Name ______________________________

University of Guyana – GEM 3205 – Quiz 1 – 26 February 2018

Answer all 10 questions. Each fully and correctly answered question is worth 5 marks.
Incorrect or partially correct answers will be marked as either 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 marks.
1: (a) Name the two essential, major surface facilities of an underground mine. (b) Which additional
major, surface feature is associated with a typical open pit mine, besides the open pit itself? (c) Why
could it become an environmental hazard?

2: (a) Name three commonly used methods of open pit mining (i.e. by the key mining machinery used).
(b) Name one example of a commodity that is commonly mined for each of your three mining methods.
(c) As a generality, how would typical open pit grades compare with typical underground grades?

3: (a) Name three commonly used methods of underground mining. (b) For each mining method chosen
note the general nature of the ore that it is suited to. (c) Provide approximate typical ore body
dimensions that apply to your three chosen mining methods.

4: Provide very approximate estimates of mining costs for each of the 3 categories of open pit and 3
categories of underground mining methods that you have described in questions 2 and 3.

5: Which commodities are commonly recovered by (a) dredging and briefly describe one such system
and (b) solution mining and briefly outline one such system?
 Name ______________________________

6: Why are modern underground mines mostly accessed by spiral declines versus historical, shaft only
access?

7: (a) With the aid of a diagram, draw the general relationship between mining costs and rates of
mining. (b) In this context, what is the significance of mining rates of approximately 2,000 tonnes per
day?

8: (a) How would you expect to use such “mining cost curves” as part of a very approximate, initial
evaluation of a mineral resource? (b) Is there a similar relationship for milling costs?

9: With the aid of a diagram, illustrate and explain a standard “industry cost curve”.

10: Explain the significance of industry cost curves to your choice of undeveloped “ore bodies” as a
potential purchaser.