Cement Manufacturers Association

26 Every deposit of limestone in India is not homogeneous in nature with varying quality in terms of CaO, SiO2, MgO, etc contents. This directly affects the cement making process, where a consistent quality of Run-of-Mine is required. Most deposits with variable quality contain both lower and higher ranges, needing a proper blend plan for proper utilization. This has to be taken into account during the optimisation exercise of mine planning to prepare extraction plans with the proper blending of all chemical constituents available in resource. 2. Concept of latest techniques in Overall mining perspective As mentioned earlier, optimisation plays an important role in the overall mining perspective, and the following are key benefits for an operative or new mines –  Enhancing understanding of geological resources,  Managing variation in structures of deposit and quality available.  Maximizes the resource recovery  Optimises the waste removal to effective cost control  Enables best suited planning for proper blend plan  Allocation of effective resources like man, machine, and material, etc  Controls of Capex and Opex of mining operations  Allows for effective reclamation planning of mine  Effective pit design, with access and ramp planning for a life of mine. The following table provides a detailed description of the benefits, at various levels in overall mining work by application of the latest mine planning tools & techniques: Nodes in overall mining perspectives Possible benefits Operation Staff 1. Flexibility in operation 2. No human interventions 3. Avoid Human biases 4. Alternatives available 5. Efficient operation Management 1. Evaluation of alternatives 2. Optimal use of deposit 3. Better controls over resource 4. Regular updating of mine faces Nodes in overall mining perspectives Possible benefits Company 1. Savings in Operating Costs 2. Minimal inventories 3. Increased deposit life 4. Consistent production Customer 1. Consistent quality product 2. Effective Cost to product A basic requirement of optimisation for a limestone deposit is extensive knowledge of the deposit and its possible extraction plans. Lack of proper extraction plan can lead to various risks like complexity of deposit, variation in quality, resource sterilisation, proper benching, maintaining slopes, stripping ratios, etc. 3. Mine Planning activities The basic requirements for optimisation of resource in a deposit are as follows, which depends on the stages of mining operations - A. Case 1: New Mine to be opened a) Prospecting Details: Comprises of Topographical plan, Survey details, Geological plan, exploration work details, etc. b) Plant requirements: Quality inputs required from the process of cement plant, to know the desired LSF, SR, AR ratios and other process parameters and the production quantity required. The quality and quantity of additives play a significant role in defining the desired quality of ROM. B. Case 2: Existing Mine area a) Updated Mine plans, Blast hole quality data, location plan and feedback on quality parameters. b) Quality control data such as additives available for mixing in process, and samples from various sources being used. c) Plant requirements, as detailed above. In both above cases, resource optimisation depends on site visits and analysis of factors affecting the optimisation planning of a mine, such as Surface Constraints (like wetland, transmission lines, private land, access etc.), Overburden depths, Limestone quality, Hydrogeological constraints, Relative cost ranking, Geotechnical issues, etc.