Lessons from Some Recent and Current Mine Planning Related Postgraduate Research Work at the University of the Witwatersrand

摘要

The mine value chain is a series of interdependent stages starting from the exploration stage up to the closure and rehabilitation of a mining operation. Figure 1 is an illustration of the five commonly recognized stages comprising a mine value chain.Mine planning, equipment and infrastructure maintenance, human resources, finance, engineering, and safety, health, environment and community are examples of service activities that are required to support the five broad stages [1]. Once exploration work has identified and delineated a mineral deposit to a point where Mineral Resources can be estimated and declared, mine design and planning are then undertaken to convert Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves and set the basis for establishing a mining operation.