Block Caving Mines

An Overview and Future Technical Challen

зочин лекц
уул уурхайн инженер их сургуулийн
Trisakti, Жакарта May 02, 2016
Herry Purwanto - геотехникийн инженер
Private and c
Safety Share
Safety Share

LHD tips Light Vehicle on side

Two persons in vehicle NO INJURY
Background
Who are we

Rio Tinto is a leading international business involved in

each stage of metal and mineral production.

The Group combines Rio Tinto plc, which is listed on the London
Stock Exchange, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the
Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto comprises five principal product groups – Aluminium,

Copper, Diamonds & Minerals, Energy, and Iron Ore – plus central
support groups such as Exploration and Technology & Innovation.
 Rio Tinto All Operations

Diamonds

Aluminium Aluminium
Talc
Aluminium Coal TiO2 / Iron Aluminium
Iron Ore Talc Talc Copper
Nickel Talc Alumina
Coal
Aluminium
Borates Aluminium
Copper
TiO2
Copper / Aluminium
Gold /
Silver / Copper / Gold
Alumina Iron ore
Molybdenum
Aluminium Aluminium
Bauxite
Bauxite Bauxite & alumina
Copper Uranium
Diamonds Bauxite
Iron ore Diamonds
Salt Coal
Alumina
Copper Uranium Iron ore Coal Alumina
TiO2
Talc Aluminium
Copper
Coal
Iron Copper/gold
Potash Aluminium
TiO2 Aluminium

Feasibility & development

Existing operation
Borates

Source: Rio Tinto

 > 90% of assets in North America,
Australia and Europe
Rio Tinto 2011 gross assets - by region

North
America
43% Europe
18%

1% Indonesia

Africa 3%
S America 2% Australia
33%
Data under IFRS 2011 Gross Assets = $91bn
Source: Rio Tinto
Underground Block Caving
at July 2013

OT
KUC
RUC

DOZ

Palabora ADM

NPM
Resolution – Arizona USA.
Argyle Diamond Mine 10

Resolution – Existing Workings

June 2011
 Snapshot of future potential

Area on new deep Cu

Mineralization (D660)
Deep Copper (SW Alphabet)

Niagara Mine workings

(Historic Lead-zinc) A Bed

Previous 0.7% Cu
grade zone

• D556 • D556
• 501’ @ 0.92% Cu • 1380’ @ 0.82% Cu
• Skarn Mineralization • Monzonite
Mineralization
Oyu Tolgoi - Mongolia

Number 1 Shaft Complex

 HUGO DUMMETT DEPOSIT

Indicated Resources – (incl. Entrée JV block; 0.60% Inferred Resources – (incl. Entrée JV block; 0.60% Cu
Cu equivalent cut-off) equivalent cut-off)
- 820 million tonnes - 1.31 billion tonnes
@ 1.82% Cu & 0.42 g/t Au @ 1.02% Cu & 0.22 g/t Au
- 32.9 billion pounds of copper - 29.4 billion pounds of copper
- 11.1 million ounces of gold - 9.3 million ounces of gold
Hugo Dummett estimates by Amec
Americas and Ivanhoe Mines, March 2007
 85k tpd Development Layout

Shaft 4
Maintenance Drift
Exhaust Drifts

Conveyor Drift

Year 8
Drawpoints
Shaft 2 Station

Intake Drifts

Shaft 1 Station
Shaft 3
Challenges & complexity

Extraction Level Infrastructure

Hoistroom
Batch Plant
Crushers (4)

Service Shaft
AB Terminal Conveyors
GVDs
Rio Tinto in Diamonds

Rio Tinto is a significant diamond producer and the world’s largest

producer of natural colored diamonds.

Rio Tinto has been in the diamond business since 1979 and today
operates three world class diamond mines and an advanced diamond
project; namely Argyle in Australia, Diavik in Canada, Murowa in
Zimbabwe and Bunder Project in India.

Rio Tinto owns and operates the Argyle Diamonds mine in the remote
East Kimberley region of Western Australia. Operating since 1983,
Argyle has produced more than 800 millions carats of rough
diamonds. It is the world largest supplier of natural coloured
diamonds, especially in the Argyle Pink.
Diavik Diamond Mine

Winter Minus 40 degrees Celsius

Diavik Diamond Mine

Underground Mine Design

June 2011
 Location of Argyle
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf

Perth
Argyle

Kununurra

Australia East Lake Argyle

Kimberley

Argyle
Perth
Diamond Mine

Canberra

Argyle is located ~ 110 km SW of Kununurra

(~3,000 km North-East of Perth)
Discovery of AK1 pipe

The geological “pipe” of lamproite rock that is the source of Argyle’s diamonds
was discovered in 1979 after a geologist in the exploration team spotted a
diamond embedded in an anthill near a creek.

After tracing the creek back to its source, a rich diamond deposit was found
and the Argyle Diamond Mine had been discovered.
Bird view of Argyle Diamonds Mine
Lamproite Pipe (AK1)
The Underground Mine

250m
beneath the 180m 500m beneath
open pit the surface
490m

34km of mine development in addition to the 5km

developed as part of the Exploration Decline
Development

34km of mine development in addition to the 5km

developed as part of the Exploration Decline
 Argyle Underground Mine Overview

Block Cave statistics

• 250m high
• 490m x 180m extraction level

Annual Production
• Life of 7 years
• 9.5 million tonnes per year
• 20-30 million carats per year

Underground Ore Handling

• Twin gyratory crushers
• Ore conveyed to surface

Dewatering
• Operational Pumping capacity 120 litres per second Add. recoverable resource:
• Seasonal pumping capacity 1100 litres per second 24mt – 70 mcts
 Block Caving
Why
•Worldwide and for many
companies, large open pits which
have been mined for many years
are now reaching their economic
limits.
•There are few new prospects for
large, surface outcropping
orebodies to replace the old large
pits with new large pits.
•Many of the existing pits have
extensive reserves below the
economic pit limits. It should also
be noted however that these are
generally low grade deposits.
•In order to replace these large
open pits, Rio requires a high
capacity, low operating cost
underground mining method.
How
•The underground mining
method which best suits the
needs of replacing open pit
mines is block caving.
•Currently operating block
cave mines produce up to
120ktpa eg. El Teniente
•Block Cave operating costs
are generally around US$3
to US$4.
•But there are issues…..
Issues
•As with all things in mining,
everything comes at a cost.
For block caving this is in the
form of:
» High up-front capital
expenditure
» Longer production
ramp-up times
» Pit to Underground
transition
» “One bite at the
cherry”
Where are we going
Undercutting and
Extraction
Block Cave Design

Modified from Bartlett and Nesbitt, 2000

 Argyle Block Cave Design
Section Looking West
Advanced undercut

Advanced Block Cave (scheme only)

Undercutting Veranda

Drawing UCL Access

5 2 1
5
4 1
3

Developed Zone of construction Zone of development Undercut

1.- Drives are developed in the UCL and EL

2.- Undercutting
3.- Draw bell drives are developed below
theConstructions,
4.- undercut draw bell preparation & blasting
5.- Extraction
Pre-undercut
Pre-Undercut Block Cave (scheme only)
Undercutting
Veranda
UCL Access
Drawing

4 1
3 2

Developed Zone of construction Zone of development Undercut

1.- Undercutting
2.- Developments & constructions in the EL below the
undercut
3.- Draw bell preparation and blasting
4.- Extraction

33
Lead and Leg
Stress Environment
Principal Stress Magnitude vs Depth

1
Principal Magnitude
Stress (MPa)

σ1 = 2.5 σv
North

3 σ2 = 1.5 σv

σ3 = 0.027 MPa/m

2 2

1
= 10%
Convergence at the UCL
= 10%
= 9%
= 8%
= 8% Deformed profile
= 7%
= 7%
= 6%
= 6%
= 5%
= 5%
= 4%
= 3% 3.4m
= 3%
= 2%
= 2%
= 1% Def (+) Def (+)
= 1%
= 0.5%
= 0.5%
Convergence of UC Drives
Undercut Drive Closure (rates)
Convergence Rate
(mm/day)
17
16
14
Extremely
High
12
Undercut area 10

8
6
Very
Gap Fault System High 5

3
High
2
1.5
Fair 1

0.5
Low
0
-0.5
Undercut Drive Closure (cumulative)
Cumulative
Convergence (mm) Strain (%)

 = 12%
 = 11%
Undercut area  = 10%
 = 9%
 = 8%
Gap Fault System  = 7%
 = 6%
 = 5%
 = 3%
 = 2%
 = 1%
 = 0.5%
Ground Support Design
 Ground support-Why ?

The potential for instability in the rock surrounding

underground mine openings is an ever-present
threat to both the safety of men and equipment in
the mine.

The simplest form of underground excavation

support is that which is installed solely for 'safety'
reasons. This support is not called upon to
carry very heavy loads due to large wedge failures
or to massive stress induced instability, but its
function is to provide an acceptable level of safety
for personnel and equipment in the mine.

The vast majority of underground excavation in

mines is supported with one or more support Tunnel in California (Goodman & Shi (1985)).
elements, where in general terms a support element
is an individual component such as a rockbolt, plate,
mesh, cable etc. A support system includes one of
more of these elements and the main function of
these systems is to keep the excavation open
and to prevent fall of ground accidents.
 42

Conceptual Stability assessment

Quartzite

Quartzite: falling or sliding of blocks and wedges

are expected
Lamproite & Dolerite Mudstone

Lamproite & Dolerite: localized brittle failure of

intact rock and movement of blocks

Mudstone (average): localized brittle failure of

intact rock and unravelling along discontinuities
Poor Mudstone & Gap Fault Areas
Poor mudstone and Gap Fault areas: sliding,
crushing, squeezing and major convergence would
be expected.

Damage mechanism:
After Martin, Kaiser & McCreath (1999)
Squeezing and major convergence is
expected in Gap Fault and Mudstone areas
 43

Rock Properties

Intact Rock Properties (average)

Rock Units
Parameter
Lamproite Dolerite Quartzite Mudstone

UCS (MPa) 85 66 104 35

E (GPa) 55 65 52 38

u 0.26 0.36 0.22 0.24

RMR1976 58 55 59 40
Source: BFP, Block cave study – geotechnical model, August 2002

LEGEND
ORE (LAMPROITE)
DOLERITE
QUARTZITE
MUDSTONE
FAULT TRACE

GAP FAULT SOUTH 17

Geotechnical Domains & EL

DOMAIN 1: NE MUDSTONE

DOMAIN 2: NE QUARTZITE

DOMAIN 3: DOLERITE

DOMAIN 4: MAJOR FAULTS & CONTACTS

DOMAIN 5: NW & SE MUDSTONE

DOMAIN 6: LAMPROITE (OREBODY)

 45

Rock Mass Classification (Q)

 An overview of rock support design

Note that there are hundreds of kilometres of mining

and civil engineering tunnels around the world which
have been successfully mined and operated without
support. These tunnels are either in very good quality
rock or they are used infrequently enough that safety is
not a major issue. The decision on when support is
required in such tunnels is a very subjective one, since
there are very few guidelines and those which do exist
vary widely from country to country.
Why do we support? Excavation Failures
Draw Point X/cut
 Excavation Failures
Bullnose and Camel Back
Excavation Failures
Draw Point
Excavation Failure
Extraction Drive
 Major Excavation Failure
Guillotining of friction bolts
 Excavation Failure
Shearing and bulking of the walls
 Major Excavation Failures
Face Failure in Poor Ground
 Major Excavation Failures
Steel sets in Extraction Drive
 Major Excavation Failures
Extraction Drive Strain Burst

Sidewall-rib failure
Best support system –Rock
itself
Geotechnical vulnerabilities:
remnant pillars & UC detention
The Importance of quality in undercutting
Undercut & Extraction Level Schematic North-South Section
Stresses

Remnant Pillar (“Bridge”)

Stress Transfer

9715 UC Level

Major Apex Draw Bell

Damage

EL Drive EL Drive 9700 Extraction Level

59
 The Importance of quality in undercutting

Stress concentration due to remnant pillar

Strength Factor
North

Unstable

Stable

60
Remnant Pillars & Closure
(El Teniente Mine)

Esmeralda Collapse report, Fernandez & Constanzo, 2008

El Teniente Ground Closure – over 4 Mths

Esmeralda Collapse report, Fernandez & Constanzo, 2008

Remnant Pillars – El Teniente

Esmeralda Collapse report, Fernandez & Constanzo, 2008

Kimberley
Cullinan Diamond Mine
Cullinan Diamond Mine
Freeport Indonesia
 Probe Holes – Remnant Pillars

Displacement
North
(+)

Remnant Pillar
(-) Identified Good!!
Convergence in the Extraction Level
Advance direction
Undercut Stress
40m

1
Extraction level drive

Convergence

Advance direction
Undercut
Stress

20m
2
Extraction level drive

Convergence

Stress
Undercut Advance
0m direction

3
Extraction level drive

Convergence

Undercut
Stress -20m

4
Extraction level drive

Convergence
Rock mass stress conditions UCL
Abutment
Pre-mining

Undercut 5 4 3 2 1

Distance to UC Front and Maximum Principal Stress

65
S1 (MPa)

60 5
Abutment Pre-mining
55

50

45
4
40

35
3
2
30
1
25

20
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Distance to UC Front (m)

Uncontrolled Flow of Material
(UFM)

71
Flooding

Flume & real time sensor in Citect

To monitor inflow to Flood dam

CCTV camera
To monitor the condition

Safety gate to be closed

when flow >250 L/s

Back
73
 Design Challenges

100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

% Domain 4
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

% high risk
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

DISTRIBUTION OF DOMAIN 4 % medium risk DISTRIBUTION OF HIGH RISK (RED)

AND MEDIUM RISK (YELLOW) DRAWPOINTS
Cave Monitoring
State of Art
Thank you