Using continuous mining equipment to develop an open cut mining operation
Abstract
Dwindling fuel supplies and increased labour costs have changed the paradigms whereby mining equipment selections are made. Recent successful performance trials using the latest technology in mineral sizers, and the increasing maturity of the large scale materials handling systems has seen the emergence of competitive and credible suppliers of continuous materials handling machines for all kinds of open cut mining operations. In this paper a means whereby a large open cast mine might be initiated, developed through the early operations of increasing depth and spread of the operation throughout the mine's early life, and also the later expansion of the mine capacity is considered. The proposed system creates an essentially truck free mine and achieves substantial reductions in manning when compared to the more conventional approach, with associated gains in operating costs without substantial additional capital investment.
Author:
David J. Morrison
Manager – Integrated Mining Systems, Sinclair Knight Merz