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Posted by Paul Moore on 14th February 2022
Following a brand new long-term settlement between Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Sources (TRQ) and the Authorities of Mongolia, underground manufacturing has formally began at Oyu Tolgoi. In a significant step ahead, and after excavation of over 90 km of tunnels over 11 years, the primary undercut rings have been just lately fired on the Oyu Tolgoi underground block cave copper mine in Mongolia by groups from Oyu Tolgoi together with Technical Companies Drill and Blast & Manufacturing working with blasting providers companions Orica and Mera, and underground providers contractor Redpath. The graduation of undercut blasting marks the beginning of the manufacturing part of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine and the mine is now starting caving operations. The underground mine is predicted to realize sustainable manufacturing for Panel 0 within the first half of 2023.
The primary undercut blast created a vertical void from the Apex to the undercut degree (UCL) and concerned 114 holes being charged with 6 t of explosives. As soon as charging was full, the blast was initiated remotely utilizing an digital blasting system. The Hugo-Dummett deposit can be mined in a collection of lifts, the primary stage being Hugo North Elevate 1 (500 Mt) that may utilise the panel caving mining approach. The Elevate 1 mining ranges are roughly 1,300 m under floor. Six distinct ranges have been developed to mine Elevate 1. The Apex degree is 17 m above the undercut degree, which in flip is 17 m above the extraction degree (ground to ground). The haulage degree is 44 m under the extraction degree. Within the footprint space, the exhaust air flow degree lies between the extraction and haulage ranges.
Undercut blasting extends 18 m (one drawbell spacing) from the centre of attract every manufacturing drive to make sure cave propagation for drawbells alongside the cave edge. The undercut and Apex degree perimeter drives are positioned a minimal of 32.5 m outdoors the undercut blasting space to guard towards cave abutment stress. After blasting an undercut ring roughly 60% of the blasted tonnage (the swell) from the ring can be mucked from the undercut degree. On the extraction degree, an El Teniente-style drawpoint format is proposed for all the footprint with drawpoints angled at 60⁰ to the extraction drives.
Mine entry and air flow of workings is enabled by a collection of 5 shafts in addition to the C2S conveyor entry. Shaft 1 (6.7 m diameter) and Shaft 2 (10 m diameter) are multipurpose service, manufacturing, and consumption air flow shafts sunk to a depth of 1,385 m and 1,284 m respectively. Shaft 3 is a ten m diameter concrete-lined consumption shaft, with a depth of 1,148 m. Shaft 4 is an 11 m diameter concrete-lined exhaust shaft, with a depth of 1,209 m. Shaft 5 is a 6.7 m diameter concrete lined exhaust shaft, with two underground air flow stations and a depth of 1,178 m. The conveyor to floor (C2S) system contains three an identical 2,202 m lengthy 1.6 m large metal wire conveyors working at 6 m/s and able to conveying the total deliberate manufacturing fee of 32 Mt/y. The conveyors have been put in in a 6 m large by 5.4 m excessive conveyor decline.
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