JSC Lebedinsky GOK, Gubkin, Russia:

O. Yu. Mikhailov, Managing Director
V. D. Gorbatenko, Chief Geologist, gorbatenko_v_d@lebgok.ru
V. I. Grigoriev, Leading Specialist, Candidate of Geologo-Mineralogical Sciences

VIOGEM, Belgorod, Russia
S. S. Seryi, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

The raw ore supply base of Lebedinsky GOK (Mining and Processing Plant) is composed of ferruginous quartzite reserves of Lebedinskoe and Stoilo-Lebedinskoe deposit that make a whole geological entity developed by a single open pit mine. The reserves were explored down to the level of 500 m (more than 600 m below the ground surface) but the profi table reserves were only approved down to the level of 250 m in 1984; these reserves made the ground for the actual open pit mining project. At the present day, the open pit mine has reached the project depth, and it is of the current concern to hit deeper levels. The factor constraining sustainability of the annual production output gained by the open pit mine (53.7 Mt) whilst going deeper is the existing transporation circuit: dump trucks in the lower work area of the open pit mine–internal stockpiles – railway transportation to the ground surface. The main transportation routes are arranged on the northern pitwall, which makes 1 Bt of ore reserves abandoned. The objective is to transfer the open pit mine to a new transportation circuit and to advance mining operations toward the northern pitwall. VIOGEM research institution (Belgorod) in cooperation with the staff of Lebedinsky GOK have studied feasibility of deepening the open pit mine down to the level of 500 m from the two viewpoints: rock mass stability and new transportation circuit capacity. The latter is based on the cyclical-and-continuous transportation of ore from the open pit mine using two elevating conveyors equipped with internal crushing units on the southern pitwall. Deepening of the open pit mine down to the mentioned level will add not less than 5 Mt of ore reserves, extend the open pit mine life by more than 100 years and will allow the open pit mine to reach the production output of 80 Mt yearly by 2057.

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