Method of mining ore

Abstract

An open cut mine includes an area to be mined bounded by a perimeter. The area to be mined includes (a) a manned zone within the perimeter in which manned resources operate to the exclusion of unmanned resources, (b) an unmanned zone within the perimeter in which unmanned resources operate to the exclusion of manned resources, (c) a first manned resource access location in the perimeter including a roadway through which manned resources move into and from the manned zone, and (d) a separate second unmanned resource access location in the perimeter including a roadway through which unmanned resources move into and from the unmanned zone.

Claims

1. An open cut mine, the open cut mine including an area bounded by a perimeter, the area including (a) a manned zone within the perimeter comprising more than one manned resources wherein the manned resources are selected from the group consisting of manned front end loaders, dozers, graders, drill rigs, water trucks, survey trucks, and explosives trucks, and the manned resources operate to the exclusion of unmanned resources, (b) an unmanned zone within the perimeter comprising more than one of the unmanned resources wherein the unmanned resources operate to the exclusion of manned resources, (c) a first manned resource access location in the perimeter including a roadway through which the manned resources move into and from the manned zone, and (d) a second unmanned resource access location in the perimeter separate from the first manned resource access location and including a roadway through which unmanned resources move into and from the unmanned zone.

2. The open cut mine defined in claim 1 wherein different sections of the manned zone contain different mining operations.

3. The open cut mine defined in claim 2 wherein the different mining operations in the manned zone comprise any one or more of grading the zone, taking samples of ore in the zone for analysis, and drilling blast holes, charging explosives into the blast holes, and blasting at least a part of the zone to release ore for removal from the mine.

4. The open cut mine defined in claim 1 wherein different sections of the unmanned zone contain different mining operations.

5. The open cut mine of claim 1 wherein unmanned resources are precluded access into the manned zone or manned resources are precluded access into the unmanned zone.

6. The open cut mine of claim 1 wherein the manned zone and unmanned zone are separated by physical barriers.

7. The open cut mine of claim 1 wherein the first manned resource access location and the second manned resource access location are separated by physical barriers.

Description

(1) The present invention is described further with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

(2) FIGS. 1 to 9 are a series of perspective views that show the steps involved in mining an area of an underground mine in one embodiment of a method of mining iron ore in accordance with the present invention.

(3) It is noted that the area to be mined may comprise the whole of a mine or a part of the mine. In the latter case, it can be appreciated that the mine may comprise a number of different areas that are mined using the same or different methods, as a consequence of the geology and other relevant mining factors.

(4) Each of the perspective views in the Figures is described in the context of mining iron ore by blasting blocks, for example a 60,000 tonne blocks, of iron ore from a bench, picking up the ore from a pit floor by manned earth moving equipment in the form of excavators such as electric rope shovels, diesel hydraulic excavators, or front end loaders, placing the ore into unmanned haulage equipment in the form of unmanned haulage trucks, and transporting the ore to downstream processing plants (not shown) to produce marketable products to customer specifications.

(5) In addition, each of the perspective views in the Figures is described in the context of using manned resources to carry out a range of mining operations in the mine area. The manned mining operations include grading a section of a bench of the mine area to be subsequently drilled and blasted, drilling blast holes, obtaining samples of ore from the blast holes for analysis, and charging the blast holes with explosives.

(6) In addition, each of the perspective views in the Figures is described in the context of a method of open cut mining that comprises carrying out mining operations in the mine with manned resources and unmanned resources by selectively dividing an area of the mine into (a) one or more than one zone for operation of unmanned resources to the exclusion of manned resources and operating the unmanned resources in that unmanned zone or zones and (b) one or more than one zone for operation of manned resources to the exclusion of unmanned resources and operating the manned resources in that manned zone or zones.

(7) In addition, each of the perspective views in the Figures is described in the context of providing separate access locations for unmanned resources and manned resources. The locations of the access locations are selected to maximise productivity of mining operations in the mine.

(8) With reference to FIG. 1, the area enclosed by the perimeter X is the area to be mined in an open cut mining operation. As described above, the mine area is an area that is to be mined using a combination of manned and unmanned resources.

(9) In this embodiment, the manned resources comprise equipment in the form of earth moving vehicles (in the form of front end loaders), dozers, graders, drill rigs, water trucks, hole charging, survey trucks, explosives trucks and the unmanned resources comprise equipment in the form of unmanned haulage trucks. The following description refers to manned resources as manned vehicles and unmanned resources as unmanned vehicles and, particularly as unmanned haulage vehicles. It is noted that focusing the description on manned vehicles and unmanned haulage trucks is for the purpose of simplifying the description. Equally, the present invention includes embodiments in which the manned equipment includes other types of excavators such as rope shovels and hydraulic excavators and is not limited to vehicles and the unmanned equipment includes any one or more of the equipment mentioned above as being manned equipment, such as drill rigs.

(10) In this embodiment, having regard to a series of factors, the mine operator decided that the area would be mined from the south west end of the area in an easterly direction, noting that north is identified by the arrow marked North in the Figures. As a consequence of this decision, in order to facilitate safe access of manned vehicles and unmanned vehicles to the mine area, the operator selected three access locations 3, 5, 6 in the perimeter X. The access location 3, which is in the south west end of the mine area, was selected to provide access for unmanned haulage vehicles only. The access locations 5, 6, which are approximately one third of the way along the respective south and north borders of the area, were selected to provide access to manned vehicles only. The selection was driven by the need to minimise the risk of collision of unmanned haulage vehicles and manned vehicles and to maximise mine productivity and to minimise operating costs.

(11) In addition to the above, having regard to a series of mining-related factors, the mine operator selected a zone 7, described as the AHS Fleet Island and the Unmanned Area in FIG. 1, that is immediately adjacent the access location 3 to be a zone for operation of the unmanned haulage vehicles. The remainder of the area was selected to be a zone 9 for operation of manned vehicles to the exclusion of unmanned haulage vehicles. This zone 9 is described as the Manned Area in FIG. 1. The common boundary of these zones 7, 9 is identified by the numerals 11, 13 in FIG. 1. Access into manned or unmanned zones may be precluded by a physical barrier 10.

(12) The unmanned zone 7 is a region in which manually-operated front end loaders pick up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mine via the access location 3. The unmanned zone 7 in FIG. 1 is typically formed as a drop cut. It is noted that, strictly speaking, the unmanned zone 7 is effectively two types of zones, with the first and more substantial type of zone being a zone in which the autonomously-operated haulage trucks operate and the other type of zone being a manned zone in which the manually-operated front end loaders operate. The two types of zones are described as an unmanned zone 7 in order to simplify the description.

(13) As work continues in the unmanned zone 7, one or more than one new section of the manned zone 9 is prepared for drilling and blasting. This work involves movement of equipment described above onto and from the unmanned zone 9 via the access locations 5, 6.

(14) With further reference to FIG. 1, the next section of the manned zone 9 to be blasted is a section that is immediately east of the unmanned zone 7 shown in the Figure. This section is identified by the cross-hatching in FIG. 1.

(15) With reference to FIG. 2, after blasting this new section becomes part of the unmanned zone 7 and is described as an AFS Fleet Island and identified generally by the numeral 13 in the Figure. This section has boundaries with the manned zone 9 that are identified by the numerals 15, 17. Front end loaders operate in the new AFS Fleet Island 13 and pick-up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mined area via a roadway 19 and the access location 3.

(16) With further reference to FIG. 2, the next stage in the extension of mining operations in the mine area involves blasting the section of the manned zone 9 that is immediately south of the AFS Fleet Island 13 shown in the Figure. This section is identified by cross-hatching in FIG. 2.

(17) As a consequence, after blasting a new AFS Fleet Island 21 is formed, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, a new access location 25, adjacent the access location 3, is constructed to allow access to the AFS Fleet Island 21. Front end loaders operate in the AFS Fleet Island 21 and pick-up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mined area via the access location 25.

(18) The AFS Fleet Island 13 remains part of the overall unmanned zone 7 of the mined area and becomes what is described in FIG. 3 as an Alternate AFS Fleet Island 13. Autonomous mining operations, if required, continue in this zone as required, with access into and out of the zone via the access location 3. Typically, mining will be complete in this zone by this stage. Moreover, if required for subsequent mining operations, manned vehicle access to this zone is possible via the access location 3.

(19) The new AFS Fleet Island 21 and the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 13 have boundaries with the manned zone 9 that are identified by the numeral 15 in FIG. 3.

(20) With further reference to FIG. 3, the next stage in the extension of mining operations in the mine area involves blasting the section of the manned zone 9 that is immediately east of the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 13 shown in the Figure. This section is identified by cross-hatching in FIG. 3.

(21) As a consequence, with reference to FIG. 4, after blasting, a new AFS Fleet Island 31 is formed. In effect, this is an extension of the existing island 13. Access to the new AFS Fleet Island 31 is via the access location 3 and the roadway 19. Front end loaders operate in the AFS Fleet Island 31 and pick-up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mined area via the access location 3.

(22) The previously-described AFS Fleet Island 21 remains part of the overall unmanned zone 7 of the mined area and becomes what is described in FIG. 4 as an Alternate AFS Fleet Island 21. Autonomous mining operations continue in this zone as required, with access into and out of the zone via the access location 25. Typically, mining will be complete in this zone by this stage. Moreover, if required for subsequent mining operations, manned vehicle access to this zone is possible via the access location 25.

(23) With further reference to FIG. 4, the next stage in the extension of mining operations in the mine area involves blasting the section of the manned zone 9 that is immediately east of each of the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 21 and the AFS Fleet Island 31 shown in the Figure. This section is identified by cross-hatching in FIG. 4.

(24) As a consequence, with reference to FIG. 5, a new AFS Fleet Island 31 is formed. In effect, this is an extension of the existing island. Access to the new AFS Fleet Island 31 continues to be via the access location 3 and the roadway 19 within the unmanned zone 7. Front end loaders operate in the AFS Fleet Island 31 and pick-up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mined area via the access location 3.

(25) In addition to extending the AFS Fleet Island 31 shown in FIG. 4, this further mining operation also extends the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 21 shown in that Figure. Autonomous mining operations continue in this zone as required, with access into and out of the zone continuing to be via the access location 25. However, typically, mining will be complete in this zone by this stage. Moreover, if required for subsequent mining operations, manned vehicle access to this zone is possible via the access location 25.

(26) The expansion of the unmanned zone 7 makes it necessary to extend the access road at the access location 5. In particular, it is necessary to form a ramp 35 that allows vehicles to drive onto the manned zone 9.

(27) After autonomous mining in the new AFS Fleet Island 31 is completed, the autonomous mining fleet operating in this area is swung across to mine the new Alternate AFS Fleet Island 21. This switch in operations is shown in FIG. 6. Mined material is removed from this zone 21which in effect becomes a new AFS Fleet Islandvia the access location 25.

(28) With further reference to FIG. 6, the next stage in the extension of mining operations in the mine area involves blasting the section of the manned zone 9 that is immediately east of each of the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 31 and the AFS Fleet Island 21 shown in the Figure. This section is identified by cross-hatching in FIG. 6.

(29) As a consequence, with reference to FIG. 7, a new AFS Fleet Island 21 is formed. In effect, this is an extension of the existing island. Access to the new AFS Fleet Island 21 continues to be via the access location 25 and a roadway 37 within the unmanned zone 7. Front end loaders operate in the AFS Fleet Island 21 and pick-up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mined area via the access location 25.

(30) In addition to extending the AFS Fleet Island 21 shown in FIG. 6, this mining operation also extends the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 31 shown in that Figure. Autonomous mining operations continue in this zone as required, with access into and out of the zone via the access location 6. Typically, mining will be complete in this zone by this stage. Moreover, if required for subsequent mining operations, manned vehicle access to this zone is possible via the access location 6.

(31) The expansion of the unmanned zone 7 makes it necessary to further extend the access road at the access location 5. In particular, it is necessary to construct a roadway 41 as an extension of the ramp 35.

(32) After autonomous mining in the new AFS Fleet Island 21 is completed, the autonomous mining fleet can be swung across to mine the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 31. This switch in operations is shown in FIG. 8. Mined material is removed from this zone 31which in effect becomes a new AFS Fleet Islandvia the access location 25.

(33) With further reference to FIG. 8, the next and final stage in the extension of mining operations in the mine area involves blasting the section of the manned zone 9 that is immediately east of the Alternate AFS Fleet Island 31 and the AFS Fleet Island 21 shown in the Figure. This section is identified by cross-hatching in FIG. 8.

(34) As a consequence, with reference to FIG. 9, a new AFS Fleet Island 31 is formed. In effect, this is an extension of the existing Alternate AFS Fleet Island 21 and the AFS Fleet Island 31. Access to the new AFS Fleet Island 31 is via the access location 25 and the roadway 37 within the unmanned zone 7. Front end loaders operate in the AFS Fleet Island 31 and pick-up and load blasted ore onto autonomously-operated haulage trucks that transport the ore from the mined area via the access location 25.

(35) The expansion of the unmanned zone 7 makes it necessary to further extend the access road at the access location 5. In particular, it is necessary to extend the roadway 41 on the manned zone 9.

(36) After autonomous mining in the new AFS Fleet Island 31 is completed, the part remaining of the manned zone 9 can be mined.

(37) The above sequence of stages that is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9 mines ore to one level in the mine area. The series of stages can be repeated to mine successive levels of ore from the mine area.

(38) Many modifications may be made to the embodiment of the present invention described above in relation to FIGS. 1 to 9 without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

(39) By way of example, whilst the above-described embodiment includes the use of haulage vehicles as unmanned vehicles, the present invention is not so limited and other mining equipment that is described above as being operated as manned vehicles may be remotely-controlled or operated autonomously. For example, the present invention extends to the use of unmanned resources such as earth moving vehicles as remote-controlled or autonomously operated excavators.

(40) In addition, whilst the above-described embodiment includes swinging the fleet of unmanned haulage vehicles between AFS Fleet Islands and Alternate AFS Fleet Islands shown in the Figure, the present invention is not so limited and extends to arrangements in which there are multiple fleets of unmanned haulage vehicles (or other unmanned resources) operating in multiple AFS Fleet Islands and Alternate AFS Fleet Islands.

(41) In addition, whilst the above-described embodiment includes the use of access locations for manned vehicles and separate access locations for unmanned haulage vehicles, the present invention is not so limited and extends to arrangements in which the same access locations are used for both types of vehicles and other forms of unmanned and manned resources. For example, an access location may be set up so that there are separate pathways for the different vehicles through the location. By way of further example, there may be timed access for vehicles through the location, in the sense that the unmanned haulage vehicles are able to move through an access location during one time period and manned vehicles are able to move through the access location at another time period.