On geological and mining limitations of cable bolt support application in mines of Eastern Donbass

The growing use of cable (wire rope) anchor support in mining operations in Russia and abroad, along with the advantages of this support, has also revealed a number of drawbacks: failures due to cable corrosion, high compliance, weak anchoring in wet and fractured rocks, and inefficient operation in deep and dynamically loaded rock masses. A study of the experience of using cable anchor support in the mines of the Eastern Donbas region confirmed the presence of these drawbacks, but in most cases they did not lead to pronounced negative consequences. An analysis of cases involving the ineffective operation of wire rope anchors in excavation workings retained for reuse has revealed two main limitations on their use: it is unacceptable to secure the anchors above the calculated natural equilibrium arch in weak and non‑monolithic rock formations, and it is necessary to monitor the condition of the support in water‑bearing, fractured, and thinly layered rock formations of the immediate roof in a timely manner in order to reinforce the support. To take into account the first limitation, it is proposed to revise the requirements of the regulatory document governing the calculation of anchor support, specifically regarding the rocks in which cable anchors are installed. To neutralize the second limitation, continuous monitoring of the condition of the anchor support is required, which makes it possible to timely identify areas of mine workings where rock collapses may occur, and to make decisions to reinforce the support, preventing the workings from becoming unusable.

Lugantsev B. B., Chavkin A. I., Turuk Yu. V., Voronova E. Yu., Budzyka I. A. On geological and mining limitations of cable bolt support application in mines of Eastern Donbass. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(11-1):38-50. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_111_0_38.

B.B. Lugantsev¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Full Member of the Academy of Mining Sciences, Chairman of the Board of Directors, e-mail: boris4721@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8296-7922,
A.I. Chavkin¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Head of Laboratory, e-mail: Achavkin@mail.ru,
Yu.V. Turuk², Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, e-mail: v.d.turuk@yandex.ru,
E.Yu. Voronova², Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: eleonora_sam_ti@mail.ru,
I.A. Budzyka, Graduate Student, Teaching Assistant, Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), 346428, Novocherkassk, Russia, e-mail: budzyka00@mail.ru,
¹ LLC «Shakhty Research, Design and Engineering Coal Institute» (LLC «ShakhtNIUI»), 346500, Shakhty, Russia,
² Shakhty Institute (branch) of the Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), 346500, Shakhty, Russia.

A.I. Chavkin, e-mail: Achavkin@mail.ru.

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