Development Mining

The foreman is responsible for the speed and safety of the mine. For the foreman to get his cuts per shifts he can’t be waiting on things, as professionals it’s your job to make this smooth as possible as the plan can sometimes change quite quickly.

The mine works by repeating the same basic functions. Development mining is when we make the levels as the mine goes down. Typical these levels are 20m apart vertically and extend for the length of the ore body. This allows the ore body to be divided into cross sections, which allows us to start the production phase of the mine.

The development process is commonly referred to as ‘taking a cut’. This involves;

Bolting & boring the heading (a heading is the name given to the area where the cut is being taken)

Charging the heading,

Firing the heading and then bogging the heading.

This is the same method used for the advancement of the mine whether they are declining (going down), inclining (going up) or level driving (flat).

The Heading

The heading is the name given to the area at the end of the level or drive as it is also known, the reason they call it the heading is because that is the direction we are heading in following the ore body.

All headings require these things to make them serviceable:

Secondary ventilation

Services air and water

Power for machinery

Ground support APMS (As Per Mine Standard)