SR08 Mining Flashcards
Inferred Resource
Inferred Resource
* Based on limited sampling
* Based on reasonably assumed, but limited information
Indicated Resource
Indicated Resource
* Quantity, grade (quality), shape, size and continuity can be more confidently reported
* Larger and more closely spaced samples
* Preliminary economic viability and resource extraction calculations can be made
Measured Resource
Measured Resource
* Resource characteristics are well established through detailed and reliable exploration work
* Economic and technical factors can be more confidently applied
* Mine and production planning can give more detailed estimates of economic viability
Reserve
A Reserve is the economically mineable part of a measured or indicated mineral resource, demonstrated by
at least a preliminary feasibility study
A Reserve is probable when
A Reserve is probable when
economic extraction can be justified.
A Reserve is proven when
A Reserve is proven when economic
extraction is justified.
Resource vs. Reserve
Resource
A concentration of minerals in a form and quantity, for which economic extraction is currently or potentially
feasible
Reserve
The part of a resource that can be economically and legally extracted under current circumstances
Ore
The material that contains economically extractable minerals or metals
Ores are typically composed of:
- valuable material (minerals and/or metals)
- non-valuable minerals (gangue)
- waste rock (does not undergo processing)
Strip Ratio
Mass of surface regolith removed per unit mass of regolith ore
For SRU, a fraction of the surface material might have to be removed to access subsurface material. The
removal of surface material is accounted for by the strip ratio.
Yield
Yield
Mass of product produced per mass of feed
Recovery
Recovery
Mass of product produced per mass of product in feed
Main steps in a mining operation
Rock Preparation–> Excavation –>Hauling –>Transfer
Types of mining
- Underground
Generally expensive, used to access materials deep beneath the surface of the Earth (e.g., gold, silver, iron) - Surface
More than two-thirds of the world’s minerals are extracted through surface mining, which is most commonly
done through quarrying or open-pit mining (e.g., coal, rocks, and gold) - Placer
Mining a stream bed for mineral deposits (e.g., gold and gemstones) - In-Situ
Involves dissolving the mineral in water while it is still in the Earth before pumping it up to the surface to be
treated and processed (e.g., copper and uranium)
Underground Mining methods
- Unsupported methods
* Room and pillar
* Stoping - Supported methods
* Cut and fill - Caving methods
Surface Mining methods
Strip-mining
Open pit mining
Space mining needs
Space mining:
* High degree of autonomy needed
* Missing navigation/localisation network („no GPS“)
* Need for maintenance and repair (robustness required, challenging environments)
* Limited energy sources
* Low reaction force due to reduced gravity
* Dust evolution and dust resiliance
* Unknown soil properties
* Temperature gradients, thermal management
Asteroid Mining needs
Stabilisation of Asteroid (de-spin)
* To enable capture of the asteroid
* To enable surface operations (e.g. stabilise illumination and temperature conditions)
Moving to Earth or Moon orbit
* For Earth: mining will target precious metals (PGM)
* For Moon: mining will target water
* Need for orbit manoeuvre and propulsion capability
Mining operations basically in zero gravity
Examples of asteroid capture
WRANGLER-Captures and de-spins the asteroid
APIS- Encapsulates asteroid
ARM
Excavation Techniques comparison
Continuous systems
* Shallow continuous excavation requires less mass
* Therefore, this might be more interesting for early ISRU systems
Discrete systems
* Most common known parameters
* Still lots of missing data for proper comparison
* Also useful to know: number of cycles, driving speed, etc.
To take into account for lunar excavation
Lunar scenarios?
- Total mass / excavation requirements?
- Dust contamination?
- Maintenance?
- Safety aspects?
Hauling and Transfer best options
Best options (Cannon et al., 2022)
a) Hauler: for horizontal long distance transport (discrete)
b) Belt: for horizontal short distance transport (continuous)
c) Auger: for vertical/inclined short disctance transport (continuous)
d) Hopper/auger: for transfer points (transfer assist)
