The Process of OPI

The OPI process begins with the identification of a mineral deposit. Geological surveys and exploratory drilling are conducted to determine the feasibility of digging in a particular area. Once a mineral deposit is confirmed, the next step is to plan the extraction process.

 Planning and Design

OPI’s planning and design phase is crucial for ensuring the efficient and safe extraction of minerals. Engineers and geologists work together to determine the optimal pit size, shape, and depth. Factors such as ore grade and quality, topography, and environmental considerations are considered during the planning phase.

 Stripping

Stripping is the initial phase of OPI, where overburden or waste materials are removed to expose the ore. Overburden refers to the layer of soil or rock covering the ore body. This is removed using heavy earth moving equipment, such as bulldozers and excavators, and transported to nearby designated areas.

 Blasting

Once the burden is removed, the next step is to blast the ore using explosives. Controlled and precise explosions break the ore into smaller fragments, making extracting it easier. The timing and amount of explosives used are carefully calculated to minimize damage to the surrounding areas.

 Extraction

After blasting, the ore is loaded onto haul trucks and transported to a processing plant for further refining. Excavators or front-end loaders are used to load the ore onto the trucks, which are sized depending on the scale of the digging operation.

 Processing and Refining

The ore is crushed, ground, and chemically treated at the plant to extract the valuable minerals. Various techniques such as flotation, gravity separation, and smelting are used to separate the minerals from the unwanted materials. The refined minerals are then transported to smelters or refineries for further processing.

 Rehabilitation and Closure

Once the extraction process is complete, the pit is rehabilitated and restored to its natural state. This includes contouring the land, re-vegetating the area, and restoring waterways. Environmental monitoring and management are ongoing throughout the digging operation to ensure compliance with regulations and minimize adverse impacts.

 Advantages of OPI

Open-pit mining offers several advantages over other digging methods:

1. High production rate: OPI allows for the extraction of significant minerals or ore in a relatively short period. This leads to excellent production rates compared to below-ground mining.

2. Large-scale operations: OPI is well-suited for large-scale digging operations, making it suitable for mining companies with significant financial resources.

3. Lower operating costs: OPI tends to have lower operating costs than below-ground mining. This is due to the reduced ventilation, support systems, and infrastructure requirements.

4. Accessibility: OPI allows for easy access to the minerals or ore, making it more efficient and economical to extract than below-ground digging.

5. Flexibility: OPI offers flexibility in the extraction process. The pit can be widened or deepened to access further mineral deposits.

 Environmental Impacts of OPI

While OPI has its advantages, it also comes with some environmental impacts:

1. Habitat destruction: OPI involves moving large amounts of soil and vegetation, leading to habitat destruction for plants and animals.

2. Water pollution: The extraction and processing of minerals can lead to water pollution by discharging contaminated water into waterways.

3. Air pollution: Dust and particulate matter generated during OPI operations can contribute to air pollution, especially in dry and windy conditions.

4. Land degradation: Excavating and removing soil and rock can result in land degradation, leaving scars on the landscape.

 Safety Measures in OPI

Safety is of utmost importance in OPI operations. Various safety measures are implemented to protect workers and minimize any hazards:

1. Training and education: Workers undergo comprehensive training and education on properly using equipment, handling explosives, and safety protocols.

2. Personal protective equipment (PPE): To minimize the risk of injuries, Workers are provided with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as helmets, safety goggles, gloves, and steel-toed boots.

3. Equipment maintenance: Regular maintenance and inspection of equipment are conducted to ensure their proper functioning and minimize the risk of accidents.

4. Strict laws: OPI operations are subject to strict safety laws and guidelines enforced by local authorities to ensure compliance and minimize risks.

5. Emergency preparedness: Emergency response plans are in place to address potential accidents or incidents. This includes evacuation procedures, first aid stations, and communication systems.

 Conclusion

OPI is a widely used method for extracting valuable minerals or ore from the earth. It offers high production rates, large-scale operations, and lower operating costs than below-ground mining. However, it has several environmental impacts, including habitat destruction, water and air pollution, and land degradation. Safety measures and strict regulations are implemented to protect workers and minimize hazards. As with any digging operation, a balanced approach considering economic and environmental factors is crucial for sustainable and responsible mining practices.

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Today, the financial, economic, and geopolitical conditions in the world also do not promise certitude and serenity in the near future. In this situation, only the high professionalism of the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer and their subtle business and financial flair can ensure the protection of investments from unpredictable waves of the global market. Moreover, their ability to see through the veil of sharp market fluctuations and their flexibility in applying investment strategies provide a significant capital increase. With OCIO Services from Certuity, you get the most efficient and robust performance of all your investments and wide prospects for bigger projects.

Can a Company Become Successful Without Investment Management?

Any business or organization has assets that provide capital gains. Even if it’s just a room in which you are meeting with clients for consultations, this is the asset that allows you to make money. Successful projects are distinguished by the ability to accumulate free assets. However, if they are not invested in additional projects, they lose their value due to inflation or other adverse factors. For example, if some non-profit organization owns unused premises, they simply deteriorate and not only do not bring any income but also require constant repair. Therefore, the issue of investing is one of the key ones for both business companies and non-profit organizations with various missions.

What Caused the Transition from CIO to OCIO

Before the widespread proliferation of the OCIO model, the issue of investment management in mid-sized and large organizations and companies was dealt with by a very large group of people:

• Qualified in-house staff
• Chief investment officer (CIO)
• Non-discretionary adviser or consultant
• Board committee

This cumbersome structure proved to be very inefficient in the face of the 2008/09 financial crisis and the need to respond very quickly to changing conditions. The highly professional, flexible, versatile, and experienced staff of OCIO services turned out to be much more efficient and ready for non-standard solutions. 

Metaphorically, this can be compared with the behavior of a car driver and a cyclist or a motorcyclist in a traffic jam: where the second one quickly sees the solution and gets to the goal, the first one is constrained to patiently wait for the natural course of events. Comparison of the CIO and OCIO models by objective indicators shows the obvious advantages of the second one:

As a result, the management of companies and organizations recognized that the net returns from maintaining their staff of investment specialists are not only minimal but sometimes unprofitable. At the same time, the OCIO services provided an impressive profit in comparison with the costs of the chosen tariff plan.

How to Determine the Most Efficient OCIO Contractor

It is necessary to select a company providing OCIO services as responsibly as to invest your money in a particular project. The advantages of OCIO are both in non-standard solutions and experience, so both of these conditions must be met:

• A promising start-up with employees full of enthusiasm and original ideas without sufficient work experience will lead to many reckless decisions.
• At the same time, the conservative and formulaic approach of specialists who do not want to keep up with the times will not allow them to find effective solutions and see the unique opportunities offered by the new epoch.

Therefore, when choosing an OCIO contractor, it is important to conduct an in-depth analysis of candidate firms and evaluate the following indicators:

• Educational background and work experience of specialists; 
• Successful track records;
• Best practice adherence;
• Presence/absence of conflicts of interest;
• Transparency of the pricing policy;
• Customer reviews.

Benefits of Outsourcing CIO with LLC Certuity

• The investment management expertise of LLC Certuity is backed by over 20 years of experience in family office wealth management and investments, including alternative ones.
• Knowledge of effective risk management techniques guarantees the protection of your assets from market fluctuations and provides both short-term and long-term profits. 
• The openness, transparency, and collaborative approach of LLC Certuity assure the possibility of proper oversight and timely correction of all actions in case of changes in investment goals. 
• Direct access not only to the team managing your investments but to your assets as well ensures that you always have the last word. 
• The high-performance indicators are the best proof that all decisions are professional and made solely in favor of clients.

Strategic asset allocation in the conditions of unstable markets is an extremely challenging task, for which professionalism and the ability to look into the future are crucial. The high reputation of Certuity and two decades of successful investment management is the best proof that even the most intense fluctuations in financial markets can be conquered by a well-designed investment strategy and the strong knowledge of those who control the helm.

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Origin and formation of the system of knowledge about the Earth’s bowels, methods of obtaining minerals from them and methods of processing of these minerals can be safely attributed to the very beginning of the Stone Age.

Creation of the mountain sciences some authors attribute to the second half of the XVIII century, others – to the end of XIX – early XX century. Until that time in the literature used the collective term “mining art”, which was understood as a system of techniques and methods of scientific and practical activities associated with the extraction and processing of minerals. The origins of the mining sciences go back to the first scientific generalizations of the practice of mining.

Large researches in the field of mountain sciences are made in the second half of the XX century: in Germany patterns of distribution of pressure in a thickness of rocks around mined-out underground spaces in various mountain-geological conditions, interaction of rocks and supports are established; in Chile bases of mathematical theory of mountain pressure are created; in Australia, Belgium, Great Britain, Canada, the USA, France a number of concrete problems in mountain practice on the basis of studying laws of mountain-geological processes in rock masses, etc. are solved.

Since 1960s, according to the thematic plan of the former CMEA joint works on creation of research complexes of different equipment, improvement of methods of determination of stresses in rock masses, international scientific congresses (mining, oil, etc.) and conferences on discussion of research results in the field of mining subsoil were held.

Specificity of the phenomena they study is characteristic of the mining sciences. It consists in necessity of taking into account the following features: a large scale of events, caused by creation and simultaneous functioning of a large number of production facilities in conditions of non-renewability of mineral resources; significant spatial variability of properties of environment at development of subsoils (solid, liquid and gaseous) within the limits of influence of these facilities on the nature; probabilistic nature of parameters, system conditionality and information capacity of technological processes; conjugation at development of subsoils.

Such variety of factors stipulates the use of a large number of research methods in mining sciences: field observations, laboratory and pilot experiments, theoretical generalizations, graphoanalytic, seismoacoustic methods, statistical evaluations, analogies, physical, mathematical and economic-mathematical modeling and others.

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Antiquity is the era of the formation of Ancient Rome and Greece, the era of the development of Greco-Roman civilization. It covers the period from approximately the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. to the middle of the 1st millennium B.C. With the course of time, this notion was expanded; tools, machines, machines also came to be referred to as technology. Modern scientific literature defines technology as a system of means of labor.

Technology is inextricably linked to technology, a set of interrelated production processes in which the interaction between man and technology according to a certain technology is carried out. The development of technology determines the improvement of technology, which, in turn, affects the parameters of technology.

Mining technology in its development has passed a long historical path of improvement. The stages and their evolution are mainly related to the use of various energy sources.

The initial bioenergetic stage in the development of mining technology (man-tool-object of labor) is associated with the use of human and animal muscle power and the energy of wind and water as an energy source. The ancient era as a whole is characterized by an extremely low technical level of development of productive forces. The reasons for this were: slave-owning mode of production; subsistence economy, small population and its insignificant growth. In this period technical progress was conditioned mainly by the development of military and construction techniques, as well as by the needs of agriculture and different crafts.
Wind and water power were widely used in the manufacture of manufactures. The mechanical energy of water drove the machinery, and the forest provided fuel for production. In mining the water engine was widespread.

In addition to the use of physical force, wind and water power were widely used during the development of the manufactories. The mechanical energy of water drove machinery, and the forest provided fuel for production. In mining, the water engine was ubiquitous. The upper wheels were used for pumping equipment, lifting of ore and its crushing.

The seventeenth and nineteenth centuries can be referred to the stage of machine production (man-machine-tool-object of labor). The industrial revolution during this period is associated with the invention of the steam engine, which opened the way to machine production, and machine production led to the expansion of mining.

During this period wood was replaced by coal, waterwheels by the steam engine, the power base of industry, the tools of the workingman’s manufactory period by machines, and iron by steel, the basic material of large industry.

In transportation, the construction of railroads and the introduction of steam traction began.

In the twentieth century, energy is becoming more complex. Steam engines are increasingly being replaced by electric ones. Replacing steam with electricity is one of the main directions of technical progress. Due to discoveries in the field of radio engineering and electrical engineering, machines begin to take over the functions of production control and (partially) management.

This stage can be characterized as a stage of electrification, because the basis of modern technology, mechanization and automation of production is electrification, thanks to which production intensifies, the productivity of machines and equipment increases. Executive and motor functions are transferred to the machine. In technological processes, a human is left with the function of control. The present time can be called the stage of automation.

Thus, mining engineering and technology are closely connected with the use of energy, with its various types.

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Mining excavators

The modern mining industry according to the method of mining is divided into two main directions: the open method of mining when materials are extracted in the pit, and underground, with the construction of mines. The machinery used in mining is also divided in the same way – each type of work uses its own, often very specific machines.

Quarry dump trucks.

To work in tandem with excavators and to transport the mined rock in the quarry can not do without special dump trucks. Quite a number of manufacturers produce such machines, but the strongly pronounced trend in recent years is the economic benefit that is provided by high-capacity models, and here not all factories can boast of having giant dump trucks in their product line.

Loaders and bulldozers.

For loading and transportation of loosened rock in quarries, there is also a place for front-end loaders. They are applied in mining since 1970s, both at stripping works, and as the additional loading and auxiliary equipment. Of course, quarry front loaders differ significantly in size from their smaller counterparts.

Other equipment

In a part of open-cast mines there are deposits of strong rocks, for their further working out special equipment is required – boring machines, namely they are used at one of the basic technological operations of drilling and blasting operations – drilling of blast holes. Unfortunately, recently the conditions of hard rock mining have become significantly more complicated, and often the cost of drilling reaches 30-35% of the total cost of mining operations.

There are a lot of companies – manufacturers of mining equipment, but we should not forget that fleet of equipment for each separate quarry is selected individually, depending on production tasks faced by the developer.

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In the United States, the National Occupational Research Program (NORA) has prioritized mining as a focus of its research to provide intervention strategies to help improve the health and safety of miners and the environment.

And in 1978, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) was created to improve the health and safety of miners in the workplace. Miners can report unsafe conditions to MSHA.

Mining hazards include:

• Exposure to toxic rock dust
• Exposure to harmful gases
• Exposure to excessive heat
• Hearing loss due to loud equipment
• Rock falls
• Landslides

As a result, miners are equipped with personal protective equipment to mitigate these hazards, among others:

• Air respiratory systems
• Hearing protection
• Safety glasses
• Detection solutions
• Protective headgear with illumination
• Fall protection
• Reflective clothing
• Protective two-way communication
• Personal emergency respiratory
• Additional batteries

Underground mines typically have refuge chambers that can hold miners for up to eight days in the event of a hazardous exposure. These chambers store food and water for miners in case of an emergency.

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The main factor in the development of productive forces in ancient society was the mastering of iron production. Ore mining and metal production belonged to the most developed and profitable branches of economy of Greco-Roman civilization. With the development of feudal relations significant shifts took place in mining. In the XI-XIII centuries its wide development in Central Europe begins, there is still a manual drilling of rocks. Important improvements were made in Europe in the 15th-16th centuries. Application of a horse-driven drive and a waterwheel for mine lifting as well as for water drainage equipment made it possible to carry out mining work at depths of up to 150 m. Explosive mining technologies are used. Wet enrichment is introduced, which makes it possible to develop relatively poor ores. In 1512 in Saxony the privilege of wet pounding was granted. At this time the mines begin to have wooden planking to move the mineral carts along the planking. The first mining schools and mining manuals appear (“12 Books on Metals” by H. Agricola, 1556). Steam engines were used in mining earlier than in other branches of industry, initially for pumping water (Englishman T. Newcomen in 1711-1712), then for mine lifting.

With the era of the industrial revolution (late 18th – early 19th century), the transition to the widespread use of machines took place. In 1815 the Englishman G. Davy, an Englishman, invented a safe mine lamp. Drilling techniques are improved, explosives are increasingly used, and rail haulage with horse traction is introduced. In 1930s steel ropes for mine lifting and hauling are introduced.

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There are also two main types of ore deposits that are mined both by open pit and underground methods:

Placer deposits. Placer deposits are found in rivers and streams, as well as in beach sands.
Lode deposits. Rock deposits are contained in rock bodies through layers, veins, or mineral grains.

Surface mining

Mining activities are carried out on the surface of the earth. Overburden will be removed to expose the ore body below.

Surface mining methods include:

• Strip mining. Strip mining uses dragline excavators to remove overburden from the ground surface and expose the ore body. Strip mining is also used to prepare land for open pit mining, quarrying, and mining.
• Open-pit mining is the development of mineral resources. Open-pit mining is a technique that involves drilling into the earth’s surface to place explosives. The explosions expose the underlying rock and create large pits from which miners can extract ore. This surface mining technique can be used to extract silver.
• Open pit mining. Quarrying, another form of surface mining, is used to extract slabs and byproducts of marble, granite, and other hard stones.
• Mountaintop removal mining. Mountaintop removal mining is used primarily in the Appalachian Mountains for coal mining. The mountaintop will be cleared into the adjacent valleys, and the top 300 meters will be blasted to open up the coal seams in the quarry.
• Highwall mining. High-wall mining is used to extract the remaining coal from the seam using a continuous shaft. It is used in combination with strip mining and open pit mining and is used to target coal seams from the sides when there is a thick overburden layer on top of the seam.
• Placer mining. A combination of water and tanks is used to extract gold and other precious metals that are found in sand and gravel. These precious metals have a higher density than water and sink faster than surrounding materials.
• In-situ leaching (ISL) mining. In-situ mining is a somewhat unconventional mining method that uses neither surface nor underground mining methods. Instead, valuable materials are dissolved in situ with water, carbonate solutions or acid without removing the surrounding rock.

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For this reason, mines often have trained personnel to maintain safety, as well as safety and security systems that monitor risks. Given the many hazards involved, these technologies in the mining industry must be very sophisticated.

In addition, they must have several specific features and functionality, such as:

• High-quality monitoring software that allows multiple hazards to be monitored simultaneously, and in many cases the monitoring system includes automatic sensors that indicate hazards, such as methane or other gas releases in underground mines)
• Automated, remotely operated, fast-acting safety and security features that take into account the large footprint of mining sites
• Powerful, audible warning sound equipment for noisy mine environments
• Monitoring, warning and alarms designed to make the individual components resistant to specific environmental conditions such as heavy dust or high temperatures.

Why mines are safer today

It can be said that the overall decline in deaths in the mining industry is largely due to technological advances in safety. There is not a single safety and security system in place here. However, mine safety can be achieved with a modern, flexible, adaptable system characterized by its scalability and modularity (individual devices operate independently or in cooperation with others), partial or full automation, simple operation from a central control center or on site, simple testing and maintenance procedures, increased longevity and overall reliability.

The most advanced products and state-of-the-art solutions can be found, fully functional even in very harsh environments such as mines. Electronic sirens such as Bono or Screamer (which can be used as mobile sirens in open mines and quarries) offer various settings, power supplies and horns. The sirens can be connected to a central command and control center, a remote control unit, and monitoring stations or software that allows personnel to control the entire system from one or more locations.

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Hard rock versus soft rock mining requires different underground mining methods and this should be considered when choosing the right mining method.

Three different types of access tunnels are used to extract ore:

• Drift mining: uses horizontal access tunnels.
• Slope mining: uses access shafts with a diagonal inclination.
• Shaft mining: uses vertical access shafts.

Below are the main types of underground mining methods:

• Room and pillar mining. Room and pillar mining consists of clearing a room of ore, but leaving the pillars in place to support the weight of the ceiling until the ore is cleared from the face.
• Retreat mining. Retreat mining follows chamber and pillar mining and is the process of removing the pillars from the room, thus extracting the remaining ore. This process is done strategically and can be extremely dangerous as the mine collapses in on itself during the removal process.
• Shrinkage mining. Shrinkage mining, also known as sub-floor mining, is used to extract minerals from steep ore bodies. Pillars are excavated and then backfilled at different sub-levels. The host rock between the backfilled holes is then excavated using the same process.
• Sub-level open stoping. Sub-level open pit mining, also known as blast hole mining or longwall mining, is used when a solid rock body is present and no structural support is required to extract the ore. Drill holes are drilled and the host rock is blasted in sections to an open pit. This method is used to extract lead and iron.
• Cut-and-fill mining. The cut-and-fill mining is carried out by working horizontal strips from the bottom of the ore body to the top. Before moving to the next level, drifts are mined and backfilled. This method is used for soft host rocks.
• Sublevel caving. Sublevel caving is used to mine the footwall of an inclined ore body. This method mines from the top down and uses blasting to extract the ore, which leads to the destruction of the bedrock.
• Block caving. Block caving undermines massive ore bodies and creates voids under the loosened rock. The ore falls apart in the voids and is transported to the crusher through the ore passages. During mining, the surface of the mine deflects as the ore is removed. This method is used for massive but weak ore bodies and has a more complex preparation process than other mining methods.

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