9.

Open pit mining

9.1

Introduction

9.1.1

Basicdescriptionofopenpitmining

Openpitminingisappliedtotheextractionofnearsurfacedeposits.Overburdenremoval
(stripping)andminingarecarriedoutsystematicallyfromaseriesofbenches(steps)asthepitis
progressivelydeepened.Thebenchlayoutisdesignedtoproduceanoverallslopeanglethatis
compatiblewithslopestabilitysothatanopenpitresemblesaninvertedcone.Asthebaseofthe
pitisdeepened,theupperbenchesarepushedoutsoastomaintaintherequiredslopeangle.
Overburdenisstrippedfrombenchestouncoverthedepositandtransportedtoadumpatsome
pointremotefromtheoperationitself.Asthedepthincreasestheratioofoverburdentovolumeof
oreextractedsteadilyincreasesand,atacertainpoint,thecostofoverburdenremovalmakesthe
operationuneconomic.Theremainderofthedepositmightthenbeworkedbyunderground
mining.
Advantagesofsurfaceminingcomparedwithundergroundmining.
HigherProductivitydueto:greaterdegreeofmechanisation,largerequipmentcanbeused
economiesofscale,fewerpersonnelrequired
Loweroperatingcostspertonnedueto:higherproductivity,concentrationofproduction,
lessconstraintonproductionlevel(easiermaterialshandling)
Lowergradedepositscanbemined
Reduceddevelopmenttime(generally).Thereforemorefavourablecashflowandquicker
repaymentofcapitalinvestment.
Greatergeologicalcertainty.
Saferoperations
Disadvantagesofsurfacemines:
Largeproportionofwastetoore.
Highlevelofenvironmentalimpact.
Affectedbyclimaticconditions.
Depthlimit

Fig.9.1:Palaboraopenpitcoppermine,SouthAfrica
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9.1.2

PitLimits

Thepitlimitsaretheverticalandlateralextenttowhichtheopenpitminingmaybeeconomically
conducted.Establishmentofthepitlimitsisthefirststageinmineplanning(Laurich1990).They
determinethe:
amountofeconomicallyrecoverableore,
metalcontent,
volumeofwastetobeexcavatedandmoved,
locationofwastedumps,tailingslagoons,processingplant,accessroadsandallothersurface
facilities.
9.2

Stripping ratio

9.2.1

Definitions

Thepitlimitsandsequenceofminingaredeterminedultimatelybyeconomics.Theconceptof
strippingratio(SR)isthemethodofanalysisused.Itisameasureoftheamountofwastethat
mustberemovedinordertomineoneunitofore.
Grade
Cutoffgrade
Ore
Waste

Thecontentofvaluablemetal(%,g/torkg/t)inamineral.
Thegradeatwhichthevalueofthemetalequalsthecostofminingand
processingthemineral.
Mineralthatisabovethecutoffgrade
Mineralthatisbelowthecutoffgrade

TheSRatanylevelofthepitisdefinedas:
SR =

volume of waste removed

m3

SR is also sometimes expressed as tonnes/tonne (tonnage of ore removed per tonne of ore).
However,thefirstdefinitionismoreconvenientasthecostsofwasteremovalaredirectlyrelated
toitsvolumeandtherevenuefromtheoreisdirectlyrelatedtoitsmass.
ThePitLimitisdefinedbytheeconomicstrippingratioSRecon.Thisvalueisthestrippingratioat
whichthecostsofminingandprocessingtheoreandstrippingthewasteareequaltotherevenue
fromtheore.
SR econ (Bm 3 /t) =

9.2.2

revenue from ore ($/t) - ore mining cost ($/t) - ore processing cost ($/t)
waste stripping cost ($/Bm 3 )

Simplestrippingratiocalculation

Todeterminethepitlimitforasimpleorebody(Figure9.2)
CalculatetheeconomicSR:
Multiplybyoredensitytoconverttom3/m3(multiplyingtoplineofSRequationtoobtainnet
valueoforein$/Bm3
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EstimateontheorebodysectionwherethepitlimitmaylieanddrawinlineABCatthe
requiredslopeangle
TheSRatthispoint=AB/BCm3/m3
ComparewitheconomicSR;iflower,movelinedownto,sayA1B1C1;ifhigher,movebackup
toA2B2C2
ContinueuntilSRrepresentedbylineonsectionequalseconomicSR

Inpractice,theprocedureismuchmorecomplicated;forexample,theoregradewillusually
varythroughouttheorebody.AsimplesolutionistoexpresstheeconomicSRasafunctionof
grade thendraw astraight line graph of economic SRvs grade. For anygrade value in the
orebody,thecorrespondingeconomicSRcanbereadoffthegraph.

Fig.9.2:Simplepitlimitestimation
9.3

Overburden stripping strategies

Describedbelowarethefourbasictypesofstrippingschedule.Thefirsttwoareextremecasesand
wouldnotbeappliedinpractice.(BucyrusErie1979,Fourie&Dohm,1992)
9.3.1

DecliningStrippingRatioMethod(Figure9.3)

Aseachbenchoforeismined,allthewasteonthatbenchisremovedtothepitlimit.
Advantages:
goodoperatingspace
goodaccessibilitytooreonnextbench,
allequipmentworkingonsamelevel,
nocontaminationfromwasteblastingabovetheore,
equipmentrequirementsaminimumtowardsthedepletionoftheorebody.
operatingcoststendtobeconstantinlateryearsastheincreasedminingcostwithdepthis
offsetbythedecreasedstrippingratio.
Disadvantage:overalloperatingcostsaremaximumduringtheinitialyearswhenmaximum
profitsarerequiredtohandleinterestchargesandrepaytheprojectcapitalinvestment.
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Fig.9.3:Reducingstrippingratiomethod
9.3.2

IncreasingStrippingRatioMethod(Figure9.4)

Onlysufficientstrippingrequiredtouncovertheoreiscarriedout.Thismethodallowsfor
maximumprofitintheinitialyearsofoperationandgreatlyreducestheinvestmentriskinwaste
removalfororetobeminedatalaterdate.Itmaybeappliedwheretheeconomicsofthe
operationandcutoffstrippingratioisliabletochangeonveryshortnotice.Themain
disadvantageistheimpracticabilityofoperatingalargenumberofstackednarrowbenches
simultaneouslytomeetregularproductionrequirements.

Fig.9.4:Increasingstrippingratiomethod
9.3.3

ConstantStrippingRatioMethod(Figure9.5)

Wasteisremovedatarateapproximatelyequaltotheoverallstrippingratio.Themethodisa
compromisethatremovestheextremeconditionsoftheformertwomethodsdescribed.
Equipmentfleetsizeandlabourrequirementsarerelativelyconstant.

Fig.9.5:Constantstrippingratiomethod
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9.3.4

PhasedMiningSequence(Figure9.6)

Inpractice,theoptimumstrippingsequenceforalargedepositwouldfeaturealowstrippingratio
intheinitialandfinalyearsofoperation.Thisplanhasthefollowingadvantages.
Ahighlevelofprofitcanbegeneratedattheoutsettoimprovethecashflow.
Thelabourandequipmentfleetcanbebuiltuptomaximumsizeoveraperiodoftime.This
approachisalsoadvantageousfromacashflowpointofview.
Labourandequipmentrequirementsdecreasegraduallytowardstheendoftheminelife.
Distinctminingandstrippingareascanbeoperatedsimultaneously,allowingforflexibilityin
planning.
Thenumberofminingandstrippingfacesrequiredisnottoohigh.
Inalargeorebody,theminingandstrippingareasaresufficientlywidetocreategood
operationalconditions.

Fig.9.6:Phasedminingsequence
9.4

Bench design

9.4.1

Benchheight

Benchheightisthemostimportantparameterasitlargelydeterminestheotherdimensions.
Valuesrangefromabout2.5mforsmallgoldminesto20mforlargeopenpits.Thefinalbench
heightmaybesubdividedforextractionpurposesintoanumberofsubbenchesorflitches.
Benchheightisinfluencedby:
1. excavatingequipmentdimensions(reach,operatingheight)
2. sizeandgeometryoforebodysmallbenchesusedfornarrowlodesorlensesinorderto
minimisedilutionandfacilitategoodgradecontrol.
Benchheightisnolongerlimitedbydrillingdepth.Theprimedeterminingparameteristhe
maximumdiggingheightdimensionofashovel.Table9.1givessomeadvantagesand
disadvantagesofmaximizingthebenchheight.
Table9.1:Featuresofhighwidebenches
Advantages
Highproductivityandefficiency
Canuselargescaleequipment
Largerblasts
Fewerequipmentmovesandsetups
Facilitatesmoreeffectivesupervision

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Disadvantages
Lessselectivity
Moredilution
Fewerworkingplaces,thereforelessflexibility
Flatterworkingslopes(largershovels)

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Generally,itismoreadvantageous,intermsofdrillingandshovelefficiency,todesignbenchesas
highaspossible.
a)

DrillingEfficiency

Agreaterbenchheightreducessetuptimepermeterdrilled.Also,foragivenblastdesign,the
subgradedrillingrequiredisindependentofthebenchheight.Thismeansthatthegreaterthe
benchheight,thegreaterthetonnageyieldpermeterdrilledorperkgofexplosiveused.
Considerbenchheightsof10mand12m,eachtobedrilledona5mx5mpatternwitha1m
subgrade.Therespectivedrillingyieldsare:
Drilling Y ield =

Burden x S pacing x B ench Heigh t x Densit y

Assumingrockdensity=2.5tonnes/m3,fora10mbench:

Drilling Y ield =
Fora12mbench:

Drilling Y ield =

5 x 5 x 10 x 2.5
= 56.8 tonnes / m
10 + 1
5 x 5 x 12 x 2.5
= 57.7 tonnes / m
12 + 1

Theyieldforthe12mbenchrepresentsanincreaseindrillingyieldofsome1.6%.Although
seeminglysmall,for10,000mofdrilling,itwouldresultinanextra9000tonnesproduction.
Similarly,drillingcostspertonnearereducedasbenchheightisincreased
b)

ShovelEfficiency

Increasedbenchheightalsoimprovesoverallproductivityofshovels,FELs,orexcavators.The
numberofrowsinablastingpatternisgenerallygovernedbytheholediameterandexplosive
type.Iftheseparametersarefixedforagivenoperation,thetotalvolumeofbenchthatcanbe
blastedatoncedependsonthebenchheight.Thegreaterthevolumeofbrokenground,thelower
thenumberoftimesashovelhastobemovedinorderforblastingoperationstobecarriedout.
9.4.2

Benchwidth

Figure9.7ashowsthecommonterminologyforopenpitslopes.Abenchisahorizontalledgefrom
whichdrilling,blasting,excavationandloadingoforeorwasteiscarriedout.AWorkingbenchis
onethatisintheprocessofbeingmined.Thewidthextractedfromtheworkingbenchiscalledthe
cut.Theworkingbenchwidthisdeterminedbythedimensionsoftrucksandtherequiredreachof
excavatingequipment.Figure9.7billustratesaslopeprofilecuttingacrossanoperatingbench.It
showsanarrowbenchwidthofonlysome3m,notsufficientlywidetoaccommodateequipment.
However,eachbenchissystematicallyminedfromoneend,givingadequateroomfordrilling
rigs,shovelsandtrucks.
Afterthecuthasbeenremovedabenchofwidthtypically2.53.0mislefttocatchandcollect
material,whichslidesdownfromupperbenches.Normally,thebenchslopeangleis7580oanda
bermeverysecondorthirdbenchissufficient.
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9.4.3

Benchangle

Benchfacesarenormallyminedassteeplyaspossible.Thesteeperthebenchangle,thesmallerthe
strippingratio.Safeanglesaredeterminedby:
geotechnicalconsiderations,takingintoaccountthecohesiveandfrictionalpropertiesofthe
rockandthecharacter,spacingandorientationofjointsandbeddingplanes.
thedipoftheorebody.
Therearetwoangleswhichdefineabenchdesign:
Overallslopeangle

Theangleconsistentwithslopestabilityoverthefullheight/depthofthe
mine.Usuallyliesbetween45oand60o.Theoverallangleisafunctionof
thebenchfaceangleandthebenchwidth.Notethatahaulroadonapit
slopewillflattentheoverallslopeangle.

Benchfaceangle

Themaximumangleconsistentwithstabilityofasinglebench(say,5to
10minheight).Typicalvaluesliebetween60oand80o.

Theoverallslopeangleislessthanthebenchfaceanglebecausethelargertheslope,themore
planesofweaknessithas.

Fig.9.7a:Pitslopecrosssection,withtypicaldimensions

9.5

Fig.9.7bGeometryofworkingbench
(Atkinson1992)

Method of working benches

Operationsoneachbenchareconductedincycles;typically:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Gradecontrolmarkoutorezoneswithtapeorsurveystaffs
Drillblastholes
Chargeholes
Fireholes
Excavateblastedmaterialandloadintotrucksforhaulageoutofpit
Cleanbenchandpreparefordrilling

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9.5.1

Miningdirection

Orebodylensesmaybeexcavatedineitheratransverseorlongtudinaldirection.Atransverse
miningdirection(digginginadirectionnormaltotheorevein)ismoresuitableforthinlenses.It
allowsbettergradecontrolandlessdilution.Withathickerlens,itmaybepossiblewith
longitudinalextractiontoblastandloadtheore,leavingthewastetemporarilyinsitu.The
numberofworkingfacesisdeterminedbytherequiredproductionrateandequipmentcapacities.
Figure9.8illustrateshowexcavationcantakeplacesimultaneouslyandonmultiplelevels.

Fig.9.8:Miningonmultiplebenches(Hustrulid&Kuchta1995)
9.5.2

Selectionofexcavatingequipment

Inamine,certainproductionrequirementshavetobesatisfiedandinacivilconstructionproject
theoperationwillhavetocomplywiththeprojectschedule.Asequipmentisveryexpensivein
termsofcapitalorcontractandoperatingcosts,itsutilisationshouldbemaximisedinorderto
minimisetheunitcostsofearthmoving.
Table9.2:Guidelinesforselectionofexcavatingequipment
Typeofmachine
Electricropeshovel
Hydraulicexcavator(frontendloader)
Backhoesitsontopofbench,diggingdown
Ripper,Impactripper
Mechanicalcutter(drumlacedwithpicks)

Application
Largebenches
Smallbenchesonly(<5.0m)
Mediumhardmaterial,lowdepth
Mediumhardmaterial
Permitsveryselectivemining
Softmaterial,lowdepth

Bulldozer,Scraper

Inrockandearthmovingprojects,plannersareusuallyconcernedwithinsituvolumesasthe
quantitiescanreadilybedeterminedfromexcavationormineplans.Thebasicunitof
measurementistermedthebankcubicmeter(BCMorBm3).However,manufacturersgive
equipmentbucketcapacitiesintermsofthenominalbucketcapacity,thevolumeenclosedwithin
theperimeterofthebucket.Thefirsttaskinaproductivitydeterminationexerciseistoconvert
thismeasurementintoBCMunits.ThetablesgiveninthissectionarefromAtkinson(1992),unless

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otherwisestated.Figure9.9showsthetwoalternativemethodsofexcavatingabenchandof
spottingtrucks.

a)Parallelcut

b)Frontcut

Fig.9.9:Methodsofexcavatingbenches(Hustrulid&Kuchta1995)
9.6

Haul road layout

Theformofhaulroadsmaybespiralorswitchback(zigzag).Theymayalsobeeithertemporary
orpermanent,dependingontheconfigurationoftheorebody.Wherebenchesarebeing
systematicallyworkedallroundthepitasitisdeepened,haulroadswillbeminedthroughand
newonesformedasthepitdevelops.Often,however,itispossibletoconstructpermanenthaul
roadsatonesideofthepit.Thiswouldbethecaseforadippingorebody,wherethepermanent
haulroadcouldbelocatedatthefootwallandextendedasthepitdeepened(figure9.10).Note
thattheinclusionofahaulroadinapitwallwilllowertheoverallslopeangleandhenceincrease
thestrippingratio.Wheretheorebodydipsatashalloweranglethanthestablepitslope,
constructingthehaulroadasaswitchbackonthefootwallwilltaketheoverallpitslopecloseto
theorebodydip.Thehangingwallslope,formedwithoutahaulroad,canbemadeassteepas
possible,consistentwithslopestability.

Fig.9.10:Illustrationofhowpermanenthaulroadscanbeestablishedinafootwall
Factorsdeterminingselectionoflayoutincludethefollowing.(Atkinson1992)
1. Theswitchbacklayoutallowsapermanenthaulroadtobelocatedatonesideofthepit.
2. Inlargepits,aspirallayoutcanresultinahaulagedistancethatistoogreat.
3. Areaswherepotentialslopestabilityhazardsexistshouldbeavoided,possiblyeliminatingthe
spiraloption.
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4. Thepitwallsmaybetoosteeptoallowsuitablebendstobeformedforaswitchbacklayout
withoutgreatlyincreasingthestrippingratio.
5. Tightbendsassociatedwithaswitchbackmaybedetrimentaltotruckandtyrelife.
9.7
Haul road Construction
9.7.1

Roadbase

Goodhaulroaddesignandconstructionpromoteslowerhaulagecostsandimprovedsafety.
Roadsareconstructedwiththreeorfourlayers(figure9.10):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Subgrade
Subbase(optional)
Base
Wearingsurface

Thesubgradeisthefoundationlayer,usuallycomprisingcompactedrockorsoil.Itmustbe
strongenoughtobeartheloadsassociatedwithvehicles,whicharetransmittedfromtheroad
surface.
Asubbasemayormaynotbepresent,dependingonlocalconditions.Itisusedwherethereis
veryweaksubgradematerialorinareassubjecttoseverefrost.Itisgenerallyconstructedfroma
clean,granularmaterial.

Fig.9.11:Haulroadconstruction(Hustrulid&Kuchta1995)
Thebaseisalayerofveryhighstabilityanddensity.Itsmainpurposeistodistributetheload
fromvehicletyres.Italsoservestoinsulatethesubgradefromfrostpenetrationandprotectthe
upperwearingsurfacefromanyswellingorsofteningofthesubgrade.
Thetoproadlayeristhewearingsurface,whichshouldprovidetraction,reducerolling
resistance,andresistabrasion,ravelingandshear.Itisformedusuallyofcrushedrock.
9.7.2

Straightsections

Thecrosssectionofanopenpithaulroadfeaturesaoneortwowaytravellane,asafetybermand
adrainageditch(figure9.11).Fordeterminationoflanewidth,anumberofrulesofthumbcanbe
applied,inwhichthewidestvehiclesdeterminetheroadwidth.Threeoftheserulesare:

Theclearanceoneachsideofatruckshouldbeequaltoabouthalfthetruckwidth.
For2waytraffic,thelanewidthshouldbegraterthanorequalto4xthetruckwidth.

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Forastraight,evengrade,onelanehaulroad,theminimumroadwidthis2timestruck
width;fortwolanes,3.5timestruckwidth.Theroadcrosssectionshouldalsoberaisedor
crownedslightly,tofacilitatewaterrunoff.Theheightofthecrownisexpressedinmmper
meterofroadwidth.Afigureof45mm/mistypical.

Fig.9.12:Typical2wayroadsection(Hustrulid&Kuchta1995)
RoadGradeisdeterminedfromthetruckperformancechartswithrespecttospeedandbraking.
Gradientsof4.5to6o(8to10%)areusuallyadopted,withreardumptrucksbeingthepreferred
haulageunit.A12%grademaybeusedfortrolleyassisttrucks.(Atkinson1992)
9.7.3

Curves

Forsharpcurves,additionalwidthmustbeincluded,bothonthecurveandthetangenttothe
curve,tocoverthefrontandrearoverhangsofthevehicleandthedifficultyofnegotiatingthe
curve.Arecommendedadditionalallowanceforareardumptruckona6mradiusis125%anda
45mradius118%.(Atkinson1992.)Table9.3givesminimumturningradiiforarangeoftrucks,
classifiedaccordingtogrossweight.Theseradiicanthenbeusedintable9.4tofindthe
recommendeddesignwidthforsingleanddoublelanecurvesofaparticularminimumradius.
Table9.3:Minimumtruckturningradius(adaptedfromHustrulid&Kuchta1995)
Vehicleweightclass
Grossvehicleweight(tonnes)
Minimumturningradius(m)
1
2
3
4

<45.5
45.591
91181
>181

5.8
7.3
9.4
11.9

Table9.4:Designwidthsforcurvesrigidbodytrucks(adaptedfromHustrulid&Kuchta1995)
Radiusoninner
Singlelaneroad
Doublelaneroad
edgeofroad(m)
Truckcategory
Truckcategory
Minimum
7.6
15.2
30.5
45.7
61.0
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8.8
8.2
7.6
7.3
7.3
7.0

2
10.4
10.4
9.4
8.8
8.8
8.8

3
13.7
13.4
12.5
11.9
11.9
11.6
18

4
21.3
20.7
19.2
18.0
17.7
17.4

1
15.5
14.6
13.4
12.8
12.5
12.2

2
18.3
18.3
16.5
15.5
15.2
14.6

3
24.1
23.2
21.9
21.0
20.7
19.8

4
37.5
36.3
33.5
31.4
30.8
29.9
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Tangent

7.0

8.5

11.3

17.1

12.2

14.6

19.8

29.9

Dependingonvehiclespeedsandbendradius,acurvemayalsohavetobebanked(super
elevation).Typicalsuperelevationsforminehaulroadsandtrucksarearound40mmpermeterof
roadwidth(Hustrulid&Kuchta1995).Thedistancerequiredtomakethetransitionfromthe
normalcrossslopesectiontothesuperelevatedsectionandbackagain(superelevationrunout)
alsoneedstobeconsidered.
9.8

Equipment

ThefollowingdiagramsillustratesomemodernequipmentcurrentlyoperatinginAustralian
mines.
Fig.9.13:Hitachi20m3
hydraulicshovelloadinginto
Komatsu240tonnetruck

Fig.9.14:TheKOMATSU
DEMAGH655Sistheworlds
largestprovenhydraulicshovel
atover685tgrossweightand
35m3bucket.

Fig.9.15:TheKOMATSU
HAULPAK930Eisthelargest
truckinminingtodayandwas
thefirsttouseACdrive.Over
100930Esareoperating
worldwide,providing
productionupto320tpercycle.

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9.9

References

AtkinsonT.Designandlayoutofhaulroads.SMEMiningEngineeringHandbook,Vol2,Chapt13.4,
pp13341342.SME(1992).
BucyrusErieCompany.MinePlanning.SurfaceMiningSupervisoryTrainingProgramme,Chapt
3.BucyrusErieCo.(1979).
FourieGA,DohmGC.Openpitplanninganddesign.SMEMiningEngineeringHandbook,Vol2,
Chapt13.1,pp12741297.SME(1992).
HartmanHL.IntroductoryMiningEngineering.Wiley(1987).
HustrulidW,KuchtaM,(1995),OpenPitMinePlanningandDesign,AABalkema,Rotterdam.
LaurichR.Ultimatepitdefinition.SurfaceMining,2ndEdition,pp465469.SME(1990).

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