Research Information System
Yerbilimleri/ Earth Sciences, vol.41, no.1, pp.86-99, 2020 (Scopus)
In open pit mining, excavations are generally carried out in two ways: direct excavation and excavation after loosening. Direct excavation is performed in areas with low rock strength, and in the opposite case, excavation operations are carried out after loosening by drilling-blasting. Which rock strength value should be performed for the loosening process is extremely important in terms of economic production. In this research, firstly, direct excavation experiments were performed with a dragline in an open pit coal mine that has work areas that have materials with three different rock strength values and without any discontinuity characterized. Then, in the same work areas, after drilling-blasting and loosening, the same dragline was used in the excavation. In both cases, unit excavation costs were calculated and compared, and it was found to be more economical to excavate after loosening at sites with uniaxial compressive strength of 9.80 MPa and higher.