Open Pit Mining

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Openpitminingisusedtoextractoreinrockbodiesthatareatorclosetothesurfaceof theEarth.Largescaleequipment drills,shovels,andtrucks areusedtomakeoperations efficientandeconomical.Whentheymovein,theoreisdugupandsenttoamillfor processingandreclamationproceduresareinitiated.

1 Inanopenpitoperationa rotarydrillisusedtodrill holesthatare~30cmin diameterand~15mdeep. Theholesarecommonly filledwithANFO(short forammoniumnitratefuel oil)explosives.

2 Theblastpattern drillholelocationandspacingandlocation dependsonthe typeofrockminedandoverallmineplan.Thedepthoftheholewilldetermine theheightofthebenchinthepit,generally1213m.

3 Blasting!Explosivesinthedrillholearedetonated,breakinguptherockintosmaller piecesthatcanbetransportedforfurtherprocessing.Dependingonthesizeofthe mine,availabilityofequipment,andcapacityofthemill,blastingmaybescheduled everydayorevery23days.

4 Largeelectricorhydraulicshovelsscoopupblastedrockandloadintohaultrucks. Todaytrucksareverylarge,carrying80200+tonnes perload.Itmaytakeonly23 shovelsfulltoloadahaultruck,thenanemptyoneisreadytotake itsplace.

5 Haultrucksloadedwithoretransportittoaprimarycrusherwhichcrushesthe oretopieceslessthan30cm.

6 Therearedifferentstylesofprimarycrushers(e.g.jaw,gyratory,cone) whichalluseheavysteelpartsthatmovetogethertobreakuptherock. Crushedoremustbehauledbytruckorconveyedtoamillforfurther processing.

7 Haultrucksalsotransportwasterockfromablastoutofthepittoa wasterockdump.

8 Thelocationofwasterockdumpsisdeterminedintheoriginalminedesign.They aregenerallylocatedonthemarginsofanactivepit,butlateroncanbesituatedin aninactivepit,asshownhere.

9 Wasterockdumpsarebuiltuptospecificdimensions.Whenreachedthatsizeand shape,theymustbereclaimed(hyperlinktoMinesitereclamation),reslopedif necessaryandrevegetated.