Integrated mineral processing in underground mining operations and impact on the mine project

The demand for primary resources continues to rise whereas ore grades are decreasing. It is necessary to rethink common mining and mineral processing technologies to generate innovations for a modern society. Improvements must be made to the level of environmental impact and sustainability by way of investigations conducted in the mining industry. Integrated underground processing (IUP), achieved by implementing processing steps underground, is a potential way to increase the efficiency of resource use. Requirements and challenges are inherent when implementing new processes into an existing system. The implementation of stationary and semi-mobile processing involves underground processes such as extraction, mine ventilation and backfilling. Rejecting waste particles at an early stage of the mine production chain can lead to increased efficiency in subsequent processes. Especially a decrease in processing effort and transportation cost savings can lead to a successful economic IUP. Priority challenges involve large underground excavations and a critical amount of storable waste underground as well as an economic recovery to yield balance of the separation process. This thesis shows how integrated underground processing successfully impacts the technical and economic parameters of a mine project. The presented evaluation method can easily be added to an arsenal of tools used for early decision making in the project planning phase.