OREANDA-NEWS. September 11, 2012. KOKS Group, the world’s largest exporter of merchant pig iron and a leading producer of merchant coke in Russia, announces that its subsidiary Kombinat KMAruda continues tunneling operations to develop a new working level at its Gubkin mine. Construction is within the framework of the project to increase iron ore output up to 7 million tonnes per year.


Skip shaft and cage shaft are currently under construction. Additionally, tunneling works are carried out to construct transportation and service incline shaft which is essential for development of the two new mining horizons at 160 and 250 meters below the sea level.
 At the skip shaft the following works have been completed:

 • surface tunneling equipment has been assembled;
 • technical branch of the shaft has been tunneled for 40 meters; and
 • subsoil freezing completed.


At the cage shaft a surface tunneling equipment is being assembled; 14 meters of the technical shaft branch has been drilled. The main contractor for these works is Trest Shakhtspesstroy.


In May 2012, tunneling works started to construct transportation and service incline tunnel which would connect the horizon at 125 meters below the sea level with the horizons at 71, 160 and 250 meters below the sea level. Upward drilling works would total 450 meters and downward drilling works would take around 1,200 meters. Currently 138.5 long meters have been drilled from the horizon 71 meter below the sea level and 72.5 long meters have been drilled to the horizon 161 meter below the sea level.


Special self-moving machines were purchased for incline tunneling including diesel-driven transloader ST-2D, the drilling machine Boomer S1D and a mine dump truck of PAUS-PMKT type. These works are carried out by shaft miners of Gubkin mine.

Construction of the new working level would allow the plant to increase production of iron ore concentrate up to 3.3 million tonnes per year from the current 2.3 million tonnes. The new level may reach its design production capacity by around 2020.