Comparison of u/g Coal parameters 1. Nature of Ore Body : Origin of the ore body ( Q.

Q. Stope & Pillar Mining- General Features • Widely used for all underground hard
Orogeny ) ; Ore Shoots ; Lenses ;L*B*T variation ; Igneous / Metamorphic rocks• 2. rock mining methods • Unsupported method, in which openings are driven
Dip & Strike Variation : Large variation of the dip and strike ; Planning of roadways, 'horizontally' in a mineral deposit in regular / or random pa ern to form pillars for
Levels & Sub-Levels ; Mine Planning Challenges• 3. Need for 3 -D Modelling of Ore ground support. • Specific requirements to call a method as S & P: 1. The pillars are
Body : Ore Body boundaries ; cut off grades ;Nature of Ore / Waste contact ;• 4. irregularly shaped, and sized and randomly located. ( Pillars are generally located in
Mine Access Openings : Shafts ; Levels ; Declines ;• 5. Mine Development- Levels ; low-grade ore / waste, so that adequate support is possible and there is minimum
Crosscuts; Haulageways;Drawpoints etc• 6. Mine Production: Long Gestation period
wastage of ore le in pillars) 2. The mineral deposit is moderately thick to thick( 6-
; Stope Development;Backfilling operations• 7. Mine Ventilation: For Development
8meters) 3. The mineral mined is other than coal. • Other commonly used names:
Galleries; For Stopes; Mine Sectionalisation for Intake and Return ; Leakages ; Deep
Mines ; Geo-thermal gradient ; AirConditioning etc.• 7. Mining Machinery : For Open Stoping; Breast stoping; Pillar stoping; Cycle of Opera ons • Produc on cycle :
Highly Mechanised mines – Low height dump trucks ; Underground Crushers ; U/G is the conven onal Drill, Blast, Load and Haul Cycle •Equipment Used: For Drilling:
Workshops ; Multi boom drill Machines ; LHDs / SDLs etc. Skip Hoisting• 8. Mine Pneuma c Air-Leg / Hydraulic powered ; Percussion or Rotary- percussion drill ;
Survey : Need for accuracy in marking the direction of openings in Ore and Host Rock Electric powered rotary drill for so rock For Blas ng : ANFO, Gels and Slurries ;
; Frequency of Centre line marking ; Laser alignments etc • 9. Mine Sampling : Charging by Hand ( Cartridge) or by pneuma c loader / pump ; Firing electrically
Regular sampling of Ore and Waste ; Assessment of Grade ; Planning the Ore Secondary Breakage : Drill and Blast, Impact Hammer , For Loading: LHD , Front End
Exploitation Strategy etc• 10. Drilling and Blasting: Nature of hard rock; Percussive Loader , shovel, overhead loader, slusher ( for hard Rock ) and Gathering Arm loader (
drilling ;Compressed air lines extension ; Hydraulic drills ; Explosive Strength ;Packing for So Rock ) For Haulage : Truck, rail, LHD belt conveyor, Shu le car etc .Condi ons
/ explosive Density ; Powder Factor ; etc.• 11. Rock Mechanics : Stress Distribution in of Applicability Ore Strength : Moderate to Strong ,Rock Strength: Moderate to
the Development and Production areas ; Rock & Ore strength properties ; Support Strong ,Deposit Shape: Tabular, lens like ,Deposit Dip: Preferably flat, low to
Systems; Stope Stability Calculations ;• 12. Mine Drainage : Nature of water to be
moderate ,Deposit Size: Can be of any size, preferably of a large areal extent (
handled; Acid Mine Drainage( AMD) ; Sump Locations and Pumping Capacities ;
Thickness can be moderate to very thick ), Ore Grade: Low to moderate, Ore
Pipelines to carry mine water to surface• 13. Mine Production Planning :
International Ore / metal price variation;International Metal /Mineral markets ( LME, Uniformity: Variable We can leave the lean ore / waste rocks as pillars, Depth:
NYMEX, etc.) Mine Production Scheduling for Development Vs Extraction of Ore ; Shallow to moderate less than 900 m in competent rock to 1500 m in Very strong
Taking Advantage of the business cycles.• 14. Mineral Processing : Mineral extracted rock. Advantagesn 1.Moderate to High Produc vity 2.Moderate mining cost
is of Low inherent grade ( Cu% of say 6.5% ; Zn of 2,5% ; Pb of 4.5% Gold Au of 3.5 3.Moderate to high produc on rate 4. High degree of flexibilitv ; method can easily
gm/Tonne ;Concentration / Upgradation necessary; Filter Cake of 65% Cu is salable. be modified ; it is possible to operate on mul ple levels simultaneously 5. possible to
Differences COAL MINE 1). Nature of Ore Body : Generally Flat & Mild take it to a very high level of mechaniza on ; we can use very large and mobile
Inclination ;Sedimentary rocks ; Mining in a Horizontal Plane ;Regular well known equipment 6. Not labour intensive 7.'Selec ve method' that enables us to design the
dimensions of L*B*T 2) Dip & Strike Variation: Generally Horizontal ; Mild inclination stopes so that the waste / lean ore can be le without mining ; serves as pillars
( upto 10 degrees ) ; Presence of THICK Seams ; Very Little geological disturbances of 8.Early development is not extensive 9. Mul ple working places can be operated 10.
Folds and Faults 3) 3 D Modelling of Deposit : It is a simple process of creating the 3 Considerably good recovery even without pillar extrac on ( Range 60% - 80% ) ; Low
D Model of Coal Seams. The bore hole data is used to prepare the Model prepare the dilu on Disadvantages 1.The need for con nual ground control requires con nual
Model 4) Mine Access Openings : Mostly by INCLINES /SHAFTS , ADITS that are
maintenance of back — if rock and ore are not competent 2. High back is difficult to
directly meeting the Coal Seam ; Generally in the Centre of the Mine Boundary to
scale and support 3. Ground stress on the openings and pillars increases with depth
Optimise the Logistics ; Generally CIRCULAR in nature; Shorter lengths; 5) 5. Mine
Development :Here the Predominant ones are B & P method ; Long Wall Method b 4. Very large capital expenditure is required for extensive mechaniza on. 5.
(Advancing / Retreating ; Thick Seam mining by Horizon methods etc. ) Coal Some mes the ore is lost in pillars 6. Challenges in providing good ven la on , as the
Production is possible during development of Level and Dip galleries ; Revenue air veloci es are very low.
accumulation during Initial phases of the mines opening; Less Gestation period 6).
Mine Production : Substantial production by Extraction of Pillars ; Longwall Panel
Extraction; Ventilation is simple and easy to design & operate. No big air leakages.
Support Systems are easy and simple ; Sand Stowing operations are direct to operate
unlike in Metal mines. No special preparation is required.

ORE BODY MODEL COMPONENTS 1)A key point in the Design and Operation of a Q. Shrinkage Stoping- Basics One of the 'Ver cal Stoping' methods ( Generallv in a
mine ( especially a Metal Mine ) is the construction of what is called an Ore Body ver cal /near ver cal plane, at anangle GREATER than the Angle of Repose of the
Model ( OBM). 2)An Ore Body Model has 3 distinct components (a ) The Physical broken ore) . The ore is mined in Horizontal slices and remains in the stope as a
Geometry of the ‘geologic units’ that formed and host the ore body ( b ) The 'temporary support' to the walls. This provides a workin la orm for the miners to
‘Attribute characterization’ in terms of Assays, and geo-mechanical properties of all conduct the mining opera ons of drilling , charging , rod/ back scalping etc. The Ore
materials to be mined ;( c ) The ‘Value Model’ in terms of economic mining of the swells in breakage- (based on the SWELL Factor of the ore ) and 30-40% of the
ore body 3) Procedure: The OBM is constructed by interpolating between ‘sample broken ore needs to be withdrawn from the stope— during the mining / stoping
points’ and extrapolating onto the Volume beyond, sample points. 4)Basis of opera on ( In order to provide sufficient working space, for the miners ) Once the
Modelling: The OBM so developed is based on considerations such as (i ) Sampling stope reaches its UPPER LIMIT, the remaining broken ore is recovered. About 60-70%
Methods ( ii ) Reliability of data ( iii ) Specific Purpose of estimation ( iv ) Required of the ore / produc on is held back in the stope and hence there is lack of
Accuracy 5) Basic Concept of OBM: To conceive an entire ore body as an “ Array of con nuous REVENUE FLOW, based on produc on ac vi es. ( So, the interest on such
Blocks”arranged in a 3 dimensional X Y Z grid system and making certain
ed up capital, is a -ve aspect, of the process. However, on a +ve note, there is a
‘assumptions’ about the “continuity of the ore body parameters”. 6)Each “Block of
possibility of SUDDEN INCREASE of produc on- from stopes that have reached its
uniform size” represents a small volume of material to which the value of width,
Grade, Tonnage and other geological entities are assigned. OBM CONVENTIONAL upper Limit, wherein con nuous ore withdrawal is a empted. This allows for a lot of
METHODS These are tools for “ quantitative and Qualitative estimation” of deposit FLEXIBILITY in opera ons. Especially in metal mining opera ons- when the
based on its geometry and sample configuration. 2)These use “Zonation of a Interna onal metal price increases ( Say in London Metal Exchange ) , we can rapidly
deposit” to which arithmetic calculations are applied for arriving at estimates of increase the mine produc on, by reducing the mine development ac vi es and
“Quality / Quantity” of the mineral property within the zone of influence of each FOCUS on only ore withdrawal ac vi es.) Sequence of Development Feature of all
drill hole, that is determined by ‘deposit geometry’ and ‘drill hole configuration’. 3) Ver cal Stoping Method: All produc on ooera ons are carried out over a
Drawbacks: ( a ) These methods DO NOT take into account, “Spatial Relationship” considerable ver cal distance. Therefore several LEVELS are required. Main / haulage
among sample values and ( b ) Unable to define the “Precision of estimates” that produc on levels are placed 60-200 m apart. If the stope height is less than the level
leads to subjective mineral appraisal. 4) Basis of Conventional Methods: ( a ) The Interval ( L.l.) , then sub-levels may be constructed. SEQUENCE: 1. On each MAIN
rule of gradual changes { A linear change of any property between 2 points, say Level, a haulage dri is driven PARALLEL to the strike of the deposit. It is connected
quality aspects; width; density etc.} ( b ) The rule of nearest points or equal sphere of
to the sha by a haulage crosscut. 2. If the stopes are TRANSVERSE, then a haulage
influences { the value to any point nearer to the location can be presumed } ( c ) The
lateral / loading crosscut to the drawpoints is constructed. 3. To provide mul ple
rule of Generalisation of influence range { gives a reasonable distance for extending
the value of a sample along a given direction within its influence } Methods 1) access routes into each stope, RAISE MANWAYS are driven between levels. Ver cal
Polygonal Method Polygons are constructed by drawing perpendicular bisectors to Stope Prepara on ac vi es: (a ) Construct a means of drawing ore in which muck
lines connecting the sample points, so that each polygon encloses at least ONE flows y Gravity to the bo om of the stope ( b ) Undercut ( Horizontally ) at the sill
sample point. The area of each polygon is measured by a Planimeter. And the level OR to make a SLOT ( Ver cally) so as to provide an opening into which ore
individual sample grades are extended to the whole area of the corresponding ini ally breaks and subsequently FLOWS. Draw System: 'Finger Raises' are driven at
polygons. A Global estimate of grade is obtained by summing the individual sample desired spacing to connect the haulage level with the SILL sub-level. The tops of the
grades” “ weighted by their respective polygonal areas”. 2) Triangulation Method finger raises are connected by small dri s which runs along the length of the dri . To
Sample points are connected by straight lines to form a series of triangles. The grade form Bells: We perform Slabbing of the finger raises from the TOP, diminishing to
of each triangle estimated from the arithmetic mean of the 3 corner sample points wards the bo om of each raise ( crea ng Funnel Like openings ). The broken ore falls
as a “thickness weighted mean” (OR ) by weighting samples as a function of their into the just formed bells
distance from the centre of the triangle. A Global estimate is obtained by summing
up the individual triangle grades, weighted by their respective areas. 3) Sectional
Method Cross sections are constructed from a set of drill holes in lines across a
mineral deposit. An area of mineralisation in each section is outlined by joining the
intersected thicknesses and measured by a planimeter. Estimation of “Average
Grade” is carried out by summing the individual drill composite grades, weighted by
their respective thickness. 4) Random Stratified Grid Method A regular grid of
suitable size and an orientation is adjusted on a set of sample distributed in space by
trial and error until as far as possible, at least ONE Sample falls Per Grid panel. An
estimated global mean value of the deposit is the “thickness weighted average” of
the individual panel values
Level Interval Determina on- Influencing Parameters • Primary Considera on: For a 7) . Mine Survey : Relatively simple in terms of Regular Geometrical dimensions of
given 3D- disposi on of the Ore Body the main op mising criteria is :: " To select / the Coal Seam. The Centre Line marking and Production survey are easy 8) Mine
calculate the Level Interval ( L.l.) that yields the lowest 'overall mining costs' for the Production Planning : Simple Mine Production organisation : working of Pillar
mine's Specific "Mine Development — Exploita on Plan." • Each Mine has a UNIQUE Extraction ; Longwall Panel extraction are relatively easy processes; 9) Mineral
Exploita on- Development Plan that is fine tuned to the specific geographical / Processing : Simple Coal handling Plant for Size Gradation ; in some cases A Coal
geometrical 3- Dimensional disposi on ot the Ore Body in the earths crust. • Any Washing Plant- for removal of Shale METAL MINE 1) Generally Steep – In the Vertical
/Inclined Plane ; Igneous /Metamorphic rocks ; Highly irregular Dimensions of L*B*T
other Plan, would in some sense be "sub-op mal" for the deposit. And the mine
(sometimes one dimension is in mm ) 2) Large Variation; ( 0° to 90° i.e a fully Vertical
would be con nuously opera ng with a lesser Profit, than would have been possible-
Deposit) ;Planning of openings ; drives ; tunnels ; crosscuts ; Method of Mining (
With the OPTIMAL Exploita on- Development Plan. Factors influencing Level Interval Caving. Supported etc.) ; Large scope of geological disturbances- due to nature of
(L.l.) • 1. Geologic and Natural condi ons of the Mineral deposit & the Country rock Origin and subsequent Volcanic / tectonic activity. 3) The borehole data for
• 2. Mining Methods selected • 3. Development Layout Planned • 4. Method of preparation of the 3 D Model needs a lot of Analysis regarding the QUALITY aspects.
driving the openings • 5. Life of the openings • 6. Produc on rate & Mine Life • 7. We need to finalise the CUT-OFF Grades for a given type of ore. Based on these we
Financial Considera ons ( Propor on of Debt : Equity ; Capital & opera ng costs ; need to identify the Ore / Waste boundaries.It is a very complex process of
Rate of Interest ; Government incen ves ; Na onal and Interna onal Mineral market conducting the ASSAY Analysis( To find the metal content) and determine these
condi ons ). Level Interval Advantages • A short level interval has the following values at various sections of the bore hole lengths / depths / sections 4) Generally by
advantages: 1.More thorough explora on is possible, which is especially important in SHAFTS & DECLINES ; ADITS ; These are NOT in through the Ore Body and are made /
irregular, erra c deposits where the ore is not con nuous; 2.Shorter connec ng constructed either in the Hanging Wall / Foot Wall section of the deposit; More
raises are required between levels; 3.Handling of steel, explosives, and mber into number of Access openings are required depending upon the ore body
disposition.Can be Rectangular in c/section; Many are exclusively for rendering
the stopes is facilitated; 4.More points of a ack by stoping can be made available;
various Services ( Ventilation; Compressed air pipelines, Electrical cables, service
5.1n heavy ground requiring the use of slow extrac on methods the me required to
shafts exclusively constructed ) 5) Development is a Long and Laborious process :
work out a stope is less than with a high interval, and since the weight on a stope Construction of AHAFTS / DECLINES in Country Rock ( Hanging Wall / Footwall side ) ;
o en increases considerably the longer it is kept open, expense of maintenance and Construction of LEVELs ; CROSSCUTS HAULAGEWAYS; ORE / WASTE Passes ; Draw
loss of ore may be decreased considerably with a short interval; 6.Good ven la on points ; Crushers and Ore chutes ; Provision of all service requirements (Ventilation;
usually is maintained more easily. Level Interval — Dis-Advantages • The support , electricity, compressed pipelines ,drainage systems etc.)Long Gestation
disadvantages of the shorter level interval are: 1.Greater development cost due to period ; No Revenue generation as most of the development work is in Host Rock ;
increased number of sta ons, greater footage of dri s and crosscuts with Cost of Capital considerations, before we go in for Full Production 6) Production is
correspondingly more trackage and pipelines; 2.More levels to maintain; 3.A greater obtained from drilling and Blasting inside the Stopes; STOPE Stability while extracting
propor on of the ore ed up in dri and floor pillars, which may have to be le ore ; Methods are innumerable based on the 3-D Model of the ore occurrence
permanently (or) extracted later at considerable extra expense.Level Interval ( L.l.) (Supported , Unsupported and Caving category ) ; BUT within each one of these
Determina on Parameters & Procedure • Exploita on costs: Mineral Produc on there are so many variations – Uniqueness of Each Mine and Mineral Deposit
opera ons ( producing and handling ore ; providing auxiliary opera ons— ven la on requires TAILORING THE BASIC Method to suit the ore/waste geometry. Stope and
development roadways ventilation is a complex process of maintaining the required
services; drainage &pumping; Power supply & Line extensions; Compressed line
Quality and Quantity of Fresh Air; Many Leakages as the ventilation path is criss-
extensions; waste rock transport for backfilling; etc. ) • Calculate / Es mate the
cross in many places 7) The direction of the progress of the Development roadways /
following: 1. Select a minimum of 4 /5 proposed Level Intervals (L.l.) — say 50, 80, drifts / Tunnels / crosscuts / etc. have to follow the specified path as Planned so that
100, 120, 150 meter level intervals. 2. Calculate the Development, Exploita on and the end point reaches the designated location. Say Joining of Two Tunnels in the Ore
Overall mining costs ( Unit or overall). 3. Plot these cost curves with L.l. on the X-axis / Waste is a complex process. 8) Mine Production Planning and Scheduling is a very
and Mining costs on the Y-axis. 4. Select the "Lowest overall mining cost point", with Complex process because of a large number of variables ( Ore/ Metal price
a small range of error varia on— to take care of the cost approximat ons involved in
i fluctuations ; Grade / Quality changes / Blending requirements for the Mineral
the process. Processing Plants ) Regular shifting of THRUST from Development Operations to
Stope Extraction for Ore Production; So change of Men and Machinery deployment.
9) Requires an Elaborate Mineral Processing Plant; Need to supply ORE of the
specified Grade ; Regular SAMPLING of the input material for assessing the input
Quality to CHECK, the Plant Performance.

. 5) Contouring Method Isolines are constructed by interpolation of points of known

. DRAW Systems: 1. Bells and finger raises termina ng in chutes through which values that assume a gradual uninterrupted change from one sample point to
haulage conveyances are loaded cffrectly. ( Gravity and Chute system) 2. Use of Rope another. Areas lying between each successive pair of contours are measured by a
drawn scrapers arranged longitudinally under the stope. 3. Use of loading machines planimeter and multiplied by the average value of its confining contours. A global
opera ng at drawpoints in crosscuts under the stope— with possibility of very HIGH estimate of grade is obtainerd by summing the individual contour confined values
produc on rates. Important Points: Spacing of chutes / drawpoint ranges from 5-20 weighted by their respective area 6) Computer Methods Most of the above
m. 'Close spacing' requires more Development work. ( But minimizes the tonnage of methods have been computerised. Apart from above these include: (i) estimation by
ore remaining / stranded on the SILL a er the stope is emp ed/complete ore Linear or quadratic interpolation between known values i.e. Inverse Distance ; (ii)
estimation by fitting a surface polynomial to known values i.e Trend Surface Analysis
withdrawal.) 'Wide spacing' will reduce the development work, but there is a
and ( iii ) estimation by smoothing of Grade variation i.e. Moving Average
possibility of Loss of ore In the stope. Incomplete ore withdrawal. Cycle of
Production and Life of an Underground Metal Mine: Influencing
Produc on Opera ons: Working Condi ons: Inside the stope as workers are Parameters • What is the OPTIMUM RATE of Production from an underground metal
con nuously exposed to the stope back / roof there is a RISK and the floor is mine ? • Are the Mineral resources ( Mineable Reserves ) fully explored and known
UNEVEN. ( as the broken muck is periodically withdrawn, by drawing opera ons in ??• What is the 3-D Orientation / Model of the Ore Deposit ??• A Variety of
the haulage dri below.) Try to maintain 'Adequate and Safe working space' ( That is Geological parameters ( Nature of Origin of the Deposit; L*B*T Dimensions ; Ore /
neither too High nor too Low for the workers to work comfortably. ) Host Rock demarcation; Geo-mechanical properties of the ore deposit and the Host
Produc on Opera ons are all CYCLIC : Drilling: Pneuma c Air Leg / Stoper or Dri er rock ; Faulting, folding, tectonic history of the ore / host rock; Ore Grade and nature
Percussion drills Blas ng: ANFO / Slurry ; Pneuma c loading / pumping ; Electrical of dispersion of the VALUES in the ‘ORE’. • A Variety of Economic Conditions (
detona on; Secondary Blas ng: drill and blast to fragment boulders ; Impact Methods of Financing the mine development( debt/ Equity Ratios) { Cost of
Hammer . Loading: Gravity Flow through Stope ; FEL; Overhead loader ; LHD ; Slusher Mechanisation--Manual Mine or Mechanised Mine –Degree of Mechanisation };
etc. Haulage: truck, LHD , rail, Belt Conveyor etc. Condi ons of Applicability: 1.Ore Metal/mineral cost ; domestic consumption / export ;International Mineral / Metal
strength: Strong ( other essen al requirements are should not 2.pack, oxidize, or be price ; Market Dynamics and selling price variation Government support and
Taxation Policies ; ) Mine Operating Philosophy- A Mining Enterprise ( Metal Mine )•
subjected to spontaneous combus on 3. Rock Strength: Strong to fairly strong 4.
All Modern Mine Evaluation are based on the concept of “ OPTMISING the Net
Deposit Shape: Tabular or Len cular 5. Deposit Dip: fairly steep ( > 50 degrees or
Present Value ( NPV)” of the deposit.• That means we need “To Operate the Mineral
Angle of repose, Preferably 60-90 degrees ) 6. Deposit Size: Narrow to moderate Property in such a way that the Maximum Internal rate of return ( IRR ) is generated
width ( 1-45 m); fairly large extent 7. Ore Grade: fairly High 8. Ore Uniformity: from the discounted Cash flows ( DCF)”.• The “Optimum Production rate” is selected
Uniform 9.Depth: Shallow to Moderate Advantages 1.Moderate to small scale on the basis of MAXIMISING the NPV of the after Tax Cash Flows.• The net present
produc on rate 2. Ore draw down in stope by Gravity 3. Method is conceptually value (NPV) is an indicator for dynamic investment calculation. Investors use the NPV
simple 4 .Low capital Investment ; Possible to go in for small degree of to determine the value of future deposits and payouts at the present time. In this
mechaniza on 5. Ground support required is very Low ( The broken ore itself way funds from different calculation periods for comparable and different
supports the walls. 6. Stope development is moderate 7. The Recovery of ore is investment opportunities can be weighed against each other with respect to their
fairly good ( 75-90% ) with Low Dilu on Disadvantages 1. Low to moderate profitability. Complexity of Mine Valuation • Mining assets are very challenging to
produc vity range ( 5-9 tonnes per employee shi ) 2 .Moderate to fairly high mining value. Given the degree of geologic uncertainty around reserves and resources, it’s
cost ( rela ve cost 50%) 3. labour intensive, difficulty in undertaking large scale hard to know how much metal is actually in the ground. • The best way to value a
mechaniza on 4. Rough foo ng ( As workers have to be working on loose mining asset or company is to build a discounted cash flow (DCF) model that takes
into account a mining plan produced in a technical report (like a Feasibility Study).
unstabilised broken rock ) ; some mes risky and dangerous working condi ons
Graph of Optimum Mine Production rate DRAW Mine Production and Mine Life –
5.majority of the ore is ed up in the stope ( > 70 - 80 %) 6. Ore is subject to
Graphical Procedure • The ‘Total Costs’ and ‘Revenues’ are plotted for a range of
oxida on 7.Fair to moderate selec vity. assumed daily Production rates’ • The OPTUMUM rate cannot be calculated directly,
so it is determined from the resulting curves. • 3- Cost Curves and a revenue curve
are plotted. • The correct curve to use is the Net Present value ( Revenue minus
operating costs )• This not only considers revenue, but the ‘TIME VALUE’ of money.•
In the given diagram, the Optimum production rate is 1150 tons/day and not 1050 or
1300. Mine Production and Mine Life • The Higher the mine production rate, the
shorter the mine life.• Mine life ( Say 8-10 years to 40-50 years range) based on the
Ore Reserves ( current ore reserves scenario and increase/ decrease in mineable
reserves with future detailed exploration as the mine goes into operation ) and the
changing mineral Supply / Demand Scenario as well as the Market Dynamics and
Selling Price Fluctuations–• PRODUCTION emphasis during HIGH metal price cycles
and• DEVELOPMENT emphasis during LOW metal price cycle Development of a
Normative Construction Cost Index- Location / Region Specific ( Shaft / Slope )
DRAW