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author2 Webber-Youngman, R.C.W.
author_browse Webber-Youngman, R.C.W.
author_facet Webber-Youngman, R.C.W.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/62811 A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study Webber-Youngman, R.C.W. hannobuys@gmail.com Botha, Brendan William Buys, Ockert UCTD Value-adding principles Open-pit mining Conceptual studies Resource optimization Sustainable mining practices Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-04 SDG-04: Quality education Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-08 SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-12 SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-13 SDG-13: Climate action Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2017. A conceptual study is regarded as the first phase in the development of a new open pit mine. The phased approach (conceptual, prefeasibility, feasibility) is described as a “stepwise risk reduction” process, whereby each phase progressively reduces risk prior to project implementation. As the first step in the process, the conceptual study could potentially have the largest effect on mine development since investment decisions are based on its content. Carelessly conducted, a conceptual study has the potential to underestimate a viable project or produce an overoptimistic valuation. In a tough economic climate, mine project developments are scrutinised, prioritising capital to develop assets with the most potential. To prioritise, conceptual studies need to be comparable and therefore based on a similar, structured approach. Comparability is hindered by low confidence geological information and assumptions on which conceptual studies are based. The time it takes to conduct a conceptual study and the associated accuracy are largely dependent on the information available since information is often borrowed from similar projects or developed from first principles. To prevent casual educated guesswork, conceptual studies need to be subject to a scientific, standardised approach with experienced professionals involved. At the core, a conceptual study can be broken down into a set of activities as is found in a work breakdown structure. Major mining companies have comprehensive internal standards (sets of activities) where the activity determines what needs to be included in a conceptual study and the deliverables that need to be achieved. This dissertation drew activities from industry standards and eight different case studies for consideration. Essentially, activities add value to a conceptual study by reducing technical and financial risk. For this reason, activities culminated from case studies and industry standards were evaluated by a focus group to determine the risk reduction potential of each activity. From the focus group evaluation, activities were ranked according to value adding potential, and a list of twenty activities was identified as critical to the success of a conceptual study. The top twenty activities were evaluated against the required conceptual study deliverables identified in the literature, and six additional activities were added, ensuring that all critical deliverables are met. In total, twenty‐six activities were identified that, if included in a conceptual study, would ensure that a standardised, scientific approach is followed and that a conceptual study would add value by reducing risk. In addition to the critical activities identified, this dissertation drew from the literature survey, case study results and focus group assistance such value adding principles critical for the success of an open pit conceptual study. om2025 Mining Engineering MEng Unrestricted SDG-04: Quality education SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production SDG-13: Climate action 2017-10-13T13:41:29Z 2017-10-13T13:41:29Z 2017-09-08 2017 Dissertation Buys, O 2017, A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study, MEng Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62811> S2017 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62811 © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Value-adding principles
Open-pit mining
Conceptual studies
Resource optimization
Sustainable mining practices
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-04
SDG-04: Quality education
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-08
SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-09
SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-12
SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-13
SDG-13: Climate action
A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
title A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
title_full A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
title_fullStr A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
title_full_unstemmed A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
title_short A critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
title_sort critical investigation into value adding principles for conducting an open pit conceptual study
topic UCTD
Value-adding principles
Open-pit mining
Conceptual studies
Resource optimization
Sustainable mining practices
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-04
SDG-04: Quality education
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-08
SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-09
SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-12
SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production
Engineering, built environment and information technology theses SDG-13
SDG-13: Climate action
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62811