Mine Design Research Articles

Geology and Mining: Narrow-Width (Vein) Mining and the Geologist

Editor’s note: The Geology and Mining series, edited by Dan Wood and Jeffrey Hedenquist, is designed to introduce early-career professionals and students to a variety of topics in mineral exploration, development, and mining, in order to provide insight into the many ways in which geoscientists contribute to the mineral industry. Abstract Mining narrow deposits presents a discrete set of additional challenges to those common to most mining. Some challenges arise from the deposit’s width, its geometry—dip and planar continuity—and its interaction with the surrounding rock mass. The geology of the surrounding rock mass and associated physical properties of its geologic units and structures influence the application of mining method and mine design for both surface (open-pit) and underground mining. Successful mine development is the product of teamwork and depends on the collaboration, coordination, collective experience, and confidence of the team. Above all, it relies on relationships shared by the team members along the value chain. These relationships are extremely important, since miscommunication, misunderstandings, missing data, etc., can result either in lost opportunities to develop a better mine, or will load the project with unnecessary risk. This article is focused on underground mining of narrow-width deposits (veins) and the role of economic geologists in the definition and development of these deposits. The crucial importance of recognizing potential for value creation early in the life of a narrow-width mine project is highlighted, when an economic geologist is often a project’s key proponent. This role as the key proponent may change as a project progresses toward development, but early geologic contributions provide the foundation for narrow-width mine development.

Mining method selection for underground mining with the application of VIKOR method

Multi-criteria decision making is widely used in mining to solve a variety of problems, as well as to support the mine planning and design process. The choice of the mining method of excavation for underground exploitation is a very complex and responsible matter, and support in the application of multi-criteria decision-making methods are of great importance of making the final decision. This paper will present the scientific methodology for the mining method selection by the application of VIKOR method, which gives the results of compromise alternatives.

The Design of Mine Encapsulated and Intrinsically Safe Explosion-proof Computers

With the continuous improvement of the level of intelligence in coal mines, construction sites have put forward new requirements for the performance and compatibility of mining computers. Aiming at the field conditions of intelligent underground drilling in coal mines, this paper designs a mine-used encapsulated and intrinsically safe computer as a data processing terminal, with the characteristics of a large display screen, a moderate overall weight, powerful operating performance and multiple compatible interfaces, which can replace the explosion-proof and intrinsically safe computers in current field applications.

Optimization of Open Pit Gold Mine Design Capacity Using Lag Modeling Approach

Optimization of Open Pit Gold Mine Design Capacity Using Lag Modeling Approach

The influence of stemming practice on ground vibration and air blast

SYNOPSIS This paper details an assessment of stemming practices at a South African opencast coal mine and their influence on ground vibration and air blast. Quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were used for the study. The parameters assessed for the quantitative analyses included stemming length, stemming material type, blast-hole depth, burden, and spacing. Pre-blast data from the mine was analysed to determine the deviation between actual and mine design stemming parameters. Mine design stemming length was also compared to the rule-of-thumb stemming lengths. Peak particle velocity (ground vibration) and air blast data from seismograph stations around the mine was analysed to determine the correlation between stemming length and excessive ground vibration and air blast. The qualitative analysis involved observations of blasting procedures at the mine to determine compliance with mine procedures. Some level of non-compliance of actual stemming parameters to design stemming parameters was found, which initially suggested that non-compliance may have contributed to excessive air blast. However, further analysis of the seismograph results indicated no direct correlation between stemming length and excessive air blast and ground vibration. Since stemming parameters are interrelated, it is crucial that all blasting procedures, including stemming, are executed in accordance with best practice, and recorded accurately. There is a need for digital systems for capturing on-bench blasting parameters, as the currently used manual data recording and reporting systems are inefficient and prone to error. Improvements to blast designs are possible through efficient and accurate data recording and reporting systems. Keyword: sopencast mining, blasting, stemming, ground vibration, air blast.

Primary crusher site selection in open pit mines: Case study in Sungun copper mine

Facility site selection, (such as Primary or in pit Crusher location) is one of the most important steps in mine design process that has a significant impact on economy of the mining operation. This study covers an attempt to find the optimal location for primary crusher in order to support the expansion of Sungun copper mine, which is the second largest open pit mine in Iran. Recent exploration drilling has led to a considerable increase in the ore reserve. Therefore, Sungun started the studies followed with an expansion plan with the goal to increase the capacity from 14 to 28 Mt/Year within the next 8 years. In this paper, 14 effective parameters for finding the best location for a new crusher in five possible options were considered. The options were evaluated based on weighted linear combination method. The results show that the location in South East part of the open pit is the best option for locating of the new crusher. Finally, based on the economic parameters and copper price forecasts, pit optimization and sensitive analysis are applied. Results show that in the worst case, just 0.17 % of ore reserve is affected by the selected area and the minable reserve can cover 78 years of operation.

Primena suve metode X-Ray senzorskog sortiranja/ prečišćavanja uglja – lignita sa površinskog kopa uglja „GACKO“ 20212, XXIII

This paper discusses the results of laboratory research and semi-industrial tests of lignite enrichment using X-Ray sensor sorting technology based on which the process parameters for the MMD - Main Mining Design of preparation and treatment of lignite exploited from stratified coal deposit. Also, the paper presents the process and technical solutions given in the MMD. The considered X-Ray Sensor Sorting technology has been successfully applied in the world for about 30 years for separation / sorting of various polymetallic primary and secondary raw materials, for treatment of poor ore deposits as well as for sorting coal from layered deposits.

Повышение безопасности при извлечении водорастворимых руд путем оптимизации параметров закладочного массива

The results of the scientific and research work devoted to modeling the stress-strain state of the mining system of an underground mine using the finite element method in the FLAC3D software are presented in the article. The possibility of using room-and-pillar mining with backfill with the abandonment of chain pillars is justified. The results are presented concerning the research results of the quantitative assessment of the mass using the von Mises equation and Norton' power law of creep to estimate the contour stress. It becomes possible to determine the sequence of mining of the deposit area and the stage-by-stage filling of the stopes at the stage of mining design due to the high accuracy of modeling the stress-strain state of the mass near mining operations using FLAC3D software. The proposed approach is possible when evaluating the geotechnical state of the rock mass when using the mining systems with various methods of support of the mined-out area: natural; artificial; with the collapse of ores and enclosing rocks, as well as when calculating the combined method of deposit development. A differentiated approach to assessing the state of the mass is possible considering difficult mining and geological conditions, conditions of increased rock pressure, abundant water influx, increased fracturing of rocks by introducing additional conditions into the model depending on its geotechnical state. Variant of the comprehensive exploitation of mineral resources was proposed considering the total value of natural and man-made geo-resources of the area being mined. The possibility of rational use of the mined-out space with the use of various positive qualities of geo-resources at their manmade transformation is also considered. An assessment of the mineral and raw materials potential of the mined area is given with a proposal for the prospects of increasing the integrated approach of excavation, increasing the life of the mining enterprise and the complexity of developing this area.

Technical-economic analysis of variants of a micro location for the DTO crushing plant of the DTO system and connecting conveyor T1 at the open pit Potrlica, Pljevlja

The Additional Mining Design for coal exploitation at the open pit "Potrlica" - Pljevlja for the period 2020 - 2025, has defined the exploitation system important parameters and development of the open pit. Among others, for the first half of 2022, it is planned to move the crushing plant to a new position, in a direction of the excavation front. Generally, the new position of the crushing plant has been verified within several project and study documents. Nevertheless, there is a need for precise definition of the crushing plant positions and conveyors within the DTO system in order to the create favorable and safe working conditions for mechanization on the loading plateau of the crusher, to provide a more favorable position of the crusher with the aim of easier plateau drainage and a more convenient approach to the crusher for easier maintenance, and to minimize the costs of relocation to a new position while respecting the projected dynamics of relocation works. In order to ensure the fulfillment of the set goals, a techno-economic analysis of the variants of a micro location of the crushing plant at this open pit was performed with an overview given in this paper.

The concept of digital twins for tech operator training simulator design for mining and processing industry

According to the top-priority trends and challenges in the mineral sector, and as per the mining science strategy, it is highly critical to arrange enhanced control, prediction and safety of production objects and their functioning for the preservation of automation sustainability. Improved control of databases, regulatory bonds, management, logistics and principles of sustainable development in mining makes it possible to reduce technological deviations and accidents at large mining and processing plants. Most procedural violations and accidents in surface and underground mines occur because of the unskilled actions of process flow operators. Damage in this case can be considerable, especially as compared with the expenses connected with qualitative training and persistent development of personnel engaged with supervisory control and data acquisition for the efficient operation of SCADA-systems within the automation framework of mining and processing plants. Definition of digital systems and their interrelation with multilevel automated control can be incorrect. The review of new principles can awaken interest in the conceptual assessment of digitalization processes using such notions as: numerical models, simulator, and artificial intelligence. Often applied formulations and principles of a digital model are substituted without justification of functional connections. On the other hand, a digital system today can be assumed as robotic lines and other numerical models and smart technologies, for instance, machining stations with numerical program control. It is necessary to define the practical significance of conceptual modifications and digital transformation regarding objects of the mineral sector, using Big Data; to understand how a digital twin can influence a changeable process situation; to provide prompt prediction; to eliminate an accident; and to preserve the physical balance in the whole production system. Such intelligent and flexible productions particularly need computerbased simulators and digital twins based on technologies of Industry 4.0–extended and virtual reality on the basis of digital twins. Digital twins allow maximal simulation of real-life activity of process flow operators. The skills acquired by personnel after such simulation training enable operators to master the optimized procedure for functioning in emergency situations in mineral mining and processing. This paper exemplifies the remote training and control of process flows, which is of concern in the current international situation.

Underground mine stream crossing assessment: A multi-disciplinary approach

Underground mine designs typically try to avoid extraction beneath streams and rivers of any significant size, especially when the overburden rock thickness between the stream bed and the mine is thin. Potential issues with mining beneath streams include excessive groundwater inflow to the mine, weak ground (roof, floor, and pillar) conditions, horizontal stress effects, as well as stream loss and other potential adverse environmental effects. However, there are times when crossing beneath a stream or river is necessary to move into a new area of mineral reserve without creating additional mine access points from the ground surface. Often, stream crossings are completed without thorough assessment, potentially resulting in increased costs, decreased safety, and, in some cases, failure to advance the mine. Selection of the most favorable location(s) to cross the stream must account for numerous factors and the associated assessment often requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Stream crossing investigations often require geological, hydrogeological, geotechnical, and geophysical expertise. Phases of stream crossing investigations include desktop evaluation of maps and aerial photography, stream bed observations, drilling, detailed rock core logging, downhole geophysical surveying, hydraulic conductivity testing (packer testing), geotechnical laboratory testing, assessment, and reporting. The deliverables from a stream crossing assessment typically include geological, geotechnical, and hydrogeological characterization of potential stream crossing locations, classification of favorable and unfavorable crossing locations, recommendations for entry design and pillar sizing, and recommendations for if, and how, to conduct pre-grouting activities. Examples of technical aspects of data collection and assessment are provided based on decades of industry experience conducting stream crossing assessments in various underground mining scenarios.

MINE TECHNICAL SYSTEM WITH REPEATED GEOTECHNOLOGY WITHIN NEW FRAMES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERGROUND MINING OF CAVED DEPOSITS OF THE ZHEZKAZGAN FIELD

The article outlines the principles of design of repeated geotechnology at the development of reserves in the conditions of collapsed deposits of the Zhezkazgan field for the purpose of rational management of underground mining processes. This is an integral design principle of the mine technical system with repeated geotechnology, and the foundation for the practice of designing and operation of the subsoil at the development of mineral deposits. At the designing of a mine technical system with repeated geotechnology aimed at the development of collapsed subsoil reserves, the risks and natural and man-made emergencies related to the production are taken into account. Under modern conditions, mining design cannot be employed in isolation from the principles of sustainable development, which implies not only orthodox meaning but also the development that ensures society existence without threatening the needs of future generations. In this connection, the ongoing research incorporates designing of mine technical systems with due account for the principles of sustainable development, which correspond to the current priority direction related to the development of repeated geotechnology within new frames of sustainable development of repeated underground mining of reserves in the conditions of collapsed deposits of the Zhezkazgan field. This contributes to the efficient use of resource-replenishing repeated geotechnology and the possibility of the most complete development of the georesource subsoil potential due to the enhancement of the ore potential at the operation of underground mines of Kazakhmys Corporation Ltd., which is one of the largest copper mining companies in the world.

Assessment of computational accuracy of minimum commercial value for gold placers

Economic indices of mineral mining meet conditions of finitude, single-valuedness, continuity and smoothness as any geological characteristic of the subsoil. Referring an economic index and unit volume needs that a rock mass is considered as a set of elementary volumes, and each elementary volume has peculiar quality and quantity of minerals, occurrence conditions, physical and mechanical properties, etc. In case of any specific mining technology, each elementary volume has cost/performance ratios of end product making–extraction, expenses and profit. The choice of mining technology and equipment is governed by the structure, quantity and quality of mineral reserves; thus, the economic structure efficiency should be evaluated for each specific mine and for each specific geotechnology. In the course of continuous improvement of mining technologies and equipment, the geological and economic structures of deposits, as well as their integral characteristics change. Acquisition of accurate economic indices needs estimation of major factors of influence on the cost of mining. More precise evaluation of profit requires complete data on a deposit by the time of mine planning and design, and this is only possible subject to improved geological backup of mining operations. This case-study of gold placers is an attempt to try to determine the mechanism and features of influence exerted by geological factors and process solutions on the efficiency of use of georesources via assessment and control of errors of the resources and profit return in mining and processing.

Call for Special Issue Papers: Evaluation and Experimental Design in Data Mining and Machine Learning.

Call for Special Issue Papers: Evaluation and Experimental Design in Data Mining and Machine Learning.

Determination of the most appropriate tools of multi-criteria decision analysis for underground mining method selection—a case study

Selecting the optimal mining method is one of the most critical issues in mining design. It entirely depends on different parameters, such as geotechnical, geological, economic, and geographic factors. Although many researchers have tried to apply a various multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) technique to select the most appropriate mining method, there are no clear reasons for choosing a specific decision method. For this purpose, a new methodology has been presented in this research work to find the most appropriate MCDA techniques for selecting the optimal underground mining method in the Anguran zinc deposit, north-west of Iran. At the first step, a list of fifty parameters, including geomechanical, geometrical, technical, economic, environmental, and social parameters, has been made for selecting the optimal underground mining method. Then, the most influential parameters, including thickness, RMR of the hanging wall, and production rate, were chosen the most crucial parameters according to the experts’ opinions in this matter. Also, among all conventional MCDA methods, including ELECTRE, MAUT, ANP, MACBETH, AHP, TOPSIS, PROMETHEE, VIKOR, TODIM, Grey, MULTIMOORA, and MAHP, the TODIM has been selected as the best MCDA method for further studies on the case. Applying this technique, the cut and fill mining was chosen as the best method for the Anguran zinc mine while the square set mining was the worst method in this case. The results also revealed that the proposed method could be extensively applied to find the most appropriate MCDA in mining engineering.

Optimizing underground mine design with method-dependent precedences

This article addresses an underground mine design and scheduling problem, in which ore extraction methods are determined and resulting mining activities are scheduled. The mining method influences necessary infrastructure, the activities selected, and their timing. We divide the ore body into partitions (i.e., panels), each of which is extracted using a specific method, if at all. We consider two extraction methods, namely open-stope mining and bottom-up stoping with backfill, as well as an option of doing nothing. The myriad decisions present a challenging integer-programming problem for which we propose an optimization-based heuristic to generate an initial feasible solution. We further expedite solutions to the monolith by (i) eliminating unnecessary variables and (ii) strengthening the formulation. Our empirical study, conducted using 36 instances – four of which are directly obtained from our industry partner, demonstrate that the proposed model and corresponding solution methodology provide good-quality solutions with gaps averaging less than 8% and superior to those obtained via several general-purpose-solver heuristics; CPU times of two hours or fewer are considered to be reasonable for long-term planning purposes. Our results also show that instances with irregular disposition and lower development rates are more tractable. We provide managerial insights gained from our solutions which reveal that the mining method selected depends heavily on the extraction rate. Finally, we note that solving an industry-partner-provided instance results in a design with 44% additional value compared to that obtained via industry practice.

Police CrimeStat

This project aimed to automate the manual entry of the incident reports of the Philippine National Police. The system is projected to provide effective monitoring and updated statistical reports that will be used for decision-making processes. All police stations within the designated area will have an installed application that is centralized nationwide. Thus, data analysis would be easier and useful for law enforcement agencies for long-term crime bust programs. The system has the following specific objectives: first is to provide easier access to blotter reports, to improve decision making with interactive maps, to promote information sharing, and lastly, to offer statistical information of incidents. Evaluation of incident reports by an authorized officer is necessary before encoding them into the system. The data that the system needs includes the following: complainant and suspect's name(s), case details, and the type of offense. Inputted incident reports can be seen by the central office and other police stations; however, data manipulation is accessed only in the central office. The system can search and display case details in a printable format based on the user's specified query. By utilizing the Google map application program interface (API), the user can quickly locate and see the crime's exact location. This particular feature is challenging because there is a need to structure a detailed data mining design to promptly generate reliable reports. Once data are encoded in the system, the central office can create reports according to their needs. The system development started with data gathering by interviewing the Non-Uniform Personnel of Murcia Police station and performed the requirements analysis for the system.

Study on Influence of Joint Orientation on Rock Engineering Properties for Mining and Infrastructure Design

Rock strength is the most important parameter for mining and infrastructure design. Accurate determination of rock strength is needed as a basis for implementing safe and economical rock engineering projects such as tunnels, open pit mines, and slope cutting for roadways. Rock is heterogeneous, anisotropic, and discontinuous materials. The discontinuities can be found as joints, faults, fissures, bedding, etc. In rock mechanics, the term of joint is generally used to represent all types of discontinuities. Joints are the planes of weakness in rock masses and can be found in various geometrical shapes, depending on past geological processes. This research briefly focuses to study the influence of joint orientation on rock strength based on UCS test. Application of this research could be recommend applying for mining and infrastructure design.

Green mining: technical study of off-shore tin mining using cutter suction dredger in Bangka Island, Indonesia

According to government regulations regarding good mining practice, PT Timah Tbk and its partners have begun to develop offshore mining techniques using Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD). Therefore there is a need for a technical study of the application of CSD in offshore tin mining. The method used in this research is to observe field activities directly. Observation of mining data of mining design, dredging system and mapping of bathymetri. The process flow, production and tin ore recovery of mineral processing. Observation of the tailings disposal considers the minimal impact on the environment. The result is mining design using CSD applies a long face system with a combination of vertical digging. The opening angle of the two anchors amounting to 90-145° produces width snee of 40-55 m. This method is capable of producing an average rate of soil removal of 250 m3/hour. The floating mineral processing plant uses a three-stage jigging method with Circullar and Pan American types plus a shaking table resulting a washing tin recovery of 66%-90%. Considering bathimetry, the geotube embankment technique can control the spread of tailings. The conclusion is that the mining process using CSD is one step better in terms of implementing good mining practice.

Curcumin vs Chloroquine in Coronavirus Global Pandemic: Trend analysis Study in Google

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered corona virus. Curcumin and Chloroquineare one of the medications to combat against the pandemic. This paper has objective to analyze the trendsinside the use of Chloroquine and Curcumin as medical treatment against corona in global big data. Thisstudy uses quantitative method of data mining design in collecting the data. This study uses simple randomsampling to determine the number of the population needed for this study. This study uses Google trendsto gather the statistical result based on the keyword. The result shows that curcumin is more popular tobe searched as information in bigdata. USA is the country with the biggest demand of information aboutcurcumin, as seen on the number of queries variation as well as the relevance score. It can be concluded thatinformation about curcumin has demanded more because of low side effect than chloroquine.