Project Layout

After the selection of dredging equipment, a mining plan needs to be developed that will permit operators to examine the overall project layout. The mining plan should make sure that the ore body is exploited in such a way as to uphold a ongoing and advantageous operation for the duration of the project. The plan should also be scheduled to keep a steady rate of excavation and processing with as near as possible a stable recovery rate for the gold mineral being extracted. If important variations are found in the content of gold, dimension, or variations in materials which might impede the recovery of gold, the project should be laid out to make available a uniform extraction process.

When planning the job or project layout, it is essential to define value bearing areas where there are noteworthy differences in make up. Areas where the extraction of the mineral is simple should, if at all possible, be divided and mined separately from areas that have clay and limes. This separation is necessary if the occurrence of slimes or clay considerably affects the processing equipment setup and the rate at which the processing system is able to function.

If the differences are such that easily processed material is able to be mixed with materials that are more difficult to process and still make available a resourceful and uniform extraction rate, the project might be laid out as a result.

Beyond this, if areas of high concentration are discovered, it might be necessary to regulate the excavation and processing rate of the dredge beneficiation plant. This will make sure that values are not being lost by overfeeding the system with an abnormally high concentration of gold or mineral, some of which might go through the processing system and get lost.

Areas with high concentrations of boulders or material that is hard to dredge should be spotted out and either avoided or measured for a different method of exploitation.