Elements of Mining (MNC 200)

Monsoon Semester – 2024-25

Lecture: 40-42

Prof. Anindya Sinha

Former Director (Technical), Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL)/CIL
Former Project Adviser/ Joint Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Govt. of India
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 ELEMENTS OF MINING (MNC 200):
Syllabus
 Mining :
 Definition and economic importance;
 Mine – definition, different types and classification; Mine life cycle;
 Exploratory Drilling;
 Mineral deposit – different types and their classification; Mineral resources of India;
 Opening-up of Deposits:
 Choice of mode of entry - adit, shaft, incline, decline and combined mode, their applicability, number and
disposition.
 Box cut - types and location
 Vertical/Inclined Shafts, Inclines/Declines:
 Location, shape, size,
 Organization of shaft sinking, sinking methods,
 Construction of shaft collar, shaft inset, shaft fittings.
 Methods of incline/ decline drivage.
 Overview of underground (UG) mining:
 Different coal mining methods and their applicability & limitations;
 Different metal mining methods and their applicability & limitations;
 Basic concepts of transportation, ventilation, illumination and support in UG mines.
 Overview of surface/ opencast (OC) mining:
 Types of surface mines, applicability & limitations,
2  Unit operations and equipment selection, Pit geometry and layout.
 Overview of Surface/ Opencast (OC)
Mining

 Types of surface mines, applicability & limitations,

 Unit operations and equipment selection, Pit geometry and layout.

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 Classification of Mining
Broad Class Method Applicable to
Classification Coal/Metal/Non-
Metal
Traditional Mining:
Surface Mechanical Open Pit Mining Metal, Non Metal
Quarrying Non Metal
Auger Mining Coal Non Metal
Open cast (strip) mining Coal
Aqueous Placer Hydraulicking Metal, Non Metal
Dredging Metal, Non Metal
Solution In Situ Techniques Metal, Non Metal
Surface Techniques Metal
Underground Unsupported Room and Pillar mining Coal, Non Metal
Stope and Pillar mining Metal, Non Metal
Shrinkage Stoping Metal, Non Metal
Sublevel Stoping Metal, Non Metal
Vertical Crater Retreat mining Metal, Non Metal
Supported Cut and Fill stoping Metal
Stull stoping Metal
4 Square set stoping Metal
 Classification of Mining
Broad Class Method Applicable to
Classification Coal/Metal/Non-Metal
Traditional Mining:
Underground Caving Bord & Pillar Mining Coal
Room & Pillar Mining Coal, Non Metal
Longwall Mining Coal, Non Metal
LTCC Mining Coal
Sublevel Caving Coal, Metal
Block Caving Metal
Novel Mining:
Rapid Excavation Non Coal(Hard Rock)
Automation, Robotics All
Hydraulic Mining Coal, Soft Rock
Methane drainage Coal bed Methane
Underground Gasification Coal/ Hydrocarbons
Underground Retorting Metal, Non Metal
Marine Mining Non Coal
Nuclear Mining Metal, Non Metal
Extra-terrestrial Mining Metal

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 What is Surface Mining?
 Surface Mining: If the excavation used for mining is entirely open or operated
from the surface, it is termed a surface mine.
 In surface mining an open excavation is made to normally extract thick deposits
or near surface deposits. In surface mining or open cast mining extraction of
mineral is carried out strip by strip or in benches. It often necessitates a large
capital investment but generally results in high productivity, low operating cost,
and good safety conditions.
 Variants of Surface Mining:
 Open Pit Mining: Massive stock-work deposits–gold, copper etc.
 Strip Mining: Bedded deposits–coal, phosphates etc.
 Quarry Mining: aggregates, marble, granite etc.
 Placer Mining: minerals in alluvium – Gold, Titanium etc.
 Solution Mining: For any mineral that is in or may be transported in a liquid
state oil, copper, sulpher, uranium, salt etc.

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 A Typical
Opencast
Coal Mine

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Pictorial View of an Opencast Coal Mine

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Pictorial View of an Opencast Coal Mine

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 Pictorial view of a Surface Mine in
Gold Deposit

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Pictorial view of a Surface Mine in
Iron-ore Deposit
 Pictorial view of a Surface Mine in
Copper Deposit
Palabora Copper Mine opened in an igneous deposit of pipe structure in South Africa in
1964 but abandoned in 2002. It is the deepest and steepest mine of the world. Now an
underground mine opened in dip side property of a rich copper deposit with 0.7% copper.

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 Surface Mining : Applicability
1. When ore deposit is large with continuous lateral extension and preferably
horizontal or with low dip or if the economics permits this method can be
applied even to steeper massive deposits.
2. When the ore deposit is at shallow to moderate depth with competent
strata and/or orebody whether flatter or steeper so that heavy equipment
can be deployed or operated.
3. When the ore deposit is preferably uniform i.e. tubular or bedded this
method can be applied, if economics permits.
4. Applicable in any grade of ore body. Many a times this method is
economically viable & technically feasible even if the grade is low.
5. When high rate of production and productivity is of paramount importance
especially with due regard to conservation, quality and safety.

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 Surface Mining : Advantages
1. There is no problem of ventilation (However, very deep surface mines may face
ventilation problems.).
2. There is no problem of roof control and support.
3. There is no problem of lighting in day-time.
4. There is no problem of hazardous mine gases.
5. Percentage of recovery of coal from seams is much higher (>90%) than that of
UG mining (20-60%);
6. Higher productivity / OMS (Output per man-shift);
7. Mostly profitable venture;
8. Danger and mining hazards are lesser in comparison to UG mining;
9. Risk of gas explosion or coal dust explosion is negligible;
10. Bigger mine size with large scale mechanization and automation is feasible.

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 Surface Mining : Limitations
1. Limited by depth (up to 300 approx.). Beyond such a depth it is to be left for
mining in future with upgraded technology of OC mining or may immediately
proceed for Underground Mining for extraction in deeper deposits.
2. Highly capital intensive.
3. Weather detrimental - All season mining is not possible.
4. When the ore body or the rock is not competent viz. free flowing argillaceous
sand, morture etc. formation of stable benches and the dumps are not possible.
5. When Large scale degradation of land in excavation & dump area is not
permitted sometimes even with reclamation especially in reserve forest.
6. When environmental protection is highly critical OC mining may not be feasible.
7. Extremely difficult to safe guard any important and sensitive infrastructure
nearby the mine.

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 Surface Mining : Ideal Conditions
1. Thickness of Coal Seam: > 5.0 m (thicker, the better)
2. Gradient of coal seams: Flatter than 1 in 6 (Flatter, the better) (In steeper
gradient (>150), back filling of mine void is restricted.)
3. Strike length: > 1.0 km (longer, the better)
4. Number of seams: Less the better, with higher thickness
5. Stripping ratio: 2.0 m3/tonne (lesser the better)
6. Coal seams: Devoid of stone bands (specially, of size more than 1.0m, as the
same needs to be mined separately.)
7. Surface free from any obstruction/ structure/ feature.
8. Availability of adequate dumping space.
9. Availability of land in advance
10. Surface infrastructure for easy conveyance and dispatch of coal.

11. Adaptability of mechanization & digitization with higher size HEMMs (Heavy
Earth Moving Machinery).
12. Located as far as possible from the localities.

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 Surface Mining: Classifications
Class Sub-class Methods

Mechanical Open Pit Mining

Quarrying
Strip Mining
Auger Mining
Aqueous Solution Dredging
Hydraulicking
Surface Techniques
In Situ Leaching

Different deposit conditions that favour open-pit mining are detailed in

above table. It may be observed that geometry and extent of the
deposit have a significant influence on the method of mining so
chosen.

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 Surface Mining: Classifications
Open-Pit Mining: is a term properly applied to a surface mining method in which
reclamation is deferred until all, or nearly all, of the deposit is removed within
economic limits. Open-Pit Mining is mostly being worked with shovel-dumper
combination, or Front-End (FE) Loader-Tipper Combination.
Quarrying: is usually restricted to mining dimension stone - prismatic blocks of
marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, slate, etc. that are used for primary
construction of buildings or decorative/ exterior/ interior portions of buildings.
Dimension Stone mining is normally done with high mast crane and truck combination.
In other cases of quarrying operation, shovel-dumper combination or FE loader-Tipper
Combination are deployed
Most illustrative example is that crushed limestone is produced in an open-pit mine,
while dimension limestone is produced in a quarry.
Stripping: This method is primarily used for extracting bedded deposit like coal, lime
stone etc., but may also be applied to other types of materials ranging from metals to
minerals. In this method benches are formed strip by strip by removal of overburden
above the useful mineral. Concurrently backfilling can be done in this method.

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 Surface Mining: Open-Pit Mining
• Traditionally cone-shaped excavation (although it can be of any shape,
depending on the size and shape of the ore-body);
• Applicable when the ore-body is typically pipe-shaped, vein-type, steeply dipping
stratified or irregular;
• Most often associated with metallic ore-bodies; however, it can be used for any
deposit that suits the geometry – most typically diamond pipes;
• Excavation is normally done by rope/ hydraulic shovels with trucks carrying ore/
waste;
• Drilling and blasting is most often used, which makes the process cyclic;
• Waste is dumped outside the mined-out area since no room is available within
the pit;
• Waste is placed as close to the edge of the pit as possible, to minimize transport
costs.

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 Box Cut & Mine Development in Open
Pit Mining in Non-Stratified Deposit
Box Cut

Pit Expansion
& Formation of
Benches

Mine
Development

Reaching
the Final
Pit

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 Surface Mining: Terminology
 Stripping Ratio or strip ratio refers to the ratio of the volume of overburden
(or waste material) required to be handled in order to extract some volume of ore.
For example, a stripping ratio of 3 means that mining one tonne or one cubic
meter of ore will require excavation of three cubic meters of waste rock.
 Break Even Stripping Ratio (BESR)/ Maximum Stripping Ratio(SRmax)/
Cut off Stripping Ratio : The stripping ratio at which cost of mining one tonne
of ore & corresponding volume of waste material equals the revenue received from
sale of one tonne of ore-body.
OR
when cost of mining ore & waste matches with revenue generated by sale of ore.
 Overall Pit Limit is decided by Break Even Stripping Ratio/ Maximum Stripping
Ratio defined as
Allowable Stripping = Value of Ore - Production Cost

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 Surface Mining: Mine Entry
 Access Trench: This gives an access to the Deposit via a ramp which is made
through the overburden to expose a portion of the ore body. An open
excavation/ a trench with trapezium cross section is driven gradually dipping/
normally inclined so as to touch the bottom of the seam & is further extended to
the limits of the property in the horizontal/ strike direction which provides
access/ entry to the entire property in the mine.
 Box Cut: An initial cut driven into the land, where no open side exists;
this results in a high-wall on both sides of the cut. A box cut serves as the first
step in the excavation of most surface mining operations. It consists of a single
trapezoidal/ rectangular cut made in the surface of the earth, forming a box
shape.
A box cut may be the first of many cuts for mining by shovel dumper
combination or Dragline Operation.
 Pit Expansion: Extension of the box cut/ parallel mining operations in 3
directions (4th side is the Access Trench) of mineralized zone.
 Development of Benches: Excavation in horizons in OB/ Coal (top
downwards) serving for deployment of Excavators or other mining equipment.
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 Opening up Deposit & Mine Development

Box Cut
Access Trench

Pit
Expansion
Bench
Develop

Initial Cuts in an Open Cast Mine with Shovel Dumper Combination

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 Box Cut Formation, its extension in 3 direction and bench
formation in stripping downwards: All being parallel operations

Pit Expansion
Pit Expansion
Pit Expansion

Truck & Shovel Box Cut

Access Trench
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 Box Cut Location
Selection of location of Box cut depends on a number of factors, such as:
• Geology of the Deposit
- Depth of Deposit,
- Geological Disturbances such as fault, dyke etc.
- Grade of Deposit,
- Seam Thickness
• Surface Features of the leasehold area
- Accessibility
- Hydrology etc.
• Size of Operation: Box cut will need to accommodate the mining equipment.
• Dumping Requirement: Maximize internal dumping and reduce external
dumping. Minimal distance from the external dump.
• Mineral Production Schedule
• Overburden Excavation Schedule
• Environmental Factors

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 Formation of Benches
 Bench Height: Not higher than height of machine/ shovel operating in the mine;
 Bench Width: In operating benches, 3 times the width of dumper/ tipper/ widest
equipment operating in the mine;
 Bench Slope: In loose material, not steeper than angle of repose of loose material,
and in competent in situ strata, it can be nearly vertical i.e. 70-800;
 Alignment of Benches: Along dip or along strike in flatter seams, & along strike in
steeper seams;
 Haul Road:
 Width: Minimum 3 times the largest width of dumper/ tipper operating in mine;
 Gradient: Not steeper than 1 in 16 in general, and 1 in 10 in ramps from one
bench to the other;
 Transversally/ cross gradient Camber (i.e. a slight downward curve from the middle
of the haul road to each side) is provided for auto drainage of water.
 At turnings, there should not be any slope/ gradient rather slope should be provided
after or before the turnings.
 Surface of the haul road not to be black topped rather should be made of only WBM
26 material with morrum on surface to have frictional resistance between tyres and haul
road.
 Formation of Benches: DGMS Guidelines
CMR 106: Mechanized opencast workings:
• The height of the benches in overburden (OB) consisting of alluvial soil, morum,
gravel, clay, debris or other similar ground shall not exceed 3 m and the width thereof
shall not be less than 3 times the height of the bench.
• The height of benches in coal and OB of rock formation shall not be more than the
digging height or reach of the excavation machine in use for digging, excavation or
removal, and the width thereof shall not be less than the width of the widest machine
plying on the bench plus 2 m; or if dumpers ply on the bench, 3 times the width of
the dumper; or the height of the bench, whichever is more.

CMR 107: Reclamation:

• All excavations made by opencast mining shall be suitably reclaimed by back filling or
by any other means.

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 Formation of Benches: DGMS Guidelines
CMR 108. Spoil-banks and dumps:
(1) While removing overburden, the top soil shall be stacked at a separate place, so that,
the same is used to cover the reclaimed area.
(2) The slope of a spoil bank shall be determined by the natural angle of repose of the
material being deposited but, in any case, shall not exceed 37.5 degrees from the
horizontal.
(3) Loose overburden and other such materials from opencast workings or other rejects
from washeries or from other sources shall be dumped in such a manner that there is
no possibility of dumped material sliding.
(4) Any spoil bank exceeding 30 m in height shall be benched so that no bench exceeds
30 m in height and the overall slope shall not exceed 1 vertical to 1.5 horizontal.
(5) The toe of a spoil-bank shall not be extended to any point within 100m of a mine
opening, railway or other public works, public road or building or other permanent
structure not belonging to the owner.
(6) A suitable fence shall be erected to prevent unauthorized person from approaching
the spoil-bank.
(7) No person shall approach or be permitted to approach the toe of an active spoil bank
where he may be endangered from material sliding or rolling down the face.
(8) Adequate precautions shall be taken to prevent failure of slopes of the spoil banks or
dumps.
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 Formation of Benches: DGMS Guidelines
CMR 122. Working near mine boundaries in opencast mines:
(1) every opencast mine shall have fixed boundaries of the mine and shall not be
changed without DGMS permission.
(2) No working shall be made within a distance of 7.5 meters of the boundary of any
mine.

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 Quarrying
• Quarrying is done for dimension stone which are normally non-metallic viz. granite,
marble, limestone, sandstone, flagstone, slate etc.
• Quarries resemble open pits, but the benches (called faces) are lower and nearly
vertical. In overall appearance, the high wall of a quarry is often of imposing height
and steepness, some attaining a vertical dimension approaching 300 m.
• Mining of such deposit produces prismatic blocks of mineral, which are both roughly
sized and shaped.
• Because of the difficulty and cost associated with cutting stone, quarrying is the
most expensive among the surface mining methods.
• It is highly selective, small-scale method with low productivity.
• Although the term quarry is sometimes applied to any surface mine producing a
non-metallic mineral, it is preferable to restrict quarrying to denoting a dimension
stone operation and the unique methods associated with it.

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Quarrying: Dimension Stone Mining
 Surface Mining: Terminology
• Free face: The face of a bench which is free to move when blasting is done.
• Charged Hole: A blast hole filled with explosive and detonator.
• Burden: Distance of the charged hole from the nearest free face.
• Spacing: Distance between the adjacent blast holes in a row.
• Controlled blasting: Controlling of blast-induced ground/ structural vibration by
limiting the maximum charge per delay.
• Stemming: Length of filling done in a charged blast hole (generally, with drill
cuttings/ angular fragments) to provide confinement to explosive.
• Fly rock: Rock pieces that get released while blasting and fly to large distances.
• Throw: Horizontal movement of broken rock after blasting (normally limited to
one single bench).

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 Surface Mining: Terminology

33
 Sequence in Strip Mining

34
 Strip Mining with Dragline & Shovel
Dumper Combination

35
 Surface Mining: Haul Road
 During the life of the mine, Haul road must be maintained for access, wherever
planned for the purpose.
 Generally, haul roads are arranged spirally along the perimeter walls of the pit.

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 Surface Mining: Opencast (Strip)
Mining
• It is most common surface exploitation method normally used for large scale mining
of coal & other bedded deposits.
• This resembles open pit mining with one unique difference i.e. the overburden may
not be required to be transported to waste dumps for disposal but casted/ dumped
directly into adjacent mined out area.
• Strip mining is ideally applied where the surface of the ground and the ore body itself
are relatively horizontal/ flatter and not too deep under the surface, and a wide area
is available to be mined in a series of strips.
• Typical examples of this type of mining are the large capacity coal mines.
• Walking draglines are for many years the most popular machine for this type of
mining due to their flexibility, utility and availability, but more importantly, their low
operating costs for waste mining. But in smaller mines Shovel Dumper
combination is being deployed.
• Favorable conditions for strip mining are:
• Extensive area of reserves,
• Relatively thin overburden,
• If thick and flatter ore-body, it should be regular in shape without undulation, not
scattered,
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• Uniform surface topography, may be multilayered deposit/ coal seams.
Types of Surface Mines: Applicability
Character Open Pit Quarrying Strip Mining Augering
Ore Strength Any Any (Sound Any Any
Structure)
Rock Strength Any Any Any Any

Deposit Shape Any (Tabular) Thick bedded Tabular bedded Tabular

or massive Bedded
Deposit Dip Any Low dip Any Any (Low dip) Low dip

Deposit Size Large Thick Large Thick Large moderate Limited

Thickness extent, thin
Ore Grade Low high low low

Ore Uniformity Uniform Uniform Fairly Uniform Uniform

Depth Shallow to Shallow to Shallow shallow
moderate moderate
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 Surface Mining: Cycle of Operation
1. Stripping of Overburden (OB) depends on nature of overburden which:
• May be removed even without breakage
• May be excavated only after ripping
• Hard rock requiring drilling & blasting which is normally prevalent in most of the
Coal mines & hard rock mines

Unit operations/ Cycle of Operations for removal of Overburden:

a. Drilling: Auger drill/ rotary/ percussive/ rotary percussive etc.
b. Blasting with Slurry/ Cartridge or Bulk/ Emulsion/ Heavy ANFO
c. Detonation/ firing by Electric/ Electronic detonator/ Detonating Cord or fuse
/ NONEL system
d. Excavation: by Dragline/ Rope Shovel/ Hydraulic Excavator/ Bucket Wheel
Excavator (BWE)/ Dozer/ Scrapper/ Cast blasting etc.
e. Transportation: by Dumper/ Tipper/ Scrapper/ Conveyor etc.

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 Surface Mining: Cycle of Operation
2. Mining Ore or Coal: This depends on nature of ore/host rock & includes following:
• Cleaning: normally by dozer etc.
• Drilling: Auger drill/ rotary/ percussive/ rotary percussive etc.
• Blasting: ANFO/ Slurry/ Emulsion, sometimes without blasting just by ripping.
• Excavation and loading: Front End Loader/ hydraulic Shovel/ Surface Miner/
Ripper Miner etc.
• Transport: Truck/ Dumper/ Belt conveyor etc.
• Processing or beneficiation: Beneficiation Plants or Coal Handling Plant or
Coal Washeries.

3. Auxiliary Operations:
It includes Haul Road construction & maintenance, equipment maintenance, material
supply, maintaining lighting/ safety standards, Dust/ environmental control, drainage
& pumping, communication, power distribution, slope stability, reclamation, operation
& maintenance of Coal Handling Plant (CHP), Coal dispatch siding/ SILO
management etc.

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41
 Strip Mining: HEMMs
Important Equipment/ HEMMs (Heavy Earth Moving Machinery) for Strip
Mining:
• Walking draglines are for many years the most popular machine for this type of
mining for removal of overburden due to their flexibility, utility and availability, but
more importantly, their low operating cost.
• Shovel Dumper combination is being deployed universally in almost all types of
surface mining due to their flexibility, utility and availability, but due to their high
operating cost on account of dumper deployment, more efficient cheaper
alternatives need to be explored.

(a) Based on construction Shovels are of following types:

1. Rope Shovel: mostly mechanical types operated with electric power
2. Hydraulic Excavator: mostly hydraulically powered by IC engines.
(b) Based on operation Shovels are of following types:
i. Front End operation: Operates while deployed in front of fragmented face
ii. Backhoe operation: Operates while deployed on top of fragmented face and
excavating the same bench.
 Strip Mining: Flow Chart

43
Various excavators used for earth work,
mining of ore body and removal of OB

Dozer & Ripper Scraper

Hydraulic Front Shovel Hydraulic Back-hoe

Development of open cast mines(a), and their deepening process(b): formation
and deepening of benches in orebody and overburden in gently dipping seams:
46
47
48
 Stripping in a Surface Mine with Dragline
& Shovel-Dumper combination

49
 Stripping in a Surface Mine with Dragline
& Shovel-Dumper

50
 Stripping in a Surface Mine with Dragline
& Shovel-Dumper
1. Digging of top soil and subsoil by Ripper followed by loading and transportation by
Shovel Dumper Combination,
2. Extraction of OBR by Dragline after drilling and blasting
3. Extraction of coal by Shovel Dumper Combination after drilling and blasting

51
 Working with Dragline

52
 Stripping with Draglines
• The most common machines average a 46-60 m3 bucket size, there has been a
trend in favour of larger machines. These draglines feature much larger bucket sizes
(up to 125m3) and dimensions allowing the draglines to operate at greater depths
and widths without needing pre-stripping and reducing re-handle.
• Largest draglines may have 125m3 (160 yd3) buckets. Draglines of this size
can move 30–35 MCM per year.
• A large dragline can operate through a range from about 50 m above to 65 m
below its working level. With advanced techniques, the dragline can handle
overburden depths of about 80 m.
• Draglines work in strips and the overburden is excavated by the dragline
and dumped on the surface for the initial strip (box cut) and subsequently in
adjacent mined out strips.
• Strips are generally aligned along strike with each subsequent strip down dip from
the previous strip. The dragline starts at one end (or the middle) of the strip and
advances along the same strip to the other end.
• At the completion of each strip the dragline relocates to the start of the strip and
commences the next strip, this is referred to as deadheading.

53
 Stripping with Draglines
• Widths of Dragline pit is a critical pit parameter (commonly 40–90m) of
Dragline operation which not only depend on size and specification of Dragline and
Digging method but is also influenced by the depth of the overburden, blasting
method and material characteristics,.
• Lengths of the pit or the Strip Length are commonly 1,000–3,000m, some
operations may have shorter strip length up to 300m or as long strip length up to
3,000m.
• The pad on which a dragline sits is relatively at level. Draglines can propel up and
down on 1 in 10 gradient or across 1 in 20 gradient. When they march it is
important that they do so gradually, always distributing the load evenly across the tub
(the dragline’s circular base) and shoes.
• Draglines are designed to work in soft underfoot conditions, and as such are designed
with tub ground bearing pressures on the order of 1.2–1.4 kg/cm2 (17–20 psi).

54
 Initial Box Cut In Dragline Mining

55
 Stages of Stripping by Dragline

56
Mining of two seams by Dragline
(a) (e)

(b) (f)

(c)

(g)

(d)
 Stripping with Dragline: Applicability
Draglines are the lowest cost overburden removal equipment in common use. A dragline
consists of a large bucket suspended from a boom with wire ropes. The bucket is
maneuvered by a number of ropes & Chains.
The deployment of draglines are more suitable for:
• Large deposits to ensure adequate strip length and sufficient reserves to justify the
capital expenditure.
• Gently dipping deposits (up to 1 in 6 gradient), due to stability problem of spoil heaps
on steeper gradient.
• Shallow deposits, as draglines can only excavate up to a maximum depth of about 80
m of overburden due to limitations in its reach and dump height.
• Where there is possibility of side casting of overburden removed from top of the coal
seam on the de-coaled area.
• Ideally suited for removal of overburden above single coal seam or at most for
removal of inter-burden lying between 2 coal seams.

58
 Shovel Dumper Combination

59
 42 m3 Rope Shovel (Gevra OCP)

60
 Rear Dumper (60/100 T)

61
 240 T Rear Dumper, Gevra OCP, SECL

62
 30 T Tipping Trucks, Piparwar OCP, CCL

63
 Stripping with Shovel-Dumper
Combination
• This is the most commonly used equipment in opencast/ surface mines.
• Basically two variants – Rope Shovels & Hydraulic shovels.
• Electric and Diesel driven equipment are available.
• Front-end and Backhoe Shovels are available.
• Bucket Capacities vary from 0.9 m3 to 42 m3.
• Selection depends on the parting-wise volumes to be removed.

Applicability:
1. Universally applicable - including geologically complex deposits which can not be
efficiently mined by a dragline. However, in such cases, pits may acquire irregular
shapes.
2. Steeply dipping deposits, where other equipment cannot be operated on the seam
roof and floor. In such cases, mining commences at one end of the deposit and
advances along strike to the other end.

64
 Stripping with Shovel-Dumper
Combination
Applicability:
3. To access the coal seam/seams the pit advances vertically to the deeper levels &
concurrently to the mine boundary in the strike direction/ horizontally. Overburden is
initially dumped externally and then inpit dumping is done when sufficient dump
room is available.
4. Basin deposits that combine the problems of steep dips at the margins with short
strike length and varying overburden depth along the strip.
5. Small deposits, which do not require high productivities but need to be economically
viable,
6. Mining of Multi Seams/ bedded deposits,

The versatility of the system and ability to haul large distance makes this system
extremely favourable in nearly all mining situations provided mining is economically
viable.

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 Hydraulic Excavators/ Shovels
With the use of Hydraulic Excavators mining becomes more flexible, faster, more
productive. It is universally applicable in any type of strata because it is lighter machine
which exerts less ground pressure and hydraulic movements are much faster reducing
cycle time.

Advantages of Hydraulic Excavators:

• Hydraulic Excavator is faster and more productive than a Rope Shovel.
• Versatile-easy to march from one on the same bench and from one bench to other.
• Can march on steeper gradient.
• Can be deployed in a constricted place, if required.
• Can be used for preparation of sump and drains.
• Can load on dumper placed at the same level of excavator and below the level of
excavator.
• Can be deployed for removal of soft coal/ strata without blasting.
• Can be deployed for removal of thin seams.
• Can be fitted with a rock breaker (ripper) attachment after removal of bucket.
• Initial Capital cost is low as compared to Rope Shovel.

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• The life of Hydraulic excavator is less as compared to rope shovel.
 Hydraulic Excavator with Dumper

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 Hydraulic Excavator/ Shovel

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Hydraulic Excavator (Backhoe type)
with Dumper
Wheel Loader – Front End Loader
• These wheel loaders are Load Haul Dump (LHD) machine. They differ from dipper
shovels, which have a dipper in place of a bucket to carry the load. A shovel can
revolve to discharge contents of its dipper, whereas a FE Loader has to travel to
discharge its bucket to a muck pile or haulage unit.
• Wheel loaders are available with small bucket size of 0.6m3 to 42 m3 or more.
Important specifications and working range of such loaders are given with the
manufacturer’s handbook.
• These units are wheel mounted (0.6m3 to 42 m3), but some models (0.8 to 4 m3) are
also available with crawler mounting for their use in rough and undulating terrain.
Both of these versions can be primarily used for loading (i.e. mucking at coal faces
loading onto dumpers/ tippers) and secondarily for hauling and casting.
• Such loaders are used for mucking and ground excavation purposes in soft to hard
formations. They are portable and move from one site to another and within the same
site. Availability with a wide range of buckets and capacities are also favorable
features of such units.
FE Loader loading onto Dumper
Output from these units/hour is matter of bucket capacity. Apart from surface
quarrying, pitting, ground excavation (in general) at the construction sites for road,
rail, dam or any other civil work, they find their use for mucking at large sized
tunnels.
 Front End Loader for Face Loading

Front-end (FE) Loader in

Operation in OC Coal Mine

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 Coal Siding: Pay-loader Loading

Coal Siding with

Pay-loader Loading

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 A Typical Surface Mine Plan

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 A Typical Surface Mine

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 Dozer
A dozer or bulldozer is a crawler mounted heavy earth moving equipment with a
heavy metal plate mounted in the front which is used to push large quantities of soil,
sand rubble, boulders etc.

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 Motor Grader
Graders are commonly used in the construction
and maintenance of dirt and gravel roads for
creating a flat surface. For civil engineering
projects, the purpose of the graders is to
perform fine grading. The motor grader can
also be found on major mining sites all over
the world.

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80
 Strip Mining: Drill Rigs
Drilling machine in open cast mining is used for extracting rock or minerals from the
earth by their removal from an open pit. Thus it is also called open pit mining drilling. It
is built to adapt to the toughest operating environments in the world. Commonly used
drill dia. of 100mm/ 150mm/ 258mm/ 311 mm are used in opencast coal mines.

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 Strip Mining: Drill Rigs
Blast hole drilling is a method
of drilling used to clear out
large amounts of the earth and
make the minerals below easier
to access. It involves the
drilling of holes into the earth.
Explosive charges are then
placed into each hole and
detonated. After the explosion,
the broken material is cleared.

Drill rigs drilling blast holes in a OC Mine

82 in regular pattern – ready for blasting A typical diamond drill bit
 Strip Mining: Water Sprinkler
Mobile water sprinklers (10 kl/ 15 kl/ 28 kl/
60 kl storage capacity) are used in OC
mines for dust suppression and haul road
management.

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 Stripping with Ripper Miner
• The Ripper is a hydraulic attachment for excavators, developed with a system of
“Impact Technology by accumulation of energy”, which makes it in 80% of work
applications, more productive than any hydraulic hammer available in the market.
• Ripper miners work with vibration (‘Vibro-Ripper’), or with percussion (impact) system
(‘Impact Ripper’), which uses the energy accumulator that it carries inside, together
with a system of eccentrics.
• Made entirely of anti-wear steel, it is virtually maintenance free and less noisy than
any other digging tool.
• This accessory can be used underwater without any risk of being damaged and is
adaptable to countless workplaces.
• Some of its main applications are:
• Excavation in quarries (both OB & mineral ore/ coal), highwall dressing etc.
• Civil construction,
• Formation ditches,
• Tunneling,
• Demolition of structures, and
• Works under water.
• Ripper head is normally attached with an excavator/ shovel boom (replacing its
84 bucket). In OC mines for softer rock digging this machine is useful.
 Ripper Attachment to Excavator Boom

85
 Stripping with Ripper Miner
Advantages:
 Production 3 to 5 times higher than hydraulic hammer.
 Minimum noise levels Minimum maintenance, no daily lubrication required.
 Minimum wear parts consumption; Reinforced housing to prevent wear and cracks
 Less fuel consumption m3/ton produced.
 Less emissions per m3/ton produced.
 Environmental protection (Bio lubricants).
 Economic alternative to “Drilling and blasting”.
 Marine/under water operation without any modification.
 Easy operation and improves operator comfort Saving time and fuel.
 Narrower housing, to have greater visibility, better for working in trenching
 Reinforced mechanics with a drive pinion added to the eccentric assembly, to
achieve a greater impact at a lower frequency.
Disadvantages:
 Ripper miner rate of production is lesser.
 Cannot operate in hard formations.
 Company does not manufacture the complete machine, but only the ripper head.
86 There may problem of equipment matching.
 Stripping with Bucket Wheel Excavator
• Bucket Wheel Excavators (BWEs) are originally designed for relatively easy digging
materials (gravel, sand, loam, marl, clays, and lignite). These have included compact
sediments such as shale, coal, some limestone, and tar sands.
However, BWEs have been developed which can dig relatively hard material.
• The machine digs out the material using buckets mounted on large wheel which
revolves. The teeth on the individual buckets are the primary digging/ breaking tools
that break out the material from the ground.
• BWEs are most often attached to a conveyor network where waste material is sent to
a spreader and/or the ore is sent to the stockpile.
• Abrasive material produces excessive wear on the teeth (some modern tooth design
can significantly increase tooth life).
• Very limited flexibility however BWE can mine both thin overburden and deeper
overburden where single bucket machine e.g. Dragline etc. is impossible to deploy.
• High capital costs but may prove to be economical for mining of weak flat tabular
deposits.
• Distinct advantages in direct reclamation (environmental benefit).

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Stripping with Bucket Wheel Excavator
► BWE is a multi bucket heavy-duty continuous excavator, which is capable of
producing a large output.
► The body of the excavator rests on an under frame having a number of Caterpillar
tracks. This unit can turn round its vertical axis by a swinging mechanism. The
bucket wheel has a number of buckets mounted on it. This wheel is mounted at the
end of a frame or jib, which looks like a girder or heavy beam.
► A conveyor installed within the jib receives the ground cut by the wheel buckets and
delivers it to another conveyor, which is fitted at the tail end of this equipment.
► The ground/rock from this conveyor is directly loaded into a haulage unit, which
could be train, conveyor, or a fleet of trucks. The jib can be lowered or raised with
the help of ropes/cables that are suspended from a boom.
► Use of the world’s largest BWE at a German Hambach open pit mine, Rheinbraun,
excavates a daily output of 240,000 m3.
► Similarly, is the mine lignite deposit at Neyveli in India using bucket wheel
excavators, where the stripping ratio is 11 (or 5.5 m3 per ton of lignite), i.e. 11
tonnes of overburden need to be removed to mine 1 tonne of lignite, and 13 tonnes
of water need to be pumped out of the mine 1 tonne of lignite. The excavators of
this type can work at different benches of the same pit.
 Bucket Wheel Excavator

89
 Bucket Wheel Excavator
Large BWE: Capacity 2,40,000 m3 per day, capable of cutting a digging
height up to 100m.

90
 Bucket Wheel Excavator

91
 Stripping with Bucket Wheel Excavator

92
 Bucket Wheel Excavator
Smallest & Compact BWE capable of cutting hard material with capacity ranging from
450-2000CUM/hr & can be transported on a truck/dumper.

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 Bucket Wheel Excavator in Action

94
 Spreader Conveyor

Spreader
Conveyor

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 Surface Miner
Working Principle of Surface Miner:
• The surface minor is crawler mounted machine with one cutting drum located in the
centre
• The drum is lowered hydraulically with powerful hydraulic motors for cutting
coal/limestone for variable cutting depth of cut
• The material cut is loaded onto primary & secondary discharge conveyers for loading
the same onto the loading/ transporting equipment.
• The rear crawler travel at lower level then the front crawlers to adjust to the
required depth.

Applicability of Surface Miner:

• Flat or gently dipping coal seam
• Best suited for rock compressive strength up to 60Mpa
• Less abrasive rock
• Thin seam or thin dirt bands
• Sizes material/selective mining
• Environmentally sensitive area

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 Surface Miner “Cut to the Ground”
Operation

97
 Surface Miner “Direct Loading”
Operation

98
 Surface Miner in Operation at
Piparwar Mine, CCL

99
 Surface Miner
Advantages of Surface Miner:
• Drilling & Blasting is eliminated.
• Primary crushing is eliminated added with very good fragmentation.
• Eco friendly mining.
• Very good conservation of coal.
• High productivity with simultaneous operation. Number of such machines can be
deployed on same bench as well on various coal benches.
• Compatibility with in-pit belt conveyor system. if installed in tandem.
• Better Safety.
• Fetches higher sale price of coal due to product size (-)100 mm (without
crushing).

Limitation of Surface Miner:

Although this machine can not be applied to Steep seams & on limited bench width;
with continuous upgradation, this machine is becoming universally applicable with
added advantage of Eco-friendly mining.

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 Surface Miner

101
 …Thank You…

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