Optimization of Loading, Transport, and Hauling Cycle
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ScribdTranslationsOptimization of Loading, Transport, and Hauling Cycle
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ScribdTranslationsOPTIMIZATION OF LOADING-TRANSPORT-CARRIAGE CYCLE
The mining industry, like other production sectors, is
always in search of new solutions for the improvement of their processes
in order to achieve a sustainable operation that goes in harmony with the
care for the environment. Improve worker safety
and the productivity of teams in the face of cost fluctuations and
changes in commodity prices in the market, there has been
converted into a priority for operations in our country and in the
entire world. To this end, the latest advances in technology of
information has been increasingly introduced in the field of mining,
helping to centralize, integrate, and analyze operational data. As
As a result, the industry has generated multiple tools
specialized in increasing productivity.
Development of the optimization model.
The success of a mining operation depends largely on management.
careful of each of its stages. Although currently there is
they apply various techniques to solve critical problems, still
There are opportunities for the continuous improvement of processes. The
transporting materials is one of the most expensive stages of the cycle
production, accounting for an average of 60% of the total cost. However, the
Daily work causes some fundamental aspects to go unnoticed.
unnoticed.
One of the first tasks assigned to young engineers when starting their
The job is to control the cycle time of the equipment during production.
A considerable amount of data is collected, which is analyzed.
and the results of this analysis become valuable information
what constitutes the knowledge required for supervision of
operations for decision-making based on a comparison
between the actual results and the ideal operating conditions,
represented by key performance indicators (Key Performance
Indicators or KPI). Routine operational tasks leave very little.
time to verify the quality and accuracy of the collected data;
added to this, we have that the risk of exposing to is very high
personal without experience to work close to the main ones
equipment. With the latest advancements in computer technology, there are
devices that continuously monitor the different activities of
each equipment (paddles, trucks, crushers, scales, etc.); the record
All vital signs are stored in a database.
centralized. The operational status of the equipment in operation
it can be presented either in real time or at the end of each turn; in
In any case, it is possible to follow up on the mining plan and the
operation management can be effectively improved.
The proposed research methodology aims to
focus on the identification and control of the factors that affect the
performance of the loading, transportation, and hauling cycle of open-pit mining
open. This is achieved through the following steps:
• Demonstrate the benefits of time analysis and how it affects
the productivity results in the production process.
• Demonstrate the usefulness of key performance indicators in the
mineral extraction and clearing, and how these indicators help to
recognize the team's performance.
Develop software interfaces to visualize the alert system
in order to increase the perception capacity in the supervisor of
operations.
Definition of parameters
The transportation of materials is one of the most important aspects to
to control in open-pit operations. This activity requires
large teams whose hourly cost is high; therefore, it is
it is necessary to achieve high productivity with the correct allocation of
trucks and shovels. In recent years, the development of new systems of
decision support significantly contributed to the increase of
productivity, thus reducing operating costs. However,
A persistent problem is certain downtime: trucks that
waiting to be loaded, insufficient coverage of the demand for the
palas, uncoordinated reassignment of trips, unscheduled stops, and
other delays in the hauling route. This creates inefficient consumption
of the fuel, which indirectly affects wasted energy
and in the increase of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
A proposed methodology for improving cycle times in the
mining operations are based on the use of a simulator of
discrete events. Until now, there had been no work dedicated to
development of alert systems to monitor the different sub
activities of the transportation process in which they are identified
mostly delays in operations. With a system based on
the context of operations it would be possible to obtain more information for
optimize the cycle time of transportation based on control of the
delays of the production equipment. Once the adjustments have been applied that
the existing model presents, a new simulation is run with the
recommended adjustments and, finally, the values are corrected
performance of the production program that are outside of the
standards.
For the development of the model, data from drills were used.
diamond cores of a hypothetic copper porphyry project
located in the state of Arizona (United States). The values of the
samples were introduced into a 3D modeling software in order to
to generate a block model and an economically optimal cut a
once the basic infrastructure is distributed, including workshops, offices,
laboratories and concentrating plant, among others. Then the plans were drawn up
main roads from the production fronts to the crushers.
In order to produce the data that would constitute the database of
Origin built a model of the mine's routes using a
simulation software (academic version), generating a population
of cycle times for a maximum of 100 repetitions in a day
completed work (two guards). This set of simulations and their
results conformed to the 'original' operational model. They were developed
identification algorithms of the various stages of the process of
production that allowed to validate the premises and assumptions prior to the
execution of the simulation, some of which were:
Standby times (sleep mode) were not considered.
All the trucks and the shovels had the same characteristics.
model
There was only one road to transport mineral and another for the
dismantle.
The road distance varies according to the development of the
mine and the depth of the pit.
Overtaking between trucks was not allowed.
The FIFO method was applied for loading and unloading trucks.
material.
The number of trucks and shovels is generated according to the
production needs.
The times included possible delays due to traffic.
All roads are kept in good condition.
The trucks and the shovels were always available and did not have
unplanned stops due to failures or damage.
The simulation was carried out over a period of 16 hours that
represents two guards per day.
Alert system
The alert system consists of a set of algorithms for
monitoring the behavior of the equipment during operation
(stop count, average speeds, wait times,
tonnage, utilization percentage) which allows for detection
performance patterns that are then stored in the database
"original", that is, the one that will serve as a reference base for the
posterior optimization.
After a series of repetitions, the factors that were detected
negatively impacted performance during a typical day of
operation. These factors are displayed on a panel by the
production supervisor. The adjustments recommended by the system are
applied to the model before the simulation is run again.
The new results are presented in comparative tables for
individual and fleet-wide performance. The goal is to demonstrate
that the production of an open-pit mine can be increased.
Application of adjustments
With the parameters used to build the original model and the
using the discrete event simulator, a database was generated
data with the most relevant variables for the analysis. Among them
productive times and downtime stand out, the number of
generated slopes, assignments to specific shovels, distances to
traverse by the trucks, and the capacity of the crusher. This base of
data was analyzed using a pivot table from a spreadsheet
conventional, in order to detect the cycle time anomalies.
The original database contains the fields that are relevant for
the transport process and calculated fields were derived from the
source data. Some of these fields are average times of
subactivities such as productive time, unproductive time, and the
total cycle time. In addition, key performance indicators are generated.
performance for individual and fleet performances. The result of
this analysis becomes the information that is built the
knowledge that is used to take corrective actions (management
of knowledge).
Analysis of results
The analysis described above provides an overview of the
current situation of transport in the original model. At this stage, the
opportunities for the application of knowledge can
identify themselves, based on previous experiences and the development of judgment
suitable for the operations supervisor. The results are shown in
a dynamic graph to have a general perception of time of
complete cycle.
Once the respective corrections that were presented during are made
The simulation with the original model was executed, and a new simulation was run.
with the modifications, generating as a result the model
optimized. From this point on, various alternatives for analysis
They allow for establishing the differences between both models. A framework
time comparison for trucks providing service to shovel 1 in
the presented case study shows the time differences between
loading, unloading and delays, and how it is possible to establish differences
consistent in those times, which will directly affect the
expected tonnage results for the established time frame
for the tests.
Conclusions
The selected simulation tool allowed for a representation of a
real system in process. The simulation parameters may be
modified multiple times without the need to make changes in the
real model, until achieving the final optimization; in this way,
they save costs, resources, and time.
One of the main objectives of the study was to contribute to the
development of a methodology to improve productivity, reduce the
unproductive times, increase in the use of shovels and
trucks, reduction of queues in shovels and crusher, with the application
of simulation techniques and without the need to incur in an investment
additional. The objective of the presented methodology was to determine if it is
feasible to take advantage of discrete event simulation for the
optimization of production processes. The results obtained it
they confirm.
