oa Technogenic Collapse Breccias – a “New” Widespread Type of Anthropogenic Geological Bodies/Formations/Deposits of the Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin

The geological mapping, structural, lithological, petrographic, and petrophysical investigations carried out in the «Pivdennyi» and «Pivnichnyi» iron ore quarries of the Saksahansky district of the Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin allowed us to characterize a “new” morphological and genetic type of anthropogenic formations/deposits in Kryvyi Rih basin (Kryvbas) – shear zones due to underground mining, as well as to raise the question of the relevance of including it in modern classifications of anthropogenic deposits in Kryvyi Rih basin as a separate type. The main structural, morphological and material element of the above-mentioned zones is the so-called collapse technobreccias (breccias due to the collapse of overlying rock masses into the mined underground space), which make up huge volumes within the quarries, actually forming new large-scale anthropogenic geological bodies with their own morphology, material composition and physical properties that differ from the original parent rocks. It has been shown that collapse technobreccias are widespread within the «Pivdennyi» and «Pivnichnyi» quarries, occupying almost 100% of their axial areas, as well as significant volumes of the western sides of the quarries. They, along with the remains of ferruginous quartzite and the remnants of rich ore left over from underground mining, are the subject of modern industrial mining. Technobreccias are new technogenic rocks. Genetically and morphologically, they fully correspond to the essence of technogenic formations and it is quite legitimate to apply the conceptual and legal framework of technogenic deposits to them in case of their economically feasible extraction, just as it is generally recognized for bulk dumps and sludge pits.