One of the well-known methods of determining the limit overburden ratio in open pit mining is the method of comparing the allowable cost of the mineral, calculated taking into account all capital costs of mining and processing of raw materials and recoverable value, with the actual cost of ore extraction and removed overburden, taken by analogues...

The direction of deepening of the quarry is characterized by the trace of moving in the quarry space, as the works are lowered, the place of the initial preparatory excavation at each of the horizons. The graph-analytical method proposed by A. I. Arsentiev and G. A. Sovetov was used to determine the rational direction of deepening. The minimum of the average overburden ratio since the beginning of development is taken as the criterion of optimality, at which the minimum of the present costs of construction and operation of the open pit is achieved. The purpose of the study is to verify the applicability of the methodology in determining the direction of deepening for quarries with complex geological and topographical conditions of development, as well as to identify the features of deepening of such quarries.