GRYGAREK, Jiri, SCHEJBAL, Ctirad, STRAKOS,Vladimir & ZAMARSKY,Vitezslav
VSB – Technical University of Ostrava
Abstract: In the Czech country the mining education has a long-standing tradition. The first mining school was established at Jachymov already in 1716. In 1849 the Mining Academy in Pribram was opened that gained a statute of the university with the right of graduation ceremony in 1894. In 1945 it was moved to Ostrava as Vysoka skola banska. Ostrava as the centre of our hard coal mining provides the mining education with the professional background. Students have a possibility to make themselves familiar with the most modern mining technologies under concrete conditions even in the case of the complicate geological structure of the district without a need to travel. They can acquire another knowledge in the training gallery built at the Paskov Mine, in the District Mine Rescue Station in Ostrava-Radvanice, the Frantisek Posepny Geological Museum and in the Observatory and Planetarium belonging to the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava. Until quite recently, the vicinity of Moravian ore districts enabled the students of the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the VSB-Technical University of Ostrava to acquaint themselves practically with the underground mining of ores under complicate mining-geological conditions.
In the contribution, we want to make the participants in the conference familiar with above mentioned and also other possibilities that form the technical background of education of new mining engineers at the VSB-Technical University of Ostrava.
Keywords: education, mining, training, technologies, engineers
Mining engineering education has had a long tradition in Bohemia. First mining engineering school was established already in 1716 in Joachimsthal. In 1849 Montane Academy started its activity in Pribram and it was awarded a university status with graduation right in 1894. In 1904 it was renamed to High School of Mining. Although a university type of school was concerned which achieved soon a high reputation in all Europe conditions of education were very modest and its professional background consisted only of the near ore mines of Brezove Hory.
Based on a decree of president of then Czechoslovak Republic the school was moved to Ostrava as a center of hard coal mining, metallurgy, machinery and chemical industries. Here equally the start conditions were not easy. Educational activities were complicated especially by scattered individual school sites which were located in various parts of town as well as by lack of laboratory sites.
A marked change occurred in 1972 when the school was concentrated gradually into new built premises in Ostrava -Poruba. They fulfilled all demands made on technical university school. Cooperation with practical activity sphere became systematic part of education and gradually further new built premises and facilities connected with mining industry have come into use.
Ostrava-Karvina hard coal coalfield as professional background of education of mining engineers needs perhaps no detailed introduction. It is characterized by occurrence of all coal seam categories, from thin seams up to very thick seams as well as by seam dips ranging from 0 to 90o. Some coal seams are dangerous due to rock bursts and coal and gas outbursts. An important problem of the coalfield are so called detrites occurring between coal bearing Carboniferous and Tertiary. and reach up to 280 m thickness. They consist of clastic rocks of various grain size containing pressurized fossil water and gases. Great mining depths are typical and good operational experience was gained when working previously demarcated safety pillars.
Although coal production in all Ostrava part of coalfield was terminated after 1990 and in general working of steep seams ceased a practical training area for students of our technical university has been preserved in the mining active Karvina part of coalfield. The centre of mining work lies now in working thick flat seams by longwalling with application of shearers and FAZOS or eventually MEOS types of powered support. Perhaps it is worth to mention the CdF longwall mining complex applied at Lazy Colliery enabling efficient working of seams of up to 6,5 m thickness. Nevertheless, the Ostrava part of coalfield where coal production has been terminated can be employed at least for study of after effects of underground mining activities. Another professional background was represented until recently by ore mining areas of Horní Benesov and Zlate Hory where monometallic and polymetallic ores were mined at complicated mining and geological conditions. However, all mining activities of these areas were stopped abruptly and prematurely.
A surface training site simulating underground mine operation and equipped with functional mining equipment is represented by so called “practice drift” which was constructed between 1980 and 1984 on Staric Pit of Paskov Colliery. It is utilized by our students already during their first year of study within frame of geoscience teaching subject. It is employed also for filming of instructional films and for many other purposes.
Technical university students can get acquainted with mining history of Ostrava area by visiting the Mining Museum located at former Anselm Pit in Ostrava-Petrkovice. It was inaugurated festively on 4th December 1993 on St Barbara holiday. Anselm Pit is located in the beautiful area of Landek Mountain not far of confluence of Oder and Ostravice rivers. The mountain which is featured by outcrops of coal seams to earth surface as well as by ancient mining finds was declared national natural memorial in 1992,
More than 60 drifts and shafts which arose here due to former mining activities can be sighted nowadays by means of an educational path. Expositions of Mining Museum consist mostly of mining machines and equipment a part of which is presented in operation. They are supplemented by detailed elaborated functional models as well as by pictorial and written documents. An indispensable part of visitor program in the Mining Museum is projection of videofilms.
Main mine rescue station of coalfield in Ostrava-Radvanice which is perfectly equipped materially and by its continuous emergency team of mine rescuers trained for work in toxic atmosphere, under water and for height work is a further facility which can be utilized by students of mining and geological faculty as a supplement of teaching subject concerning mine risk and mine rescue. They can test by themselves in a fire test site self-rescue and isolation breathing apparatuses and be acquainted with their function and maintenance. It is equally useful when they get acquainted with risk situations and accidents that happened in underground mining in the past and can analyze and evaluate them in detail with participation of professional rescue specialists - employees of the main mine rescue station.
A further background for practical training of students of mining and geological engineering is represented by our astronomical observatory and planetarium as well as by Geological pavilion. Both facilities are integral parts of Technical university of Ostrava (VSB) and in addition to educational purposes of our students they serve equally for other purposes of broader public of Ostrava region.
The hall of planetarium is equipped with projection equipment projecting pictures of stellar sky on its vault. By such panorama of 12.5 m diameter potential positions of Moon, planets and other cosmic bodies can be shown. In the astronomical observatory two observatory posts are available with cupolas of 5.0 m diameter. The western cupola with coude refractor telescope is applied primarily for popularization of astronomy. The eastern cupola is employed for more professional activities. It is equipped with a telescope of Meniscas type and several other portable telescopes.
The Ostrava region and its wider environs offer due to diversity of their geological structures a considerable potential for practical training in the sphere of geological disciplines which form a necessary part of education of future mining engineers.
A unique geological locality is represented by the above-mentioned Landek Mountain in Petrkovice (suburb of Ostrava town) with its sequence of outcrops of coal bearing Carboniferous. However, there are other unique geological formations even within town territory of Ostrava itself, for instance an alluvial terrace of Ostravice river in Slezska Ostrava consisting of basalt gravel or a sand pit of Ostrava-Zabreh with richly differentiated Quaternary sediments. In wider environs of Ostrava deposits of high quality gravels and sand gravels are exploited below water level (Dolni Benesov etc.). Big stone quarries of Oderske vrchy (Oder Mountains), Nizky Jesenik (Lower Gesenke) and Moravian-Silesian Beskides-are very interesting from mining point of view, for instance Culm slates are recovered at Jakubcovice quarry, roof slates in Opava district, sandstones in Ostravice river valley as well as igneous rocks of teschenite formation in surroundings of the town of Frenstat. In Koberice near the town of Opava there is the only gypsum deposit in Czech Republic which is recovered by opencast quarrying method. Also the important paleontologic site of Kotouc Mountain at Stramberk should be mentioned where a big quarry recovering high quality limestone is located. In this locality a test drift for testing of explosives is also located. In Lower Gesenke in the vicinity of the town of Bruntal Neogene and Quaternary stratovolcanoes can be found ( Venusina sopka, Velky Roudny).
The above-mentioned broad scale of localities is regularly utilized within frame of educational process by means of terrain practices or professional excursions.
An important support for educational process is equally Geological Pavilion containing samples of natural and technogenic materials.
The nature products are arranged in thematic displays placed in Posepny Geological Museum named after FrantiSek Posepny, a professor of High Mining School of Pribram who is known as author of the famous textbook of economic geology ”The Genesis of Ore Deposits” published in New York in 1893.
Fundamental thematic displays intended for educational purpose contain about 10.000 exposed and 60.000 deposited exhibits. There are mineralogy, petrography, zoopaleontology, phytopaleontology, historical geology and regional geology displays that are organically followed by displays devoted to mineral raw materials and mineral resources. Those are structured especially into displays of genetic types of deposits of mineral raw materials of Czech Republic. With reference to importance of deposits of caustobiolites and uranium for economy of Czech Republic special displays have been formed dealing in detail with caustobiolite deposits of Czech Republic, with coal deposits of Czech part of Upper Silesian Basin (Ostrava-Karvina coalfield) as well as with deposits of radioactive raw materials of Czech Republic.
The history of this geological collection exhibited and deposited in today Geological Museum comes down to the last century. It is connected with Pribram as site of High School of Mining as well as with well known names such as Caspar, Count of Sternberg, F. X. Zippe, Johann Grimm and Frantisek Posepny. Their collections were basis for a display of world deposits of mineral raw materials containing many really unique exhibits from deposits which are abandoned today. It is Posepny´s collection including almost 600 specimens from Pribram ore district that could be classified among the most famous mineral displays in the world.
By studying such displays students, research workers and also amateurs of geological sciences are enabled to complete or to confront and compare their theoretical ideas and knowledge directly with samples of minerals or rocks, with paleontology specimens as well as specimens of mineral raw materials.
The machinery basis of mining industry is represented in Ostrava by important industrial companies. First of all it is Ostroj Opava company as manufacturer of underground mining machines and equipment as well as BASTRO company securing complex repairs of all kinds of mining equipment applied in Ostrava-Karvina coafield.
To the above-mentioned companies Automatizace a mechanizace company could be adjoined which was divided after 1990 into four business entities securing especially manufacture and servicing of control equipment for safety purposes of underground mining operations. BEFRA company belongs equally to important firms by which both automation of mechanized longwall equipment and supplies of modern electric components are secured.
The mining research basis of Ostrava region consists principally of two research facilities - Institute of Geonic of Czech Academy of Sciences and mainly Scientific Coal Research Institute of Ostrava-Radvanice by which research and development activities are performed in support of mining industry. Further institution of this kind is DPB Paskov company engaged among other in rock burst problems and control of methane emissions from abandoned mining areas of Ostrava-Karvina coalfield.
All the above-mentioned companies and institutions are at disposal equally for mining engineering students of our Technical University of Ostrava.