Systematization of natural factors and justification of an open pit expansion in hilly areas

The choice of the methods and procedures of subsoil use at any stage—from the early exploration of a discovered mineralization up to its commercial development—depends on the combination of natural factors, including relief, shape and occurrence of an ore body, its thickness, dip angle, etc. Each factor has a classification based on topographical, geographical [1] and geological features [2], and exerts a considerable influence on the decision-making in geological exploration and actual mining. The analysis of a natural factor should be based on the classification of the main feature within its range. The individual analysis of a natural factor can reveal both its positive and negative effects which can be expected in the course of mining; at the same time, only a combination of natural factors is of the definitive importance as negative influence of a factor can be balanced by positive influence of another factor. This article discusses the influence of a hilly area on the open pit mining limits both lengthwise and across an ore body. The conditions for the transition to underground mining horizontally (pit wall rock mass) and vertically (under pit bottom) are described. The analytical dependences are illustrated in terms of a specific deposit.

Aghabalyan A. Yu. Systematization of natural factors and justification of an open pit expansion in hilly areas. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2020;(5):54-67. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236-1493-2020-5-0-54-67.

A.Yu. Aghabalyan, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Deputy Director for Science, LLC «Geoservice», Yerevan, Republic of Armenia, e-mail: andre011@mail.ru, geoservice.arm@mail.ru.

1. Il'in S. A. Tekhnologiya otkrytoy razrabotki nagornykh mestorozhdeniy. Ch. 1. Uchebnoe posobie [Open pit mining technology for mountainous terrain. Part 1. Educational aid], Moscow, MGI, 1991, 58 p.

2. Agoshkov M. I., Malakhov G. M. Podzemnaya razrabotka rudnykh mestorozhdeniy [Underground mining of ore deposits], Moscow, Nedra, 1966, 658 p.

3. Geomorfologicheskiy slovar'-spravochnik. Sost. L. M. Akhromeev. Pod red. P. G. Shevchenkova [Geomorphological glossary. Akhromeev L. M. (compiler), Shevchenkov P. G. (Ed.)], Bryansk, Izd-vo BGU, 2002, 320 p.

4. Agabalyan Yu. A. Obshchaya teoriya optimal'nogo osvoeniya nedr (tverdye poleznye iskopaemye) [General theory of optimized subsoil development (solid minerals)], Saarbrucken, Germany, Palmarium Academic Publishing, 2015, 288 p.

5. Kortelev O. B., Cheskidov V. I., Norri V. K. Effect of working area parameters on mining mode and open pit limits. Fiziko-tekhnicheskiye problemy razrabotki poleznykh iskopayemykh. 2011, no 5, pp. 53—59. [In Russ].

6. Kholodnyakov G. A., Vaynonen N. S. Use of extraction factor in determining open pit limits. Journal of Mining Institute. 2014. Vol. 207, pp. 78—80.

7. Bilin A. L. Features of Professor Korobov’s algorithm in determination of open pit limits and justification of mining mode. Journal of Mining Institute. 2012. Vol. 198, pp. 55—60. [In Russ].

8. Lutsenko S. A. Determination of ultimate stripping ratio for guaranteed competitive ability of an iron ore concentrate on the world market. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Gornyy zhurnal. 2017, no 1, pp. 18—23. [In Russ].

9. Podoynikov A. O. Determination of limiting depth of an open pit using modern mining information technologies in terms of thick and steeply dipping iron ore bodies. Gornyy informatsionno-analiticheskiy byulleten’. 2013, no 7, pp. 395—400. [In Russ].

10. Rendu J. M. An introduction to cut-off grade estimation. 2nd edition. Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, 2014. 168 p.

11. Bakhtavar E., Shahriar K., Oraee K. Transition from open-pit to underground as a new optimization challenge in mining engineering. Journal of Mining Science. 2009. Vol. 45, No 5, pp. 485—494. DOI: 10.1007/s10913-009-0060-3.

12. James A. L., Dimitrakopoulos R. A stochastic optimization formulation for the transition from open pit to underground mining. Optimization and Engineering. 2017, Vol. 18, Issue 3, pp. 793—813.

13. Goodfellow R., Dimitrakopoulos R. Global optimization of open pit mining complexes with uncertainty. Appl Soft Computing. 2016. Vol. 40, pp. 292—304.

14. Mai N., Topal E., Erten O. A new open-pit mine planning optimization method using block aggregation and integer programming. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 2018. Vol. 118, No 7, pp. 705—714.

15. Kaputin Yu. E. Obosnovanie bortovogo soderzhaniya i optimizatsiya strategii razvitiya otkrytykh gornykh rabot [Justification of cut-off grade and optimization of open pit mining expansion strategy], Saint-Petersburg, Nedra, 2017, 280 p.

16. Agabalyan A. Yu. Optimizatsiya proizvoditel'nosti i granits kar'erov pri kompleksnom osvoenii mestorozhdeniy poleznykh iskopaemykh: na primere medno-molibdenovykh mestorozhdeniy Armenii [Optimization of productivity and limits of open pits in integrated mineral development in terms of copper–molybdenum deposits in Armenia], Candidate’s thesis, Moscow, 1991, 184 p.

17. Bogolyubov B. P. Expedient limits of open pit mining. Gornyi Zhurnal. 1950, no 11, pp. 10—15. [In Russ].

18. Rzhevskiy V. V. Proektirovanie konturov kar'era [Open pit limit design], Moscow, Metallurgizdat, 1956, 232 p.

19. Shchelkanov V. A. Kombinirovannaya razrabotka rudnykh mestorozhdeniy [Hybrid mining of ore deposit], Moscow, Nedra, 1974, 232 p.

20. Kaplunov D. R., Kalmykov V. N., Ryl'nikova M. V. Kombinirovannaya geotekhnologiya [Комбинированная геотехнология Hybrid geotechnology], Moscow, Izdatel'skiy dom «Ruda i metally», 2003, 560 p.

21. Trubetskoy K. N., Mal'skiy K. S. Patent RU 2479719. 2013.