Key Engineering Technologies to Achieve Green, Intelligent, and Sustainable Development of Deep Metal Mines in China

摘要

1.Introduction Metal mineral resources are the most important industrial raw materials in the world and play an indispensable role in the development of the national economy,social and material civilization,and scientific and technological progress.After decades of sustained and high-intensity development,shallow metal mineral resources in China have gradually decreased and are nearly exhausted[1];thus,the exploitation of metal mineral resources is comprehensively advancing toward greater depths.At present,more than 20 underground metal mines have reached or exceeded a mining depth of 1000 m[2].According to statistics,the mining depth of more than one-third of China’s underground metal mines will exceed 1000 m over the next decade,and the maximum mining depth will range from 2000 to 3000 m.It has been predicted that,with the advancement of exploration technology and the increase in exploration depth,it is entirely possible to encounter several large metal deposits at depths ranging from 3000 to 5000 m in China.Consequently,deep mining is the most urgent problem facing the development of metal mines in China,while remaining the most important way to ensure the sustainable development and supply of metal mineral resources in the future.Against this background,we propose key engineering technologies to address the problems presented by deep mining from a strategic perspective.