World-Class Scientific Breakthroughs

© Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

Mining University researchers, joined by their colleagues from the Obninsk-based Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, discovered a brand-new physical phenomenon. Its areas of use include: improving the efficiency of intercontinental ballistic missile control, building the spacecraft capable of flying under extreme conditions of outer space, facilitate the construction of self-sufficient nuclear power plants designed for operating in such remote areas as the Arctic, for instance. According to some experts, the practical results of this scientific research are so impressive they deserve to be called "a discovery of the year".

© suek.ru

Russian-German joint research mainly focused on assessing the market competitiveness of products developed using advanced gasification technologies. For example, the overall process chain costs for the deep processing of one tonne of low-ash – that is, higher-quality – coal equal €256, with the figure amounting to €279 for high-ash coal. This being said, methanol prices exceeded $300 in 2017 and reached $400 in 2021.

In 2012, the Mining University drilling team pierced the ice shield to the surface of Antarctica's subglacial Lake Vostok, located at a depth below 3,700 metres. They became the first to have taken the samples of lake water, which may have been isolated for millions of years. The ice cores obtained from the boreholes may contain ice from up to several hundred thousand years old. Studying the core samples provided information on what phenomena occurred in the Earth's atmosphere during their formation. The scientists also explored the consequences those events led to, with significant volcanic ash emissions being an example. Upon completing the research, the cyclical nature of the Earth's climate was finally confirmed; four ice ages and interglacial periods were defined. It was also scientifically proved that microorganisms might remain in anabiosis for over 200,000 years. The next challenge will be to model the process of climate change for centuries ahead.

© metalloinvest.com

The Yakovlevskoye deposit of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, with estimated reserves reaching over 9 bln tons, had been in development since 1959. Yet extraction works were stopped numerously. The reason was that the unique high-grade iron ore (iron content up to 69 %) lay under unconsolidated deposit aquifers and was too loose for mining works to start. Mining University researchers succeeded in developing an economically efficient but safe technology needed to resume the extraction.

In summer 1941, Leningrad Mining Institute professor Alexander Kuznetsov, joined by co-inventors, proposed to the military officials a new explosive substance – "Sinal" (Si N Al) – based on aluminium-silicon blend. Cambrian clay was used as an active ingredient since it could be easily found in the city and its suburbs. Kuznetsov's invention helped supply the Leningrad Front, already suffering from ammunition shortage, with mines, shells and grenades.

Alexander Skochinsky's work in eliminating methane outbursts in workings and preventing mine fires, alongside implementing self-developed methods of reducing mine dustiness, led to a sharp decrease in mining fatalities.

Saint Petersburg Mining Institute professor Nikolai Slavyanov's invention resulted in an increase in weld strength. Consequently, it became possible to weld heavy-gauge steel parts, efficiently repair larger units and mechanisms, such as crankshafts, steam cylinders, cogwheels.