The exploitation of a layer mineralized can conceive itself in underground or in the open. The choice will make itself from technical and economic considerations. The good management of the mines like careers implies some views to very long term, translated by programs foreseeing the evolution during 10, 15 or 20 years. These programs are constantly adjusted according to the gotten yearly realizations.

The exploitation in career of a mineralized layer justifies itself when the report, named "temperament", between the total volume of rocks to excavate and the volume of the ores valorisables content, remain in relatively weak values, never passing 8 to 10 in our case.

These conditions of layer are especially particular to the zone of Kolwezi, where the exploitations are in the open in constant development. Main Kamotos, Kamoto Nord, Kamoto Est, Musonoi and Ruwe constitute the set of mines currently in the open the most important of the Gecomin.

Since 1940 until end 1968, the excavated total volume rose of it to 298 millions m³. In 1968, in particular, the excavations totaled close to 22 millions m³; they will pass 25 millions of m³ in 1969.

We exploit on the other hand in career in the group Centers, the layer of copper of Katanda and the one of Sesa, situated next to the underground mine of Kambove.

These realizations require the use of a gigantic mining material that compares itself to the one put in work in the similar exploitations of the United States.

The loading of the products makes itself with the help of electric shovels whose pot is capable to remove in only one pass an active volume of 4 to 12 m³.

The transportation of ores toward the concentrateurs or the sterile toward the embankments is assured by skips of big capacity, 45 and 100 tons, or by train electric of which only one oar vehicle 500 tons of products.

The group of the careers of the west totals 19 yards (shovel-skips or shovel-locos) in permanent activity. The increase of the performances of the skips and the deepening of the careers bring us to abandon the transportation progressively by rail and to increase the park of road contraptions.

The roads are maintained by road graders and by bulldozers of very big power constantly working. The infrastructure ferrovière in the west totals 140 km of ways electrified currently.

A big part of the lands excavated in career requires a decay to the explosive. In 1968, it was mined more of 2100 tons of breaking explosives on the whole in the open of the exploitations.

The mining material represents considerable investments: a shovel of 12 m³ of pot costs 455.000 zaïres; a skip of 100 t is worth 131.000 zaïres.

He/it is indispensable in these conditions to get the performances maxima of use of it, while assuring the conservation of the tool. to satisfy to these requirements, a very important maintenance infrastructure is indispensable.

In the zone of Kolwezi, she/it consists of several garages and several shops placed immediate close by of the exploitations. In these buildings are done all maintenance operations and of repair, as well as the controls to which are submitted the different mining materials. Some extremely complex plannings have been defined in every particular case.

The preventive interview leans on a set of shops very specialized modern in all mechanical and electric disciplines.

<< In the immense amphitheaters that are in the open our mines, the miners use a gigantic material; rotary sondeuses, skips of 100 tons, shovels of 4,4 m³, 6,5 m³ and 11 m³, and self-propelled way ripeuses.

Underground mines to continue ->>