Changing the approach to designing mining engineering systems for surface mining based on enhanced principles of rock mass quality management

Abstract

The main effect in transition of deep open pits to the In Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) system of rock mass transportation is achieved through cutting the costs of rock mass hauling. Independence of the transportation system throughput from the haulage distance makes it possible to increase the boundary stripping ratio and extend the service life of the open pit. Transition from the cyclic to the In Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) system of rock mass hauling still leaves insufficiently studied the issues related to assessment of the minimum commercial and cut-off grades of valuable components and contaminants in ores, the permissible thickness of the ore bodies when justifying the feasibility study of conditions, as well as management of the rock mass flow quality, optimization of the rock mass reduction ratio at the stage of its preparation for conveyor hauling from the open pit to the ore stockpiles and, further, to the ore hoppers of the processing plants, and many other challenges. The paper systematizes the results of other research by the authors as well as other data and it shows that the placing the crushing equipment and the belt conveyors within the boundaries of the open pit offers additional opportunities to manage the quality of rock mass flows, i.e. the ore mass and the overburden due to variations in the logistic and hauling schemes of the open pit due to transition to the In Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) system. The above approaches to implementation of the rock mass haulage system in open pits remove the boundaries between mining and processing of minerals, expand the possibilities of targeted formation of technogenic deposits, and potentially expand the range of marketable products of the mining company. In fact, the mining and processing facility is considered as a unified technological process of the complete production cycle carried out in a single technological environment. Implementation of the proposed technological schemes will require changes in the regulatory and legal framework.