Cement Manufacturers Association

25 Scientific Mine Planning & Operations with application of latest techniques ABSTRACT The paper discusses about the Scientific Mine Planning & Operations with application of latest techniques in limestone mines, which is a major commodity for cement manufacturing. This is quite a critical exercise for maximizing the resources, systematizing operations and optimizing the NPV of gains. This exercise helps in updating and timely managing these objectives. Despite extensive work in this exercise with techniques, challenges still exist like various demands from stakeholders, environmental demands, dynamic input parameters, etc. This ultimately results in effective mineral conservation, enhanced life of deposits, sustainable mining operation and low cost of limestone production. The Mining operation is a very complex activity for extraction of limestone minerals at the best cost, including elemental activities like exploration, development, production, mine cost analysis, acquisitions activity, industrials and base metals markets forecasts and analysis, supply chain and ESG. To address the complexity there is a need for scientific mining and optimal exploitation of limestone stands on four pillars viz., Effective Mine Planning, Optimisation of deposit with judicious blending of various grades, regular monitoring, and Effective improvements in mining operations. This ultimately results in effective mineral conservation, enhanced life of deposits, sustainable mining operation and low cost of limestone production. Optimisation of limestone deposit to make it best utilised is a part of effective mine planning, which solves most of the above complexity, maximising resources & achieving lowest cost of operation. To think of optimisation as “informed mine planning with maximising the geological resources safely throughout the life of mine operation” would not be amiss. Various steps are involved in optimisation and there is significant role of mining software, mine planning tools & techniques in optimisation exercises. There exist several State-of-the-Art software solutions for optimisation of mineral resources, both available commercially and developed by companies in house. In the current scenario, IT enabled services coupled with state-of-the-art mining software are used to monitor quarry operations and to take key decisions for the regular operation of mining. 1. Background The optimisation of deposit is essential for the maximum utilization of resources at a lowered cost of mining production. Given the limited quantity of available raw material resources and increasing mining constraints, quality and cost competitive requirements become quite necessary for cement manufacturing, for a good and well-designed resource optimisation desirable. Bhanu Prakash Bhatnagar Mining Head, Ambuja Cement Ltd (group company of Adani Cement Ltd), Ahmedabad