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  3. 2(39)2025
  4. Technogenic layering in iron ore pit dumps: formations, ordering, and geodynamic interaction with hostrock

Technogenic layering in iron ore pit dumps: formations, ordering, and geodynamic interaction with hostrock

JGD.
2025;
Volume 2(39)2025, Number 2(39)
: 99-113
Received: July 28, 2025
Authors:
  1. Liubov Osmachko
  2. Oleksii Soloviov
1
State Institution "Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
2
Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to illustrate and, where possible, explain the regularities of the internal structure of technogenic accumulations at the "Pivnichnyi" and "Pivdennyi" iron ore quarries located near Kryvyi Rih city. The research methodology consisted of the following stages: a) field measurements and data collection; b) laboratory data processing, which included: plotting structural data, statistical analysis, and calculating averaged values of azimuths and dip angles and the scatter of these values for planar structural elements of both bedrock blocks and technogenic accumulations, as well as calculating the rotation angles of the bedrock blocks and the Structuring Planes within the technogenic formations. Novelty of Research Results. A) The varying degree of structure in technogenic accumulations (screes, embankments, and filled artificial voids) of the quarry dumps has been established. The study identifies both unstructured and varying degrees of structured accumulations, specifically recording such structural elements as layering, mechanical foliation, and linearity within the latter. B) Two methods for calculating the rotation angles of bedrock blocks and the structuring planes of technogenic formations relative to the vertical and horizontal axes are proposed, which allowed for the quantitative assessment of their mutual displacement. C) It is established that the formation of newly formed planar structures within technogenic accumulations is a directed process, resulting from the inheritance of the host rock's structural anisotropy – initially shaped by regional strike-slip stress regimes – which leads to the creation of the accumulation's own, oriented technogenic stratification (layering). D) It is conceptually substantiated that the bedrock blocks and the technogenic accumulations develop and form as a single, mutually coordinated object, which is termed a "geological-technogenic system," functioning due to "geodynamic interaction." E) It is demonstrated that the transformation of technogenic accumulations (their self-structuring and "completion") is a constructive phenomenon that could serve as a natural laboratory for monitoring the processes of structural-textural element formation in loose media. The practical significance of this research lies in utilizing the classification of structural neoformations within technogenic accumulations as a criterion to assess their assimilation potential and suitability for economic development. This classification provides essential geomechanical parameters necessary for forecasting slope stability and minimizing collapse risks in open-pit mining.

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