Course: MRET 303

Non Renewable Energy Technology

Dr. S M Nasif Shams

 Coal
• a kind of dark brown to black, combustible, sedimentary rock resulting
from the partial decomposition of prehistoric plant materials away from air
and under varying degrees of increased temperature and pressure over a
period of millions of years: used as a fuel and in the production of coke,
coal gas, water gas, and many coal-tar compounds
• Rock or stone is a natural substance, a solid aggregate of one or more
minerals or mineraloids. For example, granite, a common rock, is a
combination of the minerals quartz, feldspar and biotite. The Earth's outer
solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock.
• Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the deposition
and subsequent cementation of that material at the Earth's surface and
within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes
that cause mineral or organic particles (detritus) to settle in place.
 Classification of Coal

Fixed Carbon (wt% dry Volatile Matter (wt Gross Heating

mmf) % dry mmf) Value (MJ/Kg
Class or Rank Group Moist mmf)

≥ < > ≤ ≥ <

Meta -Anthracite 98 2
Anthracite Anthracite 92 98 2 8
Semi- Anthracite 86 92 8 14

Low volatile Bituminous 78 86 14 22

Medium volatile
69 78 22 31 32.55
Bituminous Bituminous
A 69 31 30.23
High volatile B 26.74
Bituminous
C 24.41
A 24.41 26.74
Sub Bituminous B 22.09 24.41
C 19.3 22.09
A 14.65 19.3
Lignite
B 14.65
Classification of Coal
 Coal Extraction Process
Mining: is the extraction of valuable minerals or
other geological materials from the earth
usually from an orebody, lode, vein, seam, reef
or placer deposits.
Mining are mainly two types:
1. Surface Mining
2. Underground Mining
 Geological setting
In every engineering projects, the geological features and setting of
rock mass play a significant role in the overall stability and success
of the project.

Rock masses
Rock masses are the natural structures that will host rock in
engineering projects.
• A road may pass through a rock cutting with rock slopes on each
side;
• the foundations of a dam may rest on a rock mass;
• a tunnel or cavern can be completely contained within a rock
mass;
• a borehole can be drilled several kilometers into the earth's crust;
an underground mine can involve the excavation of large volumes
of ore;
• a repository might be excavated underground for disposing of
large volumes of radioactive waste.
9th century monolithic Buddhist temples excavated in the
Deccan basalts in India.
a road has been severely damaged by the sliding of a large
block of rock on which the road had been built
Rock slopes: at the A82 roadside near Loch Lomond in
Scotland
forming one side of the New Celebration open-pit gold
mine in Western Australia
Initiation and propagation of a large wedge failure in an
open-pit mine, Western Australia.
 Rock masses
• The rock already contained fractures formed long ago when the
rock was subjected to high stresses caused by tectonic activity.

• Because the fractures were formed as a result of the applied

stresses, they tend to occur in sets of sub-parallel fractures with
specific orientations.

• The sets of fractures can occur at several orientations because

there were different phases of tectonic activity during the history of
the rock mass.

• The natural fractures are an inherent feature of rock masses.

Engineers cannot specify that the rock mass should be unfractured:

• The properties of the rock mass have to be established by site

investigation and the design adjusted accordingly.
 Rock mass classification
A number of rock mass classification systems have been developed.
The most widely known classifications are-

1. the RMR system of Bieniawski (1973, 1974) and

2. the Q system of Barton, Lien and Lunde (1974).

The classifications include information on

• the strength of the intact rock material,
• the spacing,
• number and surface properties of the structural discontinuities
• allowances for the influence of subsurface groundwater,
• in situ stresses, and
• the orientation and inclination of dominant discontinuities.

These classifications were developed primarily for the estimation of

the support requirements in tunnels but their use has been
expanded to cover many other fields.
Engineering rock mass classification
• Terzaghi's rock mass classification
• Classifications involving stand-up time
• Rock quality designation index (RQD)
• Rock Structure Rating (RSR)

Geomechanics Classification
Bieniawski (1976) published the details of a rock mass
classification called the Geomechanics Classification or
the Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system. The following six
parameters are used to classify a rock mass using the RMR
system:
1. Uniaxial compressive strength of rock material.
2. Rock Quality Designation (RQD).
3. Spacing of discontinuities.
4. Condition of discontinuities.
5. Groundwater conditions.
6. Orientation of discontinuities.
Terzaghi's descriptions and classifications are:

1. Intact rock contains neither joints nor hair cracks. Hence, if it

breaks, it breaks across sound rock. Hard, intact rock may also be
encountered in the popping condition involving the spontaneous
and violent detachment of rock slabs from the sides or roof.

2. Stratified rock consists of individual strata with little or no

resistance against separation along the boundaries between the
strata. The strata may or may not be weakened by transverse joints.

3. Moderately jointed rock contains joints and hair cracks, but

the blocks between joints are locally grown together or so intimately
interlocked that vertical walls do not
require lateral support.
4. Blocky and seamy rock consists of chemically intact or almost
intact rock fragments which are entirely separated from each other
and imperfectly interlocked. In such rock, vertical walls may require
lateral support.

5. Crushed but chemically intact rock has the character of

crusher run. If most or all of the fragments are as small as fine sand
grains and no recementation has taken place, crushed rock below the
water table exhibits the properties of a water-bearing sand.

6. Squeezing rock slowly advances into the tunnel without

perceptible volume increase. A prerequisite for squeeze is a high
percentage of microscopic and sub-microscopic particles of
micaceous minerals or clay minerals with a low swelling capacity.

7. Swelling rock advances into the tunnel chiefly on account of

expansion. The capacity to swell seems to be limited to those rocks
that contain clay minerals such as montmorillonite, with a high
swelling capacity.
 Classifications involving stand-up time

Lauffer (1958) proposed that the stand-up time for an unsupported

span is related to the quality of the rock mass in which the span is
excavated.

• In a tunnel, the unsupported span is defined as the span

(width/distance) of the tunnel or the distance between the face
and the nearest support, if this is greater than the tunnel span.

• The significance of the stand-up time concept is that an increase

in the span of the tunnel leads to a significant reduction in the time
available for the installation of support.

• For example, a small pilot tunnel may be successfully constructed

with minimal support, while a larger span tunnel in the same rock
mass may not be stable without the immediate installation of
substantial support.
• These techniques include the use of smaller headings

• These techniques are applicable in soft rocks such as shales,

phyllites and mudstones in which the squeezing and swelling
problems,

• In designing support for hard rock excavations it is prudent

to assume that the stability of the rock mass surrounding the
excavation is not time-dependent
 Rock quality designation index (RQD)

It was developed by Deere (Deere et al 1967)

to provide a quantitative estimate of rock mass quality from
drill core logs.

RQD is defined as the percentage of intact core pieces longer

than 100 mm (4 inches) in the total length of core.

The core should be at least NW size (54.7 mm or 2.15 inches

in diameter) and should be drilled with a double-tube core
barrel.

The correct procedures for measurement of the length of core

pieces and the calculation of RQD are summarised in
Figure
 Rock mass strength

• One of the major problems confronting designers of

engineering structures in rock is that of estimating the
strength of the rock mass.

• This rock mass is usually made up of an interlocking blocks.

• These blocks may have been weathered or altered

to varying degrees and the contact surfaces between the
blocks may vary from clean and fresh to clay covered and
slickensided.
Fig. Classification of
mining methods
based-on accessible
mineral deposits

Reference: BULLIVANT, DA.

Current Surface Mining
Techniques.
Journal for the Transportation of
Materials in Bulk: Bulk Solids
Handling, vol 7, n6,
December 1987, pp827-833.
SURFACE MINING

Surface mining is a form of mining in which the soil and the

rock covering the mineral deposits are removed.

It is the other way of underground mining, in which the

overlying rock is left behind, and the required mineral deposits
are removed through shafts or tunnels.

Surface mining is basically employed when deposits of

commercially viable minerals or rock are found closer to the
surface (< 60 m)

In most types of surface mining, heavy earthmovers are

utilized. They 1st remove the overburden the soil and rock
above the deposit. Then followed by the huge machines, such as
dragline excavators, extract the mineral.
Ore reserves Suitable for Surface Mining
Ore reserves suitable for surface mining can be classified
initially as:
(1) Relatively horizontal stratified reserves with a thin or thick
covering of overburden
(2) Stratified vein-type deposits with an inclination steeper
than the natural angle of repose of the material so that waste
cannot be tipped inside the pit
(3) Massive deposits, deep and very large laterally such that
dumping of the waste within the pit is not possible.

Of all the variations of surface mining methods available, the

three most common methods only will be described here,
namely:
(1) Strip mining
(2) Terrace mining
(3) Open-pit mining
Types of surface mining

1. Strip mining,
2. Terrace
3. Open-pit mining,
4. Placer mining/Quarrying
5. Mountaintop removal, and
6. Dredging
Strip mining is the practice of mining a layer of mineral by
1st removing the overburden.

It is most frequently used to mine coal (especially lignite coal)

or tar sand.

Strip mining is hardly practical when the ore body to be dug

out is relatively near the surface.

This mode of mining employs some of the largest machines in

use on earth, together with bucket-wheel excavators which can
move as much as 12,000 cubic meters of earth per hour.
Favorable conditions for strip mining are:

(1) Relatively thin overburden (0-50m maximum), other wise

stripping ration and cost of stripping becomes too high)

(2) Regular and constant surface topography and coal layers

(not more than 20º variation from horizontal on the coal
seam)

(3) Extensive area of reserves (to give adequate life of mine

(LOM), typically more than 20 years life at 4-14 Mt per
annum production).

(4) Selective placing of the waste (soft, slippery material for

example clay and shale) on top and not in the bottom of the
waste dumps
(5) Stripping or the blasting of the floor surface of the pit to
give a better friction surface (especially if floor is a low-
friction material – carbonaceous shale, etc.)

(6) Excavation of clay materials (typical shales) from the

floor to expose material with more frictional resistance.
1. Strip Mining
Fig. Strip mining with dragline (on overburden)
and rope shovel (below, loading coal)
 2. Terrace Mining
►It is a multi-benched sideways-moving method,

► The whole mine moves over the ore reserve from one end to
the other, but not necessarily in a single bench.

► The number of benches used is usually a function of the

excavation depth and type of machinery used (typically
between 10-15m bench height and 1-32 benches in the terrace).

Terrace mining is applied,

► where the overburden is too thick,
► the floor of the pit is too steeply dipping to allow waste
dumping directly over the pit
► it is necessary to use intermediate cyclic or continuous
transport (eg. trucks or conveyors) to transport the overburden
to where it can be tipped back into the previously mined void.
► Examples of Terrace of mining are the German lignite mines
(where bucket-wheel excavators are used to excavate the
overburden), and, to a lesser extent, some coal mines in the
UK.
► In South Africa, Grootegeluk Colliery is a typical example of
terrace type of mining. Currently, 11 benches are mined, 6 of
overburden waste and 5 of coal.
► Inthese cases, trucks and shovels are used to work 10
benches simultaneously to expose the coal seams underneath.
► The uppermost layer of overburden is normally mined using
hydraulic excavators and trucks, using a bucket wheel
excavator, conveyor belt and stacker.
► These methods are more expensive to use than a dragline,
but the dragline is itself not suited to this type of mining due to
the limited dump radius of the machine and the much larger
width of a terrace mine compared to a strip mine.
Fig. Typical terrace mining operation
 Terrace
Mining
(pre-stripping
Strip mining of soft
(stripping overburden)
deeper hard
overburden)

Fig. Combined terrace (pre-stripping of soft

overburden) and strip mining (stripping deeper hard
overburden) methods and associated equipment.
 3. Open-pit Mining
► This is the traditional cone-shaped excavation (although it can be
any shape, depending on the size and shape of the orebody) that is
used when the orebody is typically pipe-shaped, vein-type, steeply
dipping stratified or irregular.
► Although it is most often associated with metallic orebodies, (e. g.
Palabora copper, and Sishen iron-ore), it can be used for any deposit
that suits the geometry – most typically diamond pipes in Venetia
► The excavation is normally by rope- or hydraulic shovels with trucks
carrying both ore and waste.
► Drill and blast is most often used, which makes the process cyclic.

► Waste is dumped outside the mined-out area since no room is

available within the pit.
► Waste is placed as close to the edge of the pit as possible, to
minimise transport costs.
► Benches are normally excavated from 2-15m in height in stacks of
3 to 4, in between which is a crest on which the haul road is placed.
► When the number of benches in the stack increases, the road
gradient increases too.
► Benches in the stack have a steep face angle whilst the stack and
overall slope angles are flatter, thereby helping to prevent slope
failures.
► From an analysis of overall slope geometry, it is clear that as steep
a slope as possible should be mined, to reduce the overall stripping
ratio.
► However, this rule is limited by the maximum gradient of the haul
road – typically 8-10% which requires frequent wider crests, and the
need to have flatter slope angles in place to provide slope stability.
► Note that each pit slope can have a different angle according to the
requirements of the design – with or without haul road, geology, etc.
► Open-pit mining, also known as opencast mining, open-
cut mining, and strip mining, means a process of digging out
rock or minerals from the earth by their elimination from an
open pit or borrow.

► Although open-pit mining is sometimes erroneously

referred to as "strip mining", the 2 methods are different.

► Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially

helpful minerals or rock are found close to the surface (<120
m in general.

► Itis appropriate for where the overburden is

comparatively thin or the material of interest is structurally
inappropriate for tunneling.
Major terminologies in open pit mining
Major terminologies in open pit mining
1) The bench height is normally governed by the
specifications of operating machines, such as drills and
shovels, and by government mining regulations.

2) The bench slope is the angle, measured in degrees,

between the horizontal and an imaginary line joining the
bench toe and crest.

3) Pit limits are the vertical and lateral extent to which the
open pit mining may be economically conducted.

4) In order to enhance the stability of a slope within the pit—

and for safety reasons—berms may be left.

5) A berm is a horizontal shelf or ledge within the ultimate

pit wall slope. The berm interval, berm slope angle, and
berm width are governed by the geotechnical configuration
of the slope.
6) The overall pit slope angle is the angle at which the
wall of an open pit stands, as measured between the
horizontal and an imaginary line joining the top bench crest
with the bottom bench toe.

7) For the duration of open pit mining, a haul road must be

maintained into the pit.

8) A spiral system is an arrangement whereby the haul

road is arranged spirally along the perimeter walls of the pit
so that the gradient of the road is more or less uniform from
the top to the bottom of the pit.

9) Haul road width is governed by the required capacity

of the road and type of haulage unit. The grade may be
defined as the inclination of the road in terms of degrees from
the horizontal or percentage of rise to the horizontal.
10) The angle of repose or angle of rest is the maximum
slope at which a heap of loose material will stand without
sliding.

12) The suboutcrop depth represents the depth of waste

that has to be removed before any ore is exposed. This waste is
often referred to as preproduction stripping.
Goldstrike-mine
A basic program of materials testing is required to determine
significant material properties and to confirm visual estimates
during core logging.

The relevant geotechnical testing for open pit mines

includes-

1. Classification tests on weathered or suspected weak

materials that could influence dump and pit stability.

2. Shear strength tests on soft or weak layers, particularly

in the floor, and on overburden materials showing strong
slaking behavior, for use in analysis of pit stability.

3. Compressive strength, point load strength, and drillability

tests to provide information for estimation of overburden and
ore excavation characteristics.
► Open-pit mines that manufacture building materials and
dimension stone are usually referred to as quarries.

► People in few of the English-speaking countries are not likely

to make a difference among an open-pit mine and other
kinds of open-cast mines, like quarries, borrows, placers,
and strip mines.

► Open-cut mines are dug on benches, which represent vertical

levels of the hole.

► These benches are normally on four meter to sixty meter

intervals, relying on the size of the machinery that is being
utilized.

► A lot of quarries do not use benches, as they are normally

shallow.
► Most walls of the pit are normally dug on an angle less
than vertical, to avert and lessen damage and hazard from rock
falls.

► The walls are stepped. The inclined part of the wall is called
the batter, and the flat part of the step is called as the bench
or perm.

► The steps in the walls help avert rock falls continuing down
the entire face of the wall.

► In some instances additional ground support is needed and

rock bolts, cable bolts and shotcrete are utilized.

► De-watering bores might be used to ease water pressure by

drilling horizontally into the wall, which is frequently sufficient
to cause failures in the wall by itself.
► A haul road is located at the side of the pit, forming a ramp
up which trucks may drive, taking ore and waste rock.

► Waste rock is piled up at the surface, near the edge of the

open cut.

► This is known as the waste dump. The waste dump is also

tiered and stepped, to lessen degradation.

► Ore which has been processed is called as tailings, and is

normally slurry.

► This is pumped to a tailings dam or settling pond, where the

water fades away.

► Tailingsdams may frequently be toxic due to the presence of

unextracted sulfide minerals
4. Placer mining/Quarrying
► Quarrying is the open, or surface excavation of rock to be used for
various purposes, including construction, ornamentation, road building
or as an industrial raw material.
► Quarrying methods depend mainly on the desired size and shape of
the stone and its physical characteristics.
► In some cases (e.g. clays) the material is soft enough to be removed by
mechanical means.
► However, when the rock is solid and hard (as in the case of stone
aggregates and limestone for cement), drill and blast techniques are
used.
► The rock is shattered using explosives positioned in a series of holes
drilled in the rock in a pattern designed to yield the greatest amount of
fracturing.
► Processing is usually limited to a further reduction in size by crushing
and sorting according to size by screening.
Photograph of a granite quarry in South Africa
Photograph of Barapukuria Coal Mining,
Bangladesh
Ore Excavation in Large area
 5. Mountaintop removal mining

► Mountaintop removal mining (commonly termed as

MTR) is a relatively new form of coal mining that engages the
mass restructuring of earth in order to get in touch with the
coal seam which is as deep as 1,000 feet below the
surface.

► Itis utilized where a coal seam protrusions all the way

around a mountain top.

► Allthe rock and soil higher than the coal seam are removed
and the soil placed in flanking lows such as hollows or ravines.

► Mountaintop subtraction replaces previously steep landscape

with a relatively plane surface.
 6. Dredging

► Dredging is a method frequently used to bring up

submerged mineral deposits under water.

► Although dredging is usually employed to clear or make

bigger waterways for boats, it can also recover significant
amounts of underwater minerals which are relatively efficient
and cheaply extracted.
 Considerations of Open pit mine Planning
1. The planning of an open pit mine is basically an exercise in
economics, constrained by certain geologic and mining
engineering aspects.

2. Planning must account for both environmental protection,

beginning as early as the initial exploration, and for
reclamation.

3. It is critical that planning mitigate potential impacts of

mining for two key reasons:
(1) the cost of environmental protection is minimized
by incorporating it into the initial design, rather than
performing remedial measures to compensate for design
deficiencies, and
(2) negative publicity or poor public relations may
have severe economic consequences.
 Considerations of Open pit mine Planning

4. From the start of the planning process, adequate

consideration must be given to regulatory affairs.

5. The cost of compliance may be significantly reduced when

taken into account in the design or planning process, in a
proactive manner.

6. From the beginning of the mine design planning stage, data

gathering and permitting, environmental considerations are
important

7. From exploration, where core holes must be sealed and the

site reclaimed, through plan development, the impacts on the
environment must be considered.
 Considerations of Open pit mine Planning
Common environmental impacts include
► noise,
► air quality (dust and pollutants),
► vibration,
► water discharge and runoff,
► subsidence, and
► process wastes; sources include
the underground and surface mine infrastructure,
► mineral processing plant,
► access or haul roads,
► remote facilities, etc.

If mining will cause quality reduce of either surface water or

groundwater, remedial and treatment measures must be
developed to meet discharge standards.
 Considerations of Open pit mine Planning

The mine plan must include all the technical measures

necessary to handle all the environmental problems from
initial data gathering to the mine closure and reclamation of
the disturbed surface area.

Reclamation plans include many of the following concerns:

► drainage control,
► preservation of top soil,
► separation of waste material,
► erosion and sediment control,
► solid waste disposal,
► control of fugitive dust, and
► restoration of waste and mine areas.
 Considerations of Open pit mine Planning

The plan must also consider

► the effects of mine subsidence,
►vibration (induced by mining, processing,
transport, or subsidence), and
► impact on surface water and groundwater.

These environmental items often say the economics of a

planned mining operation and determine its viability.
4. Continuous relationship between the exploration geologist
and the mine planning engineer is important to ensure that all
mining-related data are collected.

As each core run is recovered, it should be carefully

transferred to the core tray and allowed to dry before being

(1) Photographed in color, ensuring that the core trays are

adequately labeled and oriented.
(2) Logged in detail for the following features:
a. Rock type.
b. Degree of weathering.
c. Description of weak rocks or weak zones.
d. Location, description, and orientation of any breaks
in the core.
(3) Sampled for materials testing.
Major terminologies in open pit mining