The Research Center of Geomechanics and Mining Problems of St. Petersburg Mining University was founded in 2008 on the basis of one of the oldest specialized scientific organizations in Russia, established almost a hundred years ago. The relevance of the appearance of the center was dictated by the large-scale transformations taking place in the mineral resource sector; in particular, the growing demand for solid minerals and, as a consequence, the trend towards intensification of production processes, leading to an increase in the depth and scale of mines, as well as the deterioration of mining and geological conditions of deposits exploitation.

Unique laboratory facilities and highly qualified specialists (4 Doctors of Sciences and 35 Candidates of Sciences) enable the Center to conduct highly demanded by business prospecting and applied researches, to conduct pre-project and design works on priority directions of development of mining technologies with implementation of results in production, and in particular, to estimate with maximum accuracy for today the development of geomechanical processes in the contour massif of underground workings, stability of edges of open pits; to develop recommendations aimed at increase of industrial safety of mining enterprises and increase of their economic profitability. Equally important is the performance of fundamental research and its introduction into the educational process of the university.

The results of the Center's activities have been repeatedly praised by federal and regional authorities. Thus, in 2010, A. N. Shabarov, E. K. Melnikov and S. V. Tsirel were awarded the St. Petersburg Government Award for Outstanding Achievements in Training Personnel for Higher and Secondary Vocational Education in the category "Development of Innovation in Educational Institution". In 2011 Y. I. Kutepov, head of the Laboratory of Hydrogeology and Ecology, received the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation for participation in development and implementation of technical means and methods of large-scale development of waste dumps, hydraulic dumps and tailing pits at mining enterprises. In 2019, Arkady Shabarov, director of the research center, was awarded the medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

The level of the Research Center of Geomechanics and Mining Problems allows to carry out expertise of geodynamic safety of objects during development of solid, liquid, gaseous minerals and their storage, as well as justification of places of burial and disposal of hazardous waste. The annual growth in the volume of R&D performed in the center is more than 25%.

The Research Center for Geomechanics and Mining Problems carries out research in three main areas:

Scientific field "Research of geodynamic and hydrogeological processes in natural and anthropogenic massifs"

The constant growth of requirements to the accuracy of surveys and calculations to justify the safe and rational development of deposits necessitates the use of advanced technologies and methods to study geodynamic and hydrogeological processes in various rock massifs. This allows specialists of the Center to develop effective recommendations for mining companies, many of which are subsequently implemented in their regulatory documentation.

Unique instrumentation base of geodynamic safety and hydrogeology and ecology laboratories allows effectively solve the main tasks faced by scientists. These include:

• Construction of geological models of deposits by means of geological-structural, block, solid-state modeling for the purposes of creating geomechanical, resource numerical models of deposits and development of technical and Economic substantiation of their exploitation;
• Surveying support of mining works and introduction of automated, remote, laser, digital, space, aerospace means and methods of surveying;
• Study of geodynamic processes and phenomena of energy and mass transfer in mountain masses at local and regional levels at anthropogenic influences, including, formation of zones of ecological and geodynamic risk and growth of seismic activity.

Scientific field "Integrated laboratory studies of materials and physical models of mining systems"

The need to increase the level of industrial safety and profitability of mining production requires reliable study of physical and mechanical properties of rocks, soils, construction and polymer materials, as well as modeling the most likely schemes of geodynamic phenomena on physical large-scale models in relation to the conditions of the adopted system of development of mineral deposits. These areas of research are carried out in the laboratories of modeling, as well as physical and mechanical properties and fracture of rocks.

The main objectives of the scientists are:

• Studying the physical nature of the strength and deformability of rocks with the establishment of new laws of their change depending on the depth of occurrence, loading rates, temperature, moisture and other influencing factors;
• Physical modeling of nonlinear geomechanical processes in block and disturbed rock masses under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors in the extraction of solid, liquid and gaseous minerals;
• Establishment of patterns of energy exchange and changes in the parameters of energy-active zones in rock massif in order to predict its stress-strain state and geodynamic activity.

Scientific field "Digital technologies and systems of monitoring of geomechanical processes in the development of mineral deposits"

Under the conditions of constant complication of conditions of development of mineral deposits, the methods that can provide a detailed multidisciplinary study of the underground space for operational technical decision-making begin to play an increasingly important role in the activities of mining enterprises. Their study and improvement takes place in the laboratories of geomechanics; pit wall stability, as well as mining pressure at ore and nonmetallic deposits.

Main tasks:

• Creation of new, as well as development and implementation of existing monitoring systems for underground and surface mining operations;
• Development of methods for numerical modeling of geomechanical processes in rock masses;
• Development of methods for forecasting of rock bumps;
• Creation of databases of man-made, environmental and natural hazards and phenomena, quantitative values of factors influencing the probability of their occurrence, and processing of the obtained databases by means of artificial intelligence (artificial neural networks) in order to create forecasting tools and develop normative and methodological documentation on their prevention.