Going down! Next stop: the 5km level

When AngloGold Ashanti disclosed its intention to mine gold at depths ofcrusher wear parts direct from china as much as 5km a couple of weeks ago, the announcement was greeted with some disbelief. How would it be possible to mine profitably and safely at greater depths using current technology?

Some workings at the TauTona mine are already as deep as 4.2km. Robbie Lazare, who heads the group's South African operations, said conventional mining called for an ore grade of 15g/ton to be profitable at depths of 3km - but Lazare wants to be able to mine ore grading 5g/ton at far greater depths, safely and profitably. It will take a whole new approach to deep-level gold mining, which is what Lazare and his colleagues are working on. You have to look beyond the conventional 20-man crews working at the stope face, 270 days a year at most; beyond losing productivity because of underground travelling times, and beyond sterilising gold in...