How to Select and Design an Appropriate Mining Method: A Case Example of Baluba East Upper T-Block, Zambia

Abstract

World over, in the history of mining, various mining method selection techniques such as qualitative and multi-criteria decisions approaches have been applied to choose an appropriate mining method. However, to date no single mining method selection technique has been universally adopted due to the variations and number of factors involved in the selection process which are usually mine site specific. In this study, we applied the University of British Columbia (UBC) technique for selecting and ranking the mining methods using Baluba Mine in Zambia as a case study. All the top three mining methods were designed using AutoCAD and the most appropriate method was selected based on preliminary economic evaluation of development costs. The selected mining method was further subjected to economic evaluation based on the amount of extracted ore and waste using the Net Present Value (NPV) and Payback Period to establish its viability.