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ABSTRACT: This research study examines challenges of mining in the presence of shale due to its brittle nature. Shale's presence can substantially decrease the ultimate pit angle in a geological setting, reducing extraction. While earlier studies were focused on shale's impact on the slope stability of a soil structure due to its weak geotechnical properties, this paper showcases an analysis of shale's impact on production dynamics by investigating adjustments in mining strategies. The study area focuses on four iron ore mines in the Singhbhum Craton region in India. The research methodology encompassed onsite surveys, laboratory testing, and multiple analyses of iterated geological models replicating real-time situations in numerical codes, as well as a comparative analysis of handling notorious shale layers, both with and without the assistance of support systems. Findings of this study reveal a 10% decrease in yearly production of a mine, solely attributed to the presence of shale. Moreover, this paper provides insights into practiced solutions for managing issues frequently encountered in mines with shale, such as handling the material in varied seasonal conditions and mitigating the ore grade reduction by shale contamination of run-of-mine material. 1. INTRODUCTION In today's age, on the global pedestal, mining stands as the strongest pillar in the critical structure of modern civilization, supplying essential raw materials fueling various critical industries, ranging from construction to the production of energy and technology. The pivotal role of mining in meeting the world's needs is indeed undeniable. Moreover, every aspect of an individual's daily life dramatically relies on extracting minerals and metals from resourceful ore deposits. The impacting domain ranges from the use of hematite ore used in steel production to rare earth elements like Neodymium (Nd) and europium (Eu), which are crucial for electronics manufacturing-electric vehicles and LEDs, respectively; the breadth and depth of impact of mining are inescapable. In addition, as the growth rate of the urbanizing populations accelerates, the demand for minerals continues to surge, creating unprecedented pressure on mining operations to amplify the production to meet this ever-growing need.
Mohanty et al. (Sun,) studied this question.