Underground mining methods 1 foreword in history, before miners had access to productive equipment minewide, are benefiting from experience gained by tunnel and blasting agents, mining was hard and hazardous manual contractors, who frequently have to concentrate their focus work. Jan 27, 2014 there is a variety of mining methods used, often in the same mine, depending on the geometry of the orebody and the stability of the rock. Although underground mining is a less environmentallydestructive means of gaining access to an ore deposit, it is often more costly and entails greater safety risks than strip mining, including openpit mining. Placer deposits are composed of relatively loose material that makes tunneling. High costs and low prices have hurt diamond miners in recent years and the company must decide is the substantial initial investment in a block cave will pay off. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance, comments, and input provided by the staff at the ekati and diavik. It was the first largescale operation for recovering diamonds in australia. Reflecting the international and diverse nature of the industry, a series of mining case studies is presented covering the commodity range from iron ore to diamonds extracted. Diamond bearing kimberlite carries these stones to the surface through pipes. Classification of underground mining methods mineral production in which all extracting operations are conducted beneath the ground surface is termed underground mining. Pwc open pit mining mining methods 5 open pit mines are used to exploit low grade, shallow ore bodies. Today, surface mining is much more common, and produces, for example, 85% of minerals excluding petroleum and natural gas in the united states, including 98% of metallic ores. Pdf mining methods underground mining mayra garcia. Tunnels are constructed in two levels, one above the other with funnels built to connect the two.
Initially, kimberlite pipes were mined as open cast mines and only within the second half of the 20th century that underground mining was implemented. This book presents the latest mining principles and techniques in use today. One of the most important aspects of underground hard rock mining is ventilation. This type of hardrock diamond extraction technique is simply a top down mining approach. By 2005, underground development had commenced with plans to mine the a154 and a418 pipes using backfill methods.
Sep 18, 2017 underground mining of these deposits was implemented only within the second half of the 20th century in south africa and over the last 50 years, a relatively large number of underground mining methods were tested and implemented. Diamond mining worldwide throughout history developed and implemented numerous underground. Solution mining includes both borehole mining, such as the methods used to extrac t sodium chloride or sulfur, and leaching, either through drillholes or in dumps or heap s on the surface. The two industries ranked together as the primary or basic industries of early civilization.
Within the hard rock mining classification, there ar two main diamond mining methods. The first chapter deals solely with dust control methods, regardless of the application. Diavik underground and open pit mines production to date. Kimberley underground, which comprises of three diamond mines, namely bultfontein, dutoitspan and wesselton, is located in the northern cape province of south africa. Comparison of designs for the dewatering of coal, gold and. By 2005, underground development had commenced with plans to mine the. Underground diamond mining at ekati and diavik diamond mines. How are diamonds mined and extracted from the ground. Underground mining methods previous next the choice of an underground mining method depends on a range of factors and these include. Diamonds found deep in the earth are extracted through openpit and underground methods. It is now used extensively as an underground mining method as it allows for the bulk mining of large orebodies and enables a higher ore extraction percentage compared to other underground mining methods. Decline tunnels, known as ramps are constructed to access the orebody. In any discussion of methods of underground mining comparison, one is repeatedly confronted with the difficulty of dealing with so many variable conditions.
For a mine in transition from openpit to underground mining, backfill the opencast can improve the stress distribution of opencast side and prevent the rain water flow into the underground mine 11. For a mine in transition from openpit to underground mining, backfill the opencast can improve the stress distribution of opencast side and prevent. It is a brief tutorial on mining dust control and will be of. Underground mining methods engineering fundamentals and. Another method is to construct vertical shaft with a headframe and hoist. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner. It can be applied to mine massive orebodies which have large, regular footprints and either dip steeply or are of large vertical extent. Discovery and mining of the argyle diamond deposit, australia. Ground water was still pumped from the water tunnels, which continued to operate for the life of the mine but water below the water tunnels and from within the glory hole, gravitated through water passes to a series of dewatering levels, where it. In underground mining, miners tunnel through earths crust to the kimberlite pipe.
Kimberley underground, northern cape mining technology. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of modern hard rock mining methods implemented on todays diamond mines worldwide. Whittle mines the pit as if the mining occurs in a single year, hence neither the discount factor, capital, nor the mining and processing schedules are. The mining rate is greater than 20,000 tonnes per day tpd but is usually much greater. Longwall mining is a highly mechaniz ed underground mining sys tem for mining coal.
Ore is then removed or mucked out by a lhd load haul dump machine, which resembles a lowprofile articulated frontend loader. Soft rock mining refers to excavation of softer minerals such as salt, coal. Feb 10, 2018 black diamond drilling services australia database. Underground hard rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate hard minerals, usually those containing metals such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin and lead, but also involves using the same techniques for excavating ores of gems such as diamonds or rubies.
Mining recovery, mining dilution, and processing recovery. Underground mining methods engineering fundamentals and international case studies details. The actual difference between surface and underground mining. Mining begins on the top level by blasting ore, which falls through the funnels and collects on the second tunnel. Underground mining methods while most mineral deposits can be mined by either surface or underground methods, some minerals can only be recovered in a hybrid manner, usually by initial extracted by open pit mining, followed by underground methods. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. We use these three different types of underground mining for coal, diamonds and copper. Surface mining can be accomplished by the following main methods. Underground mining methods glossary bolting drilling a hole, and inserting a bolt to strengthen the ceiling and walls of an underground mine crusher a machine used to crush ore before it is transported drift a horizontal underground tunnel that follows a vein or ore body. Mining techniques can be divided into two common excavation types. Nov 02, 2011 underground mining, underground mining methods. Reflecting the international and diverse nature of the industry, a series of mining case studies is presented covering the commodity range from iron ore to diamonds extracted by operations located in all corners of the world.
Underground mine design, planning and engineering maximize your ore reserve value by using our operating expertise to customize your mining plan we have years of firsthand underground mine engineering and operating experience in most countries and across multiple commodities using all common mining methods. Geotechnical considerations in underground miningdepartment of industry and resources guideline document no zme723qt 1. The mine planning process for an openpit diamond mining. The location of the diamond deposits determines the mining method that producers use see. Whittle mines the pit as if the mining occurs in a single year, hence neither the discount factor, capital, nor the mining and processing schedules are applied at this stage. Mining for diamonds worldwide srk north america srk consulting. The expansion plan at kimberley underground envisages the production of 5,000 carats per annum ctpa of diamonds by 2016. An edge of the ore is sliced off in a toandfro pattern. Ore removed from the tunnel, which is then filled with waste. Ventilation is the primary method of clearing hazardous gases andor dust which are created from drilling and blasting activity e. While most largescale mining projects involve openpit mining, many large underground mines are in operation around the world. Premier mine, as it had been known for the past 100 years became cullinan diamond mine in 2003. By the new stone age,humans had progressed to underground mining in systematic openings 2 to 3 ft 0. Underground mining at ekati and diavik diamond mines.
Underground mining at ekati and diavik diamond mines j. Where removing the overburden would be too costly or ineffective to reach the ore, the decision is made to go underground. Mining methods implemented currently at hard rock diamond mines consist of two main groups. Placer mining is used to sift out valuable metals from sediments in river channels, beach sands, or other environments. Geotechnical considerations in underground mining department of industry and resources guideline document no zme723qt 1. In this document, you can ref interview materials for mining such as.
After openpit mining is complete, valuable ore can be mined through underground mining methods. Both methods are well suited to extracting the relatively flat coalbeds or coal seams typical of. The alternative is to use manual labor to recover highgrade ore. The only way to free the stones is to blast and crush the ore for final separation. Below 350m below surface, southern african diamond mines typically used underground mining methods. At this stage only the diamond prices and operating costs for the current year are applied. Underground mining methods and applications production headframe hans hamrin 1. Mining methods today, out of some 40 diamond hard rock mines mining kimberlite, approximately half are underground and another 20 or so have underground plans or hold the underground mining potential.
It set of longwall mining equipment consists of a coal shear er mounted on convey or operating. Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposit. Alluvial mining methods are employed to extract diamonds from. When filling method was used in underground mining, the discharge of solid waste could be reduced into a very low degree. Surface mines are typically used for more shallow and less valuable deposits. The kimberley big hole is an example of openpit mining. Underground mining is more complex and more expensive than openpit mining. Irrespective of the precise geology of the coal seam, the general approach remains similar to conventional strip mining and figure 2. Diavik diamond mine started open pit production in 2003. Thanks in large part to the efforts by john chadwick of the mining journal, and many other members of the mining community, the hard rock miners handbook has been distributed to over 1 countries worldwide.
By the new stone age, humans had progressed to underground mining in. Underground mining methods presents the latest principles and techniques in use today. Types of underground mining and their applications duration. Removing ore, while leaving behind some for roof support. Placer mining is the technique by which gold that has accumulated in a placer deposit is extracted. A mineral, with a few exceptions, is an inorganic substance occurring in nature that has a definite chemical composition and distinctive physical properties or molecular structure. Gold mining is the process of mining of gold or gold ores from the ground. Underground mines are more expensive and are often used to reach deeper deposits. Mining for diamonds international kimberlite conference. Mining industry response to the book continues to be incredible. Information circular 9465 centers for disease control and. To make mining efficient and effective, the raw rock and soil are typically not examined onsite.
In the mid 1990s, alrosa started the development of the first underground diamond mine in russia, internationalnaya. This handbook describes effective methods for the control of mineral dusts in mines and tunnels. Once the ore is broken, excavators load the ore into haul trucks and transport it to a primary ore crusher where the diamond extracting process begins. Primary mining method is still open cast mining but underground mining is becoming increasingly common.
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