Underground Mining of Aggregates Main Report
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ASRP Project No. 7 Assess the feasibility of the underground mining of aggregates Contract Number: MA/1/S/7/01 Underground Mining of Aggregates Main Report Teresa J. Brown 2 John S. Coggan 1 David J. Evans 2 Patrick J. Foster 1 Jeremy Hewitt 4 Jacob B. Kruyswijk 1 Dean L. Millar 1,3 Nigel Smith 2 Ellie J. Steadman 2 1 Camborne School of Mines, 2British Geological Survey, 4Omya UK Ltd. College of Engineering, Centre for Sustainable Mineral Dowlow Plant, Mathematics and Physical Development, Sterndale Moor Sciences, Kingsley Dunham Centre, Buxton, University of Exeter, Keyworth, Derbyshire Tremough Campus Nottingham SK17 9QF Penryn NG12 5GG Cornwall TR10 9EZ Disclaimer This publication and references within it to any methodology, process, service, manufacturer, or company do not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the Mineral Industry Research Organisation or The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. May 2010 3 Corresponding author MA/1/S/7/01 Underground Mining of Aggregates May 2010 Executive Summary Objective This report examines the economic feasibility of underground mining for crushed rock aggregates in the UK, but particularly in the London, South East and East of England regions (the South East area of England). These regions import substantial volumes of crushed rock, primarily from the East Midlands and South West regions, requiring relatively long transport distances to market for this bulk commodity. A key part of the research was to determine whether or not aggregate could be produced and delivered to a local market from an underground aggregates operation at a cost comparable with that for production and transport of the commodity from traditional surface quarries located further afield. In essence the investigation asked – could the reduced transport costs compensate for the higher production costs underground so that underground crushed rock aggregates producers can compete with the established Leicestershire and Somerset surface quarries exporting to the South East? Work Programme The research effort involved establishing and verifying cost models for aggregates production, stone processing (sizing and sorting), haulage of product to market, environmental impact mitigation, health and safety, decommissioning and restoration. Another major element of the work was the re-examination of the BGS exploratory borehole and geophysical databases to identify potential areas of crushed rock aggregates resource at depth in the South East area of England. Land use pressure is typically higher in this area of England than elsewhere so another major part of the research was the identification of potential concurrent uses of land around the surface facilities of underground aggregates mines. The value, development costs for specific developments and determination of yields expected, from these uses were estimated. These were also used to investigate potential economic benefits associated with after uses of remediated surface land above potential underground aggregates mines and also for the new underground space that would be created. Key technical issues such as subsidence within relatively heavily populated areas of the South East area of England were also addressed. Economic Results The discounted cost of aggregate delivered at a discount rate of 10% was the metric used to appraise the options. This is the price of aggregate that leads to a zero net present value of project cash flows realised over the aggregates project life. The results show that the discounted costs of aggregate delivered to a local South East area of England market from an underground mine producing 3.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of crushed rock aggregates, are in the range of £13.03 per tonne to £13.93 per tonne for the top six prospect locations. These are greater than the corresponding cost for a “reference” quarry in Leicestershire producing 3.5 MTPA (£10.95 per tonne), but lower than a “reference” quarry in Leicestershire producing 1.25 MTPA (£16.48 per tonne). These figures indicate that underground crushed rock aggregate mines located within the South East area of England may be able to compete for a share in the overall market by replacing / displacing aggregate imported from the quarries in Leicestershire and Somerset producing around or less than 1.25 MTPA. The surprise in these figures is not really that the more remote surface quarry has a lower discounted cost of aggregate delivered, but that the values for the quarry and underground mine are so close. The capital intensity for the development of underground aggregates mines was found to be higher than that required for surface quarries of comparable scale, by a factor ranging from 1.33 to 1.65 and thus may represent a disincentive for aggregates operators. Carbon Emissions The total carbon emissions of the ‘reference’ 3.5 MTPA quarry in Leicestershire were estimated at 9.28 kg CO 2/tonne aggregate delivered and this is to be compared with carbon emissions for the 150 metre deep underground mines serving the local market which were estimated at 9.31 kg CO 2/tonne delivered for a Bletchley prospect using an adit to access the sub-surface and 14.25 kg CO 2/tonne delivered for a prospect based on the Chitty bore hole using a shaft. Depth of the mine is a key factor in determination of the relative carbon emissions from each of the underground mining operations considered as electricity consumption for ventilation, pumping and winding is proportional to depth. Recommendations The current research generated seven principal recommendations which are discussed in detail in the concluding section of the report. These are: Appraise policy incentives for underground aggregates mining. Conduct an industry-wide consultation on findings from the current research. Obtain public and stakeholder opinion on new uses for underground space. Conduct research to reducing the energy intensity of mine services. Develop a deep level aggregates-specific drilling campaign. Investigate underground aggregates mines developed from existing surface quarries. Investigate underground aggregates as co-products of industrial minerals mining. ii MA/1/S/7/01 Underground Mining of Aggregates May 2010 Acknowledgements The authors of this report would like to acknowledge the considerable co-operation received from the aggregates industry, road transport industry and others which enabled this research to be as detailed and realistic as possible. They would also like to thank Dr. J. Mankelow for input on the draft report and Mr. A. Bloodworth for his helpful contributions. The authors are deeply indebted to Mr Lester Hicks for his valuable comments specifically regarding planning issues for potential underground aggregates mining operations and after-uses of underground void. This research was funded through the Aggregates Strategic Research Programme, administered by the Mineral Industry Research Organisation on behalf of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and this support is gratefully acknowledged. iii MA/1/S/7/01 Underground Mining of Aggregates May 2010 Contents Executive Summary............................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................................ iii Contents ............................................................................................................................................................iv Figures................................................................................................................................................................v Tables ................................................................................................................................................................vi 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Inter-regional flows of aggregate .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Potential advantages of underground mining of aggregates investigated ........................................... 2 1.3 Additional issues investigated .............................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Project Objectives................................................................................................................................. 3 1.5 Overview of the research methodology................................................................................................ 3 1.5.1 Specification of mining and quarrying operations........................................................................ 3 1.5.2 Stope design for underground workings ...................................................................................... 3 1.5.3 Development of a standard costing system................................................................................. 4 1.5.4 Refinement of the production cost models .................................................................................. 4 1.5.5 Development of an aggregate haulage cost model ..................................................................... 4 1.5.6 Development of other cost models .............................................................................................