Improving Productivity

New, more effective, technology makes it possible to extract more metal out of lower grade material, and at a lower cost than earlier generations of miners could achieve. External pressures have also had an impact on the operations of the mining industry, causing it to move in many ways.

Intensive cost-cutting is now stan­dard in all companies, while, at the same time, they have been investing in new and more productive equipment. Non-core businesses have been sold off, in order to focus management attention, and many unprofitable mines have been closed down. Mergers and acquisitions have been made, in order to create larger, more cost-effective, and financially stronger entities.

During the first years of the new millennium, the international mining industry has been in the midst of an intensive period of change. Many long-established, well-respected mining companies have disappeared, and new giants are emerging.

Undergroun Mining

Table 1. Total world underground ore production.

Region	Mt
North America 80	Europe 160
Latin America 105	Asia 60
Africa 160	SUM 6
Oceania 50

Mining is, to a large extent, about moving enormous amounts underground mining is by nature selective, always trying to take the meat out of the pie while leaving the crust. Open pit mining, on the other hand, takes the whole pie and then separates the meat from the crust.

Each year, around 4,100 Mt of ore containing the most important metals copper, gold, iron ore, lead/zinc, nickel, platinum group metals and diamonds is produced globally. Of this, some 615 Mt is mined underground, for which Table 1 gives the regional split. To support this level of activity, a considerable amount of development work has to be carried out.

The proportion mined underground equates with some 16% of the total volume of ores extracted. In the centrally planned economies of the eastern bloc, underground mining accounts for 32% of the total activity in the sector, while the figure is 15% in the Western world.

There are 365 underground mines in the Western world, many of which are fairly small, but efficient, opera­tions, hoisting an average of 400,000 t annually. Notwithstanding, many underground mines are huge, with very sophisticated equipment and a high level of automation.

Production Distribution

Special skills are necessary to operate a profitable underground mine, and these skills have been developed in a few key countries where underground mining is more important than elsewhere.

South Africa is the most important country in underground ore production, with 141 Mt produced annually. In a second group are found Canada, Australia and the formerly centrally planned economies of Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakstan with 40-55 Mt of under­ground production. The USA, Brazil, Peru, Poland and Sweden follow in a third group, with production between 26 and 41 Mt of ore annually. Zambia, Mexico, Indonesia, India and Bulgaria are also all producing around 10 Mt/year. Together, the first two groups comprising South Africa, Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakstan, represent some 70% of total underground production.

The most important mineral sector is zinc/lead, where over 80% of all ores are excavated in underground mines. A total of 115 Mt ore is needed to produce the Western world output of zinc; and over 90 Mt of this is mined underground. The correspond­ing figures for nickel are 80 Mt total for all ores, of which some 30 Mt from underground mines. Iron ore is at the other extreme, with a total of over 1,000 Mt ore produced, of which 675 Mt in the Western world. Less than 10% comes from underground mines located in Sweden, Norway, Slovakia and Colombia. The distribu­tion of underground ore production around the world is shown on the map.

Future Growth

The grades of the ores from which metals are extracted vary greatly. Rich iron ores may contain up to 65% (650,000 g/t) of iron, while a gold ore in an average open pit mine might only be one part per million (0.0001 per cent, or 1 g/t). Hence, the volume of ore needed to obtain a tonne, or a kilogramme, of product varies considerably. The volume of ore production depends on the amount of metals consumed, and the grades of the ore deposits mined.

Over time, the orebodies have become depleted, and less rich deposits have started to be exploited. The graph in Figure 1 illus­trates this point clearly, with an ex­ample from the world of copper. The average grade of copper ore has sunk continuously over the last 70 years. Roughly 5 times more ore needs to be extracted to get a tonne of copper in 2003 than was the case in 1950. Technical developments, resulting in more deeply penetrating exploration methods, increase the probability of finding new, richer, deeper ore deposits. This counterbalances the trend towards lower quality to some extent, but obviously not to the full.

I

The six largest companies in underground ore production:

Anglo American group 80 Mt/y (in AngloGold, Anglo Platinum, Base Metals, etc)

Codelco 45

KGHM Polish Copper 32

LKAB 30

Harmony 17

Norilsk 14

n 2005, ore production in the Western world was projected to increase to 3,700 Mt. This is equal to an annual growth rate of a little lower than 3%. The ratio between open 'pit and under­ground mining seems' to have stabi­lized at around 1:6, with 85% open pit and 15% underground in the Western world. Developments in the formerly centrally planned economies, includ­ing China, are more difficult to pre­dict. The underground proportion of mining in these countries will decrease when economic views of profitability, and the influence of world markets, get stronger. Due to many years of neglect in these areas, there is a dramatic need for more reinvestment and new capacity, companies have disappeared, and new giants are emerging.

List of words

1. underground mining – підземнa розробкa,розробка підземним методом

2. to close down – закривати

3. open pit mining – відкрита розробка корисних копалин

4. selective mining – селективна розробка

5. crust – кора

6. development work – підготовчі роботи

7. to extract ores – видобувати ,вилучати руди

8. to hoist – піднімати на поверхню

9. (sophisticated) equipment – (складне) обладнання,

10. to operate a mine – експлуатувати шахту

11. rich iron ore – багата залізна руда

12. ore grade – сорт, тип руди

13. ore deposit – поклад руди