~~~~~~-~~~~~!!!!!!

RISK ANALYSIS IN MINING

Quick guides to the evaluation of orebodies

T. ALAN O'HARA
Manager, Development Group . .
Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., LI~'lI~ed
Anglo American Corporation of Canada Limited
Toronto, Ontario

ABSTRACT the conditions likely to cause high capital and operating costs
are known from knowledge of the local topography, climate or
Annual mining revenue can be computed by formulae relating accessibility, or can be assessed by tests on core samples, as
metal prices, smelting schedules, concentrate grade and soon as the orebody has been outlined by drilling .
recovery to known ore grade and an assessment of core A more accurate estimate of over-all project capital cost and
samples. Operating costs at different daily tonnages are related operating cost can be made from a summation of items of cost
to orebody shape, mining method, milling process and general after judging the effect of specific local conditions on each
plant services. Capital costs are related to sizing of mining item of capital and operating cost. This paper offers guides in
equipment, mine development, plant-site topography, climate judging the effect of local conditions on the sizing and 1978
and accessibility, plant services and personnel housing. cost of specific items of capital cost and operating cost and
Introduction operating cost of mine projects. When the specific items of
capital cost and operating cost are totalled ~nd measu~ed
A crude guide to the average 1978 cost of mine projects is against expected net revenue and taxes over the life of the rmne
shown in Figure 1, but the costs of many mine projects have
using the net-present-value or discount-cash-flow methods, the
differed widely from the graphed average costs of $800,000 result should show whether the mine project development is
"[0.6 for underground mine/mill projects and $400,000 "[0.6 for
clearly feasible, doubtfully feasible or clearly uneconomic. If
low-grade open-pit mine/mill projects.
the development of the mine project is clearly feasible, or pro-
High mine project costs and high operating costs are
bably feasible, a detailed feasibility study by experienced co.n-
characteristic of open-pit mines with high stripping ratios,
suiting engineers should be commissioned before any financial
underground mines with thin orebodies, mills with complex
commitments are made; but if project development appears to
metallurgy, and projects located in isolated regions with severe be uneconomic, the time and cost of a detailed feasibility study
climate, mountainous topography, and lacking access to ex- is not warranted.
isting roads, towns and electric power. When none of these
The chief variable affecting all items of capital cost, revenue
adverse conditions prevailed, the mine project cost was and operating cost is the daily tonnage of ore that is treated by
typically much less than the graphed average cost. Virtually all the process plant. The guides to capital and operating cost of-
fered in this paper are based on the assumptions that the pro-
cess plant will be operated continuously for seven days per
week but mining operations and crushing plants will operate
T.A. O'Hara for only five days per week, with only necessary maintenance
services on weekends. Thus, the daily ore tonnage mined and
T. Alan O'Hara was born in New crushed will be 40010 greater than the daily ore tonnage milled.
Zealand and graduated with B.Sc.,
B.Eng., A.O .S.M. and M.S. degrees 260
from the Universities of New Zealand,
Otago and Missouri. He immigrated 240
to Canada in 1947 and for the next 17
years was employed in mining
engineering and mine operations at
Cominco Ltd., San Antonio Gold Mines Ltd ., Hudson Bay Mining
and Smelting Co ., Limited and Upper Canada Mines Ltd .
. In 1946, he joined the consulting engineering firm of Wright
Engineers Limited and , as staff consultant, he was engaged in field in-
vestigations, feasibility studies and project design for mining projects
in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Peru, Bolivia, Ireland, France, Moroc-
co and Iran.
Mr. O'Hara returned to Hudson Bay Mining in 1970 and for the
last nine years has managed the Development Group of senior
engineers responsible for the evaluation of major mining and
metallurgical projects, and corporate acquisitions for Hudson Bay
Mining and Smelting and Anglo American Corporation of Canada.
Keywords: Orebodies, Evaluation, Open-pit mines, Underground
20
mines, Process plants, Capital costs, Operating costs, Revenues,
Equipment, Storage, Transportation, Housing , Manpower, Cost for-
2000 5000 10000 15000 20000 30000
mulae.
FIG I. T = TONS MINED a MILLED DAILY

elM Bulletin, February 1980 87

 Estimates of the number of employees required, the Capital Cost Estimation-Open Pits
operating costs per ton and some items of capital costs will re-
quire adjustment if the plant operates with seasonal shutdowns If the ore deposit is judged to be amenable to open-pit mining
or if the mine and the mill operate on the same shifts per week. methods, an estimate must be made of the amount of soil and
rock overburden that must be stripped before ore mining can
be started, and an estimate must be made of the average ratio
20
of waste tonnage to ore tonnage when the open pit is produc-
ing ore at the selected daily miUing rate.
Vl
z
Q Site Preparation, Plant and Pit Roads
-::J
~

;;:;
sF
1.5

~<v<v
~
(jll"\'"
The cost of site preparation , as shown in Figure 2, will depend
on the area, the topography and tree growth on the site of the
proposed open pit, waste dumps and process plant. The area
, "\
'"
a: y..~~~ o~ of the site and length of the access road to be prepared will :
[ I'!'
0{ ffF"\' typically vary with the square root of the size of the open-pit
a:
c,
w
lO r rfS!",<{Y' • ':J
r,"\Co mine as expressed in terms of the tonnage of ore and waste (Tp)
>-
iii ~ c,o to be mined daily.
1<-<:>
>- I
a: "GO
z
w
r '1'
Pre-Production Stripping Costs
c,
0
u, 5 r
I Figure 3 shows the cost of stripping soil and rock overburden,
0
>- Ai assuming that soil will be stripped by contractors using
~ .3 scrapers, and rock overburden will be removed by drilling,
u
.2
blasting , loading and haulage of rock by readily available sizes
0 .1
~!- ' I I ( I • of drills, loaders and trucks. Because the size and condition of
20000 4 0 000 60 0 00 80 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 equipment readily available for rock overburden stripping is
FIG 2 Tp = TONS OF ORE a WASTE PER DAY rarely suitable for production mining, the cost of this equip-
ment must be amortized over the pre-production period.
Open-Pit Equipment-Sizing and Cost
20 OPEN PIT PREPRODUCTON STRIPPING
The most important items of pit equ ipment are usually the pit
IB shovels and haulage trucks, and because the size and number
of haulage trucks depends on the size and number of shovels,
16 selection of shovel size affects all other items of pit equipment.
Figure 4 shows the typical selection of shovel size and number
14
of shovels for different daily pit tonnages. Although some pits
may have conditions suitable for partial replacement of
shovels by front-end loaders at lower capital cost and improv-
Cost " $ BOO T~' (Soi l) ed flexibility, this study assumes that only shovels will be used
" $ B500 T.O' ( Rock)
for loading rock.
The size of haulage trucks should be matched against the
shovel size so that a unit number of shovel loads fills the
waiting truck. In general, the truck size in tons is about nine
times the shovel size (in cubic yards) for small shovels, and

--
about ten times the shovel size for large shovels as shown by
SOIL OVERBURDEN the formula t = 8 SJ.I .
The cost of open-pit equipment is shown in Figure 5 as a
12 3 45 6 7 function of tons of ore and waste mined daily (T»)
FIG. 3 To = TONS OF OVERBURDEN (MILLIONS) Figure 5 shows that the two major items in pit equipment
cost are the fleet of shovels, each of which costs about

12
SIZES 6 NUMBER OF PIT SHOVELS
(5 ) S ize = 0 .13 T,IO. 4 II
TpO.8
No. " 0 007
S 10
TRUCK $ IZ£ (r)= 8 S l 1 In ton s
~ 9
Vl
z
s..J B
..J
~ 7
z
;: 6
z
w
~ 5
5
~ 4
!::
a. 3
~
0007 T,
S
°• ;t
S 230 000 Son
•

~ 2 (5 is shovel size in cubic yards )

Vl
o
U I
L-.L.-...L I __ L I ! 1 ! I I I I ' I ! I J r
20000 4 0 000 60000 80 000 100000

FlG. 4 Tp c TONS OF ORE a WASTE PER DAY

5000 0000 20000 30000 4 0 000 50000 60 000 70000

FIG.5 (Tp) TONS OF ORE a WASTE MINED DAILY

BB
$230,000 SO.73, and the fleet of trucks, each of which costs
320
about $9,000 to.8' .
300
Open-Pit Maintenance Facilities
The cost of building and equipping facilities for the garaging ~ 250 ~
and maintenance of open-pit equipment will be dependent I-- I--
chiefly on the sizing and numbers of pit haulage trucks . The lJJ
lJJ lJJ
W
u, u,
haulage truck size varies directly with T pO.44, and the number lJJ 200
of haulage trucks varies directly with T pO.36. The cost of c:: ~
«
::> 15 I--
maintenance facilities will vary with the square of haulage 0 u,
(f) «
truck size and directly with the number of trucks required, and 150 14 I(f)
~
consequently the cost of maintenance facilities will vary ap- « 13 u,
0
proximately with the 0.3 power of tons of ore and waste mined lJJ
a:: 12 a::
daily, as shown in Figure 15. « 100 A (sq. tI)· 17 TO." w
I-- 11 I--
u, w
[FOR RECTANGULAR SHAFTS WITH SETS] 10 ~
Capital Cost Estimates- «
I «
15
Underground Mines (f)
50 d (in fl.)' 5.2 T O. I •
[FOR CIRCULAR CONCRETE SHAFTS]
If the orebody is amenable to underground mining, knowledge
or" the shape and attitude of the orebody will enable a judg-
ment to be made on: the hoisting distance necessary to extract 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
the lowest ore, and the average stoping width of the mineable FIG 6 TONS OF ORE HOISTED PER DAY (T)
ore.
If the nature of the ore boundary and the competence of the
wall rock are known from drill core samples, a judgment can Nt ~j Wi ~i roi ~i ~I oj ~i ~i mi N i
~i Wi
be made on the appropriate stoping method.
It is assumed that almost all underground orebodies can be
~ ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ m
(f) d • DIAMETER OF CONCRETE SHAFT REQUIRED
developed by vertical shaft access and lateral levels, but it is 5 2 .2
CONCRETED SHAFT 01
recognized that under some conditions development by inclin- ::J
CIRCULAR dO'+ $228 F d .
~ 2.0
ed ramps may be more appropriate. Nevertheless, the capital 80 0 0 0
~ COST" '
costs estimated for development by a vertical shaft could be ~
[F • Fl. of shaft sunk]
used as a measure of whether or not alternative development
methods would be preferable. Generally these alternative t« 1.5 o AO.'8>+ ~B5 .. F AO...
methods would be appropriate only when they are both Vi COST ' $60,00 ECTANGULAR SHAFT
u, Tlt/l8ERED R
physically feasible and less costly than shaft development. o
The capital cost estimates and operating costs for t 10
underground mines are based on the higher productivity at-
tained by mechanized equipment for drilling, drifting, raising,
§
stope mucking, drawpoint mucking and trackless haulage. ~
52
This equipment would be suitable for room-and-pillar stopes ~ 0 .5 A' SQ. FT OF RECTANGULAR SHAFT REQUIRED
over 8 ft high, and for blasthole stopes and cut-and-fill stopes 15 N ~ m ~ ~ ~ ~ 2N ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
over 15 ft wide. A partially mechanized mine would attain I-- N w m ro ~ ~ ~ N N ~ Q ro ~
~ ~ ~ 2 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
lower productivity for shrinkage stopes, for blasthole stopes
and cut-and-fill stopes less than 15 ft wide, and for room-and-
S 1000 2000
N
3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
pillar stopes less than 8 ft high, and consequently manpower FIG. 7 T c TONS OF ORE TO BE HOISTED PER DAY
requirements and operating costs are substantially higher in
such mines.
(Fd) of 8- by 8-ft drift or the equivalent in costs for ramps,
Cost of Shaft Sinking raises and miscellaneous excavations.
Fd (in feet of equivalent 8x8 drift) = 270 T/W o.8 , where T is tons of
If the ground through which the shaft is to be sunk is known to
ore milled daily and W is average stoping width in feet.
be fractured, waterbearing, or weak and incompetent, the
shaft will probably need to be a circular concrete-lined shaft. The average cost per foot of 8x8 drift, as of January 1979, is
If the shaft sinking will be in strong competent rock, a rec-
estimated to be about $150, including all direct labour and
tangular shaft with multi-compartment shaft sets 8 feet apart material costs, as well as proportionate amount of general ex-
and blocked to the bare rock excavation will probably be most penses (administration, supervision, general supplies, fringe
appropriate. The size of the rectangular shaft, or the diameter benefits, etc.) incurred during mine development.
Capital cost of mine development = S.w,OOO T/Wo.8 (Fig. 8).
of concrete shaft, required to hoist the daily tonnage of ore
and service the mine is shown in Figure 6. It will be noted that "mine development" does not include
The cost of shaft sinking, as shown in Figure 7, consists of the driving of stope development drifts, crosscuts and raises,
mobilization and demobilization costs (which will be virtually because this is essentially an operating cost associated with the
independent of shaft sinking distance) as well as unit shaft need to develop future new stopes to replace those stopes cur-
sinking costs, including shaft supplies per foot of sha ft. rently in production.

Cost of Mine Development Hoisting Plant Sizing and Cost

Mine development for mechanized mines will consist of ramps The guides for estimating size and cost of hoisting facilities for
as well as shaft crosscuts, ore and waste passes, raises, and underground mines are based on the assumption that a double-
miscellaneous excavations for pump stations, loading pockets, drum hoist will be used. It is recognized that for many large
lunchrooms, etc. Because of the larger size of opening mines hoisting ore from great depths, friction hoists may be
necessary for mechanized mines, the development cost per more suitable than double-drum hoists. Nevertheless, double-
foot will be higher than for conventionally equipped mines. It drum hoists have a technically wider application to shaft sink-
is assumed that the initial mine development will develop ore ing, to multiple-level service requirements and to all sizes of
reserve tons equal to 2000 times the daily mill tonnage. The mines.
amount of mine development is expressed in terms of footage The hoisting plant size and cost shown graphically is based
elM Bulletin, February 1980 Rq
 26 HEADFRAME HEIGHT vs. T P.0 8 HOIST SIZE
24
200
22

"i
~-=
20 180
~
...
,~
18 160
{!

~
16 140
>-
u,

~~I
, ~_\
ri'
;; 120
;; 14
>-
>- :r
CJ)
0 12 ~
:r
10 0 _\'1' --,
o
>- w 80
z
w
;:,
10 ;:,
~
.t'?o/
1.....
0[ ]3•
Heod"ame hei<jhl = 0 25 .0 • 5 5 100
033
6 .3 T .
n, u, 60
0 8 0
-' COST . S 40 ,000 T <{
D = holst drum die
w Woe w
> 6 :r 40
w W is average ore widt h
0
4 20

500 10 0 0 20 00 3000 40 00 5000 6000 7000

2000 3000 4000 50 00 6000 7 000

FIG. II T =TONS PER DAY HOISTED
FIG 8 T= TONS OF ORE MINED PER DAY
large mines will use one hoist for ore hoisting only and a se-
cond hoist for cage service.
5000
The drum size of a double-drum hoist required for hoisting
HOIST DRUM DIAMETER T tons of ore daily from a hoisting depth of h feet is shown in
SI Z IN,~
G _ Figure 9. The rated horsepower of the motor installed on the
4000 02.8 . 40T + l00h o.5 TO.6 hoist will be dependent on the hoisting rope speed S (in feet per
I-
w minute), but the formula shown in Figure 9 assumes that the
W +ho·'T I.2
u,
appropriate hoisting speed for hoisting T tons of ore over a
~
I 3000 o =Hoist dio. in in distance of h feet will be about 1.6 hOSr°.4.
l-
o,
T = Tons per doy A hoisting speed slower (or faster) than this will require a
w hoisled hoist drum diameter slightly larger (or smaller) than D as com-
0
t?
!' =Hoisllng dis!. in f l. puted by the formula in Figure 9, but the motor horsepower
Z 20 00
~ required would be somewhat smaller (or larger) than the size
If)
(5 typically used on hoist s of diameter D.
I
The motor horsepower suitable for driving a hoist of
.c: "
1000 diameter D at a rope speed of S f.p .m, is:
Motor horsepower (HI) = 0.5 (DIl00)2·45
Figure 10 shows the capital cost of a fully equipped double-
drum hoist of diameter D and HI motor horsepower, including
2000 40 0 0 6000 80 0 0 10 50 0 all electric equipment. The cost of installing hoists, and the
FIG. 9 T =TONS HOISTED PER DAY cost of constructing a hoistroom to house the hoisting equip-
ment, is also shown in Figure 10. The hoistroom cost is based
on the assumption that the hoistroom will have an area of
0.125 D2.2square feet, which will be sufficient for the installa-
.l:l0 IST COSTS tion of mine compressors in addition to hoisting equipment.
The height of the head frame must be sufficient to permit the
2 .0 skips to dump into orebins sized in relation to daily tonnage
Hoist equipment = S 34 0 0 1 4 H 0..2
Hoist ost'n ,. S 40 Ol.e hoisted in addition to a safe distance for skip overtravel and
1.8
hoist braking distance. Headframe height for different daily
..
....
0
1.6
Hoistroom ,. 50.0940 3 . 2
Where .!:! is hoist rrct cr H P tonnages and hoist sizes is shown in Figure II. The weight of
structural steel (in pounds) in a headframe of height h feet and
1.4
CJ)
z safely designed for hoisting ropes of 1/80 of the hoist drum
0
::J 1.2 diameter D will be approximately 0.12 h 3 (D 11(0)2. The cost of
-'
:i! 1.0 erecting the stru ctural steel, headframe sheathing, piping and
;;l;
>-
electrical equ ipment, deckhouse, sheave s, cages, skip dumps
CJ) .8
0
u
and orebins is shown in Figure 12.
.6
Mine Compressor Plant
.4 11.
:r The size and cost of the mine compressors installed in the
.2
~_-::::::::.--- hoistroom building complex is shown in Figure 13. The size
72 " 84 " 90" 100" 110" 120" 1'52" 144" 156" and consequently the cost of the compressor may be somewhat
higher if the mine expects to utilize air-powered slushers and
FIG 10 D =HOIST DRUM DIAMETER IN INCHES mucking machines instead of diesel-powered LHD equipment.
Underground Mining Equipment
on the use of one double-drum hoist for dual duty in hoisting The cost of equipment and equipment installation for
ore and providing service facilities to all mine levels 24 hours underground development, stoping, loading, haulage, pump-
per day. In practice, however, the larger mines, hoisting over ing, ventilation, crushing and miscellaneous mine services will
4000 tons of ore daily, will rarely depend on one large hoist for increase as the daily tonnage increases, as shown in Figure 14.
all skip hoisting and cage service requirements. Normally, In the older conventionally equipped mines using portable

90
 2 .4

2 .2 Cost 01 heodlromo comple,

'S0475 hI.· 0'"
I 0. 6

2 .0
Io Is hoist diameter in inches
0 .5
1.8

~ 1.6
04
'"
z
01.4 '"
u,
:::J o
d
~
;;;
1.2
5:::;'" 0 .3
t; r ,0 .J
8 ~
8
~ ....~ 0 .2

E6
o
su
«
w :rALLATIONQ!i..:OO~ST:.----
:I: 0 .1
~PR 5.",-",- " , ,-

C.F.M. COMFflESSOR CAPACITY

2000 6000 8000 10 12000
70' eo 90 100' 110 120 ' 130' 140' 150' 160' 170
7000
FIG. 12 h = HEIGHT OF HEADFRAME IN FT. (to sheave ct.) FIG. 13 T" TONS MINED PER DAY

6 4 .0
1f>o

Z
o
50 :J
..J
~
... ~ 3.0
(f)
u, 40 w
o f=
:J
U
L1 2 .0
w
u
Z
<!
~ 20 Z
W
f- f-
(f) Z
o <i 1 0
u
::;: .8
1.0 u,
o 6
f- •
(f)
o 2
U
100 0 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
500 1000 2000 3000 4 000 5000 6000 7 00 0
FIG. 14 T ' TONS MINED DAILY (UNDERGROUND MINES)
T = TONS MINED PER DAY
10,000 20 ,000 30 ,000 4 0 ,000 50 ,000 60 ,000 70, 000
FIG. 15 Tp ' TONS ORE 8 WASTE DAILY (OPEN PITS)

jacklegs and stopers for drilling, slushers for stope mucking,

mucking machines for drawpoint loading, and rail haulage, similar site conditions costs will vary with the plant-site area,
somewhat more equipment was required for mines with nar- which will be approximately proportional to the 0.3 power of
row stopes. If, however, modern mechanized equipment is the plant tonnage rate, as shown in Figure 16.
employed whenever the stope width is adequate for its use, the As compared with a flat plant site with less than 10 feet of
cost of equipping a mine will depend primarily on the daily soil overburden, excavation costs will be increased by 50070
tonnage required. when the plant site is moderately sloping and some rock
blasting is necessary to attain a level excavated area; excava-
Underground Mine tion costs will be increased by 150% when the plant site is
Maintenance Facilities steeply sloping and extensive rock blasting is necessary to at-
The cost of constructing and equipping facilities for repair and tain a terraced excavation area for the plant.
maintenance of equipment drilling, loading, haulage and Concrete Foundations and
general mine services is shown in Figure 15.
It should be noted that the mine maintenance facilities
Detailed Excavation
would not include facilities required for maintenance of pro- The cost of detailed excavation, compacted backfill, form-
cess plant equipment or general surface equipment. Most of work, reinforcing steel, and concrete foundations for the plant
the larger process plant equipment would be repaired within and process equipment will be primarily dependent on the
the mill repair bay, and only the smaller electrical items would volume of concrete required. Mass excavation will have
be removed from the mill for repair in the general services modified the localized site topography to levelled areas
maintenance facilities. suitable for plant construction, and concrete volume does not
depend on site topography.
Capital Cost ~stimation-Process Plants The volume of concrete will, however, depend on the bear-
Plant-Site Clearing and ing capacity of the excavated ground ; if this excavated ground
is all in sound rock, concrete volume will be minimized, but if
Mass Excavation this excavated ground consists of compressible soil, the con-
Clearing and excavation costs will vary .widely depending on crete volume and cost required will be substantially increased
the topography and type of ground to be excavated, but for by the need for piled foundations and massive concrete slabs

elM Bulletin, February 1980

 CONCENT RATOR BUILDING
PL ANT SIT E CLEARING 8
EXCAVAT ION
1.2
5 .0

... 1.0
40
LL
o u,
o
~ 08 V>

o is 3.0
::::; :::;
....J ..J
~
~ 06 Z
z ....- 2 .0 lAI\"O C I
V>
o ,------~
t- u Cost " S 30, 000 T~ ' Fel
lfl
804 Cosrs > $ 40 ,000 T0 3Fs 1.0
Wh«e Fel " 1.0 mild clim:rte
1.8 cold climl2e
....J
Where FS " 10 for f10t sites 2 .5 seere d imote
I':! " I5 fo- moderate slopes
~ 02 ::: 2.5 for steep slopes
u 10 0 0 2000 3000 4 0 00 5000 60 00 70 00

FIG. 19 T = TONS MILLED PER DAY

1000 2000 3000 4 000 5000 6000 7000
FIG 16 T = TONS MILLED PER DAY
to support the process equipment, as shown in Figure 17.
Crushlnq Plant, Coarse
Ore Storage and Conveyors
60 CONCRET E FOUNDAT IONS B For any specific tonnage rate, there could be many different
DETAILED EXCAVAT ION
design configurations of primary, secondary and tertiary
crushing units linked by conveyors and ore storage to take ad-
50 vantage of site topography. In general, however, there will be
an optimum design that minimizes capital cost in relation to
... 4.0
Costs " $ 20 ,000 TO~Fc
Where Fe = I 0 sol id rock
daily tonnage capacity without compromising the availability
LL
o = I 8 gr avel / sond of fine crushed ore for continuous 24-hour-per-day milling,
lfl
:: 3 ~ moist soil This optimized capital cost will be approximately as shown in
Z
0 30
Figure 18.
::::;
....J
~
Concentrator Building
.~ 20 Assuming that concrete foundations have been completed for
t- the plant, the cost of constructing, sheathing, insulating and
lfl
o
U
heating the concentrator building to house the fine ore bins,
10 grinding section, flotation or 'cyanidation leaching section,
thickening and filtration section, as well as offices,
laboratories and supplies storage, will be approximately as
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6= 7= shown in Figure 19.
The cost of the concentrator building will be substantially
FI G 17 T = TONS MILLED PER DAY
affected by the regional climate and winter snowload. In in-
creasingly severe climates, building costs will be increased by
the need for insulated sheathing and roofdeck, provision of
heating equipment, structural strength to support snow
loading or wind loading, and increased construction cost
CRUSHING PLANT , COARSE ORE STORAGE 8 CONVEYORS under severe climatic conditions.

4 .0 Grinding Section and Fine Ore Storage

The capital cost of installing grinding mills, classifiers, fine ore
bins and all accessory equipment for storage reclaim and grin-
ding on previously prepared concrete foundations will be ap-
3 .0
proximately as shown in Figure 20.
...o The cost of equipment and equipment installation will be in-
V>
z creased when the ore needs fine grinding or is diffi cult to grind
o
:::;
(i.e ., has a high work index). Soft ores may be considered as
~ 2 .0
~
ores which have a work index below 12, medium ores have a
.... work index of about 15 and hard ores have a work index of 17
:g
o or greater. The fineness of grain of the ore and the degree of
1.0 intergrowth with other sulphide minerals will determine the
fineness of grind that will be necessary prior to flotation
separation of the valuable minerals into several saleable con-
centrates. The fineness of grind is usually determined by
metallurgical testwork on drill core samples, but a microscopic
1000 2000 3000 4 0 00 SOOO 6000
examination of core samples will normally suggest whether or
FIG. IS T = TONS OF ORE MILLED DAILY not fine grinding will be necessary to separate several valuable
minerals from the gangue.

92
 It should be noted that the costs graphically shown in Figure
20 allow for sufficient fine ore storage to permit the mill to
operate seven days per week on ore which has been crushed for GRINDING SECTION 8 FINE crlE STORAGE
five days per week. If the crushing plant will be operated each
day that the mill is operating, less fine ore storage will be re- 5 .0
quired and the cost of the fine ore storage and grinding section
will be redu ced by 25070.
4 .0
Flotation and/or Processing Section
The capital cost of installing the processing equipment to con-
centrate the valuable minerals from the waste in the finely 30

ground ore will depend on the type of separation pro cess and
the degree of complexity in the flowsheet. Figure 21 illustrates
2 .0
the cost of the process section for several different types of Cost ' 8 a.ooo T O.T F.
process and flowsheet complexity. When F, = 1.0 so 11 ores 55% - 200 '"
1. 5 medium ores 70 % - 200 IIfI
Thickening and Filtering Section 1.0
1.8 hord ores 80 % - 20 0 ""

The capital cost of the thickening and filtration section

depends on the volume of concentrates to be thickened and 1000 2000 3000 4 0 00 50 00 6000 7000
filtered , which in turn is a function of the process plant ton-
nage multiplied by the grade of ore being processed. FIG. 20 T" TONS MILLED PER DAY
Capital cost = $5,000 Fr'fO·S, where the filtering factor :
Fr = 1.0 for low-grade straight Cu ores .
F r = 1.6 for high-grade Cu ores with recoverable zinc values
Fr = 2.0 for complex Pb-Zn-Ag ores or Cu-Zn-Pb ores
F r = 3.0 for cyanided gold ores
Concentrate Storage and Loading 60 PROCESS SECTION CAPITAL COSTS

The capital cost of concentrate storage depend s on the daily

tonnage of concentrate T, produced by the proces s plant. This ' 0 COST · s 2 ,50 0 T OT r,
can be computed by multiplying the daily ore tonnage process-
ed by the mill recovery and by the ratio of the ore grade (or ore
grades) to the concentrate grade (or concentrate grades) . ~ 40
Cost of concentrate storage and load out = $4,000 T eO.S. (f)

This cost would be appropriate for concentrate storage at Z

o
the mill site from which concentrates will be transported to the ~ 30
--'
smelter at frequent intervals by truck or rail. If, however, ::;;:
ocean shipment of concentrates will be envisaged, a tidewater
~ 20
storage and shiploading facility will be rquired. It may be
f-
possible to lease suitable facilities at an existing port; if leased (f)

facilities are not available, they must be constructed at a cost 8

'0
which may vary from several hundred thousand dollars for a
small terminal at an existing port to several million dollars for
a major terminal and port in a new location. It is not possible
to suggest a rough cost for a tidewater concentrate terminal,
because this cost will be greatly dependent on localized condi- FIG. 2 1 T "TONS MILLED PER DAY
tions of land access, tidal range, water depth, shipping access,
etc.

Capital Cost Estimates for

Plant Utilities and General Services 20
PEAK LOAD IN KW
'8 . 2 7 T O,7 I U~O£AOROcJNO
Electric Power Supply and Distribution MI NE a M IL L I
'6 • 13 6 T 0 5 (CP£N PIT a MILL!
The peak load for mine I mill plants, as shown on Figure 22, in-
creases with increased daily tonnage, but the rate of increase is
slower for open-pit mines mining lower-grade ore than it is for
underground mines which typically mine ore of higher grade
.. ,.
I>-
0
'2

Ul
10
requiring mor e complete processing. z
0 CAPITAL COST
The cost of electric power supply depends on the peak load :J 8
-' UTILI TY SUBSTATION • S 35OIKW)Oej
requirements and also on whether the power is generated by a ~
6 LV. DISTRIBUT ION • S 6()(~)(W)o~
coal-fired plant (for large isolated mines) or by diesel ;; DIESEL GENERAT~S • S 4.~KW)O ~

generators (for small isolated mines), or is supplied by an ex- ...

Ul
COAL FIRED GENERATOR · $ 46 .cx:::O'KW)°·
0
isting utility through an extended transmission line and U

transformer station. The cost of each of these sources of elec- '0

.8
trical power is shown in Figure 22. .6

If utility power is available, an additional cost may be re- •

2
quired to' extend the transmission line to the plant site. This 15 000 25 (XX) 30 000
may cost about $60,000 per mile of line. For large mining pro- LOAD IN KW

jects consuming a large amount of electric power, the electric u~oOO eobo .ol>oo I~ 2O~OOO ~ ~ooo 4 0'.000
,he, 000 zOoo x:oo «>00 sooo 7hoo 10000 OPEN PIT 6 MILL
utility will typically install the transmission line and stepdown UNDERGROUND MINES 8 MIL L
FIG. 22
transformer station on the assured basis that future revenue T' TONS MILLED PER DAY
from mine plant consumption of electric power will repay the

elM Bulletin , February 1980 93

 operate with fresh water only, whereas the larger mines, which
G.P M ( FRES H WAT ER ) • 12 T O&
could have much more effect on the regional stream drainage,
1.0
G P M (RECLAIM WATER) • O.0 26T 1.2 are usually required to minimize their consumption of fresh
PIPE DIAMET ER flNCHES l • 0 .15 (GP M l0 6
COST PER MIL E OF PIP E . $ 35Q (G P.M j 0 8
water by recycling clarified water from the tailings pond .
09 COS T a: FRESH w. PUMPS · S 2300 CG.P MJ O& In the Precambrian Shield area of Canada, where there is
COST OF REQ..AJM W PUMPS . $ 3000 (G.P M )O&
08 typically a plentiful supply of fresh water within a mile of the
r:f!;~~'" process plant, the volume of fresh water required for a mine
07 ...O~
u, which mills T tons of ore daily is about 121'0.6 gpm.
0
Ul
06 In the drier areas of British Columbia, where large-tonnage
z low-grade open-pit mines have been developed, water conser-
0
:::; 0 '
...J vation is critically important and fresh water usage is typically
:E 0_
only 2.5 1'0.6 gpm.
;':
03 Figure 23 shows the typical requirements for fresh water and
f0-
Ul
0
reclaim water for mines and mills of varying tonnages. The
02
U
cost of the pump stations and pipeline cost per mile of pipe are
01 also shown in the chart in Figure 23. The se costs would be ap-
propriate to the low-relief topography typical of the Precam-
500 1000 2000 3000 4 000 5 000 6 000 7 000
G P M , IMPERIAL GALLONS PER MIN UTE
brian Shield area of Canada, but in moun tainous country,
I~ 2000 4 000 6000 OOoo.qooo e ,~oo '10:000 ~:ooo yJ.ooo
where high pumping heads are frequent, the cost of pump sta-
T' TONS MILLED PER DAY ( FRESH WATER REO' D ) tion s and pipelines would be much higher.
FIG 2 3 ~.6bo IO,()(X) 1!5.000 20,000 2' , 000 30 ,000
T , TONS MILLE D PER DAY (RECLAIM WATER REO'D ) Capital Costs of General Plant Services
These costs include the costs of constructing and equipping the
capital costs of the transmission line and transformer substa- general administration offices, general warehouse, mainte-
tion. For small mines, however, the mine may have to bear the nance shops for the mill and surface facilities, vehicle garages,
cost of the extension of the transmission line and substation, security stations and fencing, employee parking lots,
either directly or effectively by payment of higher operating changehouses and the cost of general-purpose vehicles. In
costs for electric power consumption during the initial years of general , these costs will vary as a function of the total number
operation. of company employees, which is not necessarily uniformly
The capital costs of the low-voltage electrical distribution related to the plant capacity. The numbe r of employees re-
from the main substation to the mine, mill and plant utilities quired for differing types of mining, milling and general ser-
will be approximately as shown in Figure 22. T his cost will be vices can be computed as described und er operating costs, and,
common to all types of electric power sources: utility power , if this number is N emplo yees, the total capital costs of general
diesel or coal-fi red generators. plan t services can be computed as a function of N:
Costs of general plant services = $8,000 NO.8.
Tailings Storage
The capital cost of pipelines and pumps to deliver mill tailings Capital Cost of Access Road
to the tailing storage area, and the cost of damming the storage If the mine is not readily accessible by an all-weather road , a
area and preparation of settling and treatment ponds , is always road suitable for subsequent truck hau lage of concentrates
difficul t to estimate even when there is complete topographic must be constructed before major project construc tion can get
data on the area selected for tailings storage. The cost of tail- underway. A 30-ft-wide gravelled road with adequate
ings sto rage can be drastically affected by environmental con- drainage, curvature and gradi ents to permit satisfactory con-
straints and by stringent requirements imposed by regulatory centrate haulage conditions will cost roughly $200,000 per mile
agencies. in regions with moderate topography, some rock outcrops and
If it is judged that an environmentally acceptable tailings local sources of gravel. Under ideal conditions of flat
basin in moderate topography can be developed by damming topography, absence of exposed rock and well-drained gravel-
with local material within 2 miles of the mill site, the cost of ly soil, the cost per mile would be less; alternatively, in steep
tailings storage for a mill treating T ton s of ore daily will be topography requiring heavy rock cuts, the cost of road con-
about: struction could be much greater.
Cost = $8,000 '[0.5. Bridges to span creeks or rivers where the total bridge length
This cost represents the cost for which suitable tailings is L b feet will cost approximately $130 Lbu (for each bridge).
storage can be developed under favourable conditions of
topography, accessibility and minimum environmental effects. Townsite and Housing Cost
Capital costs may, however, be many times larger when local If the mine site is within commuting distance of an existing
topography is steep and rugged , when the selected tailings town which has available housing and acceptable community
basin is many miles from the millsite and uphill pumping is re- facilities for N mine employees, the cost to the mining com-
quired , or when the nature o f the tailings imposes extremely pany may be limited to provision of housing for key staff only.
stringent requirements for tai lings treatment and containment. Th is cost may be:
The capital costs may be effectively increased by the ad- Existing townsite cost = $4,000 N.
ministrative and techn ical costs of preparation of stud ies o f Whenever a mining project is to be developed in an isolated
environmental impact, planning of several alternative tailings region , a decision must be made as to whether the mine
storage facilities, and delay and uncertainty in obtaining ap- townsite will be developed as a bunkhouse camp (lower capital
proval of tailings storage planning. cost, high operating cost and tran sient work force) or as a
developed townsite for family living (high capital cost, more
Water Supply attractive lifestyle, more permanent work force). Because a
Mines use large quantities of water for mining and milling and townsite must be of a certain minimum size before it can ser-
most of this water flows to the tailings storage, from which vice the schooling, medical and recreational needs of families,
water reclamation may be necessary to avoid downstream the family towns ite will be preferred only for mines employing
pollution. The reclaimed water may be recycled in a portion of in excess of 100.
the mill circuit that is not adversely affected by the reagent When the number of employees (N) is less than 100, the
content of the reclaimed water. The smaller mines frequently bunkhouse camp will consist of single accommodation, mess

94
facilities and leisure facilities for 950/0 of the employees at
$12,000 each as well as family accornodation for the remaining
"I. DILUTI ON
5%, consisting of senior staff at $50,000 each, and minimum "I.
JO
townsite facilities at 20% of housing cost : BLA 5 TH Ol E STOPES

Bunkhouse townsite cost = $20,000 N. 60

WO'lin A-
SHRINI( AGE STOP£ S

A family townsite accommodating 65% of the married 25 cur a f iL L S TOPES

employees in detached or apartment housing with facilities for 70
ROO.,. 8 P\lLAR STOPES
schools, commercial, medical and recreational needs of the ~

community as well as single accommodation for 35% of the >- W ST OPE WIDT H I,.. fEE T
lD 20 A' DIP Of" OREBOQY
employees and housing for townsite service employees will w
0:
cost: 0
u,
Family townsite cost = $55,000 N. 0
15
Z
0
Project Overhead Costs ;:::
::>
..J
A. Feasibility studies, design engineering and technical plan- 0
10
ning: 4% to 6% of all mining pre-production costs , site W
C)
<I
preparation, excavation and road building costs, as well as 6% >-

to 8% of all other project costs.

Z
w
u
0:
5
---
W
B. Project supervision, contract management, expediting and 0.

general construction facilities, including camp costs : 8% to

10% of all direct project costs. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

C. Administration, accounting, legal and pre-production FIG 24 STOPE WIDTH IN FEET

employment of key operating staff: 4% to 7% of all direct
project costs.
D. Working capital for capital spares, supplies inventory and needed to attain mineral unlocking, by the grade of the ore
operating costs for the period between plant start-up and being milled and by the response of the mineral to the specific
receipt of smelter payment for initial concentrate shipment; concentration process. Assuming that the valuable minerals
typically 4 months of operating costs on full production basis. can be fully separated from associated waste minerals at an
economic fineness of grind, the recoveries and grades of
In general, the higher percentages for design engineering, metallic concentrates and precious metal ores will be about as
project supervision and administration would be applicable to shown by the formulae shown in Table I. Somewhat higher
smaller mine projects, whereas the lower percentages would be recoveries will be attainable if the metallic ores are coarse
applicable to major mine projects costing $100 million or grained, and lower recoveries will be inevitable if fine grinding
more. does not fully unlock closely associated minerals, or if the
Estimation of Revenue valuable sulphide minerals are coated with oxidized minerals
or slimes.
The revenue produced from mining and milling ore from an
orebody that contains geologically estimated reserves of T R Net Smelter Revenue for
tons grading G R% metal is adversely affected by four factors : Base Metals (as of January 1979)
I. Not all the ore reserve tonnage will be recoverable in prac- The net smelter revenue (at the mine), in $ per ton of base
tice by the planned type of open pit, or the practical shapes of metal concentrates grading G% metal, is a function of the
underground stopes. It is difficult to offer any guide to the metal content of the concentrates (either a percentage P or a
percentage of ore reserves that can be recovered by practical fixed unit deduction U) multiplied by a standard published
open-pit or underground stoping methods, because this metal price (M) less a specific deduction d in cents per lb (to
percentage will vary greatly depending on the irregularity of allow for cost of refining and selling the smelted product), less
the shape of the ore reserve blocks. a smelter charge S in $ per ton, less a freight cost F in $ per ton
In general, if the ore reserve blocks are reasonably regular in of concentrates transported from the mine to the smelter.
shape and dip and are above the planned open-pit limits or the $ per ton = (PIlOO) $20 (G-U) (M-d)/IOO - S - F
lowest underground level, a mineable recovery of over 95% of
Typical Values:
the ore reserve blocks could be expected. .
Where P = IOOl1Jo for Cu, 9511Jo for Pb, 8511Jo for Zn
2. Dilution of waste rock off the underground stope walls will U = 1.3 for Cu, 3 for Pb, 0 for Zn
vary with the type of stoping employed, the width of the stope M = 9O¢ for Cu, 52¢ for Pb, 39¢ for Zn (as of January 1979)
in feet, the angle (A 0) at which the stope is dipping and the d = 12.0; for Cu, 12.0; for Pb, 2.5¢ for Zn (as of January
competence of the stope wall rock. For stope wall rocks of 1979)
average competence in relation to the type of stoping method S = $60 for Cu , $50 for Pb, $145 for Zn (approx.) (as of
employed , the dilution (D%) expressed as a percentage of January 1979)
F = freight cost per ton of moist concentrates from mine to
waste rock in the mined ore will be approximately as shown in
smelter, assuming that concentrates are trucked T m miles by
Figure 24. road, Rm miles by railroad and (if applicable) shipped by
When the stope wall rock is regular and competent, dilution 15,OOO-ton freighter for Do days of loading, ocean travel and
may be only 0.7 of that shown in Figure 24, but if it is unusual- unloading.
ly weak and incompetent the dilution could be as much as 1.5 Approximate freight cost F in $ per ton of concentrates
times the dilution shown . = $0.17T mO.9 + $0.26 RMO.7 + $0.80 Do.
Dilution has an adverse effect on operating costs because
more tons must be mined to yield the same metal content as the Estimation of Operating Costs
undiluted ore, but it also has an adverse effect on revenue
because the metal grade of each ton of diluted ore is reduced Operating Personnel-Open-Pit Mines
and mill recovery will consequently be somewhat lower than The number of men employed in open-pit operations, as
for undiluted ore. shown in Figure 25, typically varies as the 0.5 power of the
tons of ore and waste (T p) mined daily, but the number of men
Mill Recovery required on truck haulage and road maintenance tends to vary
The recovery of metallic minerals by flotation, cyanidation, with the 0.7 power of daily tonnage chiefly because, in the
leaching or gravity methods is affected by the fineness of grind larger-tonnage pits, haulage distances are generally longer, and

elM Bulletin, February 1980 95

TABLE 1. Base metal ores milled by flotation (head grades in %)

Typical
Recovery Formulae Cone. Grade
Cu in straight chalcopyrite ores R 100% (1-0.07 Cu·0 .8 ) 28.5% Cu
in oxidized copper ores (sulphides) sco, = 100% (1-0.08 Cu s ·0 .8 ) Variable
in oxidized copper ores (oxides) ncu, = 100% (1-0.40 Cu o·0 .3) Variable
in copper-zinc ores R 100% (1·0.16 CU-Q8) 25.5% Cu
in lead-zinc-copper ores R 100% (1-0.22 Cu·0 .8 ) 22.0% Cu
MoS 2 in straight molybdenite ores R = 100% (1-0.04 MOS2·0 8 ) 88.0 % MoS2
in copper-moly ores R 100% (1-0.06 MOS2·0 8) Variable
Zn in straight sphalerite o res R 100% (1-0.25 Zn·0 .6) 56% Zn
in lead-zinc ore s R 100% (1·0.32 Zn-o·6) 53% Zn
in copper-zinc ores R 100% (1-0.45 Zn·0 .6) 52% Zn
i n copper-lead-zinc ores R 100% (1-0.55 Zn·0 .6) 50% Zn
Pb in straight galena ores R 100% (1-0.13 Pb·0 .8) 60% Pb
in lead-zinc ores R 100% (1-0.18 Pb·0 .8) 53% Pb
in copper-lead-zinc ores R = 100% (1-0.28 PbO.8) 45% Pb
Miscellaneous Ores
Tungsten ores (gravity separat ion) R = 100% (1-0.33 W0 3·0 .5) 75% W03
Nickel in nick el-copper ores R = 100% (1-0.20 Ni·0 .6 ) 10% Ni
Uranium ores (flotation-leaching) R = 100% (1-0.16 U30S·0 .S) 77% U308
Iron ores (gravity-magnet ic) R = 100% (1-1.5 Fe·0 .6) 65% Fe
Precious Metal Ores and Precious Metals in
Base Metal Ores: (head grades in oz per ton) Process
Gold in siliceous ores R = 100% (1-0.013 AU·o.s) Cyanidation only
in pyr ite ores R =100% (1-0.03 Au ·0 .8) Flot.! Roast.!Cyan.
in base metal ores R = 100% (1-0.3 Au ·0 .8 ) Flotation
Silver in straight silver ores R = 100% (1-0.22 Ag·0.6) Flot.!Grav. Separat ion
in base metal ores (-1.0 oz/t) R = 100% (1-0.40 Ag·0.6) Flotation

600 MIN E OPERATI NG CREW

300

26 0 500

<n 220
400
"""">-
0
ct:
W
..J
a. 180 :;:
::;;
ur
o
l-
~ 300
ii 140 <l
z
uj
L
a.
0
100 20 0
u,
0
g
60
100

20

1000 2000 3000 4 000 5000 6000 7000

FIG. 26
T = TONS MINED PER DAY

consequently the ratio of men employed in haulage as com-

pared with those employed in other pit operations tends to in- TABLE 2. Underground mining personnel
crease in larger open pits.
Percentage Distribution of Mine Crew
Operating Personnel- Blasthole Cut & Fill Shrinkage Room & Pillar
Underground Mines Development 17% 12% 9% 14%
Stoping 23% 31% 31 % 45%
The number of men employed underground, as shown in Mine Service 22% 20% 29% 12%
Figure 26, varies for different stoping methods, different stope Maintenance 23% 23 % 18% 13%
Mine Staff 15% 14% 13% 16%
widths (W in feet) and different daily tonnage rates (T in tons 100% 100% 100% 100%
per day) (Table 2). .

Operating Costs-Open-Pit Mines

staff - $lO.40/hr, and an alIowance of 350/0 of basic pay has
The operating costs per ton for open-pit mines are shown in been added to allow for fringe benefits . Cost of supplies per
Figure 27. Labour costs are based on basic pay rates as ton decreases less rap idly than labour costs as the daily mined
follows: operators - $9.50/hr, maintenance - $8.90/hr, and tonnage increases.

96
 OPEN PIT MI NE S

:j
C UT 80 F ILL M IN I NG COS T / TON
OPERATING COSTITON
10
LABOUR COST . 58 ~ J Tp.o, . 3'91T ,,· 0 3
LA B O U R/ J O~:> t ~ t'- qQ
SUPPLIES COST " 13 " 0 l'p , O' . 124 1',,'° ' - .')Olp 0 2 20 T °"w ° ~
SUF'PLI£S/TON _ ~2.Q..

~ 08 "" Ie yOI W 0 'l

z I. Vi IS S ToPt:. ·...,IOT H IN ~1

~
06
0::
W
0-

l-
V} O'
o
U
rr e.
u;
a
SUPPliES COST
>-
02 v>
0 '1
u

1 I
20 ,000 4 0 .000 60.000 80 ,00 0 100, 000 ! OOO 40 0 0 ,000 ~o
rt G 2 9 T· TONS MI N ED PER DAY
FIG 27 T ~ TONS OF ORE AND WASTE PER DAY

BLASTHOLE MINI NG COST; TON

24 SHRINKAGE MINING COST; TON

22 ~ ~~ ~ ~ LA BOUR COST
20 LABOUR COST/ TON • ~
lTW)o ,

18 $UPPUES COS TI TON • ~

20 !~? ':o l . SUPP U ES COS T
ffl
18
Z 16 T • TON S M I NE O PER OAY
W · STOPE WIDTH IN FEET 16
0
W "
Z ~ 14
~ 12 Z
~
12
Z 10 z
~ ~ 10
0:: 8 a:
U;
W <t 8
0- 6
>-
Ul
I- o 6
13 4 u
U [ SUPP\' I[S cosT - 10 II wee
? lJPP lICS COST _ ~ fr WID[
I
SUPPLIES COST 2'0 rr. WIDE

1000 2000 3000 4 000 5000 6000 7000

1000 2000 '000 4 000 5000 6000 7000
F IG 28
T = TONS MINED PER DAY
FIG. 30 T = TONS MINED PER DAY

Operating Costs-Underground Mines

The operating costs for mines using blasthole, cut-and-fill,
ROOM B PIL LAR MININ G
shrinkage or room-and-pillar stoping methods are shown on
Figures 28 to 31. Labour costs are based on average basic pay COST/ TON
S 205 so
rates of $8.50/hr for mine crew and $10.25/hr for mine staff, ... 20 L A BOUR • TO ~w0 5

with an allowance of 35l1Jo to cover fringe benefits. The cost of Z 18 SUPPU ES · ~~~ :~ 2
supplies for development, stoping and general mine services o
~ 16
W • ORE WIDTH IN FEET
typically varies with the number of men employed in these
functions . :;;: "
z
Employees Required-Process Plants ~ 12

The number of mill employees and mill staff is shown in Figure ffi '0
0-
32 for differing process flowsheets. Typically, mills treating I-
gold ores will require more employees in the cyanidation pro- IJl

cess than mills using flotation , and mills using selective flota - 8 6

tion to produce two or more concentrates will require more

employees in the flotation section than mills which produce
only one flota tion concentrate.
1000 20CXl 4000 5000 6000 7000
Mill Operating Cost per Ton
FIG 3 1 T ' TONS MINED PER DAY
The operating costs of mills using differing processes are
shown in Figure 33. Labour costs are based on an average pay
of $7.40/hr for mill crew and $9.50/hr for mill staff, plus 35%
to allow for fringe benefits. Grinding and 'cru shing supplies
normally constitute the largest item of mill supplies, and are
Administration and General
also the most variable in terms of cost per ton because of dif- Services- Employees
ferences in hardness and fineness of grind required for dif- The employees required for administration and general plant
ferent ores. services will tend to vary as a function of the total number of

elM Bulletin , February 1980 97

 staff, operating crew and maintenance crew in the mine and
PROCESS PLA NT EIYLPLOYEES
mill, and will be relatively independent of the tonnage
throughput of the mine and mill (except insofar as the tons per
day influences the size of the mine and mill crew).
Assuming total staff and crew of the mine and mill = Nm men
Employees required:
A. a) Electrical services = 0.03 Nm (power supplied by utility)
~

~
b) Electrical services 0.05 Nm (power diesel generated)
c) Electrical services = 0.08 Nm (power generated by coal-fired
plant)
w
>
B. Surface plant services & road maintenance = 0.04 Nm
~ C. (a) Townsite employees = none for existing town
~
(b) Townsite employees = 0.03 Nm (bunkhouse-type mine camp)
k
0 (c) Townsite employees = 0.05 Nm (family townsite-subsidized)
tx
w D. Concentrate transport (contracted out)
rn
3z E. General administration = 0.07 Nm
Total employees N = Nm + (0.14 to O.24)Nm, depending on type of
townsite and electric power supply.
20

T Administration & General Services-

1000 20 0 a sono 400 0 5000 6000 70 0 0 Operating Costs per Day
n G 32 T " TONS MILLED DAILY
A. Electrical services-wages = $68 (0.03 to 0.08 Nm)
(depending on type of electric
power)
B. Surface plant services = $53 (0.04 Nm)
C. Townsite employees = $50 (up to 0.05 Nm) (de-
4 0 pending on townsite type)
D. General administration = $85 (0.07 Nm)
M ILL OPERAT I NG COST/TON
E. Fringe benefits: 35010 of above wages and salaries.
LABOUR SUPPl..I£S F. The electric power consumption and cost of electric power is
SIMPLE BASE METALS , so r?" S 18 8 r O.) shown in Figure 34 for underground mines and mills, and for
COM PLEX BASE METALS S93r{)~ S 2 1 5 r oO,3 open-pit mines and mills. Most of the electric power is usually con-
30 GOLD ORES S 97r° :S , 15. 2 r -0 3 sumed in the process plant, but the underground mine hoisting
'"
~
plant and compressor plant could be a significant consumer of
electric power. Open-pit mines normally consume only a small
Z fraction of the electric power required by the mill.
0
f- G. Supplies-general plant services = $6 TO·s per day
rz H. Townsite operating cost
w (a) = $13 Nm (bunkhouse camp subsidy)
D- 20
f- (b) = $ 5 Nm (subsidized family townsite)
(/)
0 I. General administration expenses, including office and warehouse
U
supplies, telephone, travel expenses, property taxes, insurance,
(!)
z and legal, auditing and consulting fees:
ta:: Cost per day = $4 Nm
w 10
11.
0
r
METAL S
Notes on Computation of Formulae
1000 2 000 4 000 5000 60C0 7000
Virtually all the formulae shown in this paper for estimating
FIG 33 T " TONS M ILL ED PER DAY size, quantity and cost of the major components of a mine pro-
ject have been developed by the author from detailed data on
many Canadian and foreign mining projects over the last fif-
teen years. Size and quantity data from foreign projects were
used in determining requirements for mine projects under dif-
fering physical conditions of climate, topography, orebody
S 14 UNDERGROUND OPEN PIT MINES 8 MILLS shape, etc., but cost data from foreign projects were utilized
Mlli.fS.J:\~
POWER COST/ TON POWER COST/ TON only when unit costs were judged to be comparable to Cana-
, 9 1 00 OI[S H POW£A
~ DIESEL POWER TO' dian unit co sts . Cost data from completed Canadian mine pro-
12
I ~6r Cl».L FIRED POWER jects and foreign projects with comparable unit costs have
W ~II;I~~IIPOWER been escalated to 1978 by using appropriate indices, and ex-
o <'( S ~~ ~o ~I~~T;' IIPOWE R
w pressed in terms of 1978 Canadian dollars, which had an
j 10
~ average 1978 exchange rate of $1.00 Canadian = $0.877 U.S.
Most of the operating cost data utilized in computing
Co
"I ( operating cost formulae were from Canadian underground
0: 0 8
'"
a. mines in the Canadian Precambrian Shield, or from open-pit
>-
Vl
mines in Western U.S.A. and Canada. Operating cost data
o from foreign mines, where the cost of labour and supplies was
u o.
0:
very different from that of North America, were not used in
~ computing average operating costs, but foreign data were
U 0 4 utilized in analyzing trends relating consumption of supplies
Q'
>- and labour to increases in tonnages mined and milled.
e
...J The relationships between mine project requirements and
'" 02
costs relative to plant capacity, operating costs of supplies and
labour relative to daily tonnage mined and milled, and
1000 3000 5000 7 000 10 (X)() 12 000 15 000
FIG. 3 4 T ,TONS MILLED PER DAY
operating performance and mill recovery relative to mill-head
grade, were determined by computerized statistical analyses of

98
the best fit of the data to an equation of the form Q = K'P, T i, the K, values were first determined for the most influential
where Q represents the actual data on quantities required or condition T 1 to fit Q = KIT." and then changes in the K.
cost, and T represents the tonnage rate, milled head grade or values were computed to fit the equation KI = K2T 2 Y, so that
other physical condition causing changes in quantities or costs. Q = K2T2YT\' where K2 is a constant.
The x values were determined to yield the lowest range of
variation in K values across the widest range of T values for Because of the inevitable dispersion of data, the
which reliable data were available . The x values tested were mathematical analyses did not rigorously consider each data
within a relatively narrow range which was judged to be consis- point of equal value, but judgment factors were utilized in
tent with technical considerations and operating exper ience. weighting data from individual mine projects according to the
Whenever changes in the quantity Q were judged to result presence or absence of localized conditions that would result in
from simultaneous changes in two physical cond itions T 1 and unusually high or low values for costs or quantities.

International conference on
energy and the environment
Envitec 80, which will be held at the pumps, solar energy systems), alternate and long-range environmental and energy
Dusseldorf Fairgrounds (West Germany), methods of power for both commercial problems. The fair will include over 400
February 11-15, 1980, is the world' s and private vehicles (including new different exhibit s of equipment, proce sses
largest and most comprehensive en- automobile engine design), air, water and and services covering every aspect of en-
vironmental technolog y exposition. Dur - noise pollution control, and other sub- vironment protection and control techno-
ing the fair, an international conference jects that have a direct bearing on today's logy.
will be held on February II, 12 and 13, environmental needs .
There will also be an Environment
1980. Thi s comprehensive conference deals
Info-Center during the full five days of
This meeting will bring together leading with all aspects of the environment as
Envitec 80, which will allow an exchange
authorities from all over the world who related to international, community and
of information among industry, govern-
will present the latest developments in en- industrial needs . It will provide new ap-
ment and science. The Environment Info-
vironmental and energy conservation proaches and immediate solutions to
Center will offer academic institutes, in-
technolo gy. It will cover a wide variet y of many different individual problems. The
dustry associations, government officials
subjects that have a direct impact on assembly of the world's leading author-
and other authorities in the field an op-
many of the world's common problems . ities on energy and the environment is of
portunity to present the results of research
The speakers will represent govern- importance to anyone directly or indirect-
as well as new operational technology. It
ment, industry, research and lead ing ly involved with saving the quality of the
will include open discussions with an ex-
academic institutions from all over the environment. All presentations will be
change of experiences and viewpoints.
world. Th e subjects cover energy and en- simultaneously translated into English as
vironmental policies, current state-of-the- well as other languages. Exhibitors' seminars will also be held
art environmental pro cessing technology, The Envitec 80 International Trade Fair each day during Envitec 80. These
development of alternative energy source s will attract over 30,000 visitors from over seminars will allow the exhibiting com-
and their impact on the environment, coal 50 different countries. The visitors will panies to present and demonstrate new
gasification, industrial pollution control represent a high-level international au- technology and procedures co vering
(toxic gas, dust control, chemical waste dience made up of indu stry execut ives, special subjects. As small-scale forums,
removal and disposal), refuse disposal government (local and national) officials, the seminars will cover specific subjects
and recycling, refuse-fueled power plants, and research and academic institute such as air pollution control, water pollu-
radioact ive waste dispo sal, new energy- representati ves who will com e · to tion control, noise abatement, solar
saving heating methods (new types of heat Dusseldorf to seek solutions to current energy, radioactive waste disposal , etc.

Workshop on the forming of

aluminum sheet, plate and shaped products
A workshop on the form ing of alum inum, alloys and tempers, material handling, elude factors in choo sing and using press
sheet, plate and shaped products will be finishing and segregation, and recovery brakes to form alum inum, their
held March 18-19, 1980 at the Los for recycling. capabilities and limitation s, and part, tool
Angeles Hilton, Los Angeles, California. Session II. Selection and application of and die design . Drawing aluminum sheet
This new workshop will be staged by lubricants for the forming of aluminum will cover stages of draw ing , charac-
the Society of Manufacturing Engineers mill products will be detailed. Cutting of teristics and defects, blank development,
and co-sponsored by the Aluminum aluminum will cover the classification of redraw, complex drawing and secondary
Association and the National Association cutting operations, blanking, tool design, operations.
of Aluminum Distr ibutor s. force and clearance requirements, and
equipment applications. The fee for this two-day program is
The emphasis of this two-day event will
Session III. Roll forming technology and (U .S.)$195.00, covering all session
be to increase the productivity of
support equipment, 'including general ap- materials, breaks and luncheons, and a
aluminum users by providing practi cal
plications, power specifications, tool special idea exchange reception planned
guidance on the selection, handling and
design and equipment requirements, will for March 18, 1980.
forming of aluminum mill products. The
workshop will be divided into four ses- be covered. Bending and forming of ex- For further information, contact David
sions: truded shapes and tube products will treat Johnson at the Society of Manufacturing
Session I. A technological base including bend limits of particular alloys. Engineers, One SME Drive , Dearborn,
industry nomenclature and terminology, Session IV. Pre ss brake forming will in- Michigan 48128.

elM Bulletin, February 1980 99