An Introduction to

Underground Mining
On the Rocks, December 6, 2012
Ron Stewart

Introduction

Challenge

Mine economics - and therefore

investment success - is a derivative
of geology, engineering, metallurgy,
management markets and
management,
jurisdiction.

Our Intent

An introduction to underground
mining - an overview of mining
methods, selection criteria and
what to consider when you are
reading a technical report or
visiting a mine
Source: www.gedc.com

December 6, 2012

Underground Vs. Open Pit

Underground
Deposits

Vs.

Open Pit

Relatively small, high grade

Relatively large, low grade

or Deep with sub-vertical ore zone

or Shallow, with sub-horizontal ore

zone

Geology

Resources / Reserves

Structurally controlled veins and

Lithology controlled stockworks,

stockworks

breccias

disseminated zones.

Generally difficult or not cost

Generally cost effective to establish

prove up
p large
g resources /
effective to p

10 to 15 y
year resource / reserve life

reserves
Productivity

500 to 8,000 tonnes per day

5,000 to 100,000 tonnes per day

Environmental

Generally easier to permit, limited

Large footprint from pit, waste

footprint. Relatively cheap to reclaim

dumps and tailings, relatively

expensive to reclaim

Mine Life

To >100 years

10 to 25 years, rarely longer

December 6, 2012

Underground Vs. Open Pit Mining

In 2011, only 117 gold mines reported >100,000 oz of gold production
31% or 11.5
11 5 million ounces from 42 underground mines
100,000 to
250,000 oz/a
No.

250,000 to
500,000 oz/a

Ounces

No.

Ounces

500,000 to
1,000,000 oz/a

>1,000,000 oz/a

No.

No.

Ounces

Ounces

Totals
No.

Ounces

Undergound

27

4,105,528

10

2,868,291

3,408,803

1,100,000

42

11,482,622

Open Pit

42

6,710,672

19

6,349,474

10

6,820,255

6,179,000

75

26,059,401

9.2 M oz

10 8 M oz
10.8
62%

38%
69%

10.2 M oz
31%
67%

15%

7.3 M oz
33%
85%

Source: Metals Economics

December 6, 2012

Glossary of Underground Terms

Adit

Horizontal mine entrance

Back

The ceiling in an underground tunnel

Brow

Overhead rock at an Adit or Drawpoint

Crosscut

A horizontal drive through an ore body

Drawpoint

Point at which ore is extracted from a stope

Drift

A horizontal drive p
parallel to or along
g an ore
body

Grizzly

A screen or grate above a loading pocket or

ore pass to catch oversized rocks

Jumbo

A mobile drill used in driving tunnels

Loading Pocket

Rock storage compartment

Manway

A dedicated underground opening for

personnel

Ore pass

A vertical or inclined tunnel for ore

transport

Raise bore

A large drill used for vertical or inclined

tunnel drilling

Round

A single blast in a drift or crosscut

Scoop Tram (LHD)

Underground loader (Load - Haul - Dump)

Skip

Shaft bucket for hoisting rock

December 6, 2012

Mine Method Selection Criteria

is
is based on:
Geometry

Depth, shape, thickness, dip, plunge

Rock Quality

Ore zone and host rock competency (structures, stress,

stability)

Ore Variability

Ore uniformity
uniformity, continuity
continuity, grade distribution

Economics

Ore recovery, ore value & mine recovery (losses),

productivity, equipment selection, capital & operating costs,
ore value
value, safety

December 6, 2012

Geological & Mechanical Selection Criteria

of Mining Methods

December 6, 2012

Underground Stoping Methods

Room and Pillar

Flat to Shallow dip, competent ground conditions

Longwall

Flat to shallow dip, narrow seam ore body

Longhole or

Medium to Steep dip, competent ground conditions and

Sublevel

generally regular ore

ore-waste
waste boundaries

Shrinkage

Medium to steep dip, variable ground conditions and variable

ore-waste boundaries. (Delay in delivering ore)

Cut and Fill

Medium to steep dip, variable ground conditions and variable

ore-waste boundaries provides maximum selectivity.

Block Cave

Steep dip, massive ore body. Limited to no selectivity.

Extensive development required

December 6, 2012

Stope Design Criteria and Grade Control

Dilution and Ore Recovery Factors

Dilution Factor (%)

Recovery Factor (%)

Grade Control

Room and Pillar

5 - 15

90

Face mapping & sampling

L
Longwall
ll

5 - 25

85

F
Face
mapping
i & sampling
li

Longhole or Sublevel

15 - 20

85

Development drift mapping

& sampling with definition
drilling

Shrinkage

10

90

Face mapping & sampling

Cut and Fill

5 - 10

85

Face mapping & sampling

Block Cave

15

95

Drilling Only

December 6, 2012

Design Vs. Actual Dilution & Ore Loss

Unplanned
p
Dilution
Ore Loss

Planned Dilution
Ore Loss
Designed Stope
Actual Stope

December 6, 2012

10

Development Heading Dilution

Ore in Reserve
Block Model
Planned Dilution

Actual Drift

December 6, 2012

11

Underground Productivity Rates

Tonnes per man-shift

Normal

High

30 - 50

50 - 70

5 - 10

10 - 15

15 - 30

30 - 40

Shrinkage

5 - 10

10 - 15

Cut and Fill

10 - 20

30 - 40

Block Cave

15 - 40

40 - 50

Room and Pillar

Longwall
Longhole or Sublevel

December 6, 2012

12

Mobile Underground Mining Equipment

Scoop Tram

Two-Boom
B
Jumbo
b

Haulage Truck

Raise Bore

December 6, 2012

13

Block Cave Stoping

Sub-Level Caving
Production Rate

>7,500 tpd

Mining Cost Per Tonne

$8.00 to $15.00/tonne

Development Capital

High development capital

Sustaining Capital

$16,000/tonne of throughput

Cut-Off Grade

Low

Oth C
Other
Considerations
id
ti

Hi h upfront
High
f
t capital
it l costt
Massive or disseminated ore body
Rock must break and feed
Surface subsistence must be
allowed
ll
d

Examples

New Afton

Source: Techniques in Underground Mining, SME

December 6, 2012

14

Room and Pillar

Room and Pillar Mining
Production Rate

500 to 35,000 tpd

Mining Cost Per Tonne

$10 - $30/tonne

Development Capital

Low Development Capital

Cut-Off Grade

Low

Other Considerations

Flat or shallow dipping ore body

with limited thickness
Ground conditions - especially the
back must be competent

Examples

No known gold examples, common in

coal and potash mining
Source: Techniques in Underground Mining, SME

December 6, 2012

15

Longwall Stoping
Inclined Longwall stoping
Production Rate

500 to 5
5,000tpd
000tpd

Mining Cost Per Tonne

$150/tonne

Development Capital

High development capital

Cut-Off Grade

High

Other Considerations

Thin ore zones (bedded or tabular)

with regular and parallel ore
contacts
Variable ground conditions
supported by fill
In South Africa ore is mined by
jackleg, small rounds are blasted
and material is scraped down to
draw points

Examples

Witwatersrand reef ore bodies

Source: Techniques in Underground Mining, SME

December 6, 2012

16

Longhole (Sublevel) Stoping

Sublevel Stoping
Production Rate

500 to 5,000 tpd

Mining Cost Per Tonne

$40 to $150/tonne

Development Capital

Modest

Cut Off Grade

Cut-Off

Low

Other Considerations

Most common method for high

productivity, low cost gold mining.
Ore bodies have vertical to steep
dip, can vary in width down to less
than 1.0m, but generally require
regular ore-waste contacts and
competent ground

Examples

Young-Davidson, LaRonde, Kupol,

Jacobina, El Penon, Musselwhite,
p
Chelopech

Source: Techniques in Underground Mining, SME

December 6, 2012

17

Endeavour Silver: Bolaitos

Longhole Mining Method

Longhole drilling up holes in a

stope. Note remote operation
of the drill improves safety

Mucking a stope remotely with

a scoop (LHD) at a draw-point

Source: Endeavour Silver (EDR-T, BUY Target C$11.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

18

Stoping at Bjrkdal Mine, Sweden

Note the narrow vein in the
drift back

2.5m wide stope with sill

drift highlighted at the base

Cable bolted back shows

good dilution control

Source: Elgin Mining Inc, (ELG-T, NOT RATED)

December 6, 2012

19

Mining Narrow Blasthole Stope

December 6, 2012

20

Cut and Fill

Non-captive Cut & Fill Stoping
Production Rate

200 to 2000 tpd

Mining Cost Per Tonne

$100 to $200/tonne

Development Capital

Modest

Cut-Off Grade

High

Other Considerations

Most common selective mining

method for high grade veins and
breccias with variable geometries

Source: Techniques in Underground Mining, SME

and or poor ground.

ground
Classic cut-and fill used jack-leg
mining in captive stopes
Now far more common for
mechanized cut and fill with small
jumbos and scoops
Examples

Buckhorn, Rice Lake, Macassa, El

Cubo

Source: Endeavour Silver (EDR-T, BUY Target C$11.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

21

Cut-and-Fill Advance at Endeavours El Cubo Mine

And-Bx

VEIN
And-Bx

Jumbo advance on wider veins

and access drifts. Increased
productivity and reduced costs

ORE

Jackleg drilling on narrow and

irregular veins increases
selectivity reduces dilution
selectivity,
but is slower and more labour
intensive
Source: Endeavour Silver (EDR-T, BUY Target C$11.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

22

Jackleg Miner In a Cut & Fill Stope

Source: San Gold Corporation (SGR-T, BUY Target C$1.80/sh)

December 6, 2012

23

Scaling a Heading In a Cut & Fill Stope

Source: San Gold Corporation (SGR-T, BUY Target C$1.80/sh)

December 6, 2012

24

Mining Narrow Cut & Fill Stope

December 6, 2012

25

Shrinkage
Non-captive Cut & Fill Stoping

Production Rate

100 to 2,000 tpd

Mining Cost Per Tonne

$125 to $200/tonne

Development Capital

Relatively High Capital

Cut-Off Grade

High

Other Considerations

Steep dip and relatively competent

rock with regular ore - waste
b
boundaries
d

Source: Techniques in Underground Mining, SME

Delayed ore mining as ore is used as

a platform for drilling
p
Examples

Rarely
y used - Guanajuato
j
,
Francouer

Source: Endeavour Silver (EDR-T, BUY Target C$11.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

26

Mucking & Haulage

Scoop (LHD) Mucking a Stope

Ore transfer to a Haul Truck

(in cases
where an ore pass system is used, scoops haul
ore to dump points underground)

Haul Truck to Surface (as a general rule

ore can be trucked as much as 300 to 400m
vertically)

Source: Endeavour Silver (EDR-T, BUY Target C$11.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

27

Ore Handling and Ancillary Services

Main Ingress / Egress

Shaft, cage & skip

R
Ramp

Air Cooling System at LaRonde

Ore Handling Systems

Ore passes, shoots

C
Conveyance
Ground Control

Bolting

S
Screening
i

Shotcrete
Ventilation

Fans

Heating / Cooling
Water

Collection

Pumping

Screening and Bolting at Lapa

Source: Agnico-Eagle (AEM-T, BUY Target C$70.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

28

What We Look For When We Go Underground

1.

Focus on employee safety, hazards or safety risks

2.

Housekeeping specifically at shaft stations and work faces

3.

General structural geology (faults, joints, slips, orientation and

frequency of structures)

4.

Ground conditions (Areas screened, bolted and reinforced as

well as quantity of loose rock behind mesh)

5.

State of ramp, haulage drifts (how well maintained they are)

6.

Water ingress (amount, collection, ponding)

7.

Air quality (dust level, smoke, air temperature)

8
8.

General state of the equipment and age

age, tire wear and cuts

9.

Rock fragmentation oversize in scoops, trucks or on grizzly

10. Mood and engagement of the workforce

December 6, 2012

29

An Introduction to Underground Mining

Remember tag-in before you go underground
T k your time
Take
ti
Always make sure equipment operators can
see you.
Dont shine your
D
y
light
g directly
y at others
Stay safe, sure footed and alert

Source: Colossus Minerals (CSI-T, BUY Target C$8.00/sh)

December 6, 2012

30