Antimony mining
The mining methods for solid ore can be divided into two types: open-pit mining and underground mining. Both methods are used in antimony mining, but underground mining is the primary method.
Open-pit mining mainly uses two basic methods: bench mining and strip mining. The former is mainly used for mining metal deposits and other hard rock deposits; the latter is mainly used for coal mining. Over the decades, open-pit mining methods have not undergone fundamental changes. Improvements in the process mainly involve steep working faces and phased mining, the application of high-performance, large-scale equipment, and different transportation methods.
The vast majority of antimony deposits are mined using underground mining methods. The underground mining process can be summarized into three steps: mine development, ore block preparation and cutting, and ore block mining. Mine development is the basic preparation process for mine production, mainly including the development and construction of transportation channels (vertical shafts, inclined shafts, adits, etc.) and main ventilation shafts. After mine development, the external production conditions of the ore block are in place, and preparation, cutting, and mining can be carried out within the ore block. The preparation, cutting, and mining work carried out in the ore block is called the mining method. In order to adapt to different ore deposit conditions, ore and surrounding rock properties, and mining environments, the development and mining methods of underground deposits are constantly evolving with the progress of mining technology. Currently, there are about 10 commonly used mine development methods, mainly vertical shafts, inclined shafts, adits, and ramps; there are about 20 commonly used mining methods.
According to different ground pressure control methods, mining methods can be divided into three categories: open-stoping, caving, and filling mining methods. Open-stoping utilizes the self-stability of the ore and rock and the remaining ore pillars for ground pressure management, while caving manages ground pressure by caving the surrounding rock, and filling mining uses filling materials to fill the goaf. Among the three categories of mining methods, open-stoping and caving are currently more commonly used, which is related to the shallower mining depth. With the increase in mining depth, the proportion of filling mining methods will continue to increase, while the application of open-stoping will gradually decrease.
According to the structural characteristics, working face layout, and ore dropping methods of the mining method, the three categories of mining methods can be further subdivided into many types.
The mining methods widely used in open-stoping include full-face mining, room-and-pillar mining, leaving-ore mining, sublevel stoping, and stage stoping.
Caving methods can be divided into single-layer caving, layered caving, sublevel caving, and stage caving.
According to the ore block structure and the advancing direction of the mining face, filling mining methods can be divided into single-layer filling mining, upward layered filling mining, downward layered filling mining, and sublevel filling mining. According to the filling materials and output methods used, filling mining methods can also be divided into dry filling mining, using mine cars, wind power, or other mechanical means to transport dry filling materials (such as waste rock, sand and gravel) to fill the goaf; hydraulic filling mining, using hydraulic methods to transport tailings from the beneficiation plant, smelting plant slag, crushed stone, etc., along pipelines to fill the goaf; cemented filling mining, using cement or cement substitutes and de-slimed tailings or sand and gravel to prepare cementitious materials to fill the goaf.
At present, although China's underground mining technology has been improved and advanced compared to the past, it is still quite backward overall. The main existing problems are insufficient mechanization, high production costs, and high ore loss rate. Many antimony mining methods are unreasonable, and most of them use heavy mining methods. Some small and medium-sized antimony mines are even still using rudimentary mining methods. In addition, there are a large number of ore pillars left over for many years, and no reasonable and safe mining methods have been found.
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