Justification of the optimal width of a front bank

Reducing the cost of finished products by using the most economically advantageous processes and techniques for the extraction and beneficiation of minerals is one of the most pressing tasks in mining industry. The width of front bank has a significant impact on the cost of placer deposits mining. Existing methods for calculating the most advantageous width of front bank are based on ensuring dredge maximum productivity that is justified in placer bulk mining. With increasing depth of a placer deposit occurrence and thickness of overburden, traditional methods for calculating the optimal width of a front bank do not ensure minimizing production costs. The aim of the research is to determine the most advantageous width of a front bank, taking into account a peat (overburden) thickness and acceptable stripping flow sheet. The idea behind this work is that the optimal width of a front bank should be determined not only based on the maximum productivity of a dredge, but also on the condition of ensuring the lowest cost of extraction of valuable components (taking into account the productivity of all mining equipment and the stripping costs). The study analyzes the impact of placer parameters (peat thickness and productive layer thickness, front bank width) on the cost of sand extraction and processing, and identifies the dependencies of mining parameters on technical and economic performance. The study examined more than 100 process flow sheets for the integrated operation of stripping and mining equipment and provided an economic assessment of their effectiveness. Recommended values for correction factors for determining the optimum front bank width are given. The study findings serve as methodological material for substantiating the parameters of a placer mining system.