Suzdal underground mine comprises three main ore zones, Zone 2, Zone 4 and Zone 137. Workings currently extend to 610 m below surface and will reach 800 m depth upon depletion of the current Ore Reserves.
Development mining is achieved using modern electro-hydraulic single and twin boom drill jumbos to drill blastholes, diesel powered load-haul-dump loaders (“LHD”) to clean the blasted rock from each blasted advance, and diesel powered articulated dump trucks (“ADT”) to haul broken rock to surface (ore) or to underground voids to be used as backfill.
Production is achieved using variants of the long-hole sub-level open stoping method, either top-down “uphole benching” with eventual backfilling, or bottom-up “Avoca” progressively backfilling each sublevel.
Blastholes are drilled using dedicated electro-hydraulic long-hole drill rigs, blasted ore is removed with LHD and ore is transported to surface with ADT.
Surface is accessed through four transport declines with 8° inclination. Three declines exit the mine through previously mined open pits, while the fourth, from Zone 4, exits through a dedicated box-cut excavation. Development waste is used for backfilling and is transport from development faces to filling locations by LHD or truck.
Stability of the workings is maintained by the installation of ground support (friction anchors, mesh sheets, shotcrete), leaving supporting pillars of ore unmined, for later extraction, an ........
