A feasibility study of surface miner

Abstract

Due all of the challenges faced for feasible mining, new technologies, software, mining equipment, and ore processing are constantly being developed by equipment manufacturers. The focus of this article is to present the premises necessary for the possible applications within the mining industry of the Continuous Surface Miner – a machine currently being used in coal and phosphate mining operations and being evaluated for its incorporation in other diverse mining projects. This article demonstrates the utilization of this equipment in the field of mineral engineering and how a study should be conducted for its application. Continuous Surface Miner compared to the traditional mine equipment, due to the underestimated productivity of the material to be cut demand a higher availability of equipment fleet. The results of the feasibility study show that the use the continuous surface miner did not present itself to be a better option for the mine equipment.