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Lecture - 27

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3 views

Lecture - 27

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nehasidar152
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHALLENGES IN DEEP SURFACE MINING

1. Stability of high benches


 Slope failures are one of the leading causes of fatalities in opencast mining
operations.
 It is obvious that as the mine will go deeper, the benches will face stability
problem. This will be enhanced due to weight of upper benches and
movement of HEMM (Heavy Earth Moving Machinery) as well.
 To overcome this situation the sides shall have to be kept sufficiently flat to
avoid collapse.
 Faster rate of extraction shall be ensured to avoid benches
standing for longer period.
 Keeping in view the maximum recovery with stable benches, Safe
geotechnical designs of slope using some stabilization techniques for
permanent slopes and installation of slope monitoring devices for these
slopes are some of the ways to reduce the chances of slope failures.
2. Transportation of material to pit top
 As opencast mines get deeper, haul distances and cost of transportation will
increase manifold, so standard size dumpers have to be replaced with larger
trucks with payloads of up to 400 tons.
 Selection of suitable size and type of equipment can result in greater energy
efficiency and productivity.
 Haul road optimization, dump configuration and optimization can minimize
the overall transport cost.
 For smooth running of dumpers and excavators and other HEMM , it is
essential to provide adequate working space on the operational areas by
way of increased bench width and wider haul roads.
3. Blasting of benches
 To have stable slopes, having large no. of small benches may be a
good option.
 But, this will not facilitate blasting a large no. of holes with explosives
having high shattering effect.
 To overcome this problem, blasting of less no. of holes with low
explosives may be adopted.
 However, this will require more frequent blasting and shifting of HEMM
during each blast.
 Transport of explosives, especially to deeper parts is an added
problem.
 Site Mixed Slurry (SMS) system of blasting represents the most
advanced and economical method.
4. Ventilation
 Natural ventilation in deep open pits is of great concern as the mine will have
inadequate ventilation, insufficient fresh air to breathe and affecting clearing
away of dust, exhaust emission of dumpers and blasting fumes.
 Deepening of pits worsening the problem of natural ventilation at the pit
bottom.
 The shape of the pit and slope present therein guides the wind flow. Also it
play a major role in increase in the wind speed.
 The only feasible solution to this problem is to install a heavy duty electrically
operated Exhaust Fan system. It may be a multi impeller axial fans made of
two or more fans in series, with ventilation ducts up to the surface. However, a
detailed pre-installation study is essential before selecting any fan system.
5. Drainage of the mine
 The deeper the mine, the more will be accumulation of rain
water. Intersection of ground water aquifer will also increase the
influx of water.
 The quantity of water to be discharged may be so large that it
may affect start of production from deeper parts as soon as
rainy season recedes.
 Drainage of rain water and ground water may be difficult owing
to long pipe range from sump to surface.
 The different types of solutions to this situation are available of
which having series of intermediate sumps made at different
benches at different levels to collect rain water may be best one.
This will result in saving of head and power consumption.
6. Backfilling in mined out lower sections
 Land degradation, due to external dumping in India has assumed a
significant dimension because loss of agricultural land, loss of ground water
etc.
 So, it is essential to design environmentally sustainable backfilling plans for
simultaneous backfilling of operational, highly inclined, and deep opencast
mines.
 However, various constrains in backfilling also exist.
 When a coal seam dips at more than 28–30° backfilling becomes difficult or
only partially possible.
 When dip is even higher, less effective space is available for accommodating
overburden.
7. Adverse impact on water regime
 Open cast mining affects the hydrological regime of the region
and quality of surrounding water.
 Lot of water is required in various mining activities. The water
collecting into the mine sump is partly used up for these activities
and the excess water is taken out and discharged into the
surface.
 A deep mine is likely to have longer haul roads requiring more
spraying water.

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