Production indicators and equipment of the Muruntau quarry and the largest copper and gold ore quarries in the world

This paper presents a review of production indicators and the main mining equipment used at the world’s largest copper and gold open-pit mines. An analysis is carried out of the composition of the fleets of primary mining equipment by process (drilling rigs, excavators and haul trucks) and of the open-pit mining technologies employed at the largest copper and gold pits worldwide. For the mines considered, the following equipment parameters and performance indicators are summarized: average excavator bucket capacity, average payload of haul trucks, average number of haul trucks and drilling rigs per excavator, total excavator bucket capacity and total haul truck payload at each operation, and the mean annual excavator capacity per 1 m3 of bucket capacity. The relationship between average annual excavator capacity and bucket capacity variation is presented. With respect to the equipment fleets of the enterprises examined, the most commonly used models of haul trucks and excavators are identified by make and manufacturer. The obtained data are compared with the actual performance figures of the Muruntau gold operation. Plans of the enterprise to increase production capacity in order to achieve record gold-ore production at the Muruntau open-pit are also described.

Umarov F. Ya., Nutfulloev G. S., Yuldoshev U. U., Levchenko Ya. V., Pastikhin D. V., Kobilov Sh. B. Production indicators and equipment of the Muruntau quarry and the largest copper and gold ore quarries in the world. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(7):32-48. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_7_0_32.

F.Ya. Umarov¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Director, e-mail: farkhodbek.umarov@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-02910-9806,
G.S. Nutfulloev¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Associate Professor, Head of the Administrative Department, e-mail: gafurcom@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0004-0241-1273,
U.U. Yuldoshev, Head of the Strategic Mine Planning Department, NMMC JSC, Navoi, 210100, Republic of Uzbekistan, e-mail: uu.yuldoshev@gmail.com, ORCID ID: 0009-0007-7323-2186,
Ya.V. Levchenko², Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: levchenko.mggu@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2080-6330,
D.V. Pastikhin², Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: msmu-opm@mail.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0000-7386-6831,
Sh.B. Kobilov¹, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Technical Sciences, Deputy Dean of the Mining and Metallurgical Faculty, e-mail: sheraliqobilov492@gmail.com, ORCID ID: 0009-0008-5912-1735,
¹ Almalyk Branch of NUST MISIS, 110100, Almalyk, Republic of Uzbekistan,
² NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia.

Ya.V. Levchenko, e-mail: levchenko.mggu@mail.ru.

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