MINING SYSTEMS

PME 363

Surface Mining : Mechanical

Extraction Methods
f
Classification

Open Pit

Quarrying
Mechanical
Open Cast

Surface Auger
Mining

Hydraulicking
Underground Placer
Aqueous Dredging
Solution
Classification of Methods

4 methods
1. Open pit mining
2. Quarrying
3. Open cast (strip) mining
4. Auger or highwall mining
Open pit Mining

The process of mining any near surface deposit

A surface pit excavated using one or more horizontal benches
Often used in mining metallic or non-metallic deposits and
more sparingly in coal and other bedded deposits.
Is a large-scale method in terms of production rate
Responsible for more than 60% of all surface output
Most open pit mines are less then 1000 ft in depths.

Bench Dimensions
Mineral Height (ft) Width (ft) Slope
Copper 40 – 60 80 – 125 500 – 600
Iron 30 – 45 60 – 100 600 – 700
Nonmetallic 40 – 100 60 – 150 500 – 600
Coal 50 – 75 50 – 100 600 – 700
Conditions
The following parameters represent the most logical circumstances under which
the open pit mining method can be applied
• Ore strength: any
• Rock strength: any
• Deposit shape: any, but deposit parallel to surface is preferred
• Deposit dip: any, prefer with low dip
• Deposit size: large or thick
• Ore grade: can be very low
• Ore uniformity: prefer uniform, but blending can be easily implemented
• Depth: shallow to intermediate
 OPEN PIT ELEMENTS
 An excavation created to strip a deposit for the purpose of mining is called a pit
and since this excavation is exposed to atmosphere; the resultant structure is
known as open pit.
 To strip an ore body suitable for open pit mining removal of hanging waste,
footwall waste and the over burden is mandatory.
 The amount of waste rock enclosed in this envelope is a function of ‘Over All Pit
Slope Angle:” which can be defined as the angle formed while joining the Toe of
the lowest bench (defined below) to the Crest of the top most bench of a pit with
horizontal, when benches reach to their ultimate ends.
 The amount of rocks need to strip the ore body increases as the depth is increased,
and a situation arises when it becomes uneconomical to go beyond it. This is
known as ‘Break-Even Depth’.
 The waste that need to be stripped cannot be taken at a stretch but it need to be
divided into convenient steps, which are safe and economical to be mined out,
these steps so formed are called ‘Benches’.

BENCH HEIGHT
The bench height is the vertical distance between each horizontal level of the pit
PIT SLOPES
• The pit slope is usually expressed in degrees from the horizontal plane.
• The pit slope helps determine the amount of waste that must be moved to mine the
ore.
CUTOFF GRADE
cutoff grade is any grade that for any
specified reason is used to separate any
two courses of action.”
STRIP RATIO
The strip ratio is the ratio of the number
of tonnes of waste that must be moved
for one tonne of ore to be mined.

Figure 5.1.2. Example of pit slopes varying in a deposit.

OVERALL PIT SLOPE ANGLE
Sequence of development
• Major steps involved cleaning the land, construction of surface building,
locating waste dumps. Waste is dumped outside the mined-out area since no
room is available within the pit. Waste is placed as close to the edge of the pit
as possible, to minimize transport costs.
• Locating ore storage, processing. Keeping ultimate pit limit and outside access
in mine.
• Selecting equipment. The excavation is normally by rope- or hydraulic shovels
with trucks carrying both ore and waste.
• Advanced stripping of overburden then commences to allow exploitation of
ore. Drill and blast is most often used, which makes the process cyclic.
• Stripping and mining are later conducted in a carefully coordinate manner.
.
• Establishment of first bench and each succeeding bench in waste or ore is a critical
operation.
• Benches are normally excavated from 2-15m in height in stacks of 3 to 4, in
between which is a crest on which the haul road is placed.
• When the number of benches in the stack increases, the road gradient increases
too. Benches in the stack have a steep face angle whilst the stack and overall slope
angles are flatter, thereby helping to prevent slope failures
• Pits are developed using a working slope i.e. slope with high safety factor.
• A best managed pits must have proper haul road width, banking, safety berms
and curve design to allow trucks to operate with greatest safety.
• Figure 2.7 illustrates the terminology used in the pit design and Figure 2.8 the
mining method.
From an analysis of overall slope geometry, it is clear that as steep a slope
as possible should be mined, to reduce the overall stripping ratio.
However, this rule is limited by the maximum gradient of the haul road –
typically 8-10% which requires frequent wider crests, and the need to have
flatter slope angles in places to provide slope stability
Figure 2.8 Open-pit mining sequence (for pipe-like orebody)
Figure 2.8 Open-pit mining sequence (for pipe-like orebody)
Cycle of Operations
It includes:
 Stripping overburden,
 Mining valuable mineral and
 Auxiliary operations.

 Stripping overburden
• Nature of overburden determines the cycle of operations. Some softer mineral
may not require breakage, while consolidated rocks will require breakage by
explosives.
• Material handling equipment is then selected.
Following are alternative methods for performing each steps in cycle of operations:
• Drilling
• Blasting
• Excavation and haulage
 Mining ore
It generally consists of the following:
• Drilling: roller-bit rotary (average rock), percussion or rotary percussion (hard
rock)
• Blasting: ANFO and fuel oil
• Excavation: power shovel, hydraulic shovel, front-end loader, dragline,
scraper.
• Haulage: truck, belt conveyor, rail
• Hoisting: high-angle conveyor, skip hoist, hydraulic pipeline.

 Auxiliary operations
It will be of concern are slope stability, dust control, pumping and drainage, waste
disposal, maintenance of equipment and haul roads and personnel transport.
Fig.: Dragline Fig.: Power Shovel

Fig.: pull-scraper Front End Loader

Open pit Mining : Advantages

 High productivity
 Lowest cost
 High production rate
 Low labor requirement
 Relatively flexible
 Ideal for large equipment
 Fairly low rock breakage cost
 Simple development and access
 Little support normally required
 Good recovery (approaches 100%)
 Favorable health and safety factors
Open pit Mining : Disadvantages

 Limited by depth to about 1000 ft

 Limited by stripping ratio
 Surface may require extensive reclamation
 Requires large deposit and large equipment
 Weather detrimental
 Slope stability is critical
 Must provide waste disposal
 Pit may fill with water after mining
Environmental Impact of Open Pit Mining

The effects of open-pit mining on the environment include land degradation, noise,
dust, poisonous gases, pollution of water. The main effects on environment during the
life of mine are:
• Air pollution/ Presence of dust: Due to movements of machines, haulage trucks,
blasting of benches etc.
• Sound Pollution: Mainly due to blasting
• Ground Vibration: This creates problems for the population living far from the site
of mines too. Vibrational waves can travel through ground, water or air to large
distances . It can be destructive for the man-made structures if not controlled.
Vibrations also can cause psychological problems in people living in affected area.
• Water Pollution: Mixing of mine drainage with river water or the ground water.
• Loss of forest and ecology : Deforestation is done before opening the mine which
leads to loss of forest cover and loss of habitat to the wildlife living in the region.
• Resettlement : Resettlement of people living in mining area leading to many
socio-economic problems.
• Loss of soil fertility : Due to acidic water from mine drainage, mixing of soil and
overburden during reclamation.
Mine Finance

Noun:
The management of revenues; the conduct or transaction of money
matters generally, especially those affecting the public, as in the fields
of banking and investment.
Verb:
to raise money or capital needed for financial operations.
• The high risk and large capital expenditures that are characteristic of the
mineral industry have made financial analysis one of the crucial elements in the
resource development process.
• The object is to provide a satisfactory return to the owners of the enterprise,
whether they be public or private, consistent with the objectives of the
enterprise.
 Time Value Concepts
In a free market economy the time value of money or interest rate concept lies at
the heart of all financial transactions. To properly evaluate the mineral investments
with their long project lives, it is essential to have a methodology for evaluating
past, present, and future cash flows.
 Establishing a Discount Rate
There is a general agreement in the mining industry regarding the need to
recognize the time value of money in financial evaluations, but the selection of the
appropriate rate to use is the subject of much disagreement, and with good reason
 Accounting for Inflation
In the mineral industry, conventional wisdom was that prices of a depleting
mineral asset should rise to at least equal to or exceed inflation in general to
offset the cost of bringing in new production. But, this was not the case for
many minerals.

Figure 4.3.1. Typical mining project cash flow.

Cash Flow Defined
• During the preproduction stage the investment consists of current
expenditures plus capital expenditures (capital being defined for accounting
and tax purposes as an investment with an economic life greater than one
year).
• During production, revenues are received from the sale of product, and the
cash flow is equal to the revenues less current capital expenditures and
current cash expenditures, including taxes.
• During the post-production phases remaining assets are sold providing a
return of investment, and cash is expended for items such as reclamation.
 MEASUREMENT OF PERFORMANCE
The primary goal of measuring project performance is to establish criteria
against which one can distinguish acceptable and unacceptable projects.
The evaluation criteria chosen should
(1) be consistent with the firm’s primary objective;
(2) recognize that bigger benefits are preferable to smaller benefits;
(3) recognize that early benefits are preferable to later benefits;
(4) be conformable and realistic, and
(5) rank the proposals in the order of their desirability (Gentry, 1979).
 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION
Sensitivity Analysis
A deterministic approach to project variables is the most common method of
evaluating future possible outcomes.
Each parameter deemed critical, such as ore grade, recoveries, capital costs, operating
costs, sales prices, and inflation is varied to determine its effect on the measure of
performance.
Figure 4.3.14 illustrates the simple
comparison of price vs. return on
equity.

Figure 4.3.14. Typical sensitivity graph

Optimization
For any given set of assumptions it is generally possible to optimize the results.

 RISK ANALYSIS
• In contrast to the deterministic approaches just described, probabilistic
methods attempt to relate the expected variance of outcomes in a systematic
manner.
• This permits the analyst and management to more fully express their degree
of uncertainty regarding future events.
• Name of some risk analysis method:
i. Discrete Probability Distributions
ii. Conditional Probability
 TAXATION
• No firm can operate in the U.S. without paying a share of its earnings to the
federal and state governments.
• Tax calculations in the mining industry are complex, and thus careful tax
planning is essential to utilize all the available methods of minimizing this
cost.
• Laws are constantly changing
• The major concepts for calculation of current tax liabilities are expenses,
depreciation, amortization, depletion, and investment tax credits (ITCs).
Depletion
• Depletion is a concept unique to extractive industries.
• It is based on the concept that mineral resources are exhaustible as well as
difficult to replace.
• Depletion is an additional deduction available for tax calculations.
• Depletion must be calculated on a mine-by-mine basis, i.e., a firm cannot
consolidate its mines
State Taxes
• State taxes are another cost to a project and can often be significant.
• Five main types of state taxes exist:
(1) ad valorem property tax, (2) severance tax,
(3) income tax, (4) sales tax, and
(5) excise tax.
 OTHER FINANCIAL/ECONOMICS CONSIDERATIONS
In addition to equity investment decision analyses, a firm often has
numerous other financial decisions.
Examples include
 Asset sale or disinvestment opportunities,
 Mergers and acquisitions,
 Farm-in/farm-out of properties,
 Shutdowns,
 Rate acceleration projects,
 Post-investment evaluations, and
 Leasing decisions.
Final considerations would be given to
• Consideration of the structure of the finance documentation and closing
• Remembering that project financiers will review Project Documents and Off-
take Contracts consider .
• Making assumptions whether the company need to raise additional debt for
infrastructure / equipment needed in connection with the mine?
• Assessing the ability to hedge the commodity
• Do not underestimate environmental and social issues
• Mining enterprises are financed in much the same way as other business.
• Because of greater financial risks , the expected return on investment is
higher and the payback period is shortened in a mining enterprise.
• The selling price is generally determined by a valuation based on the report
of an engineer or geologist.
Quarrying

Quarry is a mine that produces stone or aggregate.

Most surface quarries uses the open pit mining method

Most underground quarries utilize the room-and-pillar or stope-

and-pillar mining method

Quarrying is the mining method associated with the production of

intact blocks of rock called dimension stone
Conditions
The following parameters represent the most logical circumstances under which
the open pit mining method can be applied
• Ore strength: structurally sound, free of unwanted defects.
• Rock strength: any
• Deposit shape: thick bedded or massive, large in extent
• Deposit dip: any, if thick
• Deposit size: large or thick
• Ore grade: high in physical and visual qualities
• Ore uniformity: prefer uniform
• Depth: shallow to intermediate
Cycle of operation:
It consists of the following:
• Cutting: diamond circular, chain, or wire saws; in-line percussion drills etc.
• Wedging (freeing): drill and broach; wedge, plug and feathers,
controlled blasting.
• Excavation/ hoisting: crane, stiffleg derrick; front- end loader
• Haulage: rail, truck, front-end loader
Quarrying : Advantages

 Low capital cost

 Suited to some small deposit
 Easily accessible
 Stable walls and benches
 High selectivity
 Good safety
Quarrying : Disadvantages

 Limited by depth, usually less than 300 ft

 Low production rate
 High labor cost
 Highest mining cost (relative cost = 100%)
 Relatively skilled labor required
 Inflexible
 Complicated and costly rock breakage
 Waste can be 60% to 90%
Open Cast (Strip) Mining

Resembles open pit mining

Casting used in mining to indicate the process of excavation and
dumping into a final location.
Differs in one unique respect: the overburden is not transported to
waste dumps for disposal but cast directly into adjacent mined-out
panels
Used mainly for coal and other bedded deposits
The emphasis on stripping overburden in open cast mining has led to
the used of a colloquial term for the method strip mining.
Walking draglines are for many years the most popular machine for
this type of mining due to their flexibility.
Two major variations of open cast mining are : area mining and
contour mining.
Several large strip mines operate in areas that were previously mined
by underground methods, for example New Vaal Colliery.
Conditions
Favorable conditions are:
• Relatively thin overburden (0-50m maximum other wise stripping ration and cost
of stripping becomes too high)
• Regular and constant surface topography and coal layers (not more than 20
degree variation from horizontal on the coal seam – topography can vary more
since pre-stripping can be used to level it – but this is expensive to apply)
• Extensive area of reserves (to give adequate life of mine (LOM) and to cover all
capital loan repayments – typically more than 20 years life at 4-14mt per annum
production)
Open Cast Mining : Advantages

 Highest productivity of any coal mining method

 Lowest cost per ton
 High production rate
 Early production
 Low labor intensity
 Relatively flexible
 Low blasting costs
 Simple development and access
 Good recovery (can approach 100%)
 Good health and safety factors
Open Cast Mining : Disadvantages

 Limited by depth (generally about 300 ft)

 Economics impose limits on stripping ratio
 Surface is damaged
 Public image is decidedly negative
 Some excavators requires skilled operators
 Weather can impede operations
 Requires careful sequencing of operations
 Slopes must be monitored and maintained
Auger Mining

Recovers coal or other minerals from under highwall when the

ultimate stripping ratio has been achieved in open cast mining
operations
An augering machine or a continuous mining device that bores
parallel holes or entries into the highwall extracts the coal
While the equipment goes underground, the crew remains on
the surface and operates the equipment remotely.
Auger Mining : Advantages

 High productivity
 Low mining cost
 Intermediate production rate
 Little development required
 Low labor requirement
 Low capital investment
 Surface topography is preserved
 Recovers coal that would otherwise be lost
 Good health and safety characteristics
Auger Mining : Disadvantages

 Application is limited to certain conditions

 Low coal recovery
 Methane explosions a hazard
 Production capability dependent on a single extraction unit
Surface Mine Blasting
The major elements of surface blasting practice consists of the following:
• Inclination of the borehole: generally vertical
• Subdrilling
• Rows of hole: usually multiple
• Hole pattern: square, rectangular, or triangle
• Explosives: ANFO; AN slurry or gel
• Hole loading
• Secondary breakage
Design of a Blasting Pattern
• Based on theoretical concepts, but is modified by experience and empirical
considerations.
• Two important factors are often considered to evaluate the drilling and
blasting operations.
• The first is called the drilling factor, the length of hole drilled per ton of
material blasted.
• The second is powder factor, the weight of explosives per ton of material
blasted.
• Hartman reports that the drilling factor in surface mining ranges from 0.02 to
0.04 ft/ton and the powder factor varies from 0.05 to 1.01 lb/ ton.
• Distance between rows is known as burden
• The distance between the individual holes in any row is known as the spacing.
In setting up the basic design of a blast in an open pit mine , the following
parameters must be determined:
• Bank height and slope
• Hole diameter: 6 to 18 in.
• Hole angle: normally vertical; can be sloped at up to 30 degree from the vertical
• Hole depth: bank height+ subdrilling length
• Burden: generally ranges from 15 to 30 ft.
• Explosives loading density: lb of explosives/ ft length of drillhole
• Hole spacing: generally ranges from 15 to 30 m
• Number of holes required: depends on the area to be blasted
• Drilling factor: length of drillhole per unit weight of rock broken
• Powder factor: weight of explosives per unit weight of rock broken
REFERENCES
1. Introductory Mining Engineering by Howard L. Hartman & Mutmansky, 2nd
edition, Chapert 7
2. Surface Mining, Bruce A. Kennedy, section 4.3