Technical and economic basis for determining the boundary of transition from open-pit to underground works

Abstract

The final decision regarding the boundary between open-pit and underground work, as well as determining their profitability, can only be obtained as a result of technical design, since only then is it possible to determine the impact of a number of organizational and technical factors affecting the volume of overburden and minerals, as well as by the value of cost indicators. From the point of view of the feasibility of capital investments, the use of two development methods for a field is justified in the following cases: when a sufficient lifetime for normal depreciation of fixed assets has been ensured for both open and underground work, when the use of open-pit work in combination with underground provides significant savings in production costs, justifying additional capital investment, when the use of one or another development method is caused by security requirements or technical necessity.