FENG 123 ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES II (INTRO TO MINING ENGINEERING)

UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE

FOURAH BAY COLLEGE

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

LECTURE NOTES ON

ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES II – FENG 123

(INTRODUCTION TO MINING ENGINEERING)

MODULE CONVENOR: ING. Samuel .J. KAMARA

FENG 123 ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES II (INTRO TO MINING ENGINEERING)

CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION: MINING TERMINOLOGY 1

 Mining terminologies

2.0 SCALES OF MINING 5

 Introduction
 Scales of Mining
 Artisanal Mining
 Small Scale Mining
 Medium Scale Mining
 Large Scale Mining

3.0 STAGES OF MINING 9

 Introduction
 Mining Precursors
 Prospecting
 Exploration
 Mine Evaluation & Investment Analysis
 Mining Proper
 Mine Development
 Mine Exploitation
 Land Reclamation

4.0 EXPLOITATION/ MINING METHODS 17

 Mining Methods
 Traditional Methods
 Surface Mining Methods
 Underground Mining Methods
 Innovative Methods

5.0 INTRODUCTION TO OPEN PIT & STRIPPING RATIO 24

 Introduction to open pit
 Stripping Ratio Considerations
 Declining Stripping Ratio
 Increasing Stripping Ratio
 Constant Stripping Ratio
 Phased Stripping Ratio
FENG 123 ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES II (INTRO TO MINING ENGINEERING)

6.0 UNIT OPERATIONS OF MINING & MINING CYCLE 29

 Production Operations
 Auxiliary Operations
 Mining Cycles
 Surface Mining Cycle
 Underground Mining Cycle

7.0 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN MINING & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY 35

 Environmental Management
 Managing Environment impacts of Mining
 Content of Environmental Impact of Mining
 Occupational Health & Safety
 Human Error
 Risk Management
 Hierachy of Risk Control

REFERENCES 45
Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 1 – MINING TERMINOLOGY

Mining Terminology
In mining engineering, certain technical terms are used daily. Although some of the terms
below may also refer to features or activities in a surface mine, most of them refer to
underground mining features or processes. Terms exclusive or typical to surface mining will
be dealt with at a later stage.

1. Mining is the process of obtaining useful minerals from the earth‟s crust at a profit. It
includes both underground excavations and surface workings

2. Prospecting is searching for ore

3. Exploration is the work involved in gaining a detailed knowledge of the size, shape,
position and value of an orebody

4. Development is the work of driving openings to and in a proven orebody to prepare it for
mining and transporting the ore. In underground mining, this involves shaft sinking,
drifting, winzing, raising, etc, to get access to the orebody.

5. Exploitation is the work of mining and marketing the ore.

6. Vein: this is a mineralized zone having a more or less regular development in length,
width and depth to give it a tabular form or commonly inclined at a considerable angle to
the horizontal. The term lode is commonly used synonymously with vein, and this
mineralization typically occurs embedded in solid host or country rock.

7. Shoot: the valuable minerals are commonly concentrated in certain portions of a vein that
have one dimension longer than the others. This shoot or chimney of ore is usually
highly inclined to the horizontal

8. Bedded deposit: an ore deposit of tabular form that lies horizontally or only slightly
inclined to the horizontal, and that is often parallel to the stratification of the enclosing
rocks.

9. Outcrop: this is the surface exposure of a mineral deposit. The uppermost part of a
mineral deposit may be covered with soil or overburden, however, and thus, the outcrop
may be hidden

10. Float is composed of loose pieces of ore or particles of metal, and is produced by the
weathering of an outcrop

11. Dip is the angle at which a bed, stratum or vein is inclined from the horizontal. Types of
dip include True Dip and Apparent dip

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

12. Strike is the horizontal course or bearing of an inclined bed, stratum or vein; the direction
of a horizontal line drawn as an intersection of the plane of an inclined bed with the
horizontal. Geologically, the strike is always perpendicular to the dip of a bed

13. Apex: this is the top of the terminal edge of the vein on the surface, or its nearest point to
the surface (blind apex). The apex is the point from which the dip and strike are defined

14. Hanging wall: the wall or rock on the upper side of an inclined vein. It is called the roof
in bedded deposits.

15. Foot wall: the wall or rock under a vein. It is called the floor in bedded deposits

16. Shaft: this is a vertical or inclined excavation in a mine extending downward from the
surface or from some interior point as a principal opening through which the mine is
exploited. A shaft is provided with a hoisting engine at the top for handling men, rock
and supplies, or it may be used only in connection with pumping or ventilation purposes.

17. Drift: this is a horizontal opening in or near an orebody, and parallel to the course of the
vein or long dimension of the orebody.

18. Crosscut: a horizontal opening driven across the course of a vein or in general across the
direction of the main mine workings. The term also refers to the connection from a shaft
to a vein.

19. Level: Mines are customarily worked from shafts through horizontal passages or drifts
called levels. They are commonly spaced at regular intervals in depth and are either
numbered from the surface in regular order or designated by their actual elevation below
the top of the shaft

20. Sump: In the underground mining sense, this is an excavation made to collect water, from
which water is pumped to the surface or to another point nearer to the surface. Sumps are
placed at the bottom of the shaft, near the shaft on a level or at some interior point. In a
surface mine sense, the sump serves exactly the same purpose, and is located at the base
of the mine working, where it collects water, and the water is pumped out of it to some
discharge point.

21. Winze: this is a vertical or inclined opening sunk from a point inside a mine for the
purpose of connecting with a lower level or of exploring the ground for a limited distance
below a level.

22. Raise: this is a vertical or inclined opening driven upwards from a level to connect with
another level above or to explore the ground for a limited distance above one level. After
two levels area connected the connection may be a winze or raise, depending upon which
level is taken as a reference point.

23. Stope: this is an excavation from which ore has been or is being extracted. The term
stoping is commonly applied to the extraction of ore but does not include the ore removed
in sinking shafts, driving levels, drifts and other development openings

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

24. Tunnel: a horizontal or nearly horizontal underground passage that is open to the
atmosphere at both ends. The term is loosely applied in many cases to an adit

25. Adit: a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage driven from the surface for the working or
dewatering of a mine. If driven through the hill or mountain to the surface on the other
side, it would be a tunnel

26. Collar: the term applies to the timbering or concrete around the mouth or top of a shaft

27. Ore: a mineral deposit that can be worked at a profit under the existing economic and
technological conditions. In some mines, it is referred to as stone.

28. Gangue: this refers to the worthless minerals that are associated with the valuable
minerals in n ore. As much of this gangue as possible is removed by the process of
concentrating and smelting

29. Country rock: the rock in which the ore deposit is enclosed. Also called the host rock, it
is the general mass of adjacent rock, as distinguished from that of a vein or lode.

30. Waste: this is the barren rock in a mine. It is also applied to the part of the ore deposit
that is too low in grade to be of economic value at the time, but this material may be
stored separately in the hope that it can be profitably treated later on. In some mines, the
waste rock is often referred to as the wall.

31. Chute: this is an opening leading from a drawpoint, utilizing gravity flow to direct the
ore or waste material from a bell or orepass to load a truck or conveyance.

32. Decline (Slope): this is an inclined opening driven downward to connect levels,
sometimes on the dip of a deposit.

33. Drawpoint: this is a loading point beneath a stope, utilizing gravity to move broken
materials downward and into a truck or conveyor by chute or loading machine.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

34. Grizzly: this is coarse screening device that prevents oversized broken material from
entering an orepass or waste pass. It is usually constructed of rails, bars, beams etc

35. Haulageway: an opening used primarily for ore, waste or materials handling

36. Loading pocket: Transfer point at a shaft where broken material is loaded by bin, hopper
and chute into a skip

37. Manway: compartment of a raise or a vertical or near-vertical opening intended for

personnel travel between two levels

38. Orepass: a vertical or near-vertical opening through which the ore flows by gravity

39. Portal: opening or connection to the surface from an underground operation (via a tunnel
or adit; also refers to the collar of a shaft)

40. Ramp: secondary or tertiary inclined opening driven to connect levels, usually in a
downward direction and used for haulage.

41. Sublevel: a secondary or intermediate level between main levels or horizons, usually
close to the exploitation area. These are not usually connected directly to the main shaft
or incline

42. Gob: broken or caved and mined-out portion of a deposit (eg a mined out and caved area
of a coal seam)

43. Sill pillar: portion of the deposit underlying an excavation and left in place as a pillar

44. Slot: a narrow, vertical or inclined opening excavated in a deposit at the end of a stope
block to provide a free bench face

45. Breast: advancing in a near-horizontal direction; also working the face of a moderately
inclined opening

46. Inby: toward the working face, away from the mine entrance

47. Outby: away from the working face, toward the mine entrance

48. Overhand: advancing in an upward direction

49. Underhand: advancing in a downward direction

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 2 – SCALES OF MINING

2.0 Introduction/Preliminary Definitions

“Mining” refers to the intentional winning of minerals from the ground. It includes any
activity directly or indirectly applicable to mining operations. Mining also consists of
processes as well as occupation and industries concerned with the extraction of minerals from
the earth.

“Mining Engineering” is the art and the science applied to the processes of mining and to
the operation of mines.

“Mineral” means any substance, whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form, occurring naturally
in or on the earth, in or under the water or in mine residue deposits and having been formed
by or subjected to a geological process including sand, stone, rock, gravel and clay, as well as
soil but excludes water, natural oil, petroleum, topsoil and peat.

“Ore” means a natural aggregate of one or more minerals which may be mined and sold at a
profit or from which some part may be profitably extracted

“Mineral right” means a right to search/explore for or to mine minerals by holding a valid
reconnaissance/prospecting licence, exploration licence, artisanal mining licence, small-scale
mining licence, or large-scale mining licence, as the context requires.

2.1 Scales of Mining

Mining is carried out on various scales, and the criteria for classification into the various
scales may vary from commodity to commodity and from country to country. Generally, the
criteria used for such classification include:

 The level of investment, as reflected in the kind and sophistication (as well as cost) of
equipment employed in the mining activity. Related to this is the level of manual labour
or otherwise involved, i.e. whether the operation is labour-intensive or not.
 The output, in terms of final product per defined period; output may also be regarded in
terms of tonnage of earth moved in the mining process per defined period
 The depth of excavation (as provided in the Mines and Minerals Act of Sierra Leone,
2009.)

2.1.1 Indigenous/Artisanal Mining

This is a primitive manual mining technique employed by local/ rural community people for
their daily livelihood/ survival. Artisanal mining involves digging of material with pick axes
and shovels, scooping of loose materials from riverbeds, seabed and old river courses, and
finally panning/ washing of mined gravel to extract the minerals (usually heavy minerals).

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

The Mines and Minerals Act of SL (2009) defines an Artisanal Mining operation as a non-
mechanized method of mining that does not exceed a depth of ten metres. Furthermore, the
MMA 2009 also prescribed that:

 AM licenses are issued only to Sierra Leonean citizens.

 Not more than fifty employee/ tributors/labourers must be allowed per Artisanal
mining license area.
 Employees less than 18 years of age must not work in an AML area.
 AM licenses are issued at regional offices.
 AM license is valid for only one year and can be renewed only twice after the first
issuance.
Certain areas in Sierra Leone are known for Artisanal Mining activities and these include
Tonkolili District (mainly gold); Kambia District (mainly diamond); Karene District (mainly
gold, coltan); Koinadugu District (mainly gold), Kono District (mainly diamond, gold),
Kenema, Falaba (diamond) and Bo

2.1.2 Small Scale Mining

There are many definitions for Small Scale Mining by different people. For purposes of this
course, the key definition shall be the UN definition of 1972. This defines Small Scale
mining as “any single unit mining operation having an annual production of 50,000 tonnes or
less, as measured at the entrance of the mine”.

In SL, Small Scale mining is explained by the Ministry of Mineral Resources (Mines and
Minerals Act, 2009) as the intentional winning of minerals in mechanised operations not
exceeding twenty metres in depth or involving the sinking of shafts, driving of adits, or other
various underground openings.

In other places, eg Ghana, Small Scale mining is understood to be any mining operation
which involves low investment in men and equipment; it could involve only one man or
several workers/operators in the form of cooperatives or groups, who employ simple tools
and equipment such as pick axes, shovels, simple concentration equipment such as blankets
or jute bags laid on improvised shake tables, to mine the rich zones of near-surface ore
deposits which are often not amenable to being mined on large scale because of the limited
amount of reserves, poor access to the area or due to lack of the required infrastructure. The
annual production of precious minerals (eg gold) from such individuals, groups or
cooperatives is less than 24,000 ounces, i.e.

0≤ Output ≤24,000oz/annum (of gold, etc)

Small scale mining is often thought of with respect to precious minerals such as gold and
diamonds alone, but on the broader scale, includes other such materials such as talc, granite
or other rock etc, which have industrial uses in the pharmaceutical, building, construction and
other industries.

The distinction between Artisanal and small-scale mining is often blurred in various places
and are deemed to be synonymous. However, Indigenous/Artisanal methods inherently differ

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

from constructive small-scale operations by virtue of methods and the investment in capital.
A mine may be small scale but mechanised. Indigenous mining always uses primitive or
relatively crude methods.

In principle, well-managed small-scale mining has the potential to take over and mine
economically where large-scale or medium scale mining is unable to operate profitably. This
may happen, for instance, in a situation where a fall in the price of minerals leads to the
closure of large-scale operations. In Sierra Leone, the bulk of national production of
diamonds has, for many years, been from relatively well-organised small-scale mining
groups. Small scale mining can, indeed, make a meaningful contribution to the total global
mineral production.

2.1.2.1 Environmental effects of Small scale and Artisanal Mining

i. One environmental problem associated with small scale and artisanal mining is the
deforesting of vast areas, where the wood is used for processes related to small-scale
mining.
ii. Tunnelling and digging of numerous pits in unconsolidated river sediment releases
large amounts of fine-grained material, which tend to clog up the rivers and increase
the risk of flooding
iii. Gold extraction by amalgamation without use of retorts releases thousands of tonnes
of mercury to the environment in metallic form.
iv. After some time, metallic mercury is converted to methylated mercury, which is even
more toxic than metallic mercury. It then enters the food chain. At the top of the food
chain are people, who by eating the polluted fish gradually accumulate large amounts
of very toxic methylated mercury in their bodies. This results in a number of diseases.
v. Apart from mercury poisoning and the collapse of unsupported tunnels, the health
risks include silicosis from crushing of gold-bearing quartz, rheumatism from
standing in cold water without proper boots and clothing, and severe lung problems
from the use of nitric acid for purifying gold concentrates.

2.1.3 Medium Scale Mining

This involves a fair/moderate level of investment in a few modern machines and equipment,
and not many workers (<1,000). In terms of gold, the output of such mines ranges between
24,000 and 60,000 oz, i.e.

24,000≤ Output ≤60,000oz/annum

2.1.4 Large Scale Mining

This involves high levels of investment in men, machinery and supplies. There are high daily
and annual outputs in raw mined tonnes and final product. In terms of gold, annual outputs
generally exceed 60,000 oz; for iron ore, output is in millions of tonnes of final product; for
rutile, in hundreds of thousands (mined tonnes) and tens of thousands of tonnes (final
product). Thus, note that because of the differences in the nature of mineralization, statement

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

of a blanket threshold of production that runs across board for all mineral product types is not
possible.

Examples of large scale mines include Sierra Rutile Limited (SL), Sierra Minerals Limited
(SL), Ashanti Goldfields Limited (Ghana), De Beers Limited (Namibia, SA and elsewhere),
Koidu Holdings (SL), Gold Fields International (SA, Ghana), Newmont (Ghana and
elsewhere), Rio Tinto etc. Prospective large-scale mines in SL include London Mining
Limited‟s Marampa Mine (iron ore), The African Minerals Limited Tonkolili mine (iron ore).

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 3 – STAGES OF MINING

3.0 Introduction
There are usually four stages in the life of a mine, namely: Prospecting, Exploration,
Development and Exploitation (Hartman, 1992), but in strict mining sense, there is a fifth
stage called Reclamation which may be discussed later.
Some authorities further add a preceding stage, called Reconnaissance, which is considered to
precede prospecting. However, reconnaissance activities actually come at the very early
stages of prospecting. Thus, reconnaissance is considered a part of prospecting.
Prospecting and exploration are also usually grouped together although they are closely
linked stages, but these are often very separate stages.
Prospecting and exploration are the precursors to actual mining. They are transitional. Their
ultimate purpose is to lead, in a step-wise manner, to the complete discovery and
characterization of a mineral deposit that is amenable to profitable mining.
In a similar manner, the Development and Exploitation stages are inherently related and are
also usually lumped together and treated as mining proper. However, their foci are different.
Table 2.1 summarizes the stages in the life of a mine, and includes an evaluation step called
Feasibility Study which bridges the precursors and mining proper. The table also shows the
procedures, time durations, and cost ranges for each stage.

3.1 Mining Precursors: Mineral Prospecting and Exploration

3.1.1 Prospecting
This is the first stage in the life of a mine, and is the search for metallic ores or other valuable
minerals. Prospecting commences with reconnaissance. During reconnaissance, the
interested investor and his agents obtain and read/study all the available literature/information
on the possible/likely geographical location/occurrence of the desired mineralization. This
decision is primarily dictated by the geology of the area, but may be affected by certain other
factors. A geologic area of interest is tentatively selected and further information obtained
and studied on work done by former geologists as well as on ore mines in the area, weather
patterns, topography, culture of the people, etc. At this stage, the investor may send some
geologists and surveyors to scout around the area, taking a limited number of samples.
The actual field stage of prospecting then begins. Various methods are employed. Because
mineral deposits are found at or beneath the surface of the earth, and because the
characteristics of minerals differ, both direct and indirect techniques are used. Geology is the
basic science of all prospecting.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

Table 2.1: Stages in the life of a mine

Stage/Project Name) Procedure Time Cost/Unit Cost
Precursors to Mining
1,2 Prospecting and Search for Ore: 2-8 yrs $0.5 - $15 million
Exploration a. Prospecting methods 9c-$1.4/t
(Name: Prospect)
Direct: physical, geologic
Indirect: geophysical, geochemical
b. Locate favourable loci (maps, literature, old mines)

c. Air: aerial photography, airborne geophysics

Space: satellites
d. Surface: ground geophysics, geology

e. Spot anomaly, analyse, evaluate

Define extent and value of ore (examination/evaluation)

a. Sample (drilling or excavation,) assay, test, log

b. Estimate tonnage and grade

Feasibility Study: make decision to abandon or develop property

a. Evaluate deposit by formula or discount method:

present value (PV) = annual cash flow discounted to the present

Mining Proper
3. Development Open up ore deposit for production 2-5 yrs $10-$250 million
(Name: Project) a. Acquire mining rights (purchase or lease), if not done in Stage 2 Or 23c – $4.5/t

b. Prepare budget, obtain financing

c. File environmental impact statement, technology assessment,

permit

d. Construct access roads, transport system

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

e. Locate surface plant, construct facilities

f. Excavate deposit (strip or sink shaft)

Exploitation Produce ore on a large scale 5-30 yrs $5-$50 million/yr or

(Name: Mine) a. Factors in choice of method: geologic, geographical, economic, $1.8-$90/t
environmental, societal, safety

b. Types of mining methods

Surface: open pit, open cast, etc

Underground: room and pillar, block caving, etc
 Monitor costs and economic payback (3 -10 yrs)

Source: Hartman 1987, 1

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

3.1.1.1 Methods of Discovery

1. Direct Methods
These are normally related to surface deposits, and consist of visual examination of either the
exposure (outcrop) of the deposit or of the loose fragments (called float) that have weathered
away from the outcrop. Geologic studies of an area augment this simple direct technique.
By means of aerial photography and with the aid of topographic and structural maps of a region,
the geologist gathers further evidence by direct methods to locate areas of ore deposition.
Precise mapping of rock formations and their peculiar structures in the field, supplemented by
the analytic and microscopic studies of samples in the laboratory and aided by geologic inference
can enable the geologist to locate hidden as well as surface ore bodies.

2. Indirect Methods
These are methods used to search for hidden ore bodies. A valuable scientific tool that is
employed in the indirect search for ore or exploration of orebodies is geophysics. These are
methods that detect anomalies caused by the presence of a mineral deposit through the analysis
of gravitational, seismic, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic and radiometric measurements.
Geophysical methods are suitable for airborne, surface and sub-surface use. Three methods lend
themselves to simultaneous application from aircraft: magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric.
Geophysics applied from the air or space through remote sensing enables vast areas to be
prospected and explored. On the ground, and in logging boreholes, it provides more definitive
information. The magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic and radiometric methods are the most
popular ground methods.
Geochemistry, the micro-quantitative analysis of soil, rock and water samples, and geo-botany,
the study of vegetation and plant growth patterns, also are employed as indirect prospecting
tools.

3.1.2 Exploration
This is the second stage in the life of a mine. It determines as accurately as possible the size and
value of a mineral deposit. It utilizes techniques similar to but more refined than those used in
prospecting. The line of demarcation between the two is not sharp; in fact a distinction between
the two stages is usually not made. The locale in exploration shifts more from the air to the
surface and subsurface, both with geology and geophysics. In addition, more positive
information of extents and richness of the deposit is obtained by representative and systematic
sampling, subjecting mineral specimens to chemical, x-ray, spectrographic or radiometric
analyses. Samples are obtained systematically by chipping or trenching or trenching and by
drilling and excavating below the surface; additionally, borehole logs may be taken by
geophysics.
There are several common drilling methods: diamond drills provide core samples and rotary or
percussion drill produce chips or cuttings. Coring is more useful but most expensive; rotary
accounts for 70% of exploration drilling.
An evaluation of chip and core samples or logs enables the geologist or mining engineer to
calculate the tonnage (extent) and grade (richness) of the deposit. He or she establishes the
economic value of the ore, estimates mining costs, and assesses all other foreseeable factors in an
effort to reach an accurate conclusion on the merits of a given deposit and the profits likely to be
realized. This entire procedure consists of reserve estimation, and the examination and valuation
of the mineral deposit. A complete ore estimate provides a breakdown of several categories of

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

reserves (proven, probable or possible), based on geologic and economic evidence. Many of the
advanced phases of exploration constitute project and mining geology.

3.2 Mine evaluation and investment analysis

At the conclusion of the prospecting and exploration stages in the life of a mine, a thorough
feasibility study is conducted to determine the potential of developing the mineral deposit into a
producing mine. The outcome is a decision to abandon or proceed with the project.
The feasibility report produced is primarily an economic one. However, legal, political,
technological, geologic, environmental and socio-political considerations are involved as well.
In a typical study, all the information assembled by the exploration team of geologists and others
is turned over to an evaluation group of engineers, mineral economists, and legal experts.
The formal feasibility study includes an economic analysis of the rate of return (ROR) that can
be expected from the mine at a certain production rate. Some of the factors considered during
such an economic analysis area:
Production
 Reserve tonnage in the deposit
 Mining recovery
 Mill recovery
 Production rate (tonnes per hour, tonnes per day)

Costs
 Exploration and development costs
 Capital costs of the mine
 Capital cost of the mill
 Mining cost per tone
 Processing cost per tone
 Miscellaneous costs of operation
 Royalties
 Taxes

Revenues
 Sale price of the metal or mineral (often taking into consideration the relative merits of
selling at spot prices and hedge prices)
 Working capital necessary
 Depreciation
 Depletion allowances etc

Using either specialized software or ordinary spreadsheets, the considerations above are brought
together to calculate the dollar value of annual gross sales, operating costs, operating income,
depreciation, depletion, income tax, net income after taxes, cash flow, and after-tax rate of return
on investment.
Each mining organization has a minimum acceptable rate of return. The cost of borrowing
capital for the mine or of generating the needed capital internally within the company must be

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

considered. If a company has a number of attractive investment opportunities, the rate of return
(ROR) from the proposed mine venture may be compared with the rate expected on a different
mining venture elsewhere, or with some other business opportunity unrelated to mining.

3.3 Mining Proper

3.3.1 Mine Development (Stage 3)
Development is work that which is performed to open a mineral deposit for exploitation. With it
begins mining proper. Access to the deposit is gained by either stripping or deeper-access
excavation.

Stripping involves removal of overburden, (earth and/or rock covering the mineral deposit) to
expose near-surface ore for surface mining. It is often preceded by grubbing, which is the
process of clearing the vegetation on top of and proximate to the deposit. This helps provide
access by the mining equipment and support facilities.
In deeper-access excavation, openings are driven from the surface to more deeply buried deposits
to prepare for underground mining.

In both cases, a certain set of preliminary work activities are involved, all of which must precede
the actual mining. These include an environmental impact statement, acquiring mineral rights
and financing, providing access roads and other transportation, power sources, ore processing
facilities, dams and waste disposal areas. These and other sequential steps in mine development
are often programmed by Operations Research (OR) techniques such as CPM (Critical Path
Method) or PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Technique) to conserve time and expense.
Often, the Project Management task is aided by a project scheduling software, eg MS Project.

In the case of a surface mine, stripping then commences and may entail breaking up and
removing the overburden. The stripping activities typically follow a cycle which is identical to
the cycle involved in the actual mining of the ore. However, it may differ from the actual mining
process, depending on characteristics of the waste and the ore.

Development for underground mining is generally more complex and expensive. It requires
careful planning and layout of access openings for convenience, safety and performance. The
principal opening to the surface is usually a shaft, which may be circular or rectangular in cross
section, vertical or inclined (called a slope) and of sufficient size to allow passage for men and
machines. In areas of high relief, horizontal openings called adits or tunnels may be used to reach
the deposit. Mining of massive or steeply inclined underground deposits of minerals is carried on
from horizons or levels, located at regular intervals in a vertical plane. The openings on each
level consist of main arteries called drifts and numerous secondary connecting crosscuts.
Vertical and inclined openings (raises or winzes and ramps) provide access between levels. All
these development openings connect with large exploitation chambers called stopes, from which
most of the mine‟s mineral production is obtained.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

3.3.2 Mine Exploitation (Stage 4)

Exploitation is associated with the actual recovery in quantity of mineral from the earth. While
some exploration and development work necessarily continues throughout the life of a mine, the
emphasis in the exploitation stage is on production. Only enough development is done prior to
exploitation to ensure that production, once started, can continue uninterrupted throughout the
life of the mine.
Exploitation is usually in three main stages, namely Production, Treatment and Marketing.

3.3.2.1 Production Stage

This involves the actual mining activity, where the ore is obtained from the mine (pit or
underground working). The various methods of mining will be treated in a later lecture.
Production is also sub-divided into three stages:
Partial Production: this is the start of the mining stage, and persists for a relatively short period,
before full production capacity is achieved.
Full Production: this is when the mine has reached a stage where it‟s targeted or installed
capacity is achieved. This is the main stage and it persists for most of the life of the mine.
End of Production: here, the mineable reserves are depleted; in underground mines, this is when
robbing of pillars is done, i.e. stope pillars, crown, rib, sill, barrier and shaft pillars are all
extracted, and the mine is closed down.

3.3.2.2 Treatment (Beneficiation/processing) Stage

At this stage, the required end product or some concentrate thereof is recovered from the mined
material. Depending on the mineral, it may involve several processes.

3.3.2.3 Marketing Stage

Here, the minerals or concentrates are sold to the consumer. The issues at this stage may make
the difference between the feasibility and infeasibility of the project.

3.4 Land Reclamation (Fifth stage): Reclamation of the mine site is post-mining or the final
stage in the operation of most mines. Reclamation is the process of closing a mine and re-
contouring, re-vegetating, and restoring the water and land value. It has become a necessary
part in the mines‟ life cycle and has gained extreme significance because (1) society demands
cleaner environment and (2) stricter laws regulating the abandonment of a mine. The
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future
generations to meet their own needs is termed sustainable development (from a book entitled
„Our Common Future‟). The new philosophy in mining industry is sustainability, that is, the
meeting of economic and environmental needs of the present while enhancing the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore, the overall process of developing a mine
should have the future use of the land in mind.
The best time to begin the reclamation process of a mine is before the first excavations are
initiated. In other words, mine planning engineers should plan the mine so that the reclamation
process is considered and the overall cost of mining plus reclamation is minimized, not just the
cost of mining itself.
In planning for the reclamation process, several concerns must be addressed.
o Safety of the mine site- If the mine site is open to the public, the removal of offices,
buildings, processing facilities, transportation equipment, utilities and other surface

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

structures must generally be accomplished. The mining company is then required to seal
all mine shafts, adits and other mine openings that may present physical hazards. Any
existing highwalls or other geologic structures may require mitigation to prevent
injuries or death due to geologic failure.
o Restoration of land surface, water quality and waste disposal areas- This is to ensure
that long-term water pollution, soil erosion, dust generation or vegetation problems do
not occur. Planning of the waste dump, tailings ponds and other disturbed areas will
help prevent pollution problems, but remediation work may also be necessary to
complete the reclamation stage of mining and satisfy the regulatory agencies.
o Subsequent use of the land after mining is completed- By planning the mine for a
subsequent development, mine planners can enhance the value of the mined land and
help convert it to a use that the public will consider favourable. Old mine sites have
been converted to wildlife refuges, shopping malls, golf courses, airports, lakes,
underground storage facilities, real estate developments, solid waste disposal areas and
other uses that can benefit society.

The successful completion of reclamation of a mine will enhance public opinion of the mining
industry and keep the mining company in good graces of the regulatory agencies. This fifth
stage of the mine is thus of paramount importance and should be planned at the earliest possible
time in the life of the mine.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 4 – EXPLOITATION/MINING METHODS

Introduction

Exploitation is the fourth stage of mining. The method selected for exploitation is determined
mainly by the characteristics of the mineral deposit and the limits imposed by safety, technology
and economics. Geological conditions such as deposit dip, and shape and strength of the ore and
wall rock, play a key role in selecting the method.

4.0 Mining Methods

Based on degree of acceptance, Exploitation/Mining methods are usually classified into
Traditional and Innovative or Novel Methods. Traditional exploitation methods fall into
two broad categories based entirely on locale, namely Surface Mining Methods and
Underground Mining Methods.

A classification summary of the various mining methods is presented in Table 4.1.

4.1 Traditional Mining Methods

4.1.1 Surface mining Methods

1. Mechanical extraction methods

The mechanical extraction class employs mechanical processes in a nominally dry environment
to free minerals from the earth. Four methods fall into this class, as follows:

i. Open cast/Strip mining or Stripping

ii. Open pit
iii. Quarrying
iv. Auger mining

i. Open Cast Mining/Strip Mining/Stripping

This is the best-known surface mining method employed in mining near-surface or shallow
or slightly inclined deposits such as coal seams, alluvial gold beds, diamondiferous gravels
and other thin layers of mineral. The depth of the pit is virtually the same throughout the life
of the mine.

ii. Open Pit Mining

Here, a thick deposit is generally mined in benches or steps. A relatively thin deposit may also
be mined from a single face, just as in quarrying, augering or open cast mining. Any overburden
must be removed by stripping. Open pit mining is best employed in mining deposits that are

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

thicker or more deeply buried or that dip steeply or sharply downwards. Massive deposits are
also exploited this way. One example is the open pit manganese mine at Nsuta Wassa in
Western Ghana. Local examples include the operations formerly carried out at the Masaboin and
Ghafal Hills at Marampa by Delco; also the current Sierra Minerals Bauxite Mines at Gondama;
the Koidu Holdings kimberlite mining pit in Koidu. Further open pit plans are currently being
drawn up for various locations in the country.
The terms “open cast” and “open pit” are often used interchangeably. To avoid confusion,
“open cast” is used for shallower surface stripping while “open pit” is used for mining deeper
deposits in surface mining.

In both open pit and open cast metal mining, the rock is usually ground down to fine fragments
or powder and treated for the mineral or metal, and the tailings thereafter discarded.

Both methods are used to exploit a deposit near the earth‟s surface that has a relatively low
stripping ratio, is preferably large in extent, and is reasonably uniform in value. These methods
necessitate a large capital investment, but generally result in high productivity, low operating
costs and good safety conditions.

A conventional mining cycle of operations is employed to extract mineral: rock breakage is

usually accomplished by drilling and blasting, followed by the materials handling operations of
excavation and haulage.

iii. Quarrying
Here, valuable rock or stone is cut or broken down into blocks or crushed to suitable
dimensions and sold out without further treatment. The stone or broken rock is neither
ground into powder, nor are any chemicals added to them at treatment stage.

In dimension-stone quarrying, the objective is to produce a sized and shaped product. Thus,
it is slow and small scale, and (along with square set stoping) is the most expensive of all
mining methods.

iv. Auger Mining

This is employed in recovering coal from the high wall at the pit limit by means of large-
diameter auger machines.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

Table 4.1: Classification of Mining Methods

Acceptance/Locale Class Sub-Class Method Commodities
Traditional
Surface Mechanical Open Pit Mining Metal, non metal
Quarrying Nonmetal
Open cast (strip) mining Coal, nonmetal
Auger mining Coal
Aqueous Placer Hydraulicking Metal, non-metal
Dredging Metal, nonmetal
Solution In situ techniques Metal, non-metal
Surface techniques Metal
Underground Unsupported Room and pillar mining Coal, nonmetal
Stope and pillar mining Metal, nonmetal
Shrinkage stoping Metal, nonmetal
Sublevel stoping Metal, nonmetal
Vertical crater retreat Metal, nonmetal
mining
Supported Cut and fill stoping Metal
Stull stoping Metal
Square set stoping Metal
Caving Longwall mining Coal, non-metal
Sublevel caving Metal
Block caving Metal
Novel Rapid excavation Noncoal (hard rock)
Automation, robotics All
Hydraulic mining Coal, soft rock
Methane drainage Coalbed methane
Underground gasification Coal
Underground retorting Hydrocarbons
Marine mining Metal, nonmetal
Nuclear mining Noncoal
Extraterrestrial mining Metal,nonmetal
Source: Hartman 1987, 1992

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

2. Aqueous extraction methods

These rely mainly on water and other liquid solvents to recover the minerals from the earth‟s
crust.
i. Placer mining
ii. Solution mining

i. Placer Mining
This involves the retrieval of gold, diamonds, tin, rutile, ilmenite and other heavy
minerals from river beds and/or beaches. May be done by various methods, namely
a. Dredging
b. Hydraulic Mining or Hydraulicking

a. Dredging
Dredging involves the scooping up of loose placer deposits such as gold, tin, rutile,
ilmenite and zircon, laid down by running water in river beds, on beaches or on the
seabed. Various dredge types are used, among which are the bucket ladder or bucket line
types, suction cutter dredges and bucket wheel dredges. The excavating device is usually
mounted on pontoons. Eg, D1 the bucket line dredge at Sierra Rutile Limited.

b. Hydraulic Mining or Hydraulicking

Hydraulic mining or hydraulicking is the method of mining relatively fine-grained,
unconsolidated materials such as tailings or gravelly deposits, using powerful jets of
water. The principal hydraulicking machine consists of a monitor, which is a nozzle
assembly. The gravel or ore is excavated by a stream of high pressure water through the
nozzle directed at a bank. The material is loosened by the direct impact of jets of water.
The broken-up material is suspended into a slurry. High banks are undercut so that large
volumes of material cave in. The slurry moves down a sluicing path into the pump
sump, from which it is pumped into the process circuit.

ii. Solution Mining

This includes both in situ techniques and surface techniques, and entails solvent leaching
of mineral values from heaps, dumps or an insoluble matrix or host rock.

It is employed in mining soluble minerals such as evaporites (eg common salt or potash)
and suphur, that can be dissolved or melted by hot water or such other solvent. The
pregnant solution (i.e. the solution that contains the dissolved mineral) is pumped to the
surface for concentration or treatment at the Treatment Plant. This method can be
executed in several ways, such as:

a. Bottom Injection: Water is pumped down an inner tube and the dissolved solution
(eg brine) is pumped up through the outer tube.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
b. Top Injection: This is a reversal of the direction of flow in Bottom Injection: the
water or solvent is pumped down through the outer tube, and the pregnant solution
pumped up through the inner tube.
c. The Frasch Process of extracting sulphur. Here, water is used not as a true lixiviate,
but as a medium to transfer heat into the deposit. The heat then melts the sulphur so
that it will drain to sub-terranean pools for pumping to the surface.
d. In-situ Leaching: applied on low grade uranium or copper deposits. Various
configurations are used:
 Multiple well system: where a series of boreholes are drilled into the ore zone, the
solvent is pumped down some of the boreholes which serve as injection wells,
while the pregnant solution is recovered (pumped up) through production wells.
 Flooding and leaching of a mine (mainly done after a mine has been worked out.
This is applicable to copper mines to dissolve the remaining mineral.
e. Heap Leaching (eg of low grade oxidized or lateritised ores): this is used to recover
low grade copper, gold or silver ores. The broken ore is usually heaped on an
impermeable pad, a lixiviant (eg dilute cyanide solution for gold-bearing ores; or
sulphuric acid for copper-bearing ores) is sprayed on top of the heap (pile) for a long
time (up to sixty days in some cases). As the solvent percolates through the pile, it
dissolves the minerals of interest. The mineral-bearing solution is collected on
arriving at the underlying impermeable pad layer and is drained to a solution pond or
dame where it is clarified and pumped to the treatment plant. At the treatment plant,
the dissolved mineral is concentrated and/or extracted. Examples of mines that
employ heap leaching technology to recover gold from their low-grade ores include
Ghana Australian Goldfields (GAG) and Gold Fields Ghana Limited (GFG).

Disadvantages of Solution Mining and Leaching Techniques

i. The solvent tends to flow directly from the injection wells to the production wells
without dissolving the minerals in the ore, i.e. the recoveries tend to be low.
ii. Possible contamination of surface and ground water sources by the solvent (if there
are any overflows from the dams or if there are cracks in the matrix of the rock
underground).
iii. Surface subsidence, especially where large subsurface caverns result from the solution
process
iv. Only partial recovery (≤ 80%) of the contained minerals is possible.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
4.1.2 Underground Mining Methods
Mineral exploitation in which operations are carried out beneath the earth‟s surface is termed
Underground Mining (Hustrulid, 1982). Underground methods are employed when the depth
of the deposit, the stripping ratio of overburden to ore (or coal or stone) or both become
excessive for surface exploitation.

Underground mining methods are categorised in three classes on the basis of the extent of
support utilised. They are: unsupported, supported, and caving, with individual methods
differentiated by the type of wall and roof supports used, the configuration of production
openings and the direction in which mining operations progress.

1. Unsupported Methods
This class consists of those underground methods that are essentially self-supporting and
require no major artificial system of support to carry the superincumbent load, relying
instead on the walls of the opening and natural pillars. The superincumbent load is
comprised of the weight of the overburden and any tectonic forces acting at depth. This
definition of unsupported methods does not preclude the use of rock or roof bolts or light
structural sets of timber or steel, provided that such artificial support does not
significantly alter the load-carrying ability of the natural structure.
There are five unsupported methods:

 Room-and-pillar mining
 Stope and Pillar mining
 Shrinkage stoping
 sublevel stoping
 vertical crater retreat (VCR)

2. Supported Methods
Supported Methods consist of those methods that require substantial amounts of artificial
support to maintain stability in exploitation openings and systematic ground control
throughout the mine.

Supported methods are used when production openings will not remain standing during
their active life and when major caving or subsidence to the surface cannot be tolerated.
In other words, the supported class is employed when the other two categories of methods
– unsupported and caving- are not applicable.

Types of supported methods include are as follows:

 Cut-and-fill stoping
 Square-set stoping
 Stull stoping
Only cut-and fill stoping renders itself to mechanisation. Square-set stoping is among the
costly methods of mining known.
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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
3. Caving Methods
This is a class of methods in which the exploitation workings are designed to collapse.
Caving of the ore or rock or both is intentional and is the very essence of the method.
Subsidence of the surface eventually follows. There are three major types:

 longwall mining
 Sub-level Caving
 Block caving

4.2 Novel Exploitation Methods

Innovative mining methods are continuously evolving. They are applicable to unusual
deposits or employ unusual techniques or equipment. They are classed in three groups:
existing, promising and questionable. The essential feature of all of them is the departure
from conventional/traditional exploitation principles.

Examples include
 Automation (robotics) (existing)
 rapid excavation in hard rock (existing)
 methane drainage (existing)
 underground gasification (promising)
 marine mining (promising)
 Extraterrestrial mining (Questionable)
 Nuclear mining (Questionable)

Fig 4.1: Surface Mining: open cast method

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 5 – introduction to open pit & stripping ratio

Introduction to Open Pit Mining

An open pit mine is an excavation or cut made at the surface of the ground for the purpose of
extracting ore and which is open to the surface for the duration of the life of the mine.

In order to expose the ore for mining, large quantities of the waste cover or overburden have
to be removed (stripped) and disposed of in waste dumps or overburden tips. The main
objective of any commercial mining operation is to exploit the mineral deposit at the lowest
cost with the overall intention of maximizing profits.

In general, surface mining is more advantageous than underground mining in terms of ore
recovery, grade control, economy, flexibility of operation and working environment. There
are, however, many deposits that are too small, irregular and/or so deeply buried that they
cannot be economically extracted by surface mining methods. In addition, where the orebody
extends to a greater depth in open pit mines, the large amounts of waste/overburden to be
stripped and handled in order to get access to the ore imposes economic limits beyond which
mining must either be abandoned, or underground mining techniques have to be resorted to.

5.1 Open Pit Mining Terminology

The following are mining terms that are commonly used in open pit mining. For illustration,
see Fig. 5.1, which shows a pit section through an idealized tabular orebody.

Fig 5.1: Section through an open pit mine in an idealized tabular orebody

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
5.2 Stripping Ratio Considerations

5.2.1 Stripping Ratio

The stripping ratio represents the amount of uneconomic material that must be removed to
uncover one unit of ore. Fig 5.2 is an idealised open pit orebody, dipping at an angle α.

Fig 5.2: Overall stripping ratio representation

The ratio of the total volume of waste to the ore volume is defined as the overall stripping
ratio:

Whilst this is a volume relationship, calculated in cubic meters/cubic meter, it is more

commonly expressed as tonnes/tonne. Note that in mining certain instances, however,
stripping ratio is expressed in units of cubic meters/tonne.

With fluctuating commodity prices, increasing mining costs, and the introduction of more
sophisticated mining techniques, the overall mining plan and overall stripping ratio can
change over the total life of any mine. For this reason, it is necessary to update the long-term
plan of the mining project at regular intervals. Having determined the final pit limits and
overall stripping ratio, the mining plan can be executed in a number of was, as illustrated
below:

5.2.2 Declining Stripping Ratio Method

This method (see fig 5.3 below) requires that each bench of ore be mined in sequence, and all
the waste on the particular bench is removed to the pit limit.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

Fig 5.3: Declining Stripping Ratio representation

The advantages
i. Large operating/working space available
ii. Accessibility of the ore on the subsequent bench
iii. All equipment working on the same level
iv. No contamination from waste blasting above the ore
v. Minimum equipment requirements towards the end of the mine‟s life
Disadvantage
 Maximum overall stripping costs during the initial years of operation when maximum
profits are required to handle interest and repayment of capital

5.2.3 Increasing Stripping Ratio Method

Here, the stripping is performed as needed to uncover the ore (see fig 5.4). the working
slopes of the waste faces are essentially maintained parallel to the overall pit slope angle.

Fig 5.4: Increasing stripping ratio representation

Advantage
i. Maximum profit during the initial years of operation
ii. Greatly reduces the investment risk in waste removal for ore to be mined at a future
date
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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
Note: This method is popular where the mining economics or cut-off stripping ratio is likely
to change at very short notice.

Disadvantage
 It is normally impractical to operate a large number of stacked narrow benches
simultaneously to meet production needs.
 It leaves the burden of significant waste costs towards the life of the mine, when the
equipment have aged, or when it is not in the interest of the mine to make large capital
investments in equipment that may outlast the life of the mine.

5.2.4 Constant Stripping Ratio method

This method attempts to remove the waste at a rate approximated by the overall stripping
ratio (fig 5.5). the working slope of the waste starts very shallow, but increases as the mining
depth increases, until the working slope equals the overall pit slope.

Fig. 5.5: Constant stripping ratio representation

The method combines the advantages of the increasing and declining stripping ratio methods
and removes the extreme conditions under the said methods. Equipment fleet and labour
requirements are constant throughout the life of the mine.

5.2.5 Phased Stripping Ratio

Here, the rate is low during the initial stages and towards the end of the mine life. This is
usually the best stripping sequence for a large orebody.

Advantages
i. Good profit can be generated initially to increase cash flow

ii. The labour and equipment fleet may be increased to maximum capacity over a period of
time

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
iii. The labour and equipment requirements decease gradually towards the end of the mine‟s
life

iv. Distinct mining and stripping areas can be operated simultaneously, allowing for
flexibility in planning

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 6 – unit operations of mining & mining cycle

6.1 Introduction

During the development and exploitation stages of mining when ore, waste or overburden
materials are being removed from the earth‟s crust, some standardized unit operations are
employed routinely and repetitively. These unit operations of mining are the basic steps
employed to produce mineral from the deposit. There are also other, auxiliary steps involved.
Those steps contributing directly to mineral extraction are called “production operations”,
and comprise the production cycle of operations. Those ancillary steps that support the
production cycle are called auxiliary operations.

6.2 Production Operations

The production cycle employs unit operations that normally are grouped in two functions,
namely, rock breakage, and materials handling

Rock breakage includes a variety of mechanisms. In hard rock operations, it is usually

accomplished by drilling and blasting. Sometimes, these steps are preceded by cutting in
underground coal mining, or replaced by channelling in quarrying.

Materials handling generally encompasses loading or excavation, and haulage (horizontal

transport), with/without hoisting (vertical or inclined). Thus, the production cycle in mining
consists of these unit operations:

General Cycle = cut + drill + blast + load + haul + hoist

In non-coal or hard-rock mining, at both surface and underground, this generalized path can
be abbreviated into:

Conventional cycle = drill+ blast + load +

haul

However, modern machines and methods are being employed which tend to cut out the
cyclical processes or unit operations and to combine the functions and increase continuity.
For example, in surface mining, some stripping operations are being carried out by bucket-
wheel excavators which require no drilling and blasting. Where loosening of the rock is
required, it may be accomplished by ripping prior to loading. In coal or soft ores, continuous
miners break and excavate mechanically and thus eliminate drilling and blasting; boring
machines in both drifting, raising and shaft sinking operations perform the same tasks in soft
to medium-hard rock.

Thus, the production cycle in these cases simplifies to

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

Continuous cycle = mine + haul

In designing a production cycle for balanced operation, once individual machine capacities
are established, the number of units (eg drills or trucks) can be determined from the required
mine output. Ideally, the units of the system should be matched in capacity so there is a
uniform, uninterrupted flow of material from the working face to the surface/pre-processing
disposal point.

6.3 Auxiliary Operations

In addition to the productive phases of the actual mining cycle, certain auxiliary unit
operations must be performed. In underground mining, these auxiliary operations consist of
providing and maintaining adequate health and safety, roof support, ventilation and air
conditioning, power supply, pumping, maintenance, lighting, noise abatement,
communications, and handling of supplies. In surface mining, most functions remain the
same, but slope stability, waste disposal, and land reclamation must be practiced instead of
roof support; similarly, air contaminant control is done in place of ventilation.

Generally, the most important auxiliary operations in most mining settings are:

i. Health and safety

ii. Ground control

iii. Atmospheric environmental control

However, power provision, pumping etc are more important in a dredging operation than
general ground control (except for dam stability issues which are a form of ground control).

Various specialization fields of mining engineering and design have grown around these
auxiliary processes, eg Geo-mechanics for ground control, and Mine Environment and Safety
for both Health & Safety and atmospheric environmental control. These are now major
branches in mining engineering.

In planning production cycles, most auxiliary operations are scheduled so as to support but
not interfere with production operations. A few may be conducted as an integral part of the
cycle if they are essential to health and safety or overall efficiency.

6.4 Mine Cycles

In a mining operation, it can be seen that unit operations are performed in an orderly rotation.
When a certain period is complete, with at least one task been seen twice, then one cycle will
have been performed, and the face advanced by the dimensions set in the fragmentation or
ground-preparation stage.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
Normally, the cycle is through to begin with preparation for drilling. Over a number of
cycles, the face will advance so as to define the mine‟s designed geometry.

Cyclical mining is distinguished from continuous mining, in that, apart from the normal
maintenance-related stops in the unit operations, there is a continuous uninterrupted process
of fragmentation/ digging, accompanied continuously with the removal of material from the
digging face and the transportation thereof to further handling/processing points (see section
6.2). Continuous mining is a more efficient and productive approach to mining, and cyclical
processes are usually designed and constantly optimised to approximate the efficiencies of
continuous mining. Dredging with a bucket ladder dredge is a typical example of a
continuous mining operation.

Tables 6.1 and 6.2 below are depictions of idealised cycles for surface and underground
mining.

Table 6.1: Surface Mining Cycle

1. Install Erosion and Sediment Controls: this Step and Step 2 are performed only when
mining new ground. Proceed to Step 3 if entering into a previously mined zone.

a. Ditches, diversions, terraces and down drains

b. Ponds

2. Remove Topsoil

a. Place in temporary, environmentally sound storage piles

b. Place directly on to restored mine land

3. Prepare Drill Bench: if the material is sufficiently soft too not need blasting, then go to
Step 6

a. Level Bench with bulldozer

b. Inspect highwall for potential rockfalls, and scale as necessary

c. Survey and lay out drill holes

4. Drill blastholes

5. Blast

a. Load explosives into boreholes

b. Connect detonators so as to give desired firing order and times.

c. Fire when safe to do so

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

6. Load fragmented material: soft material will be fragmented by the cutting action of the
loading machine

a. In quarry and open pit mining, loading will be into haulage conveyances

b. In large-scale area strip mining, the loading machine also performs the haulage
function (also call casting) in this case)

7. Haul material

a. Ore, coal or other valuable material gos too subsequent processing

b. Waste goes to permanent storage

i. Off-site storage usually accompanies open pit mining

ii. Restored lands characterise strip mining

c. Haulage can be local, as with rubber-tired vehicles used in a gathering mode, or long-
distance

d. Haulage can be cyclical or continuous

i. Cyclical: trucks or load-and-carry vehicles

ii. Continuous: conveyor belts or pipelines

8. Disposal of waste or overburden

a. Overburden storage

i. Waste piles

ii. Rebuild mine lands

b. Preparation wastes

i. Waste disposal ponds

ii. Integrate into overburden storage

9. Restore Topsoil

a. Onto restored mine lands

b. Onto permanent waste piles

10. Reclamation: note that this may not be done with every cycle, but according to the season
or when sufficient acreage has been restored to be efficient. In no case should restored

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

lands be left uncovered

a. Revegetate

i. With temporary cover

ii. With permanent cover

b. Maintenance until permanent succession is achieved

c. Remove temporary draining controls

11. Return to Step 1

Table 6.2: Underground Mining Cycle

Note: this table is intended for drill and blast cycles and not for continuous mining

1. Enter work place after Previous Blast

a. Check that ventilation has removed blasting fumes

b. Provide for dust suppression

c. Inspect back and ribs for loose material

2. Install initial Ground Support

a. Scale, bar down or otherwise remove loose material

b. Install temporary or initial ground support if it is not provided automatically by the

loading machine

3. Load fragmented material

a. Onto gathering haulage

b. Directly onto main haulage

4. Haul material

a. In gathering systems

i. Load-Haul-Dump

ii. Truck Shuttle Car

iii. Gravity Transfer

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

b. Main haulage

i. Truck

ii. Train

iii. Conveyor Belt

iv. Pipeline

5. Install Permanent Ground Support If Needed

6. Extend Utilities If Needed

a. Ventilation

b. Power (electricity or compressed air)

c. Transportation

7. Drill blast-holes

a. Survey for line and grade; mark blast-hole location

b. Drill holes

8. Blast

a. Load explosives into boreholes

b. Connect detonators so as to provide desired firing order and times

c. Blast when safe

d. Return to Step 1

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

CHAPTER 7 – environmental management &

Occupational health & safety

Environmental Management

Introduction

Environmental Management is an attempt to control human impact on and interaction with

the environment in order to preserve natural resources.

When minerals and energy resources were being developed and exploited over many years
ago, environmental issues were not a major consideration for the resources sector or the
community. However, the community now expects the resources sector to apply high
standards of environmental management to all projects.

The community expects and demands that the mining industry integrates environmental
considerations into every development, even at sites remote from settlement. It also expects
that no legacy of environmental damage is left after mining ceases, and that no liability is
transferred to it or the government for the costs of repairing environmental damage or
restoring the mined area to a safe condition which may be suitable for some subsequent
beneficial land use.

Potential impacts from mining

Successful environmental management in the resources sector is dependent on recognising,

and avoiding or minimising, environmental impacts. Protection of the environment requires
careful planning and commitment from all levels and groups within a mining company. Best
practice environmental management in mining demands a continuing, integrated process
through all phases of a resource project from the initial exploration, through construction,
operation, decommissioning and closure. Mining and energy extraction, and associated
processing, have the potential to cause a number of environmental problems if projects are
not properly planned and managed.

Potential problems include:

• Wind and water erosion (erosion may increase sediment loads and decrease water
quality in streams, reduce the productivity of the soil and create a dust nuisance);

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
• Contamination of surface or ground water by sediment, mobilisation of salt, release
of toxic elements from overburden, tailings or wastes, or spills of oil, chemicals or
fuel as surface runoff or as underground seepage;
• Changes to surface and ground water flows and levels;
• Damage to soils including salination, acidification, pollution and compaction or loss
of soil structure;

• Dust or noise nuisance, vibration and a reduction of visual landscape values;

• Generation of tailings and other wastes that may release toxic elements or be
mobilised by erosive forces;

• Gaseous emissions from mineral processing, methane emissions from mine openings,
fumes from coal seam fires;

• Possible sudden failure of engineered containment structures such as tailings dam

embankments, settling and holding ponds, resulting in release of high
concentration/high volume contaminants;

• Acid mine drainage (tailings, ore and waste dumps, and old mining areas which
contain sulphur or sulphides such as iron sulphide, can generate acid through bacterial
oxidation when exposed to moisture and oxygen - this acid leachate may then
mobilise heavy metals that can be released into the environment;
• Loss of flora including direct losses through clearing and indirect effects due to the
spread of plant pathogens and weeds;
• Loss of fauna including direct losses through vegetation clearing and the indirect
effects on species through the reduction and fragmentation of habitat and the
introduction of feral animals;

• Damage to heritage sites; and

`• Destruction of adjacent habitats arising from the development of camps, towns and
services stimulated by the mining project.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
Sources of Pollution

Pollution comes from:

(a) Point Sources – These include chimneys used to disperse combustion products and
residues of minerals being processed, drilling, crushing, screening, conveyors and
transhipments.
(b) Non-point sources - These include all sources that are laterally so extensive that a
specific point of emission cannot be readily identified e.g.:
 Blasting (dust and combustion gases)
 Dust blow from haulage roads
 Dust blow from working areas, tips, stockpiles, tailings dumps etc.
Air Pollutants

There are five (5) major atmospheric pollutants

1. Carbon Monoxide (CO)

2. Hydrocarbons (HC)
3. Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
4. Oxides of Sulphur (SOx)
5. Particulates (Solids and Liquids)
6. Other pollutants include Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
Ozone etc.
Industrial Gases

Gases may be generally classified according to their sources as:

1. Strata Gases
i) Adsorbed gases are physically adsorbed onto the rock under some amount of
pressure. On breaking the rock the pressure decreases and the gas tends to
desorb from the solid. eg. methane
ii) Fissure Gases – These are gases absorbed in fissure water trapped in cracks or
cavities within the rock mass. Under pressure some normally insoluble gases
are soluble in water. When pressure on the water is realised on entering the
excavated area, the gases are released.
iii) Radioactive Gases - Radon, a noble gas produced by the decay of Radium
226, is a typical radioactive gas and under normal conditions is odourless,

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
colourless, non-flammable and tasteless. Radon has no stable isotope and has
atomic masses ranging between 204 and 224, the longest lived of these
isotopes being radon 222 (222Rn)
2. Gases from mining, metal recovery and other industrial operations
i) Blasting – The type of gases and the volume of gases produced are dependent
on the rock hardness, the condition of the blasthole and other factors like the
type of explosive used.
ii) Diesel Engine Emissions – The main contaminants from internal combustion
engines are Carbon Monoxides and the oxides of Nitrogen. Others include
soot, Aldehydes etc.
iii) Gases from Metal Recovery Operations
Examples of these are:
 Mercury liberated onto the atmosphere during recovery of free gold.
 Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) liberated during gold ore recovery using
cyanide solution.
 H2S liberated from flooded worked-out areas underground.
 Cast iron furnaces release CO, CO2, SOX, NOX, and VOCs (Volatile
Organic Compounds.

3. Gases from unscheduled occurrences

Fires and explosions during accidents give off various products of combustion such as
CO, CO2, oxides of nitrogen and of sulphur.

Managing Environmental Impacts of Mining

 Environmental Impact Assessment: Before the implementation of mine plans
 Environmental Management System: During exploration, development and
operational phases
 Restoration, reclamation and rehabilitation: After care

Content of an Environmental Impact Statement

 Physical impacts:

 Visual impacts, noise, dust, smoke, fly rocks, ground vibration ,structural damage, etc
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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
 Chemical Impacts:

 AMD, heavy metals, processing chemicals, effects on surface and ground water, etc

 Agro-Biological impacts

 Ecological aspects, agricultural and environmental health issues

 Socio - Economic impacts

 Economic development, employment, migration, training, culture, demographics, etc

 Measures to mitigate the environmental impacts

Environmental Management Systems

 ISO 14001 EMS or Eco - Management and Audit Scheme(EMAS)

 environmental management policy:

 comply with legislature. Prevention rather than treatment. Disseminate to all

stakeholders

 planning

 form HSE, set objectives, identify areas to monitor, set monitoring systems and
provide training

 implementation

 ensure implementation of plan

 monitoring and reviewing

 active monitoring (waste is properly managed) and reactive monitoring (health

issues, death, etc)

 management review

Restoration, Rehabilitation and Reclamation

 restoration: repairing, enhancing and reconstructing degraded ecosystem

 Rehabilitation: filling of voids, reshaping disturbed areas, vegetation, contour waste

dumps

 Reclamation: process of retrieving and recovering

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

Occupational Health & Safety

Reasons for Preventing Accidents

There are three main reasons for preventing accidents and ill-health.
1) Moral / Humane: No-one comes to work to be injured or killed
2) Legislation: Organizations have a legal obligation.
3) Cost: Accidents cost organizations money.

• An injury to a worker using an unguarded drill cost a small engineering company £45 000.
Also, the managing director was prosecuted and two employees had to be made redundant to
keep the company afloat.

Human Error
• In accident investigations, little consideration was given to understanding the human error;

• Human error, linked with the need to identifya single primary cause lead to the investigation
ending at the error;

• Human error has traditionally been equated with „operator error‟, „driver error‟, „pilot error

The Role of Human Error in Accidents

“The actions of people account for 96% of all injuries” – (DuPont)

“80-90% of accidents are due to human error” (Heinrich et al, 1980)

“50-90% of accidents according to statistics are due to human failings” – Kletz (1990)

“We seem to have passed the era where the need was for further engineering safety
guards….What we have to do is to capture the Human Factor” – Rimmington (1993)

Classification of Human Error

Active/Latent Failures

Active Failures
• Have an immediate consequence.
• Are usually made by front-line people such as drivers, control room and machine operators.
• Immediately precede, and are the direct cause, of the accident.

Latent Failures
• Those aspects of the organisation which can immediately predispose active failures.
• Common examples of latent failures include:
 Poor design of plant and equipment;
 Ineffective training;
 Inadequate supervision;
 Ineffective communications; and

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
 Uncertainties in roles and responsibilities

Latent failures are important to accident prevention because:

• If they are not resolved, the probability of repeat accidents remains high regardless of what
other action is taken.
• As one latent failure often influences several potential errors, removing latent failures can
be a very cost effective route to accident prevention

Slips and Lapses

Slips or Lapses occur in routine tasks with operators who know the process well and are
experienced in their work.
They are action errors, which occur while the task is being carried out.
They often involve missing a step out of a sequence or getting steps in the wrong order and
frequently arise through a lapse of attention.
Operating the wrong control through a lapse in attention or accidentally selecting the wrong
gear are typical examples of slips/lapses.

Mistakes
Mistakes occur when the elements of a task are being considered by the operator.
They are decisions that are subsequently found to be wrong, although at the time the operator
would have believed them to be correct.
Mistakes are inadvertent errors.
The driver who considers he is travelling at a safe speed to negotiate a bend, and then
subsequently realises that he is going too fast, has made a mistake.

Violations
• Deliberate deviations from the rules which are deemed necessary for the safe operation of
equipment.
• Breaches in these rules could be accidental or deliberate.
• Violations are seldom willful acts of sabotage or vandalism.
• The majority stem from a genuine desire to perform work satisfactorily given the constraints
and expectations that exist.

Latent Failures
• Those aspects of the organization which can immediately predispose active failures.
• Common examples of latent failures include:
 Poor design of plant and equipment;
 Ineffective training;
 Inadequate supervision;
 Ineffective communications; and
 Uncertainties in roles and responsibilities.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

Actions for overcoming Active Failures

Slips and Lapses
• Design improvement is the most effective route for eliminating the cause of this type of
human error.

Slips and Lapses - Typical problems

 Switches which are too close and can be inadvertently switched on or off.
 Displays which force the user to bend or stretch to read them properly.
 Critical displays not in the operators field of view.
 Poorly designed gauges.
 Displays which are cluttered with non-essential information and are difficult to read.

Mistakes
• Training is the most effective way for reducing mistake type human errors.
• Based on defined training needs and objectives.
• Evaluated to see if it has had the desired improvement in performance.

Violations
• There is no single best avenue for reducing the potential for deliberate deviations from
procedures.
• Consider the factors that reduce an individual‟s motivation to violate which include:
 Under-estimation of the risk.
 Real or perceived pressure from the boss to adopt poor work practices.
 Pressure from work-mates to adopt their poor working practices.
 Cutting corners to save time and effort.

Addressing Latent Failures

The organization must create an environment which:
• reduces the benefit to an individual from violating rules.
• reduces the risk of an operator making slips/lapses and mistakes.

This can be done by identifying and addressing latent failures.

Risk Assessment

Stages in Risk Management

 Identify Hazards
 Assess Risk
 Control Risk
Risk control plan

Following assessment, a plan to control the risk must be developed. This is generally done at
the same time as the risk assessment, by the same people. You need to consider how to
control the risks and how this could impact on service delivery.
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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining
Prioritise

The risk assessment will have identified the highest risks and these must be dealt with first.
However, if a low priority hazard can be easily fixed, it should still be fixed immediately.

Where possible, eliminate the risk

Your first preference should always be to eliminate the risk entirely, rather than just minimise
it, and this is required by law. For example, rather than transferring a client between
wheelchair and vehicle, use a wheelchair taxi for transport.

Hierarchy of control

Legislation specifies a “hierarchy of control” which should be considered when planning risk
control measures. The higher up the hierarchy, the more effective the control. You should
always start at the top and work your way down the hierarchy. And remember, sometimes
the best solution may need more than one control. Administrative controls and personal
protective equipment must be used in combination with other controls.

The table below shows the hierarchy of control, a description of the controls and examples of
how they may apply in the home care setting. Example 1 is for showering a client and
example 2 is for cleaning a shower.

Risk Control
Description Option/example 1 Option/example 2
Action
1. Eliminate the No longer carry out  not shower client  not clean the
hazard the task shower

If this is not practical then

Substitute the  use a safer / less
hazard giving rise  bed-bathe or sponge
2a. Substitute for toxic cleaning
to the risk with one the client
a lesser risk product
that presents a
lesser risk
and/or
 shower the client in  leave the
Separate the hazard another accessible bathroom to air
2b. Isolate the
in time or space
hazard from the room until the after applying the
from the person at
person at risk hazard is resolved shower cleaner
risk.

and/or
Physical changes to  modify the shower  Install an exhaust
2c. Use
equipment or the
engineering for level access, fan to increase
environment e.g.
controls shower the client on ventilation when
redesign,
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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

ventilation a shower commode cleaning the

chair, use a hand shower
shower

If this is not practical then

 write a procedure on  provide material
Changing work how to shower the safety data sheet,
3a. Use methods, client safely, train train workers in
administrative organisation of
controls tasks, review work workers in the safe use of
routines, training procedure chemical

and/or
 wear gloves, non-
 wear gloves and a
Least effective. slip shoes, apron
3b. Use personal mask to clean
Use in combination when showering
protection shower
with other controls. client

Personal protective equipment

Using personal protective equipment (PPE) is the least effective means of controlling risks
and should always be used in conjunction with other controls. PPE must be kept in good
condition and always worn/used correctly.

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Faculty of Engineering, FBC, USL Year 1, Introduction to Mining

References
Fourie, G.A. and Dohm Jr., G.C. (1992), “Open Pit Planning and Design”, in Ch. 13.1 of
“SME Mining Engineering Handbook”, H.L. Hartman (sen. Editor), Soc. Of Mining,
Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc., Littleton, Colorado, pp. 1274 – 1279

Hartman, H.L and Mutmansky, J.M., (2002), “Introductory Mining Engineering”.. 2nd
Edition, John Wiley & sons, inc...

Lecture Notes (2010), Mining Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Ghana

Pfleider, E.P., “Glossary of Surface Mining Terms”, AIME, The Maple Press, Co., York,
Pennsylvania, pp xvii-xxi

Thomas L.J,.(1973), “ An Introduction to Mining, Hicks Smith & Sons Pty Ltd

Wetherelt, A. (2010), Mining Engineering Lecture Notes, Camborne School of Mines,

University of Exeter, U.K

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