Muruntau gold mining and refining operation: Resources, expansion program and future considerations

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
K. Sanakulov ◽  
N. P. Snitka

The international geological community has acknowledged Muruntau gold deposit as the greatest discovery in the mid-to-late 20th century. Muruntau mine field holds the total appraised resource potential of more than 4.5 thousand tons of gold. Hydrometallurgical plant GMZ-3 implements gold-ore processing by gravitational sedimentation and adsorption. The technological and instrumental modernization of the gold processing circuit toward its higher capacity, gold recovery and thoroughness are the important aspects of production improvement and cost reduction. The developed and introduced ore milling flowchart provides replacement of the second milling stage pumps by higher-capacity pumps backed up with additional cyclones. Aiming to ensure stable gold production at plants GMZ-2 and GMZ-3, Navoi MMC’s experts accomplished the feasibility study of mining operations in Chukurkuduk and Turbai deposits in 2020. The growth prospects for open pit mining in Murunatu–Myutenbai fields after 2060 are estimated using the model of optimized ultimate pit limit design at the gold price of USD 1500/t. The model ultimate pit limit embraces all probable reserves as per the detailed 2D seismic data as of early 2020, including proven reserves intended for open pit and underground mining. The gold ore appraisal and the expansion program elaborated for Muruntau gold mining and refining integrated works in joint Muruntau–Myutenbai field, through implementation of operation phases V and further make it possible to forecast stable performance up to 2030–2050.

2021 ◽  
Vol 315 ◽  
pp. 01006
Author(s):  
Tatiana Tyuleneva ◽  
Roman Shishkov ◽  
Elena Kucherova ◽  
Marat Moldazhanov

In recent years, there has been a decline in the efficiency of coal mining by traditional methods. On the one hand, the volume of coal outside the contour of the cut, which is economically impractical for open-pit mining, is increasing. On the other hand, when using underground geotechnology, the cost of production exceeds the cost of performing mining operations using open geotechnology, this is due to differences in the factors of operation of the open pit and the mine. This circumstance determines the use of open-underground technology for mining coal reserves outside the contour of the open pit as an actual and promising direction. This article describes a methodological approach based on the use of technological schemes for the preparation and treatment of reserves of powerful shallow coal seams, the justification of the parameters of combined geotechnology with a coordinated and balanced development of open and open-underground mining operations with the distribution of reserves for open and open-underground mining of coal reserves beyond the limit contour of the open pit, the preparation of excavation sites directly from its workings and the coordination of production capacity and the speed of their development. Its application will increase the production capacity of the coal mining complex without additional environmental burden and will provide an increased return on investment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 01041
Author(s):  
Vladimir Makarov ◽  
Péter Kovacs ◽  
Samuel Dagmar ◽  
Riccardo Paulman

The main sources of environmental pollution are: pollution from the residual effects of working out of mine fields by underground method; pollution from secondary mining of mine fields by the open method. The pollution of the environment from the underground mining of mine fields is mainly due to the erosion of the surface of the ditches caused by collapse of the underground workings, spontaneous combustion of the remaining coal reserves and exit of poison gases SO2 and CO to the surface through the cracks from the lower horizons of the worked-out mine fields. This makes actual the research of technological possibilities of harmful emissions reducing when quarrying underground mines’ fields. The environment deterioration from conducting open pit mining operations in the underground mine fields is caused by the technological processes of quarrying (preparation of rock for excavation, excavation, transportation of rocks and coal, dumping), by the objects of the open pit infrastructure (industrial site, transport communications, trenches and other workings, coal storage and rock dumps). The main direction of eliminating the negative environmental consequences of underground mining is the localization or complete isolation of the underground mines influence’ on the surface.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (30) ◽  
pp. 115-123
Author(s):  
A.A. Sobolev ◽  
◽  
G.V. Sekisov ◽  
A.Yu. Cheban ◽  
N.M. Litvinova ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 02006
Author(s):  
Tatiana Gvozdkova ◽  
Pawel Stefanek ◽  
Michaela Koščová

Ecological problems in the open pit mining of coal deposits are extremely hard, since mining operations are accompanied by disturbed land to a large depth with significant changes in the landscape, hydrometeorological conditions, mixing of rocks and removal of infertile or even harmful rocks with radioactive isotopes to the surface. Disturbed lands are unusable if they are not repaired. All man-made disturbances of the environment caused by open pit mining are divided into landscape (changes in terrain, vegetation and soil cover) and environmental (violation of living conditions within the allotment and adjacent lands: changes in water regime, pollution of the soil, air and water basins) onesOne of the most important areas in the field of environmental protection is the reclamation (restoration) of the earth’s surface. In accordance with the requirements of the protection of the subsoil, enterprises engaged in the development of mineral deposits are obliged at their own expense to bring disturbed lands into a state suitable form for their further use. Reclamation of ought to be carried out during open pit mining operations and must be completed after mining of mineral resources in the terms established by the authorities that provide land for use.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6971
Author(s):  
Mikhail Zarubin ◽  
Larissa Statsenko ◽  
Pavel Spiridonov ◽  
Venera Zarubina ◽  
Noune Melkoumian ◽  
...  

This research article presents a software module for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of open pit mines. The EIA software module has been developed based on the comprehensive examination of both country-specific (namely, Kazakhstan) and current international regulatory frameworks, legislation and EIA methodologies. EIA frameworks and methods have been critically evaluated, and mathematical models have been developed and implemented in the GIS software module ‘3D Quarry’. The proposed methodology and software module allows for optimised EIA calculations of open pit mines, aiming to minimise the negative impacts on the environment. The study presents an original methodology laid out as a basis for a software module for environmental impact assessment on atmosphere, water basins, soil and subsoil, tailored to the context of mining operations in Kazakhstan. The proposed software module offers an alternative to commercial off-the-shelf software packages currently used in the mining industry and is suitable for small mining operators in post-Soviet countries. It is anticipated that applications of the proposed software module will enable the transition to sustainable development in the Kazakh mining industry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 131-134
Author(s):  
G. N. Nyusupova ◽  
◽  
S.V. Tursbekov ◽  
A.N. Musagalieva ◽  
Sh.A. Zhantueva ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 303 ◽  
pp. 01029
Author(s):  
Alexander Katsubin ◽  
Victor Martyanov ◽  
Milan Grohol

Information about the geological structure of Kuznetsky coal basin (Kuzbass) allows us to note that coal deposits developed by open-cast method are characterized by complicated conditions and have the following features: large length of deposits at significant depths of occurrence; coal series bedding of different thicknesses (from 1 to 40 m); different dip angles (from 3 to 90º); a significant number of dip and direction disturbances; different thickness of unconsolidated quaternary sediments (from 5 to 40 m); a wide range of strength values of rocks. In addition, there is a thickness irregularity and frequent variability of elements of occurrence of coal seams within the boundaries of a quarry field both in length and depth of mining. From the point of view of open-pit mining, such deposits are complex-structured. The factors listed above have a decisive influence on the choice of technical means, the order of development and the possibility of carrying out surface mining operations. Therefore, there is a need for a systematization of mining and geological conditions for the development of coal deposits, the purpose of which is to ensure a process of evaluation of complex-structured coal deposits for the development of coal-bearing zones by various complexes of equipment.


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