UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT REPORT A Review on Underground Metal Mine Workings in Developed Countries

A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN MINING ENGINEERING

Supervisor: Dr. G.S.P.SINGH

Submitted by Ankush Tyagi

DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY VARANASI 221005

Review on Underground Metal Mines Working in Developed Countries

Subject Approved by:Dr. Aarif Jamal PROFESSOR and HEAD DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY VARANASI- 221005

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the thesis entitled A review of underground metal mine workings in developed countries submitted by Ankush Tyagi roll. No. 08108EN014 in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology degree in Mining Engineering at the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi is an authentic work carried out by him under my supervision and guidance. To the best of my knowledge, the matter embodied in the thesis has not been submitted to any other University/Institute for the award of any Degree or Diploma.

Date:
Dr. G.S.P. Singh Deptt. of Mining Engineering Institute of Technology Banaras Hindu University Varanasi - 221005

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It has been a matter of pride and honour for me to have been a student of Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, seeds of which were sown and nurtured by Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviyaji. I express my gratitude and indebtedness to my supervisor Dr.G.S.P.Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Mining Engineering, IT-BHU, for his valuable guidance through the course of undertaken project work. Without his suggestion, consistent encouragement and constructive criticism my B.Tech. Project would have not been possible in its present form. I am highly grateful to Prof. Aarif Jamal, Head, Department of Mining Engineering, IT-BHU for approving my subject and providing the necessary facilities for the ensuring work. Heartfelt thanks to all who have directly or indirectly helped me in this project.

Date: Place:

Ankush Tyagi

Content

1. Introduction 2. Mine Information and overview a. Potash Corp Allan b. Cigar Lake Devlopement c. Jabal Sayid Mine, Barrick Gold Corp. d. Lanigan Mine, Potash Corp. e. Stillwater Mine f. Fruta del Norte g. Mount lsa Mines Limited (Xstrata Plc) h. Olympic Dam Mine i. Raglan Mine j. Sleeping Giant Mine 3. Most common method 4. Non-entry Mining Method 5. Correlation of access to the ore body w.r.t. Geo-mining condition

Introduction
We need to find out the following information about the undergroud metal mines : Name of the mine Mine ore (mineral) Grade of the ore Method of mining Mechanization Access to ore body Man power Annual production Life of mine

Based on the above information for various mines we have to perform following action : Correlation of access to the ore body w.r.t. geo-mining condition. Depth and gradient vs selection of inclined, shaft Which method of mining is more common If we have any typical method then why these mine choose these typical method

Some of the mines information are as:

Potash Corp Allan

Commodity Potash

Location

Saskatchewan, Canada Nearest Landmark: SASKATOON Distance: 40 Km East from the nearest Landmark Latitude: 51 56' (North) Longitude: 106 4' (West)

Owners

PotashCorp

Production

1.02 mt KCl in 2011 1.6 mtpa operational capability (2012)

Deposit Type

Evaporites

Reserves & Resources

291 Mt at 25.8% K2O (Dec/10 - proven & probable reserves)

Mine Type

Underground

Mining Method

Long room & pillar

Mine Life

100 years

Employees

441 people (2011)

Overview
PotashCorp owns and operates a potash mine at Allan, Saskatchewan. Production of potash from the underground mine began in 1968 Potash is a nutrient essential for plant growth, and is a cornerstone of modern agricultural fertilizers. Roughly 95 per cent of world potash production goes into fertilizer, while the other five per cent is used in commercial and industrial products - everything from soap to television tubes. Saskatchewan represents approximately one-third of the world's potash production capacity and has approximately 53% of global potash reserves.

Geology and Mineralization

The sylvite (potash) deposits of Saskatchewan formed over 350 million years ago as a result of the final stage of evaporative concentration of sea water in a middle Devonian sea. The productive Praire Evaporite Formation comprises a series of flat-lying sedimentary deposits of interbedded sylvite (KCl), carnallite, halite beds and clay and dolomite beds. Stratigraphy of the region is dominated by three important potash bearing beds: the upper Patience Lake member (exploited by mines employing underground and solution mining methods); the middle Belle Plaine member (solution mining); and the lower Esterhazy member (underground and solution mining). Virtually all Allan underground mining rooms are in the potash mineralized zone situated approx 15m below the top of the host evaporite salt, the Prairie Evaporite Formation. Depth to the top of the main mineralized zone varies between 1020 m and 1100m, averaging approx 1040m over most of the mining and exploration area. Mine workings are protected from aquifers in overlying formations by overlying salt and potash beds which overlie the mineralized zone.

Mining and Operations

The Allan mine is a conventional underground mining operation whereby continuous mining machines are used to excavate the potash ore by the stress-relief mining method, with continuous conveyor belt transport of ore from the mining face to the bottom of the production shaft. Allan mines potash at a depth of 1,040 meters, producing granular, standard and industrial grade for agricultural and industrial use. Its annual capacity is 1.9 million tonnes KCl. Production began in 1968. The underground workings stretch some 10 kilometers north, 5 kilometers west and 5 kilometers east from the shafts. The mine uses stress-relief mining techniques developed specifically for the site. This provides a stable and safe work environment while allowing the efficient extraction of ore. The mine uses six two-rotor continuous mining machines. Each machine can cut a 3.3 meter by 5.5 meter profile (11 feet by 18 feet wide) and can produce 500 metric tonnes per hour. Once mined, the ore passes directly from the mining machine onto a mobile conveyor system which transfers the ore to the main conveyor system, where it is transported to underground storage bins and then hoisted to the surface for processing. Current expansion work, which began in 2008, is expected to be complete by late 2012. The ramp-up to full 2.7 million tonne capability is set to be reached by 2014 an increase of 900,000 tonnes. The estimated $550 million project involves modifying the mines production headframe to accommodate larger hoists, skips and conveyors.

Cigar Lake Devlopement

Commodity Owners Operator Production Deposit Type: Reserves & Resources Mining Type Mining Equipment Processing Method Mine Life Employees

Uranium Cameco (50%), Areva (37.1%),Idemitsu (7.9%), Tepco (5%) Cameco Corp. 18 Mlbs U3O8 per year Unconformity uranium deposit 497,000 t at 20.7% U3O8 for 226.3 million lbs of U3O8 (Reserves ? Dec/09) Non-entry underground mining method 5.1 m diameter full-face Tunnel Boring Machine; Jet Boring System; Ground Freezing Equipment; On-site Crushing, Grinding but processed off-site

14.8 years 250

Overview
Cigar Lake is the world's second largest known high-grade uranium deposit and is located near Waterbury Lake, approximately 660 km north of Saskatoon, northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The Cigar Lake uranium deposit was discovered in 1981 by a regional program of diamond drill testing of geophysical anomalies. It occurs at depths ranging between 410 and 450 m below the surface. The project will be developed as a non-entry underground mine using a jet boring mining method, a full-face tunnel boring machine, and ground freezing techniques. Underground grinding of the ore will take place at Cigar Lake and will be followed by trucking to AREVA's McClean Lake mill for leaching. Final yellowcake production will be split between McClean Lake and Rabbit Lake for a total estimated annual production rate of 18 million pounds U3O8 when the mine is in full operation. Average operating cost is estimated to be Cdn$45.95/lb U3O8. The mine life will be 14.8 years

Geology
The Cigar Lake deposit is a typical Athabascan uranium deposit located at the unconformity contact between rocks of the Athabasca group and underlying lower Proterozoic Wollaston Group metasedimentary rocks. The Athabasca sandstone overlying the basement rocks contains water at high hydrostatic pressure. The flat lying deposit measures approximately 1950 m long, 20 to 100 m wide, and ranges up to 16 m thick, with an average thickness of about 6 m. Lies at depths ranging between 410 and 450 m below the surface. It is characterized by the occurrence of high-grade uranium concentrations accompanied by massive clays and metallic minerals (oxides, arsenides and sulphides). Three distinct styles of mineralization occur within the Cigar Lake deposit: high grade mineralization at the unconformity which includes the ore; fracture controlled, vein-like mineralization higher up in the sandstone; and fracture controlled, vein-like mineralization in the basement rock mass. The unconformity ore represents the bulk of the mineral deposit. Proven and probable mineral reserves total 497,000 t at 20.7% U3O8 containing 226.3 million pounds of U3O8. Measured and indicated amount to 61,000 t grading 4.9% U3O8. The inferred category was estimated at 317,000 t at 16.9% U3O8 for 59.1 million pounds U3O8. Because of the fact that Athabasca style uranium deposits don't occur at surface geophysical exploration tries to identify buried EM conductors representing graphite, which is generally associated with uranium mineralization

Mining and Operations

Underground mining of the Cigar Lake deposit faces multiple challenges including groundwater control, weak rock formations and high-radiation environment. A nonentry mining method had been selected for the project. The ground to be mined is first frozen up by minus 30 degree C calcium chloride pumped from the surface through pipes into freezing holes. It takes one to three years to have the ore and the host rocks freeze at between minus 10 degree C and minus 20 degree C. Freezing the ground provides for a minimized risk of water inflows, reduction of the radon dissolved in water and at the same time increases the stability of the rocks being mined. Secondly, a mine development system (MDS) would cut through rocks. It is a 5.1 m diameter full-face tunnel boring machine that also provides for the installation of permanent ground support. The MDS will be used on the 480 m level to develop the freeze level crosscuts and on 465 m level to develop production level crosscuts. Mining would be done by the jet boring method. The method consists of cutting approximately 4.5 m diameter cavities with a high pressure water jet in previously frozen ore. All mining with the Jet Boring System (JBS) will be done from the 465 m production level, located in the basement rock below the ore zone. Following mining, each cavity will be backfilled with concrete backfill. Although a single JBS unit would be enough to produce the required mine production of 80 to 140 t/d of ore the fleet would comprise three units: one in production, one being moved or set-up, and the third undergoing maintenance. Two mining shafts having a 4.9 m and 6.1 m in diameter extending to a final depth of 500 m would provide for mining operations taking place at the 420 m and 480 m levels. The primary ventilation system has been designed to supply a volume of up to 250 m3/s of fresh air to the mine. On October 23, 2006 because of water inflow the mine was flooded and underground development suspended. As of November 2010, Cameco continued to restore the underground mine system and began to freeze the ground around Shaft No. 2 in preparation to resume shaft sinking. Because of a challenging hydrogeological environment the risk of water inflows would remain high even in the production stage. That could result in an interruption in planned uranium supply. Ore mined by the JBS will be mixed with cuttings water and pumped to a ROM ore receiving facility, from which it will be subsequently recovered and it would be fed into an underground crushing and grinding circuit. The resulting finely ground, high density

ore slurry will be pumped to surface storage tanks, thickened and loaded into truck mounted containers, similar to those currently being used at McArthur River mine. Containers of uranium ore slurry will be trucked to AREVA's McClean Lake operations, 70 km to the northeast for leaching. Final uranium processing - yellowcake production - would occur at both the McClean Lake and Rabbit Lake for a total estimated annual production rate of 18 million pounds U3O8. No tailings will be stored at Cigar Lake because the ore is going to be processed elsewhere.

Jabal Sayid Mine, Barrick Gold Corp.

Commodity Copper Gold Silver Zinc

Owners

Barrick Gold Corp.

Production

60,000 tonnes per year copper in concentrate

Deposit Type

Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS)

Reserves & Resources

30,410,000 t at 2.26% copper, 0.14 g/t gold, 8.11 g/t silver

Mine Type

Underground

Mining Method

Open stope mining

Processing Method

Crushing and grinding (primary crusher, pebble crusher, bal mill), flotation

Mine Life

11 years

Employees

Approx 590 of which 290 contractors

Overview
The Jabal Sayid copper-gold-silver project is located in Saudi Arabia, 350 km northeast of Jeddah. The Jabal Sayid deposit was discovered in 1965 by the Bureau de Recherches Gologiques et Minires (BRGM) during a regional mapping program aided significantly by the presence of ancient mining activity including multiple pits and adits, together with ore and slag dumps. The copper-gold-silver-zinc deposit is owned by Barrick Gold as a result of the acquisition of Equinox Minerals Limited in 2011. The mining license for the project was granted in May 2010. Proven & Probable reserves (Dec/09) were estimated at 24.4 Mt at 2.2% copper, 0.25 g/t gold, and 8.8 g/t silver for 540, 000 tonnes contained copper. The plan is to open an underground mining operation that would have an 11 years mine life. Average annual production from two of the four lodes identified to date is expected to be 2.6 Mtpa or 100-130 million pounds copper over the first full five years of operation at total cash costs of $1.50-$1.70 per pound

Geology and Mineralization

The Jabal Sayid volcanic hosted massive sulphide (VMS) deposit is located within the Mahd Ahd Dhahab region within the Proterozoic Arabian Shield. The Arabian Shield is composed of crystalline continental crust made up of a number of separate volcanic arc terrains intruded by granite bodies and bounded by ultramafic ophiolites. Jabal Sayid is a proximal VMS system, with analogous deposits uncovered at both the Avoca (Ireland) and Mt. Lyell Mines (Tasmania). Four separate mineralized lodes are observed at Jabal Sayid (Lodes 1 to 4), confined within a north-easterly 200 m 700 m wide corridor and traced over a 1.2 km length. Base metal and precious metal mineralization is hosted by felsic volcanic rocks, which are in turn cross-cut by hypabyssal intrusions associated with a local paleovolcanic centre. Structural analysis suggests that these lodes are restricted to the western flank of a south-west plunging anticline. Lode 1 mineralization is predominantly a chalcopyrite stockwork overprint on a massive sulphide, predominantly pyrite, but with significant sphalerite (zinc sulphide). Lodes 2 and 4 are dominated by chalcopyrite (copper-iron sulphide) rich stockwork mineralization. Lode 3 is still essentially an exploration target.

Proven & Probable reserves (Dec/09) were estimated at 24.4 Mt at 2.2% copper, 0.25 g/t gold, and 8.8 g/t silver for 540, 000 tonnes contained copper.

Mining and Operation

Mining would be underground through the open stope mining method. The nominal production rate of 2.6 Mtpa is likely to be achieved in the early years when mining can take place in both Lodes 2 and 4. As the mining depth increases, and extends into the narrower parts of Lode 4, it is likely to become increasingly difficult to maintain the scheduled production rate. The company intends to develop Lode 1 as an open pit mining operation with pre-strip occurring in the second half of 2012 and production of ore commencing early 2013. This additional source of ore will reduce the risk of an ore feed shortage to the processing plant. Two declines will provide access to the orebody and a loop haulage system will be established in the upper part of the mine. The existing decline will be refurbished to serve as the main haulage ramp and a second decline will be developed to provide a service way and a haulage truck loop for Lode 4. Primary stopes will be filled with cemented aggregate fill, with secondary and tertiary stopes filled with hydraulic fill comprising de-slimed flotation tails. The two declines as well as two dedicated raises will be used for intake air and three dedicated raises will be developed for return air; and an escape way will be incorporated. Underground road trains loaded by chutes from the ore passes below each extraction level will be utilized in Lode 4. Ore and waste development will be loaded on each level and ore is planned to be transported via an ore pass to a chute on a haulage level, from where it will be transported to a surface stockpile with 100 t capacity twin powered trailer road trains. Development ore and waste will be transported to surface by 30 t tipper trucks, which are the same trucks used as the prime mover for the road trains. Water make in the mine is expected from groundwater inflow, service water and drainage from hydraulic sandfill placement. Two pump stations will be installed to pump water out of the mine to near the surface backfill plant and the surface water dam.

Lanigan Mine, Potash Corp.

Commodity Potash

Owners

PotashCorp

Production

3.6mtpa capacity

Mine Type

Underground

Mining Method

Long room and pillar

Employees

approx 565

Overview
PotashCorp owns and operates a potash mine at Lanigan, Saskatchewan. production of potash from Lanigan mien began in 1968. The mine site is located just off Highway 16 near the town of Guernsey, 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Saskatoon, province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Lanigan Potash Mining Lease Area encompasses approximately 52,025 hectares (128,557 acres)

Goelogy and Mineralization

Virtually all Lanigan underground mining rooms are in one of two potash mineralized zones situated approx 15-30m below the top of the host evaporite salt, the Prairie Evaporite Formation. Depth to the top of the main mineralized zones varies between 980m and 1050m, averaging approx 100m over most of the mining and exploration area. Mining work are protected from aquifers in overlying formations by salt and potash beds, and salt plugged porosity in the overlying Dawson Bay Formation, a carbonate lying immediately above potash hosting salt beds.

Mining and Operation

Lanigan is the largest of PotashCorp's potash mines and has the capacity to produce 3.828 million product tonnes a year from its deposits 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the Saskatchewan prairie. The current mining areas stretch 5 kilometers north and 7.5 kilometers south from the main shaft. Production began in 1968. The Lanigan mine is a conventional potash mine and uses long room and pillar mining techniques to extract the ore. The mine employs nine four-rotor and one two-rotor mining machines. Each machine cuts a profile of 2.74 meters by 8.23 meters (9 feet by 27 feet) and advances at a rate of up to 30 centimeters per minute. They typically mine at 650 tonnes per hour. Once mined, the ore passes directly from the miner onto a conveyor system which transports the ore to underground storage bins for hoisting to the surface. There are 441 active employees.

Stillwater Mine

Commodity

PGM, Palladium, Platinum

Location

Montana, USA Nearest Landmark: BILLINGS Distance: 136 Km SW from the nearest Landmark Latitude: 45 22' (North) Longitude: 109 52' (West)

Owners

Stillwater Mining

Production

Palladium - 8.4t; Platinum-2.5t; in 2010

Reserves & Resources

Palladium - 14.8mt (grade N.A.), Platinum-14.8mt @21.91g/t (Dec 31, 2009, proven and probable reserves)

Mine Type

Underground

Mining Method

ramp and fill mining, sub-level stoping and cut and fill mining

Processing Method

Crushing, Grinding and flotation

Overview
Stillwater is one of the world's leading producers of platinum group metals and the only significant primary producer of palladium in the Western Hemisphere. Properties covered here include the Stillwater and East Boulder Mines near Nye, Montana and the smelter and refinery complex at Columbus, Montana. The Stillwater Mine began underground mining in 1986. The East Boulder project, some 15 miles west of Stillwater, began commercial production in 2002. More than 80% of mining at the Stillwater Mine is mechanized, employing ramp and fill mining, sub-level stoping and cut and fill mining.

Geology and Mineralization

The Stillwater Complex, which hosts the J-M Reef ore deposit, is located in the Beartooth Mountains in south central Montana. It is situated along the northern edge of the Beartooth Uplift and Plateau, which rise to elevations in excess of 10,000 feet above sea level. The plateau and Stillwater Complex have been deeply incised by the major drainages and tributaries of the Stillwater and Boulder Rivers down to elevations at the valley floor of approximately 5,000 feet. Geologically, the Stillwater Layered Complex is composed of a succession of ultramafic to mafic rocks derived from a large complex magma body emplaced deep in the Earth's crust an estimated 2.7 billion years ago.

Mining and Operation

More than 80% of mining at the Stillwater Mine is mechanized. The majority of ore produced at the Stillwater Mine is derived from mechanized ramp and fill mining. Other mechanized mining methods used are sub-level stoping and mechanized cut and fill. In areas where the Reef is narrow, Stillwater Mining uses a more selective, less productive method of slusher cut and fill mining to extract ore. The Stillwater Mine accesses a 5.6-mile segment of the J-M Reef, between the elevations of 7,000 and 2,900 feet above sea level. Access to the ore at the Stillwater Mine is accomplished by means of a 1,950-foot vertical shaft and by a system of horizontal adits and drifts driven parallel to the strike of the J-M Reef at vertical intervals of between 200 feet and 300 feet. The company is currently developing a decline system from the 3,200-foot elevation to access and develop deeper areas in the central part of the mine below those currently serviced by the existing shaft. The East Boulder Mine is located in Sweet Grass County, Montana and provides access to the western portion of the J-M Reef through two 18,500-foot, 15-foot diameter tunnels. The access tunnels intersect the orebody at an elevation 6,450 feet above sea level. The predominant mining methods are sub-level stoping and ramp-and-fill mining methods. During the first half of 2002, a sand fill plant was constructed and commissioned underground to facilitate the application of the cut-and-fill mining method to portions of the orebody

Ramp and Fill

Access to the ore body is a ramp or decline from a footwall lateral Uses both jackleg drills and mechanized drills for blasting and load-haul-dump (LHD) mucking machines to haul away ore using an access ramp Advances in the stope are made in 9-foot (2.7-meter) increments. After the stope is mined out, it is then backfilled with waste rock and sand to become the floor for the next horizontal stope, moving upward in 10-foot (3-meter) increments

Sub-Level Stoping

Involves a ramp along the footwall of the reef to allow access to the ore body at 30-to 40-foot (9-to 12-meter) vertical intervals Ore is removed from the open stopes using a remote-controlled LHD vehicle

Fruta del Norte

Commodity Gold, Silver

Owners

Kinross Gold Corp

Operator Estimated Production

Aurelian Ecuador S.A 6.3 Moz Gold and 6.7 Moz Silver

Deposit Type

Epithermal gold-silver deposit

Mine Type

Underground

Mining Method

Open blast hole stoping with back fill

Esttimated mine life

16 year

Geology and Mineralization

The bulk of the gold is microscopic and associated with quartz, carbonates, and sulphides. Much of the gold is "free milling" but the mineralization is moderately refractory with approximately 40% of the gold locked in sulphides. Coarse visible gold is common. Gold fineness is typically lower in the northern segment. Mineral Reserves of 26.1 Mt at a grade of 8.07 g/t Au and 10.9 g/t Ag were used in the economic evaluation.

Mining Operation
Underground mining methods would be employed for mining the Fruta del Norte deposit i.e. traverse open blast-hole stoping with backfill.

Mining and Operations

Three vertical shafts and a decline access the orebody, which is worked using a variation of sublevel open stoping. Stopes are backfilled with cemented aggregate of crushed waste rock, deslimed mill tailings, cement and pulverised fuel ash.

Annual production
The mine capacity is 235,000t/y of refined copper and 4,500t/y of high grade uranium oxide, plus 100,000 oz gold and 800,000 oz silver per year.

Processing
Processing facilities consist of a copper concentrator, hydrometallurgical plant , copper smelter, sulphuric acid plant, copper and gold/silver refineries. Recent expansions included a Svedala autogenous mill, additions to the flotation sections, two counter-current decantation thickeners, an electric slag -cleaning fur n ace , a ne w ano de f ur n ace g as -c le an i n g p la n t an d ad d i t io na l e le c tr o refining cells.

Mount lsa Mines Limited (Xstrata Plc)

Mine Ore
Operates two separate mining and processing streams, copper and

zinclead-silver, at Mount Isa. Together the company's 4 underground mines form one of the largest underground mining operations in the world.

Grade of the ore

Copper Class: Tonnage: Grade: Note: Zinc Class: Grade: Note: Proven + Probable 4.8 - 8.8 % Zn Includes all Mt. Isa and George Fisher 0/P and U/G and ore bodies. This tonnage also contains 2.2 - 5.7% Pb and 39 - 125 g/t Ag. Proven + Probable 84 Mt 1.8 - 3.4 % Cu X41 and Enterprise Mines

Tonnage: 84 Mt

Method of Mining
A variety of mining methods have been used at Isa during the course of its operation. Sub-level open stoping ("SLOS") is the method currently used in both the X-41 and Enterprise areas of the mine. SLOS is designed to extract massive blocks of ore in vertical slices throughout the ore bodies. Stope sizes in the large 1100 ore body (X-41 area) are mined in blocks of 40

metres by 40 metres, and up to 300 metres high. Drilling sublevels for the blocks are \ developed at every 40 metres of elevation. Stope sizes in the 3000 ore body (Enterprise area) are as small as 25 metres by 25 metres, and up to 100 metres high. Drilling sublevels for mining the 3000 ore body are spaced approximately 25 metres apart. Blast-hole drilling is carried out using mechanised drill rigs. The broken ore is collected at the bottom of the stope and is extracted at drawpoints by load-haul-dump ("LHD") mining equipment. Completed stopes in the X-41 area are backfilled using a combination of waste rock mixed with a cement slurry, while Enterprise stopes are filled with mill tailings mixe d with cement, much o f w hich is intr oduce d as paste fill. T he current deepest part of the Enterprise mine is 1,600 metres. High rock stresses coupled with talcy, blocky ore in the Enterprise orebodie s cause delays in m i n i n g . P r o m p t b a c k f i l l i n g o f c o m p l e t e d n o r t h e r n E n t e r p r i s e s t o p e s i s necessary to prevent major ground movements resulting from the high rock stress conditions.

Geo Mining Condition

The large 1100 copper ore body extends from 400 metres to 1000 metres below the surface. It is three kilometres long and one of the largest and richest copper ore bodies in the world. The main copper mineral is chalcopyrite. Closer to the surface, weathering and ground water leaching has changed the chalcopyrite to secondary copper minerals such as chalcocite. This weathering has also affected some of the near -surface lead orebodies, forming cerussite, a secondary lead carbonate mineral.

Access to the ore body

Mount lsa operations are carried out in two production streams. Copper operations consist of the X41 (1100 and 1900 orebodies) and Enterprise (3000 and 3500 orebodies) underground mines along with a copper concentrater and smelter. Zinc, lead and silver operations consist of the Hilton and George Fisher (formerly Hilton North) underground mines and the Black Star open pit mine. Underground operations are accessed via surface shafts, two equipped with ore hoists, and a decline, which is shared with the lsa Lead mine. Both the interconnected X-41 and Enterprise mines contain massive orebodies, which are extracted using long -hole open stoping with delayed backfill. Operations are mechanised with a complement of rubber -tired trucks and loaders, electrohydraulic drilling rigs, raise boring rigs and ancillary vehicles

Man power
Xstrata employs more than 3200 employees and 1100 contractors at Mount lsa.

Long-run

processing

of

2.5Mt/y

ore

from

George

Fisher

required

modifications and general upgrading at the Mount Isa lead -zinc concentrator and lead smelter. Engineering contractors Bateman Brown 84 Root reconfigured the flotation circuit was to incorporate IsaMill technology for very fine grinding and froth pumping. This yielded a near 10% performance improvement in recoveries to 78.8% Pb and 73.4% Zn, with the zinc recovery rising to 80.7% in FY2002. In the lead plant the sintering machine was rebuilt, the blast furnace crucible replaced and a new control system installed.

Olympic Dam Mine

Commodity Owner Reserves and Resources Copper, Uranium,Gold,Silver BHP Copper 589mt @1.81% Uraniumum 589mt @ 590g/t Gold 589mt @ 3.36gt Silver 589mt @ 0.66g/t probable reserve Mining Type Processing Method Underground Crushing, Grinding, Flotation

Geology
The Olympic Dam mine lease is 17,788.11 hectares on arid zone land. The property has a large number of discrete ore zones throughout an area of several square kilometres ranging in depth from 350 metres to approximately one kilometre. The deposit occurs in the basement rocks of the Stuart Shelf geological province in the north of South Australia, west of Lake Torrens.

Mineralization
Mine r aliz at io n c o nsists o f me di um -gr ai ne d chal co pyr ite , bo r n i te and chalcocite, fine-grained disseminated pitchblende, gold, silver and rare earth minerals that occur in a magnetic hydrothermal breccia complex beneath 350m of overburden. The ore occurs in distinct zones that determine the mine access and layout.

Mining and Operations

Three vertical shafts and a decline access the orebody, which is worked using a variation of sublevel open stoping. Stopes are backfilled with cemented aggregate of crushed waste rock, deslimed mill tailings, cement and pulverised fuel ash.

Annual production
The mine capacity is 235,000t/y of refined copper and 4,500t/y of high grade uranium oxide, plus 100,000 oz gold and 800,000 oz silver per year.

Processing
Processing facilities consist of a copper concentrator, hydrometallurgical plant, copper smelter, sulphuric acid plant, copper and gold/silver refineries. Recent expansions included a Svedala autogenous mill, additions to the flotation sections, two counter-current decantation thickeners, an electric slag -cleaning fur n ace , a ne w ano de f ur n ace g as -c le an i n g p la n t an d ad d i t io na l e le c tr o refining cells.

Raglan Mine
Commodity Location Nickel Canada Latitude: 61 deg 41 min N Longitude: 73 deg 41 min W

Owners Production Reserves & Resources Mining Type Employee

Xstrata Nickel 1.3mtpa ore, 30ktpa Conc Nickel Open Pit and Underground Approx. 704

Overview
The operation consists of open pit and underground mines, a concentrator, a power plant, accommodation and administration buildings, fresh water supply and fuel storage tanks. The mine site is linked by all -weather roads to an airstrip at Donaldson and to the concentrate, storage and ship -loading facilities at Deception Bay. Approximately 85%-90% of the production at Raglan comes from underground sources, with the remainder coming from an open pit.

Mining and Operation

There are three underground mines and tw o small open pits currently in o pe r at io n . A pp r o x i ma te ly 9 0 % o f t he pr o d u c t io n a t R ag l an

co me s fr o m underground sources, with the remainder coming from open pits.

Underground mining uses a single-pass mechanised cut-and-fill method in 810m wide by 5m high panels. Backfill is supplied from the open pits and underground development. As the permafrost extends below the level of mining, air temperatures underground must remain cold to maintain the stability of the permafrost. Wet drilling is used with a saline flush, as fresh water instantly freezes. The mine uses Wagner trucks for all underground operations, including production and backfilling.

Sleeping Giant Mine

Commodity Gold

Location

80 Km North from AMOS, Quebec, Canada Latitude: 49 0 8' (North) Longitude: 77 58' (West)

Owners

North American Palladium

Production

50kg Gold in 2009

Deposit Type

Quartz Vein

Reserves & Resources

91kt @8.91g/t proven reserve (Dec 31, 2009)

Mining Type

Undeground

Employee

200

Overview
Sleeping Giant is an underground gold mine and mill located in the Abitibi region of northeastern Quebec, near the town of Amos. The mine has a workforce of 200. The company is currently deepening the sleeping Giant mine shaft by 200 meters to gain access to three new higher grade mining levels, the underutilized mill has the potential to serve NAP'S nearby projects in the Abiti region

Geology and Mineralization

T he S le e p in g G i an t is a qu ar tz - su l p hi de ve i n t y pe go l d de p o s i t . T he b e st mineralised veins typically contain four sulphide minerals: pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite, which form 5 to 60% of the veins. The typical vein thickness is between 20 and 80 cm with average grade between 35 and 85 Au g/t (uncut channel sample analyses). Besides gold, the veins contain silver and a small proportion of copper and zinc. The ratio Au : Ag is about 1 : 2. Zones 20 and 30 have a lateral/vertical continuity of 300 / 670 meters, that is to say a much more impor tant ver tical co ntinuity than a lateral o ne . In zo ne 8 , the lateral/vertical continuities are over 600 / 500 meters. In new extensions of the multi-vein gold system, no change was observed in the nature of veins, i.e. no improvement related to tonnes and grades. Therefore, it is considered that future exploration in the extensions of the mineralized system is likely to show veins of the same type, tonnes and grades than those found up until now.

Mining and Operations

The mine is accessed by a four -compar tment pr oductio n shaft with a total depth of 1,053 metres. Levels are spaced at 45 metres from surface to a depth o f 23 5 me tre s, and fr o m the r e to a de pth o f 9 7 5 me tr e s ar e space d at 6 0 metres. The exploration shaft and various raises allow all portions of the mine

to be ventilated with fresh air. An ore pass and a waste pass allow material to be handled and raised to the surface. The deepest working level of the mine is presently 975 metres but North American Palladium began to deepen the shaftwith a view to extending it by up to another 180 metres in 2009. The mine uses 3 and 5 tonne electric locomotives and rail cars. Three mining methods have been used to extract ore, with the method being determined according to the dip of a particular zone. For dips over 65 degrees, long-hole and shrinkage stope extraction is used. For slopes between 65 and 45 degrees, the method employed is generally shrinkage stope mining (with some stopes mined by long -hole methods). For slopes below 45 degrees, the room and pillar extraction method is used. Mine facilities include a three compartment shaft to 4 9 0 m a n d a 1 6 0 tonne/hour hoist accessing 7 levels, a 900 tonne/day mill, and tailings disposal.

Environment and Community

Sleeping Giant recycles and reduces energy consumption as much as possible. Water recirculation to the mill has been increased by 20%, 40% of grease and 15% of used oil was recovered. Recognizing that traffic flow to the mine is an issue, three buses and three minibuses transport the workforce to the mine, replacing more than 50 automobiles.

Most common method

As we look at all the mine information that has been gathered in this project report, we found that the most common methos of mining in for underground metal mines is sublevel stoping with some variant methods. As a whole we can say that the most prefrable and adopted method in underground metal mining is sublevel stoping. Different geomining conditions in which we can prefer sublevel stopin is as follows: 1. If the ore body is thick and flat and the strenght of wall is strong then we may prefer bub-level stoping irrespective of the strength of ore may be weak or strong. 2. If we have ore body type in thick veins and the dip is steep then we require strong ore body with strong walls to go for sublevel stoping. 3. If we have massive ore body then with strong strenght of ore and strong walls we may prefer sublevel stoping. If we look at the Mount Isa Mines Ltd. which uses the sublevel stoping have a large copper body expends from 400 metres to 1000 metres below the surface. It is three kilometre long and one of the largest copper ore body in world. Simillarly Olympic Dam Mine also have a ore zone over an area of several kilometres ranging in depth from 350 metre to one kilometre.

Non-entry Mining Method

Underground mining of the Cigar Lake deposit faces multiple challenges including groundwater control, weak rock formations and highradiation environment. So we required a typical method to mine out the uranium deposit. Hence a non-entry mining method had been selected for the project. Some key facts abouth the mines are: The deposit has proven and probable reserves of more than 216.7 million pounds U3O8 at an average grade of 18.3% (Cameco's share is 108.4 million pounds) The Cigar Lake orebody is being frozen prior to mining to improve ground conditions, prevent water inflow and improve radiation protection. The high grade ore will be removed by a jet boring system that will be deployed within the access tunnels being developed about 25 metres under the orebody. Jet boring involves using water under high pressure to carve out cavities in the orebody and then collecting the resulting ore slurry through pipes. The Cigar Lake mining process also involves backfilling the cavities in the orebody with concrete once the ore is removed. Ore collected by the jet boring system will be taken to underground grinding and thickening circuits and then pumped to surface as slurry. At the surface, the ore will be loaded in special containers for truck transport to the mill. Cigar Lake ore will be processed through a toll milling arrangement at Areva's McClean Lake operation, located 70 km to the northeast of Cigar Lake.

Hence to provide the stability and safe working condition in such typical working environment we need to come through some typical mining method. Hence a non-entry mining method is prefered which includes the following operation: The ground to be mined is first frozen up by minus 30 degree C calcium chloride pumped from the surface through pipes into freezing holes. It takes one to three years to have the ore and the host rocks freeze at between minus 10 degree C and minus 20 degree C. Freezing the ground provides for a minimized risk of water inflows, reduction of the radon dissolved in water and at the same time increases the stability of the rocks being mined.

Secondly, a mine development system (MDS) would cut through rocks. It is a 5.1 m diameter full-face tunnel boring machine that also provides for the installation of permanent ground support. The MDS will be used on the 480 m level to develop the freeze level crosscuts and on 465 m level to develop production level crosscuts. Mining would be done by the jet boring method. The method consists of cutting approximately 4.5 m diameter cavities with a high pressure water jet in previously frozen ore. All mining with the Jet Boring System (JBS) will be done from the 465 m production level, located in the basement rock below the ore zone. Following mining, each cavity will be backfilled with concrete backfill.

Correlation of access to the ore body w.r.t. Geo-mining condition:

Cigar Lake Devlopement
Cigar lake consist of Uramium deposit at depth tanging between 410 and 450 m below the surface. The Athabasca sandstone overlying the basement rocks contains water at high hydrostatic pressure. The flat lying deposit measures approximately 1950 m long, 20 to 100 m wide, and ranges up to 16 m thick, with an average thickness of about 6 m. Lies at depths ranging between 410 and 450 m below the surface. As the Cigar Lake Development faces multiple challages like ground water control, weak rock formations, so we cannot go with a conventional method hance to fullfil the safety requirement and production capacity we came with a typical methos known as non-entry mining method. In this method we frozen up the ground which to be mined up to 30 degree celcius. It takes one to three years to have the ore and the host rocks freeze at between minus 10 degree C and minus 20 degree C. To reach the ore body two mining shafts having a 4.9 m and 6.1 m in diameter extending to a final depth of 500 m would provide for mining operations taking place at the 420 m and 480 m levels. As the depth is quite high so it is very uneconomical to go through inclided, also it takes a lots of time to drive the inclined up to this depth if we compare with the shaft.

Potash Corp Allan

Depth to the top of the main mineralized zone varies between 1020 m and 1100m, averaging approx 1040m over most of the mining and exploration area. So to extract a mineral up to this dept we can not prefer to go with inclined or adit. So the only conventional method to reach the ore body is shaft. Hence the Potash Corp Allan also uses the shaft to reach the ore body. As the ore body is flat and thin and the strength of the walls are strong, so to overcome these problems the most conventional methos of mining is room and pillar.

Jabal Sayid Mine, Barrick Gold Corp.

The Jabal Sayid volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposit is located within the Mahd Ahd Dhahab region within the Proterozoic Arabian Shield. Four separate mineralized lodes are observed at Jabal Sayid (Lodes 1 to 4), confined within a north-easterly 200 m 700 m wide corridor and traced over a 1.2 km length. As the ore is massive body and the over lying strata is strong the most prefrable and the economical method to achive the required production is sub-level stoping ehich is also supperted by the flat seam.

Summary
After defining the introduction to the topic first we started to collect the information about the underground metal mines. On the basis of information we discussed the method of mining and way to access the ore body for every mine that has been included in this report. After taking a review on the method of working we look forward to select a mine which is running on a typical mining method. For this we have Cigar Lake deposit running on non- entry mining method due the water body present with the ore body.

References
www.potashcorp.com www.infomine.com www.mining.com www.barrick.com www.hoovers.com www.kinross.com www.xstrata.com www.abc.net.au www.miningweekly.com