3) Novorossiysk;

4) Syktyvkar.

1.16. Which of the indicators of the proportion of children and adolescents under 16 can be in the North Caucasus region:

1.17. Which of the options correctly represents the largest peoples of Russia in ascending order:

1) Russians - Bashkirs - Tatars - Ukrainians;

2) Russians - Tatars - Ukrainians - Bashkirs;

3) Russians - Ukrainians - Tatars - Bashkirs;

4) Russians - Tatars - Bashkirs - Ukrainians.

1.18. Select the region with the largest number of autonomous republics:

1) European North;

2) Volga-Vyatka region;

3) the Volga region;

4) North Caucasus.

1.19. Choose a pair of states in which there are states with which Russia has the least extended land border:

1) Lithuania and Poland;

2) Kazakhstan and China;

3) North Korea and Norway;

4) Georgia and Azerbaijan.

1.20. Find an exception from the proposed options, which list the cities-"millionaires" of Russia:

1) Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod;

2) Yekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk;

3) Perm, Ufa, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don;

4) Moscow, Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Kazan.

1.21. The average population density in Russia is:

1) 145 people/km2;

2) 8.5 people/km2;

3) 17 people/km2;

4) 2.5 people/km2.

1.22. You need to place an industrial enterprise, the main factor in the placement of which is only the availability of labor resources. In which of the proposed cities you will do it without a doubt:

1) Moscow;

2) Nalchik;

3) St. Petersburg;

4) Khanty-Mansiysk.

1.23. Recently, the problems of one of the types of cities have become aggravated, the name of which has already become established in domestic economic geography. Their features include the presence of so-called city-forming enterprises (i.e., enterprises that employ more than 30% of the able-bodied population of a given city and the infrastructure facilities of this enterprise serve more than 30% of the population of a given city). What are these cities called in economic geography:

1) agglomeration;

2) satellite cities;

3) single-industry towns;

4) shift camps.

1.24. Imagine that you are the head of a metallurgical enterprise with a high output (more than 5 million tons per year). The question arises before you, which type of transport you will choose to carry out regular deliveries of products to consumers, if you know that all types of transport are represented in the region:

1) automobile;

2) railway;

3) aviation;

4) pipeline.

1) Ryazan region;

2) Stavropol Territory;

3) Kaliningrad region;

4) Irkutsk region?

1.26. What do the numbers mean in such city names as: Arzamas-16, Chelyabinsk-65, Tomsk-7:

1) this is the population of cities in thousand people;

2) these are the names of major railway stations;

3) these are closed administrative-territorial formations;

4) the number of residential yards in this settlement.

1.27. Plesetsk (Mirny), Kapustin Yar, Svobodny. Select which category of objects they belong to:

1) these are the centers of the automotive industry;

2) these are cosmodromes and centers for testing missiles and military equipment;

3) large transport hubs;

4) places where meteorites fall.

4) solar.

1.29. What industry can we talk about if the following is known about its impact on the environment: “it accounts for 14-21% of all industrial emissions into the atmosphere (more than 10 million tons per year), wastewater discharges are more than 6% of all-Russian, moreover, these enterprises are located in fairly large cities”:

1) mechanical engineering;

2) pulp and paper industry;

3) food;

4) metallurgy?

1.30. On which of the seas is there still an acute shortage of port facilities for Russia:

1) Japanese;

2) Black;

3) Baltic;

4) Barents.

Number of points - 30.

	Correct	Quantity






























Total:

Task 2 (Analytical round).

"Road geography"

In the carriage of the train Moscow - Vladivostok, my companion - a technician from the gold mines - told me an excerpt from his biography:

Try, using the data given in the story, to answer the following questions:

1. In what city was the narrator born, and on what river is this city located?

2. Where did he study (name of the city and river)?

3. What city is he going to.

4. In the basin of which river is this city located?

5. Name and patronymic of the narrator?

Number of points - 8.

The narrator was born in Omsk(on the river Om), studied at Tomsk(river Tom). Goes to town Tommot located in the river basin Lena. His name and patronymic - Erofei Pavlovich.

For the city where he was born - Omsk
Over the river on which Omsk is located - Om
For the city where he studied - Tomsk
Over the river on which Tomsk is located - Tom
For the city he is going to - Tommot
For the basin of the river in which stands Tommot and the name of his daughter
For the name and patronymic
Incentive point for a completely correctly completed task
Total:	8 points

Task 3.

"Historical Parallels"

What's the name of this town? Which of the Orthodox shrines of Russia is located in this city?

Number of points - 4.

Answer: This is the City of Kostroma. Ipatiev Monastery.

Task 4.

"Literary Places"

Federal Subject X borders several others. The following is known about them:

About the first:
About the second:
About the third:
About the fourth:	A. T. Tvardovsky: "I was killed near Rzhev, In the nameless swamp In the fifth company, on the left, With a hard raid "
Subject X

Number of points - 9.

About the first:	Here is the source of the most full-flowing of the rivers of Russia, belonging to the Atlantic Ocean basin.	Leningrad region. Here the Neva flows out of Ladoga.
About the second:	Here is the largest metallurgical plant in the basin of the deepest river in European Russia.	Vologda Region. The Cherepovets plant (Severstal) is without a doubt the largest in the Volga basin.
About the third:	The Svyatogorsky Monastery located here is the resting place of A. S. Pushkin.	Pskov region. The village of Pushkinskiye Gory
About the fourth:	The famous poem was written about the events in this territory. A. T. Tvardovsky: "I was killed near Rzhev, In the nameless swamp In the fifth company, on the left, With a hard raid "	Tver region
Subject X		Novgorod region

For the Leningrad region - first subject
Over the Neva from Ladoga
For the Vologda region - second entity
For the Cherepovets Combine (Severstal)
For the Pskov region
Beyond the Pushkin Mountains
For the Tver region
For the desired subject - Novgorod region.
Incentive score (set if all geographical objects are fully indicated)
Total:	9 points

Task 5.

"Mysterious Forces"

Number of points - 4.

Task 6.

"Travel City"

What city are we talking about? Tell us about the stages of the "journey" of this city.

Number of points - 10.

Orenburg.

Task 7.

What is this reservoir?

In what subjects of the Russian Federation is it located?

What is the name of the river flowing out of the reservoir?

What is the name of the river that gave the name to the animal, the ridge and the wind? What is the name of this animal?

At the mouth of which river is the submerged object and what is its name?

What is the name of the village where the research institute is located?

Number of points - 9.

This is Lake Baikal.

It is located in two subjects of the Russian Federation - the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region.

The Angara River flows out of the lake.

The river that gave the name to the ridge is called Barguzin. The ridge is Barguzinsky, the animal is Barguzinsky sable, the northeast wind is Barguzin.

The bay is called Proval, it is located at the mouth of the Selenga River.

The village is called Listvyanka.

For the right lake
For both subjects of the federation (0.5 points for each)
Over the outflowing Angara River
For the river that gave the name to the ridge, the animal, the wind
For the name of the animal
For the name of the submerged object
For the name of the river near which the submerged object is located
For the name of the village near which the hospital is located
Total:	9 points

Task 8.

Which of the republics of the Russian Federation is the northernmost, southernmost, westernmost, easternmost?

The northernmost

The southernmost

The westernmost

The easternmost

Number of points - 4.

The northernmost one is the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha);

The southernmost is the Republic of Dagestan;

The most western is the Republic of Karelia;

The easternmost is the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha).

Task 9.

What resource are you talking about? What problems of its extraction and use do you know?

Number of points - 5.

Answer: This Peat.

Task 10.

Find the logical connections of geographical objects in the proposed list: city, village, village, urban-type settlement (urban settlement), kishlak, aul, farm, metropolis.

Select the groups yourself into which you can combine objects, and enter there the name of the group of objects and the names of the objects that you will attribute to the selected groups.

Object group name Objects

Number of points - 6.

Group 1 - these are urban settlements: city - town - metropolis.

Group 2 - these are rural settlements: village - village - kishlak - aul - farm.

MAXIMUM POINTS POSSIBLE: 89 points

One of the largest branches of the fuel and energy complex is the coal industry.

Back in the era of the USSR, Russia became a recognized leader in the field of coal mining and processing. Here, coal deposits make up about 1/3 of the world's reserves, including brown, hard coal, and anthracites.

The Russian Federation ranks sixth in the world in terms of coal production, 2/3 of which is used to produce energy and heat, 1/3 - in the chemical industry, a small part is transported to Japan and South Korea. On average, more than 300 million tons per year are mined in the Russian coal basins.

Characteristics of deposits

If you look at the map of Russia, then over 90% of the deposits are located in the eastern part of the country, mainly in Siberia.

If we compare the volume of coal mined, its total quantity, technical and geographical conditions, then the most significant of them can be called the Kuznetsk, Tunguska, Pechora and Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basins.

, otherwise Kuzbass, is the largest coal basin in Russia, and the largest in the world.

It is located in Western Siberia in a shallow intermountain basin. A large part of the basin belongs to the lands of the Kemerovo region.

A significant disadvantage is the geographical distance from the main consumers of fuel - Kamchatka, Sakhalin, the central regions of the country. It produces 56% of hard coal and about 80% of coking coal, approximately 200 million tons per year. The type of prey is open.

Kansk-Achinsk coal basin

Spread along the Trans-Siberian Railway on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Kemerovo and Irkutsk Regions. 12% of all Russian brown coal belongs to this basin, in 2012 its amount was 42 million tons.

According to information provided by geological exploration in 1979, the total coal reserves are 638 billion tons.

It should be noted that the local one is the cheapest due to its open-pit mining, has low transportability and is used to provide energy to local enterprises.

Tunguska coal basin

One of the largest and most promising basins in Russia, it occupies the territories of Yakutia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region.

If you look at the map, you can see that this is more than half of Eastern Siberia.

The local coal reserves are about 2345 billion tons. Here lie hard and brown coal, a small amount of anthracites.

Currently, work in the basin is poorly conducted (due to poor knowledge of the field and the harsh climate). About 35.3 million tons are mined annually by the underground method.

Pechora basin

Located on the western slope of the Pai-Khoi ridge, it is part of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic. The main deposits are Vorkuta, Vorgashorskoye, Inta.

The deposits are mostly represented by high quality coking coal, due to extraction exclusively by the mine method.

12.6 million tons of coal are mined per year, which is 4% of the total. Consumers of solid fuels are enterprises of the North European part of Russia, in particular the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant.

Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basin

It stretches along the Upper Sayan from Nizhneudinsk to Lake Baikal. It is divided into the Baikal and Sayan branches. The volume of extraction is 3.4%, the extraction method is open. The deposit is remote from large consumers, delivery is difficult, so local coal is used mainly at Irkutsk enterprises. The reserve is about 7.5 billion tons of coal.

Industry issues

Nowadays, active coal mining is carried out in the Kuznetsk, Kansk-Achinsk, Pechora and Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo basins, the development of the Tunguska basin is planned. The main mining method is open pit, this choice is due to its relative cheapness and safety for workers. The disadvantage of this method is that the quality of coal suffers greatly.

The main problem faced by the above basins is the difficulty of delivering fuel to remote regions, in connection with this, it is necessary to modernize the Siberian railways. Despite this, the coal industry is one of the most promising sectors of the Russian economy (according to preliminary estimates, Russian coal deposits should last more than 500 years).