INTRODUCCION A LOS METODOS DE EXPLOTACION

Los mtodos de explotacin se definen como:

la forma geomtrica usada para explotar un yacimiento determinado.
En buena cuenta:
Es la manera de dividir el cuerpo mineralizado, en sectores, aptos para la extraccin.
La explotacin de una mina es un conjunto de operaciones para arrancar, cargar y extraer el
mineral, que requiere un funcionamiento ptimo de varios servicios anexos como:
Ventilacin
Fortificacin
Drenaje
Suministro de Energa, Aire, Agua.
El objetivo de la explotacin de un yacimiento es la extraccin de menas y sustancias minerales
sistemticamente, de manera que la comercializacin de la sustancia mineral proporcione la
utilidad esperada.
La explotacin de una mina se compone de tres operaciones mineras bsicas :
Accesos y desarrollos de aperturas mineras
Preparacin o infraestructura de la mina
Arranque o explotacin de la mina.

Excavacin de Corte y Relleno

RDE Home / Aplicaciones / Minera Subterrnea / Excavacin de Corte y Relleno

Aplicaciones
La minera de corte y relleno se aplica para explotacin de yacimientos muy inclinados,
en estratos de estabilidad entre buena y moderada, y un alto grado comparativo de
mineralizacin. La explotacin de corte y relleno presenta mejor selectividad que las
alternativas de explotacin SLOS y VCR. Por lo tanto, se `prefiere el corte y relleno
para yacimientos de forma irregular y mineralizacin diseminada. El corte y relleno
permite la explotacin selectiva, a fin de recuperar separadamente secciones de alta
ley, y dejar la roca de baja ley atrs en gradas.

Descripcin
La explotacin de corte y relleno excava el mineral en trozos horizontales, comenzando desde
un punto de extraccin inferior, y avanzando hacia arriba. El mineral se perfora, vuela y se

carga la marina eliminndola de las gradas. Cuando la zona total escalonada ha sido
explotada, los vacos se rellenan con relave de arena o desechos de rocas. El relleno sirve
tanto para soportar los muros de las gradas y plataforma de trabajo para el equipo cuando se
explota el siguiente trozo. El relleno a menudo consiste del relave de arena desenlodada de la
planta de preparacin de la mina, a veces complementada por rocas de desecho producidas
por las excavaciones de desarrollo, apiladas en gradas vacas por cargadores LHD.
El relleno de arena hidrulica se utiliza con la explotacin de corte y relleno. El relleno de
partculas de desechos de grano grueso de la planta de preparacin de la mina, se mezcla con
agua con 60 a 70% de slidos, y distribuidos a las gradas a travs de una red de tubera
plstica. Antes de rellenar, se sellan las entradas de los caserones y en el fondo de stos se
instalan los tubos de drenaje. La arena rellena la grada casi hasta la altura total, como se
requiere un relleno ms duro en la superficie, el cemento se mezcla cuando el agua se ha
drenado en la ltima vaciada, quedando la superficie de relleno suave y compacta, y como una
buena base para las mquinas mviles mientras se explota el siguiente trozo de mineral.
Desarrollo
El desarrollo de explotacin de corte y relleno incluye:
1. Galera de tansporte a lo largo del criadero en el nivel principal.
2. Socavacin de la zona de gradas con drenaje para agua.
3. Rampa espiral en el muro yacente, con acceso al punto de extraccin.
4. Conexin de chimenea al nivel superior para ventilacin y relleno de material.

Explotacin de Vetas Angostas

Las dimensiones de los depsitos de minerales son muy variables. Un yacimiento puede ser
desde una formacin grande, masiva, con un rea de varios kilmetros cuadrados de
superficie, hasta una vena de cuarzo con una anchura de medio metro que contenga unos 20
g/ton de oro. Los mineros apuntan a recuperar valiosos minerales pero prefieren dejar el estril
de rocas colgantes - y el muro yacente en su lugar. En los depsitos mayores las mquinas
mecanizadas operan en el interior de las galeras sin problemas. Cuando la explotacin se
angosta a slo unos pocos metros, las mquinas quedan demasiado anchas como para calzar
dentro de los lmites del mineral. Para excavar ms espacio a fin de introducir una mquina
ms grande produce estril que diluye el mineral. La alternativa es adoptar tcnicas manuales,
y usar mano de obra para recuperar la veta de alta ley. Pero la mano de obra es cara y las
tcnicas son poco eficientes. Adems, es difcil encontrar personas que acepten trabajar con
perforadoras de roca manuales y usar fuerza muscular.
Maquinas de tamao reducido para explotacin angosta
Hoy en da, hay una seleccin de mquinas estndar de "tamao reducido" disponibles,
permitiendo la explotacin mecanizada en galeras con una anchura de 2,0 m. La gama de
mquinas de tamao reducido incluye el equipo de perforacin de avance para perforaciones
angostas, hermanadas con equipo de perforacin de barrenos largos del mismo tamao. El
pequeo jumbo para explotacin de galeras y el equipo de barrenos largos, complementado
con el cargador LHD de 2 m3, es lo nico que se requiere para la explotacin mecanizada de la
veta con una anchura de 2,0 m.

Explotacin de una vena angosta con inclinacin pronunciada

Tome nota de la distribucin del trabajo en la Figura 25, donde la explotacin de
galeras, perforacin de barrenos largos, cargas y voladuras y cargio se ejecutan en
subniveles separados.

Cut and Fill Stoping

Large near-vertical orebodies are frequently mined by the cut and fill
method. The ore is excavated in horizontal slices of about four metres
thickness starting at the bottom of the orebody and working upwards.
After blasting the ore is removed from the stope by whatever method is
appropriate. As each slice is mined the void is filled with waste material
to help support the walls and provide a base from which to work in
removing the next slice. The fill maybe crushed rock from underground
development or tailings from the ore processing plant or a mixture of
both. In the case of tailings they are usually mixed with cement and
water and are pumped or gravitate to the stopes as a slurry, which
when drained provides excellent support.
Broken ore is removed by load-haul-dump trucks or winch operated
scrapers to ore passes then railed or trucked to the shaft or an
underground crushing station. Alternatively it can be loaded directly into
trucks for haulage to the surface.
Cut and fill stoping allows a good recovery of ore, provides good
support and permits close control of the boundaries of the stope, thus
reducing dilution of the ore from the barren surrounding rock. Cut and
fill stopes can be highly mechanised and hence become quite
productive in terms of tonnes of ore per man-shift.

2.1.2 CUT AND FILL STOPING

This type of mining method is used in ore zones where the strength of the wall rocks is
such that the ground will not stand unsupported over long dip intervals. (FIGURE 5).
The method is also used in ore zones where the hanging wall and footwall ore contacts
are quite irregular, or have erratically mineralized lenses in the walls that only make ore
grade on an intermittent basis. The method is also applicable for use in wide ore zones
that would not stand unsupported if opened up over their full width. Wide ore zones can

be recovered by mining across the width of wide zones. A pillar is left beside the just
mined out stope, and a second stope is mined across the zone parallel to the first. When
the cemented backfill in both stopes has cured, it is possible to extract the remaining
pillar ore between the two stopes. This assures that 100% of the ore is recovered. With
such a method, it is essential that the fill used in the initial stopes contains sufficient
cement to ensure that they will not fail when the pillar between them is mined.
Fill material can consist of waste rock, sand and gravel, or, more commonly, mill
tailings. The coarse fraction of the mill tailings are usually delivered to the stope from
the mill in a mixture containing up to 25 -30% water which, after placed in the stope,
drains off, leaving the tailings in place. It is common practice to add cement to the top
portion of the fill in a stope in order to provide a solid roadbed for equipment in the
stope, and to keep the fill from diluting the ore from the next cut. In transverse cut and
fill stopes it is necessary to add cement to the total volume of fill, eliminating the need
to leave pillars between the stopes.
Relatively narrow and short cut and fill stopes are mined in a similar manner to
shrinkage stopes by using hand held machines and blasting the muck down in 2.3 to 3.0
meter lifts, filling the void and repeating the process. If the stope is relatively long, both
mining and filling operations can occur simultaneously. FIGURE 5 represents a typical
cut and fill stope that illustrates the method and shows the associated services required
for access and ventilation. Broken ore is normally removed from the stope through a
steel lined mill hole that is carried up through the fill each lift.
If the ore zone is in the order of 4.0 to 9.0 meters wide, productivity improvements can
be gained by utilizing rubber-tired equipment rather than electric or pneumatic scrapers
or slushers to transfer the broken ore to the mill holes. In addition, drilling operations
can be conducted utilizing mobile drilling rigs rather than hand held machines. It is
possible to modify the method from that shown in Figure 5 so that access can be gained
to each stope lift through a drift driven off a ramp located in the footwall of the ore. The
advantage of such an arrangement is that it eliminates the need to carry a mill hole
through the fill and permits mobile equipment, which would be captive in the stope
during its life, to be utilized elsewhere in the mine.
One of the advantages of cut and fill mining is that it permits the selective mining of
irregular shaped ore lenses with a minimum of dilution. It is often possible to separate a
waste section occurring within the ore and leave it behind in the stope for fill. Cut and
fill mining has an advantage over shrinkage methods in that there is very little time lag
in getting the broken ore to the mill once it is mined. For ore zones that are
characterized by heavy or slaby ground, cut and fill mining is often the only choice
available to the mine planner.
The disadvantage of this method is that stope productivity is often cyclical due to the
need to delay mining operations while the stope is being filled. To overcome this, it is
necessary to have a number of extra stopes developed to rotate the mining crews into
while waiting for fill. In addition, fill material must be available upon demand. Any
breakdown in the mill affecting the production of fill material or any major breakdown
in the fill distribution system, will result in reduced production.

Productivities for cut and fill stopes can range from 15 to 30 tonnes per manshift for
conventional stopes, and from 35 to 50 tonnes per manshift if the stope is mechanized.
Operating mines utilizing cut and fill methods as their only mining method would
typically produce at a rate between 500 to 1000 tonne per day. Mining costs range from
$30 to $40/tonne and are quite variable from mine to mine, depending on conditions.