Mining_Methods_UnderGround_Mining - Mining and Blasting
Mining_Methods_UnderGround_Mining - Mining and Blasting
Mining_Methods_UnderGround_Mining - Mining and Blasting
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2 kms<br />
MOunT iSa, auSTralia<br />
Shaft<br />
M37 Shaft<br />
Copper Orebodies<br />
COPPER MINE<br />
Longitudinal section of Mount Isa mine.<br />
orebodies have been established by exploration<br />
drilling from the surface <strong>and</strong><br />
underground. Despite the depth of the<br />
mines, stresses in the ground are not<br />
as great as at some shallower mines in<br />
other regions of Australia.<br />
Simba H4353 long hole drill rig with COP 4050 rock drill.<br />
X41 Shaft<br />
1100 Orebody<br />
Zinc, Lead, Silver Orebodies<br />
W44 Shaft<br />
L44 Shaft<br />
U47 Shaft<br />
M48 Shaft<br />
Storage Pit<br />
S50 Fill Pass<br />
U51 Shaft<br />
Storage Pit<br />
N52 Fill Pass<br />
4 kms<br />
I54 Shaft<br />
History <strong>and</strong> development<br />
John Campbell Miles discovered silverlead<br />
ore at Mount Isa in 1923. Although<br />
mining began in 1924, Mount Isa Mines<br />
didn’t make a profit until 1937, due to<br />
problems of isolation, mine flooding <strong>and</strong><br />
shortage of capital.<br />
Lead-zinc-silver production was the<br />
original focus of Mount Isa Mines.<br />
Although short periods of copper production<br />
had occurred during World War<br />
II, parallel production of copper did not<br />
begin until 1953, after extensions to the<br />
mining operations. The development of<br />
copper orebodies in the late 1960s <strong>and</strong><br />
early 1970s, as well as improvements<br />
to the Company’s Townsville refinery,<br />
greatly increased copper production.<br />
The Mount Isa group comprises se-<br />
veral mines. The Hilton lead-zincsilver<br />
mine, 20 km north of Mount Isa,<br />
opened in 1989, <strong>and</strong> is now incorporated<br />
into the George Fisher Mine. The<br />
next large development came in the late<br />
1990s, when close to $1bn was invested<br />
in projects, including the new George<br />
Fischer lead-zinc-silver <strong>and</strong> Enterprise<br />
copper mines, as well as expansion of<br />
the copper smelter <strong>and</strong> the Townsville<br />
refinery.<br />
The Enterprise is an extension of the<br />
Mount Isa mine, in the deep 3000 <strong>and</strong><br />
3500 orebodies lying beneath existing<br />
mining zones.<br />
100 underground mining methods<br />
Black Rock<br />
Open Cut<br />
16/L<br />
R60 Shaft<br />
M61 Shaft<br />
P61<br />
R62 Shaft<br />
U62 Shaft<br />
P63 Shaft<br />
LONGITUDINAL SECTION<br />
Y59 Shaft<br />
M64 Shaft<br />
Black StarOpenCut<br />
Black Star<br />
Rio Gr<strong>and</strong>e &<br />
Orebodies<br />
Black Rock<br />
&<br />
Racecource<br />
400 Orebody Black Star<br />
Orebodies<br />
Orebodies<br />
13C<br />
1900 Orebody<br />
ENTERPRISE MINE<br />
20/L<br />
21/L<br />
3000<br />
R67 Shaft<br />
ISA<br />
18/L<br />
&<br />
3500<br />
H70 Shaft<br />
LEAD<br />
Orebodies<br />
M73 Shaft<br />
MINE<br />
Zn<br />
H75 Shaft<br />
4/L<br />
5/L<br />
6/L<br />
7/L<br />
9/L<br />
10/L<br />
11/L<br />
12/L<br />
13/L<br />
14/L<br />
15/L<br />
17/L<br />
19/L
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