Course Name: Disaster in Mining Exploration and Management
Course Content
Course Title: Disaster in Mining Exploration and Management
Course Code: DRE 5103, Credit Hour: 2, Contact Hour: Two hour per week
Rationale: This course is designed to assist MS students for expanding their knowledge and understanding on Mining hazards, hazards control, Systems infrastructure and site requirements, safety of risk management of mine |
Objectives:
- To Manage safety and risk management of mines
- To know different underground mining methods
- To identify occupational health and safety measures
Mining Course Content
Disaster in Mining Exploration and Management
Systems infrastructure and site requirements:
Mine development; access (shaft, declines), surface infrastructure (offices, fuel storage bays etc) mine services; water, air, rail, roads, electrical, hydraulics. maintenance
Surface mining methods:
Method selection, open pit mining; includes truck and shovel (coal), includes extractives truck and shovel matching for production requirements
Underground mining methods:
Method selection, shaft sinking, coal mining, history of Bangladesh coal mining, board and pillar, long wall, ventilation, pillar design, working in difficult ground, ground control – hard rock, hard rock mining methods, cut and fill , caving methods, room and pillar, bogger and truck matching for production requirements
Coal mine hazards, control & ventilation:
Gas reservoir characteristics, gas drainage, outbursts and windblasts, spontaneous combustion of coal, coal mine legislation, coal mine ventilation planning and practice
Occupational health & safety measures:
Types of accidents and injuries, hazard management, manual handling, human factors, entry into confined spaces.
Emergency situations:
Outbursts and explosions, mine fires, mine rescue.
Mining law, safety and risk management:
Mining law, OHS – state specific, corporate initiatives, Australian standards, codes etc, mining acts (else etc)
Safety & risk management of mine:
Theories & models, case studies (incidents)
Disaster in Mining Exploration and Management
The process of constructing a mining facility and the infrastructure to support the facility is known as mine development. The term is employed to designate the operations involved in preparing a mine for ore extraction.
There is some terminology that can use in mining studies.
Sinking- It’s Actually Shaft sinking
Tunneling/Adit- Access to develop ways & infrastructures
Drifting & ramping- Connecting passage of one or more levels
Raising- A raise is a vertical or steeply-inclined opening, that serves as a ladder way access to stopes, as an ore pass, or as an airway in the mine’s ventilation system.
Small Mine development STAGES IN THE LIFE OF A MINE;
1. Prospecting:1-3 Years
Search for ore a. Prospecting methods Direct: Physical, geological Indirect: Geophysical, geochemical b. Locate favorable loci (maps, literature, old mines) c. Air: Aerial photography, airborne geophysics, satellite d. Surface: Ground geophysics, geology e. Spot anomaly, analyze, evaluation.
2. Exploration: 2-5 Years
Defining the extent and value of ore (examination/ evaluation) a. Sample (drilling or excavation) b. Estimate tonnage and grade c. Valuate deposit: Present value = Income – Cost Feasibility study: make the decision to abandon or develop.
3. Mine Development: 2-5 Years
Opening up ore deposit for production a. Acquire mining rights (purchase or lease), if not done in stage 2 b. File environmental impact statement, technology assessment, permit c. Construct access roads, and transport system d. Locate surface plant, construct facilities e. Excavate deposit (strip or sink shaft).
4. Mine development in Exploration: 10-30 Years
Large-scale production of ore a. Factors to be considered: Geologic, geographic, economic, environmental, societal safety b. Types of mining methods Surface: Open pit, open cast, etc. Underground: Room and pillar, Cut & fill, Longwall, block caving c. Monitor costs and economic payback.
5. Reclamation: 1-10 Years
Restoration of site
a. Removal of plants and buildings
b. Reclamation of waste and tailings dumps
c. Monitoring of discharges
Small Mine Development and Operation:
Mine operations are the process of managing many immediate and long-term activities in and around a mine site in order to facilitate the production of a mineral product.
A mine operation has five main activities:
1. Excavation of earth and rock
2. Processing and separating the ore from waste rock
3. Storage and maintenance of waste material
4. Environmental monitoring – air & water quality and noise levels
5. Operation of supporting services – repair shops, labs, living quarters, warehouses, and offices.
Mine Development Process and Methods:
Mining techniques can be divided into two common excavation types-Surface/Open-pit/Opencast mining method.
Surface mining is much more common, and produces, for example, 85% of minerals (excluding petroleum and natural gas) in the United States, including 98% of metallic ores. Sub-surface/Underground mining method in Bangladesh we have only underground/subsurface mining.
Some common surface mining methods are Open-pit: Reclamation after completion Open-cast: Reclamation during mining Quarries: Stone, crushed rock, sand, and gravel Strip Mining: Removing surface (Overburden rock) in strips up to the resources.
Underground Mining Methods:
Underground mining methods: There are different techniques/methods of underground mining methods and the choice is closely related to the Geology of the deposit and the degree of ground support necessary to make the method productive and safe.
Methods based on the extent of support utilized.
Supported Mining Methods
Unsupported Mining Methods;
Caving Mining Methods;
Hardrock is commonly known as the basement or crystalline basement or consolidated rock. It is usually formed underground during Precambrian Era. Basically, Hardrock geology is the study of igneous and metamorphic rock.
Age: More than 600 (or 570) million years.
Example: Igneous rock: Granite, Basalt, Diorite, Gabbro, and Kimberlite; Metamorphic rock: Gneiss, Quartzite, and Marble.
Basement/Crystalline basement rock
Basement rock is the thick foundation of the oldest metamorphic and igneous rock that shapes the continental crust. Again crystalline basement rock is composed of minerals in a crystalline state.
Engineering or construction stones
Hardrock or dense igneous and metamorphic rock is generally known as engineering stone or construction stone. While construction stones are utilized in road and highways construction, railways, dams, bridges, house building, and flood control, they are called construction/engineering stones.
Hardrock Mine in Bangladesh
The hardrock of Bangladesh is predominantly found in Maddhapara, Dinajpur (depth 128m); Ranipukur and Pirganj, Rangpur (171m and 265m); Bogra (2150m); Joypurhat-Jamalgonj (600-667m), and Kansat, Chapainawabganj (615m). Of them, Maddhapara is the only active Hardrock mine in the country.
Construction materials such as boulders, and gravel deposits at Tetulia-Panchagarh, Dinajpur district; Kaptai-Alikadam-Ukhia-Teknaf-St. Martin’s Island; Chittagong and Sylhet district.
Maddhapara Granite Mine (MGM)
The only underground hard rock mine in Bangladesh is Maddhapara Granite Mine (MGM). Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL) is a company of Petrobangla under the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh.
History of MGM
Maddhapara underground Hardrock drilled six wells in 1974-75 by the Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB). Then they ensured the presence of Precambrian Hardrock at very shallow depths. The encountered depth of hard rock was approximately 128m and 154m. SNC (Surveyor Nenniger and Chenvert) is a Canadian consultancy firm whose was conducted the Techno-economic feasibility study of the area.
Ultimately the project was approved by the Government of Bangladesh in 1978. In contrast, the project commenced working officially in 1994, according to the signing of two large international contracts for the Barapukuria Coal Mine Development Project as well as for the Maddhapara Hardrock Mining Project between CMC of China and Petrobangla, and NAMNAM of the Democratic Republic of Korea and Petrobangla respectively. The MGM Company was founded in order to take multifold responsibilities of production of basement rock with a daily production capacity of 5,500 M. tons.
Geological Formation for Hard Rock in Bangladesh.
Hossain et al., 2007 suggested the possibility of basement rocks in Bangladesh forming the continuation of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone and Meghalaya-Shillong Plateau in the Indian Shield. Besides that, it was shaped toward the final stages of assembly of the Columbia supercontinent (~1.9-1.7 Ga or billion years).
Geological framework
Bangladesh is divided into (a) The Precambrian Indian Platform (subdivision Rangpur Saddle and Bogra shelf) (b) The basin or geosyncline (Bengal Fordeep and folded Belt). Maddhapara Granite Mine is located in Rangpur Saddle.
Beach Sand Heavy Minerals (HM) is a placer deposit (accumulation of minerals during sedimentation) of heavy minerals eg. zircon, ilmenite, or rutile on a contemporary or ancient beach or along a coastline (Fig. 1).
Specific gravity: >2.9
Investigation started: in 1961 by the Geological Survey of Pakistan around the Cox’s Bazar sea beach area and a number of precious heavy minerals were identified.
Location: Seventeen placer deposits are found where fifteen are in the Cox’s Bazar-Chittagong sea beaches and nearby offshore islands. Seven are from the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf sea beaches, seven from Maheshkhali Island, one each from Matarbari, Kutubdia, and Nijhum islands, and Kuakata.
Reserve: All the seventeen deposits include;
Raw sand: 20.5 million tons.
Heavy minerals: 4.4 million tons.
Economically important heavy minerals: ilmenite, magnetite, zircon, rutile, garnet, leucoxene, kyanite and monazite.
Total stock: 1,761,000 tons.
Uses of Heavy Minerals:
Zircon: 60% used in foundry-facing works, 15% in the manufacture of zirconium metal, alloys, and chemicals. Extensively used in refractory products and in the manufacture of glass.
Rutile: As raw material in the pigment industry and in welding rod coatings.
Ilmenite: It is a source of TiO2 which is used chiefly as white pigment. Extensively used in welding rod coatings.
Garnet: 90% of the total production is used in the manufacture of emery cloth, paper, wheel, and grinding stones.
Magnetite: As a source of pig iron, which is the primary material for the production of cast iron, wrought iron, malleable iron, and the many varieties of ordinary and special steels.
Monazite: A source of rare-earth metals and thorium.
Leucoxene: As a substitute for rutile with the increasing demand for TiO2 material.
Kyanite: As a source of aluminum and in the manufacture of refractory and foundry products.
Iron Ore Deposits in Bangladesh
Iron Ores: are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted.
Formation: They formed from the chemical reactions that combined iron and oxygen in marine and fresh waters. They are usually found in the form of magnetite, hematite, goethite, limonite, or siderite where hematite and magnetite are most important.
Origin: Sedimentary rock.
Geologists said that only five countries including Brazil, the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Australia mine the magnetite iron ore.
Magnetite iron mine in Dinajpur
The country’s first magnetic mine or iron ore was discovered by the Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) at Dinajpur’s Hakimpur upazila in April 2019. Hakimpur mine also remained a source of copper, nickel, chromium, and limestone at a depth of 1,150 feet.
Thickness: 400-foot thick iron layer.
Depth: 1,330-1650 feet.
Area: 6-10 square kilometers.
Reserve: 500-600 million tons.
Percentage of Iron: Iron in the mine was 60%, while in most other mines elsewhere in the world it is below 50.
References: 1. Hartman, HL. 2002. Introductory Mining Engineering, 2nd edition. Wiley, New York. 2. Hustrulid, W and Kuchta, M., 2006. Open Pit Mine Planning & Design, Balkema, Rotterdam. 3. Kennedy, BA., Editor, 1990. Surface Mining, 2nd edition, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Littleton, Colorado. ISBN 0–87335–102–9. 4. Kininmonth, R.J. and Baafi, E.Y. 2009. Australasian Coal Mining Practice Monograph 12, 3rd Edition, The AusIMM: Melbourne. ISBN. 0 978 1 921522 07 9. | |||
Resources/ Lectures
♥ Course instructor:
Dr. Raman Kumar Biswas
Professor
Course Code: DRE 5103
Name of the Course: Disaster in Mining Exploration and Management
Level: Masters students
Department of Disaster Resilience and Engineering,
Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki-8602, Patuakhali, Bangladesh
