Selection of a suitable underground mining method for the proposed Suraw Underground Mine in Chirano Gold Mines Limited

Abstract

Chirano Gold Mines Limited (CGML), a subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation operates four underground mines, which are Akwaaba, Paboase, Akoti and Tano underground mines. Mining methods for these undergrounds have changed from Sublevel Caving to Modified Sublevel Caving and then to Sublevel Open Stoping with some successes and failures. Management of CGML intends to expand its operations by developing another underground mine that will be safe and more profitable. This research adopted Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique to reach an appropriate underground mining method for the proposed deposit to be exploited underground. The AHP is a multiple criteria decision making tool that employ all the necessary available factors around a problem to make a decision. The AHP technique employed five major criteria and eighteen subcriteria for selection of underground mining method. Experienced mining and operation engineers pairwise compared the identified factors to know the relative importance of these major and subcriteria and how they influenced the process of mining method selection. The judgements in the form of values expressed by these engineers on parameters of the proposed deposit were synthesised in the AHP model. The synthesised results of the AHP model ranked sublevel stoping as the most appropriate mining method for the proposed deposit and had a priority of 0.34. Cut and fill, block caving, shrinkage stoping and sublevel caving followed with 0.19, 0.18, 0.16 and 0.14 priorities respectively