OPEN PIT MINING PROBLEM

August, 1981. A new mining project has a blocked positive reserve of 2,000,000 WMT of iron ore. Specific gravity
of the ore is 4 and moisture content is 7.5%. With a waste to ore volumetric ratio of 3:1 it was decided to mine the ore
by open pit. The Mining Engineer recommended to the management that before the ore extraction starts, 100,000
metric tons of ore be exposed first. The occurrence is such that no matter how the orebody is approached, the waste
to ore ratio remains constant.
1. Compute volume of overburden to be stripped to expose 100,000 dry metric tons of ore.
1. At a waste stripping rate of 1,000 cubic meters per day, how long will it take to do the initial stripping
before mining starts.
1. After the initial stripping, it is imperative that the waste to ore ratio is maintained with the same waste
stripping rate of 1,000 cubic meters per day. Compute ore extraction rate in dry metric tons per day.
1. Allowing 10% ore dilution, what is the expected life of the mine assuming 330 working days a year.

August, 1984. An exploration project has resulted in the delineation of a mineable ore reserve of 2,000,000 WMT of
low grade gold ore. Specific gravity of both the ore and waste is 2.5 with a moisture content of 8%. Mine management
decided to mine the ore by open pit with a waste to ore ratio of 3:1 and involving a pre-stripping of 120,000 m3 waste.
Assuming that the waste to ore ratio will remain constant throughout the life of the mine.
1. Compute the total tonnage in DMT of ore to be exposed after the preliminary stripping activities.
1. At a waste stripping capacity of equipment at 2500 WMTPD, how long will it take to do the initial stripping
before mining starts?
1. With the same stripping rate, what will be the ore extraction rate in dry metric tons per day?
d. Allowing 10% for ore dilution, what is the projected life of the mine assuming 300 working days a year?

MATERIAL DENSITY PROBLEM

August, 2003. A steeply dipping and almost vertical gold vein 3.6 meters thick was followed by a drift
at level 1000 meters above sea level to a strike length of 400 meters until it was intercepted by a
younger intrusive formation. The same gold vein was intercepted by a crosscut at elevation 600 meters
above sea level and at about the same coordinates as at level 1000 meters and followed it to a length
of 400 meters until it was cut by the same intrusive. Assuming a consistent thickness of the vein, how
much ore reserve is there if the material specific gravity is 2.5?

A. 1,220,00 MT B. 1,550,000 MT C. 1,440,000 MT

D. 1,660,000 MT E. 1,330,000 MT

August 2003, 2006, 2008. A copper bearing host rock is blasted and found to exhibit a swell factor
of 30%. What is the resulting material density in tons per loose cubic meter (LCM) if the specific gravity
is 2.5?

A. 1.92 B. 2.8 C. 42.53 D. 0.75 E. 8.33

GRADE CONTROL PROBLEM

August, 2003. Heritage Resources and Mining Corporation, the country's premier producer of
chemical grade chromite concentrates has the following chromite stockpiles ready for export to China:

Cambayas stockpile - 38% Cr2O3, 1.1% SiO2

Rio Chico stockpile - 48% Cr2O3, 2.0% SiO2

How much ore will you get from each stockpile to produce a blended export shipment of 3,000 MT
assaying 46% Cr2O3 and 1.82 SiO2?

a. Cambayas - 800 MT; Rio Chico - 2,200 MT

b. Cambayas - 700 MT; Rio Chico - 2,300 MT
c. Cambayas - 600 MT; Rio Chico - 2,400 MT
 d. Cambayas - 500 MT; Rio Chico - 2,500 MT
e. Cambayas - 400 MT; Rio Chico - 2,600 MT

August, 1986. As a grade control engineer of a gold mine, you are required to maintain a daily mill feed of 3,000 metric
tones of gold ore assaying 5 grams Au per MT. If 1,200 metric tonnes of ore with a grade of 3.5 grams Au per MT are
already available, how many more tonnes of ore will you need for blending from stopes A and B with corresponding grades
of 4.5 gms Au/MT and 6.5 gms Au/MT respectively.

UNDERGROUND MINING PROBLEM:

August 2001:

If you are a Draw Control Engineer in a Block Caving operation and you are required to have at least a
subsidence of 1 meter of the caved ore from each draw raise, compute for the amount of draw you
should get from each finger raise (each with a diameter of 3 meters) considering that the in-situ density
of the ore is 2 MT/cu.m., with a swell factor of 17% upon caving.
2. 14.10 MT/m b. 19.47 MT/m c. 12.10 MT/m d. 15.22 MT/m

August 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008. A hardwood timber is used as post to support an average
load of 20,000 pounds, 5 feet high. If the timber has a compressive stress of 900 psi, what would be
the typical size of timber support most economical to be used for the purpose?

A. 10 x 10 inches B. 6 x 6 inches C. 12 x 14 inches

D. 8 x 6 inches E. 4 x 6 inches

August, 1982. An 8' x 8' x 30' haulage way in an underground mine requires an artificial support system either by
conventional timber support or rockbolting. Given the following data, which method would you recommend as the cheapest.
Support your answer with computations.
Data for conventional support:
Distance between sets = 5 ft
Size of post and caps = 8" x 8" x 8'
Size of side laggings(4 pcs/set) = 2" x 6" x 4'
Size of top laggings (2 pcs/set) = 2" x 6" x 4'
Size of braces (4 pcs/set) = 2" x 6" x 8'
Cost per bd. Ft. of timber = P2.30
Two miners at P25.00 each per day can install the timber supports for 6 days. Miscellaneous cost
is P100.00
Data for rockbolting:
Rockbolts (expansion type) = 40 pcs @ P50.00 each
Two miners at P25.00 each per day can install these bolts in 2 days. Two drillers at P25.00 each
per day can drill 10 holes per day.

PUMPING PROBLEM

August 2002, 2004, 2008. A mine shaft which originally contains 400,000 cu.m. of water receives a
daily influx of 5,000 cu.m. The shaft must be dewatered in 60 days by pumping 20 hours per day. Being
the Mine Superintendent, how many pumps will you install if the capacity of each pump is 1,000 gallons
per minute and running at an efficiency of 60%? Allow additional stand-by pumps of two (2) units.
Assume that there are 264 gallons per cu.m.

A. 8 units B. 7 units C. 3 units D. 6 units E. 9 units

AUGUST 2001. An amount of 10,000 gallons of water has to be pumped for 2 hours. Total head is 50 feet and pump
efficiency is 80%. What should be the horsepower rating of the pump? If the motor has efficiency of 70%, what is the
motor horsepower?

AUGUST 2003. A sump is to be drained by 3 pumps. A, B and C. Pump A alone can drain the sump in 12 hours. Pump
B in 9 hours and Pump C in 7 hrs. If the pumps are operated at the same time, how long will it take to drain the sump?

HAULING PROBLEM

August, 1996. In a truck and shovel operation, the time for a truck to position itself at the shovel and
be loaded are 0.50 minute and 3 minutes respectively. It then takes the truck 10 minutes to haul the
ore, dump it at the coarse ore bin, and return to the shovel. How many trucks do you need to keep the
shovel busy with a little waiting time for the trucks?
a. 4 trucks b. 3 trucks c. 5 trucks d. 6 trucks

August, 2003. A newly discovered porphyry copper deposit in Nueva Viscaya will be developed under the new MPSA
system. The best applicable mining method is by open pit. The haulage trucks to be used are WABCO 85 tonners with
payload of 77 MT per truck. Truck mechanical availability is assumed at 70%. Ore and waste haul cycles are established at
16 and 10 minutes respectively. The mine is planned to deliver 25,000 MT of ore per day to the crushing plant at the strip
ratio of 1.5 : 1. The pit will operate 3 shifts per day of 8 hours each with time efficiency of 50 min per 60 min. As the Mine
Planning Engineer, calculate how many haul trucks will you need to sustain ore deliveries and at the same time maintain
workable pit geometry at any one time. Allocate one (1) haul truck spare unit for every five (5) trucks running.

A. 14 units B. 10 units C. 11 units D. 12 units E. 13 units