3/9/23, 5:35 PM Module 5: Unit and Auxiliary Operations

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Module 5: Unit and Auxiliary Operations

Module 5 Overview
Module 5 Overview

If we were to step back and take a high-level view of mining operations, we would notice many
differences based on the mining method and the peculiarities of a specific deposit. We would also see
certain commonalities among many of the methods. The details would vary, and the names of the
equipment might change, but yet we would see similar operations being repeated over and over again.

The operations directly related to extracting and removing the ore are known as the unit operations, and
the operations that serve to support the mining activity are known as auxiliary operations. In this
module, we will study these operations, and in so doing, we will be able to apply them to virtually any
mining method.

Learning Outcomes
At the successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

describe the two fundamental operations of exploitation, and the unit operations for these in soft
and hard rock;
recognize the equipment used for ore winning and materials handling, and describe the
characteristics of that piece of equipment;
list and describe common auxiliary operations;
explain what is meant by ground control, the difference between active and passive supports, and
common practices for support the ground;
describe a roof bolt and how it works;
identify typical power sources for mining equipment, and explain the advantages of each;
explain the need for ventilation in underground mines;
explain why maintenance is such an important auxiliary operation;
define availability and calculate the availability of a production unit;
define production and productivity;
demonstrate a knowledge of the difference between cyclic and continuous operations;
“value of a minute” in production settings,
types of delays,
continuous mining machines,
examples of batch and continuous materials handling equipment used in surface and
underground methods,
trends in materials handling equipment;
explain the difference between continuous mining machines in soft rock versus hard rock, and the
limitation on the use of these machines in hardrock mines.

Lesson 5.1: Introduction to the Cycle of

Operations
Lesson 5.1: Introduction to the Cycle of Operations

The process of exploitation reduces to two fundamental operations: winning, i.e., freeing the ore from
the orebody, although that term is rarely used in ordinary conversation; and materials handling, i.e.,

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transporting the ore to the mineral processing plant. Winning and handling are repeated over and over
again, i.e., they are cyclic.

The fundamental processes of freeing the ore fall into two categories. In softer deposits, we can use
equipment to excavate or essentially “dig” the ore. In harder material, we will have to use explosives to
blast the ore free from the orebody, and to blast the ore, we must first drill holes to place the explosive
that will be used. Once the ore has been freed, it must be loaded so that it can be hauled.

Thus, the two fundamental operations defining the exploitation of ore, winning and materials
handling, consist of the following unit operations:

Harder Materials: drill, blast, load, and haul

Softer Materials: excavate, load, and haul

These unit operations also define what is known as the basic production cycle.

Obviously softer and harder are relative terms and are deliberately vague. The compressive strength is
an important parameter to separate ores into the “softer-harder” categories, but other parameters can
affect whether or not it is practical to excavate rather than drill and blast. Moreover, as cutting
technology improves, it is becoming practical to excavate materials today that we wouldn’t have
considered twenty years ago. Examples of softer ores that can be excavated include coal, salt, and
trona. Examples of harder ores that require drilling and blasting include limestone, copper, and lead.
Some ores, for example, salt and potash, are exploited both ways. We will discuss the reasons for that
in this lesson.

Every mining method, with the exception of solution mining, employs these unit operations. (We could
force fit solution mining into this paradigm, but it would be a bit weird, so we’ll not do so. Besides,
solution mining accounts for a very small amount of all mining.) The specific equipment chosen to
implement each of the unit operations may vary by mining method, and even within methods there may
be equipment and practices variation. In this Module, we’ll focus on the overarching principles, and we’ll
take a look at the equipment that is commonly used.

There is one other category of common operations known as auxiliary operations. Auxiliary operations
support the production cycle and are essential to it, and like the unit operations, they are repeated over
and over again; and as with the unit operations, the specifics of the auxiliary operations will vary by
mining method and the characteristics of the orebody. We’ll say a few things about the auxiliary
operations in this Module, but save most of our discussion on these for when we look at the mining
methods. The list of auxiliary operations can become quite long if you attempt to include every single
activity that must occur during mining. We’re not going to try to do that, but a few are of special note.

Ground control and power are two auxiliary operations that are essential to every mining method. In
underground mines, these two would be augmented with ventilation as an essential and major auxiliary
operation. In surface mines, an argument could be made that reclamation would be an essential and
major auxiliary operation. Others would argue that maintenance should be on the list of essential and
major auxiliary operations. There are other auxiliary operations that are more specific to the method,
such as preparing and placing backfill in mines employing the cut and fill method; or commodity, such
as the explosion prevention activities in mines, regardless of method, that have explosive gas.

Taken together, the unit operations and auxiliary operations constitute the cycle of operations,
which will be different among the different mining methods. Accordingly, we will discuss and document
the cycle of operations that are inherent to each when we look at the individual methods in more detail.

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Figure 5.1 What goes into the Cycle of Operations

Credit: © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

In this Module, we’ll examine engineering concepts that apply to unit operations, which will then
facilitate a more detailed analysis when we look at the specific mining methods, and we’ll identify the
names and general characteristics of the equipment used for these operations. In the remainder of this
lesson, I want to introduce you to the equipment used in the production cycle.

5.1.1: Equipment for Winning the Ore

5.1.1: Equipment for Winning the Ore

Commonly used equipment for winning the ore includes the items listed below. The selection of a
specific size or type of equipment generally requires an engineering analysis. Here, the goal is simply to
familiarize you with the name and function of the major pieces of equipment.

5.1.1a: Drills, Explosives Loaders, and Rippers

5.1.1a: Drills, Explosives Loaders, and Rippers

Drills

Drills are used to create a hole of a certain diameter and depth. Occasionally, the goal of drilling is to
create an empty hole, but more often, the purpose of the hole is to accept explosives. The major
components of a drill include the bit, which fragments the rock; a power source that transfers energy to
the bit; and lengths of drill steel, sometimes called the drill string, that connect the bit to the drill rig
proper. Drills vary by: the method of rock penetration, e.g., rotary or percussion; the location of the
power source, which can be at the top of the drill string, e.g., top hammer, or at the bit, e.g., down-the-
hole; primary method of powering the drill, e.g., diesel engine, electric motor, or compressed-air; and
the method of mounting the drill rig, e.g., track-mounted or tire mounted.

Here, we have a track-mounted down-the-hole drill with an articulating boom to facilitate drilling holes at
precise angles.

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Figure 5.1.1: Track-mounted down-the-hole drill

Source: Atlas Copco

While the previous drill employs a down-the-hole hammer to apply energy to the bit, this one is a top-
hammer drill, i.e., the energy source for the bit, at the top of the drill string. That means the “pounding
and rotational” action has to be transmitted through the drill string to the bit. The biggest disadvantage
of this approach is the loss in accuracy. The drill string tends to travel in a large helical track with the top
hammer, and this causes the drill bit to “wander” off the desired location of the hole.

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Figure 5.1.2: Top-hammer drill

Source: Atlas Copco

If these drills are going to be used underground where the headroom is limited, the mast is not as high
but otherwise the drill is similar. While the accuracy of hole location is most always important, in some
underground applications, it is crucial. In those, a down-the-hole hammer will be used.

Vertical or inclined holes are commonly required in surface mining, and sometimes in underground
mining. It is very likely that horizontal or nearly horizontal holes will be required in underground mining,
as well as overhead vertical or overhead angled holes.

The dual boom jumbo drill is designed to drill horizontal or inclined holes at angle off of the horizontal.
The depth of these holes is typically limited by the application and is on the order of 15’.

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Figure 5.1.3: Dual boom jumbo drill

Source: Atlas Copco

Ring or fan drilling and longhole drilling are characteristic of a few underground metal mining methods.
The holes may be 150’ or long, and must be drilled to precise depths at the exact design angles. Drills
to accommodate these requirements employ computer control to achieve the required accuracy, as do
more and more jumbo and other drills being used in production operation. A typical drill is shown here.
Note the remote operating station for the drill operator.

Figure 5.1.4: Computer controlled drill with remote operator

Source: Atlas Copco

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This diagram illustrates the drilling pattern required in a sublevel stoping mine. Notice the layout of the
holes. What do you think would happen if a hole was started, but the angle was off by a few degrees?
Or what if a particular hole were drilled to 128’ instead of the designed length of 135’? Intuitively, I am
sure you can imagine that it will affect the performance of the blasting, and you are correct. We’ll talk
more about this when we cover blasting, but for now, please recognize that productivity, cost, and
safety are adversely affected by less-than-optimal drilling practices.

Figure 5.1.5: Diagram of drilling pattern required in a sublevel stoping mine

Source: Atlas Copco

Finally, we should close our overview of drills with the handheld “jackleg” drill. In years past, these were
used instead of jumbo drills in hardrock mining and for ground control applications in coal and
metal/nonmetal mines. The size hole depended on the cylinder bore of the drill, as they were powered
by compressed air, as well as the size of the drill bit. Hole sizes ranged from approximately 1” to 4”.
Depending on the size, and consequently what the drill was used for, they were given names such as
drifters or stopers. They are only used in modern mines for very specialized functions, requiring a few
holes on occasion, here or there. Unfortunately, you will find them in widespread use in the
underground mines of lesser-developed countries. I say unfortunately because they are brutal to use.
Although much of the weight, around 75 lbs., is supported on the jackleg, the miner has to apply the
thrust, i.e., pushing the drill bit into the hole. That alone is hard work. They are very loud, there is bone-
jarring vibration, and they can produce dust-laden air and that along with the oil mist from the
compressed air creates a respiratory hazard. Teams of miners would stand all shift-long operating these
drills. Often they were paid based on the production that they achieved, and 15 years ago in the
western U.S., one of these miners could easily earn $60-80 thousand dollars per year… but they
earned every penny of that!

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Figure 5.1.6a and b: The jackleg drill

5.1.6a: J. Kohler, © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1], and 5.1.6b: Atlast
Copco

The practice of loading sticks of dynamite has all but disappeared from modern mining. Safer and more
economic practices utilize explosives that are pumped, gravity-fed, or pneumatically blown into the hole.
That’s not to say that we never use packaged material, because we do, and we’ll look at that when we
discuss explosives and blasting practice. The vast majority of blasting, however, is accomplished with
powders, gels, or emulsions that are bulk loaded.

Explosives Loaders

Figure 5.1.7: Explosive truck for surface mining

Credit: J. Kohler, © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

The truck below is used in surface mining. It carries the materials to mix the explosive at the hole, and
the equipment to place the explosive into the hole. Such an arrangement can be found in some
underground mines as well. In this example, the explosive is being pumped into the hole.
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Figure 5.1.8: An example of gravity flow, in which the explosive is fed augered into the hole.
Credit: J. Kohler, © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

In a mine in which the height of the active mining face is on the order of 15’ to 60’ feet, you will see
equipment like this. The boom allows the blaster, standing in the basket, to reach each hole, insert a
hose into the hole, and then load the explosive. In this picture, you can see the yellow tank that
contains the blasting agent. There is a second tank on the other side, which is obscured from view in
this photo. These tanks are known colloquially as “powder monkeys.”

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Figure 5.1.9: Explosive loading machine. Note the blaster standing in the basket.
Credit: J. Kohler, © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

Rippers
Rippers are dozers that have been equipped with one or more large drag bits. These are pulled through
the ore as the dozer moves forward. Typically, they break up the top 6” – 18”, depending on the
mechanical properties of the ore. Rippers are not very common because they are suited to few
deposits. Occasionally, I’ve seen them used in soft high calcium limestone and in coal, but there are
other examples. In the picture here, this ripper (seen at the back of the image) has three large drag bits.

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Figure 5.1.10: Ripper with drag bits

Source: Stock image by Worradirek, shutterstock.com [2]

5.1.1b: Loading, Draglines, Shovels, and

Hydraulic Excavators
5.1.1b: Loading, Draglines, Shovels, and Hydraulic Excavators

You’ll recall that the production cycle for harder ores is drill-blast-load-haul; while for softer ores, it is
excavate-load-haul. I am emphasizing load because I want to talk about the equipment used for
loading. In harder ores, the material is broken free of the orebody by drilling and blasting. Once it is
freed, it usually must be loaded into something so that it can be hauled out of the mine. In softer ores, if
a ripper is used, the broken ore will require loading. In softer ores, it is often practicable to free them
from the orebody by digging or excavation, without the need to drill and blast. Once freed, the ore is
usually loaded into something so that it can be hauled out of the mine. By the way, I am using the word
something to describe the haulage out of the mine. I’ll be more specific shortly when we look at
haulage.

The reason for this quick review of the difference in production cycles is because the equipment used in
loading harder ores is sometimes used for both excavating and loading softer ores. I want you to be
aware of this now so that you are not confused when we encounter this with certain pieces of loading
equipment.

Draglines

Draglines have the ability to excavate huge quantities of material and then to place that material at quite
a distance from the dragline itself. Here are some of the more important characteristics of draglines.

The drag bucket is filled by pulling (dragging) the bucket towards the dragline.

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The dragline can only dig at a level below the level at which the dragline is sitting.
The drag bucket is outfitted with “teeth” to aid excavation, but even so, it is only effective in softer
materials or materials that have been blasted.
The size of the dragline is based on the capacity of the drag bucket. A 15 yd dragline has a bucket
capacity of 15 yd3. Typically draglines are in the range of 60 – 150 yd. The largest one ever built
had a bucket capacity of 220 yd3. It could fill the bucket, swing it to the dump point nearly 300’
from the machine, dump the bucket, and return to begin the cycle over again in 45 seconds!
The reach of the dragline determines the distance from the machine that material can be dumped.
The maximum reach is approximately 450’.
The weight of the dragline is so great, approaching 8000 tons in the larger units, that crawler
tracks are used on only the very smallest draglines, and instead, they sit on two large “shoes” to
distribute the weight. The shoes are attached to powered eccentric cams that allow the dragline to
walk as mining advances.

Figure 5.1.11: Dragline

source: CAT dragline product page [3]

Draglines are commonly used to remove the overburden, also known as stripping, in open cast mining.
In many cases, the overburden is drilled and blasted to facilitate removal by the dragline. Occasionally,
the dragline will be used to remove the ore as well.

Shovels

Shovels have the ability to load large quantities of material, but less than draglines. A major difference
between a shovel and dragline is that a shovel loads material at the same level as the shovel is sitting
up to the height of the shovel’s boom. Here are some additional characteristics of shovels.

The shovel’s dipper is filled by pushing the dipper into a bank of material. This action is known as
crowding.
The dipper is outfitted with “teeth” to aid excavation, but even so, it is only effective in softer
materials or materials that have been blasted.
The size of the shovel is based on the capacity of the dipper. A 12 yd shovel has a dipper capacity
of 12 yd3. Typically, shovels are in the range of 10 – 90 yd.
The digging height of the shovel is determined the size of the boom.
Shovels are mounted on large crawler tracks, to facilitate movement into the bank, known as
propelling; as well as to allow the shovel to move to the working faces or banks.

Figure 5.1.12: A shovel in action

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source: direct industry.com [4]

Large shovels are used for overburden removal, and in this application are known as stripping shovels.
Perhaps more commonly, they are used to load ore into trucks. The relationship of key shovel
parameters is illustrated in this diagram. Also, I’d like you to take notice of the wire ropes that are used
to control the boom and the dipper. This is the original configuration for shovels. Over the past three
decades, a modification of the shovel, using hydraulics cylinders instead of wire ropes, has become
increasingly popular. Let’s take a look at it next.

Figure 5.1.13: Diagram of an Electric Mining Shovel

source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

Hydraulic Excavators
This class of loader had its origin with machines that looked like this. These excavators had the
advantage of being able to excavate or load below or above the level at which the machine is sitting.
They also have the ability to be rather selective in what they remove.

Figure 5.1.14: A traditional excavator

source: Volvo Construction Equipment.com [6]

These excavators have gotten much larger over the years and have buckets of 40 yd3 or more, and a
reach of 60’ or more.

Figure 5.1.15: A modern excavator

source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

The wire ropes on electric shovels have been replaced with hydraulics, and this has led to hydraulic
excavators that look like this, and are often called hydraulic shovels. By replacing the wire ropes,
additional degrees of freedom can be incorporated into the machine, resulting in better performance.

Figure 5.1.16: A hydraulic excavator

source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

5.1.1c: Wheeled Loaders, Scoops and LHDs

5.1.1c: Wheeled Loaders, Scoops and LHDs
Wheeled loaders are mobile and maneuverable, and commonly found in surface and underground
mining applications. The bucket typically ranges in size from a few yd3 to 10yd3. The high-lift linkage
allows loading of the largest haul trucks available. These loaders are capable of digging soft and
unconsolidated materials but are most commonly used for loading material that has been blasted.
Chains are often put on the tires to increase the traction available, which allows the bucket to push
more efficiently into piles of broken rock. In everyday use, they are often called loaders, rather than
wheeled loaders.

Figure 5.1.17: Wheeled loader

source: CAT.com [7]

Here we can see a very common use of the wheeled loader.

Figure 5.1.18: Wheeled loader in action

source: CAT.com [7]

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Next, let’s take a look at some loaders that are used exclusively underground. The amount of clearance
available underground can be quite restrictive. While some underground mines will have openings that
are approaching 100’ in height, less than 10’ is much more common. The equipment designed to
operate in these confined spaces has to be designed quite differently to fit into these spaces and still be
capable of doing something useful.

Scoops and LHDs (Load-Haul-Dump)

There are some differences between scoops and LHDs, but for the purpose of this discussion on
loaders, we are not going to differentiate between the two other than to note that scoops are more likely
to be used strictly for loading ore into an underground mine truck in metal mining, and that they are
often used for moving supplies around in underground coal mines.

These machines are designed with a low profile to function in confined spaces. Moreover, they are
often articulated, i.e., the machine is split into two parts and connected with an articulating joint. This
allows the machine to turn and maneuver in tighter spaces. The scoop loader shown here illustrates the
concept quite nicely. At less than 3-1/2’ wide, 6’ high, and 16’ long, it would easily fit inside of the bucket
of many surface loaders! The bucket capacity of these machines ranges from just under 1 yd3 to 4 or 5
yd3.

Figure 5.1.19: An articulated scoop loader

source: Heavy Equipment Solutions.com [8]

Here is a picture of a typical LHD, which stands for Load-Haul-Dump. These machines are commonly
used in underground metal mining and they push into a pile of broken ore (load) and then they haul
(transport) their load to a dump point. The haul distances are relatively short – typically less than a
1000’, although this can vary. This LHD is available with bucket capacities ranging from 10 to 15 yd3.

When we talk about the underground metal mining methods, you will see the importance of LHDs in
those operations.

Figure 5.1.20: A typical LDH, or Load-Haul-Dump

source: www.CAT.com [9]

This brief introduction to loaders is by no means exhaustive. There are still some legacy devices in use
– overshot loaders and slushers, for example, in metal mining. However, here, we have covered the
devices that account for virtually all tonnage produced in modern mining systems. This also brings to a
close our discussion not only loaders but also ore winning, more or less. Wait a minute, more or less?
Well mostly more… however, we have not talked about an important class of ore winning machines
known as continuous miners, road headers, and shearers. We’ll do that in the next lesson. For now,
we’re now ready to move into materials handling – the last unit operation in the production cycle of drill-
blast-load-haul for hard rock or excavate-load-haul for soft rock.

5.1.2: Materials Handling

5.1.2: Materials Handling

Materials handling is concerned with how we move (haul) the mined material out of the mine to the
processing plant. Before looking at specific haulage options, we should talk about a few overarching
concepts. The first is intermediate haulage.

At the working face, i.e., where the ore is being freed from the deposit, we are going to load the ore into
some type of haulage. If we are in a surface mine, it is likely that we’ll load the ore into a truck, which
will haul the ore the entire way to the plant, dump it, and then return to the face for another load. If we
are in an underground mine, it is likely that the material at the face will be loaded into a haulage vehicle
and then transported to an intermediate dumping point. From the intermediate point, a different haulage
device will be employed. Sometimes, there could be even another subsequent intermediate device. As
an example, assume we have a mine in which LHDs are used to load out the ore at the draw point
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(face) and transport it to a dump. The dump point is at an ore chute in the rock that funnels the ore to a
lower level where it is loaded into rail cars, along with the ore from many other dump points. A train may
pull these cars several miles out of the mine and to a processing plant. Or, the train may take the ore to
a transfer point at the bottom of the shaft, where the ore will be dumped and transported in large ore
skips (buckets) up the shaft to the surface. The choice of a specific type of materials handling is based
on optimizing the overall process. Smaller and maneuverable equipment is best suited at the face,
whereas larger capacity, but more permanent equipment may be indicated to move the material out of
the mine. As we look at different mining methods, this will become even clearer.

Let’s identify the common choices for materials handling, to move material from the face to the plant.

Figure 5.1.21 Materials handling equipment, shown in three groups

Click here to see a text description.
Credit: © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

I’ve arranged them into three groups. The equipment in the first group is typically used for short haulage
runs from the face to an intermediate dump or transfer point. The equipment in the third group is used
to move the material out of the mine and to the plant. The equipment in the second group can fall into
Groups I or III. In some instances, the equipment shown in Group II will be used to move the material
directly from the face to the plant, whereas in others, it will be used to transfer the ore to an
intermediate point. Again, the choice and rationale will become clearer as we learn about the
requirements inherent to the different mining methods. Let’s look at the general characteristics of these
materials-handling modes. We’ve already discussed LHDs, so let’s begin with shuttle cars.

5.1.2a: Shuttle Cars and Bridge Conveyors

5.1.2a: Shuttle Cars and Bridge Conveyors

Shuttle Cars

Shuttle cars are a low-profile intermediate haulage option used predominantly in underground coal and
some industrial minerals mines. Ore is loaded into the shuttle car at the face, and then it trams a
relatively short distance, dumps its load, and returns to repeat the cycle. Shuttle cars are manufactured
in different sizes to work in very thin seams of less than 36” to high seams, greater than 72”. The
capacity is dependent on the size, but a typical capacity is 6 – 10 tons. The shuttle car normally dumps
into a feeder-breaker, which crushes any large lumps and feeds the load onto a conveyor belt.
Variations of the shuttle car include ram cars and haulers.

Figure 5.1.22: A shuttle car

Joy/Komatsu [5]

Bridge Conveyors

Bridge conveyors are belt conveyors that are designed to move material directly form the face to a final
point, e.g., a spoil pile in surface mining, or a transfer to a main conveyor in underground mining. Unlike
main-belt conveyors, which are semi-permanent, bridge conveyors are designed to be easily
maneuverable, to keep up with the active mining face. Looking at this bridge conveyor, known as a
flexible conveyor train, you can see the hopper where ore is loaded. There is a feeder in this hopper
that meters the ore onto the rubber conveyor belt. Note that the belt can go around corners. These
have found limited application in underground coal and salt mines.

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Figure 5.1.23: Flexible conveyor train

Joy Global/Komatsu [5]

Here is an example of a conveyor being used to transport spoil (overburden) directly from the bucket of
an excavator to spoil piles.

Figure 5.1.24: A conveyor transporting overburden

butlermachinery.com [10]

5.1.2b: Mine Trucks, Haul Trucks, and Rail

(Trains)
5.1.2b: Mine Trucks, Haul Trucks, and Rail (Trains)

The distinction between haul trucks and mine trucks is subtle but important. Mine trucks are generally
designed for underground use in more confined spaces. They will have an articulating joint to allow
turning in a tighter radius. The capacity will also be less because of clearance restrictions. Nonetheless,
capacities of 15 to 60 tons are common. These mine trucks, as pictured here, are commonly used in
underground metal and nonmetal mining, and they are as likely to transport the ore directly from the
face to the plant as to transport to an intermediate transfer point.

Figure 5.1.25: A mine truck

Enter image credit here

Haul Trucks

Haul trucks are designed to transport larger loads than mine trucks, and in some underground mines
where there is sufficient room, you will find haul trucks. For example, in a salt mine where a 90’ thick
seam is being removed, you can fit a large truck of 60–100-ton capacity, although, in underground
metal/nonmetal mines, a size of fewer than 60 tons would be more common.

Figure 5.1.26: A haul truck

Enter image credit here

This haul truck holds nearly 450 tons and is in use at a surface coal mine in the Powder River Basin.

Figure 5.1.27: A very large haul truck

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Enter image credit here

Rail (Trains)
Rail haulage was once very common in underground mines, and even in some surface mines. It has
the advantage of being able to transport large loads at a low cost. It has fallen out of favor because it
has inherent problems that make it unsuitable for many of today’s high production mining systems.
Nonetheless, it is still used. In modern coal mines, for example, rail haulage will often be used to
transport equipment and supplies, whereas conveyors will be used to transport the coal. The reasons
for this will become evident when we look at batch and continuous operations in the next lesson. Rail
can be used as an intermediate form of haulage, or as the means to transport the ore out of the mine to
the plant. The locomotives and cars used may be of lower profile, like the one shown here.

Figure 5.1.28: Low profile rail train

Enter image credit here

5.1.2c: Hoists, Hydraulic Transport, and Belt

Conveyors
5.1.2c: Hoists, Hydraulic Transport, and Belt Conveyors

Deep underground mines may be accessible only through a shaft that is sunk from the surface to the
working levels of the mine. Not only will all workers and supplies access the mine through the shaft, but
also all ore will have to come out of the shaft. This is accomplished by hoisting systems. Three major
components of a hoist are the skip, which holds the ore and is attached to the winder on the surface by
wire ropes, the headframe and the hoist winder (winch and drum). The headframe supports the sheave
wheel over which the wire rope is connected to the skip. As the drums in the surface hoist house wind
the rope onto the drum, the skip is pulled to the surface, where it is dumped.

Figure 5.1.29: Hoist system for an underground mine

Credit: © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

The winder is shown in the first picture below, the bottom headframe in the second, and the bottom
dump skip in the third. Often a different type of hoist from the one shown is used, which allows a skip to
be connected at the bottom and the top of the shaft so that as the one is being unloaded, the other is
being loaded. A skip typically holds up to 50 yd3 of material.

Figure 5.1.30: Hoist winder

source:

Figure 5.1.31: Headframe

source: The Northern Miner [11]

Figure 5.1.32: Bottom dump skip

source: FLSmidth: Mine Shaft Systems Equipment [12]

Hydraulic Transport

Hydraulic transport, often known as a slurry transport system, is used in limited circumstances. The ore
is mixed with a fluid, e.g., water, and pumped from the mine to the processing plant. It is an energy-
intensive system and is best suited to a limited class of ores such as phosphate, which is already mixed
with water in the mining process, or other ores obtained from hydraulicking or dredging. The system is
straightforward, consisting of high horsepower slurry pumps every few miles and a large diameter pipe,
greater than 2’ in diameter.

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Belt Conveyors

Belt conveyors are the workhorses of modern mines, both surface and underground. The belt conveyor
consists of the belt, which is constructed of multiple plys to provide the required strength and wear
resistance; the belt is constructed into a closed loop and stretched between a head and tail pulley; the
belt is supported with idlers between the head and tail, and they maintain the appropriate trough shape
as well as support the weight of the material in the belt. The head pulley is connected to a motor to
power the conveyor. These belts range in width from a few feet to more than 8’, and can transport
thousands of tons of ore per hour. Although each belt is of limited length based on mechanical
constraints, they can be combined into long runs by constructing transfer points to allow one belt to
dump onto another. In this fashion, complex networks can be assembled. Here is an example from a
surface mine.

Figure 5.1.33: Belt conveyor

source: direct industry.com [4]

Many years ago, the incline angle of the conveyor was limited by the angle of repose of the ore being
conveyed. If this angle was exceeded, the material would begin to slide down the conveyor and would
no longer be conveyed upward. Modern designs and significant material improvements now permit belt
angles up to 90°, as shown in the second picture.

Figure 5.1.34: Increased belt angle

source: direct industry.com [4]

Lesson 5.1 Summary

Lesson 5.1 Summary
There is, of course, much more that we could say about materials handling systems. Indeed, we have
an entire course on their design! For our purposes here, this brief overview will help us to understand
the sequence of operations in the mining methods that we will be studying.

Knowledge Check

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Content unavailable.

In Lesson 5.3, we’ll take a look at the difference between batch and continuous operations, and the
evolution of the so-called “continuous mining systems.” However, before talking about that topic, we will
look at auxiliary operations next.

Lesson 5.2: Auxiliary Operations

Lesson 5.2: Auxiliary Operations
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In the last lesson, we learned that the process of exploitation reduces to two fundamental operations:
winning and materials handling. Further, we defined the basic production cycle in terms of unit
operations, as follows:

Harder Materials: drill, blast, load, and haul

Softer Materials: excavate, load, and haul

I noted that there is one other category of common operations known as auxiliary operations, which
support the production cycle and are essential to it. Auxiliary operations are repeated over and over
again; and as with the unit operations, the specifics of the auxiliary operations will vary by mining
method and the characteristics of the orebody. In the last lesson, I gave a few examples of auxiliary
operations, including ground control and electric power.

In this lesson, I want to provide additional information and examples of auxiliary operations, including
the equipment used in these operations. The auxiliary operations are not only complementary to the
unit operations, but are generally essential to the completion of the mining cycle. As such, it is difficult to
say that some are more important than others. So, if we want to see they are all equally important, then
I would add that a few of them are first among equals! Those would include ground control, power, and
ventilation.

5.2.1: Ground Control

5.2.1: Ground Control

An Overview of the Requirement

One of the more important and defining characteristics of mining engineers is their ability to design
structures in earth materials. Few appreciate the incredible challenge this presents. Consider that if we
want to design a building, we can go to a handbook and find the exact mechanical properties of our
building materials, whether they are steel beams, lumber, or concrete. Important engineering
challenges may remain in the design of the building, but at least we know the properties of our building
materials.

…not so when we are constructing something in the crust of the earth. Sure, we can conduct lab tests
and that is helpful, but significant uncertainty remains throughout the property in many cases. Even
when we have a well defined material, a limestone for example, it may have structural defects due to
geologic processes that result in fractures, joints, and so on. Once past the hurdle of knowing the
properties that we are working with, we have to work with them! That is to say, some of the materials
may be “inferior” or “substandard” to use construction terminology. But, in our case, we can return those
“inferior” rock structures to the maker, and demand new ones with better properties. And here lies what
can be a daily challenge for the mining engineer: maintaining a stable and safe rock mass to allow
mining of the valuable commodity.

Whether we are designing and operating a surface or underground mine, this will be a challenge of
varying degrees. In the surface mine, we are concerned with a failure of the slope or the highwall. If it is
too high or too steep or if there has been an influx of groundwater, or… we can have a failure. The
failure could kill all of the workers in the area, destroy or bury the equipment, and result in costly
production delays. In an underground mine, we develop a series of openings to access and exploit the
deposit. If any of those openings cave in, it can have disastrous consequences for the miners and the
overall viability of the operation. The art and science of safely designing structures in the earth is
captured in the term ground control. The coursework in engineering mechanics, strength of materials,
and rock mechanics will give you a solid theoretical foundation, and then courses in ground control
along with years of experience will enable you to succeed in this endeavor.

I think you are beginning to appreciate the importance of this auxiliary operation, which is an intimate
companion with the unit operations of the production cycle. Here in this course, we’ll talk about how the
ground conditions affect the mining methods and the sequence of operations, and some of the
practices that are used to “control the ground” to prevent unwanted and unexpected failures.

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Ground control is achieved in part through the design of the structures. For example, the engineer will
design spans that won’t fail or determine the angle of the highwall to reduce the risk of a slope failure.
We’ll leave the design component of ground control to other courses. Operationally, after the design,
ground control is achieved in part through the use of various technologies. Uses of these technologies
are an ongoing part of the production cycle, and as such are of special interest in this lesson.

Cyclical Practices
After drilling and blasting, the integrity of the surrounding ground will be inspected. This will happen
prior to loading to ensure that miners engaged in the loading operation are not put in danger. This
check is imperative in underground mining, and in many surface mining operations. There may be
pieces of rock that have cracked but hung up, and they may fail without warning. Or there may be loose
pieces that could fall. Thus, the inspection will be the prelude to scaling or barring, i.e. the act of
knocking these pieces free. In a low seam mine, with minimal need for scaling, this may be
accomplished with miners using a steel bar with a chiseled edge. When it is impossible to reach the
area that needs scaling, then equipment will be used. Here is a scaler that is found in metal/nonmetal
mines; and primarily but not exclusively in underground mines. It has a telescoping boom to reach high
places and a pneumatic hammer to release any worrisome pieces of rock. The operator remains inside
the cab, which provides protection from falling material. Notice also the dozer blade on the front. It is
used to push a fallen material out of the way.

Ok, so this inspection and scaling represents the first auxiliary operation.

Figure 5.2.1: A scaler

source: Thiessen Team Rock Solid Solutions [13]

Once the area has been scaled, it will be safe to bring in equipment for loading and hauling in some
mines – mines with competent rock that is not going to cave. In some mines, it is necessary to take
further steps to improve the opening to ensure that the rock strata is not going to fall onto the miners,
and this must be done before miners work in the freshly mined space. If additional reinforcement of the
rock is required, then that will be the second auxiliary operation.

We’ll take a look at some of the equipment used to reinforce the rock, but first, a quick tutorial on the
options for adding additional support to the ground.

5.2.2: Active and Passive Ground Support

5.2.2: Active and Passive Ground Support

Ground support can be active or passive. If we take actions that actually increase the strength of the
rock, then we are providing active support. On the other hand, if we do nothing to increase the strength,
but instead we take an action to prevent the rock mass from falling, then we are providing passive
support. There are valid applications of both categories of support. Let’s look at an example. Actually,
this is a really important example!

The rock strata overlying a tabular deposit are often somewhat weak. They may consist of relatively thin
layers of a weak rock. These layers, which may be a few inches to a few feet in thickness, may also
have partings between them. These partings may be very thin, and very weak. Now, what is going to
happen when we remove the ore from underneath the overlying rock mass that I just described?

Did you ever have a long bookshelf made of wood – wood that is not very thick? What happened when
you place a full load of books on the shelf? It begins to sag in the middle, right? It may not have
happened immediately, but over time, it sags in the middle. A similar mechanism is at play in the mine
strata of our example. All of the weight of the overlying rock layers is pushing down. You removed the
ore from underneath the strata, so you now have a long unsupported span of relatively weak rock
layers. The rock layers begin to sag, and before long the lowest layer will separate from the others, and
fail. When it fails, it will break apart and fall to the ground. Now, the layer immediately above the one
that just failed will sag, and it too will fail. This will continue until the rock mass reaches some
equilibrium. This is an unacceptable outcome! We’ll never make any money at this mining business if

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we can’t support the openings that we create! So, you must prevent the initial failure. What are your
options?

As with the bookshelf, you could place a support in the middle of the span to support the load and
prevent sagging. In our mine, we could set a timber post into place, and it would prevent the failure.
This is an example of a passive support. Placing timber posts, steel arches, and so on is a time-
honored means of supporting the rock and preventing failures. There are some drawbacks, however. If
we’re mining a 6’ thick coal seam, we can set a 6’ post. What if we are mining a 60’ seam of limestone?
Finding, handling, and placing a 60’post would be a supremely daunting task, and clearly not practical!
Even when it would be easy to set a post, there can be unacceptable drawbacks to the practice.

Let’s think about a basketball arena like Bryce Jordan Center. The roof of that building spans a large
area, and that roof needs to be supported. Assuming that we can obtain timber posts of sufficient
length, why not set them across the width of the building, perhaps every 20’ or so to support the roof?
For starters, it would make for an interesting new twist to the game of basketball as the players dodged
the posts on their way to the basket! Again, not very practical, and that is the drawback in the mine as
well. Instead of basketball players, we have large equipment moving around and between the working
areas. Thus, in many locations, this kind of passive support is inconsistent with production needs. While
passive support is an appropriate control strategy in many instances, we need an alternative for when it
is not.

Roof Bolts
One of the most prevalent and effective means of providing ground support is an active support known
as a roof or rock bolt. Remember the failure in the layered strata of our example mine? What if we were
to clamp several of those weak layers together, forming a “laminated beam”? Beams are very strong,
and, indeed, by clamping these layers together, we have strengthened the rock mass, and it will be able
to support the weight on it without failing. Many of you may have seen laminated beams used in
building construction. Several layers of thin and relatively weak plywood are glued together, and the
result is beam with superior properties to a solid piece of wood of the same thickness.

In our case, we can’t access both sides of the rock mass to clamp the layers together, as is the case
when they fabricate laminated wooden beams. Instead, we use a rock bolt, as illustrated in this
diagram.

Figure 5.2.2: Diagram of a roof bolt

Credit: © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

It works as follows. A hole is drilled into the rock mass that is to be supported. Next, the roof bolt is
inserted into the hole. Then the bolt head is rotated, which causes the expansion shell to expand into
the surrounding rock, locking it in place, and as the bolt rotates, it draws in the bearing plate. As a
result, the layers between the expansion shell and the bearing plate are compressed tightly together,
forming a beam. For this to work, the expansion shell must be anchored in competent rock. Sometimes,
this can be done over 4’ and other times, 6’ or more. The length of the bolt is chosen with this in mind.
The diameter of the bolt, which is between ½ - 1”, is based on the required tensile strength of the bolt,
which is determined by calculating the weight of overlying rock that each bolt will have to support. In the
future, you will learn how to size rock bolts. At this time, the takeaway message is:

1. bolting is an active support because it is increasing the strength of the rock mass to prevent
failure by clamping weak layers together to form a strong beam; and
2. bolting is the most prevalent means of ground control in the majority of underground mines, and
also in certain surface mines.

Under difficult conditions, we can place a skinny bag of resin, i.e., a strong glue, into the hole with the
bolt; and then, as the bolt spins while it is being tightened, the bag will break and the resin will be mixed
and will completely fill the hole around the bolt. Moreover, this resin will plug cracks and fractures in the
rock in the immediate vicinity to further enhance the bolt’s holding power.

Here is a picture of roof bolting machine, commonly known as roof bolter or simply, a bolter. If you look
closely, you will see the drill in front of the operator. Notice the attachment point to the machine at the
bottom, i.e., the chuck. As the hole is drilled, that chuck assembly will move up towards the collar of the

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hole. After the hole is drilled, the operator will place a bolt in the chuck, insert it into the hole, and
tighten it. The machine has plenty of space to store a supply of bolts along with the drill tools. You will
also notice hydraulic canopies pressing into the top or “roof” of the mine opening. Those are passive
supports to ensure that the top does not fall down while the bolter operator is installing the roof bolts.

Figure 5.2.3: Roof bolting machine

JH Fletcher & Co. [14]

In so-called large opening mines, where the distance between the bottom and top of the mine opening
might be 20 – 30’ or more, a slightly different configuration is required, as shown here. The operator
would stand in the “cherry picker basket" and operate the drill and bolter.

Figure 5.2.4: Roof bolter for large opening mines

JH Fletcher & Co. [15]

Cable Bolts
Sometimes, we need a bolt that is much longer than 4 – 6’. Remember, I said that for the bolt to
achieve its purpose, the anchor must be in a competent rock layer. What if that layer is 15’, or 50’ or
even 100’ above the opening? A bolt of such lengths would be impractical. Instead, we use a cable bolt.
A reel of specially constructed steel cable is stored on a cable-bolting machine. A hole of the required
length is drilled, an anchor shell is attached to the end of the cable, and it is fed to the end of the hole.
An anchor plate and tensioning bolt is affixed to the end, and it is tensioned in some fashion as a
traditional rock bolt. One difference, however, is that concrete grout will be pumped into the hole as
well. Here is an example of a cable bolter. If you look closely, you can see the cable routed from the
spool on the rear of the machine, up over the machine, and to the front where it will be inserted into the
hole. The carriage housing the drill steel and the drill are also visible at the front of the machine.

Figure 5.2.5: Cable bolter

Enter image credit here

Shotcrete

Shotcrete is another active support of note. Pillars of rock or ore are often left standing to help support
the overlying strata, and only the ore between the pillars is recovered. The pillars can be under a lot of
stress, and in some cases will begin to fail. The outer layers tend to crack and spall off, until the pillar is
much skinnier and more likely to fail. The spalling of the outer layers can also present an immediate
safety problem. One means of active support is to spray a Shotcrete onto the pillar. The Shotcrete may
be cement or polymer mix, and fibers of various materials may be embedded in the mix. Thicknesses of
an inch or more would be typical. Once the Shotcrete has dried, or really cured, it is quite strong and
provides a confinement stress on the pillar. Sometimes the top surface of the span will be shotcreted as
well.

Here is a picture of a shotcrete operation in progress. You may be able to see the nozzle at the end of
the boom, the mixing tank, and the dry feed hopper, and water line on the equipment. The other line is
an electric power cable. The hose and cable reels provide sufficient mobility to the machine to allow it to
move freely among working places, at least until the limit of the hose and cable are reached. Then, it
will be necessary to advance the electrical and water supplies. Advancing utilities, such as electric
power and water, is another important auxiliary operation that we will discuss shortly.

Figure 5.2.6: Concrete sprayer

AtlasCopco.com [16]

We’ve covered the majority of the ground control technologies with this brief introduction to active
supports such as roof bolts, cable bolts, and shotcrete; and passive supports such as timber or steel
posts and arches. There are others, but this group is illustrative. There is one more ground control
technique that deserves a brief mention before we move on to other auxiliary operations, and that is
backfilling.
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Backfilling

Backfilling is the process of adding support to a mined out area by filling it with backfill, i.e., waste rock,
tailings, or a mixture of cement and tailings or waste rock. As you might suspect, the time and cost to
backfill is very expensive. Nonetheless, it is a part of the cut and fill mining method, in which we
routinely mine a slice of ore, backfill it, and mine out the next slice, and so on. We’ll talk more about
backfilling when we discuss this mining method. For now, you should simply be aware of backfilling as
another ground control practice.

Also, I want to be clear that while the ground control challenge in underground mining is generally far
more complicated than in surface mining, ground control practices including inspection and scaling are
part of surface mining, and the use of rock bolts is part of some surface operations.

After this brief tutorial of ground control, you’ve probably forgotten how we got started on this discussion
in the first place! Ground control is a critical auxiliary operation, and although we usually speak
generally of ground control, in total, we’ve now seen that there are three components: inspection,
scaling and installing ground support. Depending on the mining method and the competency of the
rock, the activities associated with ground control may occur at differing time points in the production
cycle.

5.2.3: Electrical Systems

5.2.3: Electrical Systems
The power sources for mining equipment are compressed air, diesel, and electric. Most mining
equipment today is powered with either diesel or electric. Diesel provides more mobility because there
is no need to be tethered to an electrical cable. On the other hand, the exhaust from a diesel engine
creates challenges when used in a confined space, like an underground mine, and it requires a high
level of regular and sophisticated maintenance. Electric has certain inherent advantages including the
ability to provide a lot of power in a small space and no toxic emissions at the machine. Large
equipment, such as draglines and shovels, as well as continuous miners, is usually electric. Diesel is
favored for haul trucks because of the need to be untethered.

Nearly fifty years ago, there was an effort to replace electrically powered equipment with diesel
engines. Eliminating the delays associated with the tether, as well as delays associated with inevitable
failures of the tethers (cables) was easy to justify; and particularly so for mobile materials handling
equipment. In recent years, the air quality issues associated with diesel particulate matter and noxious
gases from the engine exhaust have caused some operators to transition back to electric equipment.

I should mention battery-powered equipment, given that today we are seeing more and more battery-
powered vehicles on the highways. With battery power, the tether, i.e., the cable, is eliminated, and
there aren’t the drawbacks associated with diesel engines. Unfortunately, it is difficult to pack sufficient
energy into a battery pack to replace the “workhorses” of hauling ore and rock. Consequently, battery-
powered equipment is used for utility vehicles, such as personnel carriers or scoops for hauling
supplies.

The machinery associated with production will move throughout the mine over the mine life, and as this
equipment makes its way through the deposit, it will be necessary to move the electrical power system
along with it. Depending on the mining method, we may need to move power every few shifts, or in
other cases, only every few months. Many of you have some familiarity with power systems found in
towns – the substations, power lines, and so on. Can you imagine having to move and advance such a
power system on a frequent basis? In many mining methods, that is all part of a day’s work! Of course,
we’ve taken steps to make it more manageable. The substations and other equipment that have to be
moved are mounted on skids, crawlers, or rubber tires to facilitate movement. Couplers are used to
connect and disconnect components and cables. It’s manageable!

Of course, there are other electrical loads, some of which must be moved periodically, and others that
are stationary and semi-permanent. These loads would include pumps, conveyors, and illumination.
Even if the mining machinery is all diesel powered, it is likely that there would be other electrical loads

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that must be powered. Therefore, providing electrical power will be a necessary auxiliary operation for
most mining methods used in surface and underground mining.

Here is a picture of a skid-mounted power center for use in an underground mine. You can see the high
voltage cable going into the box. Inside, there is a transformer to reduce the distribution voltage,
typically 4.16 to 15 kV, to the level required by the machinery, typically 480 to 995 V. On the other side
of this box, outside of our view, there are couplers to connect the various loads. Protective devices for
each outgoing circuit are built into the power center.

Figure 5.2.7: Skid mounted power center

Intermountainelectronics.com [17]

Here is a picture of a similar power center, which has just been built. Here, you can get a better view of
each outgoing circuit. Each cable-connected load plugs into one of these circuits. The lid of the power
center is removed only for maintenance purposes.

Figure 5.2.8: Newly built power center — better view of the outgoing circuits.
Source: PEMCO, used with permission.

You might see a load center like the one in the following picture in a surface mine. Essentially, a
shipping container has been mounted on a skid, and the required electrical components have been
assembled inside the container. I’ve seen power centers in surface mines that have been built on
railroad cars and old tractor-trailer beds, among others!

Figure 5.2.9: Surface mine load center

Meglab [18]

As I mentioned earlier, these power centers must be advanced as mining progresses. Often a “power
move” will require adding additional high-voltage cable, or in some surface mines, adding additional
poles and overhead lines. Some mining methods are more “electric-intensive” than others, and that also
varies by commodity. Room and pillar mines in coal, salt, or trona, for example, are very power
intensive, requiring significant infrastructure and frequent moves. Others, such as room and pillar
mining in limestone or cut and fill mining in gold, require less electrical infrastructure and few moves.
Nonetheless, providing safe, reliable, and timely power is a critical auxiliary operation in most mines.

5.2.4: Ventilation
5.2.4: Ventilation

Fresh air is required to provide oxygen and to carry away carbon dioxide. Large quantities of air are
often required to dilute, render harmless, and carry-away dangerous dusts and gases. Methane is an
explosive gas associated with coal deposits, among others. Sufficient air must be coursed through the
coal mine to keep the methane concentration well below the lower explosive limit. Hydrogen sulfide, a
deadly gas, forms under certain conditions in underground metal mines and must be diluted to render it
harmless. Carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen are produced during blasting, and these toxic gases
must be diluted and carried away before miners return to continue the production cycle. The
concentration of respirable silica dust, i.e., dust small enough to become trapped in the lungs, is
produced during mining and can lead to fatal lung diseases when inhaled over years of work.
Accordingly, the allowable concentration of respirable dusts is heavily regulated and controlled, and
providing sufficient air to carry away these dusts is important. We could go on with the examples, but
you get the idea!

It is easy to understand the need to provide large quantities of air, sometimes on the order of several
hundred thousand cubic feet per minute! It is not so easy to control that air, to get the right amounts to
the different parts of the mine, and then to move the “dirty air” to outside of the mine. It takes significant
engineering, and many control devices, to achieve the intended outcome. If you look, for example, at
this plan view of a mine, below, you can see the many passageways. It resembles the streets and
avenues of a city. Now imagine that you have one or two entry points for fresh air, as provided by fans,
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and you have a few exit points where the exhaust air is ventilated to the outside. All that you have to do
is to make sure that the proper quantities are flowing in each of the “streets” and “avenues.” Further,
you have to do this on an ongoing basis, since the layout of the mine changes from day-to-day as
mining advances. No small feat…! Depending on the mining plan, you can build stoppings, i.e., solid
barriers to divert air, you can hang curtains to divert air, you can install and adjust regulators to control
pressure drops and the attendant airflows, and you move auxiliary fans and tubing to further direct
airflows to where they are needed.

When we looked at ground control, we identified the importance of inspection, as the first step in that
auxiliary operation. Similarly, with ventilation, there is a “check” that occurs as a prerequisite to certain
unit operations. Gas measurements may be required as well as air quantity determinations. It may be
necessary to adjust the ventilation system as a result of these measurements or to change the
production plans until adequate ventilation can be provided.

Our discussion has focused on ventilating underground mines, and indeed that’s where most of the
action is to be found. Interestingly, surface mines occasionally experience challenging ventilation
problems. Some open pit mines, for example, are deep enough that temperature inversions can occur,
in which air in the pit is trapped by a cooler and heavy layer of air near the top of the pit. The diesel
fumes from the heavy equipment operating down in the lower levels of the pit can build up to dangerous
levels. Utilizing artificial ventilation in this circumstance, whether the wind induced from the blades of a
helicopter hovering over the pit or large axial vane fans, is essential to protecting the health of the
miners and ensuring that production can continue.

Ventilation, as with ground control, is a crucial auxiliary operation.

Figure 5.2.10: Ventilation system

Credit: J. Kohler, © Penn State University, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]

5.2.5: Maintenance
5.2.5: Maintenance

The level of maintenance required to keep the equipment operating properly and safely varies by the
mining method and the particular equipment in use. Usually, the idea is to minimize breakdowns during
a production shift and the need for emergency maintenance. Instead, preventive maintenance is
practiced to reduce failures, and scheduled maintenance is planned for nonproduction shifts. In some
mines, there will be two eight-hour production shifts followed by an eight-hour maintenance shift every
day. In other mines, there will be two ten-hour production shifts, followed by a four-hour maintenance
shift. And in yet other mines, a week of production will be followed with a weekend of maintenance.

The value of a minute is often underestimated by those just learning about the industry. Given the
capital cost of mining equipment, and the cost of labor and so forth, a delay can easily cost hundreds of
dollars per minute and exceed a thousand dollars a minute in certain circumstances. As such,
maintenance is a critical auxiliary operation.

There is an important metric that is used to keep track of how well the mine is doing with its
maintenance. The metric is known as availability, which is defined as the amount of time that the
equipment was usable divided by the amount of time that we had planned to use it. For example,
suppose that we planned to install roof bolts for six hours yesterday. A hydraulic hose ruptured, and it
took 30 minutes to obtain and replace the hose. The availability of the roof bolter yesterday is:
360min − 30min
( ) = 9.166 ≈ 92%
360min
Instinctively you may feel that this is a pretty good number. After all, if it were an exam, you would have
gotten an “A”! Let’s examine this a bit more closely.

If we have a production system, we need all pieces of equipment functioning. Otherwise, a delay in one
piece, like the roof bolter, will prevent other equipment from moving into that workplace. As a result, the
other equipment will be delayed as well. Mathematically it can be shown that the availability of a system
of equipment is equal to the product of the individual availabilities of the machines. Let’s imagine that

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we have the following group of equipment in our production system, along with the availabilities as
shown. What is the availability of this production face?

Jumbo drill 90%

Scaler 96%
Rock Bolter 92%
Wheeled loader 92%
Mine truck #1 88%
Mine truck #2 91%
Feeder-breaker 98%
Conveyor system 94%

Can you believe it? 54%! In other words, at this production face, they are mining only half the shift! And
if you really want to have an anxiety attack, let me tell you that we haven’t accounted for other mining
delays – unexpected rock falls or an explosives misfire, for example! We can drop down close to 40%
overall availability if we aren’t careful. Clearly, there’s room for improvement – better engineering, better
maintenance, and so on!

Lesson 5.2 Summary

Lesson 5.2 Summary

In this lesson, we’ve learned about auxiliary operations and how they fit into the mining cycle. We’ve
also gained important insights into ground control, ventilation, and maintenance operations. We’ll see
how these auxiliary operations combine with the unit operations to complete a cycle of operations for
the different mining methods.

Lesson 5.3: The Quest for Continuous

Lesson 5.3: The Quest for Continuous

Near the end of Lesson 5.2, I introduced you to the concept of availability in the context of equipment
maintenance and unexpected breakdowns of equipment. We saw that even a seemingly high
availability in the 90s for the equipment could result in a shockingly low availability for the overall
system. In our example, the availability at that production face was barely over 50%! We focused our
discussion on delays created by equipment that was out of service due to a breakdown. The same
concept can be applied to other, non-maintenance delays. For the purpose of this discussion, assume
that we have the following scenario:

An underground limestone has eight different working faces, but normally only works five of those faces
in a given shift. The sequence of operations is:

1. Five different working faces were shot (blasted) at the end of the shift yesterday.
2. These faces are inspected to ensure that it is safe to load out the blasted ore.
3. Loader #1 trams to Working Face A, and waits for Haul Truck #1. Loader #1 begins to load the
pile into Haul Truck #1. It takes an average of 75 seconds to load and dump one-bucket load into
the truck, and it takes 4-bucket loads to fill the truck.
4. Truck #1 trams to the dump point, and it takes an average of 12 minutes to make the trip, dump,
and return to the working face.
5. Truck #2 was waiting nearby, and maneuvers into position at Working Face A as soon as Truck #1
departs. The loading cycle begins again.
6. Truck #3 arrives and waits to maneuver into position as soon as Truck #2 departs.
7. Working Face A will be loaded out, after three truckloads, and Loader #1 will move to the next
working face.
8. Scaler #1 trams to Working Face A, and scales the roof. This takes 45 min. on average.
9. Bolter #2 trams to Working Face A, and installs 8 rock bolts. This takes 35 min on average.
10. Drill #1 trams to Working Face A, and drills blast holes. It takes 2 hr. on average to set up and drill
the pattern.
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11. The blaster(s) will load the holes. This takes an average of 1 hr. All faces will be loaded, but not
shot until the end of the shift.

Finally, let’s assume that we’ve engineered our system perfectly. The equipment moving in and out of
each face, and among the faces, resembles a beautiful symphony. All of the pieces come together at
exactly the right time for the right duration. It’s a sight to behold! And if you believe this, you probably
believe in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus!

But why wouldn’t or couldn’t this be true? To use yet another metaphor, why can’t it operate like a well-
oiled machine?

In a word –variability: the normal variations associated with each operation or piece of equipment.
Consider the following list of normal variations:

The pile of shot rock is compacted, and the loader operator has difficulty loading the bucket in one
pass.
The operator for Haul Truck #2 is not feeling well, is taking more time than usual to make the
round trip back to the face, and is delayed in arriving by four minutes. The loader operator is idled
until the truck arrives.
Ground water inflow from an overnight storm has washed out part of the haul road, increasing the
travel time for the haul trucks by 20%.
Difficult ground conditions required substantially more time to scale the working face, which idled
the bolter operator.

Honestly, we could go on and on with delays that have nothing to do with equipment maintenance. So,
how do we deal with this? We apply industrial engineering techniques: we conduct time studies and
develop statistical distributions of the times that it takes to conduct all the specific tasks for each
machine. We study and document delays, and of course we attempt to correct the situations underlying
the delays. However, our goal is to run production simulations.

Once we know something about the statistical behavior of the unit and auxiliary operations, we can
execute Monte Carlo simulations for example, and we can study various options. We can add a truck or
increase the size of the loader, for example, and predict how this will affect our production and
productivity. We examine the sensitivity of the result for various parameters. For example, we could
identify the piece of equipment whose availability has the greatest impact on production. Armed with
this information, we can consider improvements to the system, and we can “test” the improvement for
making an investment in time or money.

Before continuing with this discussion on production simulations, I want to explain the difference
between two words that we just used: production and productivity. Both are important metrics, but the
terms are not interchangeable. Production is the amount of material that we have mined. If we say that
we mined 20,000 raw tons yesterday, it means that is the tonnage of rock and ore that went out of the
mine to the plant. If we say that our production was 15,000 clean tons, we mean that we produced
15,000 tons for sale. Productivity on the other hand, is indicating how efficiently we mine with our labor
force. If we required 12 people working for two shifts to produce those 20,000 tons, then our
productivity would be 833 tons per man-shift. It’s important to remember this difference. Ok, now back
to our discussion on the production simulations.

There is a fundamental weakness in typical production systems that these simulations highlight. As the
number of individual operations in a sequence increases, so does the likelihood of more delays. This is
intuitive: as you increase the number of people and pieces of equipment required to complete a cycle,
you are more likely to experience a delay, whether it is an equipment breakdown or other factor. A
practical consequence of this inherent characteristic of production systems is the quest to reduce the
number of operations and/or pieces of equipment required to complete a cycle.

As a good example, let’s consider a conventional cycle in an underground coal mine. The following
equipment is required:

Drill: to drill holes for explosives.

Cutting bar: to cut a kerf at the bottom of the coal face, which serves to create a free face (this
improves the performance of the blast).
Loading machine: to load the blasted coal into shuttle cars.
Shuttle cars (2): to transport the coal to an intermediate dumping point.
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Roof bolter: to place bolts into the newly exposed roof.

The sequence of operation is in the order of this list. I have not listed the loading of the explosives, nor
have I shown that a gas check is required prior to each operation and ventilation curtains will need to be
advanced. These are of no consequence for the purpose of this discussion.

In addition to the time required to perform the indicated operation, there is a significant amount of time
in the place change, i.e., when the piece of equipment leaves one face, travels to another, and then
sets up to begin work at the next face. In this example, the production simulations highlighted what
miners knew from experience: the place changes and other delays associated with all this equipment
were “killing” production. The solution? Let’s eliminate some of these pieces of equipment and the
associated place changes. How? The development of a new piece of technology: the continuous miner.

5.3.1: The Continuous Mining Machine

5.3.1: The Continuous Mining Machine

A picture is worth a thousand words… so, let’s look at the front of a continuous miner. The cutting drum
is about 2’ in diameter and perhaps 12’ wide. It is laced with carbide cutting bits, and the drum rotates at
about 1 revolution per second. The cutting head is sumped into the top of the seam, and then the drum
is pulled down, which is known as shearing. The sump and shear is completed in well under a minute
and then repeated. The cut coal drops to the floor, where it is scooped into the belly of the machine.
Look at the base of the machine – it sort of resembles a dustpan. There are two gathering arms, which
move to pull the cut coal into the center of the machine.

Figure 5.3.1: Continuous Mining Machine

source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

Let’s look at the next picture to understand what happens to the coal.

Figure 5.3.2: Front end of a Continuous Mining Machine

source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

Here you can see it more clearly. The gathering arms pull the coal onto a chain conveyor, which runs
the length of the machine. The chain conveyor consists of a metal trough and metal flight bars that are
attached to a chain. The flight bars, which are painted black in this picture, are pulled along the metal
“pan,” or trough, by the chain. In this manner, the mined material is conveyed to the rear of the
machine. The rear of the machine is known as the tail or tailpiece, and it can swing over a limited arc.
The tailpiece is positioned over a waiting shuttle car, and the mined coal is fed into the shuttle car. The
continuous miner will continue advancing forward with the sump-shear cycles until there is a reason to
stop the advance. In U.S. coal mines, the forward advance is limited by a few factors: the need to
ventilate the face to maintain safe methane levels and the need to install roof bolts to prevent roof
failure. Further, by law, no miners can work under unsupported roof, which will limit the amount of
advance. Once the maximum advance has been achieved, the machine will be trammed back out of the
cut and moved to a new face.

All right, let’s stop and catch our breath! What have we accomplished with this innovation known as the
continuous miner? We’ve replaced drilling, kerf cutting, blasting, and loading with one machine, thereby
reducing the number of pieces of equipment, the number of miners, and importantly, the delays. We’ve
achieved a remarkable gain in both production and productivity. So much so that conventional mining of
coal is no longer practiced in this country. Of course, when you make these improvements, you then
expose the next “weakest link” in the system. Based on what we’ve talked about, you probably have an
inkling of the weak links. Take a guess!

Many of you have probably zeroed in on the shuttle car -- when the shuttle car is filled it trams to the
section dump point and another shuttle car maneuvers into position. In the time that it takes for the full
car to leave, and the waiting car to maneuver into position, the continuous miner is idled. That’s a delay
that is going to adversely impact our “numbers”, i.e., production and productivity. We’re going to talk
more about these haulage bottlenecks shortly, but as it turns out, this is a tough one to fix. There is
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another weak link, which some of you have undoubtedly spotted: the need to limit the continuous
miner’s advance so that the roof can be bolted and ventilation can be extended.

Allow me to introduce you to the Miner-Bolter. It took a number of years to work out the kinks, but today
these machines work well. There are different configurations, but the principle is the same: incorporate
the bolter into the miner. A bolter operator stands on the platform immediately behind the bolter carriage
on both sides of the machine. While the cutting drum is cutting coal, the bolter operators are drilling
holes and installing bolts. There is a linked platform to allow the bolters to remain stationary while the
cutting head is advancing forward.

Figure 5.3.3: A Miner-Bolter

Source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

Hydraulic canopies are essential to protect the bolter operators while they are drilling and bolting. The
canopies are not extended in this picture, but in the next photo they are, giving you a clearer view.

Figure 5.3.4: Miner-Bolter with Canopies Extended

source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

Typically, there will be a ventilation tube, on the order of 24” in diameter, hung near the roof against the
side rib. This tubing will be extended as the continuous miner advances forward, providing the air
needed to sweep the face and remove dust and gas.

Although remarkable gains have been achieved, there remains the weak link with the shuttle cars. In
fact, there are a couple of options that can be considered. Before taking up this topic, however, I want
to say a few more things about these continuous miners.

5.3.2: Continuous Miners for Noncoal

Applications
5.3.2: Continuous Miners for Noncoal Applications

The impetus for developing the continuous miner came from the coal mines, but their application has
grown beyond coal. The motivation for using them in noncoal mines is the same: eliminate delays
wherever possible. In the case of the metal/nonmetal mines, the desire is to eliminate the discrete unit
operations of drilling, blasting, and loading, along with the attendant delays. Unfortunately, there is a
practical limitation that cannot be overcome in many cases. It is the hardness of the ore. The carbide
cutting bits must be able to penetrate and fracture the ore, and do so with some speed and without
destroying the bits in a short period of time. The limit is currently a compressive strength of around 80
MPa. This means, for example, that coal, salt, trona, potash, and some copper deposits are suitable,
whereas most limestone and lead/zinc deposits are not. Pushing that limit ever higher is the goal of
researchers, manufacturers, and the mining companies.

The structure and appearance of the continuous miner will change somewhat for those machines
designed for use in harder rock deposits. The miner shown in the picture below looks similar to the one
designed for operation in a coal mine, but there are a few subtle and important differences. The size of
the machine reflects the thicker deposit in which this machine will be used, the structure is reinforced,
and the lacing pattern of the bits is different – larger but fewer bits to concentrate the available energy
to achieve fragmentation of the harder rock.

Figure 5.3.5: A Continuous Miner for noncoal applications

Source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

As the hardness of the rock increases, the cutting head will become much smaller, but for the same
reason – concentrate more energy into a small area of the rock. Look at what’s happened to the size of
the cutting head on this machine. The arm, on which the cutting head is mounted, has the ability to
swing and extend. Note the bit marks in the top of the deposit. This configuration of continuous miner is
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often known as a roadheader, which is based on its European heritage and its use in driving gateroads.
Also, take note of the size of the gathering pan and the two gathering arms.

Figure 5.3.6: A Roadheader

Enter image credit here

With this overview of continuous miners behind us, we can now return to this question of the shuttle car,
and what to do about the inherent delay. Well, it turns out that this is really part of a larger and age-old
problem: batch versus continuous haulage.

5.3.3: Batch versus Continuous Haulage

5.3.3: Batch versus Continuous Haulage

Batch haulage is the term given to the discrete movement of material. Shuttle cars, rail cars, hoist skips,
and trucks are common examples of batch haulage. Conveyors and hydraulic slurry are two examples
of continuous haulage. Over the years, the goal has been and continues to be, the replacement of
batch with continuous haulage. And, we’ve been reasonably successful in many cases.

Rail haulage has been replaced with belt conveyors in many mines. Moving trains around the mine,
ensuring a supply of empty cars where they are needed while moving loaded cars out of the mine and
doing so over limited track networks has been a daunting challenge. Gone are the days when rail
haulage was used in open-pit mines and most coal mines. However, there are still applications where it
is the haulage of choice. If you have to move enormous volumes over a great distance, it is a viable
choice. Probably, you will find the greatest use of rail in very deep underground metal mines.

Skip haulage or hoists have been replaced in many mines by driving slopes and using rail or belt
haulage, with the latter being more prevalent today. In shallower underground mines, vertical belts are
being used to replace hoisting up shafts. Still, in many mines, there is no reasonable alternative to a
hoist. Deep mines, thousands of feet below the surface, rely solely on skips to remove the ore. Mines at
which there is no ability to put in a slope, and which are a bit too deep for vertical belts, will continue to
utilize hoists.

Truck haulage continues to be prevalent in surface mining because they can transport huge volumes
of material economically from the working face to the processing plant. Truck haulage is also common
in underground hardrock mines that have a slope or ramp to the surface so that the material can be
transported from the working face to the plant. Oversize material is generally not a problem for trucks,
but is a big problem for conveyors. Abrasive rocks are not a problem for trucks, but are for conveyors.

In certain open pit mines, which are very deep, the time required for a haul truck to make its way out of
the pit can become excessive. In these cases, high angle conveyors can be used to good advantage.

The haulage examples that I’ve described so far can be categorized as outby haulage, i.e., the part of
the materials handling system used to transport the material through the mine and to the plant. This
distinction may seem odd. In the case of truck haulage, as we just discussed, the truck is loaded at the
face and then travels to the plant. However, there are many examples, particularly in underground
mines, where there is an intermediate form of materials handling. In these instances, the ore at the face
is loaded onto one form of materials handling, transported a short distance, and then transferred to the
outby haulage system for the trip out of the mine and to the plant.

It is in the form of intermediate haulage that we encounter our old friend, the shuttle car. The LHD would
be another example. And this brings us back to that question: what can we do about that weak link, the
shuttle car?

The area around the active working faces is very dynamic. It is difficult to construct semi-permanent
infrastructure in this area; and it is for this reason that intermediate haulage has evolved. If we are to
make an improvement, we would need a conveyor belt that was mobile, i.e., it could travel around the
working faces, following the continuous miners or loaders. Prototypes of such systems have been built
for use in underground metal mines to replace LHDs, but they have met with little success. In the case
of soft rock applications, and notably coal and salt, there are commercially available technologies to
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meet the need, in specific circumstances. Here is a picture of a commercially available flexible
conveyor. These units can turn corners and can be piggybacked to provide a continuous path of several
hundred feet between the continuous miner and the section dump point. Recall that it is at the section
dump point where the coal is fed onto the main or outby conveyor belt. This technology is being used
successfully in some salt mines, but has found limited application in underground coal mines. For
reasons that lie beyond the scope of this discussion, they work best in shallow mines with small pillars;
and that is a small subset of all underground coal mines.

Figure 5.3.7: Flexible Conveyor Train

Source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

But not to despair, there is one other option in limited but successful use.

Rather than having the continuous miner load into a shuttle car, and being captive to the availability of
shuttle cars, what if we allowed the continuous miner to dump onto the mine floor? Sounds crazy, right?
But, not really. We could use a loading machine to clear away the pile, and trust me, loading machines
can load a shuttle car very quickly. So, the shuttle cars would queue up for loading, but if there were a
delay, the continuous miner would be able to continue mining without incurring a delay. Sure, the pile
behind the machine might grow rather large, but no worries. The loading machine will get rid of it
quickly. As you can see in the picture, the loading machine has a larger set of gathering arms than the
continuous miner. The operating principle is the same, however: the gathering arms pull the coal into
the belly of the machine and onto the chain conveyor.

Figure 5.3.8: Loading Machine

Source: Joy/Komatsu [5]

And now, having addressed the quest for continuous, we not only understand the technology options,
but we’ve become more familiar with the key concepts of availability, system delays, and batch versus
continuous haulage.

There is one final unit operation to study, and one that is a huge part of most mining methods. It’s
generally one of the more popular topics among mining students as well: explosives and blasting!

Lesson 5.4: Drilling

Lesson 5.4: Drilling

We looked briefly at drills in Lesson 5.1, as part of an overall survey of the unit operations for winning
the ore. I showed you some pictures of different types of drills, and we talked about a few drilling
applications. Here in this short lesson, I want to approach the topic of drilling more systematically.

Drilling is done for many reasons, and examples include:

Create a cavity that can be filled with explosives, as part of a blast round.
Create a hole to install a rock or cable bolt.
Degas a coal seam, i.e., drain the methane, prior to mining by drilling holes from which the gas
can be removed.
Drill boreholes for solution mining.
Drill water wells to provide water for the mine, or to monitor groundwater conditions.
Obtain either cores or cuttings for exploration purposes.

This is a fairly complete list. While the drilling equipment may look differently depending on the
application, the principles are similar. Here, we want to focus on the common principles.

Regardless of our reason for drilling, the goal is to penetrate the rock. We are going to focus on
mechanical penetration, although there are a tiny number of applications for water jet and thermal
penetration. Penetration occurs when we cause a local failure of the rock and remove the failed pieces,
known as cuttings, from the hole. Simplistically, the rock fails in compression or tension. Drill bits create

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one or both of these forces, which causes the rock to fail. Often a given bit design will create
predominately one type of force and the other to a lesser extent.

Percussive energy causes failure of the rock in compression. Imagine taking a sharp chisel, placing the
edge on a rock, and striking it with a hammer. As you strike the chisel, it is pressed into the rock, and
puts the rock underneath the chisel edge in compression. There is some crushing under the chisel
edge, but importantly, cracks will propagate outward, and chips of rock will be released. We could strike
the chisel with our hammer again, and similar effect will follow, although perhaps not giving us the same
degree of fracturing. We could strike a third blow, and while we would see our indentation or groove
become slightly deeper, the penetration would be again less. If we want to achieve a better penetration
rate, we need to index our chisel bit; i.e., after each strike, we need to rotate the chisel edge by say 15°.
This results in dramatically improved penetration. Thus, percussion drills index the bit after each strike.
A percussion drill may strike more than once per second, and will index the bit after each strike.

Rotary energy causes failure of rock in tension and shear. Imagine taking our chisel, and while bearing
down on the chisel, we also rotate it, dragging the chisel edge across the surface of the rock. In so
doing, we will exceed the tensile and shear strength of the rock, and rock fragments will “peel” away. Of
course, a mechanical drill will be able to rotate the drag bit much faster than you ever could! Rotation
rates may exceed one per second. Intuitively, you probably suspect that rotary methods are only
effective with softer materials, and you are correct. Rotary bits with diamond cutters, suitable for use in
hard materials, are commercially available, but not normally used in mining applications.

If we wanted to make a broad statement, we could say that the lowest drilling costs are realized by
using rotary drag bits in soft materials, rotary-percussion bits in medium hard to hard materials, and
percussion bits in very hard materials.

The resistance of the rock to drilling is termed its drilling strength. This is an empirical term used to
make comparisons, but it is not quantified in the way we can quantify engineering parameters such as
compressive strength or strain, for example. Nonetheless, you will find tables giving the relative drilling
strength of different materials, and these tables are informative.

One could spend an entire course on the theory of drilling and rock fragmentation, but for our purposes
to utilize drills, there’s not much more that you need to know about the mechanics of rock penetration!

The piece of equipment that we refer to as a “drill” is a system of four components.

1. The drill is the power source, which often referred to as the hammer, and the associated frame or
carriage, that converts electrical, pneumatic, or hydraulic, internal-combustion energy into
percussive and/or rotational energy. Typically, a diesel engine and/or electric motor power either
an air compressor or a hydraulic pump, and the high-pressure air or hydraulic fluid directly power
a motor to supply energy to the drill bit. In years past, large (huge) air compressor plants were
installed on the surface or at main levels underground, and large air distribution networks were
installed to provide compressed air to the drills. This would be a rarity today.

2. The drill rod, a.k.a. steel, stem, or pipe, transmits the energy from the drill to the drill bit.
Remember that this component is not used to transfer power in the case of the down-the-hole
drill. This style drill incorporates both the power converter and the bit. Hydraulic fluid or
compressed air is provided directly to the down-the-hole drill, which converts the supplied energy
to rotary and percussive energy for the drill bit.

3. The drill bit is designed to fragment the rock when energy is applied to it.

4. Circulation fluid, a.k.a. drilling fluid, flushes the cuttings from the bottom of the hole and cools the
bit. If the cuttings are not removed immediately from the hole, they will pack in the bottom and
quickly arrest any penetration. Compressed air is often used to remove the cuttings and to provide
a modest amount of cooling to the bit. In other cases, water may be used, or occasionally in
mining applications, clays and other materials will be mixed with the water to provide improve
cooling of the bit and to remove the cuttings from deep holes.

Drill types may be classified by:

Hammer location
top hammer
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down-the-hole
Drilling action
rotary
percussion
rotary-percussion
Mount or Carriage
track
platform
truck
Power Source
diesel engine powering an air compressor, often called “diesel over air”
electric motor powering a hydraulic pump, often called “electric over hydraulic”

When you are out and about the industry, you will hear people say they have a two-boom jumbo that’s
electric over hydraulic, or we’re using an air-track drill in our quarry. These colloquial names are built on
this list.

We looked at some pictures of drills in Lesson 5.1. Here I want to show you a few photos of bits.

Here is a cross section of a down-the-hole bit.

Figure 5.4.1: Cross section of a down-the-hole bit

source: Atlas Copco Handbook

And give it a sense of scale, here is the same bit in the hands of a driller.

Figure 5.4.2: Driller holding a down-the-hole bit

source: Atlas Copco Handbook

On the left, we have small 2” percussive bit. On the right side, we have a small rotary drag bit.

Figure 5.4.3: Left: 2" percussive bit, and right: small rotary drag bit
source: Atlas Copco Handbook

Here is the real workhorse of the drilling industry – the roller tricone bit. Downward force, i.e., thrust, is
applied to this bit as well as rotation. As the bit rotates, the individual roller cones are caused to rotate,
and then each bit tooth successively impacts the bottom of the hole. These are very effective bits. The
size of the teeth on the roller cones will depend on the hardness of the rock. In softer materials, the
teeth will be large and wedge shaped. Bits for harder materials will become smaller, and for the hardest
materials, the teeth are small buttons or beads. Why do you think the size of the teeth would change?

Figure 5.4.4: Roller tricone bit

source: Atlas Copco Handbook

The drilling strength of the rock, i.e., its resistance to penetration, will have a significant effect on the
cost of drilling. It is not the only parameter to do so, however. Other factors that will affect drilling
performance can be organized into four groups:

Operating Factors
These affect the four components of the drilling system (drill, rod, bit, and fluid).

They are largely controllable and include factors that affect the tools (drill power, blow energy and
frequency, rotary speed, thrust, and rod design) and drillhole cleaning (fluid properties and flow rate).

Drillhole Factors

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These include hole size, length, and inclination; they are dictated by outside requirements and thus are
largely uncontrollable. Hole diameters in surface mining are typically 6 to 18 in. (150 to 450 mm);
underground, they typically range from 1.5 to 7 in. (40 to 175 mm).

Rock Factors
These consist of properties of the rock, geological conditions surrounding the rock, and the state of
stress acting on the drillhole. Often referred to as drillability factors, they determine the strength of the
rock and limit drill performance. Because these factors are a result of the geologic environment, they
are largely uncontrollable. Make a note of the importance of the Blast Hole log! We’ll discuss that
further when we talking about explosives and blasting.

Service Factors

These variables include labor and supervision, power supply, job site conditions, weather, and so forth.
Except for labor and supervision, they are independent factors and cannot often be affected by the drill
operator.

The performance metrics for drilling are:

cost/ft of hole drilled; and

drilling cost/ ton of material produced
feet-drilled/ ton of material produced (known as the drillability factor)

You will find all three of these in common use.

Never forget that we strive to optimize the system, not just the subsystems. This it is not just about the
drilling cost, but also the associated blasting cost, since we are drilling specifically to conduct blasting.
So, a goal is to achieve a low drilling and blasting cost.

I will mention it now for completeness, and we’ll discuss it in the next set of lessons: the typical
performance metrics for blasting are:

cost/ton
lb-explosive / ton of blasted material or lb-explosive/ ft3 in-place (bank) material blasted (both of
these are known as powder factor)

Drillability factor and powder factor are two very important metrics for use to keep track of, in our
operations.

Before leaving the performance metrics specifically, and drilling in general, I need to add that it is not
just about optimizing drilling and blasting, but what else? Well, loading in particular, and then materials
handling, and of course mineral processing. Actions or inactions within any of these can adversely
affect the profitability for the mining operation, and our decisions at each step must be informed by a
knowledge of the impact of those actions on subsequent operations. This will become clearer as you
acquire more and more knowledge throughout this course.

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