Global competition for strategic mineral resources is intensifying, and resource security is crucial to national welfare and people's livelihoods. China's western high-altitude, cold regions are rich in mineral resources and serve as a core resource hinterland for ensuring the security of the national industrial and supply chains. However, these areas face challenges such as high altitude, low temperatures, and fragile ecological carrying capacity. Mining operations in these regions have long suffered from industry pain points, including low human-machine operational efficiency, significant ecological disturbance and damage, and persistently high energy consumption and costs. Achieving low-carbon, efficient, and economical mineral extraction in this region is a major technical challenge that the industry urgently needs to address.

Recently, the project team of Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Changsha Nonferrous Institute"), a subsidiary of Chinalco International Engineering Co., Ltd., has made a major breakthrough in this field. They pioneered several core technologies, including downhill self-generating belt conveying, and overcame a series of challenges such as dynamic and precise optimization of mining boundaries in extremely high-altitude mining areas, economical and intelligent layout of haulage ramps, and efficient energy recovery during long-distance, large-volume material transportation. The relevant achievements have been successfully applied at Tibet Julong Copper Co., Ltd., delivering an impressive track record.

Precise Profiling and Dynamic Regulation: Ensuring "Every Ore Grain is Collected"

Precise delineation of open-pit mining boundaries and rational planning of haulage ramps are critical to the economic evaluation of deposit development and transportation efficiency. Traditional static boundary delineation methods suffer from a lack of dynamic price and cost parameters, distortion of time value attributes, and insufficient economic viability in ramp layout, potentially leading to waste of mineral resources.

To address this challenge, the Changsha Nonferrous Institute project team focused on the dynamic interplay between economic parameters and time value. The team developed a new multi-method combined dynamic integrated optimization approach that dynamically regulates price and cost economic parameters for open-pit mining boundaries and precisely aligns time value attributes. This method can dynamically adjust the delineation of mining boundaries and the layout of haulage ramps based on market price fluctuations and changes in mining costs, solving the persistent problem of dynamic resource management and efficient utilization. Through intelligent algorithms, the economical and intelligent layout of haulage ramps is achieved, ensuring the mine maintains optimal economic performance throughout its decades-long service life. Previously considered "dead" ore with ambiguous grade boundaries is converted into recoverable reserves, truly achieving "every grain collected."

Empowering Equipment Adaptation and Upgrading: Solving the "Altitude Sickness" Problem in Plateau Conditions

The oxygen content in a 5,000-meter-altitude mining area is only 60% of that in plain areas, causing severe altitude sickness for both personnel and equipment. Large mining equipment suffers from power degradation and increased failure rates, significantly reducing attendance rates and operational efficiency.

Building on traditional experience, the Changsha Nonferrous Institute project team constructed a multi-parameter performance degradation correction model for equipment cluster efficiency. This model fully considers the impact of multiple factors such as altitude, temperature, road conditions, and maintenance cycles on mining equipment efficiency. Based on this, they developed intelligent selection decision software for equipment in extremely high-altitude, large-scale open-pit mines. This software can simulate the actual output of different equipment combinations under specific harsh environments, enabling precise equipment matching. After implementation, the operational efficiency of large mining equipment significantly improved, with attendance rates increasing by 2 to 3 percentage points and time utilization rates increasing by 1 to 3 percentage points. This not only ensures the annual total mining and stripping volume but also substantially reduces ineffective fuel consumption and equipment wear.

Original Green Conveying Technology: Converting Potential Energy into Electrical Energy, Subverting the "Transportation Must Consume Energy" Concept

If equipment selection addresses efficiency at the "point" level, then long-distance material transportation is the "line" that constrains overall mine performance. High-altitude mines often feature steep mountains and deep valleys, with long transportation distances and large elevation differences for ore and waste rock. Traditional truck transportation incurs high costs, high energy consumption, and severe pollution.

To meet this challenge, the Changsha Nonferrous Institute project team pioneered high-capacity, long-distance downhill self-generating belt conveying technology for extremely high-altitude, large-scale open-pit mines. They built the world's first downhill self-generating belt conveying system with the highest altitude, power, and capacity, as well as the highest belt speed and strength, at Tibet Julong Copper Co., Ltd. This system utilizes the immense gravitational potential energy of materials descending from high elevations to generate electricity, converting resistance into power. According to statistics, the system's annual power generation at full load can reach 54.45 million kWh, equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by 56,752 tons per year. This technology subverts the traditional concept that "transportation must consume energy," achieving a perfect combination of long-distance, large-volume material transportation and efficient energy recovery in extremely high-altitude mining areas.

Spatiotemporal Collaborative Intelligent Waste Dumping: Coordinated Scheduling for a Low-Ecological-Disturbance Dumping Model

In the case of zoned mining and multiple waste dumps, waste rock transportation routes are complex. Traditional extensive waste dumping path planning suffers from high dumping costs, low turnover efficiency, and poor scheduling accuracy.

To address this, the Changsha Nonferrous Institute project team developed multi-region spatiotemporal collaborative large-scale waste dumping technology for extra-large open-pit mines. They constructed a transportation system network model and a scheduling decision support system, enabling advanced planning and dynamic coordination of multiple waste dumps in both time and space. Transport vehicles no longer simply travel back and forth on a "two-point-one-line" basis. Instead, they intelligently plan optimal routes based on real-time road conditions, waste dump capacity, and compaction requirements, achieving efficient equipment transport coordination and low-carbon, economical waste stacking. This significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions from waste rock transportation.

Comprehensive Multi-Dimensional Benefits: A Triple Harvest in Resources, Economy, and Ecology

After the successful application of the relevant achievements at Tibet Julong Copper Co., Ltd., an impressive track record has been delivered:

In terms of resource security: The mine's recoverable ore volume increased by 57.66 million tons, and copper metal volume increased by 253,700 tons, significantly extending the mine's service life and enhancing China's self-sufficiency capacity for strategic mineral resources.

In terms of economic benefits: Significant investment was directly saved, with annual production costs reduced by over 100 million yuan.

In terms of environmental and social benefits: An industry benchmark for low-carbon, efficient, and economical mining in extremely high-altitude, large-scale mines has been established.

This technological achievement provides valuable technical support and engineering demonstration for the green, low-carbon, cost-effective, and efficient development of extra-large open-pit mines in high-altitude cold regions. It promotes technological progress in the mining industry for extremely high-altitude mines and improves China's technical level and resource security capacity for strategic mineral extraction.

From "Blood Transfusion" to "Hematopoiesis": Reshaping the Development Paradigm for High-Altitude Mines

The breakthrough in key technologies for low-carbon, efficient mining in extremely high-altitude, large-scale open-pit mines has significance far beyond a single mine. China's western high-altitude, cold regions are rich in mineral resources, but long-standing technical bottlenecks have led to low development efficiency, high costs, and significant ecological disturbance. The series of innovative achievements by the Changsha Nonferrous Institute project team form a complete integrated technical system, providing a replicable and scalable technical paradigm for large-scale resource development in this region.

The downhill self-generating belt conveying technology not only solves the energy consumption problem of long-distance transportation in high-altitude mining areas but also achieves a qualitative leap from "energy consumption" to "energy production." The intelligent equipment selection decision software provides a scientific basis for equipment configuration in high-altitude mines, fundamentally solving the "altitude sickness" dilemma. Dynamic mining boundary optimization and spatiotemporal collaborative waste dumping technology push the economic and environmental benefits of mines to a new equilibrium point.

Looking to the future, Changsha Nonferrous Institute will focus on the green, intelligent, and high-end development direction of the nonferrous metals industry. It will deepen collaborative innovation in industry, academia, research, and application, striving to produce more original and leading achievements with significant impact. With the continued promotion and application of this technology, China's self-sufficiency capacity for strategic mineral resources in high-altitude, cold regions will be comprehensively enhanced.