TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN OPENCAST MINES

Disadvantages of truck haulage system are the following:

1) High operating cost- This goes on as high as fifty percent of the total mining cost with up to forty
percent of this cost attributable to fuel lubrication and tyres. These costs increase rapidly as the
depth of the working level of the mine increases. The cost of transporting materials in surface metal
and non-metal open pits is generally more than fifty percent of the total operating cost of the mine.

2) Maintenance cost of dumper- The maintenance cost of the dumper increases rapidly when the
vertical lift is above 100m. Requirement of a long haulage road not only creates an economic
problem but also puts technical problems for the mine planners. High quality roads enhance
productivity by maximising safe truck speeds, reduced down time for maintenance and reduced
driver fatigue. Haul road maintenance contributes to reduced operating costs through reduced fuel
consumption, larger tyre life and reduced repair costs. Haul road gradients are typically limited to
between 8 and 15 for sustained hauls and optimally are about 7 to 8 percent safety and water
drainage requires long gradients to include at least 45 m sections with a maximum gradient of 2
percent for every 460 m of severe gradient.

3) Depth and length of haul road- When the depth and the length of the haul road increases the
number of dumpers required increases. This calls for a greater number of operating and
maintenance persons, bigger size workshop bigger size of stores and more problems of inventory
control.

4) Maintenance of the haul roads- A fleet of auxiliary equipment like dozers, motor graders,
computers are required for the maintenance of the haul roads.

5) Dust problems on the haul roads- Haul roads are the major dust sources causing air pollution.
Therefore, truck haulage system calls for water sprinkling on the haul roads.

6) Mine productivity- Of the truck haulage system is highly dependent on the human factors. The
skills of the operator, his mood, age and fatigue may lower the productivity of the system.

7) Weather and climate- Weather and climate conditions have direct effect on the working of truck
haulage system.

8) Accidents- There are more chances of road accidents with the use of large number of rolling
machines.

9) Cycle time of dumper= Dumper spotting time+ loading time+ travel load time+ unloading time+
travel empty time+ waiting time. The road conditions, dumping conditions and the locations of
dumping and the loading points continuously changing cycle time of the dumper for each and every
dumper of system. Therefore, idle time of the shovel cannot be avoided unless some computerized
control system is not incorporated to do the system well.

10) The dumper haulage system is a discontinuous system more over is not suitable for bed blending.

Advantages of Dumper Haulage System:

o Flexible system and easy to incorporate. Railway Transport System or locomotive haulage system is
not having any application because of changing the railway lines frequently because of advancement
of bench faces. Also, you need a very long-distance working face to adopt railway transport system.

Belt Conveyor Transport System: -

Deployment of continuous mode of transportation with conveyor belt was then seriously thought,
besides being continuously working it has got many advantages which are given below:

Advantages of Belt Conveyor Transport System: -

1. Use of electrical power rather than diesel fuel.

2. Low maintenance cost

3. Low manpower requirement.

4. Higher capacity and productivity

5. Little effect of inclement weather

6. Reduced noise and dust pollution problems

7. No haul road maintenance cost

8. No big workshop required for maintenance

9. Less requirement of inventory

10. Less chances of accidents

11. Blending facilities can be easily incorporated

Disadvantages of Belt Conveyor System

1. Problem of feeding to the belt conveyor

2. Problem of making the conveyor to follow the shovel as the face advances

3. Problem of big lumps (boulders). Generally, the blasted rock will have bigger lumps but for a
conveyor the lump size should not more than one-third of the belt width. Therefore, there must be a
system to reduce the lump size before feeding to the conveyor.

Drilling

Various types of drill machines: -

a. Percussive Drilling
b. Rotary Drilling
c. Percussive-Rotary Drilling
Selection of drill machines for opencast mines

 Nature of rock- Drill ability of the rock is the most important factor.

 Depth of the hole to be drilled

 Direction of the hole whether vertical, horizontal or inclined holes

 Diameter of the hole to be drilled

Blast hole design should incorporate:

a) Burden

b) Hole depth

c) Stemming

d) Spacing

e) Sub-grade drilling

f) Column charge

g) Base charge

h) Method of initiation

 Speed of drilling
The rate of penetration for any type of drill machine depends on the following parameters-

 Nature of the rock

 Depth of drilling whether vertical, inclined or horizontal

 Diameter of the hole to be drilled

 Type and shape of the drill bit

 Degree and quality of sharpening of the bit

 Type and degree of flushing of the hole

 Air pressure

 State of maintenance of the drill machine

 Skills of the operating crew

The overall speed of drill further depends on time spent on change of bit or extension of steel as well
as any extra time spent on bailing in drilling a hole and the extra time spent on dismantling the drill
machine, moving it to the next hole and rigging it up again as well as any time lost due to
breakdowns etc.
The overall drilling speed can be given by: -

N= T/(t1+t2/f+t3/D)

Here, N= motors drilled per shift

T= available machine time in a shift in minute

t1= time required for penetrating one metre

t2= time spent on steel or bit changing, bailing, etc.

t3= time spent in dismantling, shifting, and resettling the machine between holes

f= length of feed in metres

D= depth of hole in metre

Dimension of surface mining impact on ecology and land use

Environmental problems associated with surface mining: -

→ Land degradation -complete destruction of vegetation, forest, meadow land

→ Removal and burial of sail and sub-sail beds.

→ Formation of deep crater cutting across aquifers and breaking the continuity of recharging zone.

→ Formation of dump around with undulating, unfertile and salty debris.

Air Pollution: -

→ Release of and of NOx (various gases) and other gases after blasting and oxidation of coal and
other gasses.

→ Creation of clouds of dust after blasting, dumping, haulage and crushing of debris and coal.

→Dust and smoke released during transport of material by heavy dumpers

→ Dust formed due to drilling of large diameter holes.

Water Pollution: -

→ Disturbance of land topography by dumping of debris on stripping of land, hence flow pattern of
the area changes.

→ Dimension of streams on riverbeds and alteration of drainage patterns.

→ Leaving of debris and thereby polluting the water source

→ Lowering of water table of the area of influence due to zonal draw down of aquifers.

→ Disturbance of soft soil, water regime due to micro-deformation of stones.

→ Release of a diesel and hydraulic air from the various earth-moving machineries under operation
as open - pit mines

Additional impacts

1. No. of problems due to heavy blasting & movement of heavy earth moving machines (HEMM).

2. Damage of buildings and other structures due to high vibration of surrounding land

3. Damage to surrounding during blasting area due to fly rock during blasting.

4. Complete eradication of flora and fauna.

5. Problems of fire in coal benches and overburden containing combustible matter

Visible Impacts of surface mining are following: -

1) Deformation of area by ways of: -

a) clearing forest level by mining activities

b) Dumping of debris in and around the belts

c) Sliding of slopes and thereby damage the forest

2) Unusable dumps remain loosen for long is not properly reclaimed due to absence fertile land bed.

3) Disturbance of drainage patten, diversion of streams and silting of surrounding farms and fields
4) Disturbance of habitats in the form of -

a) Uprooting of villages around mining area

b) Destabilisation of habitats due to vibration
c) Endangering the residents by fly rocks during blasting.

5) Eroding the flora and faune of the area and destroying the eco-system.

6) Noise pollution of hazards causing area causing health nuisance and frightening.

Invisible impacts of Surface Mining: -

1. Disturbance of the recharging trend of the confined and unconfined aquifers.

2. Lowering of the water table due to zonal draw down and formation of cone of depression.
3. Zonal subsidence of the area, creating all sorts of damages like those associated with the
subsidence due to underground mining.
4. Silting of the surrounding rivulets, streams and ponds due to weathering, erosion and flow of
dust and debris.
5. Loss of soil fertility due to dust, smoke and acid rains.
6. Health hazards to local population due to trace element pollution, smoke, dust and noise.
7. Drying up of ponds, pastures with time.

Social impacts of surface mining: -

(A) Positive Impacts of surface mining:

1. Creation of employment opportunity.

2. Creation of communication network.
3. Upgradation of amenities like transport, electricity, railway lines.
4. Upgradation of educational and health facilities.
5. Expansion of market and business opportunities.
6. Rise in average income of the people.
7. Upgradation in life style and awareness towards socio-potential environment.