Stripping Ratios

• MANICALAND STATE UNIVERSITY OF APPIED
SCIENCES
FACULTY OF MINING SCIENCES
STRIPPING RATIOS
ENGP223
Mr M.Mlambo
Stripping ratio
Stripping ratio- it is ratio that represents the amount of uneconomic material that must be
removed to uncover one unit of ore.
• It is a measure of the amount of waste (in cubic meter) that must be removed in order to
mine one unit of ore (tonnes).
• Stripping ratios vary in a wide range from very low under favourable conditions to high
(20:1) in adverse conditions.
• Ratios tend to be low for hard rocks and high for soft rocks, especially where direct
casting of overburden can be done by the excavator.
• Overall stripping ratio- this is the ratio of the total volume waste to the ore volume.
• Cut off stripping ratio- this is the one for which the cost of mining the ore and waste are
equal.
Factors considered to determine cost include:
• the added cost of mining as the pit deepens.
• The interest charges on the pre-stripping of waste.
• Processing to marketable product.
Revenue is affected by:
• Ore grade.
• Market price of the final product.
 The pit limits and sequence of mining are determined ultimately by economics.

A lower stripping ratio means that less waste has to be
removed to expose the ore for mining which generally results
in a lower operating cost [5].
 The major types of stripping ratios are overall, instantaneous,
and break-even.
Why we need to determine SR
1) For selection of mining method.

• 1,5:1 – manual quarrying
• 2:1 – semi-mechanized quarrying
• 3 to 4:1 – bucket wheel excavator
• 4 to 5 : 1 – shovel dumper combination
• 8 to 10 – dragline method
2) For cost analysis
Stripping ratio calculations
Example 1
• Determine the SR for the ore section (green) shown
below:
Example 2
• In an open cast mine overburden handled during a year
was 500 00t and coal extracted was 200 00t. If the SG of
overburden was 2.5 and that of coal is 1.5.
Determine the stripping ratio.

Break even stripping ratio
• The point beyond which mineral/coal cannot be
economically extracted out.
• No profit = no loss
• BESR = profit/ stripping cost
Break even stripping ratio
• The maximum allowable Stripping Ratio (SRmax) defines break even
stripping ratio (BESR).
• This represents the highest possible units of waste that can be handled.
• If the SR exceeds the BESR then the operation will be uneconomical as
the income generated by the ore is insufficient to offset the costs incurred
in mining.
• It appears there is a calculation that helps determine the breakeven
point beyond which the cost to remove overburden becomes prohibitive.
• The BESR is calculated for the point at which break-even occurs and the
necessary stripping is paid for by the net value of the ore removed.
• Generally, the BESR can be determined as follows:
BESR = I - CT / CW
I = Revenue/tonne of ore
CT = production cost per tonne of ore (incl. all costs to the point of sale,
excluding stripping)
CW = stripping cost per tonne of waste
For example:
Example
Determine the BESR in mining and processing a 0.60% copper ore deposit if the selling
price of copper in concentrate is $1.63/kg and the overall unit costs are $6.80/ton and
the cost of handling unit weigh of waste is $7.50/ton.
The overall recovery is 92%.
a. Calculate the BESR
BESR = [(0.006*0.92*1.63*1000) – (6.8)]/7.5
= 0.29 = 0.3 is the maximum allowable stripping ratio for break even
This mean the income generated by one unit of 0.6% graded copper is able to offset the
cost of 3 units waste at no profit (Income = Cost).
Example 2
• The sale value of iron ore from an open pit mine is US$6500/t.
Cost of mining excluding stripping cost is US$2450/t. if the
costs of stripping is US$1150/m3, calculate the BESR.
• Solution
Profit = sale value – cost of mining (excl. stripping costs)
= US$6500 – US$2450
= US$4050
BESR = profit/ stripping cost
= US$4050/US$1150
= 3.52 : 1
Cut-off grade
• A cut-off grade is the grade at which a mineral deposit can be
economically mined or processed.
• The cut-off grade is determined by the cost to mine a
deposit, and the price that a company can sell the
underlying commodity.
• The higher the cost to mine, the higher the cut-off grade,
whereas the higher the price of the commodity the lower
the cut-off grade.
• Cut-off grades can change based on a number of factors,
including the type of deposit (shallow or deep), commodity
prices, ease of access, location and many more factors
that impact costs of mining.
Break-even cut-off grade
• For conducting a mining project’s break even analysis, you
first need to know about the operational expenses (OPEX).
• When the OPEX is known, you can calculate the mineral’s
cut off grade, which is the break even grade, below which
it is not economically viable to mine the ore.
• Mining cost/ton ore = Mining cost per tonne material x
(1 + stripping ratio)
• Head grade = Average grade of blocks above cut-off
grade.
• Daily production of waste = Daily production of ore x
SR
• Annual production of metal = daily production of ore x
head grade x working days/year x recovery
• Annual ore production = daily ore production x working
days per year
• Mine life = mineable ore reserves/ annual ore
production
Overburden stripping strategies
 There are four main overburden stripping strategies

i) Declining Stripping Ratio
ii)Increasing Stripping Ratio
iii)Constant Stripping Ratio
iv)Phased Mining Sequence
Declining stripping ratio
Advantages and disadvantages
1. good operating space

2. good accessibility to ore on next bench,
3. all equipment working on same level,
4. no contamination from waste blasting above the ore,
5. Equipment requirements a minimum towards the depletion of the orebody.
6. Operating costs tend to be constant in later years as the increased mining cost with
depth is offset by the decreased stripping ratio.
Disadvantage
• Overall operating costs are maximum during the initial years when maximum
profits are required to handle interest charges and repay the project capital
investment
Increasing stripping ratio method
• stripping is performed as needed to uncover the ore. The
working slopes of the waste faces are essentially
maintained parallel to the overall pit slope angle.
Advantages
• This method allows for maximum profit in the initial years of operation and
greatly reduces the investment risk in waste removal for ore to be mined at a later
date.
 It may be applied where the economics of the operation and cut-off stripping
ratio is liable to change on very short notice.
Disadvantage
 Cannot operate a large number of stacked narrow benches
simultaneously to meet regular production requirements.anno
Constant stripping ratio method
• Waste is removed at a rate approximately equal to the overall

stripping ratio.
• The method is a compromise that removes the extreme
conditions of the former two methods described.
• Equipment fleet size and labor requirements are relatively
constant

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• MANICALAND STATE UNIVERSITY OF APPIED

1) For selection of mining method.

Determine the stripping ratio.

a. Calculate the BESR

BESR = [(0.0060.921.63*1000) – (6.8)]/7.5

 There are four main overburden stripping strategies

1. good operating space

• Waste is removed at a rate approximately equal to the overall

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