Investigating the Eff ect of Diff erent Block Dimensions on the Economic Life of Open Pit Mines

摘要

The anticipated economic life of the mine, which defi nes the rate of mine production, is dictated initially by the design capacity of the mill/concentrator and the production capacity of the mine relative to the grade and tonnage of ore that can be encompassed by the pit design. A small pit will result in smaller investment and cash fl ow; in contrast, a larger size of pit will increase capital investment and annual revenue. Since open pit mine design and long-term production sequencing are essentially based on three-dimensional block models, changes in block dimensions leads to different mine sizes, and therefore changes in the mine life. The physical characteristics of the deposit, such as reserve tonnage and ore grade, affect the expected future revenues from the mining project, and consequently they affect the life of the mine. Large blocks will increase the recoverable ore reserves and production rates and hence increase the mine life. This paper discusses the effects of the block dimension on the commercial ore reserve, grade-tonnage curve and its effect on the production rate, ultimate pit size, mining cost and consequently the mine life. The result shows that block height is the most effective parameter governing the economical life of the mine.