• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.30 no.A
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• pp.17-23
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• 2010

Recently, a large number of open-pit mines are planning to change their mining method to underground types because the environmental concerns and legal regulations are increased with a rise in the standard of living. The K silica mine, which is one of them and located in Kyunggi province, is planning the establishment of a vertical shaft which will be used for ore-pass channel in their new glory hole mining method. This vertical shaft will be designed to join with a horizontal gangway excavated from the ground level. In this new mining system, the excavated ore particles will be stored inside a shaft and transported out with a help of a conveyor belt. Therefore the hang-up of ore particles in a shaft, the control of gate at the bottom of a shaft, the installation of dog-leg at the gate should be investigated identically. In this study, the PFC-2D code which is one of the discrete element numerical methods has been applied to simulate the particle flow mechanism in a shaft, and the optimum mine design has been proposed to maximize the productivity and to minimize the system damage.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.167-178
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• 2019

Open-pit (OP) and underground (UG) mining are usually used to exploit shallow and deep ore deposits, respectively. When mine deposit starts from shallow subsurface and extends to a great depth, sequential use of OP and UG mining is an efficient and economical way to maintain mining productivity. However, a transition from OP to UG mining could induce significant rock movements that cause the slope instability of the open pit. Based on Yanqianshan Iron Mine, which was in the transition from OP to UG mining, a large-scale two-dimensional (2D) model test was built according to the similar theory. Thereafter, the UG mining was carried out to mimic the process of transition from OP to UG mining to disclose the triggered rock movement as well as to assess the associated slope instability. By jointly using three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning, distributed fiber optics, and digital photogrammetry measurement, the deformations, movements and strains of the rock slope during mining were monitored. The obtained data showed that the transition from OP to UG mining led to significant slope movements and deformations that can trigger catastrophic slope failure. The progressive movement of the slope could be divided into three stages: onset of micro-fracture, propagation of tensile cracks, and the overturning and/or sliding of slopes. The failure mode depended on the orientation of structural joints of the rock mass as well as the formation of tension cracks. This study also proved that these non-contact monitoring technologies were valid methods to acquire the interior strain and external deformation with high precision.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.353-361
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• 2013

Previous studies for analyzing optimal haulage routes of dump trucks in open pit mines mostly used raster data. However, the raster data has several problems in performing optimal route analyses: (1) the jagged appearance of haulage roads according the cell resolution often causes overestimation of the travel cost; (2) it difficult to trace the topological relationships among haulage roads. These problems can be eliminated by using vector network data, however a new method is required to reflect the performance characteristics of a dump truck according to terrain gradient changes. This study presents a new method to create vector network data with the consideration of terrain gradient for analyzing optimal haulage routes of dump trucks in open pit mines. It consists of four procedures: (a) creating digital elevation models, (b) digitizing haulage road networks, (c) calculating the terrain gradient of haulage roads, and (d) calculating the average speed and travel time of a dump truck along haulage roads. A simple case study at the Roto South pit in the Pasir open pit coal mine, Indonesia is also presented to provide proof that the proposed method is easily compatible to ArcGIS Network Analyst software and is effective in finding optimal haulage routes of dump trucks with considering terrain gradient in open pit mines.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.305-317
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• 2019

The RMR and Q-system for characterizing rock mass and drilling core, and for estimating the support and reinforcement measures in mine galleries, tunnels and caverns have been widely used by engineers. SMR has been widely used in the rock mass classification for rock slope, but Q-Slope has been introduced into slopes since 2015. In the last ten years, a modified Q-system called Q-slope has been tested by the many authors for application to the benches in open pit mines and excavated road rock slopes. The results have shown that a simple correlation exists between Q-slope values and the long-term stable and unsupported slope angles. Just as RMR and Q have been used together in a tunnel or underground space and complemented by comparison, Q-Slope can be used in parallel with SMR. This paper introduces how to use Q-Slope which has not been announced in Korea and application examples of Pasir open pit coal mine in Indonesia.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.327-343
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• 2022

The standard work report for trucks was developed that records data on truck haulage operations in open-pit and underground mines, and to evaluate the performance of haulage operations. Work reports used in 5 mines in Korea was secured and analyzed, and items to be included in the standard work report were determined. By analyzing the formulas for key performance indicators (KPIs) proposed by the Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG), it was possible to determine how to record time-related data. After selecting a limestone underground mine as a research area, the performance of haulage operations was evaluated using a standard work report. As a result, in terms of truck availability, uptime was 46.7%, and both physical and mechanical availability were 100%. In the case of utilization, use of availability was 88.2%, the asset utilization was 41.1%, and operating and effective utilization were 88.2% and 79.2%, respectively. Also, in terms of efficiency, operating efficiency was found to be 89.9%.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2013

The slopes of open-pit mine are typically designed without considering the reinforcement and support method due to the economical efficiency. However, the long-term stability of final pit slope is needed in some case, therefore the appropriate measures that can improve the stability are required. In this study, the field survey and laboratory test were carried out in S limestone mine. The stability assessment of final pit slope was performed through the stereographic projection method, SMR, and numerical analysis. And countermeasures for stabilization were proposed. The results of analysis show that full scale of slope failure is not expected but the failures of bench slope scale are likely to occur. In oder to increase the stability of bench slope, we suggested the remedial methods as follows: excavating the final pit slope by pre-splitting blasting, placing the wide berm in the intermediate bench slope and installing the horizontal drainage hole in the place of local ground water runoff.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2006

The typical blasting method adopted in Pasir Coal Mine is a surface blasting technique with a single free face. It means that there is only one free face, which is usually the ground surface. This kind of blasting method is easy to use but inevitably causes enormous ground vibrations, which, in turn, can affect the stability of the slopes comprising the various boundaries of the open pit mine. In addition, the method also has the problem of lowering the blast efficiency compared to other methods such as bench blasting methods or ones with more than two free faces. In this respect, a project was launched to develop a new blasting method that is suitable for controling the ground vibration and enhancing the blast efficiency. As a part of the project, authors investigated the current blasting method as well as the overall pit developing process in the mine, and established some important guidelines that should be observed during the whole development process. This paper presents the details of the typical blasting pattern and the pit developing method in the mine, and suggests the guidelines determined from the results of the observations.

• Proceedings of the KSEG Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.109-114
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• 2002

Development of a three-dimensional mine visualization model for a section of the mine is addressed first. Discontinuity orientation and location information was taken from this visualization model for use in slope stability analyses. Estimated shear strength properties of discontinuities and mechanical properties of intact rock from the rock mass samples obtained from the mine are discussed next. The third part of the paper is focused on the results obtained for maximum safe slope angles for the section considered of the mine based on block theory analysis conducted under only the gravitational forces using the mapped discontinuities at the mine. Finally, the effects of water that exist in the rock mass, a tension crack, slope face inclination, overall wedge height and double benching on factor of safety of wedge stability are illustrated through limit equilibrium slope stability analyses conducted on a single tetrahedral wedge belonging to potential key block category that exist in the investigated area of the mine.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.189-195
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• 2007

Pirquitas mine was Bolivian type deposits, which Tertiary quartz andesites caused various epithermal quartz veins and deposited minerals of Sn and Ag in it. Main mineral was cassiterite and necessaries were pyrite, arsenopyrite, pynhotite, Probable ore reserve and daily production are 200 million tons and 5 thousand tons, respectively, and both of exploration and pit development are being carried simultaneously, but in near future open pit works can be done. This mine is owned by the Canadian company of "Silver Standard Resources" and it is located on $S22^{\circ}30'25.0",\;66^{\circ}15'22.5"$, 4086m S.L. In view of infrastructure, geological environment and scale of ore reserves it is high potential area for domestic mining companies to participate share ownership.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.94-102
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• 2012

In this paper, an interactive planning and scheduling framework are proposed for optimising operations from pits to crushers in ore mining industry. Series of theoretical and practical operations research techniques are investigated to improve the overall efficiency of mining systems due to the facts that mining managers need to tackle optimisation problems within different horizons and with different levels of detail. Under this framework, mine design planning, mine production sequencing and mine transportation scheduling models are integrated and interacted within a whole optimisation system. The proposed integrated framework could be used by mining industry for reducing equipment costs, improving the production efficiency and maximising the net present value.