open pit vs underground copper mining in south africa

Apr 02 2018 · The Witwatersrand gold mine in South Africa is an excellent example of underground mining that exploits gold from ancient rocks at depths of up to 4 km underground What is open pit mining On the other hand openpit mining is the most common mining and ranges from very lowpriced minerals to finely disseminated gold deposits

Feb 23 2012 · Unlike open pit underground mining requires that you take into account a wide variety of added requirements These include complex ventilation systems area and local ground support and of course finding a consistent safe and costeffective way to get your materials to the surface

Jun 08 2016 · Discovered in 1961 the deposit was first mined as an open pit An underground mine was subsequently developed below the pit The openpit mine at Finsch spans 179 hectares and has a depth of about 100 metres By production its South Africas secondlargest diamond mine after Venetia Mine

Copper mining began at Palabora in 1965 and by 1967 the openpit mine was fully operational The hole reached 800 meters down into the Earth before the depletion of resources made it uneconomical to continue mining in the pit Operations moved underground below the pit and mostly out of

Feb 12 2020 · At the time of the acquisition Palabora Copper was already a wellestablished underground mine having transitioned from an open pit operation in 2002 The mine has maintained an average production as per its design capacity of around 45 000 tpa of copper rod beneficiated from 055 copper

The Palabora Mine began as an open cut copper operation in 1964 Production commenced in 1966 at a rate of 30000 tday increasing to 82000 tday prior to closure in 2002 The final dimensions of the pit were 800m deep and 1650m to 1900m in diameter Underground block cave mining commenced in

Openpit mining also known as opencast mining is a surface mining technique that extracts minerals from an open pit in the ground Openpit mining is the most common method used throughout the world for mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or tunnels

Oct 21 2017 · Overall when compared to other methods opencut is much safer Opencut mining is responsible for 65 percent of the raw coal production in New South Wales Opencut is also a good method for gold and copper Underground mining Underground mining occurs underground through the creation of tunnels These tunnels go deep into the mineral seam

Oct 26 2020 · Openpit mining commenced at Palabora in 1964 and ended in 2002 when the pit reached its final economic depth The development of an underground mine to work the ore remaining below the pit bottom began during the final years of openpit production at a cost of 465m with the prospect of a further 20 years’ life in the underground operation

As openpit mines reach their economic end of life mine owners are considering the viability of transitioning their openpit operations to underground Drawing on its deep level mining expertise in South Africa Worley helps mine owners around the world to explore the feasibility of underground life of mine extensions and identify the most

Oct 02 2020 · As openpit mines reach their economic end of life mine owners are considering the viability of transitioning their opencast mining operations to underground Drawing on their deep level mining expertise in South Africa Worley assists mine owners around the world explore the feasibility of underground life of mine extensions and identify the

Openpit mining also known as opencast mining is a surface mining technique that extracts minerals from an open pit in the ground Openpit mining is the most common method used throughout the world for mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or tunnels

Grasberg coppergold mine in Indonesia is known as a combined mine of openpit and underground Mining by openpit method will finish by in South Africa Mount Keith and Telfer in Australia

The largest mines in the world measured by excavation of soilrock are what are known as open pit mining With this definition the honors go to the copper mining operation at Palabora in South Africa Here is a satellite image of the Palabora o

The Palabora Mine began as an open cut copper operation in 1964 Production commenced in 1966 at a rate of 30000 tday increasing to 82000 tday prior to closure in 2002 The final dimensions of the pit were 800m deep and 1650m to 1900m in diameter Underground block cave mining commenced in

Oct 21 2017 · Overall when compared to other methods opencut is much safer Opencut mining is responsible for 65 percent of the raw coal production in New South Wales Opencut is also a good method for gold and copper Underground mining Underground mining occurs underground through the creation of tunnels These tunnels go deep into the mineral seam

Oct 26 2020 · Underground development The underground mine is a block caving operation the first such system to be used in metal mining in South Africa With the introduction of the underground operation the output of ore has fallen from the 82000td achieved in the previous open pit to 30000td

Learn more about openpit mining 2 Underground mining Underground mining is used to extract ore from below the surface of the earth safely economically and with as little waste as possible The entry from the surface to an underground mine may be through a horizontal or vertical tunnel known as an adit shaft or decline

Aug 28 2020 · Africa’s gold mining industry traditionally dominated by South Africa has seen a shift in focus with countries such as Ghana Suda Mali and Burkina Faso entering the fray Major companies such as Newmont Goldcorp Kinross Gold AngloGold Ashanti Barrick Gold and Gold Fields are active in the region alongside controversial

Sep 18 2015 · Johnson says exploration data makes both underground and open pit operations work “It allows us to go after higher grade material pretty rapidly in the mine plan without a lot of capital

Palabora Copper Pty Limited a subsidiary of Palabora Mining Company Ltdis a copper mine that also operates a smelter and refinery complex based in the town of Phalaborwa in South Africas Limpopo Province The mine owes its origins to a unique rock formation in the region known as the Palabora Igneous Complex

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Dec 23 2018 · Openpit mining is either done with a fleet of haul trucks some now automated or an inpit crushing and conveying system IPCC Underground mines are accessed via a shaft or ramp