Surface Mining and

Underground Mining

I4 - GGG

Dr. BUN Kim Ngun

Introduction of Mining Engineering

Stage of Mining Prospecting and Exploration

Stage of Mining Development and Exploitation

Unit Operations of Mining

Surface Mine Development

Surface Mining Method Mechanical Extraction

Surface Mining Method Aqueous Extraction

The major purposes of development are to provide

access to the ore deposit, permitting entry of the
miners, equipment, supplies, power, water and
ventilating air, as well as egress for the mineral being
mined and the waste produced. (Development is
the work of opening a mineral deposit for
exploitation).

Involved in development are all steps necessary to

bring a mine into full scheduled production. These
include planning, design, construction and other
phases.

Development activities commence during

exploration stage and feasibility study economic
analysis, land acquisition, selection of mining
method, preliminary financing, excavation of
opening.

In surface mine, access to an ore body overlain by

waste is gained by stripping the overburden (which is
placed on disposal dumps and subsequently must be
reclaimed).
In an underground mine, small sized openings are
driven from the surface to intersect the ore body and
eventually to connect with large exploitation
openings.

Because mainly waste material is involved in

development stage, little income accrues during the
excavation of development openings (any ore
encountered is generally stockpiled until the mine
goes into production).

Other purposes of development are related to

preparatory work, facilities, personnel, and services the
support the mining and mineral processing.

Following a successful exploration program and prior to

developing a mineral property, consideration of variety
of influencing factors is necessary.
These factors can be divided in three categories:
- Locational Factors
- Natural and Geologic Factors
- Social Economic Political Environmental Factors

1. Locational factor: Ore bodies are located where you

found them and not always in the most advantageous
settings.

Variables affected by location:

(a) Ease of transport of the mineral products and supplies.
(b) Availability of labor and support services (housing,
educational and recreational facilities).
(c) Operational (and psychological) impacts of climate
and weather.
(d) Employees satisfaction with their lifestyle.

2. Natural and Geological factors: This will affect many

key aspects of mine development, especially access
openings and surface plant location.

The most important factors in this category will include:

(a) Topography
(b) Spatial relations (size, shape, attitude, depth, etc) of
the ore body.
(c) Rock mechanics properties (strength, modulus of
elasticity, hardness, abrasiveness, etc).
(d) Chemical and metallurgical properties of the ore that
affect processing and smelting.

3. Social economic-political Environment Factors: Most of the

time out of control of the mining company, a number of
variables can exercise a disproportionate influence on
both the development and operation of a mine. Their
influence may be difficult to predict ahead of time.

Factor:
(a) Demographics and occupational skills of the local
population.
(b) Means of financing and marketing (determines the scale
and continuity of operation)
(c) Political stability of host country (less developed countries
constitute a high rick for foreign investors)
(d) Environmental legislation
(e) Government aids, government restrictions, and taxes on
mineral enterprises.

The steps generally carried out during mine development

for both surface and underground mines include the
following:
1. Adoption of a feasibility report as a planning
document, subject to modification as the project is
developed and mined.
2. Confirmation of the mining method(s) and general
sequence of mining (initial choice of equipment types
and size of the workforce may also be made at this
point).

3. Arrangement of financing, based on confirmation of

ore reserves and cost estimates by independent
consultants.
4. Acquisition of land and mineral rights as needed.
5. Filing of environmental impact statement, obtaining
the mining permit and posting of bonds subject to
both federal and state statutes, as applicable.
6. Provision of surface access, transportation,
communication, and power supply to the mine site.

7. Planning and construction of the surface plant,

including all support and service facilities and
administrative offices.
8. Erection of the mineral processing plant, if required,
and ore-handling and shipment facilities, and
preparation of stockpiling and waste disposal
facilities.
9. Acquisition of mining equipment for development
and exploitation.

10. Construction of the main openings to the ore body

in underground mining or advanced stripping in
surface mining to provide direct access to the ore
zone.
11. Construction of the underground facilities (ore
passes, crusher stations, transport systems, etc) or
the surface installations (crusher station, water
handling system, maintenance garages, etc) to
initiate production.
12. Recruitment and training of the labor force and
provision of general support services (housing,
transportation, educational needs, medical
services, consumer goods, etc.) as necessary.

The Several of these steps may be conducted

simultaneously; other may be added because of
special needs (e.g. taking on partners, negotiating
shipping and sales agreement etc.) and some may be
omitted (e.g. land acquisition if completed during
exploration).
To ensure that all development tasks are completed on
time, careful scheduling is normally required.

Mining land may be applied on land selected from the

Prospecting Permit/License (Prospecting/Exploration
License for the new legislation).
The alienated land can also be acquired and be
converted to mining land.
Since the land belongs to the state , all applications
must be made to the State government.

Environmental issues are governed by the

Environmental Quality Act. Mining is regarded as a
prescribed activity, whereby Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) report has to be submitted to the DOE
before the application is being considered by the land
office.
Any mining venture must consider this EIA as cost as the
report has to be prepared by a consultant.

 Financing of Mining Ventures:

Mining is considered a high-risk industry for investment

purpose speculative venture.
In financing a mining venture, the developing company
must both decide on and arrange a means of
financing. Factors to consider are terms of the land
acquisition agreement (lease, purchase, etc),
marketing arrangements (long-term contracts are
almost a necessity), time to repay any loan incurred
(preferably the same as the life of the mine, risk factor of
the venture (set by lending agencies), a political
climate of the host country and the possible operation
of the mine as a joint venture with another company.

 Financing of Mining Ventures:

Funds become available when development

expenditures begin and continue at a rate to match
spending, until the mine generates sufficient revenues to
cover operating expenses.
In financing a mining venture, the developing company
must both decide on and arrange a means of financ .

 Financing of Mining Ventures:

Alternative forms of financing popularly used to develop

mines are as follows:
- Loan from commercial banks, and private investment
sources trust funds, insurance companies or foreign firms.
- Issues of securities, stocks and bonds, through investment
houses or banks (a form of internally generated financing
that avoids borrowing secured by collateral).
- Rental of equipment by leasing firms (avoid debt
financing, but limited in application).
- Government loads world bank or International Monetary
Fund for projects in Third world countries, etc.

 Implementation of the Mine Development Plan:

Once financing is secured, speed is now essence.

Interest costs on any borrowed money begin to accrue
immediately and will continue through the life of the
mine.
Changes in the original feasibility report are to be
expected, too many changes can be costly to
implement in terms of both time and money.

 Implementation of the Mine Development Plan:

Every effort is made to get the mine into production at

the earliest possible moment the strategy minimized
front-end expenditures to realize an early cash flow from
operations.
Because of the complexity of mine construction, the
scheduling and coordination of task is best done by
applying operation research technique such as CPM
The completion time can only be shortened by
rearranging or improving individual task times.

 Implementation of the Mine Development Plan:

In the construction phase, one decision looms as critical

and must precede all others, and that is selection of the
plant site. Three group of factors require consideration:
- Economic : outside access, surface rights, labour and
living conditions, power supply, water rights, means of
transportation, government restrictions, building costs and
contracts.
- Terrains : Space availability, topography, climate, weather
exposure, drainage and vulnerability to natural disasters
- Environmental : air, water, soil and waste pollution,
reclamation, subsidence, noise, blasting damage,
beneficiation and public relations.

 Implementation of the Mine Development Plan:

The first principle in selecting the plant site and overall

layout is to locate facilities in close proximity to ore body
and main mine openings without interfering with each
other or with mine operation.
The second principle is to avoid having relocate parts of
the plant because of expansion or competition for
space with other facilities, encroachment by the mine
itself, or subsidence of underground workings.

Without production of ore at a substantial, sustained

rate, there can be no opportunity for a mining venture
to succeed.
Exploitation is the work of recovering mineral from the
earth in economic amounts and delivering it to shipping
or processing facilities on the surface.
The method chosen for exploitation distinguishes the
final stage in the life of mine.
Selection of the mining method is crucial for exploitation
process and probably the key engineering decision
made also in mine development.

1.

Factors to be considered in selection for mining method:

Spatial characteristics of the deposit:
These factors will decide the choice between surface
and underground mining method, affect the
production rate and will determine the method of
materials handling and the layout of the mine in the
ore body.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

Size (especially height, thickness and overall dimensions)

Shape (tabular, lenticular, massive or irregular)
Attitude (inclination or dip)
Depth (mean and extreme values, stripping ratio)
Regularity of the ore boundaries
Existence of previous mining

2.

Geological and hydrological conditions:

The geologic characteristics of both the mineral
deposit and adjacent country rock (host material)
influence method selection, especially choices
between selective and nonselective methods and
extent of support required for ground and
underground control.
Hydrology affects drainage and pumping
requirements, both surface and underground.
Mineralogy governs mineral processing requirement.

2.

Geological and hydrological conditions:

i. Mineralogy and petrography
ii. Chemical composition (primary and secondary
minerals)
iii. Planes of weakness (joins, fractures, shear zone,
cleavage in minerals)
iv. Uniformity of grade
v. Alteration and weathered zones
vi. Existence of strata gases

3.

Geotechnical properties:
The mechanical properties of ore and waste are key
factors in selecting the equipment in a surface mine
and selecting the class of methods (unsupported,
supported and caving) if underground.
i. Elastic properties ( modulus of elasticity, Poissons ratio,
etc.)
ii. Mechanical strength
iii. State of stress (premining, postmining, original, modified
by mining)
iv. Rock mass rating (overall ability of opening to stand
unsupported or with support)
v. Other physical properties (SG, porosity, permeability,
moisture content, etc.)

4.

Economic consideration:
Ultimately, economics determines whether a mining
method should be chosen, because economic factors
affect output, investment, cash flow, payback period
and profit.
i. Reserves (tonnage and grade)
ii. Production rate (output per unit time)
iii. Life of mine (total operating period for development
and exploitation)
iv. Productivity (tonne/employee/hour)
v. Comparative mining costs of suitable methods
vi. Comparative capital costs of suitable method.

5.

Technological factors:
The best match between the natural conditions and
the mining method is sought.
i. Recovery (proportion of the ore that is extracted)
ii. Dilution (amount of waste that must be produced with
the ore)
iii. Flexibility of the method to changing conditions
iv. Selectivity of the method (ability to extract ore and
leave waste)
v. Concentration or dispersion of workings
vi. Ability to mechanize and automate
vii. Capital and labor intensities

Automatic locomotives are being used to handle

500Mt per train on the new main level. (Kiruna Iron Ore
Mine)

Remote control of trains on the 1045m level from the control

centre (Kiruna Iron Ore Mine, Sweden)

6.

Environmental concerns:
Physical environment including social-politicaleconomic climate is involved.
i. Ground control to maintain integrity of openings
ii. Subsidence, or caving effects at the surface
iii. Atmosphere control (ventilation, air quality control, heat
and humidity control)
iv. Availability of suitable waste disposal areas
v. Workforce (availability, training, health and safety, living,
community conditions)
vi. Comparative safety conditions of the suitable mining
methods

Kiruna Iron Ore Mine, Sweden

With an ore body 4km

long, 80m wide and
reaching a depth of
2km, LKABs Kiruna is
the worlds largest,
most modern
underground iron ore
mine. Since mining
began here over 100
years ago, LKAB has
produced over 950Mt
of ore, yet only onethird of the original
ore body has been
extracted. The
operation employs
1,800 people, of
whom 400 work in the
mine.

The basic objective in selecting a method to mine a

particular mineral deposit is to design an exploitation
system that is the most suitable under actual
circumstances.
Engineering evaluation is carried on at three level:
- Conceptual study the physical characteristics and
output quantities of a number of mining methods,
layouts and systems are assessed.
- Engineering study the preceding concepts are
quantified and compared, resulting in firm designs and
costs.
- Detailed design study drawings and specifications for
construction for the preferred method are prepared.
The result is a final engineering report on which
investment decisions, equipment purchases and a
construction schedule are based.

Once a decision on mining method is made, and

development and exploitation get underway, it is
extremely difficult to alter the plans or change to
another method

1. Mine Management
When the exploitation stage of the mine begins, the
organization of its management and workforce should
be complete.
The management structure employed by most mining
companies is a staff-and-line organization.
The Line activities are those normally considered to be
primary functions of the organization such as
operations (mining, processing, and smelting) sales,
finance and exploration.

1. Mine Management (ctd)

Staff activities are those functions that support the
production activities of the company.
The staff groups do not have authority to direct any
aspect of the line functions but report do the general
manager.

2. Mine Cost
The sum of all the cost associated with bringing a mine
into production through the stages of prospecting,
exploration, development, exploitation and
reclamation is called the direct mining cost.
If calculated on a gross basis, it is a total cost;
if on a unit ($/ton or $/tonne), it is a unit cost.
Indirect mining cost is an overhead that usually
includes allowance of 5% to 10% for administration,
engineering and other itemized services.

2. Mine Cost (ctd)

Overall mining cost = direct cost + indirect cost

Overall production cost = Overall mining cost +
Processing, smelting,
transportation, etc

Stage/(Project
Name)

Procedure

Time

Cost/Unit Cost

1 3 years

$0.20 10 million or
$0.05 - $1.00/ton
($0.05 1.10/tonne)

Precursors to Mining
1. Prospecting
(Mineral deposit)

Search for ore

a. Prospecting methods
Direct: physical geology
Indirect: geophysical,
geochemical
b. Locate favourable loci
(maps, literature,
old mines)
c. Air: aerial photography
airborne geophysics,
satellite
d. Surface: ground
geophysics, geology
e. Spot anomaly, analyse,
evaluate

Stage/
(Project Name)

Procedure

Time

Cost/Unit Cost

2 5 years

$1 - $15 million or
$0.20 - $1.50/ton
($0.22 $1.65/tonne)

Precursors to Mining
2. Exploration
(Ore body)

Defining extent and value of

ore
(examination/evaluation)
a. Sample (drilling and
excavation), assay, test.
b. Estimate tonnage and
grade.
c. Valuate deposit (Hoskold
formula or discount
method: present value =
income - cost
Feasibility study: make
decision to abandon or
develop

Stage/
(Project Name)

Procedure

Time

Cost/Unit Cost

Large scale production of ore

a. Factors in choice of method:
geological, geographical,
economical,environmental,
societal safety.
b. Types of mining methods
surface: open pit, open cast
etc
Underground: blasthole
stoping, sublevel stoping,
room and pillar, bolck caving
etc
c. Monitor cost and economic
payback (3 10 yr)

10 - 30 years

$5 - $75 million or
$2.00 - $150/ton
($2.20 - $165/tonne)

Post Mining

1 10 years

$1 - $20 million
$0.20 - $4.00/ton
($0.22 4.40/tonne)

Mining Proper
4. Exploitation
(Mine)

5. Reclamation
(Real estate)

Restoration of site
a. Removal of plant and
buildings
b. Reclamation of waste and
tailings dumps
c. Monitoring of discharges

 Determination of costs is important for the mining

engineer and experience and research will assist in
the task.
Cost fluctuate unpredictably over time with price
inflation, changes in labor rates and technological
progress.
In alluvial deposit the cheapest method is dredging
but large areas are required to cover up for the high
initial capital costs.

Estimate the unit profit in mining that its processing a

0.60% copper ore deposit. Selling price of copper
in the concentrate is $1.63/kg and overall unit
costs are $7.50/tonne. Overall recovery is 92%
Also calculate the cutoff grade for the copper
deposit.

Value = Grade X Recovery X Price

= 0.0060 X 0.92 X 1.63 X 1000kg/tonne
= $9.00/tonne

Profit

Cutoff grade = Cost / (Price X Recovery)

= 7.50/ (1.63 X 0.92) = 5 kg / tonne
= 5kg/tonne / 1000kg/tonne
= 0.5%

= Value Cost
= 9.00 7.50 = $ 1.50 / tonne

Calculate the cutoff grade (in percent ) for an

iron deposit, given the following:
Iron ore price $82.67 / tonne, 100% Fe
Total Production Cost $ 24.61 / tonne
Recovery 95%