«Belgorkhimprom» JSC (Minsk, Republic of Belarus):

Vagin V. B., Leading Researcher, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, e-mail: geof@belgorhimprom.by

Efimov A. M., Researcher, e-mail: alex246032@yandex.ru

Kulagov E. V., Second Category Engineer, e-mail: evgenyk@tut.by

Sufficient thickness of waterproof strata, together with its ability to prevent the brines' entering into excavations as a result of mining of potassium-bearing horizons, are one of safety mining conditions during the development of salt mines. Clayey-marly strata, covering the salt-bearing deposits, is one of possible sources of brines into excavations during the deposits' development. Salt-bearing strata at Starobinsky potassium salts deposit is the main component of waterproof strata. That's why, the attention is paid to the study of its thickness and state:
-presence of synclinal dipping in the roof of salt-bearing strata, which may be the brines' accumulation areas, coming from the bottom of the clayey-marly strata;
-presence of discontinuous faults, which may be the ways of brines' entering into excavations.
Research and assessment of waterproof strata are the urgent tasks for the whole management board of "Belaruskali" JSC for flood protection of mines. Underground geophysical researches are one of the ways of solving of these problems. A set of geophysical methods was developed for research of the state of waterproof strata at Starobinsky potassium salts deposit. The following abilities were theoretically grounded and practically confirmed, according to the data, obtained by methods of underground seismic and electrical survey;
-ability to define the thickness of salt-bearing sediments from underground excavations in the research areas with significant degree of accuracy;
-ability to identify the areas of synclinal dip in the roof of salt-bearing strata and sections of faults, which may be the areas of brines' entering into excavations.

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5. Andreyko S. S., Vagin V. B., Musalev D. N., Efimov A. M., Kadol V. M. Izuchenie geologicheskogo stroeniya pokryvayushchey tolshchi porod v zone lokalnogo ponizheniya na Vtorom gorizonte rudnika 4 Rudoupravleniya shakhtnymi seysmicheskimi metodami (Research of geological structure of superincumbent rock in local decreasing area at the second horizon of mine of the 4 Mine group by shaft seismic methods). Materialy Vtoroy Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-tekhnicheskoy konferentsii 20–24 oktyabrya 1997 goda (Materials of the Second International scientific-technical conference. October 20–24, 1997). Republic of Belarus : Soligorsk, Minsk, 1997, pp. 132–133.
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