Transbaikal State University, Chita, Russia:

V. M. Lizunkin, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
M. V. Lizunkin, Associate Professor, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, LMV1972@mail.ru

Priargunsky Mining and Chemical Works (PMCW), Krasnokamensk, Russia:
A. N. Rabolt, Director of Mine No. 8
S. G. Gurov, Chief Engineer of Mine No. 8

Currently, Mine No. 8 of PMCW develops Malo-Tulkuevskoe deposit represented by all morphological ty pes of ore bodies: steeply dipp ing, gently dipping lodes, vein-like and complex-structure bodies. Mining of gently dipping sheetlike ore bodies uses the cut-and-fill method characterized by high ore dilution (to 38 %) and considerable expenditures connected with backfill operations (up to 30–40 %) of the cost of stoping). In this connection, the present study was focused on improvement of mining technology for gently dipping ore bodies towards reduction in ore dilution and backfill cost. Having analyzed international experience of underground mining, the authors proposed a variant of mining gently dipping sheetlike ore bodies by wider stopes. The stopes in an ore layer were arranged so that a pillar between them was 3–4 m wide. After extraction of ore from the stopes, additional breakage was carried out along the stope boundaries to a depth of 1.5–2 m into the ore pillar. This technology reduces amounts of drilling, charging and blasting in gangue, haulage costs, hydrometallurgical processing expenses, amount of backfilling, as well as ore loss and dilution; as a consequence, uranium production cost is cut down. The proposed technology for mining gently dipping sheetlike ore bodies with widening stopes was introduced in extraction blocks 8–614 and 8–624.

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