Assessing of Losses and Dilution Impact on the Cost Chain: Case Study of Gold Ore Deposits
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Mine-to-Mill Concept
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1.2. Quality Control: Losses, Dilution, Average Grade of the Valuable Component
- use of drill and shovel technologies to monitor processes,
- optimization of blast fragmentation,
- optimization of communition processes,
- improvement of monitoring in the factory, especially of the handling system in the pit and ore.
- fragment size classification,
- improvements of grade control,
- sorting,
- improvement of mill feed grades.
- Delineation and characterization of main domains, based on rock strength and structure. At this stage an organization can use many measurement techniques, which are statistically representative.
- Establishment of process constraints, such as: damage and control, wall stability, presence of water, muckpile characteristics, ore dilution, size of mining equipment, process bottlenecks, power of crushing, and mining equipment.
- Definition of downstream requirements, which are key to the process and development of proper drilling or blasting strategies for each domain.
- Usage of proven software tools, simulations, and predictive models to establish good level of operating and control strategy to increase and maximize overall profit from the mill.
- Implementation and monitoring of integrated operating strategies and establishment of proper standards, for example, quality standards.
- Analysis of data and results.
- Implementation and maintenance of obtained benefits in the long term perspective.
2. Materials and Methods
- The ‘Introduction’ section reviews theoretical foundations of such terms as quality control, losses, dilution, average and cut-off grades of mineral raw materials. The main references are presented, which reflect the aim and objectives of the mine-to-mill concept.
- The ‘Results’ section demonstrates the research method, which includes stages that estimate how losses and dilution indicators influence the costs of gold extraction and processing in open-pit mining. Study materials include commercial reserves and gold grade in the group of gold deposits at Kuranakh ore field. The assessment method is a compilation of several guidelines: estimation of the average metal content in the extracted ore; the estimation of Owing and Operating [82]; evaluating the efficiency of mining and processing by reducing costs.Section contains the following calculations of mine-to-mill chain:
- Estimation and analysis of average grade of the valuable component in the ore, considering changes in the indicators of losses and dilution;
- Economic effect from reduction of operating costs on ore transportation from the quarry to the processing plant due to changes in the amount of ore stacking;
- Justification of techno-economic indicators of gold processing plant (GPP) performance.
- The ‘Discussion’ section describes the main possibilities and limitations of the suggested approach to losses and dilution estimation, demonstrates case studies of gold mining companies, applying mine-to-mill approaches.
- base-case scenario: losses are 3.1% with the ore grade of 0.9 g/t; dilution is 17% with the grade of 0.2 g/t;
- project scenario: losses are 2.1% with the ore grade of 0.9 g/t; dilution is 13% with the grade of 0.2 g/t.
3. Results
- Estimation and analysis of the average grade of the valuable component in the ore, considering changes in the indicators of losses and dilution.
- Justification of the economic effect from reduction of operating costs on ore transportation from the quarry to the processing plant due to changes in the amount of ore stacking;
- Justification of techno-economic indicators of GPP performance.
3.1. Assessment of the Effects of Increasing Average Grade. Estimation and Analysis of the Average Grade of the Valuable Component in the Ore, Considering Changes in the Parameters of Losses and Dilution
3.2. Justification of the Economic Effect from Reduction of Operating Costs on Ore Transportation from the Quarry to the Processing Plant Due to Changes in the Amount of Ore Stacking
- fixed operating costs, amortization expenses;
- labor costs of machine operators section (team), calculated using either actual (forecast) production rates or existing tariff rates of respective pay grades, taking into account allowances, perks, bonuses, and other extra payments;
- costs of high-wear parts replacement;
- costs of fuel, lubricants, and hydraulic fluids;
- repair and machine maintenance costs.
- transportation of ore extracted in the quarry to the intermediate stockpile for blending;
- transportation of non-commercial ores and their storage in special low-grade stockpiles;
- transportation of ore to the GPP hopper.
3.3. Feasibility Study of GPP Operation
4. Discussion
- The estimation method is invalid for complex deposits. Exploitation of complex deposits implies extraction of both main and associated minerals. As an outcome of mine-to-mill process, there are several types of products, e.g., commercial products of a complex gold ore deposit may include gold, silver, copper. This complicates estimation of operating and capital costs due to different prices of commercial products and different costs of their treatment.
- Estimation method is developed for specific logistical conditions of Kuranakh ore field deposits. Therefore, it requires adjustment in case it is applied at other deposits.
- The method considers the impact of only two technological parameters (losses and dilution) on the mine-to-mill chain. Other factors, dependent on geology, mining method and technique, grain composition of the rock mass, environmental cost, etc., are not taken into account.
5. Conclusions
- theoretical analysis and identification of strengths and weaknesses of the mine-to-mill concept, justification of the absence of thoroughly developed methodological foundations for the efficiency assessment of ore extraction parameter control;
- development of guidelines for the assessment of how losses and dilution indicators influence the costing chain from ore extraction to its processing;
- practical evaluation of the guidelines for the case of gold ore deposits.
- the principle of economic assessment, based on continuous planning, analysis, and control of the production process from the stage of ore extraction to the treatment of the mineral product (mine-to-mill);
- the method of economic assessment as a compilation of factor analysis and value engineering, which takes into account the economy of operating costs due to variation of losses and dilution parameters throughout the whole production chain;
- results of economic assessment of how losses and dilution impact the indicators of operating costs (in a case study of the group of gold ore deposits), manifested as changes in the gold grade of the extracted rock mass, changes in the amounts of ore blending and transportation, decrease in the amount of ore processing.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Quarry | Commercial Ore | Losses, (Au 0.9 g/t) | Dilution, (Au 0.2 g/t) | Ore at the GPP | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thousand Tons | Au Grade, g/t | Au Metal, kg | Thousand Tons | % | Au Grade, kg | Thousand Tons | % | Au Metal, kg | Thousand Tons | % | Au, kg | |
1. Delbe | 38,149.63 | 1.35 | 51,502.00 | 1182.64 | 3.1 | 1064.37 | 6485.44 | 17.0 | 1297.09 | 43,452.43 | 1.19 | 51,734.72 |
2. Kanavnoye | 27,122.00 | 1.21 | 32,817.62 | 840.78 | 3.1 | 756.70 | 3525.86 | 17.0 | 705.17 | 29,807.08 | 1.08 | 32,060.92 |
3. Yakutskoye | 21,906.23 | 1.24 | 27,163.73 | 679.09 | 3.1 | 611.18 | 3724.06 | 17.0 | 744.81 | 24,951.2 | 1.09 | 27,297.36 |
4. Dorozhnoye | 16,392.42 | 1.19 | 19,506.98 | 508.17 | 3.1 | 457.35 | 2786.71 | 17.0 | 557.34 | 18,670.97 | 1.05 | 19,606.97 |
5. Tsentralnoye | 15,051.22 | 1.51 | 22,727.35 | 466.59 | 3.1 | 419.93 | 2558.71 | 17.0 | 511.74 | 17,143.34 | 1.33 | 22,819.16 |
6. Porfirovoye | 8643.28 | 2.44 | 21,089.59 | 267.94 | 3.1 | 241.15 | 1469.36 | 17.0 | 293.87 | 9844.69 | 2.15 | 21,142.32 |
7. Bokovoye | 7451.10 | 1.62 | 12,070.78 | 230.98 | 3.1 | 207.89 | 1266.69 | 17.0 | 253.34 | 8486.8 | 1.43 | 12,116.23 |
8. Severnoye | 6705.99 | 1.23 | 8248.37 | 207.89 | 3.1 | 187.10 | 1140.02 | 17.0 | 228.00 | 7638.12 | 1.09 | 8289.27 |
9. Pervukhinskoye | 4768.70 | 1.19 | 5674.76 | 147.83 | 3.1 | 133.05 | 810.68 | 17.0 | 162.14 | 5431.55 | 1.05 | 5703.85 |
10. Yuzhnoye | 2682.40 | 1.28 | 3433.47 | 83.15 | 3.1 | 74.84 | 456.01 | 17.0 | 91.20 | 3055.25 | 1.07 | 3267.43 |
11. Novoye | 149.02 | 1.42 | 211.61 | 4.62 | 3.1 | 4.16 | 25.33 | 17.0 | 5.07 | 169.74 | 1.25 | 212.52 |
TOTAL | 149,022.00 | 1.37 | 204,446.26 | 4619.68 | 3.1 | 4157.71 | 24,248.86 | 4849.77 | 168,651.18 | 1.21 | 204,852.2 |
Quarry | Commercial Ore | Losses, (Au 0.9 g/t) | Dilution, (Au 0.2 g/t) | Ore at the GPP | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thousand Tons | Au Grade, g/t | Au Metal, kg | Thousand Tons | % | Au Metal, kg | Thousand Tons | % | Au Metal, kg | Thousand Tons | % | Au, kg | |
1. Delbe | 38,149.63 | 1.35 | 51,502.00 | 801.14 | 2.1 | 721.03 | 4959.45 | 13.0 | 991.89 | 42,307.94 | 1.22 | 51,772.87 |
2. Kanavnoye | 27,122.00 | 1.21 | 32,817.62 | 569.56 | 2.1 | 512.61 | 3525.86 | 13.0 | 705.17 | 30,078.30 | 1.07 | 32,305.02 |
3. Yakutskoye | 21,906.23 | 1.24 | 27,163.73 | 460.03 | 2.1 | 414.03 | 2847.81 | 13.0 | 569.56 | 24,294.01 | 1.12 | 27,319.26 |
4. Dorozhnoye | 16,392.42 | 1.19 | 19,506.98 | 344.24 | 2.1 | 309.82 | 2131.01 | 13.0 | 426.20 | 18,179.19 | 1.08 | 19,623.37 |
5. Tsentralnoye | 15,051.22 | 1.51 | 22,727.35 | 316.08 | 2.1 | 284.47 | 1956.66 | 13.0 | 391.33 | 16,691.81 | 1.37 | 22,834.21 |
6. Porfirovoye | 8643.28 | 2.44 | 21,089.59 | 181.51 | 2.1 | 163.36 | 1123.63 | 13.0 | 224.73 | 9585.39 | 2.21 | 21,150.96 |
7. Bokovoye | 7451.10 | 1.62 | 12,070.78 | 156.47 | 2.1 | 140.83 | 968.64 | 13.0 | 193.73 | 8263.27 | 1.47 | 12,123.68 |
8. Severnoye | 6705.99 | 1.23 | 8248.37 | 140.83 | 2.1 | 126.74 | 871.78 | 13.0 | 174.36 | 7436.94 | 1.12 | 8295.98 |
9. Pervukhinskoye | 4768.70 | 1.19 | 5674.76 | 100.14 | 2.1 | 90.13 | 619.93 | 13.0 | 123.99 | 5288.49 | 1.08 | 5708.62 |
10. Yuzhnoye | 2682.40 | 1.28 | 3433.47 | 56.33 | 2.1 | 50.70 | 348.71 | 13.0 | 69.74 | 2974.78 | 1.11 | 3313.03 |
11. Novoye | 149.02 | 1.42 | 211.61 | 3.13 | 2.1 | 2.82 | 19.37 | 13.0 | 3.87 | 165.27 | 1.29 | 212.67 |
TOTAL | 149,022.00 | 1.37 | 204,446.26 | 3129.46 | 2816.52 | 19,372.86 | 3874.57 | 165,265.40 | 1.24 | 205,218.20 |
Quarry | Base-Case Scenario | Project Scenario | Deviation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amount of Ore, Thousand Tons | Au Grade in the Commercial Reserves, g/t | Au Metal, kg | Amount of Ore, Thousand Tons | Au Grade in the Commercial Reserves, g/t | Au Metal, kg | Amount of ore, Thousand Tons [4 − 1] | Au Grade, g/t [5 − 2] | Au Metal, kg [6 − 3] | |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
Delbe | 43,452.43 | 1.19 | 51,734.72 | 42,307.94 | 1.22 | 51,772.87 | −1144.49 | 0.03 | 38.2 |
Kanavnoye | 29,807.08 | 1.08 | 32,060.92 | 30,078.3 | 1.07 | 32,305.02 | 271.22 | −0.01 | 244.1 |
Yakutskoye | 24,951.2 | 1.09 | 27,297.36 | 24,294.01 | 1.12 | 27,319.26 | −657.19 | 0.03 | 21.9 |
Dorozhnoye | 18,670.97 | 1.05 | 19,606.97 | 18,179.19 | 1.08 | 19,623.37 | −657.19 | 0.03 | 16.4 |
Tsentralnoye | 17,143.34 | 1.33 | 22,819.16 | 16,691.81 | 1.37 | 22,834.21 | −451.53 | 0.04 | 15.0 |
Porfirovoye | 9844.69 | 2.15 | 21,142.32 | 9585.39 | 2.21 | 21,150.96 | −259.3 | 0.06 | 8.6 |
Bokovoye | 8486.8 | 1.43 | 12,116.23 | 8263.27 | 1.47 | 12,123.68 | −223.53 | 0.04 | 7.5 |
Severnoye | 7638.12 | 1.09 | 8289.27 | 7436.94 | 1.12 | 8295.98 | −201.18 | 0.03 | 6.7 |
Pervukhinskoye | 5431.55 | 1.05 | 5703.85 | 5288.49 | 1.08 | 5708.62 | −143.06 | 0.03 | 4.8 |
Yuzhnoye | 3055.25 | 1.07 | 3267.43 | 2974.78 | 1.11 | 3313.03 | −80.47 | 0.04 | 45.6 |
Novoye | 169.74 | 1.25 | 212.52 | 165.27 | 1.29 | 212.67 | −4.47 | 0.04 | 0.1 |
TOTAL | 168,651.18 | 1.21 | 204,852.2 | 165,265.4 | 1.24 | 205,218.2 | −3385.78 | 0.03 | 366.0 |
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Strengths/Benefits | Weaknesses/Problems |
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|
|
Component | Characteristics |
---|---|
Fragmentation | Fragmentation can be defined as the size distribution of rock fragments. The fragmentation is dependent on factors such as rock properties, charge patterns, specific drill spacing, gas explosion pressure and properties of explosives. Blasting is used to produce rock fragments that are manageable. It is important to easy clean them, handle, load, or crush. Those processes are used to minimize total production cost per ton blasted. |
Ore loss | The process of ore movement is realized by means of face cleaning, blasting, loading, and scraping. In some cases, realization of those processes leads to ore loss. Ore losses can be defined as any unrecoverable economic ore, which is left inside the stope, or which is not recovered, using mineral processing system. This is broken ore, which was called by mine measuring methods, but for now was not removed and not incorporated in the accounting system. Also, ore losses occur when some valuable material is misclassified, for example, as a waste and is sent to waste dumps. |
Ore dilution | When the material is broken from the stope, it is a mixture of waste rock and reef. The proportion between waste and reef depends on many factors, such as waste width, reef width, intrusions, faults and also mining practices, in particular ore mine. Dilution may be an effect of low-grade material mixing or waste mixing with the ore. This can occur during the operation and then be sent into processing. The effect is reduction of the ore value and waste of material. We can quantify dilution as the ratio of tonnage of waste mined, which was sent to the mill, to the whole tonnage of ore plus whole waste milled. It can be expressed as percentage: Dilution |
Deposit | Share in the Structure of Commercial Reserves of Kuranakh Field, % | Characteristics of Commercial Reserves | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ore, Thousand Tons | Au Grade, g/t | Au, kg | ||
Delbe | 25.60 | 38,149.63 | 1.35 | 51,502.00 |
Kanavnoye | 18.20 | 27,122.00 | 1.21 | 32,817.62 |
Yakutskoye | 14.70 | 21,906.23 | 1.24 | 27,163.73 |
Dorozhnoye | 11.00 | 16,392.42 | 1.19 | 19,506.98 |
Tsentralnoye | 10.10 | 15,051.22 | 1.51 | 22,727.35 |
Porfirovoye | 5.80 | 8643.28 | 2.44 | 21,089.59 |
Bokovoye | 5.00 | 7451.10 | 1.62 | 12,070.78 |
Severnoye | 4.50 | 6705.99 | 1.23 | 8248.37 |
Pervukhinskoye | 3.20 | 4768.70 | 1.19 | 5674.76 |
Yuzhnoye | 1.80 | 2682.40 | 1.28 | 3433.47 |
Novoye | 0.10 | 149.02 | 1.42 | 211.61 |
TOTAL | 100.00 | 149,022.00 | 1.37 | 204,446.26 |
Type of Equipment | Specific Labor Tariff, $/t | Economy of Operating Costs Due to Changes in Workscope (Qij) at the Stages of ore Transportation, Stacking and Blending, $ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Qij (−5%) | Qij (−10%) | Qij (−15%) | Qij (−20%) | Qij (−25%) | Qij (−30%) | ||
CAT- R 1600 H | 0.40 | 121.5 | 243 | 364.5 | 486 | 607.5 | 729 |
CAT834 | 0.23 | 69.5 | 139.5 | 209.25 | 279 | 348.75 | 418.5 |
TOTAL | 191.25 | 382.5 | 573.75 | 765 | 956.25 | 1147.5 |
Indicator | Measuring Units | Base-Case Scenario | Project Scenario |
---|---|---|---|
Commercial reserves | tons | 1000 | 1000 |
Losses | % | 3.1 | 2.10 |
Dilution | % | 17 | 13 |
Amounts of ore, entering GPP () | tons | 1139 | 1109 |
Reduction in the amount of ore processing at GPP due to improvement in ore quality | tons | - | −30 |
Cost of processing 1 ton of ore | USD | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Economy of processing costs per 1 thousand tons of ore | USD | - | 120.0 |
Annual amounts of ore processing at GPP | tons | 6,000,000 | 6,000,000 |
Annual economy of costs | USD | - | 720,310.0 |
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Marinin, M.; Marinina, O.; Wolniak, R. Assessing of Losses and Dilution Impact on the Cost Chain: Case Study of Gold Ore Deposits. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3830. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073830
Marinin M, Marinina O, Wolniak R. Assessing of Losses and Dilution Impact on the Cost Chain: Case Study of Gold Ore Deposits. Sustainability. 2021; 13(7):3830. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073830
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarinin, Mikhail, Oksana Marinina, and Radosław Wolniak. 2021. "Assessing of Losses and Dilution Impact on the Cost Chain: Case Study of Gold Ore Deposits" Sustainability 13, no. 7: 3830. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073830