MINING SURFACE 2A

SMMMNA2

Learning Unit 1

Prepared by Nyadzeni Makhado JANUARY 2023

 PRODUCTION FROM SURFACE MINE

▪ Approximately 60% of the world’s mineral needs is produced from

surface mines, without including coal and lignite
▪ Approximately 200 surface mines worldwide have a production of
capacity of over 3mtpa ore per annum
▪ Approximately 140 mines worldwide have a production capacity of
over 10mtpa per annum
▪ If the amount of waste material that has to be stripped to expose the
ore has to be taken into consideration, the total tonnage can often
exceed 50mt (waste and ore ) per annum
▪ To plan, develop and bring a new surface mine in South Africa in
production takes approximately 5-6 years at a cost of approximately
R950m to R1 400m, depending on the type and size of mining.

Slide 2
 ADVANTAGES OF SURFACE MINING

▪ Underground mines are labour intensive. Surface mine are relatively less
labour intensive
▪ Higher productivity
▪ Lower capital costs per ton of ore mined
▪ Lower operating costs per ton of ore mined
▪ The possible exposure of lower grade reserves
▪ Improved geological certainty of reserves
▪ Less limitations on weight of and size of machines
▪ Increased recovering of ore
▪ Easier support operations
▪ Improved safety
▪ Larger reserve areas available for mining (at higher production rates)

Slide 3
 DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS

❑ Environmentalists and conservationist concerns that surface mining

is a threat to the environment and our existence
❑ Few large deposits available near established infrastructure
❑ Political instability in many developing countries
❑ Market demand
❑ Mineral price
❑ Transporting costs
❑ Processing difficulties
❑ Country’s economic policies
❑ Improvements to waste handling systems
❑ Other factors

Slide 4
ORE RESERVES SUITABLE FOR SURFACE MINING

❑ Ore reserves Suitable for Surface Mining can be classified initially as:

[1] Relatively horizontal stratified reserves with a thin or thick covering of overburden

[2] Stratified vein-type deposits with an inclination steeper than the natural angle of
repose of the material so that waste cannot be tipped inside the pit

[3] Massive deposits, deep and very large laterally such that dumping of the waste
within the pit is not possible.

Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
 TYPES OF SURFACE MINING

▪ OPEN-PIT MINING
▪ STRIP MINING
▪ TERRACE OR QUARRY MINING

Slide 9
 Choice of Mining Method

▪ Orebody Characteristics
▪ Rock Characteristics
▪ Direction of Advance
▪ Waste Handling/Dumping
▪ Typical Mining Equipment
▪ Type of Mineral

Slide 10
 OPEN – PIT MINING

Slide 11
OPEN-PIT MINING

OPEN-PIT MINING

❑ This is the traditional cone-shaped excavation (although it can be any shape,

depending on the size and shape of the orebody) that is used when the orebody is
typically pipe-shaped, vein-type, steeply dipping stratified or irregular

❑ Although it is most often associated with metallic orebodies, eg. Palabora copper,
Mamatwan and Sishen ironore, it can be used for any deposit that suits the geometry
– most typically diamond pipes – Venetia, Koffiefontein and Finsch.

Slide 12
 Traditional Cone-shaped Excavation (Open-Pit Mining)

Slide 13
 Traditional Cone-shaped Excavation (Open-Pit Mining)

Slide 14
 STRIP MINING

Slide 15
STRIP MINING

Favourable conditions are:

❑ Relatively thin overburden (0-50m maximum otherwise stripping ration and cost of
stripping becomes too high)

❑ Regular and constant surface topography and coal layers (not more than 20º
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).

Slide 16
Slide 17
 Strip mining with dragline (on overburden) and rope shovel (below,
loading coal)

Slide 18
 TERRACE OR QUARRY MINING

Slide 19
TERRACE MINING

❑ Where the overburden is too thick [or the floor of the pit (i.e. The ore inclination) is too
steeply dipping] to allow waste dumping directly over the pit (as is the case with a
dragline and strip mining, it is necessary to use intermediate cyclic or continuous
transport (e.g. trucks or conveyors) to transport the overburden to where it can be
tipped back into the previously mined void.
❑ It is a multi-benched sideways-moving method, the whole mine moves over the ore
reserve from one end to the other, but not necessarily in a single bench. The number
of benches used is usually a function of the excavation depth and type of machinery
used (typically between 10-15m bench height and 1-32 benches in the terrace).
❑ Where steeply dipping orebodies are encountered, the modified method is most often
applied , a more typical 3 waste bench terrace operation with steeply dipping
orebody. In this case, the pit dimensions are limited by seem exposure (pit length)
and available working area (for mining and dumping faces) (pit width).

Slide 20
Slide 21
 Modified terrace mining

Slide 22
TYPICAL PHYSICAL & ROCKMASS CHARACTERISTICS

❑ GEOMETRY
❑ NATURE & TYPE OF OVERBURDEN MATERIAL
❑ THE STRENGTH OF ROCKS
❑ TENSILE STRENGTH
❑ COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
❑ SHEAR STRENGTH
❑ POROSITY
❑ PERMEABILITY
❑ DENSITY
❑ FINEGRAINED/COARSEGRAINED
❑ RADIOACTIVE PROPERTIES
❑ PRESENCE/ABSENCE OF GROUNDWATER
❑ MANY OTHER PROPERTIES

Slide 23
REFERENCES

[1] BULLIVANT, DA. Current Surface Mining Techniques. Journal for

the Transportation of Materials in Bulk: Bulk Solids Handling, vol 7,
n6, December 1987, pp827-833.

Slide 24
 THE CONCEPT OF STRIPPING RATIOS

Slide 25
Slide 26
THE BASIC PRODUCTION COST

❑ The basic production cost can be calculated as follows:

Tp = A + SB

Over the life of mine

❑ At any instantaneous time, the same equation can be used but specifying the time

❑ If the equivalent cost of underground mining is U (R/ore unit), then economic limit for
the stripping ratio is given by

S (Lim) = (U – A)/B

Slide 27
Example 1

❑ Calculate the average basic production costs (Tp1 and Tp2) and the
economic limit for the stripping ratio based on the following data

Ore reserves mined year 1 = 1mt

Ore mined year 2 = 1mt
Waste mining costs year 1 and 2 = R60/t
Ore mining Cost = R85/t
Waste mined year 1 = 1mt
Waste mined year 2 = 3mt

❑ If the underground ore mining cost was R110/t, what implications would it
hold for the development of the mine?

Slide 28
Example 2

❑ Calculate the average basic production costs (Tp1 and Tp2) and the
economic limit for the stripping ratio based on the following data

Ore reserves mined year 1 = 1mt

Ore mined year 2 = 1mt
Ore mined year 3 = 2mt
Ore mining costs year 1 and 2 = R60/t
Waste mined year 1 = 1mt
Waste mined year 2 = 3mt
Waste mined year 3 = 5mt

❑ If the underground ore mining cost was R172/t, what implications would it
hold for the development of the mine?

Slide 29