MN 584 SURFACE MINE PLANNING AND DESIGN

CHAPTER 2

SURFACE MINING: MECHANICAL EXTRACTION METHODS

2.1 Introduction

Exploitation in which mining of material from the earth is carried out at the surface with
essentially no exposure of miners underground is referred to as surface mining. Mechanical
extraction techniques include open pit mining, open cast mining and quarrying. Solution
mining techniques are subdivided into placer mining and solution mining. Placer mining
techniques include dredging and hydraulicking while solution mining techniques involve those
that use in-situ techniques and surface mining techniques to recover the mineral of interest (i.e.,
solvent leaching of mineral values from heaps, dumps or insoluble matrix of host rock).

2.2 Open Pit Mining

An excavation made from the ground surface to extract ore and which is open to the surface
and remains so for the life of the mine. The objective of an open pit is to extract the ore at the
lowest possible cost and to derive the maximum profit for the company. The planning of an
open pit can thus be said to be an exercise in economics but strongly influenced by the geology
and mining technology and equipment. It is an iterative and complex process governed by the
need for high productivities, the ability to mine lower grade ores and the need to meet ever
more stringent environmental constraints.

Generally, it is accepted that surface mining is better than underground mining in the
percentage recovery of the ore, grade control, economy, flexibility, and safety. However there
is a limit to which open pit mining can be applied, and that is governed by the economics of the
amount of waste that has to be removed to enable the ore to be mined. When these limits are
reached, the mine may be converted to an underground mine or abandoned. These economic
limits will be dictated by safety, equipment capabilities and stripping ratios.

The design of an open pit (which features are shown in Figs. 2.1 to 2.3) is normally conducted
in a series of steps which range from the exploration stage, through the conceptual or
alternative stage to the design and finally the evaluation stage. The factors involved in this
design include those that the mining engineer can control - (equipment selection, mining ratios,
production rates) and those over which he has no control (orebody geometry, ore dispersion,
allowable slopes; topography and location).

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Fig. 2.1 Section through an Open Pit Mine in an Idealised Tabular Orebody

Fig. 2.2 Common Open Pit Nomenclature

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Fig. 2.3 Open Pit Plan showing the Haul Road Location

2.2.1 Factors Affecting the Success of Open Pit Mining

Open pit mines are generally excavated to greater depths than strip mines and are therefore
more complex and critical to design and layout. In addition to the geological data and surface
topography which are critical to the establishment of pit size, layout, production rate and the
process flowsheet, there are other data that have to be supplied from a properly designed
exploration program that are essential to the successful operation of an open pit mine.

These include the two factors that most affect pit wall stability, the maker or breaker of open pit
mining, namely geotechnical parameters and hydrogeological parameters.

2.2.2 Geotechnical Parameters

Unlike soil, rock is rarely homogeneous so its behaviour is mostly governed by the orientation
and nature of the joint and bedding discontinuities in the rock. The best time to gather
geotechnical data is at the exploration drilling stage. Cores should be collected with minimum
disturbance (> 60 mm diameter) and holes visually logged and oriented and a full suite of
geophysical logs taken.

A program of testing for material properties should then be undertaken to measure such
properties as shear and compressive strengths, point load strength, drillability, and slaking and
classification tests.

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2.2.3 Hydrogeological Parameters

Groundwater present in the rock mass surrounding an open pit can have serious effects on the
stability of the pit walls as it reduces the shear strength and exerts water pressure in the joints
thereby reducing the stability. It also enables the freeze/thaw cycle to act in northern climates, it
increases the rock weight and can cause erosion and weathering in such rocks as shale and clay.
If the groundwater flows into the pit, it causes silting and control problems as well as increasing
the operating costs due to the need to pump the water out of the pit.

The most important effect of groundwater is the reduction in stability that it causes due to
pressure and reduction of friction in joints and discontinuities. Data has to be collected at the
exploration stage from drill core and from tests in the drill holes. Cores of the different rocks in
the expected mine section should be tested for permeability and porosity, and piezometers
should be installed in the exploration drillholes to measure the water levels and pressure
present. Pump tests, where the water level in a drill hole is lowered and the time to recover to
the original level is measured, are also very important ways of establishing the potential
groundwater flow. Geological data will also be of use in determining the sources of water and
the location of aquifers and aquicludes.

The parameters and criteria that are provided by the geotechnical and hydrogeological
investigations will dictate the dimensions and slopes of the pit walls throughout the life of an
open pit. These limits will vary, not only from year to year, but also in location around the pit
as the rock materials vary.

The establishment of the maximum safe parameters for the pit walls and waste dumps is
essential to the economic success of the mine. Slopes that are too steep will fail with potentially
disastrous consequences to safety and cost, slopes that are too shallow will result in increases in
the amount of overburden/waste that has to be removed to uncover the required amount of ore
with dramatic cost implications for both operating and capital costs.

In addition to such common elements as stripping ratio, bench plans, mine plans and facilities,
there are several other aspects of surface mining that are more critical for open pit mining than
for strip mining.

2.2.4 Haul Roads and Pit Access

Since almost all open pit mines operate using the shovel/truck mining method with a fleet of
often large numbers of trucks, there is a key requirement for haul roads to access the working
benches of the pit and to provide routes for the waste and ore to be transported to their
respective destinations.

With trucks now commercially available in sizes up to 218 tons, they represent a major capital
investment (C$4.5M) and a considerable proportion of the operating cost. If haul roads are not
properly designed and located, these large trucks can represent a major safety risk and an
uneconomic item of equipment with high operating and maintenance costs.

Haul roads in open pit have two problems to contend with; location and grade. The main
concern for location, after obviously ensuring that they will be in stable sections of the pit
walls, is whether they are placed in ore or in waste rock. In the former case, valuable ore is
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sterilized but waste removal costs are minimized, while in the second case additional waste has
to be removed to maintain the maximum ore recovery.
The major objectives of haul roads are to provide safe and efficient/economic transport by
maintaining safe and ready access to the mining operation, by minimizing ore and waste
transport costs; and by being designed for long life, low maintenance operation through
effective layout and road geometry and the use of the correct construction materials.

2.2.5 Production Scheduling

The scheduling of the production for an open pit mine is complicated by the fact that most
mines work with multiple benches and may have both ore and waste to simultaneously
excavate from a large number of working faces. The ability to maximize the profit or Net
Present Value of an orebody is largely dependent on the mining schedule. Production
scheduling determines the time of excavation and the destination of each block and deals with a
set to operational and physical constraints, such as mining and processing capacities, mineable
ore deposit, slope and access constraints. Additionally, blending is necessary to control wide
fluctuations in the mill feed, which may decrease metallurgical recovery and consequently
increase processing costs. In the case of multi-element deposit, such as iron and manganese
deposits, the production planner should schedule the production and the blending of blocks in a
manner that not only the grade of desirable elements satisfies the demands but also the grade of
undesirable elements be lower than eligible limits (Jamshidi and Osanloo, 2018).

The mine schedule will determine the life of the mine, the cashflows, the operating costs and
capital requirements including investment needs and the expected revenue.

The effective scheduling of an open pit operation will seek to minimize preproduction costs;
ensure the correct balance between waste removal and ore mining to try and smooth stripping
ratio variations; ensure adequate working room/faces in the pit, make sure that there is always
ore exposed to mine and if necessary blend; ensure that reclamation can be effected in a timely
manner and at the lowest cost, and that production is maximized.

2.2.6 Equipment Selection and Scheduling

Open pit mines, as mentioned above, work from a multitude of operating faces on different
benches. Major mining equipment for both ore and waste removal has to be flexible enough to
be capable of rapid redeployment in the mine to suit the demand of the mining schedule.
Special attention has to be paid to the selection of mining equipment and its scheduling in order
to ensure maximum productivity and utilization in the mine.

2.2.7 Waste Dumps

Unlike the majority of strip mines, the waste material from an open pit has to be dumped in
locations outside the pit. Not only do suitable and stable sites have to be found for the waste,
but they have to be also located within a reasonable hauling distance from the pit. Reclamation
of these external waste dumps is also more complex than the reclamation of the typical strip
mine waste piles.

2.3 Typical Open Pit Mining Sequence

The exploitation phase of the mining an open pit is usually divided into several unit operations:
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1. Clearing of trees, shrub and other vegetation.
2. Removal of topsoil and sub-soil suitable for use in reclamation and stockpiling for future
reclamation use.
3a. Drilling and blasting of waste.
3b. Loading of waste and hauling to external dumps.
4a. Drilling and blasting of ore.
4b. Loading of ore and hauling to process plant or stockpile.
5. Preparation of Waste dumps for reclamation.
6. Reclamation of waste dumps with placement of sub-soil and topsoil.

2.4 Strip Mining Methods

2.4.1 Introduction

Strip mining is a method used primarily for the mining of relatively flat tabular deposits. The
working pit is usually several kilometres in length. The major difference between an open pit
and a strip mine is that the overburden in a strip mine is usually placed back in the pit and
normally directly into the previously mined cut; whereas, in an open pit it usually has to be
taken to an out-of-pit dump.

The principal operation and the area of highest percentage cost in a strip mine is the overburden
removal element. The method used for removal of the overburden normally identifies the type
of strip mining being carried out. In the majority of cases overburden removal is done by either
draglines or bucket wheel excavators; but it can also be handled by shovel-truck systems;
scrapers; or, less frequently, the large stripping shovel.

The choice of system is influenced by: surface topography, shape of deposit, production
requirements and the depth and nature of the overburden

.Unlike open pit mines where basically there is only one general shape or form (pit) for the
mining layout and where 99% of the mines use the shovel-truck method, in strip mining the
shape or format of the “strip” can take several forms, each of which gives its name to the
method.

2.4.2 Strip Mining or Opencast Mining

This is the most common form and concerns the use of draglines to side cast the overburden into
the previously mined cut. The major difference between a strip mine and an open pit or quarry
is that the strip mine is usually developed immediately to the full depth of its mining face and
then progresses horizontally as the resource is recovered. This process, after the initial cut is
made, allows the waste or overburden material to be placed in the previously mined out cut as it
is excavated (see Fig. 2.4).

The other key difference relates to the fact that strip mines, as their name implies, are generally
of considerable length but of very limited width. They tend to disturb large areas of land but
these can be reclaimed earlier and more quickly and economically than is possible with open pit
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mining.

Fig. 2.4 Open cast mining of flat-lying seams (Anon., 1975)

2.4.3 Continuous Mining

This system uses the Bucket Wheel Excavator with around the pit or across the pit conveyor
system to dispose of the waste into the mined out cut.

This system is also used in conjunction with a dragline sidecasting the waste materials. Where,
in mines with deep overburden cover, the dragline handles the overburden immediately above
the seam with the BWE system dealing with the higher levels of overburden. Fig. 2.5 shows
different directions of mining using a BWE.

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Fig. 2.5 Different directions of working using a BWE

2.4.4 Contour Mining
In this method, a dragline is used to mine a seam or seams in terrain that is severe and such that
only a few cuts can be taken before the strip ratios become unacceptable. The dragline follows
the outcrop of the seam and immediate contour of the terrain, casting the overburden sideways
and continuing with mining until the economics become unacceptable. This is basically a strip
mine with a continuous pit length (see Fig. 2.6).

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Fig. 2.6 Single seam, single cut haulback mining similar to contour mining

2.5 Factors Affecting the Success of Strip Mining

Strip mines are generally operated over greater lengths and not to such great depths as open pit
mines while working a more regular or tabular deposit. They are therefore likely to be less
complex and generally easier to design and plan. In addition to the geological data and surface
topography which are critical to the establishment of pit size, layout, production rate and
equipment selection and sizing, there are other data that have to be supplied from a properly
designed exploration program that are equally essential to the successful operation of a strip
mine.

Pit wall and spoil pile stability are the two most important factors which govern the safety and
economy of operations. As with the open pit method, these are largely controlled by the
geotechnical and hydrogeological characteristics of the overburden and interburden materials.

2.5.1 Geotechnical Parameters

Strip mining operations are most likely to involve the excavation and handling of both
unconsolidated and consolidated materials. Soil is normally homogeneous and its behaviour is
determined by the characteristics of the material, whereas, rock is rarely homogeneous so its
behaviour is mostly governed by the orientation and nature of the joint and bedding
discontinuities in the rock. Pit wall and spoil pile stability are more of a short/medium term
concern in strip mines since neither structures are exposed for the life of the mine as in open pit
mining.

The best time to gather geotechnical data is at the exploration drilling stage. Cuttings and cores
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should be collected with minimum disturbance (> 60 mm dia.) and holes visually logged and
oriented, and a full suite of geophysical logs taken.A program of testing for material properties
for both soils and rock should then be undertaken to measure such properties as slaking and
classification tests, Atterberg limits, shear and compressive strengths, point load strength and
drillability.

2.5.2 Hydrogeological Parameters

Groundwater present in either or both of the soil and rock masses adjacent to a strip mine can
have serious effects on the stability of the pit walls and spoil piles as it reduces the shear
strength and exerts water pressure in the joints in the highwall and planes of weakness in the
spoil piles thereby reducing the stability. It also enables the freeze/thaw cycle to act in northern
climates, it increases the material weight and can cause erosion and weathering in such
materials as till, shale and clay. If the groundwater flows into the pit, it causes silting and
control problems as well as increasing the operating costs due to the need to pump the water out
of the pit. It can severely reduce the angle of repose for the spoil pile and reduce the effective
reach of draglines and stackers, even to the extent of reducing the ability of the machines to
maintain their designed output.

The most important effect of groundwater is the reduction in stability that it causes due to
pressure and reduction of friction in joints, discontinuities and within the unconsolidated
materials. This can be extremely critical when it is recognised that the dragline normally works
perched at the top of the highwall or even on the spoil pile, and that both the BWE and stacking
units are vulnerable to damage or loss during wall or spoil pile failures in the continuous
mining systems.

Data has to be collected at the exploration stage from drill core and cuttings or grab samples
and from tests in the drill holes. Samples of the different materials in the expected mined
section should be tested for permeability and porosity, and piezometers should be installed in
the exploration drill holes to measure the water levels and pressure present. Pump tests, where
the water level in a drill hole is lowered and the time to recover to the original level is
measured, are also very important ways of establishing the potential groundwater flow.
Geological data will also be of use in determining the sources of water and the location of
aquifers and aquicludes.

The parameters and criteria that are provided by the geotechnical and hydrogeological
investigations will dictate the dimensions and slopes of the pit walls and spoil piles at each
stage in the life of the strip mine. These limits will vary, not only from year to year, but also in
location along the pit as the soil and rock materials vary.

The establishment of the maximum safe parameters for the pit walls and waste dumps is
essential to the economic success of the mine. Highwall slopes that are too steep will fail with
potentially disastrous consequences to safety and cost including the possible loss of the
dragline; highwall slopes that are too shallow will result in increases in the amount of
overburden/waste that has to be removed to uncover the required amount of ore and a reduction
in the operating range of the dragline or BWE with dramatic cost implications for both
operating and capital costs and for production rates.

In addition to such common elements as strip ratio, cut plans, mine plans and facilities, there
are several other aspects of surface mining that, while less critical for strip mining than for open
pit mining, are still of considerable importance.
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2.5.3 Haul Roads and Pit Access

Although most overburden or waste material is placed in dumps within the pit without the need
for truck haulage, most strip mines use trucks to haul the mineral to the stockyard or processing
plant. The normal access for these vehicles to the seam is through the spoil pile. While these are
temporary roads in the sense that they are always being extended and reclaimed, they have to
be built to good standards to permit the mineral haulers to maintain the maximum speed of
travel and hence productivity.

Fig. 2.7 Plan of a typical strip coal mine showing layout of haul roads

The need to route the mineral haul through the spoil pile also presents a serious planning
constraint for the strip mine planner. Essentially, the presence of the haul road reduces the
space available for the dragline or stacker to deposit the overburden, thus requiring a greater
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operating range and stacking height than would be the normal operations need.

The presence of a haul road through the spoil pile also exposes the spoil pile to the elements for
a longer period and also delay the reclamation of the spoil (see Fig. 2.7).

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