Experience of CAE Fidesys application in numerical geomechanical modelling of Zhdanovskoe deposit

The Zhdanovskoe copper-nickel sulfide ores deposit is located in the north-west of the Murmansk region and is a mineral raw material source for JSC «Kola MMC». The main mining method used is sublevel caving. In some areas, due to the complex shape of the ore bodies, the open stoping mining method is used which requires determining stable parameters of stopes and pillars. It is necessary to study the stress-strain state of the deposit to ensure safe mining conditions. One of the possible solutions is the modeling of the stress-strain state of rock mass using the finite element method, for example, CAE Fidesys, which is FEMbased software. The use of CAE Fidesys for solving geomechanics tasks allows creating models of individual excavation units to determine the stability of stopes and pillars, and large-scale models that include several ore bodies and areas of the host rock mass. The article considers solutions of both types of geomechanic tasks using CAE Fidesys for conditions of the Zhdanovskoe deposit.

Methodological approach to characterizing pollution of natural water bodies using satellite data with account of aggregation of finely dispersed mineral processing waste

The level of the environmental impact of the mining industry specifies the urgency of ecological management of the natural resources based on the satellite monitoring data. The high content of the suspended mineral particles in the industrial waters and the requirement to reduce their access to the natural water reservoirs determine the need to characterize the mininginduced pollution that can be carried out correctly with due account of the aggregate stability of dispersions. In spite of the theoretical concepts, prediction of the particles aggregation is limited by a lack of data on their interaction parameters. In order to parametrize the interactions in the mineral-water-mineral system it is proposed to use experimental data on aggregation of finely dispersed particles, obtained by the laser diffraction method in the equilibrium conditions. For this purpose the procedure of the experimental appraisal of the effective Hamaker constants has been elaborated using ores of developed deposits of the Kola mining complex as an example. The authors have studied the conditions of the surface layer of natural water reservoirs in the most industrially developed central part of the Murmansk region and defined characteristics of pollution with finely dispersed by-products of the mineral raw material treatment, according to the satellite observation data of the spatial distribution of the normalized difference turbidity index. The authors have established that the least propagation of the pollution into the natural water reservoirs is observed in the case of the apatite-nepheline ores processing by-products, which is explained by the effective aggregation of the finely dispersed nepheline particles. The proposed approach to apply data on mineral particles aggregation for interpretation of the satellite observations does not require carrying out in-situ observations and makes it possible to identify the mining-induced pollution of natural water reservoirs in industrial territories using suspended particles.

Plant occurrences on the Rybachy and the Sredny Peninsulas, Murmansk Region, Russia: a dataset

The Rybachy and the Sredny Peninsulas are the northernmost part of Murmansk Region in the European part of Russia. While the most part of the Region is covered by boreal forest, the Peninsulas are covered by tundra. The vegetation and flora of Murmansk Region are well studied at present. The Peninsulas were first studied in 1829 by a Finnish botanist Jacob Fellman. The most comprehensive research was conducted in the late 19th - early 20th century. Nevertheless, the species composition of the Peninsulas' flora has changed significantly over the past 100 years due to land use and climate change. The aim of this dataset is to make the data on species occurrences for this territory digitally available via GBIF. To date, more or less complete digital floristic data were provided only by the project for digitising the book "Flora of Murmansk Region" (1953–1966). The present dataset is a part of the project studying the vegetation of the territory. We recorded the information about species frequency and distribution using the relevé method. We present a dataset based on 991 relevés from all vegetation types, which includes 16,289 records of georeferenced plant occurrences that belong to 568 species. There are 23 species of lichens (Ascomycota), 142 species of mosses (Bryophyta), three species of liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and 400 species of vascular plants (Tracheophyta) in the present dataset. The taxonomic diversity and unevenness result from the vegetation sampling. The data were collected in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015. The dataset cannot be considered as a complete vegetation database or a flora checklist, but it contains the occurrences and frequencies of the species from all the vegetation types.

New records in non-native vascular plants of Russian Lapland

The non-native vascular plants of Murmansk Region (European Russia) are under active investigation towards the compilation of the first complete checklist. This work is part of the project 'Flora of Russian Lapland', which ultimately aims at the complete inventory of the taxonomy, distribution and status of vascular plant species in Murmansk Region, based on the comprehensive database of herbarium specimens, field observations and literature. New territory-level records of non-native vascular plants emerged during our inventory of herbarium collections and recent fieldwork. Fourteen species (Anthemis ruthenica, Aruncus dioicus, Bromus commutatus, Chaerophyllum hirsutum, Galega orientalis, Geum aleppicum, Leonurus quinquelobatus, Lepidium densiflorum, Levisticum officinale, Myrrhis odorata, Phleum phleoides, Prunus armeniaca, Rorippa sylvestris, Senecio vernalis) are reported as new to Murmansk Region. The historical occurrences of alien plants appeared in the territory largely as contaminants (of seed or forage). In particular, Rorippa sylvestris and Senecio vernalis arrived with the forage imported during the Second World War. All recent occurrences originated by escape from confinement (ornamental purposes, horticulture, agriculture), reflecting a high diversity of the modern assortment of cultivated plants in commerce and private gardens. Regarding the invasion status, five alien species are considered casual and eight species are treated as locally established or persisting (for uncertain time). Only one species, Galega orientalis, is considered naturalised and capable of further spreading in the territory, although without invasive potential.

Why young people leave the Arctic: the results of sociological research

The article deals with the issues of technogenesis and the evolution of relations with the environment through the example of the industrial development of the Arctic. The economic, environmental, and social aspects of the behavior of the indigenous population, the migration sentiments of the young people in connection with the implementation of investment projects for the development of the territory are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to identifying the relationship between the migration processes and the industrial development of the Arctic, substantiating the participation of mining companies to improve the socio-economic development of the Russian Arctic, and promoting employment. The subject of the study are the economic and social relations, migration attitudes of the local population, and youth, which arise in the process of the industrial development of the territory in the Arctic. Based on the example of conducting sociological surveys of the local population in Taimyr, in the Arctic regions of Yakutia, Karelia, and the Murmansk Region, recommendations are formulated for managing migration processes, promoting employment, income growth, and socio-economic development of the territory within the framework of mining companies’ activities to implement investment projects for the industrial development of the Arctic.

Modified materials based on layered minerals as ameliorants for the remediation of podzol in the industrial barren

Layered silicates, such as serpentine and vermiculite, have properties that make it possible to use materials based on them as components of environmental technologies. The possibility of soil remediation in industrially contaminated area, formed due to the long-term exposure to emissions from copper-nickel production (Monchegorsk, Murmansk region), was studied. Two materials were used as ameliorants in our study: expanded vermiculite and granular serpentine sorbent, a waste after using the purification technology of highly concentrated solutions from metals. These materials have a high sorption activity to several metals, a high specific surface area, the ability to retain moisture, and are available in quantities sufficient to work on the remediation of large areas. A study of the physicochemical properties of industrially polluted soil and ameliorants, direct phytotoxicity testing of podzol and its mixtures with expanded vermiculite and the serpentine sorbent (test plants - common oat Avna satva L. and red clover Trifolium pratnse L.) were carried out. The study results showed that the proposed materials were effective additives for increasing the pH of acidic soil, sorption and precipitation of Al and potentially toxic metals - Cu, Ni, Pb, Fe, and improving the soil hydrophysical and agrochemical characteristics. A positive response of test plants to the introduction of ameliorants into industrially contaminated soil was noted.

On the issue of the development of mechanisms for the implementation of business models of complex processing of mineral resources

The importance of implementing the concept of integrated processing of mineral resources is understood by both the state and the scientific and business communities. However, the practical implementation of the concept has not yet been properly reflected in economic activity, which is determined by a number of factors, one of which is the lack of elaboration of the issue of business models and mechanisms for their implementation in modern conditions of economic development. The economic system today is characterized by many different forms and types of manifestation of entrepreneurial activity by economic entities. Determining the optimal, balanced interaction of all economic agents of the system, providing a solution to the problem of complex processing of mineral resources, is considered in this article from the point of view of analyzing the possibilities of implementing business models corresponding to the specifics of entrepreneurial activity in the regional economic system based on an algorithm developed during previous studies, on the one hand, and existing technologies for processing mineral raw materials on the other. As an example for the analysis, the Khibinsky deposit of apatite-nepheline ores of the Murmansk region was selected, which in distinguished by a variety of valuable components and a complex material composition. The result of the work was the clarification of the proposed concepts of business activity management in the Murmansk region in the form of a description of possible business models for building a mining and processing complex; the development of a mechanism for its operation based on a network interaction agreement, as a new format of contractual relations in the mining and chemical industry, which differs from standard civil contracts; and an assessment of the prospects for the implementation of such production, ensuring the complexity of the use of raw materials when involved in processing, in addition to apatite, nepheline, sphene and titanium-magnetic concentrates.

“Public catering in service to the industrial financial plan of the “Apatit” trust”: from the history of the establishment and development of a new branch of the socialist economy in 1930–1935

The article retrospectively highlights the main stages of the establishment and development of public catering as a subsystem of food distribution in the area of apatite mining of the Apatit trust in 1930–1935 in the context of the socio-economic modernization processes of the first five-year plans, which led to the rapid urbanization of the population in the new industrial regions of the USSR. Despite the presence of a wide range of foreign and domestic studies of the history of Russian society during the period of its transition from the traditional agrarian to the industrial type of development, including everyday life and the organization of supply of the urban population, which are based on the methodology of social and economic history, anthropology, the scientific literature lacks information on the history of providing food on the regional level to the urbanized population of the new industrial centers of the USSR, in particular through public catering enterprises. This indicates the relevance of studying the history of the formation of a new branch of the Soviet economy in the Khibiny. Within the framework of the humanitarian and systemic approaches, the methodology of the case study is based on general scientific methods of scientific cognition, archival, source study, problem-chronological, comparative, historical-genetic (retrospective) methods. The empirical material for the study was archival documents from the end of 1929–1935 deposited in the collections of the Kirovsk branch of the State Archive of the Murmansk Region and in the Main Collection of the Museum-Archive of the History of Study and Development of the European North of the BCH of the KSC of the RAS, including published prescriptive documents of state power and political administrating authorities in the USSR in 1930–1935, materials of the periodical press of Khibinogorsk (since December 1934 — Kirovsk) in 1930–1935.

Natural park as part of the strategy for the development of sustainable tourism in Teriberka settlement (Murmansk region)

For the first time in the practice of creating regional specially protected natural areas in the Murmansk region, a socio-anthropological study was carried out. The purpose of the investigation was to study the attitude of residents of a rural settlement to the creation of a natural park in the context of sustainable tourism development in a remote area. The main component of this strategy is the interaction of all parties interested in the comfortable development of tourism in settlements. In the article, based on the classifications proposed by Urry and Cohen, the views of the local population were analyzed and the types of Teriberka visitors were identified. The predominant kind of tourist in Teriberka is romantic. That solitary traveler represents an individualistic-oriented person the main motive of travel of which is admiring natural objects. This kind of tourist is complemented by the individual mass tourist traveling alone or with a group of travelers who already know each other. Based on the results we are able to assume that indigenous people are tolerant towards tourists and are not against the development of tourist activities in the village. The attitude of the local population for tourists visiting these territories was revealed, the main problems of the settlements were determined. The main of these are an abundance of garbage, a lack of toilets, a lack of control of inappropriate behavior of visitors; environmental pollution; damage to nature, etc. The study has shown that most of the local residents reacted positively to the idea of creating a natural park. Most part of the respondents agrees with the opinion that the creation of a natural park will help preserve the natural and cultural heritage of this unique historical settlement.

Revealing the potential of potato varieties with colored pulp in the conditions of the Murmansk region

A collection of 15 potato varieties ‘Seyanets Stepana’, ‘Stepan’, ‘Yekzotika’, ‘Fioletik’, ‘Kubinka’, ‘Vasilok’, ‘Lekar’’, ‘Severnoye Siyaniye’, ‘Ametist’, ‘Gurman’, ‘Perlamutrovyy’, ‘Ves siniy’, ‘Ves krasnyy’, ‘Klyukvenno-krasnyy’, ‘Malina’ was studied in the Arctic North. All the studied accessions demonstrated antioxidant properties and suitability for dietetic and therapeutic nutrition. The study was conducted in accordance with the VIR Guidelines. During a three-year study, the studied varieties displayed purple (blue) and red tuber pulp coloration of varying degrees of intensity. Even the varieties with white flesh ‘Kubinka’ (к-25276), ‘Vasilok’ (к-25199) had a slightly colored pulp along the vascular ring. The trait of colored tuber pulp variability is determined at the gene level. Probably, the long Polar day and low air temperatures contributed to the intense biosynthesis of anthocyanins. When studying economically valuable traits in the conditions of the Murmansk region, almost all varieties behaved as late ripening and unsuitable for cultivation for early production. The standard variety ‘Khibinskiy ranniy’ produced an average of 520 g/bush with 76% marketability in the trial dig. By the final harvesting, the standard yields an average of 800 g/bush with 87% marketability. The highest values of early yield accumulation (79-80% of the standard) in the Arctic North were displayed by the varieties ‘Fioletik’ (k-24754) and ‘Severnoye Siyaniye’ (k-25344). High yields at the final harvest were characteristic of the varieties ‘Fioletik’ (k-24754), ‘Gurman’ (vr.k.-p 523), and ‘Perlamutrovyy’ (vr.k.-p 526). In terms of the starch content, the varieties ‘Kubinka’ (19,3%), ‘Yekzotika’ (15,2%), ‘Gurman’ (16,7%) ‘Fioletik’ (14,2%), ‘Lekar’’ (13,2%), ‘Perlamutrovyy’ (14,2%) were distinguished. The high starch content is likely due to meteorological conditions and the genetic characteristics of the varieties. All varieties show signs of late ripening. For cultivation in the Arctic North, the varieties ‘Fioletik’ (к-24754), ‘Severnoye Siyaniye’ (k-25344); ‘Gurman’ (vr.k.-p 523), ‘Perlamutrovyy’ (vr.k.-p 526), and ‘Klyukvenno-krasnyy’ (vr.k.-p 522) can be recommended.