OPEN CAST MINING

Planning and design

 Problem-1
Assuming pit slopes of 450 , the quarry floor and
quarry surface are delineated. Calculate the value
of stripping ratio from the following available
information:
(a) Quarry surface area=120m2
(b) Quarry floor area=80m2
(c) Minimum depth of the quarry=10m
(d) Maximum depth of the quarry=70m
(e) There are 3 coal seams of thickness 5m, 7m, and
8m respectively
(f) Specific gravity of coal=1.4 Tones/m3
 Problem-2
Calculate the Break Even Stripping Ratio for the
following conditions of working of an ore
deposit:
• Underground mining cost per tone of ore for a
particular type of ore body= Rs.2.00
• Open pit mining cost per tone of same
ore=Rs.0.30
• Overburden removal cost per tone of waste=
Rs.0.35
 BOX-CUT - (opening cut)
Area mining, applied where the terrain is flat,
commences with a trench or “box cut” made
through the overburden to expose a portion
of the coal seam.
This trench is extended to the limits of the
property in the strike direction.
After coal removal, a second cut is made parallel
to the first one, and the overburden material
from this cut is placed in the void of the first
cut.
A box cut under construction for the first access to the pit
BOX-CUT
A box cut serves as the first step in the excavation of most mining
areas. It consists of a single rectangular cut made in the surface of
the earth, forming a box shape. Box cut mining is primarily used
for extracting coal, but may also be applied to other types of
materials ranging from metals to minerals. Depending on where
these materials lay in relation to the surface of the earth, a box
cut may be the sole excavation method used on a project, or may
be the first of many methods employed.
In basic strip or surface mining, workers start by using a dragline
excavator to create a box cut along the length of the site. The
earth and rocks removed from this cut are set aside above ground
for later reuse. Workers then enter the trench created by the box
cut and mine all available minerals and ore. Once the trench has
been stripped, the soil and rocks are used to refill the box cut.
Workers may continue this process across the land, cutting and
filling one strip at a time before moving on to the next.
 Problem-3
Calculate the total length of the opening cut and
the total volume of material to be excavated
from the box-cut under the following conditions
of working:
• Bottom width of the box-cut=30m
• Angle of slope of the walls of the box-cut=30o
• Difference in elevation of the top and bottom of
the box-cut=10m
• Gradient of the floor of the box-cut=1 in 16
 Difference between a Quarry and an
Open Pit Mine
Open Pit Mine:
Open pit mining is the process of mining a near surface
deposit by means of a surface pit excavated using one
or more horizontal benches. The term open pit mining
is usually used for metallic or non-metallic deposits and
sparingly used for bedded deposits like coal.
QUARRY:
A quarry is a type of open pit mine used to mine building
materials (construction aggregate, riprap, sand and
gravel) and dimension stones usually at shallower
depths. The term quarry has traditionally been used to
mine stones.
QUARRIES: Most quarries have smaller and vertical benches. Some of the quarries do not
have any bench while some even have a high wall up to 300m.

The kinds of rocks extracted from quarries comprise:

Cinder, Chalk, China Clay, Clay, Coal, Coquina, Construction
aggregate (sand and gravel), Globigerina Limestone (Malta),
Granite, Gritstone, Gypsum, Limestone, Ores, Phosphate rock,
Sandstone, Slate, Marble
Bingham Canyon Mine (1990)

•Total production of waste and ore = 290,000 tones

per day
•Longest horizontal dimension of pit = 4,000 m
•Pit Depth = 800 m
•Drills - Roller bits rotary drills, 0.3 m dia
•Shovel - 26 m3
•Truck - 172 tonnes
•Metals recovered: Cu, Mo, Au, Ag
•Strip ratio - 0.83 / 1.0
•Average grade - 0.6% Cu
•Cut-off grade - 0.23% Cu
Bingham Canyon Mine (1990)
Accumulation of water at the bottom of the pit in rainy season
Aerial view of the mine
 OPEN PIT MINING
The ores in an open pit mine are covered by overburden. Both
the ores and overburden are removed in benches ranging
from height 9 m to 30 m. A thin deposit may require one or
few benches but a thick deposit needs more number of
benches and the pit in its production stage resembles like an
inverted cone.

Design Aspects of Open Pit Mining:

1. Ultimate pit depth:
This is the maximum depth of the mine that it will reach at
the end of its life. This is decided by economic reasons and a
breakeven point is decided beyond which it is not economic
to continue production. As this depends on economic
conditions, a mine closed in 1980s can become economic
now, as happened in case of Copper Mountain Project.
 2. Bench Height:
The bench height is usually decided by the economic reach of
the mining equipment used in the mine. As a thumb rule, a
bench height is equal to the economic bucket height of an
excavator (like shovel or loader) plus 3 m.
The thickness of the ore body and its dip and the thickness of
overburden also play a deciding role in the bench height. As
mentioned in Coal Trading, the bench height depends upon:

a) Deposit character and geology: selectivity

b) Production strategy: ore/waste ratios, blending
requirements, no. of working faces, operating/capital costs,
etc.
c) Slope stability considerations
d) Equipment set / equipment specific optimum geometry
3. Bench Slope:
Bench Slope is decided by the geo-technical conditions of the overburden
and the ore body.
4. Overall pit slope:
This is also decided by the geo-technical stability of the rocks in the mine,
bench height and bench slope. Overall pit slope is always less than the
bench slope.
5. Bench Width:
This is usually decided based on the space required for the operation of the
equipment on it.
6. Haul Road Width & Slope:
This depends on the operating parameters of the trucks and other hauling
equipment used in the mine. It is always wider than the bench width.
7. Bench Length:
The length of the bench depends on the production rate. A bench will be
longer for higher production rate. Usually, blasting at one bench is done not
more than once a week. The extent of the orebody also has a deciding role
here.
A simple diagram showing different design
parameters is shown below:
 A typical set of bench height, bench
width and bench slope are given below:
 SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT
A quarry usually goes through the following stages before
reaching the production stage:
1. Prospecting and Exploration:
The following properties of the rock are studied in the
prospecting programs:
(a) physical & mineralogical properties,
(b) color and appearance,
(c) uniformity, strength, flaws, cracks, etc.
2. Development:
Along with the removal of overburden, development stage also
involves developing the processing and other construction
facility near the quarry. The main role of the processing facility
is to cut and polish the rock. Large amount of wastes are
generated in processing, so it is required to plan for some
storage/dump space for the cuttings.
3. Production: The stones/materials in a quarry are excavated
with any of these methods:
a) Drill and Blast:
Depending upon the quality and fineness of the material
desired, the drilling and blasting requirements are set. The
more uniformity is required in the rock excavated, the more
drilling and controlled blasting will be required. Light
gunpowder is used as explosive to avoid any shattering effect
which can bring a significant destruction of the stone shape
and quality.
Two types of blasting methods are used for quarrying:
(i) Wedges method
(ii)Plug-and-feather method
b) Compressed Air/Water and Explosives:
A small charge of dynamite is used to create cracks in the stone,
which is then cut with compressed air or water to widen the
cracks and break the stone.
 c) Channeling and Use of Saw: Channeling involves cutting long and narrow
channels into the rock to free up a slice from the large rocks.
Three techniques are used:
(i) Large amount of single-line drilling with a small shattering
(ii) Single line drilling with use of expansion mortars (non-explosives) like Dexpan
and Rockfrac
(iii) Single-line drilling with use of non-explosives like Nonex and Magnum Buster ,
TM TM

which uses non-detonating chemicals to break rocks.

(iv) Use of a saw to produce vertical or horizontal cuts in the rock itself. Three types of saw
are mainly used: Disc/crosscut Saw, Chain Saw and Diamond Wire Saw
 4. Reclamation of quarries:
The main tasks involved in the reclamation of quarries are:
(i) Stability Monitoring - to analyze the long-term stability of
areas or a particular landform in and around the quarry
(ii) Grassland Establishment - to restore on grasslands waste pile
(iii) Tree Establishment - to restore the quarry sites through trees
plantation. Trees restoration in a quarry site is a long term
process and usually does not provide any significant visual
impact in 10 years. Selection of tree species is also important.
(iv) Landscape Assessment for future application of the landforms
for future application and habitat creation.
Reclamation of Limestone Quarries by Landform Simulation gives a
very descriptive detail on the reclamation of a quarry.
An executive summary for the same can be found at the above
link.
 EQUIPMENT USED IN QUARRIES
Here are some of the equipment used in quarries:
• Conveyors
• Crushers
• Forklifts
• Front end loaders
• Hammer drills
• Saws
• Trucks
• Wheel loaders
 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUARRYING
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of quarry mining
Advantages:
• Low capital cost and low mechanization
• Suited to some small deposits
• Easily accessible; hoisting may complicate moving stones, supplies and workers
• Stable wall and benches; generally no bank support required
• High selectivity; can discard low quality stones
• Good safety; little chance of slope failures
Disadvantages:
• Somewhat limited by depth; usually less than 90m, can be up to 300m
• Low productivity; high labor costs
• Highest mining cost because of low productivity
• Low production rate
• Relatively skilled labor is required
• Inflexible; cannot easily change the mining plan at depth
• Mechanization is limited by the nature of the method
• Complicated and costly rock breakage method because of inability to use the maximum
power of explosives