Abstract
Mineral resources are an important sector of the Russian economy. Opencast mining is the most popular method for extracting solid minerals. Further development of large-scale open pits depthwise is associated with ever-rising mining costs. Due to a gradual depletion of large-scale solid mineral deposits, small-scale deposits are gaining an increasing popularity among mining companies. The benefits offered by many of such deposits include a high concentration of valuable components and a small depth of their occurrence. They offer an overall significant amount of resources. At the same time, many small-scale deposits are scattered far from each other or from big mining sites and are not easily accessable, which may lead to significant development costs. In recent years, the mining companies have been buying new high-performance continuous mining equipment enabling them to mine hard ores in an explosive-free way. To complete the extraction of open pit fields, the Russian mine operators started to deploy highwall mining systems. However, highwall mining systems are not applicable to steeply dipping ore bodies. The author of this article proposes a method for mining steeply dipping deposits, as well as an automated longwall mining system. The longwall mining system comprises a heavy-duty wheel undercarriage, a cutter mounted on a telescopic boom, a pneumatic transport system and other components. The highwall mining system ensures high efficiency and safety of mining operations, as well as a significant reduction in overburden removal and environmental impact.
Keywords
Highwall mining system, ore body, rock mass, pneumatic transport system, dump truck.
1. Melnikov N.N., Busyrev V.M. Sustainable mineral resources development strategy. Mineral'nye resursy Rossii. Ekonomika i upravlenie [Mineral Resources of Russia. Economics and Management], 2005, no. 2, pp. 58–64. (In Russ.)
2. Glotov V.V. On investment attractiveness of small mineral deposits. Gornyj informatsionno-analiticheskij bjulleten' [Mining Bulletin], 2003, no. 10, pp. 101–104. (In Russ.)
3. Rzhevskiy V.V. Otkrytye gornye raboty. Chast’ I. Proizvodstvennye protsessy: Uchebnik dlya vuzov [Open pit mining. Part I. Production processes: Textbook for universities]. 4th revised edition. Moscow: Nedra, 1985, 509 p. (In Russ.)
4. Gavrishev S.E., Burmistrov K.V., Kidyaev V.A. Exploiting the advantages of соmbined open-pit transport in combined open cut and underground mining. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University], 2010, no. 3, pp. 5–7. (In Russ.)
5. Trubetskoy K.N., Kornilkov S.V., Yakovlev V.L. On new strategies of ensuring sustainable development of mining operations. Gornyj zhurnal [Mining Journal], 2012, no. 1, pp. 15–19. (In Russ.)
6. Osadchiy V.I., Maulyanbaev T.I., Kuzmin S.L. Designing a container exchange system to be used at lifting points. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University], 2013, no. 2, pp. 16–18. (In Russ.)
7. Cheban A.Yu., Khrunina N.P. Enhanced transportation and handling equipment in opencast mining. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University], 2017, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 10–14. (In Russ.)
8. Special equipment for quarry operations. Zement-Kalk-Gips Int. 2014, vol. 67, no. 10, p. 12.
9. Mobil Anlagen von Sandvik in Kasachstan. AT Miner. Process. Eur. 2015, vol. 56, no. 1–2, pp. 40–41.
10. Cheban A.Yu. Enhancing the conveying technology in explosive-free mining. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University], 2016, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 5–9. (In Russ.)
11. Cheban A.Yu. Classification of surface miner utilization schemes. Sistemy. Metody. Tekhnologii [Systems. Methods. Technologies], 2015, no. 2, pp. 159–163. (In Russ.)
12. Schwabenland E.E., Sokolovskiy A.V., Pikhler M. Selecting the parameters of the layer-batch process when using cutters for mining structurally complex deposits. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University], 2016, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 5–11. (In Russ.)
13. Reshetnyak S.P., Avramova N.S. Development of explosive-free mining machinery and technology for open pits. Gornaya tekhnika [Mining machinery], 2012, no. 1, pp. 2–8. (In Russ.)
14. Cheban A.Yu. Opencast mining systems enhanced with surface miners and spreaders. Zapiski gornogo instituta [Proceedings of Mining Institute], 2015, vol. 214, pp. 23–27. (In Russ.)
15. Wirtgen surface mining for selective limestone mining in the North Caucasus / Russia. Zement-Kalk-Gips Int. 2014, vol. 67, no. 10, p. 18.
16. Romashkin Yu.V. Final extraction of coal fields. Gornyi informatsionno-analiticheskiy bjulleten' [Mining Bulletin], 2012, no. 10, pp. 70–74. (In Russ.)
17. Zadavin G.D., Leiderman L.P. The development of the Elegest coal deposit as the basis for building a new coking coal stock. Ratsional'noe osvoenie nedr [Mineral mining and conservation], 2012, no. 2, pp. 38–44. (In Russ.)
18. Stetzer E. Milling device and an excavationmethod. Patent DE, no. 2310725, 2007.
19. Cheban A. Sposob razrabotki krutopadayushchikh mestorozhdeniy tverdykh poleznykh iskopaemykh i avtomatizirovannyi kompleks grubokoy razrabotki [Mining method for steeply dipping solid mineral deposits and an automated highwall mining system]. Patent RF, no. 2541992.
20. Cheban A.Yu. On determining the capacity of surface miners under various operating conditions. Sistemy. Metody. Tekhnologii [Systems. Methods. Technologies], 2014, no 3, pp. 145–148. (In Russ.)