Development - Ground Control

OPERATING COSTS
Ground support costs are driven
by ground conditions, which are
Rockbolts the result of a combination of
($ natural/ geological factors and
333.96 /m)
mining induced factors. This
implies each mine has a unique
approach to ground support that
Mesh is suited to its conditions.
($ 0.00 /m)
This study tests ground support
costs by examining supply and
Shotcrete install costs.
Costs ($ 0.00 /m)
($ 347.34 /m)
Installation intensity is tested by
referring costs to Barton’s Q
Cablebolt index and comparing total
($ 0.00 /m) ground control costs to Barton’s
index.

Capital
($13.38 /
m)
 Development - Ground Control Ground support statistics for mining operations

NB: Development size is a function of the average size of all development

including capital, waste access and ore.
 Development - Ground Control
Development ground support cost is an outcome of ground conditions. Cost and
productivity performances should be considered with regard to ground
conditions……..
Very Poor Fair Good Vry Ext Exc
poor gd good gd
Barton Q
range for mine with
average point
Darlot Darlot and Kanowna
highlighted
Belle’s costs are high
Regressed relative to ground
curve for ground Big conditions
support costs as a Bell
function of Q
Notional zone of Kanowna
estimated precision Belle

Cannington
Cannington and
Pillara costs are
Unit cost of ground
reasonable
support per m of relative to ground
development conditions
($/m)

Golden
Grove
Big Bell and
Pillara Golden Grove
costs are
potentially too low

Estimated Barton Q Range

ROCKBOLTING CONTROL COST DRIVER TREE
Mine development
Rockbolt type
(SS)
Drive size _..
(5.0 h by 5.4 w)

Bolting density
x (7.7 bolts per m dev’t)
Work load
Fleet work (47,056 bolts) Supported
hours _.. area
(1.3 m2 /bolt)
(1,828
percussion hrs

Maintenace
pa) . _. Productivity/
working hour
hours/unit (25.73 bolts per
(see jumbo No machines percussion /hr)
drilling)
x in fleet
- 3 * jumbo

Utilization
(see jumbo
drilling)

NB: Metres advanced includes stripping taken as equivalent advance

 Development - Bolting,
Robolting performance....

continued
Golden Groves rockbolt density is high, but the lower cost per
bolt offsets the high density. Installing a higher number of split
sets to achieve a given support regime appears to be a low cost
strategy ….
Labour cost
Rockbolt density ($ bolt)
(bolts/m)
Grouted rockbolts

Golden
Grove
 Development - Bolting,
Rockbolting machines are relatively expensive to Higher jumbo rockbolting productivity is the

continued
operate. Lower jumbo installation costs are the result result of using two booms for bolting.
of higher labour utilisation and lower repair costs Productivity measures are based on
from rock fall damage…. percussion hours and may be overstated…...

Equipment costs Rockbolting productivity

Rockbolt machines
($ / bolt) (bolts per percussion hour)

54.84

45.26
Rockbolt machines

21.70
17.06
12.68
9.05
5.71

Golden Golden
Grove Grove
 Development - Bolting,
Rockbolting performance....

continued
Total cash cost per installed bolt
Rockbolt cost ($ / bolt)
($ / bolt)
Grouted
rockbolts

Golden Golden
Grove Grove
 Development -
Shotcrete/Fibrecrete
Volume placed Cost/m3 placed shotcrete
(m3 pa) ($/m3)

Canningto
n
 Development - Shotcrete,
Key performance indicators on usage of shotcrete within mines...

continued
Application thickness for Mine-wide Usage
standard conditions (m3/m developed)
(mm)
 Development - Mesh
Area placed
(‘000 m2 pa) Cost/m2 mesh Mine wide usage
($/m2) (m2/m development)

Darlot Darlot
Development - Cablebolts
Length installed
(m pa) Cost/m installed cablebolt Mine wide usage
($/m) (m/m development)

Darlot
Darlot
 Development - Ground support
cost summary
1,131
1,044

803
735
Unit cost of ground
support per m of
development
($/m)

347

89

Golden Grove Pillara

Development - Ground Control

Golden Grove’s ground support costs are much lower than indicated by
it’s Q index. The absolute difference is in excess of $250 per metre. The
lack of surface control at Golden Grove suggests that as the mine
mature more surface
Very control
Poor (mesh
F / shotcrete)
Good V willExt
be required…...
E
poor ai ry good x
r g c
d g
d

Difference
between
trend and
actual is
$269 per
Golden metre
Grove

Estimated Barton Q Range

 Development - Development
Development services include all drive furnishings, vent bag and secondary ventilation
costs…...
services Pillara is used as the benchmark for
development services to eliminate potential
crossover between ground support labour and
development services labour……

Contractor mines include these costs as part

of their jumbo/charge-up/ground control
costs….

Unit cost of
development
services
($/m)

Golden Pillara
Grove
 Development - Ground support
and services
Ground support and services - Total costs

0
($’000 pa)
Pillara is the cost benchmark for
ground support. Services have
been reconciled to Pillara to
net out rockbolt grouting costs
Services 1,698 that may have been
1,640 521 Ground support 3,675
Services 2,219 misallocated in other mines
Ground support 2,035
Increasing ground support costs
to match Baton’s Q estimate
will increase total cost by $1
Use of
jumbo for million...
bolting Ground Dev
support in line services Golden Grove’s benchmark
with Barton Q matching review shows:
Pillara
• Ground conditions are the
(Golden Grove) At best practice most important parameter for
managing jumbo costs.
Ground support and services - Unit costs
($ /m dev) • Rockbolting machines are
relatively expensive to use
compared to jumbos, Golden
Grove’s use of jumbos with 3
269 Ground support 603
85 Services 279
metre feeds is a best practice
Ground support 334 compromise for ground
Services 364 0 support effectiveness and
jumbo costs

Use of Dev
jumbo for Ground
services
bolting support in line
matching
with Barton Q
Pillara
NB: Ground support excludes capital to
avoid double counting
(Golden Grove) At best practice
 Development - Cost summary
Ground quality has the biggest impact on development costs…...

2,446

2,161

1,833

1,717
Unit cost of
development
services
($/m)
1,066

Golden Grove
 Geol Dev’t Prod TransFill Tech

Production - Ground control

CABLEBOLT INSTALLATION COSTS
Ground support costs are driven
by ground conditions, which are
Labour the result of a combination
( $ 4.07 /m) natural/ geological factors and
mining induced factors. This
implies each mine has a unique
approach to ground support that
Consumables is suited to it’s conditions.
($ 4.45 /m)
This study tests ground support
costs by examining supply and
Equipment install costs. The study
Costs
($ 24.66 / m) allocations and considers ground support
maintenance required to support a unit
($ 0.00 /m)
volume of excavation.
Drilling
($ 16.14 /m) Installation intensity is tested by
referring costs to Barton’s Q
index and comparing total
ground control costs to Barton’s
index.
 Production - Ground control
Production ground support costs are an outcome of ground conditions, stope size and
stress induced problems. Cost and productivity performances should be considered
with regard to ground conditions……..

Very Poor Fair Good Vry Ext Exc

Barton Q poor gd good gd
range for mine with
average point
highlighted
Golden Grove and
Regressed Kanowna Belle’s cost
curve for ground are reasonable for
support costs as a the ground conditions
function of Q
Notional zone of Golden
estimated precision
Grove

Cannington’s use of
paste fill helps lower
Unit cost of ground
stope ground support
support per cubic Kanowna costs
metre of stope Belle
production
($/m3)

Cannington
Pillara Darlot and Pillara
costs are
reasonable
To sub level stope relative to ground
Big Bell would conditions
Big Darlot
incur a cost
Bell
$10.00 per tonne
in ground support

Estimated Barton Q Range

Production- Ground control
Cablebolts installed
(m pa)
Cost/m installed cablebolt
($/m)

Golden
Grove
 Production- Ground control
Installation intensity * Total stope ground support cost
(m3 / m of cablebolt) ($/m3)

Golden Big Bell

Grove

NB: Big Bell cablebolts are used exclusively in development and are not
attributed to stope support
 Production- Ground control
Installation intensity * Total stope ground support cost
(m3 / m of cablebolt) ($/m3)

Golden Big Bell

Grove

NB: Big Bell cablebolts are used exclusively in development and are not
attributed to stope support
 Production services include all services directly attributed to stope operations……..

Production - Production services Golden grove is used as the benchmark for

production services to eliminate potential
crossover between ground support labour and
production services labour……

Contractor mines include these costs as part

of their drilling/charge-up costs….

Unit cost of
production services
($/m3)

Golden Grove
 Production - Ground control
Production ground support - Total costs
Geol Dev’t Prod TransFill Tech

($’000 pa)
Services 247 186
Ground support 1,567 Golden Grove is the benchmark
0 0 0 0 0 1,628 for ground control costs, with
service costs equalised to
Barton Supplies Labour Equipme Drilling
estimate nt
Services provide an equivalence
measurement.

Golden Grove’s benchmark

review shows:
• Ground control costs are close
to Barton estimate
– additional support from fill
(Golden Grove) At best practice
– cablebolt unit costs are
low, possible allocation
Production ground support - Unit costs problem
Services 0.58 ($ / tonne) • Overall service and ground
Ground support 1.69 0.23
1.69
support costs are excellent
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Barton Supplies Labour Equipme Drilling Services

estimate nt

(Golden Grove) At best practice