In 2010 UMMC is going to invest 350 million rubles in underground development of Safyanovsky mine

By the end of 2010 UMMC is going to invest about 350 million rubles in organization of underground development of Safyanovsky mine. At the moment the deposit is being developed by the affiliate of Uralelectromed - Safyanovskaya Med (metallurgical enterprise of UMMC).

‘In April of this year we started the drilling of vertical borehole of the future mine and have already done 30 meters of the shaft’ – the main geologist of Safyanovskaya Med Yury Sheremetyev tells. – Concurrently at the construction site we are installing sinking head-frames, shaft houses equipment and constructing some power facilities’. ‘The construction of the mine itself will be started in October’ – Yury Sheremetyev says.

Safyanovskaya shaft will be at a depth of 500 m. The first turn of the mine is planned to be brought in line at the end of 2014. Note, that the mine may be distinguished with untypical opening-up scheme. ‘Traditional vertical bore for ore winding will be replaced with a motor ramp, by which the ore will be transferred from the mine with special dump cars, – Yury Sheremetyev explains. – Such an approach will provide some particular advantages, one of which is a flexibility in the production capacity of the mine’.

Rated output will be 500 thousand tons of ore per year. Approved reserves of the underground part of Safyanovsky mine makes up 11 million tons. For all that, the predicted copper content in the ore shall run up to 4%. Besides, the ore of Safyanovsky mine contains a number of associated components, such as zinc, gold, and silver.

The project of the mine construction was developed by specialists of the Institute “Uralmekhanobr” (scientific and research complex of UMMC). And in 2009 the project had successfully undergone a state expertise.

Underground mining will become the second stage of Safyanovsky mine development. At the moment this deposit operates as an open pit. And by the end of 2010 the affiliate “Safyanovskaya Med” is going to mine 1.4 million tons of ore.