CERTIFICATE IN THE

PRINCIPLES OF MINING

Module
Mining Methods

Course Objectives
1. At the end of this course students should be able to:
2. Show understanding of the different mining methods
3. Decide the best choice in mining method for their deposit
Contents
Introduction to Mining Methods and Mine Method Selection .............................................................. 3
Mining Method........................................................................................................................................ 3
Underground Versus Surface Mining ...................................................................................................... 3
Surface Mining Methods......................................................................................................................... 5
Dragline area mining method. (Open Cast/strip mining) ..................................................................... 5
UNDERGROUND MINING ........................................................................................................................ 9
Underground Mining Methods ....................................................................................................... 21
Unsupported methods ..................................................................................................................... 21
Supported mining methods............................................................................................................. 25
Caving methods ................................................................................................................................. 27
Mining Method Selection ..................................................................................................................... 39
UBC Mining Method Selection ............................................................................................................. 40
Mine Construction and Pre-production Decision Making .................................................................... 43
Integrated Strategic Mine Schedule Optimization .............................................................................. 44
Introduction to Mining Methods and Mine Method Selection
Mining Method
Certain deposit types enable particular mining methods to be used to exploit them.
Historically, those that could be mined by bulk open pit methods have enjoyed a preference over those
that could be exploited only by more expensive and difficult, selective underground methods. Hence,
for the same mineral and similar deposit geometry, those lying at shallow depths are generally more
highly valued by the market than deeper ones. For shallow deposits being mined as an open pit, those
with the lowest overburden stripping ratios are more valued. Similarly, deposits with the least mining
dilution are also favoured. Whilst cost is the obvious reason (eg shallow open pits enjoy capital and
operating cost advantages) the relative ease of management and the associated inherent flexibility of
mining operations are other non-financial considerations. High margin projects can better withstand
commodity price cycles than others, so they command a premium. Thus, one really can only compare
sales of projects having similar mining methods and, even then, only those located fairly close together
on the cost curve, having similar revenue projections.

Underground Versus Surface Mining

Underground mines can naturally develop through time below existing open pit mines or can start up
based on their deep setting, or as a consequence of the deposit
proximity relative to critical surface infrastructure. Underground mines can have less
impact on the environment and adjacent communities. Consequently they may result
in the only feasible options. Notwithstanding these considerations and assuming the
geotechnical setting does not prohibit one or other mining approach, the point at which it makes more
sense to mine as an open pit or underground will be an economic one.

Underground Mining Surface Mining

Specifically the evaluation will trade off volume of waste mined versus the unit cost of mining (in turn
a function of the method and mining rate) such that total mining cost [$] = (waste + ore) [t] × unit mining
cost [$/t] (see Figure refer 10.1.6). As all of what is mined as production is milled from an underground,
it effectively forces mining to be more selective. In other words the mill breakeven cut-off must include
the full production mining cost. Compare this to an open pit where the mill break-even cut-off must
only consider the difference in waste and product mining cost because the waste has to be removed to
the surface anyway. Usually this is a small incremental number. For underground mines the mining cost
is significantly higher than for open pits by as much as one or even two orders of magnitude and
therefore managers are forced to be more selective (higher cut-off grade) and/or only develop higher
grade deposits generally from underground. Not only is underground mining inherently less productive
than open pit mining, the more selective one has to be the more compounding the problem. One might
argue that block caving techniques are non-selective, low cost and high in production. This can be true
but is more relative to other underground mining methods. Block caving still targets only those parts of
the orebody for removal that are intended to be processed. Production rates are increasing and will
continue to providing the setting is right. It is also not uncommon for underground mines to have
increased reserve uncertainty/volatility and modifying factors combine to derive only Probable Ore
Reserves from Measured Mineral Resources until the mine has proven its performance.

Fig: Open pit versus underground mining cost relativity

Surface Mining Methods
Conical pit (Open pit) Mining
The picture below shows a conical pit mine.

The ore body is traced deeper and deeper into the ground using a series of benches for both access
and safety. Sometimes rock surrounding the ore has to be removed so that the sides of the pit do not
become dangerously steep. This waste rock, and waste that is separated from the ore during
processing, is dumped on the surface away from the pit onto a waste dump. The opportunities for
land use following open-pit mining are often limited, because it is often very expensive to fill the pit.
The main objective is usually to make the pit walls safe and to landscape the waste rock dumps, but
many innovative solutions have been used, such as using the pit as a waste disposal site, filling it with
water with the intention of creating an ultimate recreation/water supply/nature conservation end use
or simply fencing it in and leaving it as a tourist attraction.
Dragline area mining method. (Open Cast/strip mining)
Strip mining is mostly used when the deposit is horizontal or gently dipping and within about 60 m of
the surface, such as shallow-lying South African coal seams.
The method, shown below, involves removing and stockpiling the top soil, drilling and blasting the
rock (overburden) above the coal seam, removing the blasted overburden by draglines in long parallel
strips (hence ’strip mining’) to uncover the coal. Then, depending on the coal’s hardness, either
scraping or drilling and blasting are used to remove the coal. The removed overburden is placed in
rows of spoil piles in the preceding strip from which the coal has been removed.
Bucket Wheel excavator used for Terrace Mining operations.
The aqueous extraction methods depend on water or another liquid (e.g., dilute sulfuric acid, weak
cyanide solution, or ammonium carbonate) to extract the mineral. Placer mining is used to exploit
loosely consolidated deposits like common sand and gravel or gravels containing gold, tin, diamonds,
platinum, titanium, or coal. Hydraulicking utilizes a high-pressure stream of water that is directed
against the mineral deposit (normally but not always a placer), undercutting it, and causing its removal
by the erosive actions of the water. Dredging performed from floating vessels, accomplishes the
extraction of the minerals mechanically or hydraulically. Solution mining includes both borehole
mining, such as the methods used to extract sodium chloride or sulfur, and leaching, either through
drillholes or in dumps or heaps on the surface. Placer and solution mining are among the most
economical of all mining methods but can only be applied to limited categories of mineral deposits.

Hydraulicking (Hydraulic Mining.)

UNDERGROUND MINING
The underground mine is a factory located in the bedrock inside the earth in which miners work to
recover minerals hidden in the rock mass. They drill, charge and blast to access and recover the ore,
i.e., rock containing a mix of minerals of which at least one can be processed into a product that can
be sold at a profit. The ore is taken to the surface to be refined into a high-grade concentrate.
Working inside the rock mass deep below the surface requires special infrastructures: a network of
shafts, tunnels and chambers connecting with the surface and allowing movement of workers,
machines and rock within the mine. The shaft is the access to underground where lateral drifts connect
the shaft station with production stopes. The internal ramp is an inclined drift which links underground
levels at different elevations (i.e., depths). All underground openings need services such as exhaust
ventilation and fresh air, electric power, water and compressed air, drains and pumps to collect
seeping ground water, and a communication system.

Hoisting plant and systems

The headframe is a tall building which identifies the mine on the surface. It stands directly above the
shaft, the mine’s main artery through which the miners enter and leave their workplace and through
which supplies and equipment are lowered and ore and waste materials are raised to the surface.
Shaft and hoist installations vary depending on the need for capacity, depth and so on. Each mine
must have at least two shafts to provide an alternate route for escape in case of an emergency.
Hoisting and shaft travelling are regulated by stringent rules. Hoisting equipment (e.g., winder, brakes
and rope) is designed with ample margins of safety and is checked at regular intervals. The shaft
interior is regularly inspected by people standing on top of the cage, and stop buttons at all stations
trigger the emergency brake.
Mine development
Mine development involves the excavations needed to establish the infrastructure necessary for stope
production and to prepare for the future continuity of operations. Routine elements, all produced by
the drill-blast-excavation technique, include horizontal drifts, inclined ramps and vertical or inclined
raises.
Shaft sinking
Shaft sinking involves rock excavation advancing downwards and is usually assigned to contractors
rather than being done by mine’s personnel. It requires experienced workers and special equipment,
such as a shaft-sinking headframe, a special hoist with a large bucket hanging in the rope and a cactus-
grab shaft mucking device.
The shaft-sinking crew is exposed to a variety of hazards. They work at the bottom of a deep, vertical
excavation. People, material and blasted rock must all share the large bucket. People at the shaft
bottom have no place to hide from falling objects. Clearly, shaft sinking is not a job for the
inexperienced.

Design of Mine shafts

This is a module that aims to cover some aspects, which have to be considered when designing mine
shafts.
Generally speaking, it is safe to assume that shafts are vertical or inclined openings sank into the
earth’s crust in order to access mineral resources which are too deep to mine economically using
open cut methods or adit systems.
The mineral resource must be converted into a mineral reserve before one can start designing a mine
shaft. This may sound very logical but, in the past, there has been situations where the shaft
was sunk (on gut feel) first and the ore body found later with some pretty obvious economic
consequences. An economically mineable reserve is therefore a pre-requisite for miners to be
able to start on the design process.
Since shafts play a major role in the general planning of mine development, their location is usually
pre-determined. The location of a shaft can be changed when adverse geotechnical site
conditions are encountered.
The design of mine shaft is an iterative process, which requires several variables and options to be
considered in order to arrive at an economic decision. The economic decision is arrived at by
comparing the net present values (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) from the different options
considered in the optimization process. The option with the most attractive financial option is then
selected.
The design parameters mentioned above include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:
depth of shaft, ore and waste tonnage to be handled, shift handling (work force), materials
handling, mining machinery handling, ventilation requirements, capital costs, operating costs, and of
course the selling price of the mineral commodity.

Purpose of a Shaft
Shafts are generally used for the following functions:
• To access an ore body
• To transport men and materials to and from underground workings
• For hoisting ore and waste from underground
• To serve as intake and return airways for the mine (ventilation)
• To provide a second egress (escape route) as required by mining law
• Storage of nuclear waste

Shaft Cross Sections

Rectangular Shafts
Most shafts that were constructed in the 1900’s were of a rectangular cross-section because of the
shape of the pieces of equipment that were taken down the shaft i.e. cages, skips, and
counterweights were all square or rectangular in nature and so it made a lot of sense to sink or mine
rectangular shafts. Breaking a square / rectangular shutter was however problematic and this slowed
down the rate of sinking.
Circular Shafts
Almost all the hard rock mines now have circular shafts because the cross section provides good
geometry for airflow and good rock support characteristics. The circular shutter is ease to move
when doing concurrent lining resulting in faster work progress during sinking operations. This is an
important aspect when it comes to the cash flow of the project.
Elliptical Shafts
Elliptical shafts were designed as an alternative to large circular shafts by simply adding half moons
along the main axis. This had the effect of reducing the circular excavation and therefore the cost of
sinking the shaft.

Determining Shaft Size

As mentioned earlier the first step in determining the shaft size is to estimate the total reserves in the
area to be exploited by the shaft. The reserve (ore body) size will govern the rate of mining
and the mining rate will determine the tonnage (ore and waste) to be hoisted, the number of persons
and material to be transported in a given shift. The foregoing is then used to determine the skip and
cage sizes which in turn are used to calculate the total area required to accommodate these units. The
shape and size of equipment to be taken down a shaft are also included in the
calculation of the final shaft dimensions. The situation described here applies to rock, men, and
materials shafts. This process is equally applicable to decline / incline shafts, the difference with the
decline being trackless equipment and conveyors instead of the skips and cages. Inclined shafts also
use monorails.
Determining the rate of mining can be summarized as follows:
• Identify possible mining layouts
• Define standard mining block (stope or panel size) per layout
• Calculate steady state conditions per level
• Define steady state inputs/outputs requirements per level
• Determine minimum access dimensions to cater for equipment and ventilation
• Calculate development requirements to get to steady state
• Simulate full level production from start of block to ore body extremity
• Determine the maximum number of levels that will operate simultaneously
• Estimate shaft size required to cater for sum of the requirements of the maximum number of
working levels
• Do an economic analysis (NPV & IRR)
• Decide on optimum mining layout and shaft configuration

Determining the size of a ventilation shaft can be summed up as shown in Table 1 below.
By summing up the total intake air required for the complete mining system it is possible to compute
the minimum ventilation shaft dimensions required to service the chosen mining system.

Choosing the Right Shaft

The size or dimensions of each shaft will differ according to the intended duty for each unit. There are
three types of shafts that are considered in this module, namely: vertical, decline and
inclined shafts.
There are many factors that influence the location and therefore the type of shaft to be sunk. Any
mining technician should know that the shape, size and dip of ore body will dictate where the shaft
position should be. In addition host ground conditions and water bearing structures also influence the
final location of shafts.
Generally speaking there are three types of ore deposits, that is:
a) Narrow tabular deposits (steep & flat dipping – gold, platinum, etc)
b) Wide tabular deposits (coal, potash)
c) Massive deposits (copper, nickel, iron ore)
All of the above deposits can be accessed by vertical shafts except for the flat narrow tabular deposits,
which may be mined more economically using Decline or Inclined shafts. The chosen site of a shaft
should be such that the best and most profitable use will be made of it when in full production.
Criteria for choosing a Vertical Shaft
A vertical shaft should be chosen under the following conditions:
• Ore body should be steep dipping
• Ideal for deep ore bodies
• Provides quick access to ore body
• Most economic hoisting method for depths exceeding 500m
• Quicker return on capital investment
Other considerations are that the shaft should be sunk near or close to the centre of gravity of the ore
body. The shaft depth should be sunk to where most or all of the ore will be transported
down grade to reach the shaft loading stations. The shaft should ideally cover a five-year production
period i.e. minimum life of five years. For aesthetic reasons the shaft should be in a position where
the head frame will be out of site of the general public although this really is not a major issue in
developing countries.

Criteria for choosing a Decline or Inclined Shaft

A decline or inclined shaft should be considered under the scenarios:
• Flat dipping ore body
• Shallow ore bodies
• Require high throughput
• Require low initial capital costs
• Want to avoid some of the environmental concerns (headgear)
The decline or inclined shafts are associated with grade constraints and one needs to take these into
account. If a decline is used for trackless haulage then the maximum grade recommended is 8,0 .
However, if used for conveyor belt haulage and the decline are used by rubber tired trackless
equipment on regular basis, then 15,0 is the maximum recommended. If used for
conveyor belt haulage only, then the maximum grade could be 15 - 25,0 depending on material to be
conveyed. If equipment has to be driven up and down to clean spillage, this will limit the gradient.
It is important to note that unfortunately there are no standard designs for circular concrete shafts.
Typically each new shaft is designed from scratch to accommodate the particular
requirements envisioned by the mine planners. Therefore each shaft is designed and constructed on
a fit for purpose basis.
Activities required for Shaft Sinking
We can divide the operations for sinking a shaft into three parts:
1. Reaching up to the rock head
2. Sinking through the rock
3. Sinking through the abnormal difficult ground, if any, using special methods
A sinking cycle includes the following operations:
• Drilling
 • Blasting
• Mucking and hoisting
• Support or shaft lining
• Auxiliary operations
o Dewatering
o Ventilation
o Lightning or illumination
o Shaft centering
Drilling
We use sinkers to drill holes of 32–38 mm diameter, The length of the holes vary between 1.5 to 5
meters.
There are three types of cuts
• Wedge cut
• Step cut
• Pyramid cut
1 and 2 are common drillings that are used and in rectangular shafts. Wedge cut is used most of the
time. Pyramid cut is often used in the circular ones. Step cut is adopted if water is high and the shaft
is of a large cross section.
Blasting
In practice, at the bottom of shaft is usually full of water during sinking. therefore, high density, water-
resistant explosives are used.
Lashing and mucking
Lashing is made for the loading of muck into a conveyance for its disposal. This activity is a time
consuming activity due to Presence of water, limited space.
Support or shaft lining
There are two types of lining,
• Temporary
• Permanent
The type of water and strength of the rock and soil layer where sinking operation is done determine
which option to select. Therefore, in some cases, temporary support is not adopted, while in others it
becomes essential to protect the crew and equipment from any side fall.
The permanent lining can be made of bricks, concrete blocks, monolithic concrete, shotcrete and cast
iron tubing.
Auxiliary operations
 • Dewatering: When the shaft is reached to the water table or beyond it, water inflows inside
it, to remove this water usually face or sinking pumps are used.(tatiana) Removing water can
also be done by driving deep wells or well point systems around the shaft, that results in
lowering the water table around the shaft.(zhou)
• Ventilation: Fresh air, supplied by a forcing fan installed at the surface, which can be provided
by rigid ventilation ducts for below 6 m depth or flexible ones for more than 6 m depth.
• Illumination: A pneumatically operated light, is used to provide illumination at the working
face during construction work.
• Shaft centering: Using the reference points, which are fixed before, to fix the shaft center. The
shaft center is checked from time to time by the use of centering device installed at the
surface.

Ground control
Ground control is an important concept for people working inside a rock mass. It is particularly
important in mechanized mines using rubber-tyred equipment where the drift openings are 25.0 m2
in section, in contrast to the mines with rail drifts where they are usually only 10.0 m2. The roof at 5.0
m is too high for a miner to use a scaling bar to check for potential rock falls.
Different measures are used to secure the roof in underground openings. In smooth blasting, contour
holes are drilled closely together and charged with a low-strength explosive. The blast produces a
smooth contour without fracturing the outside rock.
Nevertheless, since there are often cracks in the rock mass which do not show on the surface, rock
falls are an ever-present hazard. The risk is reduced by rock bolting, i.e., insertion of steel rods in bore
holes and fastening them. The rock bolt holds the rock mass together, prevents cracks from spreading,
helps to stabilize the rock mass and makes the underground environment safer.

Preliminary Strata Mechanics

A very good practice in mine design is to look at the strength data available from the boreholes. This
can help in avoiding problems in the future. Even when strength data is not available, one can look at
the lithology and make a qualitative assessment. This assessment, though entirely based on
experience, is very useful. An immediate use of strata characterization is in the layout of the mains
and sub-mains in coal mines. Mains have a long life and therefore, their size and location must be
planned carefully. They are the main arteries of material and human transport. The same is true for
non-coal mines as well. The main entries/drifts to the mines are always in strong strata. Their location
is also determined with regards to future mining activities, i.e. they are sited so that future mining
activities do not deleteriously harm them.

Background on Roof and Floor Characterization: Roof (or “back” in non-coal mines) and floor stability
is very important for ensuring smooth and safe production. While roof falls can be fatal and disruptive
to production, floor disturbances generally slow production. A good floor is essential for conveyors
and most production machines. In severe cases, floor heave can essentially close an entry. An
inspection of the borehole logs gives a very good idea of the roof and floor that can be expected
around the seam.
In coal mines, one must estimate the immediate roof from the borehole logs. Generally, the
immediate roof is the strata between the top of the seam and the plane of contact of weak shales and
rocks with strong strata (Figure 1). If the weak rocks immediately above the seam are thick in
comparison with the coal seam, then the immediate roof depends on the expansion ratio of the rocks,
as when they fall, they occupy a volume indicated by the expansion ratio. Depending on the expansion
ratio, the immediate roof varies from two to five times the excavation or seam height. Immediate
roof is important to know since that is the roof that needs to be supported for safe mining.

sandstone

Immediate roof shale

siltstone
coal

Figure 1. The immediate roof is the distance between the

roof of the seam and the floor of the first hard layer.

The roof and floor can be characterized using criteria such as compressive strength, shear strength,
tensile strength, moisture content and presence of joints/fractures. Typically, roof falls are caused by
tensile stresses, at the center of the opening, and shear stresses, at the corners of the openings. Weak
immediate roof, or presence of clay and moisture, or fractures/slickensides indicates greater support
requirement. Soft floors, on the other hand, may be punctured by pillars. Other things to watch out
for are shale/sandstone contacts. These contact regions have high stresses due to the significant
difference in their Young’s modulus.
We discuss some quantitative characterization methods next.

Rock Quality Designation (RQD): This is a very handy classification tool. It is defined as the ratio of
the cumulative length of core sticks (NX size) each greater than 100 mm long to the total length of the
drill hole. This method assumes that the length of the core pieces depend on the structure and
strength of rock.

Sum of length of core pieces greater than 100 mm long

RQD= X 100
Total length of drill hole

It is evident from above that computing the RQD is very easy. One must, however, be careful. For
example, when the holes are parallel to bedding, high RQD is indicated, while for the same rock if the
hole is perpendicular to the bedding, low RQD is indicated.

Rock Mass Rating (RMR): This is one of the most popular characterization criteria. It uses six
parameters in its classification: the uniaxial compressive strength, RQD, spacing of discontinuities,
condition of discontinuities, groundwater conditions and the orientation of discontinuities.
Depending on the conditions, the strata in question is assigned a rating for each of the first five
parameters. These ratings are summed to arrive at the basic RMR. This rating is then adjusted for
orientation of discontinuities. The adjustment takes the form of a penalty for harmful discontinuity
orientation. The adjusted RMR is the rock’s RMR. The classification also provides a table for
translating the RMR into average stand up time for tunnels, cohesion of the rock mass and the friction
angle.

Q system: This system was developed out of a study of 212 tunnels in Norway. The Q rating was given
by the formula:

RQD x Jr x Jw

Q=
Jn x Ja x SRF
where, Jr = joint roughness number, Jw = joint water reduction number, Jn = joint set number, Ja = joint
alteration number, and SRF = stress reduction factor.

The RQD and Jn are indicators of the overall rock structure, Jr and Ja are indicators of shear strength of
the joints, Jw is a measure of water pressure, and finally, SRF is a function of i) load reduction due to
shear zones and clayey rocks, ii) stress existing in rock and ii) squeezing and swelling loads in soft
plastic rock. Jw and SRF are indicators of confining stress. One aspect of the Q system that stands out
is that the rock strength is not directly taken into account.

An Example Characterization: Figure 2 below shows a coal property with borehole locations and their
RQD’s. The method of polygons is used to obtain the areas of influence of each borehole. It is assumed
here that the polygons shown in the figure accurately represent the weight of each borehole. We
color code the polygons according to the scheme:
Good or RQD  90 Green
Moderate or 90>RQD 80 Yellow
Bad or RQD < 80 Red

65 75
89

87
93 95
Mains
91

75
84

Figure 2. Roof characterization using RQD for a coal property.

This map is very good for deciding on the location of the mains. As we would want to lay the mains in
areas of competent roof, the only option for Figure 2 is to lay the mains East-West as shown. Most of
the mains will have very good roof in that case. During mining, they should expect roof control
problems in the north, northwest, and south side of the property. If possible, one could also size the
pillars in the different zones differently.

Underground Mining Methods

Underground methods are classified as:
➢ unsupported,
➢ supported, and
➢ caving
They are differentiated by the type of wall and roof supports used, the configuration and size of
production openings, and the direction in which mining operations progress.

Unsupported methods
The unsupported methods of mining are used to extract mineral deposits that are roughly tabular (plus
flat or steeply dipping) and are generally associated with strong ore and surrounding rock. These
methods are termed unsupported because they do not use any artificial pillars to assist in the support
of the openings. However, generous amounts of roof bolting and localized support measures are often
used. Room-and-pillar mining is the most common unsupported method, used primarily for flat-lying
seams or bedded deposits like coal, trona, limestone, and salt. Support of the roof is provided by
natural pillars of the mineral that are left standing in a systematic pattern. Stope-and-pillar mining (a
stope is a production opening in a metal mine) is a similar method used in noncoal mines where
thicker, more irregular ore bodies occur; the pillars are spaced randomly and located in low-grade ore
so that the high-grade ore can be extracted. These two methods account for almost all of the
underground mining in horizontal deposits in Zimbabwe and a very high proportion of the
underground tonnage as well. Two other methods applied to steeply dipping deposits are also
included in the unsupported category.
In shrinkage stoping, mining progresses upward, with horizontal slices of ore being blasted along the
length of the stope. A portion of the broken ore is allowed to accumulate in the stope to provide a
working platform for the miners and is thereafter withdrawn from the stope through chutes. Sublevel
stoping differs from shrinkage stoping by providing sublevels from which vertical slices are blasted. In
this manner, the stope is mined horizontally from one end to the other. Shrinkage stoping is more
suitable than sublevel stoping for stronger ore and weaker wall rock.
Sublevel Stoping.
Sublevel stoping recovers the ore from open stopes separated by access drifts each connected to a
ramp. The orebody is divided into sections about 100 m high and further divided laterally into
alternating stopes and pillars. A main haulage drive is created in the footwall at the bottom, with cut-
outs for draw-points connected to the stopes above. The bottom is V-shaped to funnel the blasted
material into the draw-points. Short blastholes are drilled from the access drifts in a ring configuration.
The ore in the stope is blasted, collected in the draw-points, and hauled away. The stopes are normally
backfilled with consolidated mill tailings after being mined out. This allows for recovery of the pillars
of unmined ore between the stopes, enabling a very high recovery of the orebody.

Application

- steep orebodies
• dip should be more than the angle of repose
- strong surrounding walls
- competent orebody
- regular shape of orebody

Development: Significant. Constitutes about 30% of the cost

- haulage drift at main level below bottom of the stope
- raises to provide access to sublevels and for their development
- drilling drifts through ore on the sublevels
• when down-hole-drills (DHD) are used, longer and larger holes can be drilled. Therefore, fewer levels
are required
• also for DHD, the holes do not fan out and, therefore, stopes may have to widened (Fig 2.6) to ensure
that the entire width of the orebody is mined
- undercut at the bottom of the stope
• the undercut is to provide a free face for blasting and room for blasted muck
- loading draw point system at the bottom of the stope for ore recovery
• drawpoints must be optimally spaced
• they must have smooth floors and long life (shortcrete the walls or use bolts)
• avoid secondary blasting
- one can combine the undercutting and draw points by locating a drilling drift at the undercut/draw
point level (Figure 2.5, p54). Drilling in a vertical fan will result in draw points. This drift should
obviously be ahead of the drifts above it.
- slot raise at the end of the stope to provide a breaking point for stope initiation
• can be raised by raise boring (using a raise borer) or drop raising (blasting in lifts, from bottom up)
• widened after initial raising, usually by blasting

Production
- dependent on drilling, usually DHD, electric hydraulic or rotary percussive (and sometimes
percussion long hole drills)
- drilling diameter from 50mm to 200 mm (2-8 inches), lengths up to 90 m
- best pattern is parallel vertical

- maximum size of blast is designed with consideration to potential damage

- nonel (non-electric) caps are becoming more popular. Various kinds of explosives can be used
(dynamite, slurry, ANFO etc)
- LHDs used to transport ore from draw point to rail/crusher
- Very productive (15-40 st/worker-shift) as drilling can be done well in advance of blasting. Therefore,
drilling, blasting and loading are almost independent of each other.
- Everything inside a stope is mined. If the geology is not known intimately, mistakes could be made
by mining waste/poor quality ore. A typical mistake would be in misjudging the ore/waste boundary
(i.e. the ore body outline).
Room-and-pillar mining is applicable to tabular mineralization with horizontal to moderate
dip at an angle not exceeding 20°. The deposits are often of sedimentary origin and the rock
is often in both hanging wall and mineralization in competent (a relative concept here as
miners have the option to install rock bolts to reinforce the roof where its stability is in doubt).
Room-and-pillar is one of the principal underground coal-mining methods. Room-and-pillar
extracts an orebody by horizontal drilling advancing along a multi-faced front, forming empty
rooms behind the producing front. Pillars, sections of rock, are left between the rooms to
keep the roof from caving. The usual result is a regular pattern of rooms and pillars, their
relative size representing a compromise between maintaining the stability of the rock mass
and extracting as much of the ore as possible. This involves careful analysis of the strength of
the pillars, the roof strata span capacity and other factors. Rock bolts are commonly used to
increase the strength of the rock in the pillars. The mined-out stopes serve as roadways for
trucks transporting the ore to the mine’s storage bin.
The room-and-pillar stope face is drilled and blasted as in drifting. The stope width and height
correspond to the size of the drift, which can be quite large. Large productive drill jumbos are
used in normal height mines; compact rigs are used where the ore is less than 3.0 m thick.
The thick orebody is mined in steps starting from the top so that the roof can be secured at a
height convenient for the miners. The section below is recovered in horizontal slices, by
drilling flat holes and blasting against the space above. The ore is loaded onto trucks at the
face. Normally, regular front-end loaders and dump trucks are used. For the low-height mine,
special mine trucks and LHD vehicles are available.
Room-and-pillar is an efficient mining method. Safety depends on the height of the open
rooms and ground control standards. The main risks are accidents caused by falling rock and
moving equipment.

Supported mining methods

They are often used in mines with weak rock structure. Cut-and-fill stoping is the most common of
these methods and is used primarily in steeply dipping metal deposits. The cut-and-fill method is
practiced both in the overhand (upward) and in the underhand (downward) directions. As each
horizontal slice is taken, the voids are filled with a variety of fill types to support the walls. The fill can
be rock waste, tailings, cemented tailings, or other suitable materials. Cut-and-fill mining is one of the
more popular methods used for vein deposits and has recently grown in use. Square-set stoping also
involves backfilling mine voids; however, it relies mainly on timber sets to support the walls during
mining. This mining method is rapidly disappearing because of the high cost of labor. However, it still
finds occasional use in mining high-grade ores or in countries where labor costs are low. Stull stoping
is a supported mining method using timber or rock bolts in tabular, pitching ore bodies. It is one of the
methods that can be applied to ore bodies that have dips between 10° and 45°. It often utilizes artificial
pillars of waste to support the roof.

Cut and Fill mining.

Cut-and-fill mining removes ore in horizontal slices, starting from a bottom undercut and advancing
upward.
Ore is drilled, blasted and removed from the stope. When a stope is mined out, the void is backfilled
with sand tailings and cement or waste rock. The fill serves both to support the stope walls and provide
a working platform for equipment when the next slice is mined.
There are two types of cut and fill mining – overhand and underhand. In overhand cut and fill, the ore
lies underneath the working area and the roof is backfill. In underhand cut and fill, it is the opposite,
the ore overlies the working area and the machines work on backfill.
Cut-and-fill mining is applied to steeply dipping orebodies in stable rock masses. It is a selective mining
method and is preferred for orebodies with irregular shape and scattered mineralization. Because the
method involves moving fill material as well as a significant amount of drilling and blasting, it is
relatively expensive and therefore is done only in high grade mineralization where there is a need to
be selective and avoid mining of waste or low grade ore.

Application
- steeply dipping orebody
- reasonably firm and competent orebody
• use of hydraulic fill makes it possible to apply this method to a vast variety of ore/rock type
- no restrictions on ore boundaries

Development
- haulage drift along the orebody at the bottom of the stope
- stope should be undercut
- manways and raises to the undercut
- ventilation, transport and service raises for the stope
- ramps for access to the stope

Production
- Two major drilling options: overhand drilling and horizontal drilling
- Overhand drilling
• Vertical or inclined holes drilled upwards
• Large amount of drilling possible as face is available. Therefore, blasting rounds can be large
• High headroom after blasting. Back may be ragged and difficult to control after blasting
- horizontal drilling
• simple breasting
• after filling, only a narrow gap between fill and previous back
• drifting jumbos can be used for drilling
• drilling/blasting round smaller than overhand drilling method as face area is limited. However, due
to the mobility of modern drilling and blasting equipment, this does not affect efficiency
• more even face as holes are horizontal
• headroom is optimum rather than large (as in overhand drilling method)
• horizontal drilling offers selectivity so that poor grade ore can be left behind untouched

Ore Handling
- ore is brought to the ore pass
- LHD’s or other rubber tire mounted equipment are used as the floor is smooth

Comments
- wide range of applications due to selectivity, recovery and applicability in weak rock
- filling interrupts production, even though this is significantly reduced with hydraulic fills

Caving methods
They are varied and versatile and involve caving the ore and/or the overlying rock. Subsidence of the
surface normally occurs afterward. Longwall mining is a caving method particularly well adapted to
horizontal seams, usually coal, at some depth. In this method, a face of considerable length (a long
face or wall) is maintained, and as the mining progresses, the overlying strata are caved, thus
promoting the breakage of the coal itself. A different method, sublevel caving, is employed for a
dipping tabular or massive deposit. As mining progresses downward, each new level is caved into the
mine openings, with the ore materials being recovered while the rock remains behind. Block caving is
a large-scale or bulk mining method that is highly productive, low in cost, and used primarily on
massive deposits that must be mined underground. It is most applicable to weak or moderately strong
ore bodies that readily break up when caved. Both block caving and longwall mining are widely used
because of their high productivity.
In addition to these conventional methods, innovative methods of mining are also evolving. These are
applicable to unusual deposits or may employ unusual techniques or equipment. Examples include
automation, rapid excavation, underground gasification or liquifaction, and deep-sea mining.

Longwall Mining.
The Longwall Mining Process
Fig. 1.1, below, shows a cutaway diagram of a typical longwall mine. The main features of the mine
are indicated in the key below the diagram. The longwall face is indicated by the number 8 in the
diagram.
In longwall mining, a panel of coal, typically around 150 to 300 metres wide, 1000 to 3500 metres long
and 2 to 5 metres thick, is totally removed by longwall shearing machinery, which travels back and
forth across the coalface. A typical section through a coal face is shown in Fig. 1.2 and a photograph
of typical longwall face equipment is shown in Fig. 1.3. The shearer cuts a slice of coal from the coalface
on each pass and a face conveyor, running along the full length of the coalface, carries this away to
discharge onto a belt conveyor, which carries the coal out of the mine.
The area immediately in front of the coalface is supported by a series of hydraulic roof supports, which
temporarily hold up the roof strata and provide a working space for the shearing machinery and face
conveyor. After each slice of coal is removed, the hydraulic roof supports, the face conveyor and the
shearing machinery are moved forward. Fig. 1.3 shows the arrangement of machinery on a typical
longwall face, with the hydraulic roof supports on the left hand side and the coal face on the right
hand side of the picture. The drum in the background is the rotating cutting head of the coal shearer
and the chain conveyor can be seen in the foreground.
Sublevel Caving†

Application
- weak walls and strong ore preferred though weak ore can be mined too
- steep dip
• a vertical dip is best, while dip>60 is fine too. Loss of ore minor in non-vertical steep dips
• considerable loss of reserves in flat dips
- preferably, the ore and the rock should be easily separable
- surface should be amenable to caving (not an inhabited or the watershed area etc)

Development
- significant. Almost 20% of the ore is mine during development
- sublevels are established at 7.6-12.2 m vertical intervals (25-40 ft) and about 10.7 m
horizontal intervals
• the vertical interval is dependent on the drilling accuracy and the dip of the orebody
• the horizontal and vertical spacings affect the eccentricity of the cave
- the size and shape of the production drift affects the draw
• drift should be as wide as possible
• should give good support to the back and the brows
• if the back is arched, the draw is mostly at the center and none on the sides
• if the back has to be arched for ground support, the drifts should be closer
• ore remnants left behind (due to being out of reach of LHD’s) increase with height.
Therefore, drift height should be as small as possible (usually about 3-3.2 m).
- slot raises are driven at the hanging wall end of the production drift all the way up to the
next level
- haulage levels driven in waste
• in wide orebodies, transverse layouts may be used (ore widths should be > 12-15 m)
• here, the production drifts are perpendicular to the strike
• recovery better than longitudinal layouts
• haulage drift in waste (footwall), about 9 m from ore contact. This distance is maintained so
that blasting does not occur too close to it. Diamond drilling is done to obtain ore boundaries
so that the haulage drift is neither too close nor too far away.
- ramps may be driven at 15o-18o, to production levels to provide access
Production
- long, fan holes drilled 70-80 degrees forward (about 8 holes totaling 100 m in a ring)
- side holes, if drilled, should be steeper than 70o
• side holes reduce length of holes driven up from the level below
• if flat holes drilled to the sides, however, the blasted material from the side holes cannot be
extracted from the working level. Therefore, the neighboring fan hole blasted material does
not get enough room to expand
- brows should be supported if necessary
• if brows collapse, ore floods the drift and covers some rings
• also, the loader has problems loading as the ore does not stack high
• if brows are uneven, the ore funnels down the high spots
• if sloughing or high brows are noticed from development, it may be decided to blast more
than 2 rings just to advance through the area
- if drilling is not accurate, a bridge/arch may be left in the stope
• re-slotting may become necessary
- powder factor high as blasting is always against blasted muck (almost twice that of blasting
against an open face)
- LHD’s used for mucking
- Good ventilation necessary as all working faces are dead ends
- Productivity of 36 ton/miner-shift

Comments
- High dilution from caved waste. Ore losses occur as well since not all mined ore can be
recovered.
- Ore/waste flow cannot be predicted accurately prior to mining.
- Probably the most economical when mining in weak strata
- Development openings are not kept open for the entire life of mine. Once a level is extracted,
the development openings are consumed.
- Safe since all mining activities are in small, protected openings. Besides, a variety of
equipment do not interact with each other unlike other methods. For example, the drilling
equipment (on development/drilling levels) do not interact with mucking equipment (lower
levels).
- High degree of mechanization possible.
- Method is flexible. For example, production and equipment can be varied due to mobile
equipment.

Block Caving†

Required Ore Characteristics

- large massive orebodies (veins should have steep dip) of regular shape with sides dipping steeply
- should have proper fracture pattern

• For good fracturing, there must be at least 2 vertical joints, perpendicular to each other, and one
horizontal joint. At least 50% of the ore should break in sizes less than 1.5 m, as most finger raises
are of that diameter.

• An idea on potential rock fragmentation is also obtained by various methods such as RQD or
MRMR or Laubscher Caving Stability Graph. MRMR or mining RMR is similar to RMR but includes
mining induced and blasting induced stresses in its rating. The Laubscher graph plots the MRMR
against the hydraulic radius to identify stable and caving regions. Hydraulic radius is ratio of the
surface area of the unsupported area and its perimeter.

- To relate to active mines, Palabora mine (copper) in South Africa has MRMR between 57-70, which
is on the higher side for block caving (typically block caving is not advised for MRMR over 50). The
Henderson molybdenum mine outside of Denver, CO, has an average RQD of 49, while RMR ranges
from 27 to 60 respectively.

• Note that regional stress fields also have a say in the fragmentation pattern as well as the stability
of the blocks.

- should be able to withstand undercutting

- no restrictions on grade, though usually used on low grades

Required Cap Characteristics: Cap is the waste rock above the ore

- the cap should be caveable

• to prevent sudden massive failure

• to transfer overburden weight to ore so ore is crushed. If the overburden weight is not transferred
to ore, then ore pieces are large

• to prevent weighting on excavations near production area

- the cap should not break into fine pieces as that dilutes the ore. Ideally, it should break into small
pieces and be resistant to attrition

- the surface/overburden should be amenable to subsidence (low/no rainfall preferred, no

inhabitation, not under a river, not under a large water table)

Development

- extensive. requires

• undercutting

• first, several parallel drifts driven at undercut level

• long holes drilled and blasted from these drifts. Drawn from draw points

• in some cases, cones, grizzly level, and finger raises

• production level and/or haulage level

• for trackless mining, some of the development is reduced (see Fig. 2.14 in the textbook)
- block sizes depend on ore characteristics

• when ore is weak or highly fractured, small blocks are preferred as a large block may not be able to
take the undercutting

• when ore is of medium strength, panel caving is best

• for strong ore, mass caving is used as a large undercut is necessary to get caving started

- the height of the block should be as high as possible as i) development per unit height gets reduced
and ii) ratio of capping to ore reduced

• the height also depends on ore geometry and strength

- the following should be considered in deciding the draw point spacing:

• ore breakage sizes. The area affected by a draw point or its zone of disturbance is small when ore
pieces are small. Therefore, draw points should be close when small ore pieces are anticipated. The
opposite is true for large pieces

• the zone of disturbance for adjacent draw points should overlap so that no ore is left behind

• to ensure quick loading of trains, the spacing should be adjusted so that multiple cars can be
loaded at the same time

Production

- a balance should be maintained between draw and caving

• this is to ensure that uniform contact is maintained between broken ore and ore/cap above

• it also reduces dilution

- if a stable arch forms, making caving difficult, widen to re-start caving

• in rectangular openings, widening the length may not help if the arch formed over the breadth

- draw rapidly following an undercut to ensure no pillar is left as support

- control draw to control dilution

Caving

- initial caving area about the same as undercut area in weak rock. For strong rocks, it is smaller than
the undercut area

- eventually, the caving area extends beyond the undercut area, following a 45 degree line from the
undercut area

- most secondary blasting is done during the first 30% of caving

- sometimes the boundary is weakened to limit spreading of caving

Equipment

- designed for high production

• multi-boom drill jumbos

• high tonnage mucking

• large scapers with low scraping distance, or

• LHD’s

- good haulage system

• long trains with big cars can be used for haulage

• in-pit crushing and conveying if long hauls

Advantages

- cheap, as little drilling and blasting

- drilling and blasting may be higher if the fragmentation is bad. In Palabora, 70% of the ore may
require secondary breakage in the first year. Depending on layout, mines can also use rock-breaker
type equipment for breaking large fragments rather than blasting. In Palabora, a special remote
controlled high reach (21m) drill rig is used to d&b high hang-ups.

- centralized production leads to easy supervision and safe working area

- easy ventilation

- If diesel LHD’s are used, ventilation requirements get stringent

- high production rates

- Some mines cites 317 tons/hr from their LHD’s

- good for low grades undercut caving limits

Disadvantages

- narrow range of applicability

- high initial (development) cost

- difficult to maintain drifts in production area

- sudden increase in demand difficult to accommodate

- stoppage of drawing may close ore block due to weighting. Stoppage typically happens when
product prices go down (example: Henderson mine and price of molybdenum)

- ore recovery could be low in adverse situations.

- bad draw practices may lead to high dilution.

- difficult to switch method of mining once started

Mining Method Selection
The only numerical process for selecting a mining method is the Nicholas approach. This section will
look as an empirically derived modification to the Nicholas approach. As with the Nicholas approach
this selection process is only a preliminary analysis identifying the more likely and favourable mining
method. It is not an analysis to determine the final mining method and should be used during the
preliminary feasibility stage. In the past, selection of a mining method for a new property was
based primarily on operating experience at similar type deposits and on methods already in use in the
district of the deposit. Then, the chosen method was modified during the early years of mining as
ground conditions and ore character were better understood. Today, however, the large capital
investment required to open a new mine or change an existing mining system make it imperative that
the mining methods examined during the feasibility studies and the method actually selected have a
high probability of attaining the projected production rates. Although experience and
engineering judgment still provide major input into the selection of a mining method, subtle
differences in the characteristics of each deposit, which may affect the method chosen or the
mine design,
can usually be perceived only through analysis of measured characteristics.

The parameters that must be examined when choosing a mining method include:

• geometry and grade distribution of the deposit;

• rock mass strength for the ore zone, the hanging wall, and the footwall;
• mining costs and capitalization requirements;
• mining rate;
• type and availability of labour;
• environmental concerns; and
• other site-specific considerations.
UBC Mining Method Selection
A quantitative mining method selection technique, by Edumine (1999), was formulated based on the
Nicholas method but it differs in the sense that this technique considers RMR and not RQD or fracture
strength. This method provides a suitability rank for a mining method according to set parameters.
The ranking scores range between 1 and 5 with 5 being the most appropriate. The UBC approach is
simply a modified version of the Nicholas Approach. The numbering system follows a very similar
pattern to the Nicholas method. A value -10 was introduced to strongly discount a method without
totally eliminating it as with the -49 value from the Nicholas method. More over the rock mechanics
ratings were adjusted to reflect improvements in ground support and monitoring techniques. The UBC
selection process is listed below

This method was selected by the module for mining method selection because it is the most recent of
all traditional selection tools. Other methods include
• Hartman method
• Laubscher selection method
• Morrison method
• Boshkov and Wright method
• Nicholas method
 ▪ Nicholas (1981) proposed a quantitative method using numerical ranking
tables to choose the most suitable method. Table 2.11 indicates that several
factors were included in this technique.

METHOD SELECTION - STAGE 1

The main purpose of Stage 1 is to select those mining methods which should be considered
in greater detail. The simplest way to do this is by defining those characteristics required for each
mining method and then determining whether the characteristics of the deposit are suitable.
However, no one mining method is so restrictive that it can be used for only one
set of characteristics, as indicated by the classification system proposed by Boshkov and
Wright (1973). In the mining method selection proposed, geometry, grade distribution, and
rock mechanics characteristics are ranked according to their acceptability for ten general mining
methods.

The most important data required for selection of a mining method and initial mine layout
are geologic sections and level maps, a grade model of the deposit, and rock mechanics
characteristics of the deposit, footwall, and hanging wall. Much of this data can be obtained
from drill core, and, if it is not collected during the initial core logging or assaying, it will be lost.

Method Selection Process

Ten basic mining methods, not including hydraulic or solution mining, should be considered
in any selection process:
1) Open pit - a method where mining starts at the surface and waste is removed to uncover the ore;
includes strip mining and quarrying.
2) Block caving - a method in which columns of rock are undercut and cave under their own weight;
the roof material is expected to cave as well; includes panel and continuous caving.
3) Sublevel stoping - a method of stoping in which the ore is blasted by benching, ring drilling, or long
hole; most of the ore is drawn off as it is blasted, leaving an open stope.
4) Sublevel caving - an induced caving method in which the ore is blasted by ring drilling from drifts;
overlying rock is expected to cave as the ore is drawn.
5) Longwall - a method in which the deposit, usually a coal seam, is removed in a continuous
operation along a long working face; using an extensive series of props over the face and working
areas; mined out areas usually cave.
6) Room-and-pillar - a method in which a grid of rooms is developed, leaving pillars, usually of uniform
size, to support the roof; the pillars may or may not be removed a t a later time;
7) Shrinkage stoping - a stoping method in which most of the blasted ore is left to accumulate in the
stope until the stope is completely mined. The broken ore is then drawn off all at once.
8) Cut-and-fill - a stoping method in which each slice of rock is removed after blasting and is then
replaced with some type of fill material, leaving space to mine the next slice.
9) Top slicing - a method in which staggered horizontal lifts are mined; the overlying
rock is supported by a timber mat and the overlying rock is expected to cave.
10) Square-set - a method in which timber squares are formed to replace the rock mined and to
support the surrounding rock; includes other timbered stoping methods, such as stull stoping.

A online UBC mining method selection tool set for this process can be found on the following website
http://www.edumine.com/xtoolkit/xmethod/miningmethodgraphic.htm
Development/ Construction (“Planning and building it”)

The development stage usually takes 4-12 years to open an ore deposit for production, and may cost
anywhere from $1 million to over $1 billion to complete depending on the type of mine. Development
involves extensive pre-development planning and paperwork. Budget and financial reports are
prepared and permits are requested. Reports regarding potential impacts on the environment and
nearby communities are generated. Plans are assessed regarding the: 1) the mining
process/technology that will be used, 2) building of access roads for transportation, 3) identification
of resources such as power and water sources, and 4) construction of ore processing facilities and
disposal areas for waste. At this point, tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars may have
been invested in the project, but it may fail to open if the pre-development requirements are not met,
including acceptance by the community. At this stage, just enough development of the mine site is
performed to ensure that it will be able to be productive for the life of the mine, without later
interruption.

Plans are made for the appropriate type of mining that will be performed. There are three major types
of mining, surface mining, underground mining, and solution mining; their use depends on the type of
ore and where it is located, as well as issues of safety, technology, economics, and environmental
impacts. Surface mining, which includes strip mining, open-pit mining, and mountaintop removal,
removes soil and rock from on top of the mineral deposit. It may begin as soon as the pre-development
steps are complete. Underground mining uses shafts and tunnels to access deeply-buried mineral
deposits, while the overlying rock is left in place. This type of mining is usually more expensive and
complex, and requires a lot of additional planning for convenience and safety. Solution mining,
sometimes referred to as in situ leaching, is performed by pumping a leaching solution such as an acid
into the ground, where the solution then dissolves the solid minerals into a liquid. This liquid
containing the minerals is then pumped out of the ground and the mineral can then be recovered by
various techniques
Mine Construction and Pre-production Decision Making
• Method design and layout
• Infrastructure design
• Scheduling
• Simulation
• Economic evaluation and risk analysis
• Risk management

What Is Scheduling?

Scheduling may be defined as the allocation of available resources to activities over time in a manner
to meet corporate objectives. According to RG Schroeder (2000) it is the final and most constrained
decision in the hierarchy of mine planning decisions. There is however no universal scheduling method
for all situations. One scheduling method may not necessarily satisfy the requirements of another
mine due to several reasons both tangible and intangible. Thus, the choice of a scheduling
method/software should be dictated by the nature of the operation and its sophistication.

There is no doubt that a mine scheduling exercise that is painstakingly done will bring to the fore the
strengths, weaknesses and risks involved in executing that plan. Consequently it will offer a window
for remedial measures prior to its adoption as a working plan.

Scheduling is required in both short-term and long-term production planning though they differ in
sophistication. While the former is necessary for the function of an operating mine, the latter is usually
done for feasibility or budget studies.

A practical question that confronts the planning engineer in scheduling is

“how would I schedule this pit if I were the mine superintendent responsible for making it work”?

Couzens (1979) has proposed the following five planning/scheduling “commandments” to guide the
planning engineer in answering this question:

What is to be done?

This requires a clear definition of the objectives of a particular scheduling exercise. For instance a
planning engineer may produce a one-year budget schedule with emphasis on the production of a
particular type of ore for processing for that financial year. It must be cautioned that we are dealing
with estimates of grade, projections of geology and guesses about economics as such there must be
openness to change by all parties involved either actively or passively in the scheduling process.

When?

The time frame for executing the plan/schedule must be clearly specified. Since volumes must be
moved in time to realize production goals, the productive use of time will determine efficiency and
cost-effectiveness of the schedule.

By Whom?

Responsibilities as to who does what must be clearly defined devoid of any ambiguities. This calls for
effective communication among all the key players. If the plan or schedule is not clear to those who
must make decisions and to those who must execute the plans, then the plans/schedules stand a good
chance of being misunderstood or ignored.
What Resources are Required?

Plans remain a mere paper work unless resources are allocated for their execution. This requires the
allocation of equipment type and quantity and the quantum of manpower required for the
equipment.

Cash Flow and Management Decisions

Every plan must have the blessing of management prior to its implementation. However, for such a
decision to be made, knowledge of the cash-flow position is required.

Openpit versus underground mine structure

The characteristics of a mining operation define the mathematical structure of its corresponding
production scheduling optimization problem; this structure, in turn, determines the tractability of the
problem.
Precedence constraint structure.
Perhaps the most significant difference between openpit and underground mine scheduling problems
is in the structure that underlies the precedence rules governing the sequence of extraction between
blocks of ore. For openpit mines that employ a repeatable precedence rule, such as the “plus sign
convention” (Lambert et al., 2014), this underlying structure forms a network that can be exploited by
the Lerchs-Grossmann algorithm when (i) solving the
(UPIT) problem or (ii) solving the (CPIT) problem with a heuristic or exact method.

Underground mine precedence structure can differ greatly from one mine to the next. For the most
part, the method of extraction used in an area, for example, a stope panel, of an underground mine
dictates the order of mining in that area; underground mines often use
a combination of mining methods, and precedence rules can relate extraction activities to non-
extraction activities, such as ventilation requirements, structural support or safety protocols.
Consequently, even when underground mines possess a single, uniform mining method with a
repeatable precedence pattern, such as sublevel caving at the Kiruna Mine in Sweden, other
precedence rules may preclude the underlying network structure that commercial solvers could
exploit to produce timely solutions.

Integrated Strategic Mine Schedule Optimization

Strategic mine scheduling is a fundamental component of the mining business. It is through this effort
that the financial goals and overall strategy of the business are translated into time-based operational
contexts. It informs downstream planning processes, expresses critical decision elements of the
operation in meaningful terms, and provides a quantitative roadmap for the future of the project.

There are several interconnected variables at play in the traditional mine scheduling problem with
which the strategic mine planner is faced. In direct terms, the schedule sets forth the spatial and
temporal plan to develop resources, allocate assets, handle costs, generate revenue, manage capital
investment, meet quality and quantity requirements, and deliver commodities to market in a way that
maximizes value for the business. While situations vary widely across commodity and region, in order
to achieve this the mine planner is modelling a unique material extraction and processing setting,
clearly defining all feasible decisions related to this framework, and leveraging the influence of time
and value to deliver a schedule which is most advantageous to the business.

As the strategic mine schedule is such a critical component of the overall business plan, the manner
in which this problem is handled (and therefore the merit of the solution itself) have a high degree of
influence on real business success. If any aspect of the problem is misrepresented, or if any component
is solved in isolation (physically or temporally), then the appropriateness of the resulting schedule
(and the business’s ability to deliver on expectation) is at stake.

The Integrated Scheduling Problem

So how do we define the complete mine scheduling problem? Inherent and fundamental is the
determination of the ideal mining sequence, which is directly influenced by and contributes to the
whole of the integrated problem. If and when to mine a particular block in the schedule relates back
to that block’s position, precedences, and characteristics; as well as that of others assessed in the
same period. Blocks must be evaluated in context with the cost/effort required to mine them in
addition to the cost/effort to send them to each of many possible destinations.

These costs must be overcome by the collective revenue-generating capability (defined by block
characteristics, recoveries, and pricing), evaluated in composite with other blocks processed.
Capacities or other constraints (quantities or qualities) at the possible destinations (plants or waste
dumps), at the origin itself, or in the means of transport (haulage capacity) may restrict or complicate
this decision further. Intermediate stockpiling may be evaluated in context such that some blocks
would be stockpiled to allow access to others; and would be available for reclaim and processing in
later periods subject to additional costs and conditions.

And finally, capital expenditures should be evaluated in order to understand that if additional capacity
is made available to the system for a given investment: when, if, and how many instances to do this
to maximize project value. In summary, the optimum answer to the integrated problem can only be
made in full knowledge of the interrelationship of the various components after evaluation of the
entire feasible solution space.

• While this problem varies in size and complexity dependent on the operation in question, the
following ten general questions are often asked to define the scope of the total problem:
• What, and in what level of detail, is initial project information available?
• What are the decisions that need to be made with respect to material destinations?
• Are there any pre-defined elements to the problem?
• Where and how are costs accumulated and revenue generated?
• Are there options to strategically stockpile and reclaim material?
• How is waste modelled and in what manner is it integrated?
• How are infrastructure, fleet, and other capital to be represented?
• What are the fixed limitations/constraints in the operation, processing or otherwise?
• What are the scenarios/options/varying parameters we wish to evaluate?
• How is the resulting schedule to be communicated?

Common Issues with Silo-Based Scheduling Approaches

When the operational complexity evolves in a mining project, the problem is often broken down and
solved in smaller, discreet, manageable pieces. While in traditional thought, this may improve the
schedule transparency at the individual level, it does not generally lead to a coherent total result, and
almost always does not lead to the highest value total solution. The reason for this is inherent in the
mine scheduling problem: we are dealing with large periods of time and a complex range of inputs,
inter-dependencies, and conditions, all of which have an integral spatial decision component.

Some common examples of piecewise, assumptive, or deconstructed mine scheduling approaches are
the following:
Pre-determining material pathways, cut-offs, and destinations ahead of the scheduling effort A
common though restrictive assumptive practice to reducing the problem complexity is to pre-
determine the destinations of material in the model before the scheduling exercise. This can be
especially constricting if there is any amount of heterogeneity in the reserve and the available
downstream processing or waste dumping options. Further, fixing a cut-off grade at a specific average
(or other point criteria) over the life of the mine can greatly erode total potential project value as it
does not allow for the time-based influence of the economics or conditions for that critical decision
element over the project life.

Scheduling on the basis of global (or location-based) flat tonnage per period
One traditional assumptive technique to lessen up-front data requirements and decrease problem
complexity in haulage-constrained operations is to control (or guide) the mining rate on a flat tonnage
per period basis for each period of the schedule. This approach often lies at variance with reality as it
is often the equipment capacity (as a result of cycle time variation over space and time) that controls
the periodic mining rate. The corresponding tonnage profile, however, may be very different. As a
result, using this technique runs the risk of over-generalizing the schedule, and/or can misrepresent
the operation’s capabilities to deliver on that plan altogether.

Scheduling the mining and processing activities independently

Often due to departmental or other organizational boundaries, vertical components of the total mine
schedule are separated out (e.g.: mining / processing). In this kind of silo-based approach, each
schedule is generated in isolation using some manner of assumptions derived from the other. A
common example of this is the series-based heuristic (one schedule is completely derived in isolation
and then is used for the inputs into the other). While this may lend itself to departmental-scale
transparency, it greatly restricts the opportunity to synergize the whole and derive maximum value
out of cross-boundary dependencies that often exist.

Generating a dumping plan after the mining schedule is complete

Another common deconstructive practice to simplify the mine scheduling problem is to solve for the
mining sequence independent of the waste dumping plan. As the operation matures and its waste
dumps inevitably grow (or backfill locations open up), a lack of direct consideration of the spatial and
temporal linkages between the two can often lead to a whole host of execution challenges down the
track. These include unplanned volumetric or access limitations in the dumping locations, poorly
estimated equipment requirements, and an overall disjointed project schedule.

Calculating equipment requirements as a post-processing spreadsheet exercise

When basing the mining schedule on flat tonnage per period for the purpose of simplification, the
requisite fleet/equipment that is necessary to support that schedule is often calculated as a secondary
procedure. In this respect, the mine schedule physical results (tonnes / bench / destination /cycle
time) are fed into some kind of purpose-built fleet/equipment estimating calculator, and the
requirements are produced and evaluated for each period. Unfortunately, however, as the schedule
itself was derived from gross tonnage guidance, the resulting equipment profiles are often periodically
variable and generally unpractical to execute. These cases often require one or more back-iterations
to re-solve the mine schedule in an attempt to smooth the post-processed result. The end product is
generally not optimal; and a great amount of time, effort, and resources has been expended to make
useable an oversimplification on the front end of the problem.

Evaluating capital expenditures independent of the schedule (or) in a post-scenario appraisal Due to
the inherent base-load complexity in the mining schedule itself, many look to a discrete, separate,
singular means of evaluating further capacity adjustments (through capital expenditure) to the
system. Such as the above example, when approached as yet another secondary (post-processing)
iteration to the results of the equipment estimation output, this evaluation is completely detached
from the principle driver: the mining schedule itself. In a worst case scenario, the straight unsmoothed,
unadjusted results from this type of appraisal could be used to justify additional, unnecessary, or
inadequate capital expenditures to correct the fleet capacity to match this erroneous model.

Solving the problem one period at a time (forward period-based approach)

As the total mine scheduling problem is no doubt a complicated endeavor, many look to more basic
procedures to overcome the limitations of either tools or techniques – one of which is the manner of
solving the problem itself. The traditional myopic approach is to solve a multi-period schedule one
period at a time, therein reducing the problem to a heuristic which only makes decisions with respect
to the period that is being solved. While it may speed up the process, this approach will inevitably
leave value on the table, and often results in the ‘paint oneself into a corner’ situation with respect to
future decisions due to the resulting sequence.

By employing one or more of these types of deconstructed approaches to address the total mine
planning problem, the planner is unfavorably biasing the potential results and could be unknowingly
preventing the business from achieving maximum value from the project. Further, since mining
businesses are major, capital intensive exploits, these initial biases have real operational and
economic impacts with far-reaching and long lasting consequences, such as:
•
Plant and/or critical infrastructure capacities not fully utilized
•
Inability to move material required and divergence from plan
•
Inappropriate or inadequate capital investments in mobile or fixed fleet/infrastructure
•
Poor accessibility of reserves in later periods
•
Off-spec or loss-making products delivered to customers
As any of one of these consequences is a failure of the strategic scheduling effort, it is decidedly
important that this work is done in a complete, integrated manner; and that solutions are generated
in a way that addresses the intricacies of the total mine scheduling problem while maximizing value
for the business.

EXAMPLE: MINING OF SMALLER DEPOSIT IN CONJUCTION WITH MAIN DEPOSIT

In an underground mine, production is at 1Mt of ore. The ore reserve is 10Mt. The market demand
limits the ore to 1Mtpy. The total production cost is $60 000/t
And the revenue is $90 000/t.

The company has just found a smaller deposit of 1Mt in the hanging wall. This deposit must be mined
immediately or left and cannot be mined in the future because of the caving hanging wall. The
revenue will be the same as for the main deposit, but the mining cost will be higher at $75 000/t

Is it profitable to mine the newly found smaller deposit?

The discount rate has been determined to be 15%.

Solution:

The revenue for the smaller deposit is $90 000/t and the total cost only $75 000 per tonne. One may
therefore easily assume that the smaller deposit is worth mining. This should only follow if mining the
smaller deposit results in increased sale in the near future, but this in not possible because of the
market restriction.

The comparison of the alternatives is as follows:

• x: mine main deposit during 10 years
• Y: mine small deposit during 1 year and after that the main deposit during 10 years.

Mining of the smaller deposit will thus result in higher costs during the first year. The revenues will
show up during the 11th year. The net present capital value is:
X: 1mtpy x (90 000-60 000) $/t x 5.02 = $150.6 billion
Y: (1mtpy x 90 000-75 000) $/t/ (1+0.15)) +150.6billion/ (1+0.15) =$144 billion

The conclusion is that the small deposit should not be mined because the NPV decreased.

The conclusion however, strongly depends upon what discount rate is used and how much ore is left
in the main deposit. Use of discount rates of 5% and 10% gives a totally different picture.