en.Wedoany.com Reported - Krasno-October Bauxite Mining Unit (KBRU), part of Kazakhstan Aluminium Company under Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), has officially launched a vertical bauxite mining project at Open-Pit Mine No. 4 in the Vostochno-Ayatskoye deposit, utilizing a rotary drilling rig for operations.
This vertical bauxite mining technology is being applied for the first time not only in Kazakhstan but also globally.
The technology will complement traditional open-pit mining methods, primarily targeting previously mined areas of existing open pits. In these areas, deep bauxite reserves cannot be developed through conventional methods or are uneconomical to extract due to the need to remove large amounts of overburden.
The project's main equipment is a 133-ton, 580-horsepower BAUER BG 45 heavy-duty hydraulic rotary drilling rig. Equipped with a telescopic Kelly bar and auger drill bit, the rig can vertically extract bauxite from depths of up to 100 meters without the use of explosives.
Ivan Lobanov, Chief Mining Engineer of Kazakhstan Aluminium Company, stated that the vertical mining project holds strategic significance for the aluminium division. The new technology helps reduce costs, significantly decreases overburden removal, enables more precise ore extraction and raw material quality management, and allows for the development of previously uneconomical mining areas. The company is the first in the world to apply this technology to bauxite mining.
The main advantage of this technology is the ability to access hard-to-reach reserves, which will provide an additional 12 million tons of bauxite over the next decade, helping to extend the mine's lifespan and ensure a stable supply of raw materials for the Pavlodar Aluminium Plant.
Selective mining reduces the amount of waste rock mixed with bauxite, providing higher-quality raw materials for processing and reducing environmental impact. Since drilling and blasting are not required, the technology helps avoid seismic effects and reduce dust generation. Mining operations are conducted within existing open pits, minimizing the area of disturbed land, while the reduced use of heavy machinery further helps minimize the overall environmental footprint.
Ruslan Aslyamov, Operations Director of KBRU, explained that the complex geological structure of the deposits developed by KBRU makes deep mining increasingly costly. Vertical mining can maintain the required productivity and utilize available resources more efficiently.
The project is noteworthy because the BAUER BG drilling rig was originally designed for foundation construction and geotechnical engineering. Experts from Kazakhstan Aluminium Company, in collaboration with German partners, have adapted this equipment for commercial bauxite mining for the first time.
Currently, Open-Pit Mine VAM-4 is simultaneously employing both methods for ore extraction, and KBRU employees are receiving on-site training from BAUER engineers in preparation for further technology deployment.
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