SME mining engineering handbook

1912 Pages·2011·98.868 MB·English

by  Darling, Peter

SME
MINING
ENGINEERING
HANDBOOK
© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
!SME_MEH3_TitlePg_Half_F4.indd 1 12/10/10 9:04 AM
© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
SME
SME
MINING
MINING
ENGINEERING
ENGINEERING
HANDBOOK
HANDBOOK
THIRD EDITION
THIRD EDITION
VOL UM E O N E
VOL UM E O N E
E D I T E D B Y P E T E R D A R L I N G
E D I T E D B Y P E T E R D A R L I N G
Published by
Society forMining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
Published by
Society forMining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
©2011bytheSocietyforMining,Metallurgy,andExploration.
Allrightsreserved.Electroniceditionpublished2011.
©2011bytheSocietyforMining,Metallurgy,andExploration.
Allrightsreserved.Electroniceditionpublished2011.
!SME_MEH3_TitlePg_Full_F4.indd 1 12/10/10 9:04 AM
!SME_MEH3_TitlePg_Full_F4.indd 1 12/10/10 9:04 AM
Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME)
[phone] / [phone]
www.smenet.org
SME advances the worldwide mining and minerals community through information exchange and
professional development. With members in more than 70 countries, SME is the world’s largest
association of mining and minerals professionals.
Copyright © 2011 Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
Electronic edition published 2011.
Supported by the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund of AIME.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Information contained in this work has been obtained by SME, Inc., from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither SME nor its authors and editors guarantee the accuracy or complete-
ness of any information published herein, and neither SME nor its authors and editors shall be
responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This work
is published with the understanding that SME and its authors and editors are supplying information
but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. Any statement or views
presented herein are those of individual authors and editors and are not necessarily those of SME.
The mention of trade names for commercial products does not imply the approval or endorsement
of SME.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN 978-0-87335-341-0
© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
About the Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Contributing Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Technical Reviewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi
PART 1: Mining: SeTTing The SCene
1.1 Mining: Ancient, Modern, and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Current Trends in Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3 Future Trends in Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
PART 2: MARkeT eConoMiCS
2.1 Economics of the Minerals Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.2 Pricing and Trading in Metals and Minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.3 Market Capitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.4 Investment Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PART 3: exPloRATion
3.1 Geological Features and Genetic Models of Mineral Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
3.2 Minerals Prospecting and Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.3 Geophysics Prospecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
3.4 Geochemical Prospecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
PART 4: DePoSiT ASSeSSMenT
4.1 Geological Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.2 Geologic Interpretation, Modeling, and Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
4.3 Sample Preparation and Assaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
4.4 Ore-Body Sampling and Metallurgical Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
4.5 Mineral Resource Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
4.6 Valuation of Mineral Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
4.7 Mineral Property Feasibility Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
4.8 Cost Estimating for Underground Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
4.9 Cost Estimating for Surface Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
PART 5: MAnAgeMenT AnD ADMiniSTRATion
5.1 Mine Economics, Management, and Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
5.2 Economic Principles for Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
5.3 Management, Employee Relations, and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
5.4 A Global Perspective on Mining Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
PART 6: Mining MeThoD SeleCTion
6.1 Evaluation of Mining Methods and Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
6.2 Mining Methods Classification System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
6.3 Selection Process for Hard-Rock Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
6.4 Selection Process for Underground Soft-Rock Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
6.5 Comparison of Underground Mining Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
6.6 Comparison of Surface Mining Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
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© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
PART 7: RoCk BReAking MeThoDS
7.1 Mechanical Rock Breaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
7.2 Blasthole Drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
7.3 Explosives and Blasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
PART 8: gRounD MeChAniCS
8.1 Introduction to Ground Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
8.2 Soil Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
8.3 Slope Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
8.4 Rock Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
8.5 Geotechnical Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
8.6 Hard-Rock Ground Control with Steel Mesh and Shotcrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
8.7 Soft-Rock Ground Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
8.8 Ground Control Using Cable and Rock Bolting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
8.9 Mine Subsidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
8.10 Tailings Impoundments and Dams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
8.11 Waste Piles and Dumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
PART 9: infRASTRuCTuRe AnD SeRviCeS
9.1 Electric Power Distribution and Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
9.2 Compressed Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
9.3 Mine Communications, Monitoring, and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
9.4 Mine Surveying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731
9.5 Dewatering Surface Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
9.6 Dewatering Underground Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
9.7 Physical Asset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781
9.8 Automation and Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
9.9 Mine Infrastructure Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
9.10 Systems Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839
PART 10: SuRfACe exTRACTion
10.1 Introduction to Open-Pit Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857
10.2 Open-Pit Planning and Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
10.3 Mechanical Extraction, Loading, and Hauling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903
10.4 Selection and Sizing of Excavating, Loading, and Hauling Equipment . . . . . . . 931
10.5 In-Pit Crushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941
10.6 Design, Construction, and Maintenance of Haul Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 957
10.7 Surface Ore Movement, Storage, and Recovery Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977
10.8 Strip Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
10.9 Strip Mine Planning and Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1013
10.10 Highwall Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1027
10.11 Quarrying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031
PART 11: hyDRAuliC AnD PiPeline Mining
11.1 Hydraulic Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049
11.2 Placer Mining and Dredging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057
11.3 Heap Leaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1073
11.4 Surface Techniques of Solution Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
11.5 In-Situ Techniques of Solution Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103
11.6 Coal-Bed Methane Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121
PART 12: unDeRgRounD DeveloPMenT
12.1 Introduction to Underground Mine Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1135
12.2 Hard-Rock Equipment Selection and Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
12.3 Soft-Rock Equipment Selection and Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1157
12.4 Underground Horizontal and Inclined Development Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1179
12.5 Subsurface Mine Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1203
12.6 Construction of Underground Openings and Related Infrastructure . . . . . . . . 1223
12.7 Tunnel Boring Machines in Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255
12.8 Underground Ore Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1271
12.9 Hoisting Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1295
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© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
PART 13: unDeRgRounD exTRACTion
13.1 Room-and-Pillar Mining in Hard Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1327
13.2 Room-and-Pillar Mining in Coal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
13.3 Shrinkage Stoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1347
13.4 Sublevel Stoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1355
13.5 Cut-and-Fill Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1365
13.6 Backfill Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1375
13.7 Cave Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1385
13.8 Longwall Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1399
13.9 Sublevel Caving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1417
13.10 Block Caving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1437
PART 14: MineRAl PRoCeSSing
14.1 Introduction to Mineral Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1455
14.2 Crushing, Milling, and Grinding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1461
14.3 Classification by Screens and Cyclones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1481
14.4 Gravity Concentration and Heavy Medium Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1507
14.5 Fundamental Principles of Froth Flotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1517
14.6 Magnetic and Electrostatic Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1533
14.7 Dewatering Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1547
PART 15: heAlTh AnD SAfeTy
15.1 Mine Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1557
15.2 Health and Medical Issues in Global Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1567
15.3 Mine Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1577
15.4 Gas and Dust Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1595
15.5 Heat, Humidity, and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1611
15.6 Radiation Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1625
15.7 Noise Hazards and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1633
PART 16: enviRonMenTAl iSSueS
16.1 Site Environmental Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1643
16.2 Mining and Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1665
16.3 Impacts and Control of Blasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1689
16.4 Water and Sediment Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1705
16.5 Mitigating Acid Rock Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1721
16.6 Waste Disposal and Contamination Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1733
16.7 Closure Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1753
PART 17: CoMMuniTy AnD SoCiAl iSSueS
17.1 Community Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1767
17.2 Social License to Operate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1779
17.3 Cultural Considerations for Mining and Indigenous Communities . . . . . . . . . 1797
17.4 Management of the Social Impacts of Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1817
APPenDiCeS
A Web Sites Related to Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1827
B Coal Mine Gas Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1833
C Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1835
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1
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© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
Dedication
With deep appreciation for his contributions to the mining industry, we dedicate this
3rd edition of the SME Mining Engineering Handbook
to the memory of Richard E. Gertsch, 1945–2005.
Richard provided the initial leadership and direction for this edition.
His guidance allowed others to carry on with his vision.
Richard was a widely respected and admired mining engineer enjoying an illustrious career
spanning decades of work both in industry and academia.
Richard served on the SME Board of Directors and as the Chair of the M&E Division.
He was active on many committees working on important SME functions such as peer review,
programming, membership, publications, nominations, scholarships, and awards.
He received the Distinguished Service Award in 1991.
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© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.
Foreword
Mining engineers throughout the world are the salt of the earth, and this third edition of the
SME Mining Engineering Handbook will be their bible. It builds on the grand tradition begun by
highly respected leaders of the mining industry—Peele (1918, 1927, and 1941) and continued by
Cummins and Given (1973) and then Hartman (1992).
Handbooks by their nature are often hard to read, but this one is a striking exception. Its
readability immediately stands out and allows one to quickly absorb and comprehend its con-
tent—not only the text, but also the many tables, figures, and photographs. Artwork has been
substantially upgraded and is especially appealing. The superb presentation reflects the manag-
ing editor’s technical writing background, as well as the input and skills of Jane Olivier, SME’s
manager of book publishing, who spent a decade urging a new edition, and Diane Serafin, an
editing specialist, who delved doggedly into the tedious details.
The bar of excellence in the quality and scope of material is well maintained and at a high
level throughout. Often a work involving numerous experts can lead to conflicting views on
countless aspects. However, the clashing of ideas is notably a hallmark of serious thinking. The
clear beneficiary of the high standard is the reader, which in this case is the practicing mining
engineer in the worldwide mining industry, as well as others in academia and government.
The strength of this handbook lies clearly in the quality of the chapter authors and peer
reviewers. They are indeed talented experts in their specialized technical fields. A decided trend
toward internationalism, paralleling similar trends in the supply and demand of mineral and
energy raw materials, is evidenced by a cursory perusal of the lists of contributing authors and
technical reviewers. Almost half of them are working and living outside the United States. In
total, ten countries are represented—primarily English-speaking ones.
Such a diverse cadre of individuals offers wide-ranging views of the worldwide mining
industry’s multifaceted problems and potential solutions in a period of accelerated technological
and social change. The broad scope is another strength for which no unanimity of thought can be
expected or anticipated when taking a global perspective on the various issues.
Carryover material from previous editions is strictly limited, and when included, it is
updated to be genuinely contemporary and purposeful. Practical and useful instead of merely
theoretical and interesting are the watchwords throughout the work.
Comprehensiveness is an important feature not to be overlooked in a world-class handbook.
This edition sets the standard and will be emulated far into the future. Much attention has been
given to what can be instead of what is past. Productiveness received authoritative treatment.
Specific emphasis has been given to broad topics that will continue to confront the industry in
the years ahead, such as environmental issues, public concerns, health and safety matters, and
sustainability. This handbook provides a pathway for the synthesis and solution of many of the
complex issues and problems the mining industry is facing in the 21st century.
Raymond L. Lowrie
Editor of the SME Mining Reference Handbook
Recipient of the 2004 SME President’s Citation
February 2011
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© 2011 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.
All rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2011.