Annual Meeting Preliminary Program - Full Brochure (PDF) - SME

TECHNICAL PROGRAM
Operation, along with the results from two different blast design vibration monitoring
programs. The reason for modification was to increase production volume
per shot, and decrease highwall instability. A vibration monitoring program was
undertaken to investigate PPV and relate the data to the blastability of the jointed
onsite rock mass, utilizing the relationship between PPV and dynamic stress and
strain. The Dragon Quarry Operation has historically been using a 6-in. diameter,
14-ft by 14-ft production blast pattern, with blast holes loaded manually using
cartridged explosive products. Within the past year, the quarry introduced a 6-in
diameter, 16-ft by 16-ft production blasting pattern, making use of pre-mixed
truck-loaded bulk emulsion/ANFO blends. This paper summarizes the results of
blast design modifications, the monitoring data gathered to date for the two different
blast designs, and describes how production blasting and excavation at the
Dragon Quarry has benefited from such modifications.
Mining & exploration:
technology Innovations in underground
Mining Production Systems
2:00 PM • Monday, February 25
chair:
2:00 PM
Introductions
H. Wang, Newmont Mining, Aurora, CO
2:05 PM
Underground Mine Plan and Optimization with Interactions to
Open Pit Mining an Integrated Scheduling Problem-and-Solution
H. Wang; Newmont Mining Co., Greenwood Village, CO
Underground mining with interactions to open pit production adds another dimension
to the complexity of mine planning, especially for the underground long
term mine scheduling. Two approaches to solve this problem will be discussed in
this paper. The conventional processes is to design OP and UG separately with
different design and optimization tools, run multiple scenarios and select the one
that will potentially generate the highest value. The interaction between OP and
UG, which could have positive or negative impact on each other, sometimes cannot
be fully calculated. A new process proposed here is to build a UG + OP
model, treat them as one project and seek optimal solutions with linear programming
tools such as CPLEX. Newmont projects including Herradura in Mexico
and Subika in Ghana will be presented as cases studies.
2:25 PM
Underground Mine Production Schedule Optimization with
Ventilation Requirements
A. Brickey 1 and A. Newman 2 ; 1 Dept. of Mining Engineering,
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO and 2 Division of Economics
and Business, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
Underground mines have been subjected to increasing restrictions on diesel particulate
matter associated with the exhaust produced by the internal combustion engines
of diesel-fueled mining equipment. We present ideas on developing a mixed
integer nonlinear optimization model to determine an activity based production
schedule and ventilation quantities for a large-scale underground gold mine. The
objective is to maximize discounted metal extraction based on various constraints
including physical precedence, production requirements, and ventilation restrictions.
We expect the results to provide a realistic production schedule that will assist
in maintaining diesel particulate matter levels below regulatory limits.
2:45 PM
Incorporating Semi-autonomous Mucking into a Working Mine
J. Rahn; Newmont, Elko, NV
The presentation will provide an overview of the Caterpillar semi-autonomous
mucking system. It will also discuss the challenges associated with adapting an already
developed mine to new technology that was not initially planned for.
3:05 PM
Challenges from Jackleg to Mechanized Bolter for Narrow
Vein Mining
A. Rai; Barrick Turquoise Ridge Inc., Winnemucca, NV
The Turquoise Ridge Mine at present is an underground mine utilizing the underhand
cut-and-fill mining method or box stoping due to the relatively low rock
quality in the ore. (Ref-ARMA 12-288) The majority of our production is based
on underhand cut and fill, or box stoping methods. In the underhand cut and fill
method, the ore is initially mined out in 3m x 3m (10W x 10H) or 3m x 3.7m (10
W x12H) panels called topcuts. Drifting is normally completed using jacklegdrilling
techniques with excavation by conventional drill and blast or by underground
LHD. Jackleg often expose the miner to unsupported face and potential
safety concern. The paper will share the challenges and results of a Small mechanized
jumbos tested to eliminate the use of jacklegs, and to minimize workers at
the face of the drift. In very weak ground, excavation is often completed by
mucking for advance without drilling and blasting.
3:25 PM
Mining ROI Improvement Opportunity
A. MacKenzie and N. Fung; Consulting Studies Group, Tetratech,
Toronto, ON, Canada
The simplest way to optimize return on investment (ROI) is to reduce mine life.
The authors explore alternative and proven industrial techniques that if applied
to mining in North America could improve reserve recovery times. When North
American material handling practices were compared to a well proven European
technology the European technology consistently demonstrated superior results.
Projects suitable to the technology include mines of more than 1,600 tpd production
and less than 1000m in depth or shaft limited or ventilation constrained.
Projects with ore dipping between 20 and 55 degrees seem to have the greatest
ROI improvements. Mines with poor ground find the MMT interesting due to its
small profile as will mines that have long lives and are squeezed for sustaining
capital. The MMT tradeoff success is based on this technologys high level of
safety, low maintenance, high reliability, electric or diesel suitability, roof suspension
and narrow profile. This paper will describe the ROI implications as a comparative
analysis between Shafts, Conveyors, Trucks and Monorails. North
American operations already betting on the technology will also be discussed.
3:45 PM
Integrating Automation Technologies in Underground Mines
D. Dormer; Newmont Mining, Greenwood Village, CO
The underground mining environment has many challenges due to its cyclical
nature which result. Significant time losses are experienced around blasting practices
and personnel deployment which result in a relatively poor capital efficiency
of the mine. Automation technologies provide a tool for addressing these losses
however the uptake of these technologies has been limited and their real potential
not realized. The most positive improvements in underground automation have
centered on the loaders for stope mucking and long-hole auto drill functions.
These technologies have also been limited as they only target unit automation
and do not interact with other automation technologies. The real gains of automation
are realized in interfacing the unit automation (current and future) into
a full automation system however current consensus has viewed this as an unviable
proposition for the majority of mines due to the perceived cost. Is essence
the problem has been trying to fit automation and technology to our current way
of thinking, rather than adjusting our thinking to make a full automation system
a cost effective reality.
4:05 PM
Underground Mine Planning – Scheduling Software –
Opportunities in Planning and Reconcilliation
R. Kintzel; Newmont Mining, Greenwood Village, CO
There have been a number of new software tools developed for Underground that
can improve the time and versitility of the planning and scheduling tasks. These
include faster stope creation tools like Mineable Shape Optimiser ‘MSO’ to more
powerful planning tools like Deswik design and scheduling software. This discussion
will centre around how these tools were used within a given project to maximise
option analysis and minimise scheduling time and changes. However the
possibilities for some of these tools is endless. For instance we can potentially not
just produce better plans for where we are going in the mine design, but also keep
track of where we have been with real data. This could potentially improve reconcilliation
understanding. Better flow process between long, medium and short
term planners could be developed where new design is added to long term plans
with actual new up to date shapes incorperated into the plan. Much of the current
software used fails to bridge the gap between these planning time spans to
truely intergrate the mine plan from conceptual to actual.
This is the Technical Program as of September 1, 2012. IT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
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Please see the Onsite Program for final details.