Topal, E. - Kuruppu, M. (Eds.) - Mine Planning and Equipment Selection - MPES 2010-The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (The AusIMM) (2010)

MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION
MPES 2010
Edited by: E Topal and M Kuruppu
1 - 3 DECEMBER 2010
FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Publication Series No 11/2010
Published by:
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The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy 2010
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FOREWORD
It is a privilege to introduce the 19th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection
MPES 2010 Conference Proceedings. Throughout its history, MPES symposium has been recognised as
the leading forums for promoting international technology transfer, with the main focus on all aspects of
mine planning, as well as mining equipment. We have chosen to publish approximately 80 papers out of
over 120 abstracts received.
In order to deliver a world leading conference such as this, all the papers in the proceedings have
been independently peer reviewed and edited by experts in the field, to ensure the highest relevance
and quality. I would like to express my sincere appreciations to all the authors and presenters, keynote
speakers, the editorial/review panel, and session chairs for their valuable contributions.
Please acknowledge the sponsors and exhibitors listed for this event. Without their financial support
and presence, we would not be able to deliver a high quality and enjoyable conference.
Last but not least, it requires enormous effort and experience to organise and conduct a conference
like this and to produce a volume of proceedings like the one in your hands. On behalf of the organising
committee, I wish to thank The AusIMM conference team for their highly professional support and
organisational skills. It was a pleasure and enjoyable journey working with them.
We welcome all of you the participants of MPES 2010 to Western Australia and wish you a successful
conference.
Erkan Topal
Conference Chair
CONTENTS
Keynote Address
Open Pit Production Scheduling Optimisation Why the Mining K Dagdelen 3

Industry Needs a New Phase Design Approach
Steel and Iron Ore Scenario An Indian Perspective V S Rao 5
Optimisation Challenges in Underground Mine Planning and Design H Rubinstein, M Brazil, 11

P Grossman, D Lee, D Thomas
and N Wormald
Economics of Mine Planning and Equipment Selection I C Runge 13
More than Coal Mining J Tourek 23
The Next Challenge in Optimising Mining Operations J Whittle 25
Advances in Surface Mine Planning Design and Computer Application
A Simulation Approach for the Comparison of In-Pit Crushing and R Bearman and S Munro 33
Conveying and Truck-Shovel Mining Methods
Production Capacity Optimisation in the Presence of Grade Uncer- T Elkington and F Grobler 43
tainty
Robust versus Flexible Open Pit Mine Design B Groeneveld, E Topal and 55
B Leenders
The Role of Cost Estimating in Mine Planning and Equipment J B Leinart and 69
Selection O L Schumacher
Ultimate Pit Limit of Iron Ore Mines using Maximum Flow Algorithms M Osanloo, M Rahmanpour 81
and A Sadri
A New Model to Improve Ore Grade Reconciliation Between the A Parhizkar, M Ataee, 89
Exploration Model and the Mine P Moarefvand, V Rasouli and
A H Bangian
A New Genetic Algorithm for Open Pit Design The Two-Dimensional J Saavedra-Rosas 95
Case
Enterprise Optimisation G Whittle 105
Advances in Underground Mine Planning Design and Computer Application
Optimisation Improvements in Whittle Using Stope Optimisation S Keane 121

Software
A Review of the Theory and Application of Multi-Criteria Decision C Musingwini 129
Analysis Techniques in Mine Planning
An Investigation to Integrate Optimum Long-Term Planning with M Nehring, E Topal, M Kizil 141
Short Planning in Underground Mine Production Scheduling and P Knights
Application of Genetic Algorithms for Reliability Assessment of Two N Vayenas, X Wu and 155
Mine Hoisting Systems S Peng
Drilling Blasting and Excavation Engineering
Blast Vibration Monitoring and Elastic Wave Reection Models to K G Fleetwood and 165
Assess Blast-Induced Damage to Mine Infrastructure E Villaescusa
An Underground Case Study
Role of Physico-Mechanical Properties in Cutting Performance of S C Jain and S S Rathore 179

Diamond Wire Saw in Marble Quarrying Operation
Never Touch a Running System? Longwall Cutting Sequences and K Nienhaus and S Hetzel 191
their Potential
Developing Algorithms and a Computer Program to Predict the Peak Topal, B Elevli and 197
Particle Velocity After Blasting in Open Pit Mines and Quarries K Erarslan
Environmental Issues in Surface and Underground Mining
Numerical Modelling of Monorail Support Requirements in Decline B Besa, M Kuruppu and 209
Development E K Chanda
Case Study The Mogiana Quarry Reclamation A Curi and O Quaglio 225
Study on Utilisation of Flyash for Barrier Layer/Buffer Materials for T Sasaoka, H Shimada and 233
Radioactive Waste Disposal K Matsui
Fundamental Study of Acid Drainage Control using Flyash H Shimada, T Sasaoka, 247
K Matsui, G J Kusuma, J Oya,
H Takamoto, S Kramadibrata
and B Sulistianto
Mine Automation
Simulation for Dependable Mining Automation N Hillier and J Ryde 257
Coal Bed Boundary Detection using Infrared Technology for Longwall K Nienhaus, F Mavroudis and 267
Shearer Automation M Warcholik
Advances in Continuous Miner Automation J C Ralston, M T Dunn, 275

C Hargrave and D C Reid
Path Planning and Position Control for Autonomous Loading S Sarata and N Koyachi 293
Operation by Wheel Loader
Mine Equipment Selection, Utilisation and Maintenance
A Non-Linear Programming Model for Open Pit Mine Equipment A Aghajani Bazzazi, 303
Selection M Osanloo and B Karimi
Equipment Selection What is the Issue? What About the Application M Campbell 317
of Simulation Packages?
Improvement of Mechanical Tool Performance by Waterjet Assistance R Ciccu and B Grosso 323
Optimum Equipment Management Through Life Cycle Costing B Hall 333
Precision Surface Mining Choosing the Best Tool for the Job J Hutchins 341
Software Tools for Open Pit Trucking Studies S Law 355
Infrared Imager as a Tool for Monitoring of Power Shovels, Gearcase V Sergeev, M Zhuravlev and 365
Bearings and Electric Motors R Y Poderni
The EMESRT Approach to Equipment Design Bringing End Users G von Horsten 369
into the Picture
Mine Feasibility Case Studies
Ranking of Belt Conveyor Systems for Prefeasibility Study E Y Baa and D A Bedward 373
BATMIN Business Analysis Tools for Mining D Heugh 379
Preliminary Study on the Improvement of Afforestation Techniques Y Sakai, Y Sato, K Matsui, 399
Applied to Aggregate Mines in Japan H Shimada and T Sasaoka
Reopening and Production Planning of Krdar Yoncal Quarry, Topal, B Elevli, H Akakoca, 411
Turkey K Oul and M M Gle
Mine Health, Safety and Environment
Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Whole-Body Vibration for V Dentoni, G Massacci and 419
Drivers of Mining Equipment L Piras
Shell be Right Mate Culture and Safety P Milnes, N S Melkoumian, 427

D Mather, T Milnes,
A Stewart and L Tan
Using Haulage Accidents and Incident Reports to Identify the Impact R J Thompson 439
of Substandard Haul Road Design on Operational Safety
Prediction of Near-Field Rock Damage Due to Production Blasting in S Wahyudi, H Shimada, 453
Limestone Quarries, Japan T Sasaoka, S Kubota, Y Ogata
and K Matsui
Mine Planning and Block Modelling
Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm for Block Aggregation in Open Pit H Askari-Nasab, M Tabesh, 469
Mines M M Badiozamani and
H Eivazy
Operative Expert Estimation of Innovative Policy of Mining Enterprise S Zh Galiyev, 481

Technological Development using Sustainable Development Principles A A Boyandinova and
K K Zhussupov
Investigating the Sensitivity of Different Estimation Techniques over A Hekmat and M Osanloo 487
Block Dimensions
A New Effective Labour-Planning Model for Mines L D Meyer 499
Mining Methods and Planning
Mass Mining using Room and Pillar Methods at Estonia Oil Shale R Freeman and O Nikitin 515
Mine
A Tool for Benchmark Study of Roadway Development Performances G Gibson and E Y Baa 525
Planning the Kotre Basantpur-Pachmo Coking Coal Mine M D OBrien, R Srikanth, 533
A L Vidale and
G M Springbett
Mining the LG6 Chromitite Layer A Comparison of Two Approaches S M Rupprecht 547
Mining System Monitoring and Simulation
Computer Simulation of Roadway Development to Support Longwall E Y Baa and I Porter 561
Mining
Information and Methodical Base of Simulation Modelling of S Zh Galiyev, 567

Excavator-Truck-Conveyor Complex Operation A A Boyandinova and
Zh A Adilkhanova
Simulation and Animation Model for the Millerton Coal Mine T OConnell and J R Sturgul 577
(New Zealand)
Performance Evaluation of Machinery used in Dimensional Stone S S Rathore and S C Jain 581
Mining and Processing
Rock Mechanics, Geotechnical Applications and Mine Environment
A Comparison of Rebar and Spiral Bolts using Laboratory Pull-Out S S Kang, D K Je, A Hirata 591
Tests and D Kim
Determination of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic Rocks Under M Kuruppu, Y Obara and 599
Water Vapour Pressure by Semi-Circular Bend Test M Kataoka
Performance of the Coal Mine Openings and Pillars in Anisotropic Ylmaz and T nl 611
Stress Field
Fundamental Study on Fracturing Grouting for Shaft Lining Q Yu, H Shimada, T Sasaoka 623
Reinforcement at Deep Alluvium Seam in Eastern China and K Matsui
Sustainable Development of Mining Resources
The Application of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Processing to Dene A H Bangian, M Ataei, 637
Optimal Post Mining Land use for Pit Area to Recognise Reclamation A Sayadi and A Gholinejad
Costs in Open Pit Mining
The Effect of the Australian Carbon Trading Scheme on a Large Scale E Chanda, F Ball, J Dunstan, 653
Open Pit Mining Operation H Maier, P Mumford and
C Shaw
Energy Conservation in the Indian Mining Industry An Overview G K Pradhan 669
Poster Papers
System Optimisation of Design and Scheduling of Open Mining B Bekmurzayev, 689

Operations D Bukeikhanov and
Y Zulkarnayev
Mining Environmental Impacts Evaluation in a Karstic Zone using A Curi and V C Garcia 695
Geographical Information Systems
Dening Optimal Post-Mining Land use for Different Sections of A Gholinejad and 703
Mined Land Through Different Multi-Attribute Decision-Making A H Bangian
Techniques in Open Pit Mining
Application of Multi-Slicing Highwall Mining System with Stowing at A Hamanaka, T Sasaoka, 719
Surface Coal Mine in Thailand H Shimada, K Matsui,
H Takamoto, P Meechumna
and P Laowattanabandit
Adaptation of Hydraulic Shovels for Arctic Temperature of Yakutia R Y Poderni and H R Koelsh 729
Region
An Innovative Scaled Model to Simulate the Perimeter Hole Blasting H-S Yang, H-D Jang, 731
in Tunnel W-B Kim and P Rai
Systematic Monitoring of Operation of Mining Companies and Zharmenov, S Galiev, 737

Branches Lisenkov and
S Zhumabekova
Role of Ore Preparation During Chrysotile Manufacturing K K Zhusupov and 743

S Y Punenkov
Author Index 749

Open Pit Production Scheduling Optimisation Why the
Mining Industry Needs a New Phase Design Approach
K Dagdelen1
ABSTRACT
The long-term production schedule of open pit mines that maximises the net present value (NPV) of
a given project relies on the proper design of phases (pushbacks) within the ultimate pit limits. There
is not a phase design algorithm applied in the mining industry today that gives yearly production
schedules that are optimum.
The majority of phase design algorithms currently in use by the mining industry aims at grouping
the blocks that fall within the ultimate pit limits into phases such that the average value of the blocks
within each phase decrease as the size of the phases increase. Current phase design methods are
typically based on a pit limit optimisation algorithm, originally introduced by Lerchs and Grossmann
(LG) in 1965. To obtain multiple pit shells to be used for the phase design, the LG pit limit algorithm
successively applied to economic block models by changing the price of the commodity or some
other factor that properly parameterises the size of the pit. These modied economic block models
are developed by predetermining the destination for each block in the model based on a breakeven
analysis and highest economic outcome between alternative destinations. Phase designs determined
by these existing algorithms may be suboptimal if a given project utilises multiple processing
facilities for metal recovery and particularly if these facilities have restrictions (constraints) that
require blending of attributes in the feed. To overcome these problems in obtaining phases that
optimise overall production schedules, a new algorithm is developed at the Colorado School of
Mines. The algorithm determines the phases of an open pit mine by taking into account multiple
process options for the blocks and period by period blending requirements. This algorithm has been
implemented within a software program (the software) and is being prototyped successfully in the
design of improved pushbacks at a copper mine in South America and on a gold mine in Nevada. This
presentation will demonstrate the shortcomings of the traditional phase design methodologies based
on comparison of results coming from the new approach versus the traditional.
1. Professor and Head, Mining Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado 80401-1843, USA. Email: kdagdele@mines.edu
MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION (MPES) CONFERENCE / FREMANTLE, WA, 1 - 3 DECEMBER 2010 3
Steel and Iron Ore Scenario An Indian Perspective
V S Rao1
ABSTRACT
India is on fast economic growth. Even in the turbulent years of global crisis, it could achieve a
growth of over eight per cent. In recent past, Indian Government has been contemplating a faster
growth in all the sectors of economy so as to make the nation an economic power in the world.
Steel is a versatile material. It has its role in most of the major industrial activities, such as
infrastructure, automobiles, urbanisation, consumer durables and other. In other words, steel is a
part and parcel of industrial expansion, urban and rural development. It is rightly admitted that
steel acts as pillar of any development model. Volume of steel consumption is the barometer which
measures economic progress and/or industrial status of any country.
India and China are the two countries in Asia which have the signicant impact on the global steel
industry. Of course, China is much ahead of India in consumption level of steel.
INTRODUCTION
In 2005, India released its National Steel Policy, highlighting the steps to realise target steel
production and consumption in different terminal years. By 2020, it has projected a target of
110 Mt. But this projection gets changing with the changing dynamics inuencing the speed of
industrialisation.
I thus chose the above subject steel and iron ore scenario with Indian perspective in the mirror
of global steel production scene. It is an endeavour to present a realistic picture of India iron and
steel industry and its strategy to facilitate the expansion plan of Indian steel industry by ensuring the
availability of the principal raw material, ie iron ore.
TABLE 1
Crude steel production country-wise.
Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010*

China 280.5 355.8 422.7 489.2 502 567.8 323
Japan 112.7 112.5 116.2 120.2 118.7 87.5 54.6
USA 99.7 94.9 98.6 9782 91.5 41
Russia 65.6 66.1 70.8 72.4 68.5 32.6
India 32.6 45.8 49.5 53.1 55.1 62.8 32.5
South Korea 47.5 47.8 48.5 51.5 53.5
Germany 46.4 44.5 47.2 48.6 45.8
Ukraine 38.7 38.6 40.9 42.8 37.1
Brazil 32.9 31.6 30.9 33.8 33.7
Italy 28.6 29.3 31.6 31.5 30.5
Rest of the World 283.7 279.6 294.3 302.9 293.3
World Total 1068.9 1146.5 1250.2 1344.2 1329.7 1224 706
Australia 7.4 7.8 7.9 7.9 7.6
* First six months January - June.
1. Director, VBC Industries Ltd, Flat 302, Whitehouse, Road No 13, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500034, India. Email: vsrao@ymail.com
V S RAO
TABLE 2
World iron ore production (country-wise).
Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

*
China 145.7 200.3 276 332 345 395
Brazil 270.5 280 318 355 355 380
Australia 234.7 262 275 299 342 370
India 120.6 140 181 206 220 220
Russia 97 97 102 105 100 85
Ukraine 65.5 69 74 78 73 56
USA 54.7 54.3 53 52 54 26
World total 1184 1320 1488 1633 1693 1588
* Chinas production reduced to 40 per cent of total production to equate its grade with the global average grade.
TABLE 3
World seaborne iron ore trade.
Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

World Seaborne Iron Ore Trade 587 658 720 781 833
Major importing countries and their volume:
China 208 275 326 383 444
Japan 135 132 134 139 140
South Korea 43 44 43 44 49
Major exporting countries and their volume:
Australia 210 240 247 266 310
Brazil 201 224 243 269 282
India 63 89 93 104 106
TABLE 4
Indian iron ore production state-wise.
State 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009 2009 - 2010(P)

Orissa 68.5 74.13 80.28
Karnataka 45.6 45.9 42
Chhattissgarh 30.6 30.09 24.78
Goa 29.2 32.3 30.4
Jharkhand 20.9 21.21 22.28
Others 11.40+ 11.76 08.26+
Total 213.25 215.44 220
STEEL
Global steel
The economic crisis of 2007 badly affected the steel industry throughout the world. For two
consecutive years, 2008 and 2009, the global steel production dipped to a substantial low. After
attaining a peak production of 1344 Mt in 2007, it scaled down to 1329 Mt in 2008 and 1224 Mt in
2009.
2010 appears to be favourable and may bring good days for the steel industry. In the rst six months
of 2010, ie from January to June, the global production achieved a level of 706 Mt, a 27.9 per cent
STEEL AND IRON ORE SCENARIO AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
TABLE 5
Statewise and gradewise iron ore production (2009 - 2010).
State Lumps Fines Total

Orissa 41.66 38.62 80.28
Karnataka 15.58 26.42 42
Chhattissgarh 10.57 14.21 24.78
Goa 7.17 23.23 30.4
Jharkhand 10.35 11.93 22.28
Others 4.11 3.89 8.00+
Total 90.00+ 120.00+ 220
TABLE 6
Indian production grade-wise.
Particulars 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009 2009 - 2010(P)
Lump 68.3 81.28 95.96 95.57 90.00+
Fines 93.3 98.69 116.67 119.22 120.40+
Concentrate 3.6 0.95 0.61 0.60 + 0.6
Total 165.23 180.92 213.25 215.44 220
TABLE 7
Public versus private sector iron ore production.
Particulars 2001 - 2002 2002 - 2003 2003 - 2004 2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008
Public sector 45.1 49.7 57.5 57 61.2 60.4 68.24
Private sector 41.1 49.4 65.3 88.9 104 120.5 145
Total 86.2 99.1 122.8 145.9 165.2 180.9 213.25
TABLE 8
Captive versus non-captive iron ore production.
Particulars 2001 - 2002 2002 - 2003 2003 - 2004 2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008
Captive 28.0 29.9 33.5 35.2 35.1 36.5 38.38
Non-captive 58.2 69.1 89.3 110.7 130.1 144.4 174.86
Total 86.2 99.1 122.8 145.9 165.2 180.9 213.25
TABLE 9
Iron ore consumption in India.
2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009 CAGR %
Consumption 48.15 52.52 66.9 85 90 0.17
higher from the same period of 2009. All the regions of the world showed increased production
during the rst half of 2009. Again, comparing with the rst six months of 2007, most of the world
has not recovered to the precrisis level except Asia and the Middle East. Crude steel production in
Europe, CIS, United States and Canada is still more than 15 per cent below the 2007 level. However,
with the 706 Mt production of the rst six months of 2010, the annualised production for the whole
year comes to about little over 1400 Mt, ie 15 per cent increase over the previous year. It is a good
sign and the world can look forward for a conspicuous growth trend for the future of steel industry.
V S RAO
TABLE 10
Country-wise export.
Importing Country of 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009
Indian Iron Ore
China 74.1 80.2 91.98 97.8
Japan 10.3 8.6 7.7 5.4
South Korea 1.3 1.9 1.8 0.99
Taiwan 0.1 - - -
Europe 2.1 2.1 1.6 0.76
Others 1.2 1 1.2 0.84
Total 89.3 93.8 104.3 105.9
TABLE 11
Grade-wise export.
Type of Ore 2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2007 2007 - 2008
Lump ore 13.54 14.28 15.3 14.87
+0.64 7.77 5.47 3.06 4.86
62 - 64% 2.99 4.02 5.09 4.47
-0.62 2.78 4.79 7.15 5.54
Fine ore 64.6 74.99 78.49 89.4
+0.64 12.2 12.6 10.46 7.29
62 - 64% 19.33 20.99 26.01 20.82
-0.62 33.07 41.4 42.02 61.29
Total 78.14 89.27 93.79 104.27
+0.64 19.97 18.07 13.52 12.15
62 - 64% 22.32 25.01 31.1 25.29
-0.62 35.85 46.19 49.17 66.83
Note: Data pertaining to the year 2009 - 2010 is not available.
Indian steel
The Indian steel industry maintained a phenomenal rise even during the time of global economic
crunch when global steel production fell in most of the regions of the world, except China and the
Middle East. In fact the global crisis did affect India in making its forward move to its expansion
program. Many of its Green eld projects and brown eld expansion programs slowed down.
Moreover, because of special domestic economic condition, which is expanding due to huge
demand from infrastructure sector, Indian steel sector is likely to be in a growth path. If the
infrastructure spending and development in overall industry is sustained, the growth is likely to be
even higher.
Moreover, about 194 MoUs have been signed with various State Governments covering a new
capacity of 243 Mt to be added in India. A substantial brown eld expansion of existing plant of
SAIL, TATA Steel, Essar Steel, JSW and Ispat has also been projected. In a nutshell, India has made
strategic plan to achieve a steel production to a level of over 200 Mt by 2020.
IRON ORE
Global
Iron ore is the principal raw material for production of steel, pig iron and sponge iron. The world iron
ore reserve and reserve base are estimated by USGS to be at 150 and 350 billion tons respectively.
STEEL AND IRON ORE SCENARIO AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
The global iron ore production dipped by 6.2 per cent in 2009 to 1588 Mt. It was the rst time in the
preceding ten years that production was lowered. Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton no doubt would
continue to dominate with production of about 620 Mt (45 per cent) of the world total.
Sea borne trade
Iron ore trade has reached a new record level of 950 (P) Mt in 2009. China emerged as the largest
importer with 628 Mt, followed by Japan and South Korea. Australia and Brazil, as usual, collectively
contribute more than two thirds of the worlds iron ore trade. Major increase in demand has been
only from China whereas demand from rest of the world has been stagnant.
Future outlook
The three large companies, Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, control about 70 per cent of the worlds
iron ore trade. New capacities have been added over the last two to three years. The iron ore market
presently appears to be in an over supply situation. But the way production of steel picked up from
the beginning of 2010, the situation may reverse or demand-supply equation may nd balanced for
some time. More capacities are required to be added in the next ve years time to avoid short supply
position in decades ahead.
Indian scene
Presently, India is producing about 215 - 220 Mt, of which about 50 per cent is exported. Projected
steel production by 2020 is about 180 Mt which requires about 288 Mt of iron ore. Then, a minimum
export of 100 Mt can be a possibility for trading. Thus the requirement of iron ore by 2020 would be
about 400 Mt. Further growth would be matching with the growth pattern of steel production and
international situation on trade.
Resource availability
Haematite and magnetite are the two exploitable iron ores. Indian resource accounts for 13 per cent
of global resource. Haematite resource is estimated to be at 14.6 billion tons which is 58 per cent
of the total resource of the country. Magnetite ore is estimated at 10.6 billion tonnes. Most of the
magnetite deposits are located in the ecological fragile zone of western Ghats. Under the prevailing
ecological consciousness, the magnetite ore is not being considered for mining on account of its
environmentally sensitive location. The closure of Kudremukh Mine was a biggest causality in recent
past on ecological consideration. Unless some good mining practices are adopted fully imbibed with
environmental integrity, it may be difcult to open and operate a mine in such a zone.
So India is left with 14.6 billion tonnes of haematite ore to sustain domestic industry and export
compulsion. With a 400 Mt demand by 2020, the haematite resource would likely to exhaust in
36 - 37 years from the year 2020. Under this alarming condition, India is relooking its assessment
by lowering the cut-off percentage of Fe from 55 to 45 per cent. This would add some more resource
substantially.
Then, BHQ/BMQ, the associated underlying rocks, also contain appreciable Fe content of about
25 - 30 per cent. A lab scale beneciation test has been conducted and it is found that 30 per cent Fe
content can be upgraded to +64 per cent Fe. In this way, BHA/BMQ can also be considered as ore in
the distant future.
Production and supply
The public sector and private sector both are operating iron ore mines. The share of private sector in
production is on continuous rise and currently it is about 68 per cent public sector contribute only
about 32 per cent. Both the sectors have captive and non-captive mines. The majority of production
comes from non-captive mines, which is about 82 per cent of the total production, while the remaining
18 per cent was accounted for by captive production. The captive production grew at a rate of ve per
cent while non-captive about 20 per cent. The incremental increase in production with each passing
year comes from a non-captive mine.
Consumption
Domestic
Consumption in domestic industry has grown at an annual rate of 17 per cent over the years. Domestic
V S RAO
industry consumes more lump, ie about 85 per cent. Utilisation of nes is less and thus it nds an
export outlet.
Export
India is the third largest exporter of iron ore after Australia and Brazil. Export has grown at a rate of
5.5 per cent in the rst ve years. Moreover, the exports decreased to all the other countries except
China. The growth in exports has been mainly due to increase in export of 62 per cent Fe grade ne
ore.
CONCLUSION
x Public sector operates about 40 mines and private sector operates over 200 mines large and
small. Several action plans are being scrutinised to persuade the SME sector to adopt mechanised
production process so as to contain ecological degradation and mitigate environmental threats.
x Access of land for mining is major constraint to open new mines. It is a conict between mineral
bearing land and forest land. The government is attempting to address this issue.
x Out of total exports, about 60 Mt is of less than 62 per cent Fe content. A policy is being drawn
which would encourage for beneciation and value addition in nes, even the value added product
and pellets need to be exported.
Optimisation Challenges in Underground Mine Planning
and Design
H Rubinstein1, M Brazil2, P Grossman3, D Lee4, D Thomas5 and N Wormald6
ABSTRACT
Underground mine planning is characterised by a series of designs, starting with prefeasibility
and culminating in operational. Information on the mineralisation and geotechnical conditions is
available in increasing levels of detail, as development occurs. In the recently completed AMIRA
Planning and Rapid Integrated Mine Optimisation (PRIMO) project, a methodology for producing
good strategic and then tactical designs using new optimisation tools, was developed.
At the strategic level, fundamental decisions must be made such as those relating to cut-off grade,
bench heights, mining methods, access and haulage systems, properties of the mill, etc. The inputs
are the block and nancial models, geotechnical data, infrastructure and production costs, etc.
Stope denition for strategic designs includes bench RLs (relative levels), orebody envelopes, and
design and placement of amalgamated or simplied stopes. If multiple mining methods are under
consideration, then stopes need to be associated with these.
Access design must take into account decisions such as declines versus shafts, a template for level
layouts and the topology of the access network. Some of the geotechnical and physical constraints are
relaxed for strategic design stages.
Strategic scheduling is high level, from a month to a year at a time.
In the PRIMO project, software tools have been developed enabling the mine planner to rapidly
produce a large number of such strategic designs. After the designs have been evaluated, the highest
value designs are chosen and a small number of these can then be further rened at a tactical level.
For these designs, the rst step is determination of all stopes meeting physical and geotechnical
requirements and constraints, allowing for complex stope shapes. Next, detailed layout of the mine
access network is obtained, satisfying all operational and geotechnical constraints. Finally, more
detailed scheduling is performed, over shorter time periods.
The Melbourne University group has focused on optimal access design. In particular, the access
network is optimised for minimum cost, taking into account the cost of haulage and development
over the lifetime of the mine. Costs vary over the different parts of the network depending on the
quantity of haulage and so a weighted network optimisation problem has to be solved.
We have developed two software tools for this task, decline optimisation tool (DOT) and planar
underground network optimiser (PUNO). DOT produces an optimal network of declines and crosscuts
connecting access points on the levels to a portal or break-out point from existing infrastructure.
PUNO designs the level layout, including footwall and hanging wall drives, development drives and
connections to vent raises.
A survey will be given of the capabilities of DOT and PUNO when used on some recent case studies.
Our current goals include incorporating some aspects of ventilation design and modelling the
development costs when additional ground support is required.
1. Professor of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Vic 3052. Email: joachim@unimelb.edu.au
2. Senior Lecturer, Department of Electric and Electronic Engineering, University of Melbourne, Vic 3052. Email: m.brazil@ee.unimelb.edu.au
3. Research Fellow, Department of Electric and Electronic Engineering, University of Melbourne, Vic 3052. Email: p.grossman@ee.unimelb.edu.au
4. Emeritus Professor, University of South Australia, SA 5001. Email: dhlee@internode.on.net
5. Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Deptartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Vic 3010. Email: doreen.thomas@unimelb.edu.au
6. Canadian Research Professor, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Email: nwormald@uwaterloo.ca
Economics of Mine Planning and Equipment
Selection
I C Runge1
ABSTRACT
This paper examines some of the fundamental economics of mining in particular, for optimisation
studies, for production rate determination and for reserve estimates.
It includes introductory discussion on the principles as to how economics drives mining investment
decision-making, applicable to the optimising of pit shapes and production, or truck eets, or any
other part of the mine.
The main part of this paper looks at the decision to start-up a mine and why the optimum production
rate to start-up a mine is not the point of lowest cost according to traditional discounted cash ow
(DCF) analysis. The optimum production rate is usually substantially less than this rate. The paper
recognises the difference between typical mining investments and investments in other industries
that do not have the unique characteristics of mining and the problem of uncertainty resolution.
It examines the marginal revenue effects, the marginal cost of capital and the value of a real option to
expand pending uncertainty resolution as determinants of optimum initial production rates.
The nal part of this paper looks at applying these principles to renewable and non-renewable
resources. It examines mine life and reserve estimates from an economic perspective.
INTRODUCTION
This paper follows a similar theme to the last paper I presented to the International Mine Planning
and Equipment Selection Conference in Calgary, in 1988. The title of this previous paper was
Strip Ratio An Outdated Indicator of Economic Value and the message in the paper was that it is
economics which drives our decision-making or ought to drive our decision-making. The paper
highlighted that many of the well accepted terms used in industry terms like: strip ratio and cut-
off grade were really just simple proxies for some underlying economic-based number. In the
precomputer era such simple proxies for the real economic number were necessary; however, with
the computer tools now available the actual economic number can be determined and used without
relying on the less-precise proxies.
Several papers at this conference follow and extend this theme. The application of economics in
day-to-day mine planning and equipment selection is clearly much more widespread now than it
was 22 years ago.
Understanding the fundamental economics is not difcult. Yet when the work is done inside a
computer program the basic economic calculations and data inputs can easily become buried and
used without due consideration. The robustness of results is at risk.
The paper revisits the economics of mining for optimisation studies, for production rate
determination and for reserve estimates. It questions the robustness of optimum production rates
determined from pit optimisation studies.
The paper has been framed in three parts:
1. It revisits some very basic and fundamental economic principles as to how economics drives mine
decision-making be that optimising pit shapes or truck eets, or any other part of the mine.
2. It looks at the decision to start-up a mine and why the optimum production rate to start-up a
mine is not the point of lowest cost according to traditional discounted cash ow (DCF) analysis.
This part of the paper looks at how we choose production rates and pit sizes. It also explains why
1. FAusIMM, Founder, Runge Limited, Brisbane, Australia. Email: irunge@runge.com
I C RUNGE
mines almost always expand even immediately after production start-up and why the initial
mine plans should provide for this.
3. The paper looks at applying these principles to another issue that has a contemporary political
avour the debate about renewable and non-renewable resources. It examines mine life and
reserve estimates from an economic perspective. In recent decades the mining industry has been
on the defensive against the broad community view favouring recycling and use of renewable
resources, over newly-mined commodities. This part of the paper challenges the notion that if
you manufacture steel (for example) by recycling that you hold some moral high ground over
someone who makes steel out of non-renewable iron ore; or that if you generate electricity from
non-renewable coal or uranium you are in a morally less-defensible position than someone who
generates his electricity from, for example, solar, the wind, or tides. It isnt so.
MARGINAL COST YET AGAIN

In my book Mining Economics and Strategy (Runge, 1998) the notion of marginal cost gets frequent
mention. It is one of the most important concepts in economics.
To operate mines efciently optimally then marginal cost and its partner, marginal revenue
have to take centre stage in our calculations.
There is no optimum mine plan without consideration of marginal costs. Equipment selection
cannot be optimised without consideration of marginal costs.
This next section reviews a simple marginal cost example and provides the foundation for the
following section which extends the concept to look at whole-of-mine production rate and mine
development decisions.
Simple marginal cost example

Every production process involves some xed costs and some variable costs. As production
expands, the xed costs are unchanged, so the average per-unit cost of production attributable to
this component declines. If this were the only trend, then the highest production case would be the
lowest overall cost of production. However, few production processes work this way. The xed parts
of the process can only service a limited range of variable parts. Trucks interfere with each other if
there are too many of them in a conned space. Bigger mines are also deeper and each increment
of production means greater haulage distance. As production expands the efciency of the system
declines. Each increment of production incurs variable costs that are more than the variable costs
incurred in the previous increment.
Figure 1 shows idealised trends associated with economic assessment of this style of production
process. The gure does not relate to any particular mine, but the numbers are somewhat in line
$150
$140
$130
Marginal Cost
$120
$ per unit of Production
$110
$100
$90
Average Cost
$80
$70
$60
$50
$40
$30
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Production (Mt/a)
FIG 1 - Average and marginal costs.
ECONOMICS OF MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION
with some of the new large scale mines being proposed in the Pilbara area of Western Australia or in
the Galilee Basin of central Queensland. Costs per unit of production include return on capital using
discount rates at the weighted average cost of capital.
The average cost of production is initially high at low levels of production because of the cost
of servicing the capital associated with port and rail infrastructure and in servicing the initial
acquisition and development costs of the mine. Each increment of production initially has low
costs, representing just the operating cost of the equipment and little more. But with increasing
production these costs also increase. If the marginal cost is less than the average cost, the average
cost declines with increases in production. The production rate that yields the lowest average unit
cost of production occurs where the marginal cost curve crosses the average cost curve (40 Mt/a in
Figure 1).
Although the lowest average unit cost of production is a desirable objective, usually the objective is
to maximise prots or net present value (NPV). If the selling price is $100, for example, production
can be expanded to 48 Mt/a and the additional production still yields a return higher than the
marginal cost. Indeed, this is the rule: Expand production until the marginal cost equates to the
marginal revenue (selling price). If in this pricing scenario the production was expanded to (say)
60 Mt/a, with an average cost of about $91/tonne, then the mine would still be protable. However,
the production from the rst 48 Mt/a would be subsidising the last 12 Mt/a. Prots cannot be
improved by increases in production rate where the marginal cost exceeds the marginal revenue.
The same style of calculation applies whether you are optimising a truck/loader eet or a pit design.
From some initial starting position, the marginal cost for some expanded production is compared
with the marginal revenue.
The theory is simple, but the task is difcult, as anyone who has ever tried to undertake these sorts
of calculations can attest. The marginal cost is not just the extra cost of some expanded production
scenario. The marginal cost is the change in total cost. That is: it is necessary to design and calculate
a complete case for each production scenario.
For whole-of-mine studies, the cost curves are hardly ever continuous smooth curved or up-ward
sloping lines like shown in this gure. In practice there will be a style of mining and development
scenario that is well suited to a certain production rate and then using some other style of mining
and development scenario there will be a different but relatively xed production rate suited to that
method. So whole-of-mine analysis will likely have step functions, not smooth curves. Nevertheless
the principles still apply, albeit not so easily applied for most cases.
Marginal costs have to be calculated, they cannot be measured.
Take, for example, a simple truck/loader marginal cost/productivity calculation.
Assume that a loader is currently working with a ve-truck eet and that each truck hauls (say)
15 loads in a shift for a total of 75 loads per shift. Now lets assign a sixth truck to the eet. Production
improves by 12 per cent for a total of 84 loads in the shift, or 14 loads per truck each shift. Adding the
extra truck only resulted in an additional nine loads in the shift: the productivity of the additional
truck the marginal productivity is only 60 per cent of the productivity of the eet before the
change. But this marginal productivity does not appear anywhere in the production records! All
trucks, including the extra truck, will achieve similar production (in this case, 14 loads per shift).
There is no way of knowing just from the production records what the productivity would have been
if a different eet had been selected.
The marginal cost calculation is a planning tool, not a tool for operational decision-making. It is the
mine planner who must examine what the expected costs and revenues will be under one scenario
and compare them with the expected costs and revenues for the alternate scenario. The choice is
then based on the change in total productivity or change in total cost as the case may be. Operations
personnel, production statisticians and mine accountants can only record average production and
average costs, not marginal cost.
DECISIONS ON MINE INVESTMENTS

This next section looks at a proposed investment in a new mine development using the same average
and marginal cost model used in the previous section.
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Any new proposed mine starts with a feasibility study. Most feasibility studies conclude with a
nancial analysis and discounted cash ow (DCF) followed by a series of sensitivity analysis. Prior
to any nal feasibility study most technical work is complete and, at least to a non-technical person,
subject to little uncertainty.
The selling price throughout the life of the mine is also one of the inputs to the DCF, but because
this is always an unknown most studies use sensitivity analysis to examine its impact on the project
return. Indeed, the selling price, internal rate of return (IRR) and NPV are linked: a nominated
selling price and rate of return will yield the project NPV; if the rate of return is set, the selling price
necessary for project viability (NPV set to zero or greater) can be calculated; or, the IRR can be
calculated for any selling price by calculating whichever rate results in an NPV equal to zero.
Most DCF analyses use the company weighted average cost of capital as the discount rate and
undertake sensitivity analysis on the results from this starting point. Figure 1 has been prepared
using this form. It works out, for each production rate, what selling price yields a zero NPV when
discounted at the cost of capital. The value of this form of presentation is that it allows a lot of
analysis of a project without necessarily requiring knowledge of the selling price in advance.
Figure 1 shows a set of results from a range of production scenarios ranging from less than 10 Mt/a
to more than 60 Mt/a. At a selling price of $100 per tonne, the mine is viable at annual production
rates ranging from 16 Mt/a to 48 Mt/a. A pit optimisation would suggest the mine be developed at
48 Mt/a for maximum NPV.
Yet mines are seldom developed this way. They are almost always developed at production rates
substantially less than these optimum rates. There are good economic reasons why this is the case.
They suggest that if you are using computer models for pit optimisation, additional considerations
beyond the narrow classical DCF analysis is warranted.
The three main reasons concern marginal revenue, marginal costs of capital and the value of options
to address uncertainty.
Marginal revenue
In the example shown in Figure 1 the optimum production rate yielding the greatest NPV (48 Mt/a)
was based on a selling price that was assumed constant and independent of the mine itself. This
assumption is a very common one in economics, because in most markets with large numbers of
buyers and sellers, any one producer affects the price very little. Demand curves are at.
In mining, except for perhaps gold and silver producers, this is rarely the case. There are standardised
prices (benchmark prices, or prices from the London Metal Exchange (LME)) but these are not
the prices that a new producer can rely on receiving for new products on offer in the market. For
bulk commodities like iron ore and coal, new mine production has to be explicitly sold to individual
customers and with variations in mineral content and impurities, not to mention that individual
customers might already have contracts in place with other suppliers, only a limited number of new
customers will be in a position to use the products directly and pay the market price. Over time,
assuming competitive market pricing, other customers will adapt, but at the time prior to project
commitment the products can be sold to this broader set of customers only at a discount. The demand
curve slopes downwards.
The optimum production occurs not when the marginal cost equates to average selling price, but
when it equates to the marginal revenue. At the time of project commitment, this marginal revenue
may be substantially less than the average selling price.
Even for base metals that are marketed on the basis of LME pricing, the marginal revenue impact
is relevant. The LME price is a reference price, but the trading of base metals doesnt necessarily
require products to conform to these LME specications. Nickel, for example, is frequently sold
with Fe impurities, but this impurity is a bonus when used in stainless steel production because the
nickel is mixed with Fe anyway. So new nickel production sold into the stainless steel market may
attract the full LME pricing for its Ni content, but the same nickel placed in some other market where
the Fe impurity isnt a benet may be sold only at a substantially reduced marginal revenue.
The slope of the demand curve and this marginal revenue effect, is time dependent. Initial operations
are commonly faced with a steeply declining demand curve, but, depending upon the speed at which
the marketplace can adapt, the slope of the curve reduces over time. Thus, although the marginal
revenue effect constrains initial production rates, over time the economic forces favour expansion.
Two outcomes ow from the marginal revenue effect:

1. Pit optimisation studies should not just consider average prices, but should consider marginal
revenues in determining initial production rates from new mines; and
2. Sensitivity analysis is an inadequate tool for understanding this marginal revenue effect it tells
you the impact of price changes on a mines ROI, but it provides no guidance for changes in the
mine plan to accommodate the effect.
Marginal cost of capital
This next section examines the second reason why mines arent and shouldnt be, developed at
production rates suggested by classical DCF optimums. It has to do with the marginal cost of capital.
In the calculations described up to this point, discounting has used the weighted average cost of
capital. This term is the give-away. Optimisation of anything has to be based on marginal costs, not
average costs and this applies to capital as anything else.
There are two components of this marginal cost of capital calculation: a risk element and a size
element.
Marginal cost of capital from a risk perspective
The prime element of the weighted average cost of capital for any company is the risk characteristics
of its existing business. The risk characteristics of any new mine may be substantially different to
the risk characteristics of a mining companys portfolio of existing mines. Risk associated with new
mines will be higher until the mine is in full production.
Once a mine is in operation and its risk characteristics are understood with greater certainty then
the cost of capital notionally applicable to the new mine will reduce. However, this is something that
occurs only after the mine is in operation (hopefully), not prior to commitment.
Of course, every effort is usually made in the feasibility study to address known risk elements, but
some of these are unknown until the mine commences operation. Market demand is one of these
elements potential customers might say they will buy your product and perhaps provide a letter of
intent, but it is in their best interest to encourage greater supply to the market, so this intent cannot
necessarily be relied upon. No amount of assessment prior to and during the feasibility study will
necessarily reduce the uncertainty associated with this sort of input. The private operators of toll
tunnels in Australias eastern states capitals can attest to this patronage uncertainty very well.
Thus the risk and with it, the marginal cost of capital for a new mine at the time of commitment is
almost certainly higher than the weighted average cost of capital for the company itself.
Does the size of the company make any difference? A statement commonly heard is that such-and-
such company (a large mining company) can develop projects that a small company cannot develop
because they have a lower cost of capital. From this risk perspective this isnt necessarily true. A large
company with a low weighted average cost of capital can still have a high marginal cost of capital if
the new mine involves geographical locations or application of technology that they are unfamiliar
with. A smaller enterprise with recognised expertise in the geographical area or recognised expertise
in the technology can still have a lower marginal cost of capital even while having a higher average
cost of capital.
Marginal cost of capital from a size-of-investment perspective
This second component of the marginal cost of capital involves the size of the investment in relation
to the size of the company.
In Figure 1, the curves for all production rate scenarios were prepared using the (weighted average)
cost of capital. This assumes that the extra investment necessary for a mine developed at the 48 Mt/a
annual production rate can be sourced at the same cost as the smaller investment for a much smaller
16 Mt/a mine.
If the size of the investment is small compared to the size of the company then this increase in
funding cost may be negligible. But for most companies as the amount of funding increases so does
its cost. The cost of the extra funding (the marginal cost of capital) needed to nance the mine
development at the higher production rate might make higher production scenarios uneconomic.
I C RUNGE
Does the size of the company make any difference from this size of investment perspective? Yes.
Small companies wishing to grow big through developing a large deposit are particularly impacted. To
compete with larger companies in similar circumstances they have to nd deposits that are protable
at lower-than-optimum production rates because they have higher marginal costs of capital with
project size compared to large companies.
Two outcomes ow from these marginal cost of capital effects:
1. Pit optimisation studies should not just consider weighted average costs of capital in assessing
costs of production, but should consider a rising marginal cost of capital in determining initial
production rates from new mines. The outcome will be lower optimum initial production rates
than is the case with classical DCF analysis.
2. Sensitivity analysis is an inadequate tool for understanding this effect. Sensitivity analysis tells
you the impact of cost-of-capital and discount-rate changes on a mines viability, but it provides
no guidance for changes in the mine plan to accommodate this impact.
The risk issues which partially give rise to the higher marginal costs of capital will often resolve
themselves once the mine is in production. Thus, although the marginal cost of capital effect
constrains initial production rates, over time the economic forces again favour expansion.
Option value of uncertainty resolution
In the introduction to this section, classical feasibility studies and nancial analysis were understood
to be based on little uncertainty in orebody denition. Moreover, they assumed a relatively constant
if not-well-known selling price and a simple (one number) weighted average cost of capital across
the range of scenarios. The section marginal revenue relaxed the assumption of the relatively
constant selling price in favour of marginal revenue. The section marginal cost of capital relaxed
the assumption of the relatively constant costs of capital. Now this nal section examines the issue
of uncertainty.
There is always uncertainty in the orebody if not in the denition of what is in the ground, then
in uncertainty in the cost and efciency in its metallurgical treatment, or in the cost and efciency
impacts on the customer processes.
Every industry, including mining, has to face uncertainty prior to the investment decision; it is the
nature of the uncertainty that sets mining apart. A tourism investment, like a mining development,
for example, might be subject to the vagaries of the weather, but no amount of study beforehand will
necessarily resolve the uncertainty.
What sets mining investments apart from most other investments is that the economics of resolving
the uncertainty are both signicant and endogenous to the investment process.
In a mining study you can resolve the uncertainty through more drilling and metallurgical testing,
but at some point the reduction in risk associated with additional work doesnt yield benets to offset
the additional cost. Moreover, once a mine is in production the costs of resolving the uncertainty may
be much less than these costs in the preproduction phase. Underground orebodies can be drilled
out from a drill location deep underground at lower cost than the same orebody drilled out from the
surface.
The decision regarding uncertainty resolution is this to incur high costs now to resolve more of
the uncertainty now, or start-up the mine and resolve the uncertainty then at much lower cost then.
The option to expand values this second alternative.
Such a strategy requires that the mine still be protable at the initial lower production rate. This is
where the uniqueness of mining investment enters the analysis, because in few other industries can
such a plan be entertained. There must be unique and variable inputs to the production process giving
rise to exploitable short-term revenue or cost-saving effects. Orebody delineation costs (particularly
in an underground mine) may be substantially lower than the costs of the same task if undertaken
prior to mine commencement.
This style of uncertainty will often be resolved within a very short time after the mine is in production
and like the marginal revenue effects and the marginal cost of capital effects, the economic forces
favour expansion almost immediately upon its resolution.
Real options such as this option to expand are highly valued by industry practitioners. The option
has value because it is associated with resolution of one or other form of uncertainty. However,
this value does not show up in the nancial analysis if the underlying assumption in the feasibility
study assumes no uncertainty. Sensitivity analysis, based on a base case that has no uncertainty is
an inadequate tool for understanding this option value. If an orebody turns out differently to what
is initially expected sensitivity analysis can potentially tell you the impact of this on the return on
investment (ROI), but it provides no guidance for how differently the mine should be planned to
accommodate the effect.
BAD GUYS IN A COMMODITY-CONSTRAINED WORLD

This nal part of the paper looks at the economics of mining and exploitation of non-renewable
resources.
It poses the question: If you mine and burn coal to make electricity are you in a less-defensible moral
position than someone who generates electricity from solar or wind? Are you unfairly exploiting the
worlds resources to the detriment of future generations?
Whilst this notion is quite a contemporary one, it has actually been around for some time. The
earliest scholarly mention of it can probably be attributed to William Stanley Jevons, an English
economist, who published a paper in 1865 titled The Coal Question (Jevons, 1865).
In the paper, Jevons explored the implications of Britains reliance on coal and, given that coal was
a nite, non-renewable energy resource, raised the question of sustainability. His central thesis was
that the UKs supremacy over global affairs was transitory and when the coal ran out so too would
the British standard of living. He advocated constraint.
Sufce it to say that Britain did not follow his recommendations. And while the UKs supremacy
over global affairs was transitory, this undoubtedly was due to the rise of the American economy and
to the impact of two world wars rather than to the run-down in coal production. Indeed, even now
with the run-down in the British coal industry since the 1980s 120 years after Jevons alarm the
standard of living in Britain hasnt collapsed.
There are several reasons why history has proved Jevons concerns unjustied. The reasons also
apply today for coal, oil, gas and any other commodity. They involve the economics of reserve
estimation, how effectively commodities are used in society and the changes in technology that make
some commodity that is important today far less important tomorrow. This paper addresses just the
economics of nding and delineating reserves, supported by the empirical evidence from history.
Economics of reserve estimation
It is undeniable that the earths natural resources are nite and if used continuously they will
eventually run out. The worlds reserves of copper, for example, equate to about 35 years of mining
at current production rates, suggesting that this day of reckoning is not too far into the future. Most
of the important mineral commodities used in the world have a similar limited future from this
perspective, with some precious metals such as silver, for example, having reserves of less than
15 years at current production rates.
Yet the same trends have existed since records started to be kept. Table 1 shows the reserves of four
important minerals in 1950 and 1980, compared to the production during the same period (after
Repetto, 1987).
TABLE 1
World reserves and cumulative production of selected minerals (millions of tonnes of metal content).
Mineral Reserves (1950) Production (1950 - 1980) Reserves (1980)

Aluminium 1400 1346 5200
Copper 100 156 494
Iron 19 000 11 040 93 466
Lead 40 85 127
Thus, from a 1950s perspective, even though production in the ensuing 30 years exceeded, or nearly
exceeded, the reserves available at that time, the reserves at the conclusion of period far outweighed
the reserves at the start. Indeed this trend applies for most commodities not just in total terms, but
I C RUNGE
also in years of production terms. This is indeed comforting, but is it a trend that those outside of
our industry can rely on us to replicate into the future and if so, how far into the future?
The reason this trend exists and why it can be relied upon, comes down to simple economics.
Exploring for and proving up reserves is costly. It is uneconomic to prove up reserves too far into the
future, because the return from exploiting them only materialises when they are mined. The world
would certainly take comfort in the knowledge that oil reserves, for example, are good for 60 or more
years into the future, but what company can justify spending even $5 per barrel to prove up more
oil now, in the knowledge that the oil wont be exploited until 2070 or later? It is just uneconomical.
How far into the future reserves are known is largely a function of how costly it is to prove up the
reserves as a proportion of the costs of extraction. Silver has limited reserves (in comparison to annual
production rates) because orebody delineation is a relatively high cost in typical silver deposits. In
contrast, the delineation cost for most coal deposits, for example, is relatively low accounting for
the current healthy reserve position for coal at more than 100 years at current production rates.
As the cost of proving up reserves increases in proportion to the total production cost, the reserve
position in terms of years into the future will decline, but this says nothing about the total size of
reserve or annual production rate.
A second concern commonly expressed involves supply and demand. In a market economy if there
is a shortage of any commodity, the price will rise until supply matches demand. At this point the
economics will favour additional exploration and deployment of technologies to exploit deposits
hitherto considered uneconomic. There is no doubt that that this has been an important factor in
spurring new mining technologies throughout history.
However, it suggests that the world can rely on such an economic trend only at the cost of an ever-
increasing real price of the scarce commodity. Much of the anxiety in the world today concerning
oil rests on this assumption. Yet history suggests that this should also not be an issue. Supply and
demand uctuations are important economic triggers to spur new technology, but having done so,
the long term price impact appears to be negligible.
Baumol and Blackman (1993) quote several studies that nd long term real price declines of the
majority of mineral commodities over time. Even energy commodities such as coal, natural gas and
oil, though experiencing substantial uctuations, show negligible upward trend in real (ination-
adjusted) price:
The price history of nonfuel minerals is even more striking. Some, like iron, have experienced
a very slow rise over the last 100 years or so. The price of others, like lead, have remained
stable. And for some, including aluminium and magnesium, real prices today are far lower
than they were 70 years ago. The prices of about half of the mineral resources investigated
actually fell after correction for ination.
If reserves of important mineral commodities were indeed likely to be exhausted in 15 years, or
even 30 years, then all of us, not just environmental activists, would see cause for alarm. We in
the industry certainly cannot guarantee that as known reserves are exhausted each year we will
be successful in nding the same or more new reserves. And like the impact of the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) cartel 30 years ago, there is always the scope for non-market
forces to impact the supply/demand balance of specic commodities. However, with reliance on
market forces there are two conclusions that can be drawn from this assessment:
1. The current reserve positions of most important mineral commodities are strong, are consistent
with historical trends and the reserves are as extensive or as limited as they are based on sound
economics.
2. the trends from at least 150 years show constant or reducing real costs of production, even with
substantial and continual annual increases in production. This trend provides high condence
that future demand for these commodities can be met.
Our critics who suggest otherwise have to date been largely left unchallenged. Yet economics and
the weight of history in our industry suggest it is upon them that the burden of proof should rest.
Let solar electricity generation compete. Let wind electricity generation compete. Let recycling
compete. A level economic playing eld for all technologies, including the extraction of non-
renewable resources, is the best guarantee that these resources will be responsibly exploited. But let
us not concede any advantage moral or otherwise to these competitors based only on the notion
that the products we make are subject ultimately to exhaustion.
REFERENCES
Baumol, W J and Blackman, S B B, 1993. Natural resources, in The Fortune Encyclopaedia of Economics
(ed: D R Henderson), pp 40-43 (Warner Books, Inc: New York).
Jevons, W S, 1865. The Coal Question; An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable
Exhaustion of our Coal Mines (MacMillan and Co: London).
Repetto, R, 1987. Population, resources, environment: An uncertain future, Population Bureau, 42:2, quoted
in Baumol and Blackman (1993).
Runge, I C, 1998. Mining Economics and Strategy, pp 40-43 (The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and
Exploration, Inc: Littleton).
More than Coal Mining
J Tourek1
ABSTRACT
The energy supply in the 21st century is still secured by coal. According to estimates of the International
Energy Agency (IEA), coal will have the same importance as oil for the world-wide supply of energy
until 2030. Coal is also an important element of EU policy, its future use is closely linked to effectively
addressing the environmental challenges it poses. Hard and brown coal represent approximately
80 per cent of European Union (EU) reserves of fossil fuels and coal utilisation can co-exist with the
development of power generation based on renewables. Europe is the worlds third largest consumer
of coal behind China and the United States.
The Czech Republic is poor in energy resources except for coal. Brown coal is relatively abundant
(mineable reserves estimated at 1800 Mt, output 48 Mt/a) and signicant quantities of hard coal
(mineable reserves 900 Mt, 13 Mt/a), much of it suitable for coke production, are also present.
Severoceske Doly (SD Company), the biggest Czech coal mining company (22 Mt/a, 48.6 per cent
Czech market share) and one of the biggest in Europe, reinforces despite the last deep crisis in the
Czech and European economies its long-standing stable and strong market and nancial position.
From 2009, the SD Company co-owns, with partners, a brown-coal mining company MIBRAG
(21 Mt/a). SD Company invests in large mining equipment (eg new giant spreaders and bucket-wheel
excavators, extension of overland belt conveyors), rebuilds and upgrades mining and processing
installations, auxiliary and other machinery. We should see the investment we make today in
tomorrows mining and reclamation as an opportunity and not as a burden. They enable to make
our position more resistant in the longer term. Projects focused on the environment and operational
safety went hand in hand with these efforts.
R&D activities relate to technical innovations, improvements of mining equipment, research and
evaluation of conditions for extracting coal seam and/or overburden and mitigation of environmental
impacts, utilisation of coal in new products. The company spends considerable amounts on reclaiming
affected land and creating a new post-mining landscape.
Our dialogue with inuential stakeholders in the region where we operate contributes to the
long-term improvement in the quality of life of local residents. Such dialogue with communities in
the last ten years has been instrumental for condence building. SD Company helps to develop many
projects of towns and villages in its vicinity. The stable and transparent relations with our neighbours
are in accordance with our basic principles of corporate social responsibility.
1. Chancellor of the CEO Office, Severoceske Doly (SD Company), North Bohemian Coal Mines, Bozeny 5359, 43001 Chomutov, Czech Republic. Email: tourek@sdas.cz
The Next Challenge in Optimising Mining Operations
J Whittle1
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the past, normal and advanced practice of optimisation in mining. It then
discusses what needs to happen for the mining industry to make full use of what is now available.
INTRODUCTION
When developing a long-term plan for the operation of a mine, it is important to be very clear about
what our main aim is. If our aim is to maximise shareholder value, then our aim is not to produce as
much product as possible, to maximise reserves or to maximise mine life. Our aim is not to minimise
mining cost per tonne or to maximise recovery. To maximise shareholder wealth, we must maximise
net present value (NPV).
I fully understand that there are other measures of mine value, and I will return to this later. For
now, let us stick with NPV.
In developing a long-term plan, we have to design the pit and the mining phases. We have to plan
how fast to mine. We have to decide on what plant to install and at what throughput and recovery to
operate it. There are many such planning decisions.
For each planning decision there is, by denition, a best plan, the plan that gives the highest NPV.
Most decisions are about size or speed and there will usually be gures that are too small and gures
that are too large, with a value somewhere in between that gives the best result.
However, all these planning decisions interact. Change one and all the others may change. In other
words it does not make sense to optimise one decision without considering its effect on the other
decisions.
HISTORY
Roughly 25 years ago, software became widely available that would nd the pit outline with the
maximum total cash ow. It was a start, but total cash ow is not NPV, because it values a dollar
received in ten years time the same as a dollar received today, and that is not realistic. Within a
couple of years there was software that would generate a series of pit shells based on a range of
product prices, and which would calculate an NPV by simulating a crude mining schedule using
mining phases based on particular pit shells. Over time the scheduling was improved, but you still
had to design the pit and x the phases before optimising the schedule.
Later, software to optimise cut-offs became available, but it assumed a pit design, a phase design
and a schedule. Also, when the cut-offs were optimised, the schedule generally proved to be wrong,
so some iterative work was required.
About a dozen years ago, software was developed that would optimise a number of planning aspects
simultaneously, and we now have a lot of experience in its use. That experience, and further software
development, has led to some large gains in NPV.
WHAT CAN NOW BE DONE

Given a pit design and a set of phases, it is now possible to simultaneously optimise the mining and
processing schedule, the cut-offs and stockpiles, the mill throughput/recovery set-up, the logistics
and the capital expenditure. With manual iteration of the ultimate pit outline and the phases, the
1. FAusIMM, Whittle Consulting Pty Ltd, Suite 13, 333 Canterbury Road, Canterbury Vic 3126. Email: jeff@whittleconsulting.com.au
J WHITTLE
whole long-term plan can be optimised. This can be done for a single pit or for a complex of dozens
of open pits and underground mines with multiple processing options and products.
EXAMPLE
In order to be able to illustrate this, we set up a simple case study based on an articial orebody.
Many of you will be familiar with the Marvin copper/gold orebody. We initially assumed
x single copper/gold pit with four phases
x 60 Mt/a mining
x a maximum of eight benches per year advance in a phase
x 20 Mt/a crush/grind/oat producing 28 per cent copper concentrate
x 88 per cent copper recovery, 60 per cent gold recovery
x 70 km 600 Ktpa pipeline to port
x offshore smelter/renery
x gold price 900/oz
x copper price 2.50/lb declining to 1.50 in the rst ve years and
x initial capital expenditure of M582.
ou will nd more detail of the optimisations we did in the paper by Gerald Whittle in this proceedings,
but here I will just give an overview.
We started from a manual design and schedule. We then did pit limit, phase, skin and schedule
optimisation using the Gemcom-Whittle software. These were optimised separately, but they were
iterated manually. The NPV increased by 18 per cent from M1597 to M1885. This can be regarded
as normal modern planning.
We next added cut-off and stockpile optimisation, which is available in Gemcom-Whittle, but
seldom used. Again the different components were optimised separately but iterated manually. This
raised the NPV to M2201, an increase of 17 per cent on the normal modern plan.
Next we used different software to do schedule, cut-off and stockpile optimisation simultaneously,
with manual iteration of the pit limit and phases. This added a further ten per cent. In other words,
just optimising these things simultaneously rather than separately gave us a ten per cent increase.
This facility has recently become available in Gemcom-Whittle.
Finally we added simultaneous optimisation of the mill throughput/recovery calibration, the
concentrate percentage, and the capital expenditure on the mining eet and the pipeline. This gave
an NPV of M2775.
This nal NPV was 74 per cent higher than the manual plan and 47 per cent higher than the normal
modern plan.
Those are the gains. What about the implementation
x Are there difculties es.
x Are there impossibilities No.
x Will your life be more comfortable No.
x Will the mine be much more protable es, by any measure
What did this plan look like Its most obvious feature is that every year is different.
Let us look at a couple of aspects of the plan.
Figure 1 shows the mining rate for the fully optimised plan. The optimiser spent more capital to
increase the mining capacity from 60Mt/a to 83Mt/a but only used the whole capacity in three of the
years. There are signicant periods with idle equipment. But we have to keep the equipment busy,
says the Mining Manager otherwise we increase the average cost per tonne of mining and that is
against my key performance indicator.
Now we are getting near to the real problem. The plan is not the problem, the key performance
indicator is the problem. Our aim is to maximise NPV, not to minimise mining cost.
Figure 2 shows the mill throughput for the fully optimised plan. Remember that the nominal
throughput was 20Mt/a. We have sacriced recovery for throughput for most of the life of the mine.
A KPI could cause problems here too.
THE NEXT CHALLENGE IN OPTIMISING MINING OPERATIONS
There are other radical changes but, in summary, we have

x reduced the size of the ultimate pit and hence the reserves,
x increased the mining cost per tonne,
x reduced the recovery in the plant for much of the project life,
x increased the capital expenditure by ve per cent, and
x reduced the life of the operation by three years.
Note that each of these changes is counter-intuitive and would have been resisted by the relevant
manager. Also, if any of them were to be made in isolation, the result could be disastrous. The changes
must be part of a carefully coordinated plan.
FullyOptimizedMiningRate
100
MillionsofTonnesperYear
80
60
40
20
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Year

FIG 1 - The annual mining rate for the fully optimised plan.
FullyOptimizedProcessingRate
30
MillionsofTonnesperYear
25
20
15
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Year

FIG 2 - The annual mill throughput for the fully optimised plan.
THE REAL CHALLENGE

The real challenge is a human one. We need to change the way mines are managed. Currently some
decisions, like the mining and processing rates, are made and cast in bronze, far too early and on too
little evidence. It then becomes difcult, though not impossible, to change them.
J WHITTLE
The reserves are announced to the share market to support the share price before thorough
optimisation has been done.
For simplicity, the running of the mine is divided into different silos and over-all targets are set for each.
To keep their lives simple, the various silo managers concentrate on their own area and have little
interaction with other managers in relation to planning.
We are paying a lot for this simplicity.
Management will protest that, if we reduce the reserves, the share price will go down Well it wont
if we tell the market that we now plan to pay back the whole of the capital cost in eight and a half
months rather than seventeen months, and that the net revenue for the rst three years will be four
times the capital cost.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the net cash ows for the manual, the normal modern and the fully
optimised plans.
Most investors would greatly prefer Figure 5 to Figure 3 or Figure 4. Figure 5 offers more growth
opportunities and/or dividends even after allowing for taxation and any royalties. The point is that
the gain is so substantial that it improves the mine value however you measure it.
ManualNetCashFlow
1000
800
MillionsofDollars
600
400
200
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Year

FIG 3 - The annual net cash flow for the manual plan.
NormalModernNetCashFlow
1000
800
MillionsofDollars
600
400
200
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Year

FIG 4 - The annual net cash flow for the normal modern plan.
THE NEXT CHALLENGE IN OPTIMISING MINING OPERATIONS
FullyOptimizedNetCashFlow
1000
800
MillionsofDollars
600
400
200
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Year

FIG 5 - The annual net cash flow for the fully optimised plan.
IS YOUR CURRENT PLAN OPTIMAL?

How can you tell if your existing plan is optimal There are a few obvious things to check. If you plan
to mine the same amount every year, your plan is unlikely to be optimal. After all, the ore you mine
isnt the same every year, why should your plan be the same every year
If you plan to use the same cut-offs every year, the plan is unlikely to be optimal.
In fact, if almost any major parameter, other than the primary bottleneck, is constant over time,
your plan is almost certainly not optimal.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

Let us assume that you are operating a mine along traditional lines and not using the techniques I
have described.
First you need a champion. Hopefully it is the Chief Executive Ofcer (CEO) or Chief Operating
Ofcer (COO).
An internal task force needs to be set up with senior representatives from geology, mining,
processing, logistics, sales, nance and human resources, and the focus should be primarily on NPV.
For an effective enterprise optimisation, decision-makers from all aspects of the enterprise need to
be involved. They have a vested interest in the outcomes and will be implementing those outcomes.
This is not a job that can be handled by the mining department alone. This is enterprise optimisation,
not mining optimisation. Many of the gains are made by modifying the operation of more than one
silo at once.
The task force meetings should be chaired by the CEO or COO and mediated by someone with skills
in this type of optimisation. ou need access to suitable software and a skilled operator to run it. This
software cannot be treated as a black box that you put a block model into and get a nely tuned plan
out of. For example, the study I have described required 58 different runs of the optimiser.
The example is a single-pit single-plant operation, but it is worth noting that the larger and more
complicated the operation, the greater the opportunity for improvement. If you have a dozen pits
with two or three different plants in different locations, simultaneous optimisation of the whole
complex can produce great gains. In our practice, we have ceased to be surprised when our studies
reveal a way of increasing the NPV by a billion dollars It has happened several times.
CONCLUSIONS
The next challenge in optimising mining operations is not to develop new software. The next challenge
is to change the way mines are managed and to change the way management reports to the stock
exchange. Isolated silos are just not good enough, and we need to report more than just reserves.
J WHITTLE
Twenty ve years ago, when my wife and I were trying to sell optimisation software in the United
States, I had a guy stand in front of me and say My granddaddy showed me how to design a mine,
and thats good enough for me. The mining industry has come a long way since then, but there is
still much more to do.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Although I wrote the software we use, much of the credit for these developments should go to our son
Gerald Whittle. He saw possibilities that I had not dreamed of, and he ran with them.
A Simulation Approach for the Comparison of In-Pit
Crushing and Conveying and Truck-Shovel Mining
Methods
R Bearman1 and S Munro2
ABSTRACT
In-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) is being increasingly considered as an alternative to traditional
truck-shovel mining methods. The move towards IPCC is driven by a number of factors including
the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the availability of skilled labour and the need to
increase extraction rates to levels that present signicant challenges to traditional methods.
When considering the relative performance of IPCC and truck-shovel methods, the outcome can be
inadvertently impacted by either the use of different simulation approaches, or techniques that do
not adequately model the processes in sufcient detail.
A simulation approach is proposed that models both IPCC and truck-shovel using the same software
platform and is capable of functioning at a wide range of resolutions from life-of-mine scale through
to second-by-second asset tracking level. The simulation framework also holds models of processing
equipment and hence the mining simulations can be extended to gauge the impact on downstream plant.
The approach, known as mine-process operational simulation (MPOS), can be tailored to the level
of information available and hence the type of study required, ie order of magnitude, prefeasibility,
feasibility, or detailed design.
Using information from block models and a range of detailed equipment and process models, MPOS
can span major system discontinuities, typied by the mine-plant interface, to allow the estimation
of nal mine and plant product specications.
INTRODUCTION
While the use of in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) in open pit mining is not a new concept, the
number of studies considering IPCC as an alternative to traditional truck-shovel mining methods
has increased dramatically over the last ten years. The increased level of interest in IPCC has been
driven by a variety of factors, such as:
x the contribution of diesel-powered heavy mobile equipment emissions to greenhouse gas (GHG)
footprint,
x the availability and cost of labour to operate and maintain truck eets,
x the potential for mine production efciency gains through the use of IPCC, and
x a potentially reduced total cost of ownership for IPCC versus truck-shovel.
Greenhouse gas element

Inevitably, the mining industry is seeking to reduce the GHG footprint of operations. IPCC has
attracted a great deal of attention on the basis that an IPCC system coupled with face shovels will
predominantly use electrical power, compared to truck eets that are diesel powered. The debate is
still ongoing in regard to IPCC versus truck-shovel and, as will be illustrated later in this paper, the
conclusion is contextual. The contextual element relates to two main points, namely:
x What is the source of the electrical power? ie hydro, coal, nuclear, etc and therefore what is the
embedded emissions in a unit of electrical power?
1. MAusIMM, Director, Bear Rock Solutions Pty Ltd, PO Box 150, Melville WA 6956. Email: ted@bear-rock.com
2. MAusIMM, Director, Met Dynamics Pty Ltd, PO Box 150, Melville WA 6956. Email: scott.munro@metdynamics.com.au
R BEARMAN AND S MUNRO
x What is the basis for the comparison and how have the battery limits been applied? ie if power
generation emissions are included in the electrical power used for IPCC, are the process emissions
for diesel fuel production included in the assessment of GHG for trucks?
In terms of the rst point above, the wide range of emissions can be illustrated simply by examining
a single country. Aube (2001) studied various aspects in relation to the calculation of equivalent CO2
emissions. As part of the study he assembled a table that stated the CO2 emissions for the various
provinces of Canada for 1998 (Table 1). Although the data is now somewhat dated, it illustrates how
the case for IPCC could be inuenced just by small variations in location.
TABLE 1
CO2 equivalent emission factors for electricity, by Canadian province, 1998 (Aube, 2001).
Province t/MWhr
Newfoundland and Labrador 0.034
Prince Edward Island 1.012
Nova Scotia 1.984
New Brunswick 1.012
Quebec 0.009
Ontario 0.236
Manitoba 0.030
Saskatchewan 0.844
Alberta 0.915
British Columbia 0.027
Territories 0.368
Average for Canada 0.222
For a fair comparison of IPCC and alternative methods, the battery limits must be chosen to be
equivalent and appropriate for the study being undertaken. Any inconsistencies in this element can
grossly distort the outcome of the study.
Any comparison of IPCC versus truck-shovel mining needs to answer these questions.
Availability and cost of labour
There is little doubt that IPCC systems are less labour-intensive than equivalent truck-based mining
methods. Given the scale of some of the newer IPCC systems, where it is possible to achieve 10 000 t/h
as an average production gure, the sheer number of trucks required to move such quantities demand
a signicant workforce to operate and maintain the eet. The cost of employment of personnel is
variable in terms of geography, but certainly in remote areas, as seen in parts of Australia, the cost
of personnel is dramatically increased due to y-in, y-out operations. Costs include air charters,
site accommodation, power, water, infrastructure and training, in addition to normal remuneration
packages. Such associated expenses can approximately double employment costs and if this is
coupled with low employee retention rates, the ongoing re-training cost can also be considerable.
In addition, mining in many countries is failing to attract personnel willing to operate trucks, as it is
not seen as an attractive career.
Efficiency and cost of in-pit crushing and conveying
IPCC, in terms of material movement rates, is raising the bar for all mining methods. Equipment
requirements, labour, energy and resulting costs per tonne of material, are often claimed to be
considerably lower than for truck-based alternative methods. Schroder (2003), states that the
specic cost (inclusive of capital) for a 20 Mtpa coal conveying and stockpiling system is US$0.334
per tonne compared to US$0.925 per tonne for a truck-based mining method. Other papers claim
similar levels of saving for IPCC (Zimmermann and Kruse, 2006).
A SIMULATION APPROACH FOR THE COMPARISON OF IPCC AND TRUCK-SHOVEL MINING METHODS
There is also a scale effect associated with the increasing truck payloads that are required to match
the production rates achievable with IPCC. Bozorgebrahimi et al (2003) examined how increasing
truck payload size impacts maintenance costs. Although not conclusive, one nding was that
productivity increases expected, due to larger payloads, did not match those found in reality. When
maintenance costs and productivity were factored into the equation, it was found that the larger
trucks were ten per cent higher on a cost per tonne basis.
If the types of cost advantage stated above for IPCC can be replicated under different conditions
and in various applications, then the pursuit of IPCC will be wholly justied. It is essential to ensure
that assessments of IPCC deployment evaluate this aspect and also take into account changing truck
eets. Any assessment needs to do so in a clear and appropriate manner otherwise this could impact
the credibility of IPCC. This aspect was one of the main drivers behind the development of the system
at the heart of this paper.
DEVELOPMENTS IN IN-PIT CRUSHING AND CONVEYING EQUIPMENT

Developments in IPCC have mainly centred around the mobility of the crusher stations and the
improved use of conveyor networks. Mobility of crushing plant spans the entire spectrum from xed,
single point installations all the way to crawler-mounted fully mobile units. The mobility of crushing
equipment is only restricted by the ingenuity of engineers. Even some of the largest gyratory crushers
in the world can be moved from one static installation to another. A good example of this type of
ingenuity is the movement of the TKF 63-114 crushers at the PT Freeport Indonesia, Grasberg pit.
Figure 1 shows two such crushers in the process of relocation.

FIG 1 - Relocating 63-114 primary gyratory crushers at the Grasberg Operation (ThyssenKrupp, 2010).
Although a signicant feat of engineering, the mobility displayed in Figure 1 is still towards the
static end of the mobility spectrum.
Traditional true-IPCC equipment was predominantly based on the large walking style gyratory
crushers. Although mobile, the mobility is limited and hence the number of moves is usually
restricted to the absolute minimum necessary. However, even with this limited mobility, several
major operations found that such equipment offered exibility and options that were not available
through the usual pit-rim, or concentrator based static crusher installations.
The walking type mobile crushers have been successfully used in a number of mining and
aggregates operations. Figure 2a shows the walking gyratory crusher installed at the Bardon Torr
Quarry (formerly Foster Yeoman), whilst Figure 2b shows a machine treating limestone using a
mobile double shaft impact crusher.
(A) (B)
FIG 2 - (A) Walking gyratory crusher in operation at the Torr Quarry; (B) Walking double shaft impact crusher at Deuna Zement GmbH
(ThyssenKrupp Materials Handling, 2010).
The tendency has been to demand more mobility to the point whereby the crusher can be fed
directly from the face-shovel, or excavator. To achieve this, several manufacturers have designed
tracked systems based around high throughput, smaller footprint crushers such as sizers and double
rolls crushers. There are a number of suppliers of this type of equipment, predominantly coming
from MMD, ThyssenKrupp, FLSmidth and P&H.
The applications for these types of fully mobile IPCC are mainly limited to overburden stripping, oil
sands, coal and low-moderately abrasive materials. This restriction is not a function of the mobility,
but more the types of crushers installed. One of the rst fully-mobile tracked sizer stations from
2002 is shown in Figure 3.
FIG 3 - Typical mobile sizer station (Sinclair Knight Merz, 2010).
Since 1994, many other manufacturers have been pursuing alternative designs. Some of the latest
innovative designs include machines from Rahco, Sandvik and MMD. The Rahco Dual Truck Mobile
Sizer is a development aimed at maintaining the fully mobile nature of the station, yet allowing it to
be loaded directly from trucks. Sandviks new PF300 is another innovation that offers the ability to
be loaded directly from a face-shovel, without the need for external stabilising supports. MMD have
now also updated their mobile sizer station with the introduction of the low prole sizer station with
slewing discharge conveyor. A review of many of the latest developments in IPCC is provided by
International Mining (2009).
Such mobile stations work alongside the face shovel or excavator and are integrated with a
face conveyor, passing material onto intermediate conveyors for transport to a nal destination.
The destination usually being a spreader for overburden, or a coarse ore stockpile for subsequent
processing. The network of conveyors changes to meet the position of the feed point and the eventual
discharge point.
The movement of the mobile crushing front-ends and the changing nature of the conveyor network
throughout the mine life presents a different set of operational parameters to the usual mining
methods.
Given that truly mobile IPCC systems are widely available for a range of applications, the assessment
of their performance as a system compared to alternative approaches, ie truck shovel mining, has
become a major discussion point.
Simulation techniques
A variety of simulation tools are available to determine the best open pit mining method. These tools
can be broken down into a number of types, namely:
x eet selection: determining the type and numbers of equipment required to meet a mining
schedule;
x pit optimisation: design of the pit in terms of geological constraints, grade issues and the
equipment to be deployed; and
x system performance: how the mining method selected will perform in terms of nancial elements,
power usage and GHG footprint.
All the above systems are well represented in the market for truck-shovel mining and a full
assessment can be undertaken to cover all of the main points.
In terms of IPCC, eet selection is a less complex issue, simply due to the small numbers of mobile
crushing units and the use of a conveyer network to replace the truck haulage element for mining.
For IPCC, pit optimisation still relies on the geological, geotechnical, grade and mining schedule
requirements common to the truck-shovel approach.
The main difference between the evaluation of IPCC and truck-shovel mining is in the assessment
of the total system performance. In truck-shovel mining the mainstay of evaluations are discrete
event simulation packages. These packages are essentially frameworks whereby the user can program
equipment movements versus time. In doing so, it soon becomes clear if the eet selected can meet
production targets, the cost of the material movement is tolerable and whether other operational
parameters may impact viability.
For IPCC the total system performance is not ideally suited to simulation using discrete event
simulation, as the system is essentially continuous. To address this, the authors looked to utilise
a simulation platform that would be more appropriate for IPCC. The framework developed is now
termed mine-process operational simulation (MPOS).
Mine-process operational simulation
In seeking a more appropriate representation for IPCC based mining, the authors also wanted to
understand how the more continuous nature of IPCC impacted the downstream process plants. It is
well known that interruptions to material presentation to process plants can have a major impact,
which can be considerably out of proportion to the duration of the feed interruption. Figure 4 shows
a typical case, where once interruptions have started, it can take up to one hour for the process plant
to regain its full throughput.
To cover both the IPCC mining and the process plant elements, a dynamic process simulation package
was selected as the basis for MPOS. Using the commercial package, MPOS was populated with dynamic
models of shovels, crushers, conveyors, screens, bins, mills and other key process equipment.
Supporting the measures above, MPOS can be used in the following ways to ensure that the
extraction of the resource is optimised:
x tracking of ore/waste from extraction through to the point of delivery;
x predicting the processing characteristics and recovered value of delivered ore;
x scheduling and movement of IPCC equipment and/or haul routes in response to changing orebody
characteristics and plant performance;
Consistenttruck Erratictruckarrivals
&plantoperation
3500 1TruckTips
0.9
3000 Plant
0.8
Design
2500 Rate(tph)
0.7
0.6
PlantTPH
2000 Average
0.5
Rate
1500 (tph)
0.4
1000 0.3
0.2
500
0.1
0 0
Seconds
PlantTPH TruckTips
FIG 4 - The effect of feed interruptions on plant throughput (blue diamonds indicate truck tips).
x variable time frame analysis real time, accelerated time, life-of-mine; and
x variable level of application order of magnitude, prefeasibility, feasibility, detailed design,
browneld engineering.
Analysis using mine-process operational simulation
Where possible, a common set of inputs for the IPCC and truck-shovel systems are used by the
MPOS analysis to improve the basis of comparison between the two methods.
The type of inputs used to characterise the application include:
x mine plan block sequence extracted from XPAC, or similar;
x fragmentation calculated from fragmentation model;
x material characteristics strength, density;
x IPCC specics such as energy source, crusher (size/type), shovel (type/size), sizer station, belt
wagons, conveyers (type, motor, length, elevation);
x truck-shovel specics, such as shovel (type/size), trucks (size), haul routes (length, elevation);
and
x availability planned and unplanned downtime events by equipment item, for each system.
The simulations are congured using these inputs and are performed over the desired timespan
and at an appropriate level of data resolution. Increases to the complexity of the simulated system,
the simulated timespan and the intervals between data measurements, increase the overall run-time
of the simulation, which is performed on a standard desktop PC.
MPOS can be programmed to report a wide range of simulation parameters, including:
x power/energy consumption;
x GHG equivalent emissions;
x capital and operating costs;
x utilisation of equipment, operating delays;
x achieved tonnages and payloads (instantaneous and averaged);
x particle size distributions; and
x ore and product grades (including full size-by-grade distributions).
These parameters are output into a spreadsheet format, which allows the generation of a variety
of graphs for individual pieces of equipment, or for the total system. Figures 5 - 8 show some
typical graphs generated from various case studies. Figure 5 shows an instantaneous loading on
key conveyors in the network, along with costs and carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. MPOS
continually recalculates this instantaneous state throughout the changing simulation.
Block Inventory,Mining Sequence MobileSizerStation
15,000t
AWT Power 743 kW
10,000t
Energy 0.42 PJ
BWT
5,000t
BIF EnergyCost 9.29 MUS$p.a.
t Equiv.CO2 29,570 tCO2 p.a.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
CV01Profile Massload 538 t

4,000t/h
Power 587 kW
3,000t/h Energy 0.37 PJ
2,000t/h
1,000t/h EnergyCost 8.31 MUS$p.a.
0t/h Equiv.CO2 26,457 tCO2 p.a.
50m 300m 550m 800m 1050m 1300m 1550m 1800m 2050m 2300m

4,000t/h
Power 220 kW
2,000t/h
0t/h Equiv.CO2 10,470 tCO2 p.a.
20m 120m 220m 320m 420m 520m 620m 720m 820m 920m

4,000t/h
Power 1,145 kW
2,000t/h
0t/h
Equiv.CO2 52,420 tCO2 p.a.
100m 600m 1100m 1600m 2100m 2600m 3100m 3600m 4100m 4600m
FIG 5 - Instantaneous tonnage profiles on key conveyors, with operational calculations for power, energy, cost and equivalent carbon dioxide emissions.
Figure 6 shows a graph of energy use from a direct comparison of truck-shovel and an IPCC scenario.
20
Sizer
18
16
14
MJpertonne
12 HaulTruck
10
Conveyors
8
6
Sizer
4 Loader Loader
2 Blasting Blasting
0
TruckShovel FullyMobileSizer
FIG 6 - Truck-shovel and in-pit crushing and conveying energy comparison graph.
The subsequent conversion from energy use to GHG emissions depends on the battery limits applied
to the calculation and the source of the electrical power for the IPCC system. From alternative case
studies, Figure 7 shows that depending on the cleanliness of the power generation and the battery
limits, the carbon dioxide footprint can be signicantly different, thus highlighting the contextual
nature of IPCC suitability.
1,800,000 6,000,000
1,600,000
5,000,000
1,400,000
Conveyors 4,000,000
1,200,000
TonnesCO2
TonnesCO2
1,000,000 Trucks
3,000,000
800,000
Trucks
600,000 MSS 2,000,000
Conveyors
400,000
Shovel 1,000,000 MSS
200,000 Shovel Shovel
Shovel
0 0
TruckShovel IPCC TruckShovel IPCC
(a) (b)
FIG 7 - Comparison of greenhouse gas generation for and in-pit crushing and conveying and truck-shovel methods: (A) greenhouse gas based on equipment
consumption and high carbon dioxide power generation; (B) greenhouse gas including production, refining and delivery of diesel and low carbon dioxide
power generation.
As MPOS captures the dynamic behaviour of the entire system, it is able to identify production
benets associated with the system conguration and equipment, as well as initial and ongoing
capital and operating expenditure as time progresses. The MPOS outputs are coupled with a nancial
analysis to support the business case for the mining method.
A comparison often examined for IPCC is the capital and operating cost proles against those for
traditional methods. It is generally of great interest as IPCC has a signicantly different prole to that
of truck-shovel mining. The main difference is that the truck based mining eet can be introduced
over a period of time to match the required mine production and schedule. For IPCC a majority of
plant is purchased early in the life of the operation. In terms of the capital cost prole, IPCC therefore
has a much higher capital spend in the early years. Once the operation is underway the operating cost
associated with IPCC tends to be lower than truck shovel and as such the cost differential between
the two mining methods is eroded. The rate of the erosion and the point in the mine life where the
costs equalise is keenly sought. In MPOS a net present cost (NPC) calculation is undertaken for
operations such as overburden stripping, where cost is the driver. Figure 8 shows a typical graph
showing the NPC over time.

350
300
Cum.NPCUS$ Millions
250
200
150
100
50
IPCC TruckShovel

FIG 8 - Net present cost comparison for a typical in-pit crushing and conveying and truck-shovel mining study.
The type of output illustrated in Figure 8 is simply an example. Overall, the range of analysis
possible using MPOS can be customised to the needs of the client, which is one of the advantages of
an open system that reports data to a generic spreadsheet format.
CONCLUSIONS
With the IPCC mining approach being studied for an increasing number of applications, it is believed
the MPOS evaluation tool is useful to engineers and those involved in the evaluation. One of the
features of MPOS is that is can be customised to cover a range of IPCC scenarios, up to and including,
a full blast to nal product study. In addition the study can be run with a varying time base (years to
seconds) and to different levels of detail, dependent of the stage of the study.
It is believed that the ability to analyse IPCC to the same degree as the usual mining methods will
provide a fuller picture of the total value proposition for IPCC and an improved idea of the true
comparison against more traditional mining methods.
REFERENCES
Aube, F, 2001. Guide to computing CO2 emissions related to energy use [online]. Available from: <http://
canmetenergy-canmetenergie.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/chier.php/codectec/En/2001-66/2001-66e.pdf>.
Bozorgebrahimi, E, Hall, R A, Blackwell, G and Scoble, M, 2003. Economies of scale in surface mining:
A case study of the impact of haul truck size on maintenance cost, SME Annual meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio.
International Mining, 2009. IPCC Innovations, report, pp 8-14, June.
Schroder, D, 2003. The use of in-pit crushing and conveying methods to signicantly reduce transportation
costs by truck, in Proceedings CoalTrans Asia, pp 1-12 (CoalTrans International).
Sinclair Knight Merz, 2010. Using continuous mining equipment to develop an open cut mining
operation [online]. Available from: <http://www.skmconsulting.com/Site-Documents/Technical-Papers/
Continuous-Mining-in-Open-Pit---hard-Rock-Focussed.pdf>.
Zimmermann, E and Kruse, W, 2006. Mobile crushing and conveying in quarries a chance for better
and cheaper production, in Proceedings Eighth International Symposium on Continuous Surface Mining
(ISCSM), pp 1-7 (RWTH Aachen University: Aachen).
Production Capacity Optimisation in the Presence of
Grade Uncertainty
T Elkington1,2 and F Grobler3,4
ABSTRACT
Grade uncertainty can have a number of important implications for a mining operation. One of the
most signicant risks in not considering grade uncertainty in planning is the over or under allocation
of processing or mining capacity when compared to realised grades. This could lead to wasted capital
expenditure or missed opportunities to add value. This paper demonstrates a method that optimises
production capacity and mining schedules in the presence of grade uncertainty. Applying this method
to the case study of a nickel deposit recommended a reduction in processing capacity, an increase
in mining capacity and more extensive utilisation of stockpiles than optimisations completed with
traditional methods. As a result, average NPV improvements of between seven per cent and 27 per
cent were gained.
INTRODUCTION
Strategic mine planning involves making decisions about key drivers of project success. Much of
recent research effort in the eld of strategic mine planning has focused upon cut-off grade and
scheduling decisions.
Both of these decisions are dependent on the capacities (mining, processing and distribution)
imposed on it. Production capacities therefore become a root driver of project outcomes and should
receive greater focus during decision-making. Capacity is a large contributor to project capital and
xed costs. An incorrect decision on capacity can lead to misallocated nancial resources. Additionally,
changing capacity is difcult, expensive and takes a long time to reverse. It is therefore essential
to identify the most appropriate production capacity option from the outset through appropriate
analysis and informed decision-making.
However, production capacity is often an arbitrary decision made based on rules of thumb (Taylor,
1978) or past experience, without being optimised. Improvements in the schedule and cut-off grade
optimisation approach could be gained by introducing production capacities as a decision variable.
This was demonstrated in a mixed integer programming (MIP) approach in Elkington and Durham
(2010). An important outcome of this paper was the ability to fully utilise both mining and processing
capacity to maximise benet from capital expenditure. Lower than expected processing capacities
were recommended from the outcomes of the model, attributed to the diminishing returns offered by
processing lower grade material. Instead, the emphasis is to stockpile this material for later processing.
This approach did not consider grade uncertainty. Grade uncertainty has been a rapidly advancing
area of research in recent years. Dimitrakopoulos, Farrelly and Godoy (2002) demonstrated that
grade uncertainty could impact on economic mine life. Dimitrakopoulos, Martinez and Ramizan
(2007) suggested that grade uncertainty can inuence pit design and proposed a risk based procedure
to select pit designs given a number of options. Leite and Dimitrakopoulos (2009) developed a
simulated annealing approach to pit design and scheduling in the presence of grade uncertainty.
This work indicated that schedules can be used to blend grade uncertainty to achieve smoother ore
proles.
1. Consultant, Snowden Mining Industry Consultants, 87 Colin Street, West Perth WA 6005. Email: telkington@snowdengroup.com
2. Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Civil and Resource Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009.
3. Principal Consultant, Snowden Mining Industry Consultants, 87 Colin Street, West Perth WA 6005. Email: fgrobler@snowdengroup.com
4. Senior Adjunct Research Fellow, Western Australian Centre of Excellence in Industrial Optimisation, Curtin University of Technology, Kent Street, Bentley WA 6102.
T ELKINGTON AND F GROBLER
These papers have imposed a marginal cut-off grade restriction and focused on manipulating
pushback designs as a mechanism to plan for uncertainty. Menabde et al (2007) demonstrated that
a variable cut-off grade is a mechanism to achieve more robust schedules in the presence of grade
uncertainty, while xing pushback design.
This paper integrates the approaches of Menabde et al (2007) and Elkington and Durham (2010).
The approach considers a xed pushback design, but provides the ability to adjust production
capacities, raise cut-off grade and stockpile material as a mechanism to manage risk and sometimes
benet from grade uncertainty. A case study is used to demonstrate the outcomes of this approach.
METHOD
The method is an extension on the MIP formulation provided in Elkington and Durham (2010). A
visual representation of the process is shown in Figure 1.
FIG 1 - Process schematic (Elkington and Durham, 2010).
A bench is a vertical unit of advance. A pit shell is the mining outline of an open pit that maximises
undiscounted cash ows for a given set of slope constraints, and revenue and cost parameters. A
parcel is an aggregation of blocks which share common bench b and incremental pit shell h (ie
blocks in pit shell h but not in pit shell h-1) properties. A pushback is an incremental expansion of
a pit outline, formed by an aggregation of parcels to generate a practical mining width. A panel is
the set of one or more parcels allocated to the same pushback (two in the above example), located
on the same bench. Each parcel within a panel is assumed to be extracted at the same rate. Finally,
every block within each panel is allocated to a grade group. It is assumed that material in the same
grade group, in the same panel, will be sent to the same destination(s) in the same proportion(s).
The properties of the blocks within each grade group in each panel are aggregated and averaged as
appropriate.
Concept
This paper does not propose a new method of ultimate pit and pushback optimisation. The optimisation
assumes a xed set of pushbacks, previously determined by appropriate methods. The scope of the
optimisation is in scheduling, cut-off grade, stockpiling and mining and processing capacity.
PRODUCTION CAPACITY OPTIMISATION IN THE PRESENCE OF GRADE UNCERTAINTY
The unique aspect of this method is the incorporation of grade uncertainty within the schedule
optimisation, where production capacity (mining and processing) is treated as a decision variable.
Grade uncertainty is modelled by multiple grade realisations generated through conditional
simulation. Each realisation has its own unique tonnes and grade properties for each grade group.
This enables each realisation to have a unique processing, cut-off grade and stockpiling schedule. The
freedom for each of the grade realisations is constrained by a common mining schedule and common
processing constraints. Thus, the optimal solution represents the mining schedule and processing
capacity that maximises the average of the NPVs of schedules for all grade realisations. The problem
is formulated as a MIP and solved with CPLEX software.
Key assumptions and limitations
The key assumption made in this formulation is that companies align their strategy with maximising
the probability-weighted average NPV, when considering multiple equally probable grade realisations.
The optimised strategy may be different when acting upon another objective, or a combination of
objectives.
This section outlines the key assumptions associated with optimisation of each aspect of the mine
plan, dening areas where the method is most applicable and the limitations introduced by these
assumptions.
Grade uncertainty
Conditional simulation is used to model grade uncertainty in this model. All grade realisations have
been re-blocked to the parent block size. It is assumed that while none of the grade realisations
will represent the ultimate truth for the resource, each realisation estimates the variability and
distribution characteristics of the truth. Viewed individually, the grade realisations are unsuitable
for design purposes due to their speculative nature. However, when many realisations are considered
together they give an indication of the range of outcomes expected from the deposit.
Ultimate pit and pushback selection
Pushback selection is determined prior to optimisation within this process using any valid technique.
This method could be improved by incorporating ultimate pit and pushback selection into the
optimisation.
Scheduling
The schedule is dened by the portion of each panel that is mined in each period. It is assumed
that each block within a panel is extracted at the same rate, regardless of the grade realisation. It
is assumed that mining will not change order or speed depending on the grade realised. Instead, if
grade is higher than expected, surplus material is stockpiled. If grade is lower than expected, there
will be a shortfall in the processing schedule (unless there is material on the stockpile for the grade
realisation that can be drawn from at that time).
There are several limitations to this type of scheduling approach. Progression of mining within a
panel is not optimised or planned. Additionally, the panel sequencing constraints are applied strictly
between time periods, but not within them. If time periods are too large (ie when there are few panels
mined in each time period) these two issues may combine to produce impractical schedules. This
must be managed with careful schedule verication and appropriate time period length selection.
Cut-off grade
Cut-off grade is not applied explicitly in this method. Cut-off grade is implied by the material
contained within the grade groups selected for processing. In a single element operation with no
blending constraints, the cut-off grade can be estimated as the lowest grade block contained within
material selected for each process. If these conditions are not present, the denition of cut-off grade
is multi-dimensional.
The accuracy of the cut-off grade estimation is dependent on the number of grade groups applied.
An increased number of grade groups will likely result in tighter bounds for each grade group and
a more accurate estimation of cut-off grade. This must be reconciled with increased problem size
associated with more grade groups and resultant increases in solution time.
When multiple grade realisations are incorporated into the optimisation, each realisation will
have its own unique cut-off grade schedule. This evolves naturally through the assumption that
the processing plant will take the highest grade material possible within the material mined in that
period. The remainder is either stockpiled or treated as waste.
Stockpiling
From a modelling perspective, stockpiles apply a time delay between mining a panel and when
material within the panel is processed. It is assumed that material can be removed from the stockpile
in any period after it has been placed. There are no explicit restrictions on the sequence of stockpile
depletion. This method assumes the mining operation is able to carry out such a plan and have control
over the movement of material on stockpiles. This can be achieved by either grouping stockpiled
material into grade bins, or by designing stockpiles based on the optimisation schedule, ie place
material that is removed from the stockpile in the same period in the same bin. It is acknowledged
that this may not be possible for all operations and high stockpiling costs have been assumed in the
case study to reect the difculty of stockpiling in such a manner.
Each grade realisation will have its own stockpile addition/depletion schedule, closely linked to the
cut-off grade schedule. If grade is higher than expected, more material will be stockpiled. If grade
is lower than expected, less material will be stockpiled. This effect becomes important in the nal
periods of the project when the stockpile is depleted.
Production capacity
Production capacities (mining and processing) are included in the formulation as free decision
variables. Mining capacity covers only material mined from the pit. Processing capacity includes
both material processed directly from the mine and material reclaimed from the stockpile.
Each unit of mining and processing capacity must be purchased at a given unit cost. It is assumed that
the relationship between production capacity and capital cost is linear, although it is acknowledged
that this may not be accurate in all cases. It is possible to also model staged increments of capital cost
with the addition of more integer variables. The addition of these integer variables would also allow
xed costs to be modelled (not accommodated in this formulation), but also increase solution times.
This is an area for future development.
Production capacities are held constant over the life of the operation, ie they are established from
the outset of the project5. It is assumed that capacity cannot be sold. Therefore, each unit of additional
capacity must be utilised protably in present value terms. Capital costs are applied in year zero.
Mixed integer programming formulation

Decision variables
There are seven main types of decision variables used in this model. All variables are continuous
between zero and one unless stated otherwise.
mcbt portion of bench b in pushback c to be mined in period t
pcbgst portion of grade group g of grade realisation s within pushback c and bench b to be processed
in period t
xcbsgt portion of grade group g of grade realisation s within pushback c and bench b to be added to
the stockpile in period t
ycbsgt portion of grade group g of grade realisation s within pushback c and bench b to be reclaimed
from the stockpile in period t
dcbt (binary) indicating whether bench b in pushback c can be extracted in period t (1) or not (0)
mc (non-negative continuous) mining capacity
pc (non-negative continuous) processing capacity
5. The model can be simply adjusted to allow staged capacity increases over time. See Elkington and Durham (2010) for details.
Coefficients
N number of grade realisations
Mcbt discounted cost of mining bench b in pushback c in period t
Pcbsgt discounted net revenue (revenue minus processing cost) of processing grade group g of grade
realisation s within pushback c/bench b in period t
Xcbsgt discounted cost of stockpiling grade group g of grade realisation s within pushback c/bench
b in period t
Ycbsgt discounted net revenue (revenue minus processing cost and reclaiming cost) of reclaiming
from the stockpile and processing grade group g of grade realisation s within pushback c/
bench b in period t
MC discounted cost of purchasing an additional unit of mining capacity
PC discounted cost of purchasing an additional unit of processing capacity
Ocbsg ore tonnage in grade group g of grade realisation s within pushback c in bench b
Gcbsg average available grade in grade group g of grade realisation s of pushback c in bench b
Qcb total tonnage of pushback c in bench b
Scsg total recovered product in grade group g of grade realisation s of pushback c in bench b
Bctmax maximum number of benches to be completed within pushback c in period t
Objective function
The objective of the optimisation model is to maximise the average net present value (NPV) reported
by each of the grade realisations (Equation 1). This incorporates an average of the discounted net
revenue from material that is directly processed (Pcbsgt) and processed from the stockpile (Ycbsgt), as
well as costs from material added to a stockpile (Xcbsgt), for each grade realisation. Mining cost (Mcbt)
and capital costs associated with mining (MC) and processing capacity (PC) purchased, are common
to all grade realisations and are thus do not need to be averaged.
Maximise:
1 / Pp + Yy - Xx - / Mcbt mcbt - MCmc - PCmc (1)
N ; c,b,s, g ,t E
c,b, t
Constraints
Equations 2 and 3 relate to the capacity of mining and processing in each period, respectively.
These capacities are established from the outset and are assumed to be constant over the life of
the operation. Each additional unit of capacity incurs a capital establishment cost, reected in the
objective function.
/Qcb mcbt # mc 6t (2)

c,b
/ Ocbsg ^ pcbsgt + ycbsgth # pc 6s, t (3)

c,b, g
Equation 4 enforces a constraint on the maximum number of benches completed within a pushback
in each period.
/ mcbt # Bctmax 6c, t (4)
b
It is important that material ow equilibrium is achieved throughout the optimisation from

period to period. The amount of material processed directly and added to the stockpile from a panel
progresses at the same rate as the mining of the panel (Equation 5). Material not directly processed
or stockpiled is assumed to be sent to a universal waste dump. Secondly, material cannot be removed
from the stockpile until it has been placed there (Equation 6).
pcbsgt + xcbsgt - mcbt # 0 6c,b, s, g,t (5)
t (6)
/^ycbsgq - xcbsgqh # 0 6c, b, s, g, t
q=1
In order to optimise the sequencing of panels, a series of constraints are used to ensure that
practical scheduling requirements are met. Equation 7 enables mining in a panel only when it
becomes available. This availability is dependent on the bench directly above in the same pushback
(Equation 8), as well as the same bench in the previous pushback (Equation 9) being completed.
Equation 8 assumes that bench numbering increases with depth. Finally, Equation 10 ensures that
each panel is only mined once.
t
/ mcba - dcbt # 0 6c, b, t (7)
a=1
t
dcbt - / mc(b - 1)a # 0 6c, b, t (8)
a=1
t
dcbt - / m(c-1)ba # 0 6c, b, t (9)
a=1
/ mcbt # 1 6c, b (10)

t
CASE STUDY
A hypothetical nickel deposit is used as a case study. Ten grade realisations were generated using
conditional simulation (CS) techniques. Three of these grade realisations are shown in Figure 2. An
ordinary kriged (OK) model was also developed and shown alongside a model which is the average
of the grade realisations from the conditional simulation (Figure 3)
FIG 2 - Section view of three grade realisations (coloured by grade).
(A) (B)
FIG 3 - (A) Section view of the kriged; and (b) average grade models (coloured by grade).
The pit was designed with three pushbacks, developed using conventional pit optimisation and
general mine planning software. The parameters applied for the optimisation are as follows:
x price = $18 000/t Ni,
x discount rate = ten per cent,
x metallurgical recovery = 70 per cent,
x processing cost = $20/t,
x mining cost = $(0.700 + 0.002 depth)/t,
x stockpile addition cost = $1/t,
x stockpile reclamation cost = $1/t,
x mining capital cost = $(mining capacity) 2,
x processing capital cost = $(processing capacity) 25, and
x maximum vertical advance = 120 m per year.
Production capacity optimisation without grade uncertainty
A base case schedule was completed based on the OK model for comparative purposes. In this case
(referred to as kriged marginal, or KM), stockpiles were excluded and a marginal cut-off grade was
enforced. This means that any grade group that earns more revenue than its costs to process and sell
will be processed. This case was selected because, if production capacity optimisation is carried out
at all (as opposed to applying rules of thumb), it would usually be completed on this basis.
Implementation of this within the MIP formulation required altering Equation 5 to Equation 11 for
such grade groups.
pcbsgt - mcbt = 0 6c, b, s, g, t (11)
The maximum NPV for this was found to be $66 million with a processing capacity of 1.94 Mta and
a mining capacity of 18.79 Mta. The schedule for this case is shown in Figure 4.
FIG 4 - Production schedule for kriged marginal case.
A more sophisticated production capacity optimisation might compare scenarios without the
marginal cut-off grade constraint, thus allowing cut-off grades to be optimised and stockpiles to
be used. However, the optimisation would typically still be completed with inputs from the OK
resource model. This case will be referred to as kriged optimisation, or KO. For this case, the NPV
increases to $77 million; a 17 per cent improvement over the KM result. The improvement is derived
from a much lower processing capacity of 1.46 Mta and a similar mining capacity of 19.04 Mta as
demonstrated by the KM case. The schedule is shown in Figure 5. The drop in processing capacity
reduces the capital cost by around $12 million, only processing higher grade material and allowing
marginal material to be stockpiled for later processing without eroding value.
FIG 5 - Production schedule for kriged optimisation case.
Production capacity optimisation with grade uncertainty

The nal case considered, which is the approach proposed in this paper, optimised the schedule
subject to the conditionally simulated grade realisations without a marginal cut-off grade restriction.
This case will be referred to as conditional simulation optimisation, or CSO. This optimisation
found the optimal processing capacity to be similar to the KO case at 1.49 Mta, but the mining
capacity to be signicantly higher at 27.36 Mta.
The average NPV for this scenario is $238 million. This is a signicant increase over the KM and
KO results. Part of this increase is attributable to the greater variability in the grade realisations
developed with conditional simulation, with generally higher grades over smaller volumes. In order
to provide a fair comparison to the KM and KO cases, the KM and KO cases must also be reported
against the same grade realisations (having previously been considered with the OK model). To do this
the previously determined mining schedules and processing capacity are xed and the optimisation
is repeated using the same grade realisations. When this is done, the KM case reports an average
NPV of $188 million and the KO reports $222 million (Table 1). Thus, the CSO approach represents
an improvement of between 7 per cent and 27 per cent when considering grade uncertainty.
TABLE 1
Summary of key results.
Kriged marginal Kriged optimisation Conditional simulation optimisation

Ave NPV ($ million) 188 222 238
Processing capacity (Mtpa) 1.94 1.46 1.49
Mining capacity (Mtpa) 18.79 19.04 27.36
Max stockpile size (Mt) - 1.48 3.26
The source of this value improvement becomes apparent when comparing the ore processing
schedules of each of the optimisations, reported for all ten grade realisations (Figure 6).
Whilst the KM case has the highest processing capacity (1.94 Mta), it is unable to ll this capacity in any
period; often struggling to achieve 75 per cent utilisation. Effectively, 500 ktpa of processing capacity (or
around $12 million of capital cost) is wasted in this plan. This shortfall occurs because of the smoothing
effects present in the OK model. The smoothing creates more mid-grade material over larger volumes,
thus suggesting a higher processing capacity. When inll drilling is completed to dene the resource at
the level of selectivity demonstrated in the conditional simulated realisations, higher and lower grades
within this resource will be dened. The lower grade portion can be treated as waste. Therefore the grade
FIG 6 - Ore schedule comparison.
realisations from conditional simulation will tend to produce less tonnes, but at higher grade than the
kriged model (Figure 7)6. So, while the value increases for the KM model with the conditionally simulated
realisations due to higher grades, some of the installed processing capacity is wasted.
The KO case performs considerably better than the KM model because it recommends a lower
processing capacity. This was done on the basis that marginal material would not justify additional
capacity and could be deferred until the end of the mine life by stockpiling. This high grading and
stockpiling recommendation provids insulation against the lower tonnages realised and leads to a
schedule that could ll the process plant in most periods after year 3.
FIG 7 - Tonnage and grade comparison between ordinary kriged and conditionally simulated grade realisations.
6. The difference between tonnes and grade of smoothed and more variable grade models depends on the amount of drilling data available, block size, and cut-off grade applied. The
more drilling, the more similar they will be. The relationship shown in this paper is due to a combination of low drilling density and low cut-off grade. At higher cut-off grades the
more variable model will tend to report higher grade and higher tonnage than the smoothed model. This is demonstrated in Elkington and Durham (2010).
The CSO case was able to recognise the likely grade distribution and plan for it, by installing
additional mining capacity and using stockpiles as a buffer7. This capacity ensured that the processing
plant could be kept full for all periods (with the exception of one realisation in year 2). By keeping the
process plant full in the presence of uncertainty, revenue potential is maximised.
It can also be observed that the CSO case postponed the effects of uncertainty until the end of the
mine life, where there is uncertainty in the size of the stockpile to be depleted at the end of the project
(Figure 8). If the nickel grade is worse than expected, this manifests in a shorter stockpile depletion
period, rather than affecting the processing schedule at the beginning of the schedule when high cash
ows are vital.
FIG 8 - Stockpile size schedule.
The increased mining capacity of the CSO case, results in bringing forward high-grade material by
a year in comparison with the KO case and four years in the KM case (Figure 9). Thus, revenues are
brought forward with resultant benets in NPV.
FIG 9 - Average processed grade schedule.
From a production forecasting perspective, this type of analysis is useful in dening the uncertainty
in metal production by period (Figure 10). While the CSO case reports a very high grade in year 4,
there is a large amount of uncertainty in the grade achieved.
7. This optimisation recommends stockpiles as a method to deal with grade uncertainty for this case. This is despite the application of high cost penalties on stockpiling addition and
reclamation.
FIG 10 - Recovered metal schedule.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper has demonstrated a method for optimising production capacity in the presence of grade
uncertainty. The results of the case study indicated that pursuing lower processing capacity, higher
mining capacity and greater utilisation of stockpiles led to an improvement of between seven per
cent and 27 per cent in the average realised NPV when compared to conventional approaches to
production capacity without considering grade uncertainty. Further research is ongoing to identify
whether this outcome is common for other types of projects.
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Matt Cotterell from Snowden for reviewing the paper.
REFERENCES
Dimitrakopoulos, R, Farrelly, C and Godoy, M, 2002. Moving forward from traditional optimization: Grade
uncertainty and risk effects in open-pit design, Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy,
Mining Technology, 111:A82-A88.
Dimitrakopoulos, R, Martinez, L S and Ramazan, S, 2007. A maximum upside/minimum downside
approach to the traditional optimisationof open pit mine design, Journal of Mining Science, 43:73-82.
Elkington, T and Durham, R, 2010. Integrated open pit pushback selection and production capacity
optimization, Journal of Mining Science (accepted).
Leite, A and Dimitrakopoulos, R, 2007. A stochastic optimisation model for open pit mine planning: Application
and risk analysis at a copper deposit, Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy, Mining
Technology, 116:A109-A118.
Menabde, M, Froyland, G, Stone, P and Yeates, G, 2007. Mining schedule optimisation for conditionally
simulated orebodies, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning, second edition
(ed: R Dimitrakopoulos), pp 379-384 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Taylor, H, 1978. Valuation and feasibility studies, Mineral Industry Costs (ed: J Hoskins and W Green),
Northwest Mining Association, Washington.
Robust versus Flexible Open Pit Mine Design
B Groeneveld1, E Topal2 and B Leenders3
ABSTRACT
Strategic planning in mining is an important value accretive process. One of the most important
aspects during the planning phase is determining the correct mine and plant design. The traditional
mine site design (mine, plant, stockpiles, dumps) develops a xed system for one set of conditions
or expected values. A robust design is a xed system that is designed to deal with a large range of
conditions without changing the system design. A exible design changes the system dynamically
in response to changes in uncertainties. It is hypothesised that a robust design generates less value
than a exible design as it fails to realise the value of actively managing the operation. One of the
most critical aspects in creating strategic value from a project is embedded in the design of the
system. A exible design has components that allow the design of the system to change over time. An
operational plan is proposed as a hybrid of a robust and exible design. This paper seeks to compare
these different design methodologies. An analysis of the same case study is undertaken to compare
these approaches, showing an a traditional net present value (NPV) of 1678 M, robust design NPV
of 1787 M and an operational plan NPV of 1867 M an increase of 170 M.
INTRODUCTION
Decision-making in mining operations can take many years because the capital cost is large and the
payback period lengthy. During the evaluation period many uncertainties can unfold and multiple
economic cycles may occur. Making decisions based on single point estimates of the future can lead
to premature foreclosure of an operation as the company has limited exibility to react to changing
conditions. Improving a companys success is obtained by having the opportunity to capture value by
designing for changing circumstances.
The dominant decision-making technique used across the mining industry is the use of discounted
cash ow analysis (DCF). The traditional DCF model includes a xed mine design (production rates,
plant capacities, processing routes, etc), a xed schedule(s) based on the xed design and probably
some ability to undertake sensitivity analysis. Sensitivity analysis is generally carried out by applying
a percentage change to a key input variable to determine the effect on net present value (NPV).
Whilst this may capture, to some degree, the impact of key variables on the value of an operation, it
will overstate the negative impact and grossly understate the positive impact. Why If an operation
is actively managed then in situations where things turn bad, managers can limit production, even
to the extent of stopping production (Monita, 2009 Le May, 2009), thus reducing the downside
risk. On the contrary, if things turn good, managers can choose to de-bottleneck or expand the
operation (Trounson, 2007, 2008 Chamber, 2008), in turn increasing the expected value of the
project. In a traditional DCF analysis, this exibility is not considered or valued. Consequently a DCF
will provide an answer which is vastly different from the true potential value of the project. Whilst
a decision maker may gain some condence from a traditional DCF analysis, generally they will miss
opportunities to design for change, hence reducing the potential value of the project from the outset.
Building exibility into an operation provides the company with an ability to quickly respond to
change however this exibility comes at a cost. For example, an operation building a crusher to
feed a processing plant with an initial plan to produce at 6 Mta, will design the crusher to meet
this capacity. One year into the operation, the sale price of the product doubles while all other
variables hold. In this environment it is considered favourable to expand the operation however a
1. GAusIMM, PhD Candidate, Mining Engineering Department, Western Australia School of Mines, Curtin University of Technology and Underground Mining Engineer, Telfer Gold Mine.
Email: b.groeneveld@student.curtin.edu.au
2. MAusIMM, Associate Professor and Head of Mining Engineering Department, Western Australia School of Mines, Curtin University of Technology, Kalgoorlie WA 6433.
Email: e.topal@curtin.edu.au
3. MAusIMM, Principal Advisor Strategic Development, Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Perth WA 6000. Email: bob.leenders@riotinto.com
B GROENEVELD, E TOPAL AND B LEENDERS
new crusher is required to achieve the required production rate at a signicant capital cost and time
to build. Alternatively, had the original design included exibility to easily expand production to
8 Mta (for example by increase the size of the foundations and footings to allow physical room for
larger equipment), then production could be increased at a lower cost, shorter time and at a lower
production impact. Current decision-making tools do not give the planner the ability to justify this
upfront exibility, however advances in a technique broadly know as real options in projects is
addressing this gap (Wang and de Neufville, 2005, 2006 Cardin, de Neufville and Kazakidis, 2008
de Neufville 2005, 2006 Groeneveld, Topal and Leenders, 2009).
Real options in projects (ROIP) have been proposed as a methodology to justify an increase in
system exibility under uncertainty. This method is located midway between nancial real options
analysis (which does not deal with engineering system exibility) and traditional engineering
approaches (which do not deal with nancial exibility). An analysis done using ROIP methods
determines the effect of allowing the underlying system to adjust in response to change. Having this
information allows the decision maker to make a more informed decision on whether the additional
cost is warranted.
Previous papers using ROIP methods on different problems clearly show the value of this technique
(Cardin, de Neufville and Kazakidis, 2008 Groeneveld, Topal and Leenders, 2009, 2010). Cardin, de
Neufville and Kazakidis (2008) implemented this technique for mining projects with a Chilean mine
in the Cluster Toki region. Groeneveld, Topal and Leenders (2009) outlined a methodology for a
exible mine design that showed how design options could dynamically be included to represent
mining, plant and port constraints. The associated model was processed multiple times, with each
run representing a different state of the world. Value-at-risk graphs showed a signicant increase
in value available by using a exible design methodology when compared to a xed base design. The
base case for comparing the exible design was based on a traditional deterministic solution for one
xed set of uncertainties. This paper extends this concept by preparing a single robust design derived
using multiple sets of uncertainties. This allows for an even better base case design from which to
make the comparison point for justifying the inclusion of exibility.
An important clarication is differentiating between a robust design, as presented here and what is
known as a reliable design. These two aspects are very different. A reliable design is one that delivers
high utilisation for a piece of equipment or project. A robust design is one that handles changing
uncertainties best performs best under all states-of-the-world. Reliable designs come from the eld
of reliability engineering (Bergman, Mare and Svensson, 2009) which has a different objective to
real option in projects. In this paper, we develop a methodology for determining a robust design
under all potential states-of-the-world.
This paper outlines a methodology to determine a robust design under uncertainty, using mixed
integer programming (MIP) and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The methodology involves
determining a single design based on numerous design options (mine, stockpile, plant and port)
and multiple uncertainties (price, capital cost, operating cost, recoveries and utilisation). This
design is compared with the results of a exible design produced using previously developed models
(Groeneveld, Topal and Leenders, 2009). An application of this methodology to a copper-gold
deposit will be undertaken to show the differences in the two methodologies and demonstrate the
need for a combination of both analysis techniques.
METHODOLOGY
A methodology to evaluate exibility in strategic mine design in order to determine benecial
options to execute is proposed by using a combination of MCS and MIP. Uncertainties (or stochastic
parameters) are simulated using MCS to generate inputs to a MIP model. The MIP model allows for
go or no go decisions to be modelled for the optimal execution timing under a set of uncertainties.
Design options
Four categories of options are available in the initial design phase that are incorporated dynamically
into the model. These four categories are
1. mine options,
2. preprocessing stockpile options,
3. processing plants options, and
4. capacity constraint options.
ROBUST VERSUS FLEXIBLE OPEN PIT MINE DESIGN
The objective is to determine the types of options used and the timing of their execution. Examining
this will allow the decision maker to determine the best set of options to incorporate when and at
what capacity in a mine plan.
The four types of options have different characteristics which need to be explained further. Mine
options represent the physical extraction capacity that is required to move material from the ground.
This constraint may be an annual tonnage constraint or an effective at haul constraint which
considers the time required to move material (useful in highly variable haul distance scenarios).
Preprocessing stockpiles are stores of material after extraction from the ground, either for long term
low grade scenarios, uctuating demand scenarios or for waste material storage. Processing plant
options represent the physical and/or chemical process that is undertaken to recover ore from the
gangue material. Processing plants may contain multiple different circuits which the material may
pass through. These circuits may have different beneciation characteristics. Capacity constraint
options represent physical constraints which may need to be modelled in the design. These may
represent attributes such as port capacity, loading facilities, crusher capacities or conveyor capacities.
Any of these design options may be incorporated in the network.
Resource representation
The representation of the resource in the model is carried out by parcels of material. A parcel
of material can be defined as a quantity of material with an average grade determined by the
weighted average of grade bins contained within the parcel. A parcel may be made up of one or
more grade bins. A grade bin represents a quantity of material at a specified grade. These grade
bins provide a higher resolution of data to the model, whilst minimising the number of integer
variables needed to provide this information. These parcels are designed to represent a physical
constraint on the resource, such that they must be fully mined before mining a parcel lower in
the physical sequence.
Flow paths
A exible mine design is created based on a set of options that are incorporated in the model through
a network structure. Different routes through the network are termed ow paths. A ow path is a
singular route through the network that material could travel along to explain this concept further
consider Figure 1.
Examples of ow paths in Figure 1 include
x the path from the resource (R) to mine 1 (M1) to stockpile 1 (S1) to plant 1 (P1) through circuit 1
(C1) to product A which would be RM1S1P1C1A,
x the path from the resource (R) to mine 1 (M1) to waste stockpile 1 (W1) which would be RM1W1,
FIG 1 - Example design option network showing numerous flow paths.
x the path from the resource (R) to mine 1 (M1) to stockpile 1 (S1) to plant 4 (P4) through circuit 2
(C2) to product B (B) which would be RM1S1P4C2B, and
x the path from the resource to mine 3 (M3) to stockpile 1 (S1) to plant 3 (P3) through circuit 1 (C1)
to product A (A) which would be RM3S1P3C1A.
This is only a small number of the potential paths through the network, in reality there are numerous
ow paths.
An important aspect of the model formulation is that unique mine designs can be generated. That
is capacity constraints can be incorporated anywhere along the network, multiple processing plants/
routes can be included and products can be generated at any point in the network (helping to model
options of selling the ore at the mine gate).
Stockpiling
Stockpiling is used in mine operations for many reasons including blending of material, storage of
excess mine production, storage of waste material and storage of low grade ore for future production.
When material is stockpiled the grade and tonnage of the material is known. However, as the material
is mixed on the stockpile the grade and the tonnage become unknown. Since the quantity of material in
the stockpile is unknown prior to the optimisation, this gives rise to a nonlinear constraint. To solve this
problem virtual grade bins are created in the stockpile. These grade bins have a maximum and minimum
grade of material which can enter the bin. The model assumes taking the average grade from the bin.
Many grade bins can be created without adversely affecting the performance of the model which limits the
averaging effect. When removing material the average grade is taken from the grade bin or alternatively,
the maximum or minimum grade limit of the bin can be used.
Stochastic parameters
The model incorporates uncertainty around the input parameters by Monte Carlo simulation. Each
simulation of these values represents a state of the world that is equally probable in the future.
Various parameters can be incorporated in the model including price, capital cost, operating cost,
equipment utilisation, recovery and time to build. Running a set of simulations is intended to give a
representative sample of the future states-of-the-world.
DESIGN MODELS
Three different models have been proposed to determine a exible design, a robust design and an
operational design. All models use Monte Carlo simulation and mixed integer programming (MIP)
techniques to determine a system design. The fundamental difference between the models is that
under a robust design multiple states-of-the-world are considered together, whilst a exible design
considers just one state-of-the-world at a time. An operational design is developed by determining
a xed design for the rst couple of periods and having a exible design after this period. The exible
design model has been published previously in (Groeneveld, Topal and Leenders, 2009 Groeneveld
and Topal, 2010). The robust model is outlined in this paper and the operational plan is a new hybrid
of these two models to be published at a later date.
Flexible design
Groeneveld, Topal and Leenders (2009) and Groeneveld and Topal (2010) have previously outlined
a new methodology for undertaking exible mine design. The basis of these models was to optimise
a design for a given single state-of-the-world. This was achieved by dynamically including mining,
capacity constraint and plant design options in the system through a MIP model. Monte Carlo
simulation was used to generate the different states-of-the-world.
This methodology assumes that a decision maker makes optimal decisions based on the knowledge
of all states of the project over time (ie what price and costs occurred over time). In reality, forecasting
the nal state of a project is always difcult. The proposed methodology provides information and
insight that can be used by the decision maker in conjunction with other tools to make timely,
informed and value adding decisions.
Robust design
A new design methodology is proposed in this paper that seeks to develop a design that is robust for
all states-of-the-world hopefully generating a more realistic solution. It uses the same concepts and
assumption developed in the exible design model. A robust design is achieved by solving one large
mixed integer programming model that generates one design from multiple possible options, but
uses a different schedule for each state-of-the-world given a xed extraction sequence. In essence,
this design is the one which handles a range of conditions best out of all possible designs.
Model formulation
The developed MIP model optimises the system design for a risk neutral investor for the simulated
states-of-the-world. Each design option can impact capital commitment, revenue generated
and operating expenses. The optimisation process seeks to determine the design with the highest
weighted net present value for the given nancial and technical conditions. Within each pushback
further grade bins are dened which provide further detail on the resource model. An outline of the
mathematical formulation is provided below.
Notation
Indices
b a grade bin of material within a pushback
c circuit within a processing plant
d product type
e dependent options
f ow path of material through the design network
g grade element of material within a resource
j bin of material within a stockpile, this bin will have a maximum and minimum grade of
material which can enter
k component of a product
l design options
m mining options within the set of design options
n simulated state-of-the-world
p pushback of material
r required rate of return on the project
t time period step (periods do not need to be equal)
y tolerance factor for the deviation of the mining of a bin within pushback
T maximum number of time periods evaluated
Parameters
Cl,t,n the capital cost of option l in time t for trial n
DT the lag time between these relationships (ie build option two, three periods after option one)
Dd,k,t,n the capacity of product d component k in time t for trial n
Dl,t,n the disposal cost of option l in time t for trial n
Ep,b,l,n the EFH required to move pushback p bin b to location l for trial n
FDl,t,n the xed cost saved from not operating option l from time t for trial n to the end of the project
life T
Fl,t,n the xed cost of operating option l from time t for trial n to the end of the project life T
GLg,d,k the lower grade limit of grade g product d component k
GLj the lower grade limit of bin j
GUg,d,k the upper grade limit of grade g product d component k
GUj the upper grade limit of bin j
Gp,b the grade of pushback p bin b
Gg,k,c,n the grade g to component k through circuit c for trial n
Gg,k,s,j the calculated average, maximum or minimum metal units of grade g for component k in
stockpile s in bin j
Hl,t,n the EFH limit on option l in time t for trial n
Kl,t,n the capacity of option l in time t for trial n
Kl,c,t,n the capacity of option l circuit c in time t for trial n

Ks,t,n the stockpile capacity of stockpile s in time t for trial n
Mp,b,l,t,n the mining cost from pushback p to bin b through mine option l in time t for trial n
Pd,k,t,n the sale price of product d component k in time t for trial n (in /metal unit)
Rk,c the recovery of material component k through circuit c
Rk,s,j the calculated average, maximum or minimum recovery for all material of component k in
stockpile s bin j
Rp,b the available resource of pushback p bin b
Rp the available resource of pushback p
Rp+1 the available resource of the successor pushback p + 1
Vl,t,n the variable cost of option l in time t for trial n
Variables
Gg,k,f,t,n the metal units of grade g produced from component k through ow path f in time t for
trial n
IDl,t 0, if Option l is not disposed in time t
) 3
otherwise number of times disposed.
Sd,k,t,n the sale quantity (tonnage or metal units) of product d component k in time t for trial n
XIs,j,t,n the ow in from stockpile s bin j in time t for trial n
Xl,c,t,n the tonnage processed through plant option l circuit c in time t for trial n
Xl,t,n the tonnage through option l in time t for trial n
XRk,f,t,n the recovered tonnage to component k through ow path f in time t for trial n
XRk,f,t,n the recovered tonnage to component k through ow path f in time t for trial n
XOs,j,t,n the ow out from stockpile s bin j in time t for trial n
Xp,b,f,l,t,n the tonnage from pushback p bin b through ow path f which contains mine option l in time
t for trial n
Xp,b,f,t,n the tonnage from pushback p bin b through ow path f in time t for trial n
Xp,b,t,n the tonnage mined from pushback p bin b in time t for trial n
Xp,t,n the tonnage mined from pushback p in time t for trial n
Xp+1,b,t,n the tonnage mined from the successor pushback p + 1 bin b in time t for trial n
Xs,j,f,t,n the tonnage of material sent from stockpile s bin j through ow path f in time t for trial n
Ye,t the dependent option e of Yl,t
Yl,t 1, if Option l is executed in time t

) 3
0, otherwise
Yp,t 1, if pushback p is fully mined in time t
) 3
0, otherwise
Formulation
Objective function
The objective function seeks to maximise the equally weighted before tax net present value (NPV) for
all simulated states-of-the-world
N
/ 1e/
T 1 = D,/K L
Pd, k, t, n Sd, k, t, n - / Vl, t, n Xl, t, n -
P, B, L
/ M p, b, l, t, nX p, b, f, t, n -
n 1 N t 1 ^1 + rh d 1, k
t
1 l 1 p 1, b 1, l 1 ; lef ; lem
L L L L
/ Cl, t, n Yl, t - / Fl, t Yl, t - / Dl, t, nIDl, t + / FDl, t, nIDl, t G o
l 1 l 1 l 1 t!1 l 1 t!1
The constraints in the model can be divided into ve categories production, mining, stockpiling,
processing and port constraints.
Production constraints
Resource constraint
This constraint makes sure the total amount of material extracted from a mining pit has an upper
bound based on the resource. This constraint is applied at a pushback and bin level in the model
T
/ X p, b, t, n - R p, b # c 6p, b, n
t 1
Sequencing constraint one

This constraint in conjunction with the next constraint forces the binary value to be one in the period
the pushback is fully mined. This then allows the model to mine any successor pushback
B, t
/ X p, b, tt, n $ R p * Yp, t 6p, t, n
b 1,tt 1
Sequencing constraint two

This constraint ensures that a pushbacks predecessor is mined before the successor is mined
t
X p + 1, b, t, n # R p + 1 * / Yp, tt, n 6p, t, n
tt 1
Set packing constraint

This constraint forces a pushback to only be mined once
T
/ Yp, t, n # 1 6p, n
t 1
Equal mining constraint

This constraint ensures the equal mining of a pushback in each period within a given tolerance value
( per cent)
1 X - 1 X # c% 6p, b, t, n
R p p, t, n R p, b p, b, t, n
1 X - 1 X $ - c% 6p, b, t, n
R p p, t, n R p, b p, b, t, n
Recovered tonnage constraint

This constraint calculates the recovered tonnage through a ow path.
P, B
XRk, f, t, n / Rk, c X p, b, f, t, n 6k, f, t, n ; c e f
p 1, b 1;sbf
Grade units constraint

This constraint calculates the grade units produced through a ow path.
P, B
Gg, k, f, t, n / Gg, k, c, nRk, c X p, b, f, t, n 6g, k, f, t, n ; c e f
p 1, b 1 sbf
Option constraints
Option capacity constraint
This constraint applies the upper capacity limit for each option.
t t-1
Xl, t, n - / Kl, t, nYl, tt + / Kl, t, nIDl, tt # 0 6l, t, n
tt 1 tt 1
Plant circuit capacity constraint

This constraint applies a limit on the circuit capacity for the plant option
t t-1
Xl, c, t, n - / Kl, c, t, nYl, tt + / Kl, c, t, nIDl, tt # 0 6l, t, n
tt 1 tt 1
Mining capacity constraint

This constraint calculates the amount of capacity used for each mining option on an effective at
haul kilometres (EFH) basis
P, B, F t t-1
/ E p, b, l, nX p, b, f, t, n - / Hl, t, nYl, tt + / Hl, t, nIDl, tt # 0 6l, t, n
p 1, b 1, f 1 ; lef tt 1 tt 1
Disposal constraint
This constraint ensures that an option can only be disposed if it has previously been built.
t-1
IDl, t - / Yl, tt # 0 6l, t ! 1
tt 1
t t-1
/ IDl, tt - / Yl, tt # 0 6l, t ! 1
tt 2 tt 1
Option dependency constraint

This constraint ensures the dependent relationship between options exists.
t - DT
Yl, t - / Ye, tt # 0 6l, t
tt 1 ; eel
Stockpiling constraints
Stockpile capacity constraint
This constraint ensures that the maximum stockpiling capacity is not exceeded in any time period.
t t
Ks, t, n $ / XIs, j, tt, n - / XOs, j, tt, n 6s, j, t, n
tt 1 tt 2
Stockpile flow out constraint

This constraint ensures that the amount of material owing out of a stockpile is less than or equal to
what has own in and own out in previous periods.
t t-1
XOs, j, t, n # / XIs, j, tt, n - / XOs, j, tt, n 6s, j, t, n
tt 1 tt 2
Stockpile recovery constraint

This constraint determines the recovered material from a stockpile processed through ow path f.
J
XRk, f, t, n / Rk, s, j X f, t, n 6k, f, n, t ! 1
j 1 ; sef ; jef
Stockpile grade constraint

This constraint determines the grade produced from stockpiled material through ow path f.
J
Gg, k, f, t, n / Gg, k, s, j Rk, s, j X f, t, n 6g, k, f, n, t ! 1
j 1 ; sef ; jef
Product constraints
Maximum product component capacity
This constraint sets an upper bound on the amount of product that can be produced to a particular
component.
Sd, k, t, n # Dd, k, t, n 6d, k, n, t
Product grade limit constraint

This constraint ensures the grade limits for products are satised.
F F
/ Gg, k, f, t, n - GUg, d, k / XRk, f, t, n # 0 6g, d, k, t, n
f 1 ; def f 1 ; def
F F
/ Gg, k, f, t, n - GLg, d, k / XRk, f, t, n $ 0 6g, d, k, t, n
f 1 ; def f 1 ; def
Flow balance constraints

These constraints ensure what is owing into a node equals what is coming out of a node. They have
been implemented at various stages of the model and are seen below.
Total pushback tonnage mined equals total mining from bins within that pushback.
B
X p, t, n / X p, b, t, n 6p, t, n
b 1
Total mining from a bin equals the total ow through all paths.
F
X p, b, t, n / X p, b, f, t, n 6p, b, t, n
f 1
Total ow through a path equals the total ow through all pushbacks and bins.
P, B
X f, t, n / X p, b, f, t, n 6f, t, n
p 1, b 1;sbf;jbf
Total tonnage through each circuit equals the sum for all ow paths through that plant and circuit.
F
Xl, c, t, n / X f, t, n 6l, c, t, n
f 1 ; lef ; cef
The tonnage processed through an option equals the sum of all ow paths which pass through.
F
Xl, t, n / X f, t, n 6l, t, n
f 1 ; lef
Total tonnage owing into a stockpile equals the sum from all ow paths which pass through.
P, B, F
XIs, j, t, n / X p, b, f, t, n 6s, j, t, n ; G p, b $ GL j and G p, b 1 GU j
p 1, b 1, f 1 ; sef ; jef
Total tonnage out of the stockpile equals the tonnage from each ow path out of the stockpile.
F
XOs, j, t, n / X f, t, n 6s, j, t, n
f 1 ; jef ; sef
Total product component sale quantity may equal the total recovered component tonnage from
ow paths.
F
Sd, k, t, n / XRk, f, t, n 6d, k, t, n
f 1 ; def
or the metal units recovered from ow paths

F
Sd, k, t, n / Gg,k, f, t, n 6d, k, t, n
f 1 ; def ; g 0
Non-negativity and integrality constraint

This constraint enforces non-negativity and integrality of the variables, as appropriate.
X p, b, f, t, n, X p, b, t, n, X f, t, n, XRk, f, t, n, XIs, j, t, n, XOs, j, t, n, Xl, c, t, n, Xl, t, n, El, t, n, Xl, c, t, n, Sd, k, t, n $ 0
6p, b, f, s, j, l, c, d, k, t
IDl, t Integer 6 l, t and Yl, t Yp, t binary 6 p, l, t
CASE STUDY
This case study examines the use of several different mining capacity and plant capacity options
for the deposit using both a exible design and robust design methodology side by side. Data from
a copper-gold deposit is used to implement the methodology. It is assumed that the deposit will be
mined by a single open cut operation.
The deposit was divided into four pushbacks generated by a single deterministic optimisation.
Whilst this may be considered to be removing the optimality from the model upfront, it was primarily
used as a starting point for pushback selection. Likewise, the purpose of this case study is to examine
the execution of mining and plant options more than generate an optimal schedule and/or sequence
of extraction. Each pushback denes a scheduling constraint in the model, ie pushback one must
be mined before pushback two. Table 1 provides a summary of the deposit used in this case study.
The case study uses a single resource model, however multiple stochastic models can be included in
the analysis. If desired each simulation would choose one resource model at random and adjust the
grade and tonnage of the pushback accordingly.
TABLE 1
Summary of pushbacks in the resource model.
Pushback Bins Type Tonnage (Mtpa) Copper (%) Gold (g/t)

1 37 Ore 36.9 1.3 0.7
1 1 Waste 40.9 - -
2 29 Ore 28.8 1.4 0.7
2 1 Waste 63.6 - -
3 9 Ore 7.3 1.4 0.8
3 1 Waste 21.7 - -
4 18 Ore 17.0 1.2 0.8
4 1 Waste 66.5 - -
Several options were included in this case study to undertake an analysis of the deposit. For this
run of the model four mining options, four processing options and two stockpiling options were
examined. A summary of the options included in the model is outlined in Table 2.
The case study uses a commodity price for gold and copper, capital cost, operating cost and plant
utilisation. No detailed analysis of the underlying nature of the stochastic variables has been carried
out, as detailed research in other papers cover this aspect (Dimitrakopoulos and Abdel Sabour, 2007
Godoy and Dimitrakopoulos, 2004 Topal, 2008 Shaee and Topal, 2010).
TABLE 2
Summary of options included in case study.
Option type Capacity (Mtpa) Capital ($M) Fixed cost ($/yr) Variable cost ($/t) Disposal cost ($M)
Mine A 10.0 38.5 2.60 1.22 3.5
Mine B 12.5 42.5 3.25 1.21 4.0
Mine C 15.0 45.0 3.90 1.12 4.5
Mine D 25.0 55.0 6.50 1.12 5.5
Processing A 7.5 57.5 13.0 1.75 11.0
Processing B 10.0 70.0 16.8 1.31 7.0
Processing C 12.5 85.0 20.0 1.05 8.5
Processing D 15.0 97.5 22.5 0.87 9.5
Stockpile Waste 360.0 - - 0.20 -
Stockpile Low Grade 20.0 - 1.00 0.60 -
The following distributions are used

x gold price lognormal distribution with a mean of 1000/oz, standard deviation of 350/oz and a
correlation of 0.20 between periods
x copper price lognormal distribution with a mean of 4500/t, standard deviation of 2500/t and
a correlation of 0.25 between periods
x capital cost multiple lognormal distribution with a mean of 3.0 per cent, standard deviation of
7.0 per cent and a correlation of 0.10 between periods
x operating cost multiple triangular distribution with a lower limit of -40.0 per cent, midpoint of
5.0 per cent, upper limit of 35.0 per cent and a correlation of 0.05 between periods and
x plant utilisation triangular distribution with a lower limit of 30 per cent, midpoint of 80 per cent
and upper limit of 95 per cent.
For the case study both the robust design methodology and the exible design methodology were
run for comparison. A sample set of 50 simulations or states-of-the-world were used for the case
study. A summary of the ranges of values for each variable is shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Summary of states-of-the-world variable ranges.
Variable Mean Median Maximum Minimum

Copper ($/t) 4514.47 3867.65 14 265.88 767.88
Gold ($/oz) 1011.48 956.68 3131.68 308.58
Capital (%) 2.8% 2.7% 25.9% -13.8%
Operating (%) -2.0% 1.5% 32.9% -39.2%
Utilisation 68.7% 70.7% 94.2% 30.7%
Traditional plan
A traditional plan for operating a mine was generated from current manual approaches with limited
optimisation. For this case study the design used was to build plant B, plant D, mine B and mine
D in period one and to build mine B in period two. Using the mean values as the uncertainties
inputs this design had an NPV of 1697 M. For comparison purposes this plan was processed under
each state-of-the-world to determine the payoff prole for this xed design. The average NPV was
1678 M, with a minimum of 720 M and a maximum of 3603 M.
Robust plan
The robust model produced an average NPV of 1787 M, with a minimum of 721 M and maximum of
3885 M. It generated a robust design which entailed building mine option C and D (40 Mta), plant
options A, B, C and D in period one. Also, it can be determined from the schedule that mining of pushback
1 nished in period two, followed by pushback 2 in period three and pushback 3 in period four. This
suggests that either the mining options in the model had capacities that were too large or that the model
prefers to extract ore at a high rate. Further scenarios could be generated by the decision maker to test each
hypothesis.
It should be noted that processing of the model with over 50 states-of-the-world is slow. This is
because the number of linear variables present in the model increases linearly with the number of
simulations. For the model with 50 states-of-the-world there was 1.3 million variables. Gurobi
solves this model in two hours on a Quad core 2.66 Ghz Ubuntu Server.
Flexible plan
The exible model produced an average NPV of 2010 M, minimum of 818 M and maximum of
3969 M for the 50 states-of-the-world. In this model the design changes with each simulation
so many mine and plant option combinations are selected. In order to analyse the options used in
the model the frequency of execution graphs are generated to show how often a particular option
is used (number of simulations option is used divided by number of simulations). The frequency of
execution for the exible model is shown in Figure 2. The available number of times an option could
be executed was 500, which is 50 simulations multiplied by ten periods. Further to this graph, Table 4
FIG 2 - Frequency of execution for flexible design model.
TABLE 4
Summary of frequency of execution for each period in flexible design model.
Option All Periods 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Mine A 15% 26% 52% 22% 18% 18% 6% 12% 0% 0% 0%
Mine B 16% 26% 14% 34% 20% 18% 14% 18% 12% 4% 0%
Mine C 23% 50% 32% 30% 22% 28% 28% 18% 10% 8% 0%
Mine D 24% 80% 48% 28% 26% 28% 16% 8% 2% 0% 0%
Processing A 3% 8% 8% 4% 2% 2% 2% 2% 0% 0% 0%
Processing B 8% 22% 22% 12% 2% 10% 6% 6% 2% 0% 0%
Processing C 11% 44% 20% 14% 10% 10% 6% 8% 0% 0% 0%
Processing D 20% 76% 42% 20% 20% 20% 8% 8% 2% 2% 0%
shows the frequency of execution per period. It is important to note that the robust design is not the
same as the exible design for each state-of-the-world.
Operational plan
An operational model was developed as a hybrid between the robust and exible model. The design
was xed for the rst two periods by choosing the design for these periods from the robust model.
For period three onwards exibility was available so the model could turn on and off design options.
The model formulation for this was the same as the exible model with the only difference being
that the binary values for the design options where xed in period one and two. A similar approach
as the exible model was used to generate a solution for each state-of-the-world. The average NPV
for this model was 1867 M, with a minimum of 721 M and maximum of 3885 M. It is proposed
that a further renement of the initial two year design can be achieved by analysing the results in
further detail. One approach for this is to compare the frequency of execution for the operational
plan detailed in Table 5 with the frequency of execution for the exible model in Table 4.
Comparison
In comparing the models it can be seen that the exible model produces a higher expected value than
any other model. This is as expected since the exible model produces an optimal design for each
TABLE 5
Summary of frequency of execution for each period in operational design model.
Option All Periods 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Mine A 1% 0% 0% 12% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Mine B 1% 0% 0% 8% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Mine C 12% 100% 0% 10% 0% 8% 2% 4% 0% 0% 0%
Mine D 25% 100% 100% 22% 12% 8% 6% 6% 0% 0% 0%
Processing A 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2%
Processing B 2% 0% 0% 8% 4% 4% 0% 4% 2% 0% 2%
Processing C 13% 100% 0% 8% 2% 4% 4% 4% 2% 4% 0%
Processing D 24% 100% 100% 12% 2% 8% 6% 6% 0% 2% 2%
state-of-the-world. Such a exible design may be impractical in reality so xing the rst couple of
design periods is proposed as an alternative.
The operational plan outlined xed the rst two years of the design and left the remainder exible which
on average increased the expected value by 11 per cent. A value of risk graph is produced to highlight
this, as shown in Figure 3, which allows for easy comparison of the expected values from different design
approaches. It can be seen that the exible design curve shows the highest expected value.
FIG 3 - Value at risk graph comparing design models.
The operational plan design has a lower expected value then the fully exible design due to the
reduced exibility. The robust design curve shows a value lower than the operating plan curve as
no exibility is incorporated in the design, thus prohibiting the design from reacting to change. A
traditional design produces the lowest expected value overall since it has no exibility and is not
optimised for a range of conditions.
The differences between the expected values of each design approach can be attributed to two key
aspects. First of all, actively managing the operation and allowing a exible design (one that changes
over time) will contribute signicant additional value. The second component that contributes to
additional value is being able to develop a robust xed design which can handle a range of conditions.
When comparing the expected value of the operational plan with the traditional model NPV an
increase of 170 M was achieved.
Further analysis of the results using such techniques as data mining may be able to provide decision
rules to help guide the decision maker. Renement of the initial design chosen for the operational
plan may lead to the discovery of plans with a higher expected value.
CONCLUSIONS
The paper has demonstrated the concept of a robust design methodology further extending the eld
of real options in design. It has been demonstrated that a xed design (as is the case with the
robust design) produces a lower project value than a exible design. However, knowing the robust
design will help to further guide the decision-making process. Finally, it has been shown with clarity
the impact of adopting a build and leave approach to operations. Flexible operations produce the
greatest project value, thus actively managing an operation is imperative.
Further research continues in the following areas
x incorporating conditionally simulated models to handle grade uncertainty,
x use of data mining techniques to further understand the best exible design practice,
x application of the model to a real dataset to prove up the power of this new technique, and
x application of this technique to an underground mine as the rst step in building a model that can
handle the full array of design options regardless of mining method.
REFERENCES
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Effects of Variation and Uncertainty (John Wiley Sons Oxford).
Cardin, M A, de Neufville, R and Kazakidis, V, 2008. A process to improve expected value of mining operations,
Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy, Mining Technology, 117(2) A65-A70.
Chambers, M, 2008. Rio to study Weipa expansion to cash in on aluminium boom, The Australian, 13 June.
de Neufville, R, 2006. Analysis methodology for the design of complex systems in uncertain environment
Application to mining industry (unpublished) Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
de Neufville, R, Scholtes, S and Wang, T, 2005. Real options by spreadsheet Parking garage case example,
Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 12(2) 107-111.
Dimitrakopoulos, R G and Abdel Sabour, S A 2007. Evaluating mine plans under uncertainty Can the real
options make a difference Resources Policy, 32(3) 116-125.
Godoy, M and Dimitrakopoulos, R 2004. Managing risk and waste mining in long-term production scheduling,
SME Transactions, 316 43-50.
Groeneveld, B and Topal, E 2010. Flexible open-pit mine design under uncertainty, Journal of Mining
Science (in press).
Groeneveld, B, Topal, E and Leenders, B 2009. A new methodology for exible mine design, in Proceedings
Orebody Modelling and Strategic Mine Planning (ed R Dimitrakopoulos), pp 109-118 (The Australasian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Melbourne).
Le May, R, 2009. Mincor to keep Miitel mine in WA closed, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 August 2009.
Monita, G, 2009. BHP Billiton to close Ravensthorpe nickel mine, Metal Markets, 22 January.
Shafiee, S and Topal, E, 2010. An overview of global gold market and gold price forecasting, Resource Policy
Journal, 35(3) 178-189
Topal, E, 2008. Evaluation of a mining project using discounted cash ow analysis, decision tree analysis,
Monte Carlo simulation and real option using an example, International Journal of Mining and Mineral
Engineering, 1 62-76.
Trounson, A, 2007. Rio ponders 50pc Pilbara expansion, The Australian, 12 June.
Trounson, A, 2008. BHP plans 2.3bn Worsley expansion, The Australian, 2 May.
Wang, T and de Neufville, R, 2005. Real options in projects, paper presented to Ninth Real Options Annual
International Conference, Paris.
Wang, T and de Neufville, R, 2006. Identication of real options in projects, paper presented to 16th Annual
International Symposium of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), Orlando.
The Role of Cost Estimating in Mine Planning and
Equipment Selection
J B Leinart1 and O L Schumacher2
ABSTRACT
The objective of a mine planning exercise is to plan a safe mine that maximises net present value
(NPV) for the project. Two primary elements are key to design of a mine plan optimised to maximise
prot selection of an optimised production rate and selection of an optimised equipment eet. Both
depend upon accurate estimations of capital and operating costs for the equipment and for the life
cycle of the mining operation. Once a trial production rate is determined, a primary equipment eet,
ie excavators, haulers, and blasthole drills, can be determined based on material characteristics and
haulage distances and gradients. An auxiliary eet, dozers, road maintainers, service trucks, etc can
be determined using less rigid productivity criteria. With an equipment eet determined, operating
and support personnel can be assigned based on shift requirements and equipment operating
needs and material and supply requirements can be estimated. Knowing the areal dimensions of
the major equipment items, road widths and repair shop dimensions can be determined. Personnel
numbers and supply requirements determine the square metre sizes of ofces, change rooms, and
storage facilities. Reliable sources of capital and operating unit prices and costs for all these items
are referenced in the paper. Once preliminary capital and operating cost estimates are calculated
by applying unit costs to equipment, personnel, material and supply needs, potential prot can be
tested using DCF techniques. An optimised mine plan can then be determined by testing the potential
protability of multiple mine production rates. Because of the economies of scale, full capital and
operating cost estimates must be completed for each production rate in order to produce meaningful
comparisons.
INTRODUCTION
Absent any external restraints such as market limitations or permit restrictions, the objective of a
mine planning exercise is to plan a safe mine that maximises net present value (NPV) for the project.
Critical to this process are the selection of a production rate and an equipment eet, each optimised
to maximise NPV as determined through standard discounted cash ow (DCF) analysis techniques.
In the simplest of terms, all of the geological and mining parameters that we consider in an NPV
exercise contribute either to revenues, the plus arrows on our project timeline, or to costs, the
negative arrows on our project timeline (Figure 1).
Fundamental to the process of DCF analysis for the purpose of selecting a production rate and an
equipment eet is the completion of multiple DCF analyses that assume multiple production rates
and various equipment eets. However, it is dangerous to think of this process simply in terms of a
statistical sensitivity analysis. With appropriate software, it is a simple matter to assign a variable
for analysis and then ask the software to show how the NPV responds to changes in the value of the
variable. For some variables, production rate and equipment costs in particular, this can produce
very misleading results. The reason being, that changes in production rates or equipment eets
produce changes in the size and distribution of many of the plus arrows and the minus arrows on
our project timeline. A basic statistical sensitivity analysis would not account for these changes. The
changes can only be predicted by completing a new or revised capital and operating cost estimate
for each of the production rates or equipment eets analysed. Furthermore these cost estimates
must consider all of the parameters that vary with each model. For instance, a change in the size
1. President, InfoMine USA Inc, CostMine Division, 1120 N Mullan Road, Suite 100, Spokane Valley, Washington 99206, USA. Email: jleinart@infomine.com
2. Director, InfoMine USA Inc, CostMine Division, 1120 N Mullan Road, Suite 100, Spokane Valley, Washington 99206, USA. Email: oschumacher@infomine.com
J B LEINART AND O L SCHUMACHER
Revenue Items
Reserves
Grades
Production
Recoveries
Commodity Prices
Etc.
+$
Years 1 2 Project Timeline
-$
Operating Cost Items

Haul Distances
Capital Cost Items Personnel
Overburden Removal Wages/Salaries
Haul Road Construction Supplies
Equipment Purchase Equipment Operation
Facilities Construction Etc
FIG 1 - Project timeline depicting revenue and cost data items.
and number of equipment units brings about changes not only in equipment costs, but in personnel
requirements and costs, haul road size and maintenance requirements, repair shop requirements,
etc. A change in production rate brings about changes in virtually all revenue and cost items. Hence,
an exercise to optimise production rate or equipment eet selection must rst emphasise completion
of cost estimates for each model considered.
Early in the feasibility process, maximum attention is focused on the revenue items, especially
ore reserve amount and grade, usually with little attention paid to the cost items. In the fortuitous
circumstance that exploration activities give way to mine planning efforts, attention shifts to the cost
items. A prefeasibility level mine planning and cost estimating effort should be initiated as early as
possible, as soon as a reasonable estimate of reserves can be made and a preliminary conceptual mine
plan can be developed. This early cost estimate serves as an exploration tool in itself, in that once we
move from focusing mainly on geologic concepts such as alteration zones and ore grades, and begin
thinking of our orebody as an actual chunk of the earths crust that we are going to excavate and
move, we begin to ask questions that help guide further exploration activities and perhaps jump start
the mine planning, equipment selection, and mine permitting processes. Questions start us thinking
about our project in a new way What is the conguration of the orebody boundary , Where are the
high grade zones and the waste zones Where will the waste dump and mill be located .
A number of systems have been developed in attempts to shortcut the cost estimating process, such
as OHaras uick Guides to the E aluation of Orebodies ( OHara, 1980, 1981 OHara and Suboleski,
1992) Mular s Mining and Mineral Processing E uipment Costs and Preliminary Capital Cost
Estimations ( Mular, 1982), which was updated in a publication called CAPCOSTS A Handbook for
Estimating Mining and Mineral Processing E uipment Costs and Capital Expenditures and Aiding
Mineral Project E aluations (Mular and Powlin, 1998) and the CES system developed by the US
Bureau of Mines (Camm, 1991, 1994). These are all parametric systems that relate the cost of a unit
or process to some parameter of the unit or process, for instance the cost of a truck may be related to
the capacity of a truck or the cost of sinking a shaft may be related to the cross-sectional area of the
shaft. The relationship may be expressed in a graph or a formula such as the following
C f(P)
THE ROLE OF COST ESTIMATING IN MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION
where
C the cost of the unit or process
P some parameter of the unit or process
Unfortunately all of these systems are now out of date and are not being supported, and none of
them are suitable for use in selecting and optimising an equipment eet because they do not allow
the estimator to analyse mine operating parameters in sufcient detail to aid in equipment selection.
In the opinion of these authors, the only method suitable for purposes of equipment selection and
optimisation is a traditional itemised method, which requires the estimator to use basic engineering
principles to determine the size and number of equipment units required and the hours per day,
month or year that each will operate. This procedure is described in the paragraphs that follow.
The rst step necessary to initiate a cost estimate is to develop a conceptual mine plan that will
provide the following basic information
x proposed production rates for ore and waste
x basic geometry of the ore deposit the estimate does not require a detailed pit plan, but a waste to
ore ratio must be determined or assumed, and an approximate centre of mass for ore and waste
should be determined as starting points for material haulage
x mill, leach pad, or stockpile location the mill, leach pad, or stockpile location is necessary in order
to identify the destination point for ore haulage
x waste dump location the waste dump location is necessary to identify the destination point for
waste haulage and
x haul routes for ore and waste proposed haul routes to the mill or stockpile site and to the waste
dump should be plotted on a plan map in sufcient detail to estimate road gradients and lengths
(Figure 2).
The plan can be prepared to any level of detail desired or possible, but the cost estimate cannot
proceed until these essential items have been determined or at least assumed.
FIG 2 - Basic information to be derived from conceptual mine plan (photo of Pipeline Mine in Nevada, USA, courtesy of Dave Schumacher).
Proposed daily production rate

Proposed daily production rate, the rst item to be determined, is commonly used to express the
size of a mine, eg a 10 000 ton per day mine, or a 50 000 ton per day mine. Indeed, the production
rate immediately tells us something about the relative size of the equipment eet, the size of the
required working area, the size of the workforce, as well as the size of the mill. It follows that the
selection of the daily production rate is an important decision that must be made before we can begin
to estimate costs, no matter what method we choose to use for our estimate.
For metals and other commodities for which there is a large market that is insensitive to the
amount of production from the proposed mine, the question becomes one of practicality and internal
economic analysis. In the absence of external constraints, the proposed production rate should be
an optimised rate based on maximisation of NPV, constrained only by practical considerations
such as safety, environmental considerations, working area availability, etc but to nd the optimum
rate requires the completion of multiple economic analyses based on multiple cost estimates for a
range of possible production rates, followed by economic (DCF) analyses for each. Time constraints
placed upon the planner usually preclude such complete analyses at the prefeasibility level, although
software packages produced by Adventurine Engineering (Stebbins, 2010a, 2010b, 2010c) and cost
data available through InfoMine USA Inc (2009a, 2009b, 2010a, 2010b) make it possible to perform
multiple analyses quickly and efciently. In the absence of such tools, the planner typically is left to
his own experiences and knowledge of existing mines to select a reasonable production rate upon
which to base the initial cost estimate.
Equipment selection
Once the conceptual mine plan and proposed production rate are established for an open pit mine,
the underpinning of a successful mine and the basis for the entire cost estimating process to follow
is selection of an optimised excavator and hauler eet. This eet will be the major cost centre during
the operation of the mine, and as we shall see, the design of most of our mine facilities, the selection
of our auxiliary equipment eet, our personnel requirements, and most of our costs are inuenced at
least to some degree by the number, size and type of equipment in this eet.
Excavator selection
The initial step in the eet selection process is to select an appropriate size and type of excavator
or excavators. The choice of cable shovel, hydraulic shovel, wheel loader, dragline, or bucketwheel
excavator depends on the size of the operation, required breakout strength, regularity of the ore/
waste boundary and other mining parameters. Once the type of excavator is selected, cycle time
calculations must be completed to determine the expected productivity of the excavator under the
expected mining conditions. Equipment specications provided by the manufacturer are important
to this process. Rock density, swell factor, bucket ll factor and operating conditions all impact
excavator productivity. One or more excavators must be selected that are capable of maintaining the
desired productivity at the assumed mine production rate.
Hauling equipment selection
Once an initial size and type of excavator is assumed, a matching hauler eet must be selected. The
hauler eet selection process is described in detail here to illustrate the basic principles involved in
the selection process for most types of mining equipment.
The most common choices for hauling equipment include
x conveyors,
x scrapers,
x rigid frame rear dump trucks,
x articulated rear dump trucks, and
x bottom dump trucks.
For purposes of this example, truck haulage will be assumed. Once the type of hauler is decided
upon, the number and size of hauler units must be determined. For truck haulers, this is accomplished
through a productivity analysis similar to that done for the excavator. Material characteristics
important to this analysis are in situ rock density, swell factor, truck ll factor, and haul road prole.
The productivity analysis for truck haulers is accomplished in the following steps
1. Select a reasonably sized truck as a starting point for the analysis. If this size turns out to be an
inappropriate selection, the process must be repeated using other truck sizes until a satisfactory
size is found.
2. Determine the truck cycle time.
The time required for a truck to complete one cycle consists of the time required to
x manoeuvre the truck into position for loading,
x load the truck,
x travel from the loading point to the dumping point,

x turn and dump the load, and
x travel from the dumping point to the loading point.
Manoeu ring time truck manoeuvring times in the loading area typically run 0.6 to 0.8 minutes.
This assumes that adequate space is available for unrestricted manoeuvring, and the truck does
not have to be backed into position a signicant distance, such as down an initial drop cut ramp.
Similarly for manoeuvring at the dump point, manoeuvre and dump times of 1.0 to 1.2 minutes are
typical.
Loading time loading time depends on the excavator, and is determined by the previously
completed excavator cycle time calculation.
Tra el time truck travel time is determined by estimating the time it will take the truck to travel
through each of the road gradient segments. The times for each segment are accumulated to determine
the total time, rst for the loaded truck travelling from the loading point to the dump point, and then
again for the empty truck travelling in the return direction.
Segment by segment travel times are estimated using speed and retarder curves supplied by the
manufacturer of the selected truck. These ponderous looking charts depict the design speed of the
vehicle when travelling against the total of the gradient resistance plus or minus the rolling resistance.
Speed curves are used for uphill travel. Retarder curves are used for downhill travel.
Rolling resistance is a measure of the force that must be overcome to roll a wheel over the ground.
It is usually expressed as a percent gradient, in recognition of the fact that certain road and tire
conditions impact speed in the same way that an uphill road gradient does. Hence, it is added to the
road gradient when estimating uphill travel speed, and it is subtracted from the road gradient when
estimating downhill travel speed. For preliminary estimating purposes, a rolling resistance of about
three per cent can be used, assuming the roadway will be fairly well maintained (Figure 3).
FIG 3 - A typical truck speed curve (courtesy of Caterpillar Company for a 777F truck).
Figure 3 (Caterpillar Inc, 2010) illustrates a typical speed curve used to determine the speed at
which a hauler will travel on an uphill road segment. To use the curve, read down from the gross
vehicle weight (either empty or full as appropriate) to the appropriate line for total effective resistance
(grade plus rolling). From this point read horizontally, either right or left to the curve with the highest
obtainable speed. The number on this line represents the gear in which the truck will be working.
From this point, read down to the estimated speed.
For high altitude situations, the estimated speed should be adjusted by an altitude deration factor
suggested by the truck manufacturer. Caterpillar lists deration factors for its equipment on its
website and in the Caterpillar Performance Handbook. A retarder curve designed for each truck
model provides a means of estimating the trucks speed on downhill segments.
The speed for each segment is then converted to travel time by the formula
T 60 D/S
where
T travel time in minutes
D distance in feet or metres
S speed in feet or metres per hour
When the travel times for all the road segments have been determined, they should be added
together to determine the total travel time loaded, and the total return travel time empty.
So now we have the total cycle time required for a truck to position itself to load, travel to the dump
point, dump, return, and position itself for loading again. Four questions remain to be answered to
complete the truck analysis
1. How much material can one truck haul in each cycle
2. How much material can one truck haul in one hour
3. How many trucks are required to achieve the desired amount of production per shift
4. How many hours must the haul trucks operate each shift to achieve the desired level of production
To determine how much material one truck can haul in each cycle, the manufacturers model
specications are referenced to determine the target payload in tons for which the truck is designed.
The volume of the target payload is then calculated, after the bank density of the material is converted
to its loose density, to assure that it does not exceed the volume of the truck bed. If it does, the payload
per haul is limited by the volume of material the truck can hold. If not, the design payload weight for
the truck is usually used as its capacity for purposes of preliminary analysis. Manufacturers commonly
list a struck capacity and a heaped capacity for their trucks. The struck capacity is the volume of the
truck bed to the top of the sides. The heaped capacity is the struck capacity plus an amount equal to
a pile over the top of the sides with 2 1, 3 1, or 4 1 slopes. The struck capacity adjusted by a ll factor
is commonly used for preliminary estimates. A ll factor can be applied to provide a means for the
estimator to account for the fact that the excavator does not provide a perfectly full load with each cycle.
The amount of material one truck can haul in one hour is the number of cycles that can be completed
in one hour, multiplied by the anticipated amount per load, adjusted by an efciency factor. The
efciency factor is applied in recognition of the fact that the truck is not always operated with 100
per cent efciency, ie the driver may stop occasionally for a restroom break, a conversation with his
supervisor, a trafc delay, etc. Commonly an 83 per cent efciency factor is applied for preliminary
estimates of routine production work. This is sometimes called the 50 minute hour.
An availability factor can also be applied, on the assumption that each truck may be out of service
from time to time for mechanical reasons.
Once the adjusted hourly production per truck is determined, the number of trucks required to
achieve the desired production level per shift and the total number of hours the trucks will operate
per shift are determined. The numbers should be reviewed to assure that the planned eet is practical,
manageable, and appropriate for the situation. To be avoided is a very large number of small trucks
or a very small number of large trucks.
Whether or not to include spare trucks in the equipment eet is a judgment call based on a number
of factors, such as the need to assure uninterrupted haulage, the breakdown history of the eet, capital
availability, etc. Adding spares to the eet will of course add to capital costs, but will have no effect on
estimated operating costs because the estimate assumes that no operating costs are involved when a
truck is idle.
Three critical pieces of information are carried forward from this haulage analysis
1. the size of the trucks required,
2. the number of trucks required, and
3. the hours per shift these trucks will operate.
These three items are the basis for determining the capital cost for haulage equipment, the number
of hauler operators required, and the cost per day for haulage equipment operation, as well as for a
number of other seemingly extraneous factors such as those listed in the next paragraph.
Optimisation of primary equipment fleet

Upon completion of the excavator and hauler productivity analyses, it may become obvious that
more than one combination of hauler and excavator sizes are capable of accomplishing the proposed
production at the desired daily rate, eg a large number of small units or fewer larger units. For the
initial estimate, the planner may simply choose the most reasonable combination based on experience
and judgment. Ultimately, the excavator and hauler eets should be optimised to maximise NPV. To
do so requires consideration of both capital and operating costs analysed using DCF techniques. The
DCF analyses must be based on multiple complete cost estimates that give appropriate consideration
to the complex relationships among various mining parameters that depend upon the size and
number of equipment units, for instance
x the widths of the haul roads depend upon the size of the haul trucks
x the sizes and operating hours of the road maintainers and watering trucks depend upon the width
and length of the haul roads
x the size of the mechanical shop depends upon the size and number of the equipment units to be
serviced
x the number of operating personnel and mechanics depend upon the number of units in the eet
x the number of supervisory personnel depends upon the number of operating personnel and
x the square metre sizes of ofces, change rooms and storage facilities are determined by the
personnel numbers and supply requirements.
Drill selection
After devoting considerable attention to the selection of excavators and haulers, the next most
important type of equipment to select for cost estimating purposes is blasthole drilling equipment.
The selection process can be completed in a number of ways depending upon how much is known
about blasthole pattern design, bench height, rock hardness, etc but basically, the size and number
of drills must be selected that are capable of drilling hole volume sufcient to contain enough
explosives to blast the amount of material needed to meet daily production requirements. This
procedure is explained more fully in Schumacher (2010). Specication information provided by drill
manufacturers can be helpful as well.
As with the truck analysis, three critical pieces of information are carried forward from this analysis,
the number of drills required, the size of the drills, and the hours per day the drills must operate.
Additional items that will come out of this analysis are the daily consumption rates for drill bits and
steel, primers, caps and explosives.
Selection of auxiliary equipment
Considerably less effort is commonly applied to the selection of an auxiliary equipment eet for
preliminary cost estimating purposes. Various assumptions or rules of thumb can be applied to
the selection process, eg the number and size of road maintainers should be selected capable of
maintaining the total haul road lengths a certain number of times per day or week, similarly for
watering tankers bulk explosive trucks should be selected capable of loading the required amount
of explosives per day, etc. Cost models in Mining Cost Service (InfoMine USA Inc, 2010a, 2010b)
provide convenient reference lists for auxiliary equipment requirements at mines of various sizes.
Table one lists items typically included in an auxiliary equipment eet (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Typical list of items that may be included in the auxiliary equipment fleet.
Road maintainers Pumps

Bulk powder trucks Water tank truck
Dozers Portable lighting plants
Service trucks Pickup trucks
Buildings and structures

Buildings and structures pose a special problem, in that until detailed design work has been completed,
one should not attempt to do a standard itemised cost estimate based on design take-off amounts.
Instead, building sizes should be assumed, and references such as RSMeans Building Construction
Cost Data Book (RSMeans, 2009) should be consulted for costs per square foot or square metre.
Convenient rules of thumb for building sizes are discussed in Schumacher (2010).
Haul roads
Considerable attention is paid to the design, construction and maintenance of haul roads at most large
mining operations, because of the abusive, heavy trafc to which they are subjected, and because a
poorly constructed or maintained road can have considerable negative impact on productivity and
on equipment and tire wear. In the US, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) guidelines
recommend a road width sufcient to provide clearance of half the vehicle width on each side of the
vehicle, ie for two-way trafc, the road width should be 3.5 times the vehicle width (two truck widths
for the trafc lanes plus half truck width twice for outside clearance, and truck width for centre
clearance between trucks
Haul road construction involves a series of tasks such as surveying, cutting and lling, compacting,
watering for dust control, etc. Costs per kilometre for all these tasks can be estimated using equipment-
based productivity techniques similar to those described for the truck analysis but usually this
approach is far too time consuming for most feasibility studies, particularly at the prefeasibility level.
A more common approach is to utilise reliable precalculated costs per metre or kilometre of road
from published references.
Unit costs
In the preceding paragraphs we discussed methods for determining the amounts of materials,
number of personnel, equipment requirements and daily hours of usage, and certain development
needs. Once these items have been estimated, it is time to apply unit pricing to each item in order
to calculate total cost. The mathematics of all this is very simple, basically involving little more than
multiplying the daily usage of an item by the unit price for the item, and accumulating the results
on a spreadsheet. The difcult part is obtaining reliable unit prices and costs to use for the estimate.
Possible sources for unit costs are many and varied, some reliable, some not so reliable. Listed below
are available sources for unit cost information.
Equipment capital and operating unit costs:

x Mine and Mill Equipment Cost Guide (InfoMine USA Inc, updated annually)
x Mining Cost Service (InfoMine USA Inc, updated annually)
x Equipment Cost Calculator (InfoMine USA Inc, updated annually)
x manufacturers/distributors and
x company catalogues.
Unit costs for supply items:
x manufacturers/distributors and
x power company rate schedules.
Wages, salaries and benefits for employees:
x wage and salary reports (InfoMine USA Inc, updated annually) and
x local surveys available from government agencies and consultants.
Buildings and structures:
x Mining Cost Service (InfoMine USA Inc, updated annually) and
x building construction cost data (RSMeans, updated annually).
Haul road construction:
x Mining Cost Service (InfoMine USA Inc, updated annually).
Cost summary spreadsheets
The nal step in the cost estimating procedure is to complete the simple math equations to convert
the numbers of units and the prices per unit to costs per day (or month or year) and cost per tonne.
This is best done on a spreadsheet that provides a means to complete the mathematics efciently
and to summarise the costs in a concise manner. Table two is an example spreadsheet summarising
operating costs for a proposed mine, and table three is an example spreadsheet showing capital costs
for a proposed mine (Table 2 and Table 3).
TABLE 2
Mine operating cost summary: example mine 20 000 tonnes per day ore, 40 000 tonnes per day waste (2:1 stripping ratio waste:ore).
Date of costs: May 2009.
Labour
Overtime Total
Regular Overtime Total Payroll Cost per
Hourly hourly daily
Number of hours/day hours/day wages per loading tonne
Hourly personnel wage wage @ payroll
personnel (hrs/day) (hrs/day) day (US$/ 30% ore
($/hr) 150% cost
each each day) (US$/day) (US$/tonne)
($/hr) (US$/day)
Wheel loader operator 2 23.51 35.27 8 2 517.22 155.17 672.39 0.03
Front shovel operator 2 23.51 35.27 8 2 517.22 155.17 672.39 0.03
Haul truck drivers 30 22.22 33.33 8 2 7332.60 2199.78 9532.38 0.48
Drillers 6 21.04 31.56 8 2 1388.64 416.59 1805.23 0.09
Dozer operators 8 23.51 35.27 8 2 2068.88 620.66 2689.54 0.13
Road maintainer
1 23.51 35.27 8 2 258.61 77.58 336.19 0.02
operator
Water truck driver 1 22.22 33.33 8 2 244.42 73.33 317.75 0.02
Mechanics (N/A) - - - - - - - -
Blasters 4 21.04 31.56 8 2 925.76 277.73 1203.49 0.06
Labourers/
26 18.00 27.00 8 2 5148.00 1544.40 6692.40 0.33
Maintenance/helpers
Subtotal hourly
80 18 401.35 5520.41 23 921.76 1.20
personnel
Total salaries Payroll loading Total daily Cost per tonne

Number of Annual salary Annual hours
Salaried personnel per day 30% payroll cost ore
personnel (US$/yr) (hrs/yr)
(US$/day) (US$/day) (US$/day) (US$/day)
Manager 0.5 124 000 2080 238.46 71.54 310.00 0.02
Superintendent 1 76 400 2080 293.85 88.15 382.00 0.02
Foreman 2 68 600 2080 527.69 158.31 686.00 0.03
Chief engineer 1 87 200 2080 335.38 100.62 436.00 0.02
Engineer 3 64 600 2080 745.38 223.62 969.00 0.05
Chief geologist 1 86 800 2080 333.85 100.15 434.00 0.02
Geologist 1 61 100 2080 235.00 70.50 305.50 0.02
Shift supervisor 4 62 000 2080 953.85 286.15 1240.00 0.06
Technician 9 50 000 2080 1730.77 519.23 2250.00 0.11
Accountant 2 64 700 2080 497.69 149.31 647.00 0.03
Clerk 4 37 800 2080 581.54 174.46 756.00 0.04
HR personnel
1 86 200 2080 331.54 99.46 431.00 0.02
manager
HR personnel staff 2 45 000 2080 346.15 103.85 450.00 0.02
Security/safety
1 68 000 2080 261.54 78.46 340.00 0.02
manager
Security/safety staff 2 50 000 2080 384.62 115.38 500.00 0.03
Subtotal salaried
34.5 - - 5724.23 1717.27 7441.50 0.37
personnel
TABLE 2 CONT...
Mine operating cost summary: example mine 20 000 tonnes per day ore, 40 000 tonnes per day waste (2:1 stripping ratio waste:ore).
Date of costs: May 2009
Equipment operation
Cost/unit/operating
Operating hours/ Cost/dayall units Cost/tonne ore-all
No of Units hour
day/unit (hr/day) (US$/day) units (US$/tonne)
(US$/hr)
Wheel loader 1 191.53 16.5 3160.25 0.16
Front shovel 1 444.63 17.3 7692.10 0.38
Haul trucks 15 139.45 17.5 36 605.63 1.83
Rotary blasthole drills 3 116.36 17.2 6004.18 0.30
Road maintainer 1 54.15 10.0 541.50 0.03
Dozers 4 87.73 11.0 3860.12 0.19
Bulk explosives truck 1 31.20 20.0 624.00 0.03
Lighting plants 4 2.81 9.0 101.16 0.01
Fuel/Lube truck 2 13.78 20.0 551.20 0.03
Mechanics truck 2 14.33 8.0 229.28 0.01
Tire service truck 1 18.60 8.0 148.80 0.01
Centrifugal pump 1 11.34 24.0 272.16 0.01
Water truck 1 147.90 12.0 1774.80 0.09
Pickup trucks 13 7.33 4.0 381.16 0.02
Total equipment operating cost 61 946.33 3.10
Supplies Number of Cost/day Cost/tonne ore

Units Cost/unit (US$)
units/day (ea) (US$/day) (US$/tonne)
Fuel/lube (included in eq op costs) NA
Tires (included in eq op costs) NA
Repair parts (included in eq op costs) NA
Electricity kwh 0.07 4400 308.00 0.02
Drill bits ea 2463.00 3 6403.80 0.32
Drill rods ea 508.00 0 203.20 0.01
ANFO kg 0.97 12 737 12 355.18 0.62
Primers ea 4.40 26 114.40 0.01
Detonation cord metres 0.71 786 558.06 0.03
Assays ea 20.00 26 520.00 0.03
Total supplies 20 462.64 1.02
Miscellaneous items (10%) 11 377.22 0.57
General and administrative (2%) 2502.99 0.13
Total operating costs 127 652.43
Total operating costs per tonne of ore 6.38
CONCLUSIONS
We have gone to considerable detail in some areas of the estimate, while we have seriously shortcutted
some others. If we were to carry this estimate on to a complete feasibility study, a number of additional
cost items may have to be considered, such as permitting costs, taxes, home ofce overhead, and of
course, milling and smelting costs. All in all we have come up with a reasonable estimate in sufcient
detail to set the stage for optimisation studies for the mine operation itself.
Optimisation to maximise NPV is an important step in selecting a mine production rate and a
primary equipment eet. The optimisation process should be based on carefully prepared estimates
TABLE 3
Capital cost summary: example mine 20 000 tonnes per day ore, 40 000 tonnes per day waste (2:1 stripping ratio waste:ore).
Date of costs: May 2009
Units Cost/unit Extended cost Capital cost

Equipment Specifications Units
required (US$) (US$) (US$)
Wheel loader 800 hp, 11.5 m3 bucket 1 ea 1 807 100 1 807 100
3
Front shovel 1550 hp, 17.0m bucket 1 ea 4 396 000 4 396 000
Haul trucks 938 hp, 90 tonne, rigid frame 15 ea 1 128 000 16 920 000
Rotary blasthole drills 15.2 cm hole diam, 52.7 m
hole depth approx 27 000 kg 3 ea 670 000 2 010 000
pulldown, 500 hp
Road maintainer 4.3 blade, 270 hp 1 ea 445 000 445 000
Dozers 4.5 blade, 350 hp 4 ea 731 000 2 924 000
Bulk explosives truck 459 kg/min 1 ea 74 800 74 800
Lighting plants 16 kw 4 ea 21 900 87 600
Fuel/Lube truck 2 ea 55 400 110 800
Mechanics truck 2 ea 67 000 134 000
Tire service truck 1 ea 158 000 158 000
Centrifugal pump 65 hp, 3028 lmp, 45 m head 1 ea 23 670 23 670
Water truck 53 000 litre 1 ea 744 000 744 000
Pickup trucks 3/4 ton, four wheel drive 13 ea 23 600 306 800
Total equipment capital cost 30 141 770
Preproduction development costs
Preproduction stripping 5 000 000 tonne 2.13 10 650.000
Road construction 7983 metres 800.00 6 386 400
Total preproduction deveopment costs 17 036 400
Buildings and structures
Office building 770 sq m 1345 1 035 650
Dry 510 sq m 1011 515 610
Mechanical shop 1010 sq m 1119 1 130 190
Warehouse 905 sq m 635 574 675
Explosive storage facility 130 sq m 700 91 000
Fuel storage/dispensing facility 1 100 000 100 000
Total buildings and structures 3 447 125
Engineering, procurement and construction management (10%) 5 062 530
Other capital costs
End of project reclamation 2 000 000
Sustaining capital 15 000 000
Working capital 7 656 000
Total other capital costs 24 656 000
Contingency (20%) 16 068 765
Total capital cost 96 412 589
of capital and operating costs that include productivity analyses of the primary equipment eets.
Separate cost estimates should be completed for each production level and each equipment eet to be
tested. Itemised cost estimating techniques should be used that give due consideration to the impacts
that changes in equipment size, number and type have on seemingly extraneous cost centres such
as haul road and facilities design and construction, personnel requirements, and supervisory needs.
Time constraints placed upon the estimator may make it difcult to complete multiple estimates in
such detail, unless appropriate software is utilised. Sherpa software (Stebbins, 2010b) incorporates
itemised cost estimating methodologies similar to those described above, thereby providing the
necessary detail, while considerably reducing the time required to complete an estimate.
REFERENCES
Camm, T W, 1991. Simplied cost models for prefeasibility mineral e aluations, USBM Information Circular
9298.
Camm, T W, 1994. Simplied cost models for prefeasibility mineral e aluations, Mining Engineering,
46(6) 559-562.
Caterpillar n , 2007. Caterpillar Performance Handbook online , 452 p. Available from http //www.
ebookee.com/Caterpillar-Performance-Handbook-Edition-36- 682132.html .
Caterpillar n , 2010. F off-high ay truck specications online . Available from http //xml.catmms.
com/servlet/ImageServlet imageId C611389 Accessed 15 October 2010 .
nfoMine USA Inc, 2009a. E uipment cost calculator online . Available from http //www.costmine.
com .
nfoMine USA Inc, 2009b. Mine and mill e uipment costs, an estimator s guide online . Available from
http //www.costmine.com .
nfoMine USA Inc, 2010a. Coal cost guide, Spokane Valley online . Available from http //www.costmine.
com .
nfoMine USA Inc, 2010b. Mining cost ser ice, two volumes online . Available from http //www.costmine.
com .
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special volume 25, 265 p (Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Montreal).
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E uipment Costs and Capital Expenditures and Aiding Mineral Project E aluations, special volume 47
(Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Montreal).
ara, T A, 1980. Quick guides to the evaluation of orebodies, CIM Bulletin, 73(2) 87-99.
ara, T A, 1981. Mine evaluation, Mineral Industry Costs, chapter 6 pp 88-99 (Northwest Mining
Association Washington).
ara, T A and Suboleski, S C, 1992. Costs and cost estimation, Mining Engineering Handbook, Chapter
6.3, second edition, volume 1 (ed H L Hartman), pp 405-424 (SME Littleton).
SMeans, 2009. Building construction cost data online . Available from http //rsmeans.
reedconstructiondata.com/ .
S huma her, O L, 2010. Estimating the cost of mining online . Available from www.edumine.com .
Stebbins, S A, 2010a. Apex economic analysis software for mining projects online . Available from
http //www.aventurineengineering.com .
Stebbins, S A, 2010b. Sherpa cost estimating software for surface mines online . Available from http //
www.aventurineengineering.com .
Stebbins, S A, 2010c. Sherpa cost estimating software for underground mines online . Available from
http //www.aventurineengineering.com .
Ultimate Pit Limit of Iron Ore Mines using Maximum
Flow Algorithms
M Osanloo1, M Rahmanpour2 and A Sadri3
ABSTRACT
A major problem in open pit mine planning is to determine the optimum pit limit of the mine. The
optimum pit limit is the one with maximum discounted net prot and satises technical conditions. A
number of optimisation techniques have been proposed for determination of pit limits. Among these
techniques, those based on graph theory are suitable to solve the three-dimensional (3D) problem. In
this paper, two maximum ow methods named, Dinics algorithm and Push-Relabel algorithm have
been used to nd the optimum pit limit of an iron ore mine. This method has been implemented in
Gol-e-Gohar iron mine in south east of Iran in order to nd the nal pit limit. Issues, like properties
of the mine and orebody, are studied. These properties include wall slope, sulfur and phosphor grade
restrictions. The result shows that these properties have signicant effect on the determined pit limit.
INTRODUCTION
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. Sometimes
iron ore contains some other minerals such as sulfur and phosphor which make problems in
processing the ore. Phosphor (P) has four major effects on iron: increased hardness and strength,
lower solidus temperature, increased uidity and cold shortness. Depending on the use intended for
the iron, these effects are either good or bad. Sulfur dissolves readily in both liquid and solid iron at
the temperatures present in iron smelting. The effects of even small amounts of sulfur are immediate
and serious. Sulfur causes iron to be red or hot short (Gordon, 1996).
Mine planning problem is to determine which block to remove at which time. The orebody is divided
into xed size rectangular part which is called a block and the orebody will be called Geological
block model. The size of blocks, depends on the exploration drilling pattern, orebody geology and
mine equipment size. After determining the block model dimensions, geological characteristics of
each block are assigned using inverse distance, Kriging or other techniques. Using nancial data
(selling price and costs), the economic value of each block is calculated. It should be noted that
the cost of accessing the block is not included in calculating the block value. Mine planning is to
maximise the net present value of the pit and is a large scale mathematical optimisation problem that
can not be solved using available commercial soft wares.
Determination of nal pit outline is one of the major parts of mine planning problem. The solution
to the nal pit limits problem is usually used to justify the project economically and it is also a guide to
the mine planner to locate the mine site facilities. Based on the physical and operational constraints,
the ultimate pit limits represent the set of blocks in the pit that maximises the total prot of the mine.
Determining the pit limits is based on the net present value of each block. The net present value of
each block, lets call it block value, is the difference between the total value of the extracted mineral
block and the cost of extracting that mineral from the mine and processing the blocks. Block value is
calculated through this formula:
Block value = (metal content) price recovery - processing costs - mining costs (1)
1. Professor, Amirkabir University of Technology, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Hafez Street, Tehran. Email: morteza.osanloo@gmail.com
2. Msc Student, Amirkabir University of Technology, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Hafez Street, Tehran. Email: mrahmanpour.m@gmail.com
3. Lecturer, Amirkabir University of Technology, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Hafez Street, Tehran. Email: asadri@aut.ac.ir
M OSANLOO, M RAHMANPOUR AND A SADRI
If metal content of a block is zero or not enough to extract then block value will be negative, so it
is a waste block otherwise it has a value larger than zero and it is an ore block. This block value is
calculated for the present time and time value of money is not considered.
When the ultimate pit limit is determined it means that the value of ore blocks can pay for the
extraction of overlaying waste blocks. Inside the pit limit, mining operations is economical and outside
the pit limit, open pit mining is not likely to be protable. There are different methods to determine the
optimum pit limit and these methods are divided into Heuristic and Rigorous methods (Kim, 1979).
Heuristics methods use short cuts to solve the ultimate pit limits problem and heuristics such as
moving cone technique are not likely to determine the optimum solution of the ultimate pit limit
problem. These methods are easy to implement but it should be noted that they lack rigorous
mathematical proof. Pana introduced the oating cone technique. This technique creates a cone for
every ore block and searches for any cone with positive value. Korobov attempted to improve the
Panas moving cone method (Kim, 1979).
Lerchs and Grossman used the concept of dynamic programming and introduced their well known
two-dimensional (2D) algorithm in order to nd an optimum pit limit (Lerchs and Grossman, 1965).
Later, Johnson and Sharp (1971) used this idea in order to design a 3D pit. Koenigsberg (1982) used
dynamic programming in order to nd the optimum pit limit in 3D format.
It was also Lerchs and Grossman (1965) who introduced the use of Graph theory in optimum pit
limit design. They modeled the block model of a mine as a graph and determine the ultimate pit limits
by solving for the maximum closure of the graph. Zhao and Kim (1992) used this idea with some
modications and they claim that their method is simpler and faster than the Lerchs and Grossman.
Tolwinski and Underwood (1998) used the concept of graph theory and mathematical programming
and solve the ultimate pit limit problem as a dual simplex one.
The concept of integer programming in pit limit design problem was rst used by Meyer (1969).
He made so many hypotheses in his work which results in a non optimal solution. Huttagosol and
Cameron (1992) dealt with pit design as a transportation problem.
Pit parameterisation is also an innovative method by Matheron (1976). In this method they search
for a parameterisation function instead of directly searching for the pit limit. Denby and Schoeld
(1994) combine the pit limit determination and production planning by using genetic algorithm.
Another method of solving the ultimate pit limits is by using network ow algorithm. Johnson
(1969), Picard (1976), Giannini (1991), Yegulalp et al (1992) and Hochbaum and Chen (2000) used
this algorithm to determine the pit limit. They solve the pit limit problem as a maximum ow problem
on a network. In the next section, the basics of network ow theory will be discussed.
MAXIMUM FLOW THEORY

The open pit mining problem can also be solved by any of maximum ow algorithms. Maximum ow
algorithms that are exceptionally efcient have been developed over the last years. The maximum ow
problem is one of the most fundamental problems in network ow theory and has been investigated
extensively. This problem was rst formulated by Fulkerson and Dantzig (1955) and Dantzig and
Fulkerson (1956), and solved by Ford and Fulkerson (1956), using their well known augmenting path
algorithm. Since then, a number of algorithms have been developed for this problem.
Maximum ow theory is one of the most widely used methods in operation research topics and
one of its applications is to determine the optimum pit limits. In order to use maximum ow theory
to determine the pit limit, the main step is to convert the block model into a network. Each block
is shown as a node in the network and will be connected to its overlaying blocks. The arcs of the
network are created using technical constraints (Figure 1). It means that, if we want to extract block
(v), we must rst extract its overlaying blocks a, b and c. These constraints can also be used in order
to create a 3D network.
Consider an orebody dened by means of ore and waste blocks of given dimensions and each block
is assigned a value. The following steps should be undertaken to convert the block model into a
network (Yegulalp and Arias, 1992):
1. Connect all nodes (blocks) to the nodes (blocks) with respect to the mining constrains. Assign
innite ow capacity to these arcs. This step will convert the block model into a directed graph.
2. Add two nodes named source and terminal (sink) to the directed graph.
ULTIMATE PIT LIMIT OF IRON ORE MINES USING MAXIMUM FLOW ALGORITHMS
FIG 1 - Technical constraints in order to extract the block v.
3. Connect the source node to each node corresponding to (+) valued blocks with an arc whose
maximum ow capacity is equal to the value assigned to that block.
4. Connect all nodes corresponding to (-) or zero valued blocks to the sink with an arc whose
maximum ow capacity is equal to the corresponding (-) or zero valued blocks.
After these steps, the block model will be converted into a network. As an example consider the 2D
block model shown in Figure 2. The resulting network is shown Figure 3.
FIG 2 - An 4 7 block model.
FIG 3 - The network describing the block model shown in Figure 2.
This creates a network through which we seek to push the maximum amount of ow from the
source to the terminal (sink). All arcs are directed arcs permitting ow only to the direction of the
sink. As mentioned above, there are many algorithms to determine the maximum ow in a network.
These algorithms are divided into two major groups (Ahuja, Magnanti and Orlin, 1993):
1. augmentation of ow along a path, and

2. preow push algorithms.
In group 1, there is a mass balance on every node. It means that the amount of flow entering a
node is equal to the flow exiting that node. Dinics algorithm is a good example of this group. In
group 2, there is no need for mass balance at the initiation of these algorithms and every node
reach a mass balance at the termination of the algorithm. The generic pre flow push algorithm is
a member of this group. Here we use these two methods to find the final pit of the Gol-e-Gohar
iron ore mine 2.
Dinics algorithm
Dinics algorithm is one of the fastest algorithms in calculation of maximum ow problem and is
based on the following denition (Dinic 1970): given a network G and an s-t-ow of f, the level graph
GL of G is a graph in which:
^V^Gh, "ê = ^ x,yhh e E^G f h: distGf ^s,x h+1 = distGf ^s,yh,h (2)
The steps of Dinics algorithm, are as follows:

1. Set the ow in every arc to zero.
2. Construct the level graph GL of G.
3. Find a blocking s-t-ow f in GL. If f = 0 then stop.
4. Augment f by f and go to step 2.
In the given network (G), an s-t-ow of f is called blocking if the network
(V(G), {e E(Gf): f(e) < u(e)}) contains no s-t-path. Dinics algorithm programming is simple in
comparison with other algorithms. The main step in implementation of this algorithm is to dene
the layered network (GL). The steps to make a layered network are:
1. V0 = {source} and i = 0.
2. Construct Vj. If u Vi, i j then Vj contains arc u-v.
3. If Vj is empty, then ow is maximum.
4. If Vj contains sink, then Vj+1 = {sink}.
5. Increase i to i+1 and go to step 2.
Implementing this algorithm will result in a layered network which describes the blocks that are in
the nal pit.
The generic preflow push algorithm

In this algorithm, instead of augmenting ow along an s-t-path, it pushes excess ow away from
active nodes. Active node is a node in which the ow entering the node is larger than the ow exiting
that node. This algorithm pushes ow along the arcs called admissible arcs. Admissible arc is the arc
(i, j) if these two conditions are true (Ahuja, Magnanti and Orlin, 1993):
1. capacity of the arcs are positive ri j >0, and
2. d(i) = d(j) + 1.
The generic preow-push algorithm steps are as follows:
x begin,
x preprocess, and
x while the network contains active node do:
x begin,
x select an active node i,
x push- Relabel node i, and
x end;
x end.
In preprocess procedure, some initiation is made to start the algorithm and in this step the
following will be done:
x preprocess procedure,
x begin,
x compute distance label d(i),

x for all arcs coming out of source node put xs,i = cs,i,
x d(s) = n, and
x end.
In preow-push procedure, every active node will be analysed in order to push away the excess
ow in the node. This procedure is also called node examination and its steps are as follow:
x push-Relabel procedure,
x begin,
x if the network contains an admissible arc (i, j) then:
x push delta amount of ow on the arc: delta= minimum (e(i), ri j);
x else replace d(i) by minimum (d(i) + 1: (i, j) A (i), ri j > 0), and
x end
The other preow-push algorithms are based on the generic algorithm described above. The main
step in using maximum ow theory is to create the network.
BLOCK MODEL DESCRIPTION

In this paper, we implemented the algorithms to determine the pit limits of Gol-e-Gohar iron mine
Number 2 in south-east of Iran. The block model designed for this mine has got up to 588 000 blocks.
In Table 1, we brought up the block model properties (Kosha-Madan, 2008). Each block contains
information about its sulfur, phosphor and Fe content.
TABLE 1
Block model properties.
Number of positive or ore Block dimensions Total block

blocks
metre Number of blocks
X axis 10 210
8259 58 8000
Y axis 10 140
Z axis 15 20
DETERMINING THE FINAL PIT

Constructing the network is the essential part of determining pit limit using maximum ow theory.
Every network is consisted of nodes and arcs. According to geotechnical considerations, the pit slope
is decided to be 45 in this mine. Arcs are generated in order to produce the pit slope and also
to show the technical constrains. Arc generation pattern is produced using the minimum search
pattern (Caccetta, 1988). This pattern is named 1 - 53 and it means that every node in the network
is connected to 53 nodes above it. This pattern guaranties the wall slope of approximately 45. After
constructing the network, we used the Dinics and Push-Relabel algorithms in order to determine
the nal pit limits of Gol-e-Gohar iron ore mine. The programs were developed in C++ language and
were run on a Dell laptop set4. The pit produced by these methods are the same and we name this
pit as pit number 1, but the difference is the running time of these algorithms. According to Table 2,
running time of push-relabel algorithm is faster than Dinics algorithm.
The trend in determination of pit limit is based on the blocks undiscounted value but in here we
want to nd a pit limit based on the blocks discounted value. To consider the effect of time value of
money in determination of nal pit, we should rst calculate the sequence of block extraction. The
sequence shows the time of extracting each block and using this time we can calculate discounted
value of each block. The sequence of extraction is calculated using NPV-S software. In determination
of block sequence, blending optimisation is considered, so the amount of sulfur and phosphor will be
restricted and it will lead to a product with the best quality.
4. Dell Inspiron 1501- AMD processor +3500, 512 Mb of RAM.
TABLE 2
Running time of algorithms.
Running time (s)

Dinic Push-Relabel
131 95
As the time of extracting each block is revealed, the discounted value of each block can be calculated.
Using these values and network ow theories, will result in a new pit which is smaller and inside the
pit number 1 and we name this pit as pit number 2. In Figure 4, these two pits are shown. Pit 1 contains
8222 ore blocks and pit 2 contains 8200 ore blocks. The total number of blocks in pit number 1 is
61861 and in pit number 2 there is 60 864 blocks. The tonnage difference between these two pits is
about 3 Mt.
FIG 4 - Plan view of pit 1 and pit 2 are shown together.
The coloured blocks in this gure, indicates those blocks which are not included in pit 2.
CONCLUSIONS
Network ow theory is a great tool for determination of optimum pit limit and it is superior in solving
the ultimate pit limit not only in running time but also in the simplicity of its programming. In the
other hand, for solving the ultimate pit limit problem in 3D, using a network ow method could be
more helpful and applicable. The trend described here is capable of determining the optimum pit
based on blocks discounted values. The resulting pit, is a exact and real pit.
REFERENCES
Ahuja, R K, Magnanti, T L and Orlin, J B, 1993. Network Flows: Theory, Algorithm and Applications, 864 p
(Prentice-Hall Inc: Englewood Cliffs).
Bongarcon, D F and Marechal, A, 1976. A new method for open pit design: Parameterization of the nal
pit contour, in Proceedings 14th International APCOM (ed: R V Ramani), pp 573-583 (Society of Mining
Engineers of American Ins of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers Inc: New York)
Caccetta, L and Giannini, L M, 1988. The generation of minimum search pattern in the optimum design of
open pit mines, The AusIMM Bulletin, 293(5):57-61 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne).
Dantzig, G B and Fulkerson, D R, 1956. On the max-ow min-cut theorem of networks, Linear Inequalities
and Related Systems, Annual of Mathematics study 38 (eds: H W Kuhn and A W Tucker), pp 215-221
(Princeton University Press: Princeton).
Denby, B and Schoeld, D, 1994. Open pit design and scheduling by use of genetic algorithm, Transactions of
the Institutes of Mining and Metallurgy, 103:A21-A26.
Fulkerson, D R and Dantzig, G B, 1955. Computation of maximum ow in networks, Naval Res Log Quart,
2:277-283.
Ford, L R and Fulkerson, D R, 1955. Maximal ow through network, Canadian Journal of Mathematics,
8:399-404.
Giannini, L M, Caccetta, L, Kelsey, P and Carras, S, 1991. PITOPTIM: A new high speed network ow
technique for optimum pit design facilitating rapid sensitivity analysis, The AusIMM Proceedings, 2:57-62
(The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Gordon, R B, 1996. American Iron 1607-1900, 344 p (The Johns Hopkins University Press).
Hochbaum, D, S and Chen, A, 2000. Performance analysis and best implementation of old and new algorithms
for the open pit mining problem, Operation Research, 48(6):894-914.
Huttagosol, P and Cameron, R, 1992. A computer design of ultimate pit limit by using transportation
algorithm, in Proceedings 23rd International APCOM, (ed: Y C Kim), pp 443-460 (SME: Tucson)
Johnson, T B, 1968. Optimum open pit mine production scheduling, PhD thesis (unpublished), University of
California, Berkeley.
Johnson, T B and Sharp, W R, 1971. A 3-D dynamic programming method for optimal ultimate open pit
design, US Bureau of Mines, report of investigation 7553.
Kim, Y C, 1979. Open pit limits analysis: Technical overview, Computer Methods for the 80s in the Mineral
Industry (ed: A Weiss), pp 297-303 (AIME: New York).
Koenigsberg, E, 1982. The optimum contours of an open pit mine: An application of dynamic programming,
in Proceedings 17th International APCOM (eds: T B Johnson and R J Barnes), pp 274-287 (Society of
Mining Engineers of American Ins. of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers Inc: New York).
Kosha-Madan, 2008. Mine planning report, internal report, Gol-e-Gohar, pp 80-87.
Lersch, H and Grossman I F, 1965. Optimum design of open pit mines, CIM Bulletin, volume 58, no 633,
pp 47-54.
Meyer, M, 1969. Applying linear programming to the design of ultimate pit limits, Management Science,
16:B121-B135.
Picard, J C, 1976. Maximal closure of a graph and application to combinatorial problems, Management
Science, 22:1268-1272.
Underwood, R and Tolwinski, B, 1998. A mathematical programming viewpoint for solving the ultimate pit
problem, European J of Operational Research, 107:96-107.
Yegulalp, T M and Arias, A J, 1992. A fast algorithm to solve the ultimate pit limit problem, in Proceedings
23rd International APCOM (ed: Y C Kim), pp 391-397 (SME: Tucson).
Zhao, Y and Kim, Y C, 1992. A new optimum pit limit design algorithm, in Proceedings 23rd International
APCOM (ed: Y C Kim), pp 423-434 (SME: Tucson).
A New Model to Improve Ore Grade Reconciliation
Between the Exploration Model and the Mine
A Parhizkar1, M Ataee2, P Moarefvand3, V Rasouli4 and A H Bangian5
ABSTRACT
The poor reconciliation between the values of estimated and actual grades can cause major economic
losses to the mining industry. In a mining operation grade reconciliation is comparing the values
of estimated grade calculated in exploration stage with actual grade obtained from blastholes data.
Many different factors affect the degree of reconciliation in a mining operation. In this paper we
investigate the factors related to estimated grade which affects the reconciliation process in the
exploration stage of the orebody. These factors are the sources of uncertainty in the rest of mine
life. In this area the most important factors are inherent variability, statistical uncertainty and
systematic uncertainty. A probabilistic model was presented to model each source of uncertainty.
The implementation of proposed model was checked and its validity was investigated using real data
in an iron open pit mine in Iran.
INTRODUCTION
Ore grade reconciliation is a complicated process in a mining operation. A good reconciliation
indicates that the selected method for estimation of ore grade has predicted ore grade successfully
in exploration stage. The degree of reconciliation affects the accuracy of recoverable resource
estimation and grade control procedure. These factors are the foundation of a successful mining
venture and affect long, medium and short term production planning in a mining operation (Thomas
and Snowden, 1990). Many different mines failed to estimate the ore grade accurately it means the
procedure of grade estimation in exploration stage has been unsuccessful (Burmeister, 1988 Knoll,
1989 Clow, 1991). Rossi and Parker (1993) have shown 20 mines out of 39 mines failed to estimate
the ore grade accurately. Similar reports have been published showing the impact of poor grade
reconciliation on the economic condition of a mining company (Baker and Giacomo, 1998 Carrasco,
Carrasco and Jara, 2004).Unfortunately large differences between reserve estimation and actual
production are not unknown in the mining industry (Schoeld, 2001). Schoeld (2001), Morley
(2003) and Noppe (2004) have highlighted the importance of accurate and precise estimation of ore
grade for different types of orebodies.
The aim of this paper is to develop a model to improve reconciliation between the exploration
model and the mine.
TYPES OF ERROR IN EXPLORATION STAGE OF THE OREBODY

As mentioned earlier, three types of uncertainty related to exploration stage affecting the reconciliation
process are inherent variability, random uncertainty and systematic uncertainty, respectively.
The natural variability of the orebody affects the estimation process of the ore grade. The nugget
effect, in a variogram function, indicates the natural or inherent variability of the orebody. The
random or statistical uncertainty usually exists due to the limited number of samples. The amount
of this uncertainty decreases with increasing the number of samples. The inuence of statistical
uncertainty is on the precision of estimated grade. Limited number of samples causes the random
1. Academic Member, Department of Mining Engineering, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran. Email: ali.parhizkar@gmail.com
2. Academic Member, Department of Mining Engineering, Shahrood University, Shahrood, Iran. Email: ataei@shahroodut.ac.ir
3. Academic Member, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email: parviz_moaref@yahoo.fr
4. Academic Member, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University, Perth WA 6102. Email: v.rasouli@curtin.edu.au
5. Academic Member, Department of Mining Engineering, Tehran South Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Email: ah.bangian@gmail.com
A PARHIZKAR et al
uncertainty but there is another type of error which has no relationship with the number of samples.
These errors exist because of differences between real (in situ) and laboratory conditions due to
factors such as scale effect and anisotropy. The discrepancy between blasthole and borehole samples
cannot be resolved by increasing the number of samples. This type of error is called systematic error.
THE PROBABILISTIC MODEL

Statistically, the best estimate of an unknown parameter is the mean or expected value and the
uncertainties can be expressed in the form of variance or standard deviation or coefcient of variation
(COV). If a grade estimation method such as kriging, which considers the inherent variability of
the grade parameter, used to estimate the ore grade then two correction factors will be required to
reconcile the estimated grade with actual grade. This is written in the form of
Ga C r Cs Ge (1)
where
Ga and Ge represent the actual and estimated grade, respectively and the natural variability is
accounted for in estimated grade
Cr and Cs are the correction factors applied to rectify statistical and systematic errors,
respectively
Using rst order uncertainty analysis model the mean value of actual grade can be calculated as
Ga Cr CsGe (2)
where the bars show the mean value of each parameter.

Also the uncertainty can be described as coefcient of variation which is the proportion of the
standard deviation to the mean value and hence the COV is dimensionless. This parameter can be
dened for actual grade as
CVGa , 2
CVGe 2
+ CVCr 2
+ CVCs (3)
In this equation, the CVs are the COV corresponding to each parameter.
The uncertainty derived from inherent variability can be expressed as
SG
e (4)
CVG
e Ge
where
SGg is the standard deviation of the estimated grade
The standard error of estimated grade in independent observations can be expressed as
SG
e (5)
SEG
e n
The statistical uncertainty depends on statistical error which decreases with increasing number of
samples. The COV for the correction factor of Cr can be calculated as below
SEG e
CVC (6)
r Ge
The combination of Equations 5 and 6 can be expressed as
CVG
e (7)
CVC
r n
The mean value of Cr, C r , is taken as one because only random statistical error is considered.
The scale effect and anisotropy are the two major factors causing systematic errors affecting
reconciliation process. The mean value of correction factor accounting for systematic uncertainty,
C s , can be calculated as
A NEW MODEL TO IMPROVE ORE GRADE RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE EXPLORATION MODEL AND THE MINE
C s % im= 1C i (8)
where
Ci is the mean value of Cis which are correction factors accounting for the ith systematic error
The COV of Cs, CVCs, can be quantied as
CVCs / im 1CVCi
2 (9)
=
where
CVCi is the COV of Ci
There are two systematic errors affecting the reconciliation process and hence two correction
factors would be required as C1 and C to account for scale effect and anisotropy, respectively. So
Equations 8 and 9 can be rewritten as
C s C 1C 2 (10)
CVC CVC2 CVC2 (11)

s 1 2
The overall uncertainty of actual grade in the reconciliation process can be expressed as follows
SG2 CVG2
e e
CVG b + + CVC2 + CVC2 (12)
a 2
Ge n 1 2
MODEL IMPLEMENTATION
In this section the implementation of the proposed model in a real case study is presented.
Chadormalou is a large iron deposit in Iran with 320 Mt of mineable reserve which is being mined
using open pit mining method.
In order to investigate the reconciliation condition in Chadormalou iron ore mine the reserve block
model which was constructed using kriging estimator was used to compare the estimated grade with
actual grade gathered from boreholes.
The block model dimension is 25 m 25 m 15 m but the blastholes pattern is 6 m 7 m.
Considering 3 m of subdrilling the blastholes depth is 18 m.
In order to investigate the reconciliation condition in Chadormalou iron ore mine the reserve block
model was used to compare the estimated grade with actual grade gathered from boreholes. The
normal Q-Q plot of estimated and actual grades which is shown in Figure 1 shows the different
structure of estimated grade and actual grade in Chadormalou iron mine.
Figure 2 shows a comparison between estimated and actual grade of Chadormalou iron ore mine. This
gure demonstrates the poor reconciliation between estimated grade, calculated using kriging estimator,
and the actual grade, comes from blastholes data. The mining process suffers from such low degree of
reconciliation especially for the purpose of a precise mine planning and design, production planning.
Applying a cut-off grade of 55 per cent to each axis the misclassication of exploited materials to ore
and waste can be determined. This is shown in Figure 2 where most proportion of misclassication is
seen to belong to ore materials sent to waste dump mistakenly.
The mean value and standard deviation of estimated grade, `G e and SGgj are equal to 50.69 per
cent and 6.06 per cent, respectively.
The COV of estimated grade equals
6.06 ( )
CVG 0.12
e 50.69 ( )
The number of borehole samples used in estimation process is 2232. The statistical uncertainty
which depends on the number of samples can be calculated from Equation 7 as
CVCr 01 # 10-3
A PARHIZKAR et al

FIG 1 - Q-Q plots of estimated grade and actual grade.

FIG 2 - Grade reconciliation condition in Chadormalou mine. The straight line indicates 1:1 slope.
The dash lines show a cut off grade of 55 per cent for each axis.
To quantify the systematic uncertainty it is necessary to determine the anisotropy exists in

different area of the mine and then apply the required correction factors to remedy the sources of each
systematic error such as scale effect and anisotropy. To calculate correction factors corresponding
to scale effect one could consider an area with no anisotropy. This discards the anisotropy effect
and therefore allows the scale effect on reconciliation process to be determined. Variogram, which
represents the dispersion of variables, is a powerful function for studying anisotropy. The variogram
maps were computed to distinguish the anisotropic areas of the Chadormalou deposit.
Table 1 shows the statistical parameters of estimated grade, actual grade and the correction factors
for anisotropic levels of the mine.
A NEW MODEL TO IMPROVE ORE GRADE RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE EXPLORATION MODEL AND THE MINE
The correction factor in Table 1 accounts for both scale effect and anisotropy. It is now necessary
to nd the proportion of anisotropy in correction factor which was cited in Table 1. Equation 10 can
be rewritten as
TABLE 1
The statistical parameters related to anisotropic area of the mine.
Parameter Estimated grade Actual grade Correction factor (Cs)

Mean 54.80 52.07 1.01
Variance 4.49 54.04 0.02
COV 25.86 7.08 7.14
C2 Cs (13)
C1
The mean value of C accounting for anisotropy can be calculated from Equation 13 as
C2 1.01 0.86
1.18
The variance of C can be expressed as
2
2S S2 2
+ 12 SC2 + C s 1 + 2 C s Coy c 1 , Cs m + 1 SCs + ;Coy c 1 , Cs mE
2
SC2 (14)
2 C1 s C 1 C1 C 1 C1 C 1
SC2 can be calculated using Equation 14 discarding small numbers as

s
SC2 0.02 + (1.012 # 0.01) + 2 # 1.01 # 2.6 # 10-3 0.03

2 1.182 1.18
Hence
The COV of C2 can be calculated as
SC 0.03 0.17
2
Now the uncertainty of actual grade can be calculated using Equation 12. Replacing numerical
values of parameters into Equation 12 gives the COV of actual grade as
CVGa , 01 + 0 10 + 0 0 + 0 0
0
APPLYING THE CORRECTION FACTORS TO IMPROVE RECONCILIATION

In order to analyse the impact of correction factors on improvement of grade estimation and hence
the reconciliation process, each area with determined actual grade was considered. Variograghy
analysis was down and for isotropic areas only a correction factor ^C 1h and for anisotropic areas two
required correction factors ^C 1 and C 2h were applied to the estimated grade in order to improve the
reconciliation process due to scale effect and anisotropy.
Figure 3 is an overlay scatter to show the effect of correction factors on reconciliation process and
the degree of misclassied materials to ore and waste in Chadormalou iron ore mine.
CONCLUSIONS
A simple probabilistic model was presented in this paper to improve reconciliation between estimated
and actual grade. This model can be applied to any type of ore deposits. In this study the developed
model was applied in data taken from Chadormalou iron ore of Iran.
The natural variability of grade parameter was considered in grade estimator but for each type
of other uncertainties a correction factor was considered to apply to estimated grade values to
reconcile them with the actual grade values. The amount of reconciliation was improved by applying
appropriate correction factors to the estimated grade values for Chadormalou iron ore mine.
A PARHIZKAR et al

FIG 3 - The overlay scatter diagram of two pairs of data. The blue and red markers indicate actual-estimated grade
and actual-modified estimated grade pairs respectively.
REFERENCES
Baker, C T and Giacomo, S M, 1998. Resource and Reserve Their uses and abuses by the equity markets, Ore
reserve and Finance A Joint Seminar between Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and AS ,
Sydney.
Burmeister, B, 1988. From Resource to Reality A Critical Re ie of the Achie ements of e Australian
Gold Mining Projects During the Period January 1 to September 1 (Macquarie University).
Carras o, P, Carrasco, P and Jara, E, 2004. The economic impact of correct sampling and analysis practices
in the copper mining industry, Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems Journal, 74(1) 209-213.
Clo , G, 1991. Why gold mines fail, orthern Miner Maga ine, 2(4) 31-34.
noll, K, 1989. And now the bad news, orthern Miner Maga ine, 4(6) 48-52.
Morley, C, 2003. Beyond Reconciliation A Proactive Approach to using Mining Data, in Proceedings Fifth
Large Open Pit Mining Conference, pp 185-191 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Melbourne).
Noppe, M, 2004. Reconciliation Importance of good sampling and data QA-QC, Mining and Resource
Geology Symposium.
ossi, M E and Parker, H M, 1993. Estimating recoverable reserves Is it hopeless Presented at the
Geostatistics for the Next Century Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, June 3 - 5, peer reviewed.
S hofield, N A, 2001. The myth of mine reconciliation, Mineral Resource and Ore Reser e Estimation The
AusIMM Guide to Good Practice (ed A C Edwards), pp 601-610 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy Melbourne).
Thomas, M and Snowden, V, 1990. Improving reconciliation and grade control by statistical and geostatistical
analysis Strategies for grade control, AIG Bulletin, 10 49-59.
A New Genetic Algorithm for Open Pit Design
The Two-Dimensional Case
J Saavedra-Rosas1
ABSTRACT
The design of a mine should aim to optimise the market value by maximising revenues whilst
minimising costs. In open pit mining, the nature of the extraction technique translates this objective
into the maximum recovery of reserves while minimising waste extraction subject to technical,
economical and safety constraints. Since the introduction by Lerchs and Grossman, in 1965, of a
model that is now considered a classic in the area, open pit design has reached a level of maturity and
acceptance by industry. These models are being used on a regular basis by designers and planners.
This paper proposes a new alternative model for open pit design. It is based on genetic algorithms
(GA) and exploits a reduction of the number of decision variables of the more traditional techniques.
The novel approach provides more exibility than traditional models; it can also be extended to
consider planning problems that traditional open pit design models are not capable of handling.
The algorithm has been designed for two dimensional problems and tested in a simple instance.
The results obtained in this simple test are encouraging and are a good supporting argument for
the development of a GA model capable of handling three-dimensional (3D) instances. The model
presented in this paper is just a rst step towards a full GA to solve the pit design problem and
it is believed that novel tools like the one presented herein could become great allies in tackling
challenging problems in open pit design, an illustration of such a challenging problem is presented
and discussed.
INTRODUCTION
In open pit mining, pit optimisation is the heart of the mine investment. The nal pit outline or
optimised pit shell must in the nal analysis reect the protability of the mine investment (Songolo,
2010). Since the introduction by Lerchs and Grossman (1965) of a model that is now considered
classical in the subject, open pit design has reached a level of maturity and acceptance by industry
becoming the de facto standard.
Open pit optimisation is the determination of the ultimate pit or optimal pit limit for a given deposit
under given set of mining and economic constraints (Schoeld and Denby, 1993).
In this paper, a model based in a genetic algorithm (GA) is introduced. It is mainly based on a
simplication of the open pit planning problem by considering pillars or columns rather than a block
model. The approach allows for a more natural expression of the slope angle constraint and also
reduces the number of variables to use. The price to pay for such simplication is the use of a tool
that does not incorporate a certicate of optimality as an ending criterion. The model presented in
this paper has been designed and tested in two dimensional instances; the rationale behind this
decision is that of keeping things simple to see if they work rather than investing time of developing
a much more challenging model that could not necessarily work.
The results obtained in the simple test performed are encouraging to continue with the research.
It is important to note that the model presented in this paper is just a rst step towards a full GA to
solve the pit design problem; obviously further work has to be conducted to extend the GA model to
three dimensions but under the light of the experience already gained is not deemed an impossible
task.
Surprisingly enough, an approach similar to the one used in this paper has been proposed a long
time ago by Meyer (1969). In his work he proposes the use of a mathematical model that uses
1. Lecturer, Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University of Technology, Locked Bag 30, Kalgoorlie WA 6433. Email: j.saavedra@curtin.edu.au
J SAAVEDRA-ROSAS
variables representing a maximum length of a pillar to be mined. The Slope constraints are specied
in a manner similar to what is proposed in the current article. More recently Goodwin et al (2006)
go back to the same idea but slightly modied.
As GAs are not a common use tool they require a proper introduction and this is done in the
upcoming section. The rest of the paper is organised as follows; a section that review the use of
GAs in open pit planning, basically the work done by Schoeld and Denby (1993) and Denby and
Schoeld (1994, 1996), a section that introduces the proposed GA model for open pit planning, a
section containing a simple numerical experiment to validate the model, a section describing some
ideas related to the extension of the model to three dimensions and nally the conclusions which
also contain a discussion of potential research avenues and some applications of a model like the one
introduced here are discussed.
GENETIC ALGORITHMS
Genetic algorithms were introduced by John Holland (Holland, 1975). They are inspired in Darwins
mechanisms of natural selection. Such mechanisms establish that an individual is generated as a
mixture of the genes from his parents by means of crossover, added to this process of mixture there
is a process called mutation (change in some segments of genetic material). The evolution which
usually starts from a population of randomly selected individuals happens in generations. In each
generation, the tness of every individual in the population is evaluated; individuals are selected
from the current population based on their tness values and recombined by means of operators to
form a new population. The new population is then used in the next iteration of the algorithm until
an optimal solution is obtained or some stopping criterion is reached (Songolo, 2010). Finally, the
adaptation to the medium makes that some individuals survive and inherit their genes to his sons.
The general form of an Evolutionary Algorithm is presented in Algorithm 1 (inspired in Bodenhofer,
(2000) but with modications).
Algorithm 1 Genetic algorithm
Require: Fitness function, crossover probability, mutation probability
Ensure: A candidate optimal solution if exists
Compute initial population B0
while Termination criteria is not reached do
Select individuals for reproduction
Create offspring by crossing individuals
Occasionally mutate some individuals
Compute new generation
end while
The main aspects to have in mind when implementing GAs are chromosomal representation, tness
function and crossover, and mutation operators. Koza (1992) and Michalewicz (1996) prove to be
fundamental and provide an in depth coverage of the topic. In the remaining part of the section we
will illustrate the genetic algorithm for a simple case so understanding can be gained. What follows
in this section is partially based in Saavedra (2009).
The simplest representation for solutions is based in what is called binary encoding. Each potential
solution is represented as a string of binary digits. Representation of solutions by means of a specic
encoding is called chromosome.
The selection of individuals for reproduction can be accomplished in several ways; the most
common being roulette selection. In this selection procedure, each individual of the population
is given a weight based on his tness value (the ability of the solution to solve the problem). For
example, if a tness function f() is being maximised and a population of potential solutions is denoted
by {x } i d I ; then the weight for the individual k can be dened as:
f {xk}
wk: =
/ f {xi}
idI
provided that / f (xk ) ! 0.

idI
A NEW GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR OPEN PIT DESIGN THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL CASE
The crossover operation is a procedure that interchanges genetic material between chromosomes
and generates new individuals. There are several variants available. We will illustrate the procedure
by using the simplest one. It has to be noted that crossover is not applied indiscriminately but just
on a certain percentage of the cases (which is another parameter of the operation of the GA). If two
parents are effectively selected for crossover, the procedure is then:
x Select at random a position in the interval {1, , n} (with n being the size of the individual),
suppose that position p is selected; p is referred as to the crossover point.
x Decompose the mating individuals as:
x = (x1, ..., x p ; x p+1, ..., xn)
and,
y = (y1, ..., y p ; y p+1, ..., yn) .
x Form the new individuals:
a = (x1, ..., x p ; y p+1, ..., yn)
and,
b = (y1, ..., y p ; x p+1, ..., xn) .
Mutation is an unary operator that modies portions of a given chromosome. It must be applied
following the same rules for applicability of crossover by using the mutation probability for this end.
There are several variants of it the most common being the one point mutation:
x Select at random a position in the interval {1, , n} (with n being the size of the individual),
suppose that position p is selected; p is referred as to the mutation point.
x Flip the bit at position p, ie for the individual x if the value at position p is one then we change
this to zero and vice-versa.
For computing the next generation there are two basic common mechanisms. The rst one puts the
parents and the offspring together and selects the best |I| individuals (with I being the set representing
the indexes for denoting elements of the population). The other method eliminates the parents and
keeps only the offspring. More elaborate generation forming mechanisms can be dened.
The termination criterion is usually specied in terms of tness improvement between generations;
usually we can decide to stop if no improvement has been appreciated during the last q iterations of
the algorithm. Another alternative is to simply stop after a xed number of iterations. As we can see
GA can be highly customised but ne tuning of the operative parameters must be decided in order
to avoid premature stopping or an excessive number of iterations. There is a trade-off between the
quality of the solutions and the number of iterations required for getting them.
GENETIC ALGORITHMS FOR OPEN PIT PLANNING

This section discusses the known papers for the area of application of GA into open pit lay out, little
work has been done which certainly shows the predominance of more traditional techniques for
open pit layout.
Schoeld and Denby (1993) propose the rst application of GA for open pit planning. In their
work, a relatively large population of random schedules also including a small number of highly
constrained schedules was used. According to the authors, the size of the population has an effect
on the performance of the algorithm. The proposed GA was named GO-PIT.
As per tness function, the proposed GA carries out a discounted cash ow calculation for the
simulated pit on the basis of a set of user denable functions that linked a number of factors such
as grade, cut-off grade, recovery factors, extraction timing, mining and processing costs, discount
factors and mineral market values. Noticeably, the tness function is totally independent of the
genetic algorithm operators, which is one of the key advantages of the genetic algorithm approach.
Thus there is a possibility of having either simple cost or revenue functions or highly complex tness
J SAAVEDRA-ROSAS
functions without modifying the basic optimising system and on this basis the GO-PIT system has
the potential to easily be customised for different situations.
In terms of reproduction, it has been found out by the researchers that the scheduling constraints
get violated in the system, for example, production tonnages during a scheduling period become
greater than feasible or block precedence relationships being broken. This being a major difculty
that arises when pits are produced or modied by one of the genetic operators, reproduction in GO-
PIT is based on a linear normalisation technique. This ensures that the pits are ranked in order of
tness and their probability of reproduction is mapped onto a linearly decreasing scale from high
to low probability. Thus, it is less likely in this way to have a good schedule that dominates the
population quickly and reduce the chance of the system from converging quickly to a false optimum.
As regards risk incorporation, Schoeld and Denby (1993) stresses that the tness function is
decoupled from the optimising mechanism making it one of the highly promising features of a
genetically based optimising system for pit design and scheduling. All this entails is that the measure
of the tness function can be modied extensively without the principal parts of the genetic algorithm
requiring any alteration.
Denby and Schoeld (1994) present an updated discussion of their 1993 paper improving their
numerical results for the numerical examples considered the year before. The basics of the reasoning
and the algorithm remain mostly unchanged. Is important to note that the underlying model of the
1993 and 1994 papers if for two-dimensional deposits only.
In Denby and Schoeld (1996), an extension to 3D deposits is presented. Much of the discussion
remains along the same lines of what has been presented before with the addition of the ability to
handle variable internal slopes angles. Still in this version there is a constant generation of infeasible
individuals after crossover and because of that normalisation is still widely used.
It is unfortunate that no details are given on any of these papers as to how the individuals were
generated or how the genetic operators were applied. The discussion is always in general terms
and the only clue provided mentions that the chromosomal representation involved discarding the
binary string concept changing it to a multidimensional representation capable of storing the 3D
spatial data of the problem. It is believed that the representation used was consequently a 3D array.
PROPOSED GENETIC MODEL FOR OPEN PIT LAYOUT

Chromosome structure
The proposed approach abstracts the block model as a set of columns, a similar idea is found in
Goodwin et al (2006). This abstraction reduces the size of the problem as it actually converts it to
a one-dimensional (1D) one instead of a two-dimensional (2D) problem. The classical slope angle
constraints have been specied by taking the differences between two neighbouring columns, for
example:
; xi (t) - xi+1 (t) ; # f 6t
indicates that the difference in depth between columns i and column i + 1 (denoted by x(t)) cannot
exceed (tolerance) at any given time.
For the pit layout problem, the nal depth of each column has to be determined. Consequently,
the genetic algorithm encoding will consist of a real-valued vector of columns where each column
indicates the depth up to which the column will be extracted (or an equivalent measure of it).
More specically, for each column i the variable xi will be a number between zero and one that will
specify the percentage of the column extracted. To illustrate the encoding, consider the following
chromosome:
[0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.2, 0.3, 0.2, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1]
If the depth is 250 m then this chromosome will translate into the following depths of extraction:
[0 m, 25 m, 50 m, 75 m, 50 m, 75 m, 50 m, 75 m, 50 m, 25 m]
The last chromosome has an open pit counterpart that is illustrated in Figure 1.
FIG 1 - Open pit representation of the chromosome [0 m, 25 m, 50 m, 75 m, 50 m, 75 m, 50 m, 75 m, 50 m, 25 m].
The chosen an approach has the additional benet of providing independence of the problem
formulation from block model geometry. Classical models such as Lerchs and Grossmann decide at
a block level if extraction for that block will proceed or not. This conduces to layouts that are mainly
dened in terms of the block model geometry dimensions forcing bench sizes based on the block
model or on the contrary potentially forcing the block model to follow the bench design. Traditional
models usually use slope constraints of 45 and the way to implement different slope angle constraints
are based on considering blocks that are larger in the vertical axis. With the approach taken on this
paper the slope constraints can be enforced for any slope angle (not just 45) being that decision
independent of the block model. The block model then can be established based on geostatistical
and geological considerations rather than exploitation/design constraints thus avoiding undesirable
effects such as volume-variance effect.
Fitness function
The tness function calculates the income generated by the ore extracted in each column subtracting
the cost incurred to extract that ore. It has to be noted that if there is extraction at the border of
the bounding box for the mineralisation then the pit design has to be extended by using waste as
illustrated in Figure 2. The formula used for the calculation of the tness function is given by:
n
f^ x h = / xi bi - C (WLV + WRV + EOV)
i =1
where:
bi is the benet gained by exploiting the column i
C is the cost for extraction
FIG 2 - Elements used in the calculation of the fitness function.
J SAAVEDRA-ROSAS
WLV is the volume of waste to the left

WRV is the volume of waste to the right
EOV is the volume of extracted ore
Crossover
The crossover operator dened for the chromosomal representation take two individuals, selects a
crossover point at random and interchanges the genetic material after the crossover point. Care has to
be put of ensuring the feasibility of the resulting children, for such reason a reparation procedure has
to be implemented after the exchange of genetic material. The reparation process basically makes the
existing portion to be compatible with the new portion that has been added. The reparation process
considers the next column to the right of the insertion point and checks whether the difference in
height between columns is compatible (ie satisfying the slope constraint), if they are not then a new
height within the bounds of what should be permissible is draw at random for the offending column, ie:
xi + 1 ~ U[xi - , xi + ]
with U being a uniform random variable. The same process is carried forward for all the columns to
the right taking them one by one. Because of the characteristics of this process it has been named
propagation. A graphical example of a crossover applied to two individuals is presented in Figure 3.
FIG 3 - Example of the application of the proposed crossover operator, on the left column the original parents are presented, in the middle column the
crossover point is applied separating both parents in two pieces, finally in the last column the resulting children are shown.
Mutation operator
The mutation operator simply chooses a column at random and changes the height of extraction
for that column assigning to it a value at random. The columns to the left and to the right of the
mutated column have to be repaired to make the mutated individual compatible. The procedure used
is similar to the one described in the previous subsection with the difference that in the case of this
operator the propagation process is bi-directional (right and left of the mutation point have to be
xed). For a graphical illustration of the process consider Figure 4.
NUMERICAL EXPERIMENT
The proposed GA was programmed in using the Python language. Python (Van Rossum and
Drake, 2009) is an easy to learn, powerful programming language which has efcient high-level
data structures and a simple but effective approach to object-oriented programming. Python is an
interpreted, interactive object-oriented programming language suitable (amongst other uses) for
distributed application development, scripting, numeric computing and system testing. Because
Pythons elegant syntax and dynamic typing, together with its interpreted nature, makes it an ideal
FIG 4 - Example of the application of the proposed mutation operator. In the leftmost figure a column is selected for mutation (shown in black), in the central
figure the column value has been changed and it is noted that the column to the left of it is inconsistent with the slope constraint (column depicted in grey),
finally in the rightmost figure the inconsistency is solved by changing the value of the offending column. All the other columns are consistent so no further
changes are needed.
language for scripting and rapid application development in many areas on most platforms, certainly
its use has eased the enormous work required to produce an open pit optimiser based genetic
algorithm.
The example used for the study is based on a simple block model consisting in eight columns of 10 m
having a total height of ten blocks of 10 m each. The distribution of grades is presented in Figure 5.
FIG 5 - Grades for the example.
The optimiser was run for different prices values. For a low price the natural answer is that no
extraction would occur. For a high price the algorithm should be giving an answer that tries to get as
much as possible from the orebody. The pits obtained for several different prices can be appreciated
in Figure 6. We can see that as the price increases so does the pit. This answer is consistent with the
expectations for a model for open pit design; in fact it is the basis for pushback design techniques in
software packages such as Datamine.
It is noted that the solution for price zero (total absence of income) is not exactly zero extraction
but close to it. The algorithm should reach to the optimum solution provided there is enough time
to iterate. Unfortunately this is one of the aspects that contribute to create a negative image of the
use of genetic algorithms because they cannot guarantee an optimal solution, even allowing them to
iterate for a long time period. On the other hand, starting from a good initial solution, a GA has the
ability to evolve that solution towards an improved solution. It is believed that in a mining context
this characteristic is0 benecial; the miners can put their experience developing a design after which
an automated tool based on genetic algorithms can improve that starting answer to have a much
better design incorporating the knowledge of the mine planners and designers.
For the simple example presented the solution times are low. It obviously depends on the number
of iterations that the GA will run; in the current test it is still within some seconds because not
J SAAVEDRA-ROSAS
FIG 6 - Results obtained for different prices in the test problem.
too many iterations were used. Traditional approaches are certainly faster when compared to our
approach but as mentioned before traditional approaches are more inexible too.
This simple experiment it is just an initial validation for the model and the results are satisfactory.
They clearly show an extraction prole which is compatible with slope constraints where there are
not abrupt changes between consecutive columns and exhibiting expected behaviour with changing
conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
The proposed model is certainly a novel approach to open pit planning. As mentioned before there are
some advantages in the use of such kind of models, particularly when it comes to gain independence
from the underlying block model. Another advantage of such a model comes in the form of the ability
(by means of the use of genetic algorithms) to incorporate uncertainty into the decision process
(Saavedra, 2009) and it is believed that this is a promising research avenue for the future.
The exibility provided by GAs can be exploited to easily extend the proposed optimisation model
to other related problems. For example, Songolo (2010) proposes the use of the model for pushback
design with capacity constraints. Songolos work extends the model presented here to consider
capacity constrains for pushback design. The approach used is to consider a penalised version of a
problem with a pushback capacity constraint. The approach is still in its infancy yet the penalisation
factor has proved to be useful in enforcing the capacity constraint for the pushbacks but still more
work has to be done in order to determine the correct size for this factor in order to produce pushbacks
of the correct size. On the other hand, Saavedra (2009) has outlined the potential use of the model to
produce a robust pit design and some results are expected to come out in the short-term.
Generally speaking, GAs allow the use of general objective functions, eliminating in this way the
usual requirements for linearity or convexity that the mathematical programming approaches require.
The price to pay is the lack of an optimality certicate for the procedure. With this in mind it is easy
to think in objective functions that simulate a schedule, or that simulate haul road performance,
etc. This kind of techniques could open a new class of developments in the area and some really
fructiferous research is expected for the future.
For the model itself the work that has to be done is to move the current two-dimensional model
to a 3D version. The purpose of the model presented on this paper is to show the practicality of the
approach and to illustrate the potential benets before moving to a fully edged model for the real
world applications. Provided the experiences performed in two dimensions it is anticipated that the
design of the crossover and mutation operations will have to be careful because production of non
feasible individuals is expected to increase with the increase of the dimension parameter.
The numerical results are consistent with what should be expected and are encouraging. Several
tests need to be performed in order to determine the proper population size, the crossover and
mutation probabilities, the number of iterations required to reach an optimum (in average), etc.
Also, it is important to develop insight of the dependence of the GA model on the size of the problem
to solve (ie solution time versus number of columns).
A nal test is required for the two-dimensional model before further progress into the 3D arena can
be performed: a thorough comparison with a solution of a model solved using Lerchs and Grossman.
Preliminary tests have shown a decent performance of the genetic model but still more ne tuning of
the genetic algorithm parameters are required before conducting more denitive tests.
REFERENCES
Bodenhofer, U, 2000. Genetic algorithms, theory and applications [online]. Available from: <http://
www.lsi.upc.edu/~belanche/docencia/xnav/material-complementario/Genetic_Bodenhofer.pdf>
[Accessed: 22 October 2010].
Denby, B and Schoeld, D, 1994. Open pit design and scheduling by use of genetic algorithms, Transactions
of the IMM, 103:A21-A26.
Denby, B and Schoeld, D, 1996. Genetic algorithms for open pit scheduling Extension into 3-dimensions,
in Proceedings MPES 1996 (eds: L A Ayres da Silva and A P Chaves) (Balkema: Rotterdam).
Goodwin, G, Seron, M, Middleton, R, Zhang, M, Hennessy, B and Stone, P, 2006. Receding horizon control
applied to optimal mine planning, Automatica, 42:1337-1342.
Holland, J H, 1975. Adaptation in Natural and Articial Systems (University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor).
Koza, J R, 1992. Genetic Programming: On the Programming of Computers by Means of Natural Selection
(The MIT Press: Cambridge).
Lerchs, H and Grosmman, I, 1965. Optimum design for open pit mines, CIM Bulletin, 58:47-54.
Meyer, M, 1969. Applying linear programming to the design of ultimate pit limits, Management Science,
16(2):B121-B135.
Michalewicz, Z, 1996. Genetic Algorithms + Data Structures = Evolution Programs (Springer).
Saavedra-Rosas, J F, 2004. An Evolutionary Model for Underground Mining Planning, in Proceedings
MassMin 2004 (eds: A Karzulovic and M Alfaro).
Saavedra-Rosas, J F, 2009. A genetic optimizer for stochastic problems with applications to orebody
uncertainty in mine planning, PhD thesis (unpublished), Laurentian University, Ontario.
Schofield, D and Denby, B, 1993. Genetic Algorithms: A New Approach to Pit Optimisation, in Proceedings
Symposium on Application of Computers & Operations Research in Mineral Industry, pp 126-133
(Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Montral).
Songolo, M W, 2010. Pushback Design Using Genetic Algorithms, MSc thesis (unpublished), Curtin University
of Technology, Perth.
Van Rossum, G and Drake, F L, 2010. Python tutorial, release 2.7 [online]. Available from: <http://www.
python.org/> [Accessed: 4 July 2010].
Enterprise Optimisation
G Whittle1
ABSTRACT
Enterprise Optimisation is a methodology for increasing the value of mining and mineral processing
operations through better long-term planning decisions. It involves a combination of ten mechanisms
which deal with decisions at different stages of the value chain. A decision made at any point in the
chain potentially affects the decision for all other points in the chain. The key, therefore, is to optimise
them simultaneously. The Enterprise Optimisation approach can be shown to produce increases of
ve per cent to 35 per cent or more in net present value (NPV), even when several optimisation
methods have already been applied. This paper steps through an example case study, illustrating the
effect of each mechanism and how they can work together to develop greatly improved results. This
example results in a series of counter-intuitive outcomes, which challenges conventional management
practices and typical organisational objectives based on organisational silos.
INTRODUCTION
Enterprise Optimisation is a methodology for increasing the economic value of mining and mineral
processing operations through better long-term planning decisions. It involves a combination of ten
mechanisms, which deal with decisions at different stages of the value chain. A decision made at any
point in the system potentially affects the optimal decision for all other points in the chain. The key,
therefore, is to optimise them simultaneously.
Enterprise Optimisation involves simultaneously optimising:
x All steps in the value chain (see Figure 1). It is clear that a decision on one step in the value chain
can affect all the others, eg the plant constraint will affect the optimum cut-off grade, a change
in cut-off grade will affect the mining schedule, and a change in schedule affects which pit shells
should be selected as mine phases. A change in the metal price affects everything, right back to
the pit design.
FIG 1 - The steps in the value chain.
x All assets in the enterprise portfolio. A decision affecting one component of an asset portfolio
(many mines, plants, products) can affect the optimal operation of the others.
x All periods together. We are mining a depleting resource, so a decision for one period affects our
options for the other periods. What is mined determines the surface for the next period, what will
be available from stockpiles, etc. You cannot just optimise one period and then consider the next.
Apart from the analytical and computational challenges this raises, organisation barriers exist in
the form of departmental and divisional silos which compound the problem. Organisation-wide
participation in an Enterprise Optimisation study is essential to ensure that the analysis is correct,
and that the outcomes are accepted and understood by the individuals who must implement them.
1. MAusIMM, Managing Director, Whittle Consulting Pty Ltd, Suite 13, 333 Canterbury Road, Canterbury Vic 3126. Email: gerald@whittleconsulting.com.au
G WHITTLE
To simplify the planning process many decisions are xed, when they should be dynamic (plant
conguration, head grade, product specication, production rate, etc) and many decisions are made
too early, before the options are analysed (size of the resource, product specication, capital, plant
size/type, mine life, etc). These simplications prevent the full value of a project being realised.
Enterprise Optimisation overcomes the analytical challenge in dealing with these issues, but we
must all cooperate to overcome the organisational challenges for simultaneous optimisation to be
achieved effectively.
Money has a time value. Net present value has therefore been used as the basic measure of economic
value.
CASE MODEL
This is a ctitious but realistic case, developed so that we can clearly demonstrate the mechanisms
involved without client condentiality issues. The settings have been made very simple to make the
case easier to follow. Do not interpret this as a limitation on the methodology which can account for
full details of real-life complications in a real case.
x single copper/gold pit with four phases;
x 60 Mt/a mining, maximum eight benches pa vertical advancement (ie 160 m);
x plant is 20 Mt/a crush/grind/oat;
x 88 per cent copper recovery, 60 per cent gold recovery, xed;
x producing 28 per cent copper concentrate, with gold contained;
x concentrate is transported 70 km by a 600 Kt/a pipeline to the port;
x the concentrate is then shipped offshore to a smelter/renery;
x gold price US$900/oz;
x copper price US$2.50/lb declining to US$1.50/lb in the rst ve years; and
x ten per cent discount rate for NPV calculation.
CASE 0 MANUAL CASE

The starting point is a manual pit and phase design, scheduled with ve bench xed-lead between phases.
All economic material is processed, and there is no stockpiling. It took three frustrating days to develop
the manual pit and phase shapes, and the designer had a guide as he had already seen the optimised pit.
Considering the waste stripping required to gain access and the contribution of other economic material
accessed on the way, it was a question of judgement of whether to include pockets of high-grade material.
The manual plan produced an NPV of US$1598 M. That is the sum of the discounted cash ows
after US$592 M in capital expenditure. This is a good result, but it can be improved.
Although Enterprise Optimisation is about simultaneous optimisation, in this example we will turn
on one mechanism at a time so that the effect of each can be discussed.
STEP 1 PIT
Pit designs can be optimised using Lerchs-Grossmann (1965). Lerchs-Grossmann is effective at
determining the economic three-dimensional shape of the pit considering block grades, pit slopes,
costs, recoveries, and metal prices. In this step, pit shells 4, 8, 10 and 16 with roughly equal tonnes
were arbitrarily selected as intermediate phases from the 16 nested pits produced by varying the
revenue factor. The optimised pit does not look signicantly different from the manual pit but it does
vary in detail in certain parts. You cannot beat the computer. NPV is increased by 7.2 per cent.
The Lerchs-Grossmann optimisation is based on the valuation of each block in the model. The
cost modelling applied and the degree to which material can be characterised for its processing
throughput, cost and recovery can have a signicant impact on the resulting pits and phases.
STEP 2 PHASES
Phases can be selected using Whittle auto-pushback chooser and skin analysis (choice of ultimate shell).
Selecting 4 phases from 16 nested shells generated by varying the revenue factor in Lerchs-Grossmann,
involves testing 1820 combinations. With simple scheduling assumptions this can be computed quite
quickly. This leads to a smaller ultimate pit with 18 per cent less rock but only nine per cent less ore.
Shells selected for phases are 2, 3, 8, and 12 giving better early access to ore, but reduced overall mined
resource. Only a small proportion of the NPV increase is due to reducing the size of the ultimate pit,
ENTERPRISE OPTIMISATION
but this change causes much discussion and controversy. In most pits, although the outer shells may
be cash positive (which is why Lerchs-Grossmann included them), NPV may be negative due to the
time delay between the waste mining near the surface and the eventual revenues derived from the
deeper ore the extra discounting of the later periods in the NPV calculation causing this effect. The
bulk of the value, however, is produced by designing the best rst phase with early access to high grade
material with a low stripping ratio. NPV is increased by 6.4 per cent.
STEP 3 SCHEDULING
So far simple ve bench xed-lead scheduling has been applied. Applying the Whittle Milawa
algorithm produces a different bench lead for each phase for each period. The optimiser is able to
delay waste and bring forward high grade material within the phases presented. Mine scheduling is
mathematically challenging as the orebody is not linear. Conventional mathematics would indicate
the use of mixed integer programming for this purpose. Milawa applies a search algorithm (not
mixed integer) to solve the mine scheduling challenge. NPV is increased by 4.4 per cent.
STEP 4 CUT-OFF GRADE

Inspired by Ken Lane (1988), the Whittle cut-off grade optimiser raises early cut-off to increase early
metal production, even if positive margin material is discarded and the mine life shortened. This is not
high-grading but right-grading. The magnitude of the effect may be a surprise to many but not to
those familiar with this mechanism, which is sadly not universally practised. Extra mining capacity is
required to raise the cut-off grade if mining rate variations have already been attened by applying
a limit before this step, then little or no gain will be observed which would be an opportunity missed.
Cut-off grade optimisation produces the best results in deposits with lots of grade variation, ie a
wide grade-tonnage curve. It is common for geologists and mining engineers to be uncomfortable
with the proposition of discarding economic material this is an arguably irrational reaction. NPV
is increased by 15.1 per cent in this case.
STEP 5 STOCKPILES
Stockpiles were limited to 60 Mt in this case. Rather than discard low value material, it may as well
be stockpiled and processed later in the life of the operation. Reclaiming low grade material later
recoups extra value and allows the early cut-off grade to be raised even further. Rehandling costs
and possibly different recoveries for the additional weathering of the material must be taken into
account. The mine life and overall resource recovery is almost returned which is comforting to many.
NPV is increased by 4.6 per cent.
Note: This is how far you can go with the widely used Gemcom Whittle software the shades on
individual steps 1 to 5 on the graph in Figure 2 are different as the mechanisms are sequential and
isolated, but nevertheless sum to a total increase in value of 37.7 per cent. In late 2010, Whittle
version 4.4 will integrate steps 3 to 5 (schedule, cut-off/blending, stockpile), which gives most of the
benet of step 6.
STEP 6 SIMULTANEOUS OPTIMISATION

We now switch to Whittle Consultings proprietary Prober software described by Whittle (2009).
This more recent development is capable of performing the previous steps 1 to 5 simultaneously from
a set of nested shells produced by Lerchs-Grossmann. Same settings, same problem, simply a better
optimisation by having the mechanisms work together. NPV is increased by a further 14.1 per cent
(Note: approximately two per cent of this was due to reselecting the phases to shells 3, 5, 9, and 13).
Components 1 to 6 cover what can be referred to as Mining Optimisation everything the mining
department is responsible for (see Figure 2). From step 6 onwards the graph covers all previous steps
as these are reassessed simultaneously. Now we must consider the rest of the value chain.
STEP 7 PROCESSING CALIBRATION

All the steps so far presumed that the plant will be run at its nameplate 20 Mt/a with xed recoveries
of copper 88 per cent and gold 60 per cent.
The fact is that the plant could be run at a range of throughput rates, with consequences on
the recovery. Less grind time and residence can increase plant throughput but recoveries suffer
signicantly, and conversely slightly higher recoveries can be achieved if the plant is slowed down.
G WHITTLE
Accumulated Value
$3,000
$2,800
NPV $Millions $2,600
$2,400
$226
$2,200 $74
$2,000 $241
$2,426
$70
$1,800 $102
$115
$1,600
$1,598
7.2% 6.4% 4.4% 15.1% 4.6% 14.1% 51.8%
$1,400
l
ua
tal
f
it
ile
s
s
ule
Of
se
1P
ou
n
kp
To
ut-
ed
Ma
ha
ne
toc
ch
4C
2P
a
ul t
5S
3S
im
6S
FIG 2 - The steps in mining optimisation.
Please note that we are not expanding the plant with capital in this step, just changing the residence
time and therefore altering the throughput and recovery.
Looking at Figure 3 in isolation is unlikely to result in a metallurgist or process manager selecting
the high throughput solution. If the plant is only to be run at one speed then 20 Mt is possibly the
right choice. However, if the optimiser is in control it uses the whole range during the life of the
operation a dynamic mechanism.
Given throughput exibility, the optimiser often sacrices recovery to increase throughput. It is a
complex trade-off between extra immediate cash ows, extra mining and processing cost, and the
value of the metal lost and the impact that it has on the longevity of the operation and future cash
ows. At the end of the mine life it enjoys the benet of higher recovery, with less throughput (see
Figures 4 and 5).
Allowing the optimiser to use this approach adds a further 4.4 per cent to the NPV. This gure
would have been closer to eight per cent if not for the fact that we are now regularly hitting the
concentrate pipeline limit of 600 Ktpa a downstream bottleneck.
This mechanism has some similarities with cut-off optimisation in that it is trading off overall
resource recovery against more rapid delivery of metal to market early in the life of the operation to
increase early cash ows.
Recovery vs Throughput
90.0%
85.0%
80.0%
R eco very
75.0%
70.0%
65.0%
60.0%
55.0%
50.0%
18 20 22 24 26
Au Recovery Cu Recovery
Throughput (Mill tpa)
FIG 3 - Recovery versus throughput.
FIG 4 - Throughput optimised.
Recoveries
100%
90%
80%
Cubase
70%
Curecov
60%
Aubase
50%
Aurecov
40%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year
FIG 5 - Recovery optimised.
STEP 8 PRODUCT SPECIFICATION

The base case presumes that a 28 per cent copper concentrate is produced, with recovered gold contained.
Figure 6 shows how a range of concentrates could be produced with signicant impact on recovery,
with an effect on the transportation of a more or less bulky concentrate product and different
percentage of metal paid by the smelter to the mine for its concentrate.
With a spreadsheet to calculate net smelter return (NSR) it is easy to show that:
x when the copper price is $2.50/lb, the best solution is a 24 per cent concentrate as the benet of
extra recovery outweighs the extra transport cost of the bulky product; and
Cu Recovery
95.0%
90.0%
Recovery
85.0% 24%Con
26%Con
80.0%
28%Con
30%Con
75.0%
32%Con
70.0%
18 20 22 24 26
Throughput (Mill tpa)
FIG 6 - The effect of concentrate percentage on recovery.
G WHITTLE
x when the copper price is $1.50/lb (as per long-term in this case), the best solution is the 28 per cent
concentrate as used in the base case.
This approach is pursuing margin.
It is more difcult, however, to calculate the benet of throughput. The optimiser has used this
exibility, at great expense in terms of metal recovery at certain times, to get more metal to market
through the restrictive pipeline, which at this point is the major constraint in the system.
A metallurgist would be unlikely to recommend producing a 32 per cent concentrate involving an
eight per cent lower recovery by looking at Figure 6 in isolation, yet the optimiser has shown this to
be the best decision for the business under many circumstances. In Figures 7, 8 and 9 it can be seen
that when the pipeline is active as a bottleneck, the optimiser moves to a higher grade concentrate to
get more metal to market, even at a signicant cost in terms of lower recovery.
Allowing the optimiser to use this approach adds a further 5.5 per cent to the NPV.
Case 8 - Product: Copper Con Tonnes
700,000
600,000
500,000
Concentrate Tonnes
400,000 Truck
Pipe
300,000 Limit
200,000
100,000
-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year
FIG 7 - The concentrate production reaches the pipeline limit.
33.0%
ConCuGrade
32.0%
31.0%
30.0%
29.0% Default
28.0% Optimized
27.0%
26.0%
25.0%
24.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year

FIG 8 - Concentrate copper grade raised to increase metal production.
90.0%
CuRecovery
88.0%
86.0%
84.0%
82.0% Default
80.0%
78.0% Optimized
76.0%
74.0%
72.0%
70.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year

FIG 9 - Copper recovery losses a consequence.
STEP 9 LOGISTICS
Additional trucking of concentrate is possible at a cost of $30/tonne. This cost is high because it
is a short-term strategy we will not make a long-term contract, nor invest in handling facilities
to make this process less costly, and because the road needs signicant maintenance not having
been designed for this level of heavy trafc. The additional capacity allows the previous mechanism
(processing and product specication, supported by all the mining mechanisms) to pursue margin
again, not throughput. More costly logistics but better value overall.
Allowing the optimiser to use this exibility adds a further 7.1 per cent to the NPV. See Figure 10.
Case 9 - Logistics: Copper Con Tonnes
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
Concentrate Tonnes
600,000
Truck
500,000 Pipe
Limit
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year
FIG 10 - Movement of the concentrate with additional trucking.
STEP 10 CAPITAL
Rather than taking such drastic measures to manage the bottlenecks in the system, why not size
the components of the system correctly in the rst place. As long as this analysis is done during the
feasibility study and not after construction of the plant and infrastructure, then rescaling is feasible.
In the manual base case, there was ample mining eet capacity and pipeline capacity; in fact the
nance manager may have taken steps to save some capital in these areas. However, now that we
have simultaneously optimised the pits, phases, schedule, cut-off, stockpiles, then raised the plant
throughput, we have both the mining eet and the pipeline fully utilised. This raises the question
of whether they should be expanded. (Increasing the plant size should also be considered, but that
has been left out of the scope of this example). We can add extra mining capacity at $1.25 per tonne
per year and extra pipeline capacity at $20 per tonne per year these increases are only allowed in
period 0 for simplicity of this example.
Making a single capital decision can be done by design trial and error iterations say ve, increasing
the capacity progressively and seeing if the NPV increases more than the capital cost of the expansion.
With two capital decisions that affect each other, that would be 5 5 = 25 iterations of a complete
life-of-mine plan with nine active mechanisms.
If we did not increase the pipeline capacity then we would not need so much mining capacity,
and if we did not increase the mining capacity then we would not need such a large pipeline. These
decisions must be made simultaneously, yet it is typical to delegate these decisions to the mining
manager and the logistics manager respectively, without any dialogue or cooperation between the
two. This would lead to a suboptimal outcome.
In practice, there are dozens of capital decisions that would require thousands of life-of-mine plan
iterations. This is not possible, so it does not get done.
The optimiser can determine how much capital is worth spending on each constraint
simultaneously, and rebalance the pit and phase selection, mine schedule, cut-off, stockpile,
processing, product, logistics at the same time (steps 1 to 9).
G WHITTLE
Mining capacity goes up to 83 Mt/a, the pipeline to 1 Mt/a. Trucking no longer required. The shells
used for phases are now 4, 7, 9, and 14. An extra $37 M of capital spend but NPV after the extra
capital increases by a further 4.9 per cent.
SUMMARY
Figure 11 summarises the impact of all ten components described above. The recent ones have
been focused on dealing with downstream bottlenecks and although each one introduced a new
mechanism, it was critical to assess the impact it had on the previous mechanisms to calibrate it
properly. The benets of downstream modications must be assessed with consideration of what
the mine can deliver due to its internal limits the head grade is likely to reduce as mining tonnage
increases. Simultaneous optimisation is essential to get the balance of these effects right.
Accumulated Value
$3,000
$2,800
$78
$113
$2,600
$88
$70
NPV $Millions
$2,400
$226
$2,200 $74
$2,775
$2,000 $241
$70
$1,800 $102
$115
$1,600
$1,598
7.2% 6.4% 4.4% 15.1% 4.6% 14.1% 4.4% 5.5% 7.1% 4.9% 73.7%
$1,400
l
ua
cs
f
tal
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ile
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s
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9L
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ro
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im
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FIG 11 - The ten components of Enterprise Optimisation combine to increase net present value by 73.7 per cent in this case.
OVERALL RESULT
NPV has been increased from US$1598 M in the base case, to US$2775 M in case 10 with all
mechanisms working together an increase in value of 73.7 per cent.
The optimised plan is undoubtedly more complicated than the manual plan as can be seen from
Figures 12 and 13, but the higher NPV justies this. Mining has increased, signicant amounts are
stockpiled, plant throughput is up for many of the early years, and most importantly the early feed
grades to the plant are approximately doubled. The combination of these signicantly increases metal
production in early years when the time value of money is highest and the copper metal price is high.
Please consider what has been done in the various cases:
x ultimate pit has been reduced, along with reserves;
x mining, processing and logistics costs have been increased signicantly;
x plant recovery has been signicantly decreased, due to higher throughput and higher concentrate
grade in some cases;
x mining equipment has been made idle, two thirds of the eet for several years;
x capital expenditure has increased; and
x life of the operation has reduced by several years.
All these outcomes are counter-intuitive and in a typical organisation would have been resisted
by the individual managers concerned, and by the Chief Executive Ofcer. However, together they
have transformed the economic performance of the business. If any of these changes were made
in isolation it would be disastrous, so a coordinated approach to the analysis and implementation
is essential. The value comes from looking at how the different steps in the value chain can affect
each other and can work together, rather than looking at them in isolation. Much of this new value
is hidden between the steps managed by the organisational silos, and so a different mindset is
required to identify it.
Case 0. Manual - Schedule
140 1.40
1.30
120 1.20
1.10
100 1.00
0.90
Tonnes Millions
80 0.80
Au g/t
0.70
60 0.60
Cu %
0.50
40 0.40
0.30
20 0.20
0.10
0 0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year
Stockpile Bal Waste Stockpiled Processed from Stockpile

Processed from Mine Cu grade Processed Au Grade Processed
FIG 12 - Schedule for the manual design.
Case 10. Capital - Schedule
140 1.40
1.30
120 1.20
1.10
100 1.00
0.90
Tonnes Millions
80 0.80 Au g/t
0.70
60 0.60
Cu %
0.50
40 0.40
0.30
20 0.20
0.10
0 0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Year
Stockpile Bal Waste Stockpiled Processed from Stockpile

Processed from Mine Cu grade Processed Au Grade Processed
FIG 13 - Schedule for full Enterprise Optimisation plan.
Figure 14 sums up the overall change in the cash ow prole due to the ten mechanisms applied.
Basically US$1.5 billion of cash ow has been moved from the last few years of the life of the operation
to the rst three years. This provides business options and security for the project, and greatly
increases the likelihood that it will achieve nancial support and approval. The possible negatives of
reducing reserves and reducing employment longevity can be compensated for by reinvesting some
of the early proceeds into exploration or other worthwhile projects.
See Tables 1 and 2 for details of the manual case and the fully optimised life of mine schedules.
Please note that some of the benet in this case is derived from increasing copper production in
the early years when the copper price is high. Repeating the entire case study with at copper price
at $1.50/lb still generates and overall increase in NPV of 53.9 per cent (rather than 73.7 per cent).
The amount of the improvement possible depends entirely on the conguration of the base case, and
the orebody itself. Applying the mechanisms in a different order would also affect the quantication
of the effect of each step.
G WHITTLE
Net Cash
$1,200
$1,000
$800
$600 Manual
$400 Optimized
Millions
$200
$0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
-$200
-$400
-$600
-$800
Year

FIG 14 - Net cash flow before and after Enterprise Optimisation.
ACTUAL PROJECTS
The example above involves just one pit. The Enterprise Optimisation method has been applied to
situations involving a signicant number of pits, underground stopes, elements, processing plants,
products, etc and all their attendant interactions.
Portfolio Enterprise Optimisation studies performed to date include:
x 86 mines, smelter and leach;
x 38 pit and underground mines, ve concentrators, smelter, leach and renery, blending
requirements, 15 product options;
x 18 deposits with 130 pits, pressure and heap leach and renery;
x 40 underground mines, three pits, two product streams with shared infrastructure;
x 80 deposits country-wide, several wash plants, logistics options to central smelter; and
x three pits with direct feed and otation option, negotiable oxygen ratios with throughput and
recovery implications.
Actual Enterprise Optimisation studies completed this year have identied opportunities for NPV
increase of between 25 per cent and 85 per cent. In each of these cases conventional optimisation
approaches (including the use of Whittle software) had already been applied.
CONCLUSION
Management performance measurement involving key performance indicators like minimising
cost, maximising recoveries, maximising reserves and life of mine, may be leading us away from
signicant value enhancing opportunities.
Any business plan which has the same setting for any decision (mining rate, stripping ratio, cut-off
grade, plant head grade, throughput, production, product specication) year after year cannot be
optimal. The orebody is not the same each year and even if it was, the time value of money would
lead us to different trade-off decisions in each period. It is therefore relatively easy to spot where
opportunity for improvement by this technique may exist.
Enterprise Optimisation unleashes value by dynamically harmonising the exibility in all parts of
the operation. It relies on a combination of philosophy, methodology and sophisticated software to
achieve the result. We have shown that there are very considerable gains to be made by optimising
a number of mechanisms that are not usually considered by many organisations, and by optimising
them simultaneously. Complexity and variation are opportunity embracing this with a structured
approach can realise signicant economic benets.
MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION (MPES) CONFERENCE / FREMANTLE, WA, 1 - 3 DECEMBER 2010
TABLE 1
Case 0: Manual base case.
Case 0: Manual Base Case

Total To From Ore Min Proc Sell Net
Waste To plant Cu Au Conc Con Cu Con Au Revenue Reclaim DCF 10%
Year mined Stkpl Stkpl proc cost cost cost cash
Ktonne Ktonne % g/t Ktonne % g/t $M $M $M
Ktonne Ktonne Ktonne Ktonne $M $M $M $M
1 27 609 7609 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.36 0.52 226 28.0 27.5 531 $40 $- $136 $83 $273 $248
2 20 146 146 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.57 0.70 358 28.0 23.3 742 $29 $- $136 $131 $446 $369
3 28 468 8 468 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.70 0.81 440 28.0 22.1 827 $41 $- $136 $160 $490 $368
4 30 723 10 723 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.65 0.64 409 28.0 18.9 665 $45 $- $136 $148 $336 $230
5 31 677 11 677 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.67 0.52 421 28.0 14.8 570 $46 $- $136 $152 $236 $146
6 55 488 35 488 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.68 0.47 427 28.0 13.2 556 $80 $- $136 $153 $187 $105
7 53 747 33 747 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.86 0.48 541 28.0 10.7 668 $78 $- $136 $194 $259 $133
8 60 000 43 899 0 16 101 0 16 101 0.86 0.50 435 28.0 11.0 542 $87 $- $115 $157 $184 $86
9 60 000 45 080 0 14 920 0 14 920 0.78 0.45 366 28.0 10.9 454 $87 $- $108 $131 $127 $54
10 60 000 41 869 0 18 131 0 18 131 0.75 0.42 427 28.0 10.8 527 $87 $- $126 $153 $161 $62
11 52 297 32 297 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.73 0.45 459 28.0 11.7 583 $76 $- $136 $166 $205 $72
12 48 999 28 999 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.70 0.39 440 28.0 10.6 544 $71 $- $136 $159 $178 $57
13 36 904 16 904 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.64 0.31 402 28.0 9.4 483 $54 $- $136 $146 $148 $43
14 27 011 7 011 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.74 0.41 465 28.0 10.5 572 $39 $- $136 $167 $229 $60
15 23 308 3 308 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.75 0.50 471 28.0 12.6 611 $34 $- $136 $171 $270 $65
16 21 585 1 585 0 20 000 0 20 000 0.72 0.53 453 28.0 14.2 604 $31 $- $136 $163 $274 $60
17 10 654 327 0 10 327 0 10 327 0.77 0.58 250 28.0 14.3 335 $15 $- $70 $90 $159 $32
18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
Total 648 616 329 138 0 319 479 0 319 479 0.70 0.51 6 991 28.0 14.0 9814 $940 $- $2187 $2525 $4162 $2190
Less
capital $592
115
NPV $1598
TABLE 2
MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION (MPES) CONFERENCE / FREMANTLE, WA, 1 - 3 DECEMBER 2010
G WHITTLE
Case 10: Fully optimised.
Case 10: Fully Optimised

Total To From Ore Min Proc Sell Net
Waste To plant Cu Au Conc Con Cu Con Au Revenue Reclaim DCF 10%
Year mined Stkpl Stkpl proc cost cost cost cash
Ktonne Ktonne % g/t Ktonne % g/t $M $M $M
Ktonne Ktonne Ktonne Ktonne $M $M $M $M
1 83 259 20 628 36 630 26 001 0 26 001 0.83 0.93 799 24.0 16.8 1447 $121 $- $177 $277 $873 $793
2 77 809 29 624 22 183 26 001 0 26 001 1.11 0.77 968 26.0 11.5 1570 $113 $- $177 $341 $939 $776
3 68 257 41 853 820 25 584 0 25 584 1.15 0.73 999 26.0 10.4 1446 $99 $- $174 $352 $821 $617
4 83 259 57 142 16 863 9254 16 496 25 750 0.73 0.61 638 26.0 13.7 892 $121 $5 $175 $225 $366 $250
5 26 974 3042 6955 16 976 6955 23 931 0.81 0.51 601 28.0 11.8 762 $39 $2 $163 $217 $341 $212
6 23 470 244 2167 21 060 2167 23 227 0.95 0.57 689 28.0 11.1 859 $34 $1 $158 $248 $418 $236
7 21 120 146 740 20 234 1740 21 974 0.81 0.70 559 28.0 16.3 780 $31 $1 $149 $202 $398 $204
8 83 259 81 689 1570 0 22 425 22 425 0.52 0.43 362 28.0 15.6 500 $121 $7 $152 $131 $89 $41
9 73 363 36 163 16 191 21 009 1175 22 184 0.66 0.34 460 28.0 9.6 553 $106 $0 $151 $165 $130 $55
10 28 154 608 6839 20 707 0 20 707 0.77 0.55 501 28.0 13.5 659 $41 $- $141 $181 $297 $114
11 4865 1189 302 3375 16 384 19 759 0.50 0.37 312 28.0 14.2 417 $7 $5 $134 $113 $158 $55
12 0 0 0 0 18 000 18 000 0.40 0.28 226 28.0 13.7 299 $- $5 $122 $82 $90 $29
13 0 0 0 0 18 000 18 000 0.36 0.25 203 28.0 13.5 267 $- $5 $122 $73 $66 $19
14 0 0 0 0 7 918 7918 0.28 0.16 70 28.0 11.0 87 $- $2 $54 $25 $6 $1
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 - $- $- $- $- $- $-
Total 573 789 272 328 111 261 190 201 111 261 301 462 0.75 0.55 7 387 26.9 12.9 10 539 $832 $33 $2050 $2632 $4992 $3404
Less $629
capital
NPV $2775
116
REFERENCES
Lane, K F, 1988. The Economic Denition of Ore (Mining Journal Books: London).
Lerchs, H and Grossmann, L, 1965. Optimum design of open-pit mines, Trans CIM, LXVII:17-24.
Whittle, J, 2009. The Global Optimizer works What next?, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic
Mine Planning Conference, pp 3-6 (The Australasian Institute of Mining an Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Optimisation Improvements in Whittle using Stope
Optimisation Software
S Keane1
ABSTRACT
Mining One (M1) is often challenged with the task of evaluating deposits considering open cut and/or
underground (UG) mining methods. In many near surface deposits a combination of both methods
results in the optimum economic means of exploitation.
As common as it is to have open pit mines eventually develop into underground mines, theory
associated with determining the optimum underground/open pit interface location continues to be
subject to renement. With recent developments in underground software packages, the generation
of rudimentary underground mining stopes from basic economic inputs is not only fast, it provides a
practical underground mining solution.
The determination of the open pit/underground interface is not new to Gemcoms Whittle 4
(Whittle). However, its solution has only ever claimed to be indicative, mainly due the rudimentary
nature of how Whittle represents any potential underground mining. The efcient generation of
the aforementioned underground mining solution has provided mining engineers with a unique
opportunity. Underground mining can now be represented within the Whittle environment to allow
the open pit/underground mining scenario to be modelled with increased accuracy. Providing Whittle
with the ability to now consider mineable underground stopes combined with the consideration of
time value of money (discounting), has delivered a solution with higher credibility than ever before.
This paper will elaborate on the potential value gains associated with improved accuracies in the
modelling of any potential underground mining in the Whittle environment. Furthermore, it will
explain the importance of incorporating time value of money in the optimisation process to provide
a consistent solution through to pit selection and nal analysis.
BACKGROUND ON WHITTLE AND MINEABLE SHAPE OPTIMISER

Whittle
Gemcom Whittle (Whittle) is a pit optimisation program.
It provides several indicative open pits, based upon an input block model, and costs, slopes, prots,
etc input by the user.
The basic theory behind how Whittle works, is it calculates the value for all the individual blocks in
the model, based upon mining cost, processing cost, ore value, etc. Whittle then attempts to make
shells that provide the theoretically most economic pits.
Datamine Studio 3 and Mineable Shape Optimiser
Datamine Studio 3 is, amongst other things, a mine design and block modelling software package
made by Datamine.
Mineable Shape Optimiser (MSO) is an optional add-on to Datamine Studio 3, which calculates
theoretical economic stope shapes in a block model based upon input parameters by the user
(minimum and maximum stope widths, cut-off grade, etc).
MSO Mineable Shape Optimiser is a true underground optimisation tool that maximises
the alue of the resource, gi en stope geometry and design rules MSO computes the
optimal si e, shape and location of stopes for an underground mine using an input block
model containing grades or alues The Shape Optimi er searches for the optimal mineable
1. Mining Engineer, Mining One, Level 9, 50 Market Street, Melbourne Vic 3000. Email: skeane@miningone.com.au
S KEANE
shapes and takes into account the orebody geometry Constraints can be applied on the dip
and strike of the nal stope shape Multiple stopes can be generated across the strike of the
orebody ith minimum pillar dimensions enforced (Datamine, 2010).
Optimisation without Mineable Shape Optimiser stopes (traditional method)

if both abo e-ground and underground methods are to be used, this can affect the design
of the open pit, and hittle can take account of this
hen considering this issue, it is important that, if a particular block can be mined by either
abo e-ground methods or underground methods, then the correct alue to gi e it during
open pit optimi ation is the difference bet een its alue hen mined abo e-ground and its
alue hen mined underground
Generally, when Whittle open pit/underground (OP/UG) optimisations are run, Whittle will optimise
every block of specied rock types (sometimes oxide is excluded, or low-JORC-condence material,
as dened by the user). Theoretically, some of the blocks that Whittle values as more economic if
mined via UG methods actually cant form an economic stope (eg very thin high grade veins create
high value areas for UG mining in Whittle, but when practical mining widths are introduced the
mining dilution reduces the grade signicantly, resulting in less attractive economics).
Optimisation with Mineable Shape Optimiser stopes
Due to the nature of the OP/UG interface programming in Whittle, there is an inherent bias towards
over-optimistic evaluations of the UG mining potential, since Whittle considers all blocks for UG
mining no matter how impractical mining those block may be. There is potential for increasing the
accuracy of the optimisation by restricting Whittle to only consider potentially feasible stopes for UG
extraction.
Before exporting the block model from Datamine to Whittle, an MSO run is conducted on it. MSO
creates shapes around any material that may be economic and practical to mine. These shapes are
saved as a Datamine Studio wireframe.
Wireframes are then lled with empty blocks. These blocks are assigned a new eld within the
block model (eg MSO 1).
This newly created block model is combined with the original block model (via an ADDMOD
process). Then an E TRA process is done on the model, with the intent of slightly changing the
type eld names to be able to identify in Whittle blocks that are contained in the MSO stope areas.
Only the areas that MSO identied are considered for UG extraction by Whittle. Excluding
uneconomic areas from UG mining in the Whittle optimisation can only serve to increase the accuracy
and practicality of the resultant potential open pits.
EXAMPLE CALCULATIONS
The usual way
Preparing the model
Each user has a slightly different way of preparing models. To prepare a model for Whittle, several
manual processes should be run. These can be put into a macro.
For this model, there are two rock types fresh, and oxide. Fresh and oxide material is denoted by
the elds starting with F and O respectively.
Whittle optimisation
Please see Appendix 2 for the full range of values used in the Whittle optimisations (see Figures 1 and 2).
This optimisation resulted in the most economic pit being 11 493 000 t in size, with 697 000 t of ore.
Note that Figure 2 shows just one main area that the pit targets, at the northern end of the resource.
The Mineable Shape Optimiser way
Running Mineable Shape Optimiser
Depending upon ground conditions, available equipment, mining rate, etc MSO can be used to run a
range of sensitivities if required. For this example, only one case will be done.
OPTIMISATION IMPROVEMENTS IN WHITTLE USING STOPE OPTIMISATION SOFTWARE
FIG 1 - Image of the pit shells/processing tab in Whittle showing all rock types for processing.
FIG 2 - Initial Whittle optimisation best pit.
The full range of MSO parameters used can be found in Appendix 1 (see Figures 3 and 4).
It can be seen from Figures 3 and 4 that MSO did not identify many potentially viable stopes in the
southern area of the deposit.
Preparing the model
The difference with preparing the model after an MSO run is the requirement to ag potential
stopes in the block model.
The resultant wireframes from the MSO run need to be incorporated into the block model that
Whittle will optimise. This is done by the following processes in addition to those briey explained
in the non-MSO section above.
TRIFIL is done on the MSO wireframe, to ll it with empty blocks (ie blocks with no density,
grade, type, etc). A new eld is added to all blocks called MSO and the value is set to 1 (Figure 5).
S KEANE
FIG 3 - An example of the mineable shape optimiser inputs.
FIG 4 - Potential stopes derived from mineable shape optimiser (orange). Note that the potential stopes target the high grade areas
(block model is filtered on AU >0.1).
An ADDMOD process is used to combine the blocks in the potential stopes with the original block
model containing grade, density, etc.
When running the extra/output macro the blocks in potential stope areas need to be assigned a
different rock type this is done by changing the type eld to show a U (ie if type was O 3 and
is now contained in a potential stope, type eld will now have the value O 3U). This can be seen in
Figure 6.
Whittle optimisation
Please see Appendix 2 for the full range of values used in the Whittle optimisations.
For these Whittle optimisations, only the rock types U (blocks inside MSO potential stopes) are
considered for mining via both open pit and underground methods (see Figures 7 and 8).

FIG 5 - Mineable shape optimiser shapes filled with blocks.

FIG 6 - Part of the macro used to show the mineable shape optimiser areas in the type field.
This optimisation resulted in the most economic pit being 15 737 000 t in size, with 922 000 t of ore
(see Figure 8).
Traditional method compared to the Mineable Shape Optimiser method
Comparison
It can be seen from the results of the Whittle optimisations that there is a signicant difference in
pit size between the standard OP/UG interface calculations and utilising MSO. The most optimum
pit for the traditional method pit has a total size of 11 493 000 t, with 697 000 t of ore, which is
37 per cent larger in total tonnage than the MSO enabled Whittle optimisation which found the most
economic pit was 15 737 000 t in size, with 922 000 t of ore (see Figure 9).
It can be seen from Figure 9 that the southern pit area (on the left side of the image) is not present
if the usual methods of UG interface optimisations are used in Whittle.
S KEANE
FIG 7 - Only rock types ending in ***U are considered for potential underground mining.
FIG 8 - Most economic pit optimisation with the mineable shape optimiser model.
It can be concluded that the difference in shells is partly attributable to the fact that the southern
area does not form many theoretically economic stopes. Therefore the potential for underground
mining in this area is smaller. When the underground interface in Whittle is unrestricted, the
southern area presents a larger advantage to the company to be mined via underground methods.
However, with the lack of economic stopes in this area, it can be seen that there is minimal practical
UG potential in the southern area. Therefore it is more economic in this scenario to mine the southern
area via open cut methods.
CONCLUSIONS
When faced with evaluating a deposit that may be mineable by a combination of open pit and
underground methods, it can be seen that there is a potential for increased accuracy by utilising MSO
to identify potential practical and economic stopes before pit optimisations with Whittle.
FIG 9 - Comparison between the normal method (purple) and the mineable shape optimiser method (light brown).
Mineable shape optimiser created potential stopes that are green.
A more accurate optimisation has a large potential to signicantly increase the value of mining a
deposit.
In the example presented in this paper, the difference in methods resulted in signicantly different
open pit sizes approximately 37 per cent larger pit (by tonnage) with 32 per cent more ore.
REFERENCES
Datamine, 2010. MSO Shaping underground mining online . Available from http //products.datamine.
com.au/mso/ .
APPENDIX 1
Values used in the Mineable Shape Optimiser calculations
Cut-off grade 2.5 g/t
Minimum stope width 5m
Maximum width 100 m
Minimum waste pillar width 10 m
Near wall dilution 2m
Far wall dilution 2m
Minimum dip angle 60
Maximum dip angle 120
Maximum strike angle 45
Maximum strike angle change 20
APPENDIX 2
Values used in the Whittle optimisations
Overall slope angles in oxide 30
Overall slope angles in fresh 40
Mining cost 3.40/t
Mining recovery 95 per cent
Mining dilution 10 per cent
Processing cost 25/t
S KEANE
Processing recovery 95 per cent

UG processing cost 60/t (note that his includes the UG mining cost)
UG processing recovery 80 per cent (note that this includes the UG mining recovery)
Selling price At the time of writing this report (early July 2010) the spot
gold price is approximately US 1250/oz and the exchange rate
is approximately A 1 US 0.85. Therefore the gold price used is
1470.59/oz.
Assuming total royalties of four per cent, the effective selling
price is calculated to be 1411.76/oz, or 45.39/g.
Discount rate per period ten per cent per annum
Mining rate 5 Mt/a
Assume all ore mined can be processed straight away (no mill limit).
A Review of the Theory and Application of
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Techniques in Mine
Planning
C Musingwini1
ABSTRACT
Mine planning includes equipment selection as a subprocess because aging equipment must be
replaced to maintain or improve productivity levels. The criteria used for decision-making in mine
planning and equipment selection are often inextricably linked and inherently contradictory. For
example, nancial wisdom demands that development, which is an expense and locks up capital,
be deferred as far into the future as possible yet on the contrary technical knowledge suggests that
developing well ahead of stoping is practically desirable because it generates additional geological
information required to improve planning of the unmined portion of the orebody and create better
operating exibility. Consequently, mine planning professionals have to delicately balance all
decision criteria when executing mine planning in order to achieve optimal mineral extraction or
when selecting equipment, so that capital is optimally deployed. These two processes can therefore be
characterised as belonging to the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) type of problems. MCDA
problems are alternatively referred to as multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) problems and
belong to a broader group of problems called multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM). There is now
a gradual recognition and application of MCDA techniques in the minerals industry. This paper
explores the theory, current and potential application of these techniques in decision-making in the
minerals industry.
INTRODUCTION
The mine planning process is not a one-off event, but an integral part of the routine management
of a well-run mine because mine plans need to be continually re-optimised to account for rstly,
new information about the orebody and secondly, changes in the technological, economic,
environmental, legal and social frameworks. Equipment selection is also part of the planning process
and is occasionally done because aging equipment has to be replaced in order to maintain or improve
productivity levels. The criteria used for decision-making in these processes are often inextricably
linked and inherently contradictory. For example, in mine planning, nancial wisdom demands that
development, which is an expense and locks up capital, be deferred as far into the future as possible
yet on the contrary, technical knowledge suggests that developing well ahead of stoping is practically
desirable because it generates additional geological and geotechnical information required to
improve planning of the remainder of the unmined orebody, thus creating better operating exibility.
Consequently, mine planning professionals are faced with the challenge of delicately balancing the
decision criteria when executing mine planning, in order to achieve optimal mineral extraction or
when selecting equipment, so that capital is optimally deployed. Such contradictions were noted by
McCarthy (2002) in the scheduling of open pit mines.
In addition to the above challenge, there is also the challenge that the decision-making criteria
are measured in different units of measure but must be integrated through a trade-off, to arrive at
the overall decision. The difculty of having to consider different units of measure makes MCDA
problems intrinsically hard to solve. It becomes even more difcult to congure how to achieve an
optimal trade-off among the competing criteria, unless the importance attached to each criterion is
known. The trade-offs can also be complicated further if the decision-making criteria have nonlinear
relationships between them. For example it is difcult to congure an optimal trade-off between two
criteria if say one is varying logarithmically while other one is varying following a quadratic function
with respect to time or cost.
1. Senior Lecturer, School of Mining Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa. Email: Cuthbert.Musingwini@wits.ac.za
C MUSINGWINI
Another challenge is that the human brain can easily congure an optimal decision such as deriving
maximum benet or minimum loss when faced with a two-dimensional (2D) problem expressed as
a quadratic function in an x-y Cartesian plane, or when the decision problem is three-dimensional
(3D) expressed as a surface in 3D x-y-z space. Ballington et al (2005) alternatively referred to such
a 3D surface as a Hill-of-Value. When optimisation decisions involve decision criteria that exceed
three dimensions, humans have to rely on abstract thinking or attempt to simplify the problem back
to 2D or 3D for easier conguration. However, as Saaty and Ozdemir (2003), Yavuz (2007), Yavuz
and Pillay (2007a), Yavuz and Pillay (2007b) and Saaty (2008) noted, there are general limitations
on human performance on abstract thinking.
Noting the human limitation on abstract thinking, this paper therefore explores the theory and
examples of application of MCDA techniques in decision-making in the minerals industry, with
more focus on mine planning and equipment selection as these are integral parts of the routine
management of a well-run mine. The review is not intended to be exhaustive, but seeks to layout the
structure of the MCDA models and typical application areas, but also noting the potential for future
application of these techniques in decision-making in the minerals industry.
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS (MCDA) PROCESS

Since several criteria have to be evaluated simultaneously in mine planning and equipment selection,
these two processes can therefore be characterised as multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA),
alternatively called multiple attribute decision-making (MADM). Some authors have argued that MADM
or MCDA belongs to a broader group of techniques called multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)
which has multi-objective decision-making (MODM) techniques as another subset (Zimmermann,
1991; Triantaphyllou et al, 1998; Mendoza and Martins, 2006). The argument is that a distinction
can be made between MCDA or MADM and MODM techniques. MADM or MCDA techniques are
designed to solve problems in which discrete alternatives can be selected from a predetermined set
of alternatives. On the other hand MODM techniques are designed to solve problems in which the
decision space is continuous because a theoretically innite number of alternatives exists.
The basic structure of a generic MCDA problem (Table 1) is premised on requiring a decision maker
or a group of decision makers, to select an alternative, Ai, from a set of alternatives, A = {A1, A2, ,
Am}, such that Ai gives the best trade-off among decision criteria dened by a set, C = {C1, C2, , Cn}.
In total there are m alternatives and n criteria. The efciency of alternative i against criterion j, is
expressed as the outcome Oij.
TABLE 1
The structure of a generic multi-criteria decision analysis problem.
Criteria
C1 C2 Cj Cn
Alternatives A1 O11
A2

Ai Oij

Am Omn
The generic MCDA process begins with dening objectives, mapping them into decision criteria,
assigning weights to the criteria to indicate the importance of each criterion to the overall objective,
identifying all possible alternatives, measuring the efciency of each alternative against each
criterion, synthesising the performance of each alternative for all the criteria and lastly selecting the
best alternative. These stages which are briey discussed in the next subsections can be condensed
into basically four steps:
1. determining objectives and mapping them into criteria,
2. assigning weights to criteria,
3. aggregating the Oij values using the weights, and
4. executing the decision.
A REVIEW OF THE THEORY AND APPLICATION OF MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES IN MINE PLANNING
Mapping objectives into criteria

There are three kinds of criteria namely, natural criteria, constructed criteria and proxy criteria
(Keeney, 1992). Natural criteria can be measured directly and physically. For example the objective,
maximise production rate can be mapped into the criterion, production rate and measured in
tpa. Constructed criteria cannot be measured directly and physically but are measured through a
derived index. For example the objective, maximise operating exibility can be mapped into the
criterion Flexibility index (FI), using a dimensionless scale. Proxy criteria are indirect measures
of an objective when it is difcult to identify a natural or constructed criterion for that objective.
For example, if the objective is to, minimise the amount of acid mine drainage (AMD) released by
a tailings dam then water draining from the dam is measured for the proxy criteria acidity and Iron
(III) Hydroxide, which are the products of AMD formation. Acidity is measured on a pH scale while
Iron (III) Hydroxide is measured in mg/l of drainage water and both are then used in conjunction
to indicate the degree of AMD.
Irrespective of the category that a criterion falls into, it must be measured. Criteria can be
measured qualitatively (as non-numerical data or linguistic data), or quantitatively as numerical
data. Linguistic scales are usually converted to equivalent numeral scales to facilitate analysis. For
example a linguistic scale can be assigned numerical values on a scale of one to ten, such that low is
equivalent to one to three, medium to four to six and good to seven to ten. The numerical data on
efciency of alternatives when measured against decision criteria can be further divided into any of
the following three broad classes (Chen, 2006):
1. Cardinal data: Data is cardinal if the outcome Oij is a real number;
2. Ordinal data: Data is ordinal when it is reported using linguistic scales; and
3. Interval data, Probabilistic data, Fuzzy data: This type of data accounts for uncertainty and is
expressed as a probability function.
Assigning weights to criteria
The importance of each decision criterion is measured by assigning a weight to the criterion. There
are two broad categories of criteria weights namely, trade-off based weights and non-trade-off
weights (Belton and Stewart, 2002). Trade-off based weights require the pair-wise comparison of
criteria, thus creating some kind of compensation across criteria. Non-trade-off based weights do
not require trade-offs to be made across criteria. The raw data for trade-offs is usually obtained from
questionnaire surveys or by techniques such as the Delphi technique or the Vicekry-Groves-Clarke
method. Weights measure the relative importance of a criterion to the overall objective. The weight
of a criterion Cj is denoted wj where wj R (the set of all real numbers) and wj >0 for all criteria.
Weights are normalised to sum up to 1 as shown in Equation 1 in order to assist decision makers to
interpret the relative importance of each criterion:
n
/wj = 1 (1)
j=1
The weight vector for each alternative is then dened as w = (w1, w2, , wj ,wn) since the number
of weights should be equal to the number of criteria.
Aggregate the weights and Oij values

The outcomes of the efciency of alternatives against criteria are normalised using a value function
so that each Oij score corresponds to a dimensionless value v(Ai). Normalising is necessary to bring
all values into a dimensionless space in order to avoid aggregating or adding apples with oranges.
The weights of the criteria and the outcomes of the performance of alternatives are then aggregated
as a linear additive value function, V(Ai), dened by Equation 2:
V(Ai) = / wj.v (Ai) (2)
Execute decision
The aggregate values are then used to derive the specic decision required by the MCDA problem.
This is when all the alternatives are ranked in terms of preference and the best or optimal alternative
selected.
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COMMONLY USED MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Five MCDA techniques can be identied to have been used several times in other sectors and also
found application in the minerals industry. The rst technique is the French version, Elimination Et
Choix Traduisant la Ralit (ELECTRE), which was translated into the English version Elimination
and Choice Translating the Reality. The second technique is the Preference Ranking Organisation
Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE). The third technique is the Multiple-Attribute
Utility (MAUT). The fourth technique is the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and its generalisation
the Analytic Network Process (ANP). The fth and last technique is the Technique for Order
Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The techniques are classied according to
the type of information available to the decision maker or group of decision makers and its salient
features depending on whether it is ordinal or cardinal scale information (Geldermann and Rentz,
2005). MAUT and AHP techniques are most often applied when the information is cardinal while
ELECTRE, PROMETHEE and TOPSIS techniques are applied to mostly ordinal scale information
(Geldermann and Rentz, 2005; Triantaphyllou et al, 1998). The ELECTRE and PROMETHEE
techniques are founded on the outranking procedure. Outranking is done to account for the fact that
preferences are not constant in time, are not ambiguous and are not independent of the process of
analysis (Geldermann and Rentz, 2005). Saaty (2008) concurred with the argument that human
preferences are dynamic because, people, then, not only have different feelings about the same
situation, but their feelings change or can be changed by discussion, new evidence and interaction
with other experienced people. The outranking argument is that an alternative Ai outranks,
dominates or is superior to alterative Aj if the decision maker strongly perceives Ai to be at least as
good as Aj. This is expressed mathematically as Ai.Aj. A comparison of two alternatives is called a
pair-wise comparison. A brief description of each technique is discussed in the next subsections.
Elimination Et Choix Traduisant la Ralit (ELECTRE) technique
The ELECTRE group of techniques comprises of the versions ELECTRE I, ELECTRE II and ELECTRE
III. The fundamental concept of ELECTRE techniques is that in the outranking relationship, Ai.Aj
(read as Aj is dominated by Ai), implies that Aj is dominated by Ai under one or more criteria but
is equally as good as Ai under the remaining decision criteria. The ELECTRE techniques initially
make pair-wise comparisons of alternatives against each criterion, after converting the efciency
of each alternative against each criterion to a common physical or monetary value, dened as v(Ai)
and v(Aj) for alternatives Ai and Aj, respectively. Threshold levels are then set for the difference
v(Ai) - v(Aj). The decision maker then compares the difference against the threshold to decide if:
x he/she is indifferent to the two alternatives, Ai and Aj;
x he/she has a weak preference or strict preference of one alternative over the other; or
x he/she is unable to express any perceived preference of one alternative over the other.
This step of the process makes ELECTRE techniques difcult to explain to decision makers in
industry because they work on threshold levels that usually have no realistic meaning (Geldermann
and Rentz, 2005). Additionally, subtle differences among pair-wise comparisons usually complicate the
ELECTRE decision-making process. Consequently, the set of outranking relationships may be complete
or incomplete. The decision maker must then assign weights to the criteria to reect their relative
importance in the decision-making process. A series of consecutive assessments of the outranking
relationships aggregated with the weights produces a concordance index, which is an indication of the
degree to which Ai outranks Aj. The indices help to identify the core set of preferred alternatives since
the system of outranking relationships is never necessarily complete as mentioned earlier.
Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) technique
The PROMETHEE techniques comprise of PROMETHEE I and PROMETHEE II. The PROMETHEE
techniques were developed to overcome the main problem associated with ELECTRE methods,
that of nuances in the pair-wise comparisons (Geldermann and Rentz, 2005). The fundamental
mathematical model underlying the PROMETHEE methods is that when comparing two alternatives
Ai and Aj for each criterion, k, a preference function Pk can be dened as indicated by Equation 3:
Pk(fk(Ai) fk(Aj)) = Pk(d) [0,1] (3)
where Pk(d), is the difference in the degree of preference for alternative Ai over Aj and varies from
Pk(d) = 0, representing indifference in preference through a zone of weak preference, then a zone of
strong preference up to Pk(d) = 1, representing strict preference. The PROMETHEE algorithm can be
summarised into six steps as outlined below (Geldermann and Rentz, 2005):
1. For each criterion, k, specify a generalised preference function, Pk(d). The preference function can
take any of six possible forms of function distributions which are the criterion distribution; quasi-
criterion distribution; criterion with linear preference distribution; level criterion distribution;
linear and indifference area distribution; and Gaussian distribution.
2. Dene a vector of weights that indicate the relative importance of each criterion given by,
wT = [w1, ,wk] as expressed by the decision maker.
3. Dene the outranking-relation,, for all alternatives A1, An A as indicted by Equation 4:
k
r (Ai,A j) = /Wk # Pk (fk (A j)) (4)
k=1
4. Calculate the leaving ow +(Aj), dened by Equation 5:
T
z+(Ai) = 1 / r (Ai,A j) (5)
T j 1
=
5. Calculate the entering ow -(Aj), dened by Equation 6:
T
z-(Ai) = 1 / r (A j,A i) (6)
T j 1
=
6. Perform a graphical evaluation of the outranking relation. Generally, the higher the leaving ow
and the lower the entering ow, the better the alternative.
The PROMETHEE methods use graphical output to show the partial preordering of the alternatives
represented as nodes and the outranking relations depicted as arcs.
Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) technique

The TOPSIS technique was developed by Hwang and Yoon (1981), also as an alternative technique to
the ELCETRE technique. Triantaphyllou et al (1998) described the condensed form of the TOPSIS
technique. The TOPSIS technique assumes that the decision maker or group of decision makers can
adequately congure where the ideal and negative-ideal solutions would lie in a Euclidean space.
The ideal solution is one that maximises desirable benets at the same time minimising undesirable
outcomes. The converse is true for a negative-ideal solution. The technique starts by converting
dimensions of the attributes against which the alternatives are measured, into a dimensionless space
through a normalisation process. The decision-maker then applies a set of weights to the normalised
attributes to produce a normalised weighted matrix. The N-dimensional Euclidean distance method
is then used to calculate the separation distance of each alternative from the ideal and negative-ideal
solutions. The best alternative then, is the one with the shortest distance from the ideal solution and
the furthest distance from the negative-ideal solution in Euclidean space.
Multiple-Attribute Utility (MAUT) technique

The MAUT technique is based on utility, a concept that evolved from the branch of economics. In
economic terms utility (U) is simply, satisfaction. Common among individuals or individual groups of
people is the need to maximise utility by maximising desirable outcomes and minimising undesirable
outcomes. The MAUT technique structures the problem as a hierarchy with the primary objective
occupying the pinnacle of the hierarchy and having rst-layer and second-layer objectives below the
primary objective, arranged in terms of hierarchical importance. The objective is measured using
attributes or criteria. Feasible alternatives are represented by, ai, attributes are represented by xj,
the trade-off weights of attributes are represented by wij and pij is the most likely probability of
attaining a predetermined value of efciency measure which alternative ai scores against attribute xi.
The overall relative utility (Ui) of an alternative, ai, is given by Equation 7.
n
Ui = / pijwij (7)
j=1
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Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique

Saaty (1980) developed the AHP methodology. Matrix and vector algebra form the basis of the
mathematical framework of the AHP methodology, enabling AHP calculations to be easily performed
in Microsoft Excel. Additionally, there are generic off-the-shelf software such as Expert Choice and
DecisionLens that can be used to solve AHP problems. The books, The Analytic Hierarchy Process,
by Saaty (1980) and Decision-making for Leaders: The Analytic Hierarchy Process for Decisions in
a Complex World, by Saaty (2008) comprehensively explain the AHP mathematical theory. The next
paragraphs provide a brief discussion of the AHP theory.
The AHP methodology is premised on four main axioms which are (Saaty, 1986; Harker and Vargas,
1987):
x Axiom 1 (the reciprocity axiom): which says that given any two criteria Ci and Cj, the degree of
preference of Ci over Cj is an inverse of the complementary preference decision of Cj over Ci.
x Axiom 2 (the homogeneity axiom): which says that when comparing two alternatives or two
criteria, the scale of the ratio of comparison is bounded (ie alternative/criteria one cannot be
innitely better than alternative/criteria two).
x Axiom 3 (the dependence axiom): which says that the set of alternatives is dependent on the set
of criteria if a fundamental scale can be dened to measure each alternative against each criterion
(ie the decision problem can be formulated as a hierarchy).
x Axiom 4 (the expectations axiom): which says that all alternatives and criteria which impact a
decision-making problem are represented in a hierarchy and assigned priorities compatible with
the expectations.
It is not the intention in this paper to prove these axioms as such proof can be found in Saaty (1986)
and Harker and Vargas (1987). Rather the intention is to recognise that the decision problems that
can be solved using the AHP must satisfy all the four axioms.
The mathematical procedure starts with a pair-wise comparison of the relative weight or importance
of each criterion over another using the reciprocity axiom. The relative weight of Ci over Cj is denoted
by wij such that, wij = 1 , 6i ! j , and wij=1, i=j, since a criterion is as important as itself. Due to the
wij
reciprocity of weights the matrix of weights is a square matrix, W = (wij), of order n, corresponding
to the number of criteria. The matrix, W, is termed a reciprocal matrix because the inverse of the
weight of one criterion over another is equal to the weight of the second criterion over the rst one.
For example if capital costs are twice as important as operating costs in choosing a mining method,
then the logic is that operating costs will be expected to be half as important as capital costs.
The matrix of weights, W, is then evaluated for transitivity. A relationship is transitive if the
relative importance is multiplicative. For example, if criterion C2 is twice as important as criterion C1
and criterion C3 is three times as important as C2, then logically criterion C3 should be six times as
important as C1. A matrix satisfying the transitive axiom represents consistent judgements. Typical
human judgements are characteristically inconsistent to a greater or lesser degree and cannot satisfy
the transitive axiom. The AHP methodology provides a way of measuring the degree of inconsistency
in judgements.
The transitive relationship between weights can be expressed mathematically as wik = wijwjk, i,j,k.
A vector, w, of order n can be established such that Ww = w. The vector, w, is called an eigenvector
of the matrix W and the constant is its corresponding eigen value. If the matrix, W, is consistent
then = n. For inconsistent human judgements, the eigenvector, w, cannot satisfy the earlier
condition but will satisfy the condition Ww = maxw such that max n. The difference between max
and n indicates that there is some inconsistency in the judgements but, if max = n then logically, the
judgements were consistent.
Several methods are available for estimating the eigenvector. Of these, a close approximation of
the eigenvector is obtained when geometric means are used to estimate the eigenvector elements.
The rationale for geometric means is simple. If a typical scale of one to ten is used to denote the
relative weights, then from the reciprocity axiom, the reciprocal weights 0.1 and ten will differ by
an order of magnitude of 100. Costa (2007) indicated that geometric means are meaningful when
evaluating data that differs by several orders of magnitude, the minimum order being three (ie the
largest number is three times as big as the smallest number in the data set). The geometric mean is
useful for such data because unlike the arithmetic mean, it tends to dampen the effect of very high or
low values, which could bias the mean if an arithmetic mean were calculated (Costa, 2007).
A Consistency Index, CI, is then calculated from max and n using the relationship dened by
Equation 8:
CI = ^
m max - nh
^n - 1h (8)
In order to determine if judgements are reasonably consistent a Consistency Ratio, CR, is calculated
by assessing the calculated CI against judgements that are made completely at random. Saaty (1980)
simulated large samples of random matrices of increasing order and calculated their corresponding
CIs which are random indices, RIs. For matrices of order between one and 15, Saaty (1980) established
the corresponding RIs as shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Random index (RI) for n-ordered matrix (source: Saaty, 1980).
Matrix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
order
RI 0.00 0.00 0.58 0.90 1.12 1.24 1.32 1.41 1.45 1.49 1.51 1.48 1.56 1.57 1.59
The CR is obtained by dividing the CI by its corresponding RI. Saaty (1980) suggests that if the CR
exceeds 0.1 then the judgements are likely to be too inconsistent to be reliable and the assignment
of weights to criteria should be redone. The threshold ratio of 0.1 can be interpreted to mean that
the judgments are approximately ten per cent random and a ratio of 1.0 would therefore mean that
the judgements are completely too random to be trusted. A CR ratio of 0 therefore implies that
judgements are perfectly consistent (ie not random at all). In practice CRs of more than 0.1 are
sometimes accepted provided there is adequate justication for their acceptance (Coyle, 2004).
If the degree of inconsistency in judgements is acceptable, the efciencies of all alternatives on
a criterion, Oij, are then normalised to eliminate the effect of different units of measure for each
criterion. For m alternatives on a criterion, the normalised Oij values denoted by, ONij, are derived
as shown in Equation 9:
O
O Nij = m ij (9)
/ Oij
i=1
The matrix of normalised efciency outcomes is nally multiplied by the eigenvector to obtain the
aggregated AHP priority score. The decision is then made based on the logic that the higher the AHP
priority score for an alternative, then the more preferable the alternative.
There are three main limitations of the AHP methodology. Firstly, the AHP only works if the matrix
for the criteria weights is a positive reciprocal matrix (Coyle, 2004). Positive reciprocity is satised
if criterion Ci is x times more important than criterion Cj and correspondingly Cj is 1 times as
x
important relative to criterion Ci. Secondly, when the scale for measuring the relative importance of
criteria with respect to each other is changed, say from a scale of one to ten to a scale of one to 20,
the weight vector will also change, in some cases affecting the nal decision (Coyle, 2004). Lastly,
as the number of criteria to be compared increases, the number of pair-wise comparisons increases
rapidly following a power function as shown in Table 3, thus clouding judgement and rendering
the calculations more complex. For example, for the recommended maximum number of criteria of
nine, a total of 36 comparisons have to be made.
Summary differences of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques
The previous sections have discussed each MCDA technique individually but did not provide a
comparison of the techniques. A summary of the structural comparison of the four broad categories
of MCDA methodologies is shown in Table 4. The major difference among the techniques can be seen
rstly, in whether or not the technique produces a complete preference order of alternatives and
secondly, in whether the relative importance or weights of criteria are treated on a trade-off or non
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TABLE 3
Relationship between number of criteria and comparisons (source: Kardi, 2006).
Number of criteria 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 n
Number of 0 1 3 6 10 15 21 n(n - 1)
comparisons 2
TABLE 4
Comparison of the four multi-criteria decision analysis methodology categories (adapted from Geldermann and Rentz, 2005; Chen, 2006).
MAUT AHP ELECTRE PROMETHEE TOPSIS

Foundation Classical MCDA Classical MCDA but Outranking procedure Outranking procedure Classical MCDA
approach hierarchical approach approach
Theoretical basis Utility function Pair-wise comparison Pair-wise comparison Pair-wise comparison Dimensionless
additive model (weighted eigenvector (concordance analysis) (preference function) Euclidean space
evaluation) evaluation model
Measurement of Numerical (non- Numerical (non- Numerical (non- Numerical (non- Numerical (non-
criteria numerical data must numerical data must numerical data must numerical data must numerical data
be converted to be converted to be converted to be converted to must be converted
numerical scale) numerical scale) numerical scale) numerical scale) to a dimensionless
numerical scale)
Determination of Trade-off based Trade-off (generate Non-trade-off (does Non-trade-off (does Trade-off based
weights of criteria weights (generate weights using Saatys not provide procedure not provide procedure weights
weights using swing, Eigenvector and to obtain weights) to obtain weights)
direct-ratio, or geometric mean)
Eigenvector methods)
Result Relative preference Relative preference A set of non- Partial and complete Relative preference
order order dominated alternatives ranking order order
trade-off basis. These differences are necessitated by the nature of the multi-criteria problem, the
decision required and the type of information available for the decision-making process.
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION OF MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS

TECHNIQUES IN THE MINERALS INDUSTRY
MCDA techniques are appropriate tools for analysing complex mineral industry decision-making
problems because they have two unique desirable features that match the level of complexity
of the problems to be solved. Firstly, the techniques can be applied to solve problems that have
both quantitative and qualitative data, even including expert opinions. Expert opinion is usually
sought in the minerals industry because data pertaining to and knowledge about the orebody,
technical planning parameters, or commodity prices is neither never known with certainty nor fully
understood. Secondly, the structure of MCDA techniques is such that it creates a decision-making
environment that enables participation and collaboration by experts from different disciplines that
have different objectives and stakeholders with different expectations, who consequently will have
multiple decision-making criteria that most often are conicting across disciplines. These factors
increase the complexity of decision-making problems in the minerals industry. The overview in
Table 5 presents a wide range of examples of case studies of application of MCDA techniques in the
minerals industry for the period 1995 - 2010.
Table 5 indicates a diversity of applications of MCDA techniques to decision-making in the minerals
industry with the AHP appearing to be the most widely used MCDA technique. Most of the examples
that were identied are post-2000, indicating a gradual recognition of the use of MCDA techniques
in solving minerals industry problems. The main areas of application include mine planning,
equipment or technology selection, location of a mining facility and strategy formulation. There are
also potential areas of application of MCDA techniques in the minerals industry. Musingwini and
Minnitt (2008) identied some of these areas to include performance evaluation of line managers for
promotion, performance evaluation of operating shafts, ranking of projects competing for funding,
measuring company performance on mining score card in meeting the requirements of the Mining
TABLE 5
Examples of minerals industry problems solved using multi-criteria decision analysis techniques between 1995 and 2010.
Source Multi-criteria decision analysis decision problem

Owusu-Mensah (2010) Used AHP to successfully recommend the optimal ore transport system for Obuasi gold mine in Ghana, to meet expected
increase in production. Four transport options were evaluated against three broad criteria. The three criteria had a total of
15 sub-criteria linked to them.
Musingwini (2009) Used the AHP to aid in the successful optimisation of level and raise spacing for a conventional platinum reef mining layout
in a typical Bushveld Complex mining environment. A total of 15 different layout alternatives were compared against 12
techno-economic criteria.
Aghajani-Bazzazi, Osanloo Used a combination of the AHP and VIKOR methods to select the optimal equipment suite for overburden removal in
and Karimi (2009) surface iron ore and coal mines. Five alternative equipment suites were compared on the basis of seven selection criteria.
This approach was used because the criteria were measured in a mixture of units that included deterministic data, fuzzy
numbers, interval numbers and linguistic terms.
Musingwini and Minnitt Used AHP to rank four mining methods to mine the UG2 reef on the Bushveld Complex on the basis of eight evaluation
(2008) criteria.
Yavuz (2008) Compared fuzzy multiple attribute decision making (FMADM) and AHP to successfully select the best site for the location of
a natural stone processing plant. Four alternatives were compared on the basis of four main criteria that had 15 sub-criteria.
Karadogan, Kahriman and Used AHP based fuzzy multiple attribute decision-making methodology to select the most suitable underground mining
Ozer (2008) method for the Ciftalan Lignite Mine in Turkey. Five possible mining methods were compared on the basis of 18 criteria.
Wu et al (2007) Successfully used AHP to advise the board of directors of Wugang Mining Cooperation in strategy formulation based on
the order in which the company was weakest in terms of core competence for each of the four products (iron concentrates;
pellets; copper and sulphur concentrates; and non-metallic concentrates). The products were compared on the basis of eight
criteria clustered into three broad criteria.
Uysal and Demirci (2006) Used a hierarchical multi-dimensional objective system similar to AHP to select the more suitable mining method for the ELI
and GLI coalfields in Turkey. Two mining methods were compared on the basis of 19 criteria.
de Almeida, Alencar and PROMETHEE II used to select the mining method for ornamental rocks that best satisfies a set of evaluation criteria. Six
Miranda (2005) mining methods were compared on the basis of five criteria.
Ataei (2005) Used AHP to select the best location of an alumina-cement plant in Iran. Five possible locations were compared on the basis
of five criteria.
Vieira (2003; 2004; 2005) Successfully used MAUT to select the best mining method from four possible methods to mine ultra-deep tabular gold
deposits of the Witwatersrand Basin. Four mining methods were compared on the basis of 49 attributes clustered into five
decision criteria.
Kazakidis, Mayer and Scoble Used AHP based Expert Choice software to model mining scenarios for selecting the:
(2004) best rockbolt support system from 14 possible rockbolt support systems on the basis of ten criteria;
best option from five operational options to improve tunnelling advance rates based on seven criteria; and
mine with the highest risk to mine production performance arising from ground problems, from a set of eight mines in a
mining company, based on four criteria.
Bitarafan and Ataei (2004) Used two methods, an AHP based fuzzy multiple attribute decision-making method and fuzzy dominance method, to select
the optimal mining method for extracting the no 3 Anomaly at the Gol-Gohar iron mine in Iran. Seven mining methods
were compared on the basis of 15 criteria.
Elevli and Demirci (2004) PROMETHEE I and PROMETHEE II were used to select the most suitable underground ore transport system for a chromite
mine in Turkey. Five alternative transportation systems were compared on the basis of six criteria.
Dessureault and Scoble Used AHP to assist a mine to decide whether to purchase new drill-monitoring technology, maintain status quo, or retrain
(2000) drillers and surveyors but require them to work more productively and safely. The three alternatives were compared on the
basis of six criteria.
Liquin et al (1995) Used AHP to select an optimal mining plan from a set of possible mining plans for a generic multi-criteria decision-making
problem.
Charter in South Africa, comparison of different ore haulage systems and the evaluation of different
support systems for production stopes. Other areas are tender selection, candidate selection from
job interviews and ranking research project proposals for possible funding.
CONCLUSION
This paper has demonstrated through examples of successful application of MCDA techniques that
most decision-making in mine planning and equipment selection are multi-criteria in nature and
C MUSINGWINI
can be solved using MCDA techniques. The successful application of MCDA techniques has helped to
eliminate gut-feel and empirical decisions from being made due to limited or uncertain information
by laying out a systematic, logical and transparent decision-making process that is defendable and
repeatable by other decision-makers. This is of paramount importance in todays modern world
characterised by strong demands for good corporate governance. There is now a gradual recognition
of and application of MCDA techniques in the minerals industry, particularly the AHP technique.
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An Investigation to Integrate Optimum Long-Term
Planning with Short Planning in Underground Mine
Production Scheduling
M Nehring1, E Topal2, M Kizil3 and P Knights4
ABSTRACT
Generating short- and long-term mine production schedules in isolation and independently from
each other means that only a local optimum can be achieved when each scheduling phase is carried
out. The globally optimal solution however, can be achieved when integrating scheduling phases
and accounting for the interaction between short-term and long-term activities simultaneously. This
paper addresses the task of integrating short- and long-term production plans by combining the
short-term objective of minimising deviation to targeted mill feed grade with the long-term objective
of maximising net present value (NPV) into a single mathematical model. A case study is presented
which compares the present values of the same stope data set scheduled via separate long and short-
term models and than by the proposed integrated model which applies a predetermined penalty for
each tonne of metal deviation to target for the respective ore tonnage being processed. This allows an
operation to obtain a globally optimal scheduling regime when taking into consideration the cost and
loss of value resulting from uctuations in grade to the mill over the short-term.
INTRODUCTION
The traditional mine scheduling process is carried out in a number of phases. Over the medium
to long-term an operation will seek to develop a schedule on a monthly or quarterly basis that
maximises its NPV while adhering to various timing, resource and sequencing constraints inherent
to that particular site. The results of this phase will generally form the inputs for the development
of a short-term schedule. At this level of planning the focus turns to maintaining a feed supply to
the mill of consistent grade. While some gradual re-balancing of the process route may take place
the main throughput/recovery equilibrium is generally set based on the expected average grade of
the material feed into the plant. An operation may therefore not be obtaining full value by feeding
material into its plant with high uctuations in grade ultimately resulting in reduced efciency and
recovery over the short-term. This may also be case with ore feed containing a certain impurity, such
as arsenic in a copper ore. A plant will generally have the process balances in place for the targeted
average impurity blend. Deviation from this target may also alter the balance and result in reduced
efciency and recovery.
For the most part, traditional approaches deal with each phase separately whereby the solution
for one forms the starting point for the next. As such, the segregation of these phases has meant
that only a local optimum is possible. For a globally optimal result to be achieved, the implications
of a long-term decision on short-term objectives must be considered. These interactions must be
explicitly dened when attempting to integrate the two phases.
A number of authors have advanced the development of mathematical programming tools which
are capable of modelling the complex underground mine scheduling problem. However, these tend
1. GAusIMM, Student, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, CRC Mining, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Qld 4072. Email: m.nehring@uq.edu.au
2. MAusIMM, Associate Professor and Head of Mining Engineering Department, Western Australia School of Mines, Curtin University of Technology, Kalgoorlie WA 6433.
Email: e.topal@curtin.edu.au
3. MAusIMM, Senior Lecturer, MEA and Mining Program Leader Director, Teaching and Learning School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland,
St Lucia Qld 4072. Email: m.kizil@uq.edu.au
4. MAusIMM, Professor, Executive Director Mining Education Australia, BMA Chair and Head of Division of Mining Engineering, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering,
The University of Queensland, St Lucia Qld 4072. Email: p.knights@uq.edu.au
M NEHRING et al
to either focus on the long-term scheduling problem or the short-term scheduling problem with
progression lacking in regard to the development of a tool which combines both. Another drawback
associated with existing tools and what largely work against their more widespread implementation
are their excess solution times. As such, there are a number of general improvements still to be
made in regard to the development of mathematical programming tools seeking to optimise the
mine production scheduling problem. This paper focuses on the integration of scheduling plans into
a single model so as to obtain simultaneous short- and long-term solutions that satisfy the objectives
of both scheduling horizons.
It is widely accepted that mathematical programming techniques such as mixed integer
programming (MIP) has the capability to efciently model complex scenarios such as the production
scheduling problem. A long-term production scheduling model using MIP was formulated by Trout
(1995) and tested on 55 stopes in the 1100 orebody at Mount Isa over a three year period. The model
used ve binary and two linear variables to represent the four phases of stope production. The model
was written using C++ code and solved in CPLEX on a dual 75 MHz processor Sun SparcStation
10/512 with 128 MB RAM. The solution process had to be interrupted prior to proof of optimality
after 209 hours with the reported integer solution being obtained after 1.6 hours. When compared to
an existing manually generated schedule the MIPPS model increased before tax NPV by 23 per cent
from $273M to $337M (Trout, 1995). The schedule however was not implemented into the operation
and is thus open to a number of improvements.
Using Trouts (1995) model as a basis, both Nehring and Topal (2007) and Little, Nehring and Topal
(2008) added further improvements. Nehring and Topal (2007) formulated an additional function
to limit simultaneous ll-mass exposure to a single side while limiting simultaneous stope exposure
to no more than two sides. This new formulation was successfully trialled on a conceptual nine
stope example. Following on from this Little, Nehring and Topal (2008) develops theories relating
to natural sequence and natural commencement which allowed various production phases to be
dened as a function of the rst extraction commencement variable. Using the same software on a
similar machine to produce the same production schedule and NPV the new formulation produced
an 80 per cent reduction in the number of variables resulting in a 92 per cent reduction in solution
time of just 23 minutes and 14 seconds.
Topal (2003) developed a MIP model to minimise deviation to target production of three products
produced from two main ore types at the Kiruna mine. The author dened machine placements,
which were representative of loader capacities and contained a number of production blocks with
an associated ore quantity of a certain quality in each time period. This signicantly increased the
efciency of model by effectively scheduling machine placements (of which there are far fewer) as
opposed to individual production blocks as well as eliminating the need for an additional reserve
constraints. Early and late start algorithms further reduced the number of variables by xing those
that were currently in production thereby ensuring a smooth transition into the new production
schedule as well as removing machine placements from the model that are known not to be active
during certain time periods (Topal, 2008). The combination of these activities signicantly reduced
the number of variables in the model resulting in an optimal solution in under 100 seconds when
implemented over 36 monthly time periods on a Sun Ultra 10 machine with 256 MB RAM. This
solution improved deviation from targeted production to just six per cent down from 10 - 20 per
cent compared to the manual schedule with no constraint violation. The model was ultimately
implemented into Kirunas main stream scheduling process.
Production scheduling on a short-term level tends to be more dynamic due to the uncertainty
surrounding equipment failure, geotechnical issues and individual operator ability. Frequent
re-running of the short-term scheduling model is often required in order to provide reassignments
when necessary. Few literature items deal with the underground mine environment however in open
pit mining, real-time machine allocation to cater for these dynamic circumstances has traditionally
been handled by eet management and dispatch systems. Most notably, White, Olson and Vohnout
(1993) present the algorithms used by Modular Mining Systems computer based DISPATCH system
which is reported to be fully implemented at more than thirty open pit mining operations around
the world. The DISPATCH system itself comprises of three subsystems. Using raw mine topology of
locations, elevations and roads and distance data a Best Path (BP) algorithm generates the shortest
AN INVESTIGATION TO INTEGRATE OPTIMUM LONG-TERM PLANNING WITH SHORT PLANNING
path between all pairs of locations in the mine road network. Taking travel time and optimal routing
data as well as pit conguration, available trucks and shovels, blending requirements and machine
priority data from the BP, a linear programming (LP) subsystem model is then used to generate
optimal path ow rates in tonnes per hour to minimise haulage requirements. Given a list of trucks
needing an assignment and current travel times and distances a dynamic programming (DP)
subsystem model nally provides assignments for each truck in real-time. Signicant productivity
improvements of between seven per cent and 20 per cent have been reported in open literature at 13
open pit mining operation after installation of the system.
In the work of Osanloo and Saidy (1999) a simple semi-dispatch system using linear programming
is generated with the objective of minimising the total number of trucks required to meet production
targets. Variables in this case relate to the number of trucks assigned to each individual haulage
path. The model was trialled on the Sarcheshmeh open pit copper mine in Iran which was required
to produce 80 000 tonne of ore and waste daily over three production shifts. LINDO software was
used to solve the nal problem which showed daily production could be achieved with just 30 120
tonne capacity trucks as opposed to 37 120 tonne capacity trucks.
Knights and Li (2006) introduce an algorithm to optimise shovel extraction sequences with the
objective of minimising ore tonnage deviation as well as minimising grade deviation from predened
targets. The formulation is tested and validated on a hypothetical ore deposit over a rolling horizon
seven day period at daily intervals with reserves and shovel performance updated after each run.
Tests showed that short-term shovel sequencing was successfully achieved. The authors noted that
mining blocks in a single period were sometimes not connected. As such, further development will
need to focus on maintaining equipment movement and relocations within a single period to an
appropriate distance.
Beaulieu and Ganache (2004) propose an enumeration algorithm based on dynamic programming
for solving the eet management problem in underground mines. From an initial starting position
for each machine, the objective is to nd the best route and schedule for each machine such that their
destination is reached in the shortest possible time. The solution approach is tested on 60 instances
on three networks comprising of 20 instances per network with four machines in operation in each
instance. The authors go into extensive detail about routing and displacement of machines throughout
the network of underground drives and haul-routes in a concerted attempt to remain in a conict
free state. The reality is that the underground mine environment is very rigid. As such, in most cases
there is only a single route a machine can feasibly take in the working of an ore-movement. Unlike
open pit dispatching, instances where multiple production machines are simultaneously operating
on the same route are generally avoided, thus providing little justication for such a stringent focus
on routing.
In the work of Tsomondo (1999) an Underground Active Dispatch Model (UADM) based on linear
and goal programming is developed to optimally allocate machines at the start of a shift based on
static operating conditions. The active program allocates machines to a single trip job after which
it is free to request another job. A total of six dispatching polices are implemented into the UACM,
with each able to be interchanged at will. These include shortest travel time, earliest expected service
time, minimum server-client slack time, maximum product quality, maximum quality with minimum
slack time and critical work site ratio. While not all policies may be applicable in practise the author
compares the productivity of each policy as LHD eet size is increased concluding that each policy
has a unique optimal eet size for a given mine layout.
MODEL FORMULATION
The proposed model utilises MIP to model the integrated short- and long-term production scheduling
problem. For the purposes of this paper only items dealing specically with the extraction of each stope
and its subsequent ore-movements is presented to the scheduling model. As such, the inclusion of
all external development, internal development, production drilling and backlling activities as well
as machine assignments and capacities, ore ow progression and ore-movement lengths are outside
the scope of this paper. A shaft capacity will therefore be the single limiting resource constraint in
scheduling stope or ore-movement production in each monthly time period and short-term interval.
M NEHRING et al
All extraction related items for both the short- and long-term phases are presented in full, along with
the formulations and constraints that tie the two previously separate models together.
Indices
The model is dened in general terms using the following subscript notation:
t long-term schedule time period: t = 1, 2, 3 T
s long-term stope identication: s = 1, 2, 3 S
f existing llmass: f = 1, 2, 3 F
o short-term ore-movement identication: o = 1, 2, 3 , O
i short-term scheduling interval: i = 1, 2, 3 , I
Sets
Several sets are dened which aid in the formulation of constraints:
adjs set of all stopes that are adjacent to and share a boundary with stope s
badjf set of all stopes that are adjacent to and share a boundary with each existing llmass f
tpbt set of time periods that include all periods up to and including the current period t
po set of intervals in which ore-movement o is available for production
npo set of intervals in which ore-movement o is unavailable for production
zt set of short-term intervals i corresponding to each long-term period t
binti set of short-term intervals that include all short-term intervals up to and including the current
interval
pbo the ore-movement o+1 that must proceed ore-movement o in order to maintain the natural
stope extraction sequence
sos set of ore-movements o associated with the production of each stope s
Parameters
These parameter items represent the numeric inputs and conditions:
rs extraction quantity for each stope s
sct shaft/LHD/truck eet capacity for each long-term time period t
es earliest start time for stope s
ls latest start time for stope s
nt present value discount factor associated with each long-term time period t
cfs the undiscounted cash ow generated by each stope s
gus difference between targeted upper ore feed head grade and stope grade of stope s
gls difference between targeted lower ore feed head grade and stope grade of stope s
reso ore reserve contained within ore-movement o
grao difference between target ore feed and grade of ore-movement o
llim lower ore production limit
M large number, M = 10 000 000
msci ore tonnage capacity of haulage shaft in short-term interval i
sopso link between the ore-movements associated with the production of each stope sos and the
long-term periods each ore-movement is expected to be available once production on the
stope is initiated. Predened as: if available = 1, if not = 0
pena penalty factor ($) applied to each tonne of metal deviation above target mill feed grade for the
respective ore tonnage being processed across all short-term intervals
penb penalty factor ($) applied to each tonne of metal deviation below target mill feed grade for the
respective ore tonnage being processed across all short-term intervals
Decision variables
A total of three linear and two binary variables were required to reect operating conditions and
ultimately perform the scheduling task:
wst 1 if production from stope s is scheduled for time period t
0 otherwise
xoi ore tonnes extracted from ore-movement o in interval i
x1oi 1 if extraction of ore-movement o takes place in interval i
0 otherwise
ai metal tonnes produced above the predened mill feed grade target for the respective ore
tonnage being processed interval i
bi metal tonnes produced below the predened mill feed grade target for the respective ore
tonnage being processed interval i
Objective function
Maximize: / nt # cfs # wst + / ai # pena + bi # penb
s,t i
Constraints
/ xoi # grao - ai + bi = 0 6i (1)
o
/ xoi # reso 60 (2)

tepo
/ xoi # msci 6i (3)

o
/ xoil - reso #
e
/ x1o'i o $ 0 6o,i (4)
ilebinti olepbo
/ wst # 1 6 s ls 2 T (5)
t
/ wst = 1 6 s ls # T (6)
t
/ rs # wst # sct 6t (7)

s
/ gls # rs # wst $ 0 6t (8)

s
/ gus # rs # wst # 0 6t (9)

s
wst + w s't # 1 6 s,t s'e adjs (10)
/ wst' + / ws't # 2 6s,t (11)

tletpbt s'eadjs
/ ws't # 1 6f,t (12)

s'ebadjf
/ xo'i = reso' # wst # sopso' 6s,t, o' o' e sos t = 1..2 (13)
iezt'
M NEHRING et al
x1oi # llim - xoi # 0 6o,i (14)
x1oi # M - xoi $ 0 6o,i (15)
/ x1oi = 0 60 (16)
ienpo
xoi' x1oi $ 0
x1oi = binary integer (17)
wst = binary integer
The objective function seeks to maximise the present value of all activities under consideration by
determining the optimal schedule within which to progress each stope through production. A cash
penalty is applied to each tonne of metal produced above and below target for the ore tonnage being
processed. This cash penalty is equivalent to the operational efciencies and reduced recoveries from
deviations in mill feed grade.
Equation 1 ensures that the tonnage of metal produced across all ore-movements in each short-term
interval balances with the target for the ore tonnage being processed (accounting for all over-production
ai and under-production bi). Equation 2 ensures that ore production from each ore-movement does not
exceed its reserve. Ore-movement production in any short-term interval cannot exceed the haulage
shaft capacity as enforced by Equation 3. Equation 4 ensures full reserve production from each ore-
movement before production from the proceeding ore-movement can commence, thus maintaining
the natural sequential transition into production from one ore-movement to the next.
Equation 5 ensures that commencement of stope production is initiated no more than once during
the long-term scheduling horizon if its late start date occurs beyond the maximum time horizon.
Equation 6 requires that stope production commences at some point during the long-term scheduling
horizon if its late start date falls within the long-term scheduling horizon. Equation 7 limits ore
production from all stope extraction activities from exceeding the shaft/LHD/truck eet capacity
in any long-term time period. Equation 8 restricts the combined mill feed ore grade from all stope
extraction activities in any long-term time period from exceeding a lower grade limit. Equation 9
restricts the combined mill feed ore grade from all stope extraction activities in any long-term time
period from exceeding an upper grade limit.
Equation 10 ensures that simultaneous production between all stopes that share a boundary
does not occur. Equation 11 enforces stability of all stopes by limiting simultaneous production to
two adjacent sides before itself commencing production and to a single adjacent side once having
completed production to become a llmass. Equation 12 ensures ongoing llmass stability of all
existing llmasses by limiting simultaneous exposure to a single side.
Equation 13 performs two crucial roles. It rstly ensures that if an ore-movement is selected
for production, its entire reserve is extracted during its production availability period. Secondly,
it also provides the critical link between short- and long-term variables by essentially forcing the
simultaneous long and short-term production scheduling of a stope and all its respective ore-
movements if it is selected to be part of the schedule. Depending on how many months worth of long-
term production is to be presented for short-term scheduling, this will alter how many months the
constraint is applied. In this case the rst two months are offered for short-term interval scheduling.
Equation 14 ensures that the minimum amount of ore produced from an ore-movement in any
interval must equal at least the lowest feasible movement limit. This constraint also ensures that if
xoi = 0, x1oi = 0. Equation 15 ensures that if xoi is utilised, x1oi must equal one. Short-term interruptions
to the production availability of ore-movements are able to be taken into account courtesy of
Equation 16. Finally, Equation 17 enforces non-negativity and ensures the appropriate variables
maintain binary values.
IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED MIXED INTEGER PROGRAMMING MODEL

For the purpose of comparing the integrated scheduling model against traditional segregated long
and short-term scheduling a small conceptual and marginal operation utilising the sublevel stoping
technique with little capacity for stockpiling and having its ore toll treated at a nearby facility is used as
a trial case. As shown in the plan view contained in Figure 1, the operation comprises of 14 stopes, three
of which having already completed the extraction process to become a fully consolidated ll mass,
leaving the remaining 11 stopes available for production. In scheduling production from this operation
all adjacency interactions for all stopes as well as existing and future ll masses are enforced.
FIG 1 - Plan view of 14 stope operation.
The 11 remaining stopes contain a combined reserve of 375 553 tonne of ore grading 1.92 per cent
Cu for a total of 7200 tonne of copper metal. An ore tonnage and grade breakdown for each stope is
contained in Figure 2.
FIG 2 - Expected stope ore tonnage and grade.
Breaking down the data contained in Figure 2 and utilising existing stope production proles for
stopes with similar characteristics including size, shape and location the expected monthly drawdown
down rates at the respective grades for each stope over its entire production life once production is
initiated, is presented in Table 1.
These predetermined production rates form the basis for long-term scheduling at monthly
intervals. Following on from this, the expected cash ows generated from each stope when taking the
predetermined production prole, metal prices and xed and variable extraction costs into account,
are calculated and presented in Figure 3.
It is assumed that all stopes are available for extraction commencement from the outset. During
each month of production the operations ore handling capacity is restricted to 30 000 tonnes at a
M NEHRING et al
TABLE 1
Expected monthly stope ore tonnages and grades once in production.
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5

Stope Grade Grade Grade Grade Grade
Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes
(% Cu) (% Cu) (% Cu) (% Cu) (% Cu)
L280 6699 2.50 7602 2.30 6609 2.40 7071 2.40 6874 2.50
L281 8834 1.95 8096 2.10 8659 2.00 8759 2.00
M279 7645 2.40 7428 2.30 6971 2.50 7567 2.40
M280 8446 1.95 7983 2.05 8341 1.95
M282 9412 1.60 12 160 1.60 11 080 1.50 11 273 1.70 10 634 1.65
M283 10 502 1.60 9859 1.60 10 250 1.50 9854 1.70
N279 7629 2.30 6815 2.40 6375 2.50
N280 7451 2.00 7042 2.00 8056 1.90 7514 2.10 7980 1.95
N281 8627 2.00 9211 1.90 8050 2.10
N283 9642 1.65 10 859 1.60 9839 1.70
O282 9833 1.70 10 400 1.60 11 080 1.50 10 726 1.60
FIG 3 - Expected cash flows from individual stopes.
combined ore blend of no less than 1.7 per cent Cu and no greater than 2.2 per cent Cu, with a short-
term mill feed blend target of 1.9 per cent Cu.
For the purpose of short-term scheduling it becomes necessary to break down each stope
into smaller more denable blocks in order to more appropriately reect the grade uctuations
that naturally occur within the stope and thus provide ore allocations that aid the short-term
objective of minimising deviation to mill feed grade in each interval. As a result of this, the tabulated
long-term production data for each stope contained in Table 1 is reworked further into its individual
ore-movement availability before being presented to the mathematical model for evaluation.
This is an activity that should be carried out in any case by any operation seeking reliable grade
controls even under a manual scheduling regime. In this case, the rst two months is scheduled
for short-term purposes in which each month is divided into ve equal intervals of approximately
six days resulting in a total short-term scheduling period of ten intervals. Table 2 presents the
ore-movement production tonnages and grades as well as the availabilities for selected stopes.
As shown, the expected initial 6699 tonnes at 2.5 per cent Cu produced from stope L280 (the rst
stope in Table 4) for its rst month in production in reality comprises of two individual ore-movements,
TABLE 2
Ore-movement availabilities for selected stope.
Month 1 Month 2
Stope Ore movement Interval availability
Tonnes Grade (% Cu) Tonnes Grade (% Cu)
L280 6699 2.5 7602 2.3
L280a 3115 2.6 1 - 10
L280b 3584 2.4 3 - 10
L280c 3727 2.2 6 - 10
L280d 3875 2.4 8 - 10
L281 8834 1.95 8096 2.1
L281a 4579 2.0 1 - 10
L281b 4684 1.9 3 - 10
L281c 4550 2.0 6 - 10
L281d 3545 2.2 8 - 10
N283 9642 1.65 10 859 1.60
N283a 5201 1.7 1 - 10
N283b 4441 1.6 3 - 10
N283c 4949 1.5 6 - 10
N283d 5910 1.7 8 - 10
FIG 4 - Long-term scheduling results (tonnes produced from each stope in each month).
including 3115 tonnes at 2.6 per cent Cu for L280a and 3584 tonnes at 2.4 per cent Cu for L280b.
Determination of all ore-movement availabilities has thus increased the initial 11 stopes into a total
of 44 ore-movements for consideration across the ten intervals. Anticipating the timeframe that each
ore-movement associated with each stope for a particular operation will be available to a high level
of accuracy is not an easy task. The further away a particular oremovement is from production
the more difcult this becomes. This is therefore an activity that relies on the judgement of an
experienced person.
Long-term scheduling will take place across a 12 month time frame. The cash ows associated with
each stope are discounted at a rate of ten per cent per annum. Throughout each short-term interval
a 6000 tonne ore production limit is enforced. A mill feed grade target of 1.9 per cent Cu is applied
across all ten short-term intervals. A stringent feed grade must be maintained under toll treatment
M NEHRING et al
contracts. In this case, each tonne of copper production above target for the respective ore tonnage
being processed in each interval is penalised at $500. Each tonne of copper production below target
for the respective ore tonnage being processed in each interval is penalised at $1000.
COMPARISON OF RESULTS
Construction of all models took place using a mathematical programming language (AMPL) which
was then solved using CPLEX 10.3 on a standard ofce computer. Having established all long and
short-term scheduling parameters the traditional segregated scheduling approach is rstly used.
This involved generating a long-term production schedule spanning 12 months with the objective of
maximising NPV. The results of this are displayed in Figure 4.
As shown, commencing production with stopes L280, N280 and N283 which rank as rst, equal
sixth and eighth highest cash ow stopes respectively (on a cash ow per month in production basis)
was determined to be locally optimal, producing a preliminary NPV (before accounting for grade
deviation penalties) of $719 821.1M. Even though stopes M280 and N281 were mid range cash ow
stopes, these were completely avoided. This is most likely due to their proximity to other stopes
and the resulting delay in production from surrounding stopes due to the more complex llmass
interactions associated with these stopes.
Following on from this, the rst two months production results could be taken for input into the
short-term production scheduling process. The ore-movement production data contained in Table 2
for stopes L280, N280 and N283 was therefore presented to the short-term mathematical production
scheduling model with the objective of minimising deviation to the targeted mill feed grade of 1.9 per
cent Cu across all ten short-term intervals. A $500 penalty for each tonne of over production and a
$1000 penalty for each tonne of under production for the respective ore tonnage being processed
are applied. The results of this are displayed in Table 3 which shows the ore and metal tonnes to be
produced from each ore-movement across the ten intervals.
TABLE 3
Segregated short-term scheduling results (ore tonnes from each ore-movement).
int1 int2 int3 int4 int5 int6 int7 int8 int9 int10
L280a 765.9 1333.3 1015.8
L280b 10 3573
L280c 2367.4 1359.6
L280d 1574.1 586.6 1714.3
N280a 3737
N280b 3714
N280c 3095
N280d 3947
N283a 4666.7 534.3
N283b 2014 2427
N283c 493 1547.5 2908.4
N283d 157.9 1666.4 4285.7
Ore (t) 4502.9 6000.0 3564.1 3724.0 6000.0 2860.5 4642.5 6000.0 6000.0 6000.0
Grade (%) 2.02 1.90 1.90 2.10 2.08 2.08 1.90 1.90 1.90 1.90
Metal (t) 90.9 114.0 67.7 78.2 124.6 59.5 88.2 114.0 114.0 114.0
Deviation (t) 5.4 0.0 0.0 7.5 10.6 5.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Penalty ($) 2700.0 0.0 0.0 3750.0 5300.0 2550.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Across all ten intervals a total production of 49 294 tonne of ore at an average grade of 1.96 per cent
Cu containing 964 tonne of copper is achieved. The schedule in this case exceeds target mill feed
grade which translates into an excess copper metal production for the respective quantity of ore
being processed in intervals 1, 4, 5 and 6 of 5.4, 7.5, 10.6 and 5.1 tonnes respectively. This results in
a total deviation of 28.6 tonnes of copper resulting in a total applicable penalty of $14 300. When
subtracting this amount from the preliminary NPV generated by the long-term schedule, this results
in a nal NPV of $705 521.1 ($719 821.1M - $14 300). When considering that these penalties occur
in the rst two months of production which contribute $140 904.3 to the 12th month preliminary
NPV, these penalties reduce the rst two months contribution to NPV by 10.1 per cent to $126 604.3.
The same data set under the same parameters is presented to the proposed integrated mathematical
scheduling model. Table 4 compares the NPVs and corresponding month of commencement of each
stope between the segregated and integrated scheduling approaches respectively.
TABLE 4
Long-term schedule comparison (month of production commencement).
Stope Segregated scheduling Ingegrated approach

L280 1 1
L281 6 6
M279 9 9
M280
M282 12 12
M283 4 1
N279 6 6
N280 1 1
N281
N283 1 5
O282 8 8
Long-term contribution ($) 719 821.1 719 721.8
Applicable penalities ($) 14 300.0 11 500.0
Final NPV ($) 705 521.1 708 221.8
It is apparent that some signicant changes in the schedule have taken place, with stope M283 in
the integrated schedule commencing in the rst period as opposed to the fourth period. Stope N283
which commenced in the rst period under the segregated approach has been pushed back in the
integrated schedule to commence in the fth period. Stopes M280 and N281 again been completely
left out of either schedule. Table 5 presents the corresponding optimal short-term schedule associated
with the new long-term schedule under the integrated approach.
Across all ten intervals a total production of 49 154 tonne of ore at an average grade of 1.95 per cent
Cu containing 957 tonne of copper is achieved in the integrated short-term schedule. This represents
a slight decrease of 140 tonne in ore production over the segregated short-term results. As expected,
average copper grades move toward the target mill feed grade, reducing by 0.01 per cent Cu to
1.95 per cent Cu when compared to the segregated short-term result.
The integrated short-term schedule also exceeded target mill feed grade in intervals 1, 3, 5 and
10 with 4.2, 3.2, 8.2 and 7.4 tonnes of copper being produced above what is expected for the
respective quantity of ore being processed. This results in a total deviation across the ten intervals of
23.0 tonnes of copper resulting in a total applicable penalty of $11 500. When subtracting this from
the long-term schedules contribution to NPV, this results in a nal NPV of $708 221.8 ($719 721.8M
- $11 500). In this case, the applicable penalties of $11 500 reduces the contribution of the rst two
months to the 12 month preliminary NPV of $139 256.8 by 8.2 per cent to $127 756.8.
Integrating both short- and long-term scheduling horizons into a single model has improved nal
NPV by $2700.1 to $708 221.8M. While this difference only represents a 0.4 per cent improvement
over the nal 12 month segregated scheduling approach, it should again be noted that only the rst
M NEHRING et al
TABLE 5
Integrated short-term scheduling results (ore tonnes from each ore-movement).
int1 int2 int3 int4 int5 int6 int7 int8 int9 int10
L280a 761.7 1333.3 1020.0
L280b 3583.0
L280c 2553.9 1173.1
L281d 1844.9 2030.1
M283a 568.3 4666.7
M283b 3850.0 2417.0
M283c 1915.4 1547.5 879.9 457.3
M283d 3697.8 1361.2
N280a 3737.0
N280b 1584.0 2130.0
N280c 3095.0
N280d 3947.0
Ore (t) 1333.0 6000.0 5321.0 6000.0 6000.0 4469.3 4642.5 6000.0 6000.0 3391.3
Grade (%) 2.22 1.90 1.96 1.90 2.04 1.90 1.90 1.90 1.90 2.12
Metal (t) 29.5 114.0 104.3 114.0 122.2 84.9 88.2 114.0 114.0 71.9
Deviation (t) 4.2 0.0 3.2 0.0 8.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.4
Penalty ($) 2100.0 0.0 1600.0 0.0 4100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3700.0
two months (of the 12 month period) were evaluated for short-term scheduling purposes. In this case,
the nal NPV contribution of the rst two months of the integrated result of $127 756.8 compared to
that of the segregated result of $126 604.3, achieves an improvement of $1152, representing a gain
of almost one per cent on this small example. The remaining difference in NPV can be attributed
to increased cashows over the remaining ten months due to the delay of higher cashow stopes in
earlier months as mill feed grade is a more prevalent value contributor in the earlier months. Even
though the contribution of the rst two months to the preliminary long-term NPV of the integrated
schedule falls short- of the segregated long-term schedule by $1647.5 ($139 256.8 - $140 904.3) or
1.2 per cent, it more than makes up for this through a reduction in the applicable penalties by $2800
($14 300 - $11 500), representing a 19.5 per cent decrease.
CONCLUSION
While traditional approaches may nd the locally optimal solution of each planning and scheduling
phase, it is only a proper integrated approach that is able to yield the globally optimal solution. This
is because all actions in one phase and the subsequent implications on another are simultaneously
evaluated. As a result of this, extra value may be achieved that was previously hidden.
Through the application of the new proposed integrated scheduling tool on a small conceptual
underground copper operation an extra one per cent increase in NPV was achieved during the overlap
between short- and long schedules. The operation under consideration had limited stockpiling
capacity and was required to meet stringent mill feed grades of 1.9 per cent Cu or be charged
penalties for deviating from this target. During the over lapping period between short- and long-
term scheduling the integrated approach found that rescheduling long-term production for a 1.2 per
cent drop in long-term value could be more than offset by a 19.5 per cent decrease in the applicable
penalties for deviating from target mill feed grade.
The application of this approach is also highly amenable to minimising mill feed deviation of an
impurities which may also adversely affect process efciencies and recoveries. Essentially, whatever
the long and short-term objects may be an integrated approach should be used to achieve the globally
optimal result.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
The use of a penalty rate for deviation to target mill feed grade as used in this paper lends itself to
a number of alternative strategies which can be incorporated into the integrated model depending
on the scheduling and operational objective. Placing an emphasis on production smoothing in order
to avoid spikes in deviation from one interval to the next may also provide benets to an operation.
Assigning penalties which increase with an increase in deviation may be one way of addressing this
issue.
The next natural progression in the further development of the proposed integrated model is to
apply it to a full data set which from a long-term perspective also incorporates external development,
internal development, production drilling and backlling activities. From the short-term perspective
this would also incorporate machine assignments and the accompanying necessary information
including, ore-movement lengths and ore ow progression throughout the ore pass system.
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underground mines, Computers & Operations Research, pp 1606-1624.
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in Proceedings Australian Mining Technology Conference (CRC Mining), pp 385-394 (The Australasian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Little, J, Nehring, M and Topal, E, 2008. A new mixed-integer programming model for mine production
scheduling optimisation in sublevel stope mining, in Proceedings Australian Mining Technology
Conference (CRC Mining), 157-172 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Nehring, M and Topal, E, 2007. Production schedule optimisation in underground hard rock mining using
mixed integer programming, in Proceedings Project Evaluation 2007, pp 169-175 (The Australasian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Osanloo, M and Saidy, S H, 1999. The possibility of using semi-dispatching systems in Sarcheshmeh copper
mine of Iran, Computer Applications in the Minerals Industries, pp 243-252 (Colorado School of Mines,
Golden).
Topal, E, 2003. Advanced underground mine scheduling using mixed integer programming, PhD thesis
(unpublished), Colorado School of Mines, Colorado.
Topal, E, 2008. Early start and late start algorithms to improve the solution time for long term underground
mine scheduling, Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, pp 99-107.
Trout, L P, 1995. Underground mine production scheduling using mixed integer programming, in Proceedings
25th International APCOM Symposium, pp 395-400 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne).
Tsomondo, C M, 1999. A exible underground mining system with active dispatching model A solution for
the next millennium, Computer Applications in the Minerals Industries, pp 463-473 (Colorado School of
Mines: Golden).
White, J W, Olson, J P and Vohnout, S I, 1993. On improving truck/shovel productivity in open pit mines,
CIM Bulletin, pp 43-49.
Application of Genetic Algorithms for Reliability
Assessment of Two Mine Hoisting Systems
N Vayenas1, X Wu2 and S Peng3
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the application of a computerised model based on genetic algorithms (GAs),
called GenRel, for reliability assessment of underground mine hoisting systems. The purpose of
this paper is to investigate whether GenRel can be applied to predict future failure data of a mine
hoisting system based on historical records of failures. The incentive of selecting the GAs for
prediction of failures is that GAs are a class of evolutionary algorithms which imitate the biological
evolution procedures such as reproduction, selection, crossover and mutation. The reliability of
mining equipment changes over time due to an array of factors (eg equipment age, the operating
environment, number and quality of repair). These factors affect the equipments failure patterns
and have complex impacts on the equipments reliability characteristics. The failure patterns are
assumed to follow a biological evolution process, and thus GAs can be considered applicable in the
modelling process.
To conduct the reliability assessment, a study was carried out with historical failure data of hoists in
the time period from January to December 2007. Two failure data sets of two mine hoisting systems
were collected from two typical underground mines in Ontario, Canada, which are denoted as the
NA mine and the SB mine. The failure data sets were prepared in the format of time between failures
(TBF). Then, these data sets were entered in GenRel to generate predicted failure data sets for the
period of January to March 2008. The paper discusses the statistical similarity of the actual failure
data sets for the period of January to March 2008 with the predicted failure data set generated by
GenRel in the same time period.
INTRODUCTION
GenRel version 1.12 is a computerised model developed in MS-Excel using Visual Basic for reliability
assessment of mobile mining equipment based on genetic algorithms (GAs). Past research using
GenRel was based on the application of two probability distribution functions, the Exponential and
the Lognormal distribution functions (Vayenas and Yuriy, 2007). Application of GenRel in real
life data was focused on load-haul-dump (LHD) vehicles, (Nuziale and Vayenas, 2000; Yuriy and
Vayenas, 2008; Vayenas and Wu, 2009). This paper refers to an improved algorithmic logic based
on the availability of several probability distribution functions (Palisade Corporation, 2002). Then
this logic is tested for its applicability in assessing mine hoisting systems.
Overall, the main steps in the design principles of GenRel are as follows:
x An adequate size of historical input data must be gathered (eg six months of failure data per
piece of equipment). The data set must be divided into a set of raw input data and into a set of
raw evaluation data. Failure data includes time between failures and type of failure per piece of
mining equipment.
x The above two sets of data are used to verify whether GenRel can be used as a predictor of the
reliability of the mining equipment under study. If the verication process is successful, then the
hypothesis that GenRel can be applied to predict future equipment failures based on these input
data sets is acceptable. After the verication process is successfully completed, the raw input data
set and the raw evaluation data set are merged to a single input data set.
1. Professor, Head of Laurentian University Mining Automation Laboratory, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario P3E2C6, Canada. Email: nvayenas@laurentian.ca
2. Student, Laurentian University Mining Automation Laboratory, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario P3E2C6, Canada. Email: xy_wu@laurentian.ca
3. Student, Laurentian University Mining Automation Laboratory, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario P3E2C6, Canada. Email: sx_peng@laurentian.ca
N VAYENAS, X WU AND S PENG
x In this step, GenRel is used to predict future failure data. After a distribution function is acquired
to t the raw input data set, the inverse transform technique is used to generate random numbers
as offspring data sets (Law and Kelton, 2000). These offspring data sets start the iteration of
cross-over and mutation with a probability of mutation entered as an input by the end user of
GenRel. When the model is applied for prediction of future failure data, criteria for convergence
are considered such as the maximum number of iterations and the numerical difference of the
probability parameters of the generated data in comparison with the probability parameters
of the input data. The algorithm is terminated when either maximum number of iterations or
a convergence limit preset by the end user is reached. If these criteria are not met, it is then
considered that the model cannot be used with sufcient statistical condence and thus, other
reliability methods for failure prediction should be examined.
For a detailed discussion about the logic in GenRel, see Vayenas and Wu (2009).
DATA CLASSIFICATION AND MANIPULATION

In this study, the rst step is to collect time between failures (TBF) data from both mine hoisting
systems. In this paper, we focus only on the skip hoist data. The work time of the mines per day is
from 7.00 am to 6.00 am, and all delay codes applicable to the operation of the hoists under study
are shown in Table 1.
For the data manipulation, assumptions are made. The four main assumptions are as follows:
1. The operating hours of the skip hoist includes the hours of hoisting waste and the hours of hoisting
ore.
2. In each day, the summation of the machine delay hours and the machine working hours equals
to 24 hours.
TABLE 1
Delay codes description and stand-by/failure classification for both mines.
Code Explanation Stand-by or failure

AV Available: Planned hang time Stand-by
DD Dest full: Surface bin is full Stand-by
DE Other equipment: Cage work that affects skip hoist Stand-by
DM Source empty: No muck feed from pocket Stand-by
DP Utilities down: No power, no air, etc Stand-by
DY High fines Stand-by
DZ High water Stand-by
ME Electrical down Failure
MH Hydraulic down Failure
MI Instrument down Failure
MM Mechanical down Failure
MO Maintenance out of plan: Planned maintenance that has been rescheduled or has taken longer Failure
than planned
MP Planned maintenance: Any kind of planned maintenance work or inspection daily mechanical, Failure
weekly electrical/mechanical, etc
NT Travel time: Shift change Stand-by
NX Not reported: Unaccounted for delay time Stand-by
OI Operator planned inspection: Any kind of planned operations work or inspection shaft Failure
inspection, guide change, etc
OP Operator repairs: Any kind of unplanned work/inspections done by operations burst pipeline, Failure
shaft inspection due to stray bell, etc
RF Preop: Hoist run-ins Stand-by
Note: Failures include scheduled maintenance and unscheduled downtime.
APPLICATION OF GENETIC ALGORITHMS FOR RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT OF TWO MINE HOISTING SYSTEMS
3. In the original data sheet, if a data cell is blank, it is assumed that there is an unaccounted delay time
and the data cell is lled with delay code NX. Table 1 shows the description of all the delay codes.
4. The delay types of the skip hoist are divided into types of machine stand-bys and types of machine
failures. Machine stand-bys represent the delays of the skip hoist which are due to failures or
delays caused by other sources than the machine itself. Machine failures represent the delays of
the skip hoist which are due to the machine itself. Table 1 shows the classication list in regards
to the delay codes.
After data manipulation, the failure data of both mine hoisting systems in the time period from
January to December 2007 was transformed into a failure database as shown in Table 2. Then, the
time between failures (TBF) data was entered into GenRel to generate new failure data.
TABLE 2
An example of the failure database after data manipulation.
Time between failures Type of failures Time to repair

4.75 MP 14
8 MP 2
7.5 OI 9
0 MP 1
0 OI 9
16 MP 10
12.25 MP 10
10.25 MP 25
11.75 MP 1
0 MO 8
0 MP 1
13.25 OI 9
0 MP 1
0 OI 9
VERIFICATION OF THE PREDICTABILITY OF GENREL

For the purpose of the statistical analysis of the failure data based on probability distribution tting,
the failure data should be tested for trends and serial correlations (Vayenas, Runciman and Clement,
1997). The purpose of these tests is to verify the assumption that the failure data is independent and
identically distributed (IID). In our study, the trend test presents almost a linear relation between
cumulative failure number and cumulative TBFs, which indicates that the TBF data is independently
and identically distributed. The serial correlation test shows a scattered pattern, which indicates
there is no serial correlation in the TBF data.
Initially, the historical TBF data of the skip hoists of the NA mine and the SB mine in the time
period from January to December 2007 was entered into GenRel to verify the models predictability.
This was done separately for each of the two mines.
For the NA mine, the failure data set, containing 444 data points, was divided into the raw input
date set and the raw evaluation data set to verify the predictability of GenRel. The raw input data
set consists of the rst 222 data points of the original failure data set, and the raw evaluation data
set consists of the last 222 data points. For the SB mine which contains in total 640 data points,
the raw input data set consists of the rst 320 data points of the original failure data set, and the
raw evaluation data set consists of the remaining 320 data points. Figure 1 shows a snapshot of the
GenRels input menu. Key model parameters are set as follows:
x maximum number of GAs iterations: ten,
x convergence limit: one per cent, and
x probability of mutation: six per cent.

FIG 1 - A snapshot of the input menu of GenRel V.1.12.
Here, the convergence limit parameter of the input menu was used to dene the user permitted
difference of the probability distribution parameters between the input data set and the generated
data set. In this case, assuming, for example, that the best tting probability distribution function
is the normal probability distribution, if the difference of the probability distribution parameters
between the input data set and the generated data set D = |input data set - generated data set |+| input data set -
generated data set | is smaller than one per cent (|input data set|+| input data set |), where is the mean and
is the standard deviation of the respective data set, then, the verication procedure is considered to
be satisfactory.
The probability of mutation parameter is used to constraint how often mutation operations are
performed, see (Haupt and Haupt, 2004).
In our case, it was found that ten iterations sufced for the verication process. Model parameters
in the prediction procedure were set to be identical to the model parameters used in the verication
procedure.
GENERATION OF PREDICTED DATA SETS

After the successful completion of the verication process for the input data from both hoists for the
period from January to December 2007, GenRel can now be considered applicable for the prediction
of future failure data, for example, for the three months period of January to March 2008 based on
the past three months period of October to December 2007.
After several model iterations based on historical data in the time period from October to December
2007, the parameters of the generated data sets in the period from January to March 2008 for both
mines were within the convergence limit of one per cent which was set as an input. The generated
failure data set of 78 data points for the NA mine follows the Weibull Distribution with a shape
parameter = 1.7603, a scale parameter = 8.3888, and a location parameter = 0.62203. The
generated failure data set of 186 data points for the SB mine follows the exponential distribution with
a mean = 4.461 and a location parameter = 0.47568.
To test the statistical similarity between the predicted data set and the actual data set in the time
period from January to March 2008 at both mine sites, the t-test and F-test were applied (Kanji,
1999). The t-test investigates the signicance of the difference between the mean of the generated
data and the mean of the actual data (from January to March 2008). If the t-test statistic (at a level
of signicance = 0.05) is less than a specic critical value, then there is no signicant difference
in the population means at the given level of signicance. The F-test investigates the signicance
of difference between the variance of the generated data and the variance of the actual data (from
January to March 2008). If the F-test statistic (at a level of signicance = 0.05) is less than a
specic critical value, then, there is no signicant difference in the population variances at the given
level of signicance. Table 3 and Table 4 show the results for both the NA mine and the SB mine.
Table 3 indicates that the predicted data set from NA mine passes both the t-test and the F-test.
Figure 2 shows a comparative graph between the generated failure data and actual failure data (from
January to March 2008) for the NA mine with data in an ascending order.
TABLE 3
Comparison between the predicted data set and the actual failure data set for the NA mine in the time period from January to March 2008.
Predicted failure data set by GenRel Actual failure data set

Population 78 92
Mean 8.02 9.83
Variance 18.70 72.97
t-test statistic 0.26
t-test critical value 1.645
F-test statistic 1.05
F-test critical value 1.35
(Source: Kanji, 1999.)
$FW XDO 'DW D *HQHU DW HG 'DW D

7%)

1XPEHU RI )DL O XU HV
FIG 2 - Graph of generated failure data by GenRel and actual failure data (from January to March 2008) for the NA mine with data in ascending order.
Table 4 indicates that the predicted data set from SB mine passes both the t-test and the F-test.
Figure 3 shows a comparative graph between generated failure data and actual failure data (from
January to March 2008) for the SB mine with data in an ascending order.
FINAL REMARKS
The study of failure data for both the SB mine and NA mine proves the applicability of GenRel as
a software tool to predict future failure data based on historical failure data in hoisting systems in
underground mines. The comparison between the predicted data set and the actual data set using the
TABLE 4
Comparison between the predicted data set and the actual failure data set for the SB mine for the period of January to March 2008.
Predicted failure data set by GenRel Actual failure data set

Population 186 182
Mean 4.96 5.68
Variance 18.83 27.30
t-test statistic 0.07
t-test critical value 1.645
F-test statistic 1.13
F-test critical value 1.35
(Source: Kanji, 1999.)
$FW XDO 'DW D *HQHU DW HG 'DW D

7%)

1XPEHU RI )DL O XU HV

FIG 3 - Graph of generated failure data by GenRel and actual failure data (from January to March 2008) for the SB mine with data in ascending order.
t-test and F-test shows no signicant difference between them. In our study, it was also observed that
the number of iterations in GenRel appeared to vary due to the convergence limit or the probability
of mutation. Therefore, further investigation is required to assess the impact of the variability of key
model parameters such as the convergence limit or the probability of mutation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) and Vale Inco Ltd
for their support to this research study.
REFERENCES
Haupt, R L and Haupt, S E, 2004. Practical Genetic Algorithms (John Wiley and Sons: New Jersey).
Kanji, G, 1999. 100 Statistical Tests, 224 p (Sage Publications).
Law, A M and Kelton, W D, 2000. Simulation Modeling and Analysis, Third Edition (McGraw-Hill).
Nuziale, T and Vayenas, N, 2000. A software architecture for reliability analysis of mining equipment,
International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, 14(1):19-34.
Palisade Corporation, 2002. A Concise Summary of @risk Probability Distribution Functions (Palisade
Corporation: Neweld).
Vayenas, N, Runciman, N and Clement, S R, 1997. A Methodology for Maintenance Analysis of Mining
Equipment, International Journal of Mining Reclamation and Environment, 11(1):33-40.
Vayenas, N and Wu, X, 2009. GenRel: A computerised model for reliability prediction of mining machinery,
International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, 1:365-382.
Vayenas, N and Yuriy, G, 2007. Using Genrel for Reliability Assessment Of Mining Equipment, Journal of
Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 13(1):62-74.
Yuriy, G and Vayenas, N, 2008. Discrete-event simulation of mine equipment systems combined with a
reliability assessment model based on genetic algorithms, International Journal of Mining, Reclamation
and Environment, 22(1):70-83.
Blast Vibration Monitoring and Elastic Wave Reflection
Models to Assess Blast-Induced Damage to Mine
Infrastructure An Underground Case Study
K G Fleetwood1 and E Villaescusa2
ABSTRACT
During underground mining, rock mass changes can occur as a function of the mining sequence
and excavation processes. Mining-induced rock mass damage can occur due to redistribution of
static stresses and the application of dynamic stresses from blasting and seismic activity. These
rock mass changes can result in a degradation of strength of the bulk rock mass and the remaining
rock surrounding existing excavations. Rock mass damage near existing excavations which lead to
excavation-scale instabilities such as rock fall, excavation closure, or visible rock mass fracturing can
detrimentally affect the safety and protability of mining operations.
The focus of the current work was the prediction and assessment of damage to mine infrastructure
occurring in relation to the blasting of a sublevel open stope. The study case involved a 60kt stope
located in a highly-competent rock mass at a large Australian sublevel open stoping mine. The mine
infrastructure of interest for investigation included local stope access development, critical access
and haulage development crossing a regional-scale fault, an explosives storage magazine and a
ventilation return air raise. The methods used to predict or assess the blast-induced damage to each
infrastructure element in response to stope extraction were
x intact rock strength testing,
x discontinuity mapping,
x linear-elastic static stress modelling,
x blast-damage mapping,
x near-eld blast vibration monitoring and analysis,
x geophysical assessment using inferred stiffness and wave velocity methods, and
x post-extraction void assessment.
The results of the detailed blast damage prediction and assessment program at the mine site have
been discussed by the primary author elsewhere (Fleetwood, 2010). The current work will address
blast-induced damage to mine infrastructure as a result of extraneous blasting vibrations from stope
production blasting. A method for predicting the amplication of excavation surface motions from
reecting body waves will be discussed as well as the results of damage mapping around the study
stope. The results of the damage mapping program identied blast-induced damage that occurred
to the surface of the explosives storage magazine and local stope access development. No damage
was observed at the main fault crossing or return air raise where higher vibration amplitudes were
measured or predicted.
INTRODUCTION
The ability to predict or assess damage to mine infrastructure resulting from nearby blasting can aid
in establishing guidelines for limited access to mine areas during stope extraction. These predictions
can also identify areas of mine development or other infrastructure in which additional surface
support may be installed to help prevent rock fall or other damage from blasting vibrations.
Existing research has identied peak particle velocity (PPV)-related excavation damage thresholds
ranging from less than 100 mm/s up to 500 mm/s (eg u, 1980 Page, 1987). Therefore, assessment
1. Senior Research Fellow, Western Australian School of Mines, CRC Mining, PMB 22, Kalgoorlie WA 6430. Email: k.fleetwood@curtin.edu.au
2. Professor of Mining Geomechanics, Western Australian School of Mines, CRC Mining, PMB 22, Kalgoorlie WA 6430. Email: villaee@wasm.curtin.edu.au
K G FLEETWOOD AND E VILLAESCUSA
of existing vibration-induced damage becomes a planning tool for geotechnical engineers for
scheduling of rehabilitation or installation of secondary surface support prior to blasting.
The following sections detail a blast damage study conducted in conjunction with extraction of a
stope at an Australian sublevel open stoping mine. Similar damage investigations were performed
for a total of four stopes at the mine site over the course of four years. Each damage investigation
included rock mass characterisation, near-eld blast vibration monitoring, damage mapping,
geophysical investigation of the rock masses surrounding each stope and post-extraction void
analysis (Fleetwood, 2010). Details of the blast vibration-induced damage investigation to nearby
development, a main access way fault crossing and an explosives storage magazine in the proximity
of one of the study stopes will be discussed. In addition, a proposed method for predicting excavation
surface response amplications using elastic wave reection relationships will be discussed and
applied to mapped damage locations around the stope.
STUDY STOPE SUMMARY

The 60 kt, single lift study stope selected for the analysis presented in this paper was adjacent to
a number of previously-mined and backlled stopes and was located in proximity to critical mine
infrastructure elements (Figure 1). These elements included
x localised stope access development
x main underground explosives storage magazine
x primary ore haulage-way and travel-way crossing the regional-scale fault and
x 4 m diameter, raise-bored unsupported ventilation return air raise (RAR).
FIG 1 - Isometric view of the study stope and the neighbouring mine infrastructure (looking south-southwest).
The stope dimensions were approximately 20 m 20 m footprint and 40m height. The stope was
mined from the 220 mLv level to the 180 mLv using a combination of downholes and upholes. The
stope was extracted using a total of 11 production rings.
BLAST VIBRATION MONITORING AND MODELLING

Near-eld ( 10 m) and intermediate-eld ( 30 m) blast vibration monitoring around the study
stope was performed for three different wave propagation orientations. The initial concern for
monitoring of stope blasting was the potential for signicant damage to the adjacent ventilation
return air raise (RAR). This raise was one of two raises in the mining block and represented critical
mine infrastructure supporting mining of the ore block over the following years.
The instrumentation program for the stope consisted of four tri-axial transducers cement-grouted
into boreholes along specied orientations. A 500 g tri-axial accelerometer and a tri-axial geophone
sonde were placed in an array at distances of 5.2 m and 15 m from the northwest stope boundary to
monitor the blasting vibrations within the pillar containing the RAR. Each transducer was located
on either side of the RAR such that the vibrations at the RAR surface could be interpolated from the
BLAST VIBRATION MONITORING AND ELASTIC WAVE REFLECTION MODELS
two sets of data. The additional two tri-axial geophone sondes were located perpendicular to the
northeast stope wall at 12.1 m from the stope and below the stope at a distance of 16.4 m, near the
main access fault crossing on the 240 mLv.
The results of the monitoring program were used to predict the average or maximum vibration
amplitudes at the locations of concern and to develop orientation-specic attenuation relationships.
The predicted values of vector sum peak particle velocity at each damage location or infrastructure
element will be discussed in the following sections.
MAPPING OF BLAST-INDUCED DAMAGE TO EXCAVATIONS

Visual inspections were carried out after each main stope ring as a method of assessing the blasting-
related damage to mine infrastructure in the proximity of the study stope. The inspections were
generally performed one shift after the stope ring upon re-entry such that any freshly-formed large
fractures or fall-off from the development or RAR could be detected and mapped prior to disturbance.
Inspection of the RAR was limited to observation through the ventilation windows located at the
180 mLv, 200 mLv and 220 mLv development levels. Prior to initiation of blasting in the study stope,
the 240 mLv magazine was visually inspected and existing cracks in the shotcrete on the walls and
backs were recorded photographically.
Mapped damage locations from stope firings
Blast-induced damage events to the development drives of the upper stope access level (180 mLv)
were mapped following stope ring events as part of the damage investigation. The damage events
were located on a map and photographed such that records of the ground support conditions,
locations and types of damage could be assessed. Blast-induced damage to the development generally
occurred in areas where there was no surface support or the existing surface support was damaged
or was installed poorly in the case of brecrete. Standard ground support and surface support in
the development of the 180 mLv consisted of split-set rock bolts and steel-weld mesh installed from
gradeline to gradeline (1.5 m from the oor).
A majority of observed damage to development followed one of two classications. The rst type of
damage was fall of preformed blocks, which were detached along existing geologic structures. This
type of damage was characterised by geometrically regular and oxidised failure surfaces, and has
been referred to as discrete block falls. The second type of observed damage was spalling damage,
typically indicated by shallow or thin rock sheets and fresh, irregular fracture surfaces. At several
damage locations, the discrete block fall consisted of shotcrete that detached from the rock mass and
fell away from the excavation. This type of behaviour was observed in the damage recorded in the
explosives storage magazine. The locations of all mapped blast-related damage events are shown in
Figure 2 and characteristics of the mapped damage locations are listed in Table 1.
FIG 2 - Plan view of the 180 mLv stope access development and 240 mLv magazine mapped damage occurring with all
firings of the study stope (after Fleetwood, 2010).
TABLE 1
Distance from source point, associated blast, ground support conditions at excavation damage site and predicted peak particle velocity for all
mapped damage events.
Damage site Type of damage Blast associated with 3D distance from blast Surface support at damage
damage site (m) location
1 Medium area spall shoulder South mass firing 25.8 Damaged steel-weld mesh
2 Medium block fall gradeline North main rings 26.0 N/A
3 Medium spall gradeline South mass firing 25.6 Damaged steel-weld mesh
4 Medium block fall < gradeline Cut-off slot 24.4 N/A
5 Medium spall < gradeline Cleaner ring 20.1 N/A
6 Medium spall < gradeline Cut-off slot 17.9 N/A
7 Medium block fall < gradeline Cut-off slot 11.0 N/A
8 Large area spall < gradeline Cut-off slot 11.0 N/A
9 Large block fall < gradeline South mass firing 11.8 N/A
10 Shotcrete spall North main rings 63.2 25 mm shotcrete
11 Shotcrete spall North main rings 69.4 25 mm shotcrete
The sizes of failures observed for discrete block falls were typically of the order of 20 kg up to
several tonnes. Spalling failures generally occurred from the wall of the drive below the mesh grade
line. Mapped spall damage was typically less than 100 mm thickness and covered areas of 1 m2 to
10 m2. Figures 3 and 4 show examples of discrete block falls, spall damage and detached shotcrete.
Although most of the blasting-related damage events did not pose signicant risk to personnel
or equipment, additional mine services were required to perform spot scaling where damage was
viewed as representing a signicant risk to charge-up personnel.
(A) (B)
FIG 3 - (A) Photograph of a discrete block fall (event 9) from 1.2 m height; and (B) spall failure (event 8) from floor to grade line; (B) in stope access
development after cot-off slot firings.
(A) (B)
FIG 4 - (A) Pictures of spalled shotcrete (event 10); (B) (event 11) in the 240 mLv explosives magazine occurring with the north main rings
firing within the study stope.
PREDICTION OF VIBRATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH DAMAGE EVENTS

The results of blast vibration analysis and elastic wave reection relationships were used to predict
values of the aggregate surface-normal particle velocities associated with the mapped damage
events. This prediction process involved several steps that are not typically considered in classical
blast vibration analysis. The unique components of this analysis process were consideration of the
orientation-specic attenuation anisotropies on the full-eld wave amplitudes, the partitioning
of coupled wave types at the peak amplitudes and determination of wave reection amplication
factors at the excavation boundaries.
Full-field wave attenuation relationships from blast monitoring
The rst step in the prediction of the surface normal aggregate particle velocities responsible for
the recorded damage events was determination of the vibration attenuation relationships derived
from the blast monitoring program. The method of multi-variable nonlinear blast vibration analysis
used in this study has been detailed previously by the authors (eg Fleetwood et al, 2009 Fleetwood,
2010). The analysis process reports the regression constants for the general form of the scaled
distance relationship for predicting peak particle velocity (PPV) based on the charge weight ( ) and
the distance from the source midpoint to the point of interest (D). The nonlinear scaled distance
regression approach has been chosen due to the improved prediction accuracies when compared
with alternative near-eld approaches.
The attenuation relationships for each stope ring type were determined from the analysis of each
transducer data set collected for the associated rings to increase the accuracy of the prediction. For
example, the PPV at a damage location associated with a cut-off slot ring would be predicted using
only the data measured from the cut-off slot rings. The analysis performed for each monitoring
orientation could then be integrated to dene the full-eld vibration contours using elliptical
calculations of points of equal vibration amplitude. The roughly perpendicular nature of the vibration
transducer orientations and observed rock mass anisotropy orientations from other analysis allowed
this type of calculation approach. The coordinates of the points of equal vibration amplitude and the
value of predicted vector sum peak particle velocity (VSPPV) could then be contoured to visualise the
wave propagation elds. Figure 5 illustrates the predicted vibration contours around a blast point for
the data measured from the cut-off slot rings.
FIG 5 - Plan view of elliptical vibration amplitude contours of vector sum peak particle velocity
from a representative cut-off slot firing in the study stope.
The source locations for each blast were determined as the average of the three-dimensional (3D)
coordinates of each charge in the ring. The charge weight used for estimation of the vibration
contours was the average of all charge weights in the blast. Therefore, the predicted PPV could be
considered to be an average value based on all blastholes in the blast as the actual charge contributing
to the damage could not be determined. An alternate approach would be to determine the maximum
PPV from the combination of the largest charge weight and minimum distance. This approach has
been used for predictions of VSPPV in the assessment of the return air raise and the main access fault
crossing. Variable locations and charge weights of the different blastholes could not be integrated
into the orientation-specic PPV contouring approach.
Partitioning of radial and shear components at vector sum peak particle velocity from
measured blast vibrations
The fundamental behaviour of longitudinal (P-) and distortional (S-) waves differ greatly when
reected from a free surface. Therefore, the characteristics of each wave type present in the complex
coupled blast wave interacting with an excavation should be considered to determine the aggregate
effect of wave reection on the amplitudes at the surface. This consideration is complicated, as
information on the partitioning of wave types within a complex, blast-induced body wave is scarce
in the existing research.
Analysis of vibration data collected from 30 similarly-charged blastholes at different elevations
within the stope has revealed information on the partitioning of wave types dependent on the angle
between the monitoring point and the blasthole axis. The analysis procedure involved rotation of the
waveforms into the principal wave motion directions (radial, vertical shear and transverse shear)
from each charge, and determining the amplitudes of the three components at the peak vector sum.
The transverse and vertical shear components were then combined into the vector sum in-plane
shear amplitude. The radial and vector sum shear amplitudes were then compared with the peak
vector sum amplitude to determine the ratio of the component to the peak vector sum. This ratio for
each wave type was then plotted against the angle of the transducer from the blasthole axis.
The partitioning of radial components (P-wave) and the vector sum or transverse and vertical
components (in-plane SV- and SH-waves) was found to be largely independent of the peak amplitude
or any other blast-related factors such as charge weight or distance for the coupled blast waves. The
geometric factor was strongly correlated, where the angle between the transducer and the charge
axis varied from 45 to 85 . At angles close to 45 , expected behaviours were observed based on
mathematical elastic wave models containing shear waves (eg Heelan, 1953 Hazebroek, 1966). The
relationship between the component PPVs and the VSPPVs in relation to the angle from the blasthole
axis is shown in Figure 6. For angles less than 45 , an axis of symmetry was assumed for prediction
of partitioning from angles of 0 to 45 .
The sum of the ratios of the two components at each angle to the blasthole in Figure 6 would not be
expected to equal one, as the ratios reect the relationship between the single vector amplitude and
the vector sum amplitude. Therefore, only the relative magnitude of the ratio gives an indication of
the component dominance at each angle.
The vibration contours for each blast and the relationships in Figure 6 were used to determine the
predicted amplitudes of the radial and shear components of the blast waves at each mapped damage
location. These results are listed in Table 2.
FIG 6 - Radial and shear components as a function of angle from the charge axis with a point of symmetry at 45.
TABLE 2
Predicted radial and shear peak particle velocity components from predicted vector sum peak particle velocity and angle from charge axis to damage
location (charge).
Predicted VS PPV Predicted PPVShear Predicted PPV Shear

Damage site charge (degrees) PPV Radial ratio PPVShear ratio
(mm/s) ratio (mm/s)
1 100 59 0.59 59 0.74 74
2 175 67 0.75 132 0.58 101
3 38 67 0.75 29 0.58 22
4 75 65 0.71 54 0.62 46
5 135 0 1.00 135 0.10 14
6 85 53 0.47 40 0.85 72
7 175 17 0.85 149 0.45 79
8 225 17 0.85 191 0.45 101
9 1000 24 0.73 725 0.57 570
10 62 149 0.57 35 0.72 45
11 38 142 0.44 17 0.86 33
Angle of incidence and surface normal motion amplification

The next step in the process of predicting the vibration amplitudes responsible for the damage events
was addressing the amplitude amplication factors from wave reection at the excavation boundary.
This process relied on the relationships between the amplitudes of incident P- and S-waves and the
reected amplitudes at various angles of incidence. Once these amplitude ratios were calculated from
elastic wave reection equations, surface velocity conditions could be assessed using conservation of
motion relationships.
Effect of angle of incidence on surface particle velocities from wave reflection
The basic relationship in elastic wave propagation in linear-elastic isotropic homogeneous materials
under reection of a normal incident P-wave would suggest a surface amplication factor of two
(Kolsky, 1953). In reality, the waves produced by cylindrical charges that interact with existing
excavations can have variable wave types (P- and S-waves) and varying angles of incidence. Any
prediction of the surface excitation from measurement of body waves therefore becomes complicated
for any situation outside of the normal incident P-wave. Additionally, the interpretation of surface
measurements as representative of in situ vibration values from body waves is not a simple one
to one relationship. To investigate the effect of angle of incidence and wave types on the surface
excitation from reected blast waves, some solutions for the amplication factor from reected P-
and S-waves have been proposed using fundamental equations of wave reection at a zero-stress
boundary (free surface).
Fundamental Rayleigh wave conversions were not considered, as numeric solutions for conversion
of body waves to Rayleigh waves are not well documented. Instead, shear waves at angles of incidence
greater than the critical angle have been assumed to be converted entirely into Rayleigh waves
and the surface amplitudes have been assumed to be the entire shear wave amplitude. The effects
of phase changes, differing wave propagation velocities, or existing damage to the excavation on
surface amplication have not been considered explicitly. Surface amplication factors researched
by Jiang (1993) using numerical modelling has identied vertical (surface normal) amplication
factor ranging from two to six with increasing angle of incidence due to limitation of waves to the
shallow layer near the surface from Rayleigh wave conversion. Existing research on the interaction
of seismic waves with excavations under jointed or damaged rock mass conditions have identied
amplication factors up to 12 (Milev and Spottiswood, 2005).
Aggregate amplification factor based on angle of incidence
Reection of P- and S-waves at free boundaries based on the angles of incidence of each wave
type has been investigated using equations listed by Achenbach (1973). The reference equations
(Equations 1 to 5) apply to reection of P- and vertically-polarised shear waves (SV-wave) in two
dimensions. The shear waves described in the suggested model based on measured data were the
vector sum shear wave resulting from the vertical and transverse components. The single vector
amplitude representation of the two shear components located in the plane perpendicular to the
direction of wave propagation was assumed to be valid in the reection model for SV-waves.
The amplitude ratios for the reected P- and SV-waves from an incident P-wave are specied by
Equations 1 and 2. The amplitude ratios for the reected P- and SV-waves from an incident SV-wave
is given by Equations 3 and 4.
AP - P' = sin 2iPi sin 2iP - SV' - l2 cos2 2iP - SV'
APi sin 2iPi sin2iP - SV' + l2 cos2 2iP - SV' (1)
AP - SV' = 2l sin 2iPi cos 2iP - SV'

APi (2)
sin 2iPi sin 2iP - SV' + l2 cos2 2iP - SV'
ASV - P' = l sin 4iSVi

ASVi (3)
sin 2iSVi sin 2iSV - P' + l2 cos2 2iSVi
ASV - SV' = sin 2iSVi sin 2iSV - P' - l2 cos2 2iSVi

ASVi (4)
sin 2iSVi sin 2iSV - P' + l2 cos2 2iSVi
and
2^1 - h
l= (5)
^1 - 2 h
where
APi amplitude of incident P-wave
AP-P amplitude of reected P-wave from incident P-wave
AP-SV amplitude of reected SV waves from incident P-wave
ASVi amplitude of incident SV wave
ASV-P amplitude of reected P-wave from incident SV-wave
ASV-SV amplitude of reected SV-wave from incident SV-wave
Pi incident angle of incident P-wave
P-SV reection angle of reected SV-waves from incident P-wave
SVi incident angle of incident SV-wave
SV-P reection angle of reected P-wave from incident SV-wave
material Poissons ratio
The curves of incident and reected amplitude ratios using Equations 1 to 5 were generated
for the Poissons Ratio of 0.29, which was determined from rock testing for the mine site (AMC,
1998 WASM, 2009). Figure 7 shows the two incident wave situations and the associated reected
amplitudes versus the angle of incidence from the reection surface normal.
(A)
(B)
FIG 7 - (A) Ratio of reflected amplitude to incident amplitude for incident P-waves; and (B) incident S-waves.
The motions induced in the surface of the excavation could be estimated through conservation of
motion at the point of reection. The assumption of zero boundary losses was required for the case
of conservation, which would be a specialised case for linear-elastic homogeneous material with a
tractionless boundary. In reality, signicant boundary effects would be expected due to dispersion
from the irregular surface boundary or as plastic or permanent deformations were induced.
Additionally, changes in the material properties from dynamic loading conditions and the existing
damage from blasting or stress effects were not considered. These effects can signicantly inuence
wave amplication from changes in material elastic moduli and wave propagation velocities as
measured and modelled by previous researchers (eg Hildyard, 2001 Saiang, 2008). Consideration
of all variables would necessitate high-order numerical modelling, which was outside the scope of
the current work.
The amplication factors for surface motions were estimated using the balance of particle velocity
amplitudes for the incident wave (Ai) and the reected P-wave (AP ) and shear wave (ASV ) the at a
point on the excavation such that
Ai AP + ASV (6)
At the time of reection, the surface of the excavation would experience an aggregate amplitude of
Ai - AP - ASV for each wave type. The negative amplitude values noted for the reected amplitude ratios
in Figure 7 represent a change of polarity. This change of polarity would allow numeric summation
of the values without additional consideration of the sign of the amplitude. For example, an incident
compressive longitudinal wave (P-wave) would reect as a tensile wave of negative amplitude.
Therefore, the aggregate motion at the surface would be in the same direction for the incident and
reected waves and the two amplitudes could be summed.
The assumption was made that the detachment of blocks or spalled layers would be a result of the
surface normal amplitude. The components of amplitude for each wave type were therefore resolved
into the surface normal component using the angles of reection. To simplify the calculations of
surface normal amplitudes from actual vibration data, an aggregate amplication factor for each
situation was calculated based on the relative incident amplitude of 1 mm/s. The actual amplitudes
could be calculated by applying the surface normal amplication factors shown in Figure 8 to the
predicted amplitudes listed in Table 2. This process required two steps due to the variations in P- and
S-wave amplitude distributions with the angle from the blasthole axis at the assumed representative
blast locations.
One important note in the application of Equations 3 and 4 is identication of the critical angle at
which the SV-waves no longer reect. This angle is unique to the material Poissons Ratio, and any
angle of incidence greater than the critical value would result in complete conversion of the shear
waves into surface waves (Rayleigh or Love waves). In the model shown in Figure 8, the aggregate
curve of amplication factors for the incident S-wave takes this angle into account. At all angles of
incidence greater than the critical angle of 32.95 , where the reected amplitudes asymptote to 0, no
reected P-wave was assumed to be present. Only the incident S-wave amplitude was then assumed
to contribute to the surface normal amplitude as a Rayleigh Wave. The aggregate surface normal
amplication factors were applied to the predicted component amplitudes displayed in Table 2 at each
damage location. Each surface normal amplitude value and the aggregate surface normal amplitude
at each damage location are listed in Table 3.
FIG 8 - Aggregate amplitude amplification factors for surface normal particle velocity.
TABLE 3
Surface normal amplification factors and aggregate surface normal peak particle velocity at each damage location.
Surface normal Surface normal Aggregate

Damage Predicted VS PPV Surface normal Surface normal
1 () amplification amplification surface normal
site (mm/s) PPV Radial (mm/s) PPV Shear (mm/s)
factor factor amplitude (mm/s)
1 31 100 1.3 78 1.5 108 186
2 23 175 1.6 208 1.7 172 380
3 23 38 1.6 45 1.7 37 82
4 25 75 1.5 81 1.7 77 158
5 32 135 1.3 174 1.4 20 193
6 36 85 1.1 46 1.6 115 161
7 73 175 0.6 96 2.0 154 251
8 73 225 0.6 124 2.0 198 322
9 66 1000 0.6 438 1.9 1089 1527
10 59 62 0.6 22 1.9 83 105
11 52 38 0.7 12 1.8 58 70
The ratios of the predicted aggregate surface normal amplitudes versus the predicted VSPPV of the
body waves at each damage location varied between 1.4 and 2.2 and were highly inuenced by both
the angle of incidence with the excavation and the angle of the damage location with the blasthole
axes. The values of predicted surface normal PPV associated with each damage event fell within the
ranges published by previous researchers, and as such could be viewed as valid in producing some
degree of damage under the surface support conditions.
The actual values of surface normal PPVs related to damage events could have been several times
larger than the predicted value due to Rayleigh wave activity or site effects as discussed by Cichowicz,
Milev and Durrheim (2000), Hildyard (2001) and Milev and Spottiswood (2005). In absence of
data to identify the additional location-specic amplication factors for the existing excavation
conditions, the values from the wave reection solution have provided a predictive tool. This tool has
allowed determination of the ratio of the surface normal aggregate PPVs to the predicted VSPPVs of
the incident body waves versus the angle of incidence at each damage location. This relationship is
shown in Figure 9.
FIG 9 - Ratio of predicted surface normal amplitude versus predicted vector sum peak particle velocity of body wave.
PREDICTED VIBRATION AMPLITUDES AT LOCATIONS OF NO OBSERVED DAMAGE

Main fault crossing
The maximum surface normal PPVs were predicted for the backs and nearest sidewalls of the main
fault crossing using the relationships developed above. The predicted surface normal amplitudes
were 151 mm/s for the backs and 116 mm/s for the nearest sidewall. No damage was recorded near
the fault crossing for these vibration conditions. The absence of observed damage has been attributed
to the heavy surface support at the location, which included two layers of bre-reinforced shotcrete
and steel-weld mesh in addition to sprayed brecrete arches through the fault intersection zone
(Figure 10).
FIG 10 - Photo of main access fault crossing heavy surface support with fibre-reinforced shotcrete and steel-weld mesh
in addition to sprayed fibrecrete arches.
Return air raise

The maximum VSPPV at the leading edge of the RAR nearest the stope was predicted using the
results of near-eld vibration monitoring along the transducer array installed on either side of the
RAR. The resulting Scaled Distance prediction equation for vibrations along the orientation of the
pillar containing the raise was
0 -1
PPVmax D (7)
All blastholes for all rings were then evaluated against the PPVmax equation to predict the potential
maximum particle velocities of incident waves interacting with the raise. The maximum predicted
VSPPV was 3172 mm/s. According to traditional PPV-based damage criteria, this level of vibration
would have been sufcient to cause signicant damage through fresh fracture, slabbing or block
fall (eg Holmberg and Persson, 1978 Forsyth, 1993 Rorke and Milev, 1999 Singh and Narendrula,
2004). No such damage was observed at any observation point within the raise. The circular shape
of the raise and the virtually undamaged condition of the rock mass from raise boring excavation
method were believed to account for the lack of damage.
OTHER WAVE EFFECTS ON SURFACE DISPLACEMENTS

One factor that has not been explicitly considered in the model is the effect of the incident and
surface wave frequencies, which would ultimately inuence the wave numbers and therefore the
displacement potentials upon reection and transmission. Site effects observed by Cichowicz, Milev
and Durrheim (2000) identied a general relationship where lower wave frequencies reduced the
amplication of measured surface velocities. This factor may be related to the depth of activity of the
Rayleigh waves, which is commonly accepted to be bound to a layer near the surface of approximate
thickness of 1.5 times the wavelength (Kolsky, 1953).
Wavelength ( R) is determined by the propagation velocity (VR) and frequency (fR) of the Rayleigh
wave such that R VR fR. Near the point of Rayleigh wave conversion, a higher source frequency
would be expected to result in a lower wavelength and thus the energy in the wave would be bound by
a layer of reduced thickness. Conservation of energy density or energy ux would therefore require
greater surface displacements for the same energy input when compared with waves bound to a
larger volume of material from a greater depth of activity. Additionally, the reduced velocity of the
Rayleigh wave in comparison to the group velocity of the incident body waves would be expected to
cause signicant interaction between the time-function oscillations. This effect could possibly lead
to increased peak displacements and particle velocities if constructive interference were to occur.
Determination of wave interaction with excavations is further complicated when considering the
dimensions and properties of the excavation surface and the effects of fatigue damage through
repeated post-peak loading. The excavation shape and dimensions inuence the resonant frequencies
of the exposures, and the frequency of the propagating surface waves. During propagation, high
frequencies would be expected to attenuate at a higher rate until the natural frequency of the
Rayleigh wave for the material properties is reached. If this frequency nears the resonant frequency
of the excavation wall, further surface displacements may be expected. Accumulated damage from
repeated subcritical loading can also lead to failure events. It is therefore unlikely that the mapped
damage events in the case study have been caused by a single vibration event of given amplitude.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Extraneous blast vibrations can cause damage to mine infrastructure in proximity to blasting events,
given the amplitudes of the induced vibrations are sufcient to detach blocks or cause fresh damage to
surfaces. In the presence of properly installed and functioning surface support, these damage events
can be minimised or contained. Containment of damage through application of surface support can
lead to fewer risks associated with falls of ground or loosening of blocks that may become unstable
during future blasting or mining activities.
The case study has attempted to predict the surface normal peak vibration amplitudes using near-
eld blast vibration monitoring and the properties of reecting elastic waves at zero stress boundaries.
The method has identied a signicant inuence of the angle of incidence on the amplication factors
for each wave type and has addressed the partitioning of body wave components (P- and S-waves)
from a series of monitored blastholes. Some of the fundamental relationships between radial and
shear components noted in mathematical solutions were supported. These results led to a model for
approximation of the wave component amplitudes for the predicted VSPPV at the recorded damage
locations.
Blast vibration monitoring along multiple orientations allowed for prediction of VSPPV values
from elliptical wave propagation patterns through integration of multiple attenuation equations.
This approach is not common in traditional blast vibration monitoring, analysis and interpretation,
even though eld measurements have highlighted the behaviour. Therefore, integration of multi-
orientation monitoring results should be considered when attempting to predict the full-eld
vibrations from an explosive source.
The interaction of blast-induced body waves with existing excavations is an extremely complex
issue involving many factors. Some factors include
x damage and stress conditions of the rock mass at the excavation boundary
x the partitioning of wave types, energies, and frequencies of the incident waves
x interaction of existing surface waves with reecting body waves
x the shape of the excavation
x existing surface support and
x other dispersion or amplication effects.
No analytical or numerical model can account for all of these factors and as such there is no standard
solution for the amplication factor when a body wave encounters an excavation boundary. The
converse of this relationship identies that there is no standard solution when attempting to relate
vibrations measurements taken on the excavation surface to the waves produced near blastholes in
the conned rock mass. Under these circumstances, the solutions proposed in this study may aid in
extrapolating surface measurements to in situ conned rock mass vibrations by decomposing the
surface amplied waves through damping factors.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the BHP Billiton Cannington Mine engineering, charge-up and
geotechnical departments for nancial and logistical support over the four years of the study.
The support of CRC Mining and the WASM Rock Mechanics Research Group is also gratefully
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
henba h, J D, 1973. a e Propagation in Elastic Solids, 425 p (North-Holland Publishing Company
Netherlands).
ustralian Mining Consultants, 1998. Cannington stress measurement 68 C, 450 mLv, report from
Australian Mining Consultants to BHP World Minerals Cannington Project, report 196066.
Ci ho i , A, Milev, A M and Durrheim, R J, 2000. Rock mass behaviour under seismic loading in a deep
mine environment Implications for stope support, Journal of the SAIMM, 100(2) 121-128.
leet ood, K G, 2010. Near-eld blast vibration monitoring and analysis for prediction of blast damage in
sublevel open stoping, PhD thesis (unpublished), Curtin University, Western Australian School of Mines.
leet ood, K G, Villaescusa, E, Li, J and Varden, R, 2009. Comparison of traditional near-eld vibration
prediction models with three-dimensional vibration scaling and blast wave energy, in Proceedings ineth
International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, Fragblast , pp 579-588 (CRC Press
Granada).
orsyth, W W, 1993. A discussion of blast-induced overbreak around underground excavations, Rock
Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 161-166 (Balkema Rotterdam).
a ebroek, P, 1966. Elastic waves from a nite line source, in Proceedings Royal Society of London Series
A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 294(1436) 38-65.
eelan, P A, 1953. Radiation from a cylindrical source of nite length, Geophysics, 18(3) 685-696.
ildyard, M W, 2001. Wave interaction with underground openings in fractured rock, PhD thesis
(unpublished), University of Liverpool.
olmberg, R and Persson, P A, 1978. The Swedish approach to contour blasting, in Proceedings Annual
Conference on Explosi es and Blasting Techni ue, pp 113-126 (International Society of Explosives
Engineers Cleveland).
iang, J, 1993. Vibrations due to a buried explosive source, PhD thesis (unpublished), Curtin University,
Western Australian School of Mines.
olsky, H, 1953. Stress a es in Solids, 211 p (Clarendon Press Great Britain).
Milev, A M and Spottiswood, S M, 2005. Strong ground motion and site response in deep South African
mines, Journal of the SAIMM, 105 515-524.
age, C H, 1987. Controlled blasting for underground mining, in Proceedings Annual Conference on Explosi es
and Blasting Techni ue, pp 33-46 (International Society of Explosives Engineers Cleveland).
orke, A J and Milev, A M, 1999. Near eld vibration monitoring and associated rock damage, in Proceedings
International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, Fragblast , pp 19-22 (SAIMM
Johannesburg).
Saiang, D, 2008. Behaviour of blast induced damaged zone around underground excavations in hard rock
mass, PhD thesis (unpublished), Lule University of Technology.
Singh, S P and Narendrula, R, 2004. Assessment and prediction of rock mass damage by blast vibrations,
in Proceedings Mine Planning and E uipment Selection MPES , pp 317-322 (Taylor and Francis Group
London).
Western Australian School of Mines (WASM), 2009. Report on intact rock properties for BHP Billiton
Cannington, Rock testing report submitted to BHP Billiton Cannington Mine, March.
u, T R, 1980. Ground control at Kidd Creek, underground rock engineering, in Proceedings 1 th Canadian
Rock Mechanics Symposium, pp 73-79 (CIM Toronto).
Role of Physico-Mechanical Properties in Cutting
Performance of Diamond Wire Saw in Marble
Quarrying Operation
S C Jain1 and S S Rathore2
ABSTRACT
Marble deposits of dolomitic variety are available in large quantities in India and for extracting these
deposits diamond wire saw cutting machine is mainly used. Cutting performance of the diamond
wire saw machine depends on rock parameters, machine parameters and operational parameters.
Rock parameters related to physico-mechanical properties, such as, compressive strength, tensile
strength, shear strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance of marble play role in
determining cutting rate and beads wear rate. Thus, this study was undertaken to determine the
relationship between different physico-mechanical properties and cutting performance. This work
also aimed at enhancing the cutting performance of diamond wire saw in dolomitic marble deposit.
Study was conducted in the eld at three different zones having deposit of soft, medium hard and hard
dolomitic marble. During the study, cutting rates and wearing of diamond beads were recorded in the
eld. Physico-mechanical properties were determined in the laboratory. The results obtained were
subsequently evaluated by using statistical analysis. Study revealed that these properties of marble
play a signicant role in the performance of diamond wire saw machine. Predictive equations for the
wearing of diamond beads and cutting rate were developed based on regression models. Results of
this study will be of ample use for operators of wire saw to achieve maximum cutting performance
and for manufacturers in designing the diamond beads.
INTRODUCTION
Marble reserves in India are estimated at 2216 Mt with Rajasthan accounting for 51.6 per cent of the
reserves ie 1144 Mt (Gupta and Singh, 2007). Out of 1144 Mt, about 800 Mt is of dolomitic variety.
Dolomitic marble stones variety is mainly found in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan state. The marble
stone industry in India has now graduated to the use of modern technology with widespread use of
cutting technology such as diamond wire saw, diamond belt saw and chain saw cutter (Singh, 2003).
Presently, diamond wire saw cutting is a widely used method in getting marble block production.
During cutting action by diamond wire saw machine primarily involves the pulling of continuous
loops of spinning diamond wire around the marble bench. Vertical cut is performed after ushing
of two holes one into another at 90 angle and diamond wire threaded through these holes. The
diamond wire is simply a steel cable on which diamond impregnated beads are mounted at a regular
interval with the help of spring spacer placed between the beads for cutting marble.
Wear of diamond beads during cutting operation is one of the main parameters in the economics
of marble cutting. The harder rock gives more wear of the diamond beads and lower productivity of
diamond wire saw machine. When the wear on diamond beads increases, cutting rate and diamond
wire efciency decrease and production cost increases. Univer (1996) had developed predictive
equations for the estimation of specic wear and cutting force in rock sawing. Moreover, some
researchers have attempted to investigate the effect of textural and mineralogical properties of rocks
on wearing of diamond beads and cutting rate in diamond wire cutting method.
The physico-mechanical properties of marble affect the sawability of stones and mainly depend on
mineralogy and texture of rocks (Tugrul and Zarif, 1999). Wear on beads is affected by the engineering
1. Assistant Professor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur 313001, India. Email:scjain44@rediffmail.com
2. Associate Professor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology Udaipur 313001, India. Email:ssrathore58@yahoo.co.in
S C JAIN AND S S RATHORE
properties like mechanical, textural, mineralogical and petrographical (Ozcelik, Kulaksiz and Cetin,
2000). Textural characteristics of rocks are most important factors in determining the mechanical
behavior and prediction of performance of cutting. According to Prikryl (2001), the variations in
mechanical strength of rocks obtained from laboratory tests can be explained by various factors,
such as, mineralogical composition, density, porosity, texture, moisture content, sample size and
test conditions. With impregnated tools, continuous and efcient cutting can only be facilitated
by compatible wear of the diamond particles and their bonding matrix (Wright, Tagg and Davis,
2000; Wright and Engels, 2003). The absence of quartz in carbonated rock generally gives high cut
productivity with lower wire wear. Stellin et al (2001) found a correlation between the cutting rate of
the helical wire and the metallic wear of the wire.
The most important subject in rock cutting with diamond wire is the determination of operating
conditions at which the wear on diamond beads must be lowest and wire efciency becomes highest.
The main factors to be taken into account while researching cutting technology and optimisation of
cutting process are tool wear, cutting forces and the support stability (Deliormanli and Pamukcu,
2001). The relationship among the texture coefcient and wear on diamond beads and cutting rate
were investigated, and signicant relationship between these values was found (Ozcelik et al, 2004).
However, no detailed studies were carried out to determine the effect physico-mechanical properties
on cutting performance of diamond wire saw machine.
Thus, this study was conducted at three different zones of dolomitic marble: soft, medium-hard
and hard at Morwad mines of M/s R K Marble Ltd located in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan
State, India. Total of 12 vertical cuts were observed in selected area of deposit having soft, medium-
hard and hard dolomitic marble. During the study, cutting rates and wearing of diamond beads
were recorded in the eld. Physico-mechanical properties were determined in the laboratory at
Department of Mining Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology,
Udaipur, India. The results obtained were subsequently evaluated by using statistical analysis. This
study has revealed the relationship between physico-mechanical properties and cutting performance
of diamond wire saw in marble quarrying operations.
DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA

The study area is situated near Morwad village at a distance of 15 km in western direction from
district headquarter Rajsamand of Rajasthan State of India. This area is situated between latitude
24 46 to 26 01 N and Longitudes 73 28 to 74 18 E. Geology of the study area and marble
extraction technique are described below.
Geology
Morwad area exhibits a huge concentration of dolomitic marble of soft, medium-hard and hard
variety. Reserves of dolomitic marble in study region are about 800 Mt of ne to coarse grained
in nature (Jain, Rathore and Wahy, 2007). Grain size varies from few mm to 1.5 cm. Silica is also
present, mainly in the form of quartz, which reduces the cutting performance of diamond wire saw as
well as life of diamond beads. Other forms of silica are also present in the marble like tremolite and
actionolite needles, which deteriorates the quality of marble and decreases the strength. The silica
percentage in dolomitic marble varies from 3.5 per cent to 40 per cent. Marble formation also contains
a number of amphibolite intrusive veins. The bands in the gneiss are marked by dark streaks and rich
in ferromagnesian mineral, mainly biotite, and alternating with light coloured quartz feldspar layers.
The hardness, on the basis of Mohs scale of dolomitic marble, varies from 2.70 to 2.85.
Soft dolomitic marble deposit has coarse grained texture of calcite with subhedral grains of quartz,
augite, pyroxene and muscovite. Straight contacts between calcite grains are well visible and also
isolated grains of sphene are present. The medium to coarse grained texture of calcite was observed
in medium-hard dolomitic marble deposit. Here, small grains of quartz and brous tremolite
are present as mineral impurities and quartz grains showing undolose extension with interlocking
boundaries. The hard dolomitic marble deposit has ne to medium grained of calcite and
high amount of quartz grains. The quartz grains are subangular with sutured contact showing undolose
extension.
ROLE OF PHYSICO-MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN CUTTING PERFORMANCE OF DIAMOND WIRE SAW
Extraction method
The mining of dolomitic marble at Morwad area is carried out by opencast mining by forming separate
benches of poor quality marble with waste rock and blockable marbles. First, overburden of 8 m to
15 m is removed by forming benches using controlled blasting technique after providing a horizontal
cut with diamond wire saw above the blockable marble. This cut separates the blockable marble
from the overburden and protects the damages due to blasting vibrations. Subsequently, benches of
10 m height are formed and blockable marble bench of about 1000 to 2000 tonnes is separated by
providing horizontal and vertical cuts with the help of diamond wire saw cutting machine (Figure 1),
after ushing the holes of 115 mm in desired plane.
FIG 1 - Schematic diagram of horizontal and vertical cuts with diamond wire saw.
The big blocks so formed are toppled by using hydraulic jacks/ water bags/air bag, after providing
the proper cushion on oor. After toppling the block from its position, the work of marking and
sizing is carried out to ascertain the maximum recovery of saleable blocks of size 3 m 1.5 m 1.5 m.
The crack free saleable blocks are identied and, thereafter, loaded into the truck with the help of
derrick cranes/mobile crane. The recovery of saleable product in block form of marble varies from
30 per cent to 50 per cent.
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS
The cutting performance of diamond wire saw machine depends on rock parameters, machine
parameters and operational parameters as given in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Parameters affects cutting performance of diamond wire saw machine in marble.
Rock parameters Machine parameters Operational parameters

Physico-mechanical properties Power Dimension of block (bench cut size)
Mineralogical composition Peripheral speed Types of cut (machine position)
Texture Thrust Operators skill
Discontinuities Construction of diamond wire Quantity of water used
Water content Beads structure
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of physico-mechanical properties on cutting
performance of diamond wire saw machine. First, different marble quarries of soft, medium-hard
and hard dolomitic marble deposits were selected in Morwad area for eld experiments.
Design of experiment have both laboratory and eld investigations. The laboratory investigations
were planned to determine physico-mechanical properties of soft, medium-hard and hard dolomitic
marble. Field investigations were designed for vertical cuts as these cuts are made in maximum
number than other types of cuts in marble quarrying operation. We have planned four vertical cuts
in each type of dolomitic marble : S-1, S-2, S-3 and S-4 cuts in soft; M-1, M-2, M-3 and M-4 cuts in
medium-hard and H-1, H-2, H-3 and H-4 in hard. To measure cutting rate and beads wear rate,
cutting area, cutting time and beads diameter were measured before and after completion of cut.
Figure 2 shows the investigative path followed in this study.
FIG 2 - Flowchart of study.
LABORATORY AND FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

The laboratory investigations were conducted to determine the various physico-mechanical
properties of samples collected from the eld. Field investigations were carried out to determine
cutting and beads wear rates in soft, medium-hard and hard zones of dolomitic marble deposit. The
details of both investigations are described in the next section.
Laboratory investigations
Marble block cube of size 30 cm was taken as sample from eld location for each cut for laboratory
investigations. These samples were transported to the departmental laboratory. In the laboratory,
samples were prepared according to International Society of Rock Mechanics standards norms
(Brown, 1981) for determining different physico-mechanical properties with the assistance of core
drilling and core cutting and grinding machine. Thereafter, physico-mechanical properties, such
as, compressive strength, tensile strength, shear strength, modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic p-wave
velocity and abrasion resistance were determined as per standard test procedure. Figure 3 shows
tensile test with electronic universal testing machine (UTM).
The compressive strength varies for soft, medium-hard and hard zone of dolomitic marble from
45.15 - 49.90 MPa, 51.23 - 64.62 MPa and 67.95 - 86.84 MPa, respectively. Similar trend was
FIG 3 - Tensile strength test with UTM (Brazilian method).
observed for other physico-mechanical properties except abrasion resistance. Abrasion resistance
value percentage was decreasing from soft to hard dolomitic marble.
Field investigations
Field experiments were conducted in the study area having quarries of soft, medium-hard and hard
dolomitic marble deposits. Before commencing the eld experiments for making vertical cuts, some
of the machine parameters were xed in order to achieve more consistent results (see Table 2).
TABLE 2
Fixed parameters of the machine taken employed in the field study.
Parameters Dimensions
No of beads/meter 33 (sintered type)
Power of machine:
1. Main motor (ac) 44.7 kw
2. Feed motor (dc) 0.75 kw
Diamond wire peripheral speed 27.2 m/s
Voltage 440 V
Pulley diameter 800 mm
Pull back force (thrust) 930.14 N
Diamond beads Sintered type (0.63 carat/bead)
During each experiment, observations of cutting area and cutting time were recorded. Diamond
beads diameters were measured before and after completion of cut with digital caliper. Thereafter,
cutting rates, in m2/h, and beads wear rate, in mm/m2, were determined and are shown in Table 3
corresponding to physic-mechanical properties of marble.
TABLE 3
Physico-mechanical properties and cutting performance results of different cuts.
Cut no Uni compressive Tensile strength Shear strength Modulus of Abrasion Cutting performance results
(strength (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) elasticity (GPa) resistance % Cutting rate Beads wear
(m2/h) rate (m/m2)
S-1 45.15 4.38 20.15 5.40 34.02 5.41 1.03
S-2 49.43 4.59 22.40 9.93 32.33 5.32 1.04
S-3 49.70 4.83 22.54 10.87 31.34 5.27 1.05
S-4 49.90 4.85 22.67 11.03 29.53 5.07 1.06
M-5 51.23 4.99 23.73 12.21 22.92 4.95 1.12
M-6 54.06 5.35 24.80 13.36 21.71 4.77 1.14
M-7 56.41 5.58 25.41 14.08 19.34 4.74 1.16
M-8 64.62 5.85 26.54 14.60 18.52 4.57 1.20
H-9 67.95 6.35 28.61 15.60 13.41 4.55 1.26
H-10 73.52 6.84 29.74 17.81 12.52 4.27 1.28
H-11 83.24 6.97 30.10 20.22 11.76 4.16 1.30
H-12 86.84 7.64 30.75 23.44 10.66 4.13 1.32
The results obtained for cutting rates in soft zone, medium-zone and hard zone of dolomitic marble
were between 5.07 - 5.41 m2/h, 4.57- 4.95 m2/h and 4.13 - 4.55 m2/h, respectively. These results
indicate decreasing trend from soft to hard dolomitic marble whereas beads wear rate showed
increasing trend from soft zone to hard zone.
EVALUATION OF RESULTS
Results obtained for cutting performance of diamond wire saw machine were evaluated with respect
to different dolomitic marble properties, such as, uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength,
shear strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance. In the rst step of evaluation, the
relationship between properties and cutting rate was investigated. In the next step, relationships
between properties and diamond beads wear rate were investigated graphically.
Relationships between cutting rate and physico-mechanical properties

Relationships between cutting rate and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) are shown in Figure 4a.
The trend of cutting rate observed was reduced as compressive strength increased from soft to hard
2
dolomitic marble. The regression line obtained, Y = -0.0301x + 6.6058; R = 0.8980, shows that cutting
rate have signicant relationships with compressive strength. The cutting rate decreased by 23.65 per
cent as uniaxial compressive strength increased by 92.33 per cent. Figure 4b shows the relationship
between tensile strength and cutting rate, showing similar trend of reduction in cutting rate with
increased tensile strength of marble. The trend show reduction of cutting rate with increased shear
strength from soft to hard marble, as shown in Figure 4c. The regression line y = -0.1234x + 5.5695
2
with a coefcient R = 0.9872 indicates the sound relationship between cutting rate and shear strength.
Similarly, relationship of modulus of elasticity for soft to hard marble with cutting rate is shown
in Figure 4d. The regression lines as shown in Table 4 indicate signicant relationships between
these properties and cutting rate. Figure 4e shows the relationship between the cutting rate and
abrasion resistance of marble. The trend shows an increase in cutting rate with an increase in
2
abrasion resistance percentage and its regression line y = 0.0511 + 3.6685 with R = 0.9585 indicates
signicant linear relationship. As the abrasive resistance percentage decreased from soft to hard
dolomitic marble from 34.02 per cent to 10.66 per cent, the corresponding cutting rate was reduced
from 5.41 m2/h to 4.13 m2/h.
(A) (B)
y = -0.4118x + 7.1085
Cutting rate (m2/h)
Cutting rate (m2/h)

y = -0.0301x + 6.6058
6 6 R2 = 0.939
R2 = 0.898
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 3 5 7 9
Uniaxial com pressive strength (MPa) Tensile strength (MPa)
(C) (D)
Cutting rate (m2/h)

y = -0.1234x + 5.5695 y = -0.0971x + 6.1552
Cutting rate (m2/h)
6 6 R2 = 0.9158
R2 = 0.9872
5
4 4
3
2
2
0 0 10 20 30
0 5 10 15
Modulas of elasticity (GPa)
Shear strength (MPa)
(E)
Cutting rate (m2/h)
4
y = 0.0511x + 3.6685
2 R2 = 0.9585
0
0 10 20 30 40
Abrasion resistance
FIG 4 - Relationships between physic-mechanical properties of and cutting rate.
Relationships between diamond beads wear rate and physico-mechanical properties

Figure 5a shows the relationships between diamond beads wear rate and the uniaxial compressive
strength (UCS). Wear rate observed was increasing with an increase in compressive strength from
2
soft to hard marble stones and the regression line Y1 = 7E-06x + 0.0007; R = 0.9190, indicates
signicant relationships. The diamond beads wear rates increased by 28.15 per cent as the uniaxial
compressive strength increased by 92.33 per cent. The signicant relationship was observed between
tensile strength and wear rate, as shown in Figure 5b. The similar trend was observed for the wear
rate versus marble tensile strength. Figure 5c shows that the wear rate was increasing as shear
2
strength increased from soft to hard marble. The regression line Y1 = 3E-05x + 0.0001; R = 0.9754
indicates signicant relationship between wear rate and shear strength.
The relationship of modulus of elasticity versus soft to hard marble with diamond beads wear rate
is shown in Figure 5d. The signicant relationships observed by regression models are depicted in
Table 4 between these properties and wear rate. Figure 5e shows the relationships between wear
rates and the marble abrasion resistance. The trend shows reduction in wear rate with an increase
2
in abrasion resistance percentage with the regression line Y1 = -1E- 0 5x + 0.0014; R = 0.9725
indicating signicant linear relationship. It was observed that shear strength and abrasion resistance
properties were closely correlated with wear rate.
The regression models shown in Table 4 may be applied to other marble stones based on their
physico-mechanical properties.
(A) (B)
0.0014 y = 1E-04x + 0.0006
wear rate (mm/m2)

0.0014
wear rate (mm/m2)
R2 = 0.9597
0.0012 0.0012
0.001 y = 7E-06x + 0.0007 0.001

R2 = 0.919 0.0008
0.0008
0.0006 0.0006
3 4 5 6 7 8
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Tensile strength (MPa)
Uniaxial com pressive strength (MPa)
(C) (D)
0.0014 0.0015 y = 2E-05x + 0.0008
wear rate (mm/m2)

0.0012 R2 = 0.9049
wear rate (mm/m2)
0.001 0.001
0.0008 y = 3E-05x + 0.001
0.0006 R2 = 0.9754
0.0005
0.0004
0.0002
0 0
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15 20 25
Shear strength (MPa) Modulas of elasticity (GPa)
(E)
0.0014 y = -1E-05x + 0.0014

wear rate (mm/m2)
R2 = 0.9725
0.0012
0.001
0.0008
0.0006
0.0004
0 10 20 30 40
Abrasion resistance
FIG 5 - Relationships between properties of dolomitic marble and diamond beads wear rate.
TABLE 4
Regression models between cutting rate (Y), wear rate (Y1) and physico- mechanical properties.
Serial no Physico-Mechanical Proporties (x) Regression models for cutting rate (Y) Regression models for wear rate (Y1)
1 Compressive strength Y = -0.0301x + 6.6058; R2 = 0.8980 Y1 = 7E-06x + 0.0007; R2 = 0.9190
2
2 Tensile strength Y = -0.4118x + 7.1085; R = 0.9390 Y1 = 1E-04x + 0.0006; R2 = 0.9597
3 Shear strength Y = -0.1234x + 5.5695; R2 = 0.9872 Y1 = 3E-05x + 0.0001; R2 = 0.9754
4 Modulus of elasticity Y = -0.0971x + 6.1552; R2 = 0.9158 Y1 = 2E-05x + 0.0008; R2 = 0.9049
5 Abrasion resistance Y = -0.0511x + 3.6685; R2 = 0.9585 Y1 = -1E-05x + 0.0014; R2 = 0.9725
Relationship between cutting rate and diamond beads wear rate

It was observed from regression analysis that the cutting rate and diamond beads wear rate also have
2
signicant linear relationship (R = 0.9661). Figure 6 show that cutting rate was reduced as diamond
beads wear rate increased from soft to hard marble. As diamond beads wear rates increased by
28.15 per cent, cutting rate decreased by 23.65 per cent.
Multivariate regression analysis (MVRA)
The complexity of most scientic mechanisms is such that in order to be able to predict an important
response, a well known multiple regression models is needed. For MVRA, we have considered
0.0016 y = -0.0002x + 0.0023

0.0014 R2 = 0.9661
Wear rate (mm/m2)

0.0012
0.001
0.0008
0.0006
0.0004
0.0002
0
0 2 4 6 8
Cutting rate (m 2/h)
FIG 6 - Relationship between cutting rate and diamond beads wear rate.
physico-mechanical properties of marble as independent variables, ie compressive strength (X1),

tensile strength (X2), shear strength (X3), Modulus of elasticity (X4) and abrasion resistance (X5) for
each dependent variable, ie cutting rate (Y1) and wear rate (Y2). On the basis of observations given
in Tables 3, regression models were derived using SYSTAT 8.0 program for vertical cutting and are
given in Table 5. The factor coefcients show the effect of parameters on cutting rate and diamond
beads wearing.
TABLE 5
Regression models derived for cutting rate and diamond beads wear rate.
S No Models Standard error Explanation

1 Y1 = 4.187 - 0.010X1 + 0.023X2 + 0.019X3 - 0.017X4 + 0.038X5 0.085 0.98
2 Y2 = 1.056 + 0.003X1 + 0.021X2 + 0.003X3 - 0.006X4 - 0.008X5 0.003 0.99
2
The R value of 0.98 for cutting rate indicates that all ve independent variables put together
accounted for about 98 per cent variation of the cutting rate of diamond wire saw machine and,
2
similarly, R value of 0.99 for wear rate indicates that independent variables contributed 99 per cent
variation in diamond wire wear rate.
The statistical validity of any regression model can be tested by variance analysis method.
However, different approaches can also be used for this purpose. One of these methods can be
used to demonstrate the differences between measures and predicted values with scattered graphs.
Figures 7a and 7b show the signicant correlation between the results obtained from eld
measurement and those predicted from the linear regression model for cutting rate and wear rate,
respectively. These models can be used to predict the cutting rate and wear rate for various marble
and can also be used to select appropriate diamond wire saw machine.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, the relationships of various physico-mechanical properties, such as, uniaxial compressive
strength, tensile strength, shear strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance with diamond
beads wear rate and cutting rate were investigated. As a result, the following conclusions were drawn:
x The regression analysis between physico-mechanical properties and cutting rate of diamond wire
saw indicates signicant relationships. Shear strength has more correlation with cutting rate. It
was observed that cutting rate decreased as the values of physico-mechanical properties increased
except for abrasion resistance from soft to hard dolomitic marble.
x Diamond beads wear rate have signicant relationships with physico-mechanical properties of
dolomitic marble. The wear rate was increased as the value of physico-mechanical properties
(A)
(B)
FIG 7 - Validity of the models for (A) cutting rate; and (B) wear rate.
increased from soft to hard dolomitic marble, except for abrasion resistance, which has shown a
reverse trend. Beads consumption per m2 cutting in soft, medium-hard and hard dolomitic marble
was on average 0.00105 mm, 0.00116 mm and 0.00129 mm, respectively.
x A signicant relationship was observed between cutting rate and beads wear rate. Diamond beads
wear rates increased by 28.15 per cent as cutting rate were reduced by 23.65 per cent from soft to
hard dolomitic marble.
x An accurate relationship and prediction of wear rate and cutting rate with physico-mechanical
properties will be helpful to diamond beads manufactures in planning of appropriate design of
diamond beads, which will increase the cutting rate and reduce the wear rate in marble. Mine
operators will also benet from selecting appropriate diamond beads according to physico-
mechanical properties of marble for optimum production at minimum cost.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are very grateful to the management of M/s R K Marble (P) Ltd, Udaipur, Rajasthan,
India for permitting to carry out eld research study at their mines. The authors are also thankful to
the International Marble Institute, Napoli, Italy for sponsoring this project and providing all support
in carrying out the study.
REFERENCES
Brown, E T, 1981. Rock Characterisation, Testing and Monitoring: ISRM Suggested Methods, 211 p
(Pergamon Press: Oxford).
Deliormanli, A H and Pamukcu, C, 2001. Optimization of stone sawing operation, in Proceedings Tenth
Mine Planning and Equipment Selection Conference, pp 215-221, New Delhi.
Gupta, R K and Singh, K, 2007. Indian stone industry An insight, Stonedge Journal of Indian Dimensional
Stone Industry, February, pp 18-22.
Jain, S C, Rathore, S S and Wahy, S N, 2007. Performance of new innovative cutting machines in dolomitic
marble mining, Journal of Rock Mechanics and Tunneling Technology, 13(1):29-39.
Ozcelik, Y, Kulaksiz, S and Cetin, M C, 2000. Assessment of the wear of diamond beads in the cutting of
different rock types by the ridge regression, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 127:392-400.
Ozcelik, Y, Ploat, E, Bayram F and Ay, A M, 2004. Investigation of the effect of textural properties on marble
cutting with diamond wire, Int Journal Rock Mechanics Mining Sciences, 41(3):1-7
Prikryl, R, 2001. Some microstructural aspets of strength variations in rocks, Int Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Mining Sciences, 38:671-682.
Singh, V S, 2003. Mathematical modeling of wire cutting technology, in Proceedings National Seminar on
Recent Development in Machinery and Equipment for Dimensional Stone Mining, pp 139-146 (Maharana
Pratap Agriculture University: Udaipur).
Stellin, A, Hennies, W T, Soares, L and Fujimura, F, 2001. Dimensional stone block extraction by steel wire,
in Proceedings Tenth International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, pp 215-221,
New Delhi.
Tugrul, A and Zarif, I H, 1999. Correlation of mineralogical and textural characteristics with engineering
properties of selected granitic rocks from Turkey, Engineering Geology, 51:03-317.
Univer, B, 1996. A statistical method for practical assessment of sawability of rocks, in Proceedings
International Symposium Eurock 96, pp 59-65 (Balkema: Rotterdam).
Wright, D N and Engels, J A, 2003. The environmental and cost benets of using diamond wire for
quarrying and processing of natural stone, Industrial Diamond Review, Lamda Publicity Ltd, England,
4/03, pp 16-24.
Wright, D N, Tagg W R J and Davis, P R, 2000. The development of a rock classication system for use with
diamond tools, in Proceeding Conference Stonemart, Jaipur, India, pp 109-128.
Never Touch a Running System? Longwall Cutting
Sequences and their Potential
K Nienhaus1 and S Hetzel2
ABSTRACT
The optimisation and validation of shearer cutting methods is a time consuming engineering task.
Many different parameters, of which not all can be controlled, can vary. The easiest solution, to
increase the installed power and the longwall length, is not always the best. A different cutting
method can increase the capacity without the need of new machines. The Department for Mining and
Metallurgy Machinery at RWTH Aachen University therefore developed ProSL, the simulation tool
for shearer and longwall operations. ProSL enables the engineer to create his own cutting methods
and compare it with other methods. Machine-data can easily be varied to see the impact on the
method. The research shows that sophisticated longwall methods increase the productivity of the
system. The paper presents the results of the calculation with ProSL and shows how higher efciency
and lower costs can be achieved.
INTRODUCTION
The question which cutting sequence is used for a longwall is a complex and time consuming task.
Most mines are using their preferred sequence for a long time and do not try to change it. In other
cases the geological conditions force the mine to use a particular method (Bahr, 2005).
The standard for improving output is to increase the cutting and haulage power from shearer and
AFC and to increase the length of the longwalls. This will increase the total output and probably the
output per man-hour, but it does not ask for the most efcient way to produce coal.
To take the load of the planning engineers, the Institute for Mining and Metallurgy Machinery
developed the Production Simulation for Shearer and Longwall Operations (ProSL) (Nienhaus and
Lange, 2005a).
A recent overview of the Australian longwalls shows (Table 1), that most of the mines (65 per
cent) are still using the bi-directional cutting sequence (bi-di). The uni-directional cutting sequence
(Uni-di) is applied at 42 per cent and variable-web methods are only applied at ten per cent of
the mines. According to Rutherford (Bahr, 2005) the longwall length should be over 230 m for
bi-di cutting. Lange (Nienhaus and Lange, 2005b) shows that in the range between 200 m and
400 m bi-di does not always is the most efcient cutting method. Bi-di wins efciency with length
and installed cutting motor power. A direct comparison between the three commonly used methods
is done (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Usage of cutting methods at Australian mines.
Cutting sequence Mines Percentage (%)

Uni-di 13 42
Bi-di 20 65
Variable-web 3 10
Created from Longwalls.com, 2010.
1. Full Professor, Mining and Metallurgy Machinery (IMR), RWTH Aachen University, 2 Wuellnerstrasse, Aachen 52062, Germany. Email: kNienhaus@imr.rwth-aachen.de
2. Research Engineer, Mining and Metallurgy Machinery (IMR), RWTH Aachen University, 2 Wuellnerstrasse, Aachen 52062, Germany. Email: shetzel@imr.rwth-aachen.de
K NIENHAUS AND S HETZEL
CUTTING SEQUENCES
The cutting sequences are divided into ve different groups by Peng (Peng and Chiang, 1984):
1. Number of cutting passes per cycle: the number of cutting passes per cycle determines the method.
Cutting sequences with one cutting cycle per pass are referred to as uni-directional. Sequences
with two cutting cycles per pass are referred to as bi-directional.
2. Sump into face: there are two different methods generally used to sump into the face, either a box
cut or a wedged cut. The bi-di sequence uses two box cuts, one at each to gate, while the variable-
web sequence uses a wedge cut. The sumping operation has a high inuence on the unproductive
times of a sequence.
3. Cutting depth: in the so called variable-web sequences the coal is cut with only a part of the
drums depth. The remaining coal to the full depth of the drum is cut on the return trip.
4. Cutting height: depending on the seam height and geological conditions the cutting height per
cycle can be varied. Methods utilising two cuts to cut the whole seam height are called partial
opening sequences.
According to the mentioned common cutting sequences in Australia, this paper will focus on the bi-
directional (Figure 1), the uni-directional (Figure 2) and the variable-web cutting method (Figure 3).
The variable-web will be realised with a ratio of 60/40 for the web on the uphill/downhill run.
FIG 1 - Bi-directional cutting sequence.
FIG 2 - Uni-directional cutting sequence.
FIG 3 - Variable-web cutting sequence.
Bi-directional cutting sequence

The bi-directional cutting sequence is characterised by its two cutting passes per cycle, one on the
uphill- and one on the downhill run. Two full cutting passes also means that this sequence advances
faster than the other mentioned sequences with two full web depths per recycle. The shearer sumps
into the face with a box cut at each of the gates (Figure 1).
The box cuts are the least productive time of the sequence and reduce the average production
capacity due to the slow speed. As a reaction to that the length of longwalls using bi-di is increasing,
to lower the percentage of face end operation time on the total cycle time.
The leading drum is always cutting with full height while the trailing drum cuts the remaining
height. In case that the total height of the seam is higher than the height of both drums together,
NEVER TOUCH A RUNNING SYSTEM? LONGWALL CUTTING SEQUENCES AND THEIR POTENTIAL
uni-di sequences are used instead, especially if the conveyor capacity is not enough. During the main
cutting cycle both drums are cutting at full depth.
Uni-directional cutting sequence
The uni-directional cutting sequence uses only one cutting pass per cycle and advances with one web
per cycle. For this cutting run the sumping takes place at the face end (Figure 2). The second run is
used for cleaning or oor control if problems with weak oor are encountered.
During the main cut both drums are at full web and the leading drum is cutting at full height. The
change between cutting and cleaning is also affecting the AFC, which is loaded unsteadily.
Variable-web cutting sequence
The variable-web cutting sequence utilises two cutting passes per cycle and advances at one full web
per cycle. The reduced web is partially compensated by the possibility to use higher shearer speeds
for cutting.
While the drums are cutting with full height, the cutting depth is varying between the runs. The so
called Half-Web sequence uses a 50/50 pattern for the uphill and the downhill run. Commonly also
60/40 and 70/30 sequences are used.
The benet of using variable-web cutting sequences comes from the high utilisation of the shearer.
Face end operations are held short and the shearer speed is high due to the fact that it is only cutting
at full depth at the very end of the face (Figure 3).
CAPACITY CALCULATIONS
The capacity calculations start with the creation of the base data set. This case is then modied to
show an automated longwall with a higher availability. In the third case the manual speed restriction
is replaced by the restriction of the sequence.
For all cases the same conguration of shearer and AFC are used. The selected Shearer is an Eickhoff
SL 300 with 480 kW cutter motors. More detailed information on shearer and AFC conguration
can be found in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Information on used shearer and AFC.
Shearer Power Power Machines Drum Clearance AFC area Power AFC AFC speed
haulage cutting weight (t) diameter area (m) (m) motor (kW) (m/s)
motors (kW) motors (kW) (m)
SL 300 2 x 80 2 x 480 60 1.8 0.44 0.67 3 x 800 1.8
Like mentioned in chapter 1, the three relevant cutting sequences are the bi-di-, the uni-di- and the
variable-web cutting sequence. The uni-di sequence is used with a backward snake at the main gate.
Geological setup
The main geological parameters for this paper are the following:
x A varying face length of 150 m and 450 m.
x A seam height of 2.4 m.
x The coal density is 1.36 t/m with 0.3 kWh/m required specic cutting energy and 130 kN/m
specic cutting forces.
x A maximum web of 1 m.
x The whole longwall has got an inclination of 5 t.
x The used AFC is a PF4 from Bucyrus with a width of 1332 mm. The geology is assumed to be stable
and there is no restriction for a cutting sequence due to it.
Possible restrictions
During the cutting process the shearer speed can be restricted by various different factors. The face
end operations are mostly uncritical because the speed is generally lower than for production runs.
On the production run the shearer speed can be restricted by:
x haulage motor power: restrict the advancing speed of the shearer,

x cutting motor power: restricts the advance rate because of coal hardness,
x conveyor motor power: restricts the transportable load on the AFC,
x conveyor cross section: restricts the loadable amount of coal,
x shearer clearance area: restricts the loadable amount of coal, and
x stage loader capacity: restricts the loadable amount of coal.
To increase the production these restricting factors have to be considered.
The base case
In the base case the shearer is controlled manually. The maximum speed for the shearer is set to
13 m/min to enable the driver to walk beside the machine. The average speed during the face end
operations is set to 7 m/min.
Due to the forced speed limit, both the uni-di and the variable-web method cannot use their
advantage against the bi-di sequence (Figure 4). The uni-di sequence is producing the same amount
of coal on the uphill run as the bi-di, but it only has got one production run instead of two. The
shearer sumps in only once per pass, so the total loss against the bi-di sequence is 27 per cent.
FIG 4 - Capacities for the different methods.
Variable-Web benets from the quick sump in and the low amount of unproductive times. Forced
to use the same speed but with a lower cutting depth it losses against the bi-di sequence a full web
per pass. The high amount of unproductive time of the bi-di sequence on the other hand is reducing
the loss to 24 per cent.
With these settings it is best to use the bi-directional sequence. Increasing the longwall length to
reduce the percentage of unproductive time works well in this case. An increase of 200 m to a total
length of 500 m will improve the capacity by 24 per cent for bi-di. Uni-di can only achieve a ten per
cent increase and the Variable-Web sequence increases by nine per cent. All results for this and the
following case can be found in Figure 4.
Improved availability
The second case simulates the rst step of integrating an automation system. A miner will still walk
with shearer in case anything unexpected happens and so the maximum moving speed is still limited
to 13 m/min. The automation system is increasing the total longwall availability from 55 per cent to
65 per cent. It is expected that this increase will improve the capacity also by ten per cent. Instead
the capacity is raised by 18.2 per cent.
NEVER TOUCH A RUNNING SYSTEM? LONGWALL CUTTING SEQUENCES AND THEIR POTENTIAL
FIG 5 - Production capacities with sequence restrictions.
Even when compared to the lower availability, uni-di and Variable-Web cannot increase the
production capacity over the capacity of bi-di with less availability. An overview about the capacities
for both cases, the lower and the improved availability, can be found in Figure 4.
Higher shearer speeds
At the time the shearer is automated, it is possible to let it operate at higher speeds as if an operator
is involved. In this case the shearer uses the speed limitation that comes from the sequential
prerequisites. A manual speed limitation of 23 m/min is used for safety reasons. Face end operation
speed is increased to 10 m/min in average. The new resulting speed limitations for the sequences are
as follows:
x bi-di: as well on the uphill run as on the downhill run the speed is limited by the cutter motor.
In both cases at least one drum is cutting its full diameter and full web, which results in a high
cutting resistance.
x uni-di: the limitation for the cutting run is the same as for bi-di, since this part of the sequence is
equal. The itting run on the other hand is only restricted by the maximum possible speed of the
shearer or, if the loading takes place by the loading capacity of the drums.
x variable-web: on the uphill run, where 70 per cent of the web is cut, the speed limitation result
from the cutter drive, but is signicantly higher than the limitation for full web cutting. On the
downhill run the conveyor would probably restrict the shearer speed, but in this case the manual
limit is lower.
Without the speed limit the variable-web cutting sequence can claim to be the most productive of
the three cutting methods (Figure 5). Its high speed and the short face end times create a capacity
that is 6.5 per cent higher than the bi-di for this longwall.
The uni-di sequence can also improve, but due to its lack of a second production run it
cannot compete against the bi-di. Production capacity is increased by 86 per cent, but is still
17 per cent behind bi-di.
The production capacity increase shows a direct proportional dependency of the cutting speeds of
the shearer. The increases can be found in Table 3.
Bi-di has the lowest increase in production, but prots the most when comparing the production
increase to the average speed increase. The increase in production is twice the increase in speed. For
TABLE 3
Speed and production increase.
Method Increase uphill run Increase downhill run Increase in production Increase to base Bi-Di
Bi-di 30% 30% 63% 93%
Uni-di 30% 130% 86% 60%
Variable-web 118% 130% 128% 105%
uni-di and Variable-Web the increase in speed and the increase in production are proportional. The
remaining difference in production increase is due to the increased face end operation speed.
CONCLUSIONS
The selection of the cutting method is a task that has to incorporate more than the pure production
capacity. To be able to react to changes in geology appropriately everyone working with the shearer
should know the different possible cutting sequences. The exibility is one of the keys to get most
out of a cutting sequence (Bahr, 2005).
Without spending money it is possible to increase the production capacity. A change of the cutting
sequence or modications to the used sequence can already improve the performance. In a next
step the question should be where the bottlenecks are, before just increasing the size of shearer and
longwall.
The comparison shows that the production capacity could be nearly doubled without changing
many parameters. For bi-di an increase of 93 per cent is possible by increasing the speed of the
shearer. With a change of the cutting sequence the capacity can be increased by another 12 per
cent. If necessary the base case could also be switched to an uni-di sequence that still increases the
production by 60 per cent.
REFERENCES
Bahr, A, 2005. Cutting edge, Australian Longwall Magazine, June, pp 13-16.
Longwalls.com, 2010. International Longwall News [online]. Available from:<http://www.longwalls.com>
[Accessed: July 2010].
Nienhaus, K and Lange, U, 2005a. Big is not always beautiful, American Longwall Magazine, May, pp 21-23.
Nienhaus, K and Lange, U, 2005b. Can David compete against Goliath, in Proceedings Mine Planning and
Equipment Selection 2005, pp 935-950 (Banff).
Peng, S and Chiang, H S, 1984. Coal extraction The shearer, Longwall Mining, pp 335-399 (Wiley: New
York).
Developing Algorithms and a Computer Program to
Predict the Peak Particle Velocity After Blasting in
Open Pit Mines and Quarries
Topal1, B Elevli2 and K Erarslan3
ABSTRACT
Drill blasting is a widely used method for rock fragmentation in mining, quarrying and construction
industries. Environmental effects such as air shocks, dust, ying rocks and ground vibration are
unavoidable results and undesired effects of blasting. Among these ground vibrations can have a
damaging effect and may inuence on long distances. Therefore various researchers have developed
mathematical models to predict ground vibration after blasting. These models take into account the
amount of explosive, distance and several coefcients related to the eld under investigation. The
developed models to predict ground vibration may yield different results for the same case. Selection
of the most suitable model requires engineering judgment and evaluation of models. At this point,
a computerised system helps the engineer to evaluate and select the most suitable model in order
to design and plan a blasting pattern. The safe charge of explosive and magnitude of vibration after
blasting should be predicted beforehand. Therefore a computer program namely prediction of blast
induced vibration (P-BIV) has been developed. This paper introduces and presents a computer
program (P-BIV) which includes the set of models developed to estimate ground vibration to provide
blasting engineers a tool to determine the amount of explosive for safe blasting.
INTRODUCTION
Blasting is still widely used method for fragmentation of rocks in open-pit mines as well as in
civil construction works. Engineers continuously investigate drill blasting patterns for each and
every geological and geomechanical condition to obtain desired fragmentation size. However,
environmental effects of blasting are also needed to be investigated. The undesired environmental
effects are dust, air-shock, ying rocks and ground vibrations (Kecajevic and Radomsky, 2005).
Among these effects, ground vibrations can have a damaging effect and may inuence long distances.
This situation sometimes causes mining companies to indemnify damages occurring at surrounding
residential areas (Salzano and Cozzani, 2006).
Ground vibrations is directly related to the amount of explosive used and distance between blasting
site and the point of interest as well as geological and geotechnical conditions of the rock. Therefore,
various researchers have developed mathematical models to predict ground vibration after blasting (Lu,
2005 Morin and Ficarozzo, 2006 Ambraseys, 1968 Nicholls, Johnson and Duvall, 1971 Langefors
and Kihlstrom, 1973 Indian Standards Institute, 1973 Birch and Chaffer, 1983 Attewell, Farmer and
Halsam, 1965 Davies, Farmer and Attewel, 1964 Ghosh, 1983 Gupta, Roy and Singh, 1987 Gupta
et al, 1987 Gupta, Roy and Singh, 1988 CMRS, 1990 Arpaz, 2000). These models takes into account
amount of explosive, distance and several coefcients related to the eld under investigations.
Therefore every blasting site should be considered as a particular case.
The developed models to predict ground vibration may yield different results for the same case.
The selections of the most suitable model require engineering judgment and evaluation of models. At
this point, a computerised system helps engineer to evaluate and select the most suitable models in
order to design and plan a blasting pattern. This paper introduces and present a computer program
1. Assistant Professor, Dumlupinar University, Department of Mining Engineering, Ktahya, Turkey, Email: topal@dumlupinar.edu.tr
2. Professor, Ondokuzmays University, Department of Industrial Engineering, Samsun, Turkey. Email: birol.elevli@omu.edu.tr
3. Professor, Dumlupinar University, Department of Mining Engineering, Ktahya, Turkey. Email: erarslan@dumlupinar.edu.tr
I TOPAL, B ELEVLI AND K ERARSLAN
(P-BIV) which includes the set of models developed to estimate ground vibration to provide blasting
engineers a tool to determine the amount of explosive for safe blasting.
ESTIMATION OF VIBRATION OCCURS AFTER BLASTING

Research has carried out different studies and equations have been derived for predicting and
estimating the vibration of blasting. These equations are unexceptionally function of distance,
amount of explosives and geological parameters (Roy 2004 Sing and Roy, 1993). The relation
between distance and amount of explosive is stated as scaled distance (SD) and given as follows
(Konya and Walter, 1990).
SD R/W1/m (1)
where
SD is scaled distance
R is distance in metre from blasting point to point of interest (metre)
W is the maximum amount of explosive (kg)
m is constant (mostly two or three)
Ground vibration is known as peak particle velocity and widely accepted empirical relation between
scaled distance and peak particle velocity is given below (Siskind et al, 1980)
PPV Ks (SD)- (2)
where PPV is the peak particle velocity (mm/s), Ks and are the site constant which can be determined
by multiple regression analysis (Barlow, 2000), by using recorded data of about 30 blasting. Based on
Equation 1 and 2, different researcher have been developed various prediction equation to estimate
PPV. These equations are given in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Vibration prediction models.
No Researcher Equations No Researcher Equations

b b
1
Ambraseys and Hendron PPV = Ks c 3 R m 7 Ghosh ve Daemen (1983) (II) PPV = K s c 3 R m .e- a.R
(1968) W W
Nicholls, Johnson ve Duvall b W b .e- a.R

2 PPV = K s c R m 8 Gupta, Roy and Singh (1987) (I) PPV = K s e 3 o
(1971) W R2
Langefors ve Kihlstrom PPV = K s e W b 3 b

3 3 o 9 Gupta et al (1987) (I) PPV = K s e W 2 o .e- a.R
(1973) R2 R
2 b b R
4
Indian Standarts Institute
PPV = K s e W 3 o 10 Gupta, Roy and Singh (1988) PPV = K s c R m .e - a.W
(1973) R W
Birch (1983) -1
5 Attewel (1965) PPV = Ks .Ra .W b 11 CMRS (1990), Roy (1991) PPV = N + K s c R m
W
Davies (1964)
b
6
Ghosh ve Daemen PPV = K s c R m .e- a.R
(1983) (I) W
The equations given in Table 1 were derived from the results of different studies carried out in
different locations and formations. Although all equations seem to differ from each other, their basic
logic is the same. They use scaled distance term with different representation. It is not fair to say they
are inadequate or incorrect. They are just different. However, the question is that which equation
should be used in order to predict ground vibration. In order to compare these equations, fast and
easy way is needed. Therefore a computer program has been developed. This program determines
site constant by utilising regression analysis methods based on the recorded blasting data. Then,
by using these site constants and widely accepted 11 equations, the program will estimate expected
ground vibrations for each blast. By doing so, all of the equations will be compared and the best
suitable equations for the blasting site will be decided.
DEVELOPING ALGORITHMS AND A COMPUTER PROGRAM TO PREDICT THE PEAK PARTICLE VELOCITY AFTER BLASTING
The 11 equations were re-organised in order to develop proposed program. The ve formulas were
transferred to dependant and one dependent regression model six of the formulas were transferred
to dependent and two independent regression models since they have three unborn variables. The
re-organisations are given in following sections.
RE-ORGANISATION OF THE EQUATIONS

In order to utilise equations given in Table 1,
, , Ks, and n site coefcients should be determined. In
the developed system, in order to simplify the equations, several parameters have been substituted
by an articial variable and exponential statements are turned into linear form by logarithmic
conversions. In order to do this, scaled distance SD of each equation has been substituted with the
term of SDi as given below
2
SD1 = c 3 R m, SD2 = c R m, SD3 = e o, SD4 = e
3 o, SD5 = c R m, SD6 = c m (3)
3
R2 R R
After substituting SDi terms in the equations, logarithmic conversion was applied to equations and
results are given in Table 2. Then, the converted equations are used in linear regression analysis.
Finally, the equations are converted to regression models in the form of one dependent-one
independent and one dependent-two independent variables.
TABLE 2
The results of logarithmic conversation.
No Equation
1 b
PPV = Ks ^ SD1h => In PPV = InK s + b.InSD1
2 PPV = Ks ^ SD2hb => In PPV = InKs + b.InSD2
3 PPV = Ks ^ SD3hb => In PPV = InK s + b.InSD3
4 PPV = Ks ^ SD4hb => In PPV = InK s + b.InSD 4
5 PPV = Ks .Rb .Wa => In PPV = InK s + b.InR + a.InW
6 PPV = Ks ^ SD2h- b .eaR => In PPV = InKs - b.InSD2 + aR
9 PPV = Ks ^ SD4h- b .eaR => In PPV = InKs - b.InSD 4 + aR
10 PPV = Ks ^ SD2h- b .eaSD5 => In PPV = InK s - b.InSD2 + aSD5
11 PPV = n + Ks ^ SD6h => PPV = n + Ks ^SD6h
REGRESSION AND CORRELATION ANALYSIS

Equations 1, 2, 3, 4 and 11 are one dependent-one independent variable type regression model,
while the Equations 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are one dependent-two independent type regression model.
Computations for the Equation 1 and the Equation 6 are given as example below.
Computation of Equation 1 as example
The equation InPPV InK1 + 1 ln(SD1) is equivalent to regression relation of Y a + b X. When
is replaced with InPPV, a is replaced with InK1, b is replaced with 1 and is replaced with InSD1.
Hence, the site coefcient can be calculated as given in (Spiegel, 1996), where 1 and InK1 are obtained
from the normal equations
n n
/ lnPPVi = ^lnK1h.n + b1 / lnSDli (4)
i=1 i=1
n n n
/ lnSDli .lnPPVi = lnK1 / lnSDli + b1 /^lnSDlih2 (5)
i=1 I i=1 i=1
which yield
n n n (6)
n / lnSDli .lnPPVi - f / lnSDli p. f / lnPPVi p
i=1 i=1 i=1
b1 =
n n 2
n / ^ lnSDlih2 - f / lnSDli p
i=1 i=1
n n 2 n n
e / lnPPVi o . e / ^ lnSDlih o - e / lnSDli o . e / lnSDli .lnPPVi o
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
lnK1 = (7)
n/ ^ lnSDlih2 - ^/ lnSDlih2
K1 = elnK 1 (8)
Correlation coefcient for the Equation 1 is as follows (Konuk and nder, 1999)
n n
n
/ lnSDli . / lnPPVi
/ lnSDli lnPPVi - i 1 i 1
n
R1 i 1
R n 2 VR n 2V (9)
S
S n e /lnSDli o WS
WS n e lnPPVi o W
W
/
S/
Si 1
lnSDli2 - i 1
n
WS lnPPVi2 - i 1
WSi 1 n/ W
W
T XT X
Computation of Equation 6 as example
When Y a + b X1 + c X regression model is adapted to equation of ln PPV lnK - lnSD +
R
where, lnPPV, a lnK6, B 6, C 6, 1 ln SD2, 2 R (10)
Hereby, new sixth model equations are

n n n
/ÎnPPVih n.InK6 + b6 / ÎnSD2ih + a6 /^Rih (11)
i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n
/ ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih InK6 /ÎnSD2ih + b6 / ÎnSD2ih 2 + a6 /ÎnSD2ih^Rih (12)
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n
/ ÎnPPVih^Rih InK6 /^Rih + b6 / ÎnSD2ih^Rih + a6 /^Rih2 (13)
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
6, 61, 62 and 63 matrixes are

R n n V
Sn
S
/
^ lnSD2ih ^ Rih / W
W
S i 1 i 1 W
S n n n W
/
D6 S ^ lnSD2ih /
^ lnSD2ih 2 ^ lnSD2ih^ Rih W / (14)
Si 1 i 1 i 1 W
S n n n W
/
S ^ Rih
Si 1
/
^ lnSD2ih^ Rih ^ Rih2 / W
W
i 1 i 1
TR X V
n n n
/
S ^ lnPPVih
Si 1
/
^ lnSD2ih ^ Rih W
W
/
S i 1 i 1 W
S n n n W
/
D61 S ^ lnPPVih^ lnSD2ih /
^ lnSD2ih2 ^ lnSD2ih^ Rih W /
Si 1 i 1 i 1 W
S n n n W (15)
/
S ^ lnPPVih^ Rih
Si 1
/
^ lnSD2ih^ Rih ^ Rih2 W
W
/
i 1 i 1
TR n V X
n
/
S ^ lnPPVih
Si 1
n ^ Rih W
W
/
S i 1 W
S n n n W
/
D62 S ^ lnPPVih^ lnSD2ih /
^ lnSD2ih ^ lnSD2ih^ Rih W /
Si 1 i 1 i 1 W (16)
S n n n W
/
S ^ lnPPVih^ Rih
Si 1
/
^ Rih ^ Rih2 W
W
/
i 1 i 1
T X
Rn n V
/
S ^ lnPPVih
Si 1
n /^lnSD2ih W
W
S i 1 W
S n n n W
D63 /
S ^ lnPPVih^ lnSD2ih / ^lnSD2ih / ^ lnSD2ih2 W
(17)
Si 1 i 1 i 1 W
S n n n W
/
S ^ lnPPVih^ Rih
Si 1
/^ Rih / ^ lnSD2ih^ Rih W
W
i 1 i 1
T X
hence
n 2 n 2 n n n
D6 n. / ÎnSD2ih : /^Rih + /ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih : /^Rih +
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n n 2 n
/^Rih : /ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih - /^Rih :/ ÎnSD2ih : /^Rih - (18)
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n 2 n n
/ÎnSD2ih^Rih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih.n - /^Rih :/ ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
Below equalities are handled after solving the matrices by Gauss method
n n n n n
D61 /ÎnPPVih : / ÎnSD2ih2 : /^Rih2 + /ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n n
: /^Rih + /ÎnPPVih^Rih : /ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih - /^Rih :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n (19)
/ÎnSD2ih2 : /ÎnPPVih^Rih - /ÎnSD2ih^Rih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n
/ÎnPPVih - R^Rih2 : /ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih
i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n n
D62 /ÎnPPVih : / ÎnSD2ih : /^Rih2 + /ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih : /^Rih :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n n
/^Rih + /ÎnPPVih^Rih : n : /^lnSD2ih^Rih - /^Rih : /ÎnSD2ih :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 (20)
n n n n n
/ÎnPPVih^Rih - /ÎnSD2ih^Rih : /^Rih : /ÎnPPVih - /^Rih2 : n :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n
/ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih
i 1
n n n n n
D63 /ÎnPPVih : / ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih^Rih + /ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih : /^Rih :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n n
/ÎnSD2ih + /ÎnPPVih^Rih : n : /ÎnSD2ih2 - /ÎnSD2ih : /ÎnSD2ih :
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n n n
/ÎnPPVih^Rih - /ÎnSD2ih2 : /^Rih : /ÎnPPVih - /ÎnSD2ih^Rih : n : (21)
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n
/ÎnPPVihÎnSD2ih
i 1
K6,
6, 6 eld coefcients can be derived from these equations
InK6 D61
, K6 e InK , a6 D63
, b6 D62 (22)
D6 D6 D6
Equations 2, 3, 4 and 11 can be solved by the same manner. Correlation coefcient for the Equation 6
is (Spiegel and Stephens, 2000)
R6 r6212 + r623
2
- 2r612 r613 r623
2
1 - r623 (23)
where
n n n
n / InPPVi : InSD2i - e / InPPVi o : e / InSD2i o
i 1 i 1 i 1
r612
n n 2 n n 2 (24)
>n / InPPVi - e / InPPVi o H : >n / InSD i - e / InSD2i o H
2 2
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n
n / InPPVi : Ri - e / InPPVi o : e / Ri o
i 1 i 1 i 1
r613 (25)
n n 2 n n 2
>n / InPPVi - e / InPPVi o H : >n / Ri - e / Ri o H
2 2
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
n n n
n / In2i : Ri - e / InSD2i o : e / Ri o
i 1 i 1
i 1
r623
n n n n 22
/ 2
/ 2
>n InSD2i - e InSD2i o H : >n Ri - e Ri o H / / (26)
i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1
Equations 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 can be solved as Equation 6. The developed program carries out
regression and correlation analysis for each equation. The result of these analysis provides site
constant for each equation. The algorithm of program is given in the following sections.
THE PROGRAM FOR PREDICTION OF BLAST INDUCED VIBRATION (P-BIV)

P-BIV (prediction of blast induced vibration) is the computer program developed by using Borland
C++ Builder 5. The algorithm of the software is based on the derived equations presented in
section 3. Main function of the program is to predict ground vibration at any distance to explosion
centre and estimate the required explosive amount for dened distances.
In order to use the formulas, eld coefcients should be known. P-BIV has a utility to estimate the
coefcient. Thereafter, blast induced vibration is predicted by referring to these coefcients.
From programming point of view, P-BIV has three major units running under main menu
(Figure 1). These are eld record unit, ground-vibration prediction unit and calculation of safe
amount explosive unit. The owchart of the program is given in Figure 2.

FIG 1 - Main menu of P-BIV.
FIG 2 - General flow chart of P-BIV.
Initially, a database is formed in eld record unit including distance, explosive amount and
recorded PPV (for each blast) (Figure 3). Once the eld measurements are recorded, regression and
correlation analysis can also be performed in this unit to determine eld coefcients.
FIG 3 - Database recording, regression and correlation analysis unit.
Blast induced vibration prediction unit enables blasting engineer to examine PPV at any distance
by using 11 equations (Figure 4). In order to nd PPV and regression analysis parameters R and S,
the system uses the previously explained approaches. Furthermore, the system can also give a report
for probable damage by regarding the approaches of Edwards and Northwood (1959) and Langefors,
Khilstr m and Westerberg (1948).

FIG 4 - Unit for prediction of blast induced vibration.
The third unit is developed to estimate the amount of explosive for safe blasting. Here, dependent
parameters are vibration and distance to explosion centre. After determination of calculation
method, PPV and distance, maximum weight of explosives, the system calculates optimum amount
of explosive (Figure 5).
The developed computerised system provides a practical and comprehensive tool for blast designers.

FIG 5 - Estimation of explosive amount for an expected peak particle velocity and distance.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, a computer system (P-BIV) for blast induced vibration prediction has been developed.
The main utilities of P-BIV are database generation, regression and correlation analysis to determine
site constants, vibration prediction and estimation of explosive amount for particular peak
particle velocity. It involves a set of 11 equations for vibration prediction used worldwide. Because
geomechanical conditions are varying from eld to eld, the vibration approaches yield different
results. The system enables the user to consider and compare all approaches and decide to use one
of them quickly. Additionally, P-BIV can also estimate the amount of explosives that will yield the
predetermined PPV at a particular distance. With its substantiality and features, the system presents
a practical and comprehensive evaluation and examination tool for blast designers.
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mbraseys, N R and Hendron, A J, 1968. Dynamic behavior of rock masses, Rock Mechanics in Engineering
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Numerical Modelling of Monorail Support
Requirements in Decline Development
B Besa1, M Kuruppu2 and E K Chanda3
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses support requirements for the proposed monorail system to be used in decline
development. The monorail drilling and loading systems are systems that move on the rail (monorail)
installed in the roof of the decline and supported by roof bolts, suspension chains and steel supports.
However, due to the weight of the components of the two systems, it is imperative that the force in
each roof bolt, suspension chain and steel support capable of suspending the weight of the heaviest
component is determined. Numerical models that relate the weight of the monorail drilling and
loading components to the required strength in the support system have been developed. Using
these developed models, numerical values of the forces in each roof bolt, suspension chain and steel
support, required to suspend the weight of the heaviest component of the monorail drilling and
loading systems are determined.
INTRODUCTION
The monorail drilling and loading systems are systems that move on the rail (monorail) installed in the roof
of the decline and supported by roof bolts, suspension chains and steel supports (Figure 1). The monorail
consists of a track of jointed section rails, which can easily be extended to the desired length. Monorails are
made of an I-prole rail, which completely prevents any derailment of the train. The monorail train, together
with containers or carriages, hangs by its wheels on the bottom ange of the track. The train is powered by
electric motors. Depending on the transportation task, the monorail system can be equipped with man-
riding cabins, material container and bottom discharge hoppers (Guse and Weibezhn, 1997). With a load
carrying capacity of up to 30 tonnes and the ability to negotiate gradients of up to 36, the monorail system
can make transport in decline development considerably more efcient than conventional truck haulage
system. Considering the requirements of typical underground mines, the monorail system is designed to
negotiate horizontal and vertical curves with a minimum radius of 4 m and 10 m respectively. The system
also shares many of the advantages of oor mounted rail, but overcomes the bulk of that systems limitations
(Scharf, 2007; Chanda and Besa, 2008). Other advantages include:
x reduction in size of excavations leading to improved stability of underground excavations;
x small excavations also means reduced ventilation and need for air conditioning;
x reduced haulage costs per tonne per kilometre because of less power consumption;
x less re hazards compared to truck haulage system;
x environmentally friendly technology no diesel fumes;
x multi-purpose haulage system for men, material and rock;
x small and medium sized orebodies can be mined with less initial capital investment;
x the system has potential for automation reduction in personnel; and
x low system operating costs a must for narrow vein high grade orebodies, hence improved
protability for such ore deposits.
1. Research Fellow, Curtin University of Technology, Mining Engineering and Surveying Department, Western Australian School of Mines, Locked Bag 22, Kalgoorlie WA 6433.
Email: b.besa@curtin.edu.au
2. MAusIMM, Senior Lecturer, Curtin University of Technology, Mining Engineering and Surveying Department, Western Australian School of Mines, Locked Bag 22, Kalgoorlie WA 6433.
Email: r.kuruppu@curtin.edu.au
3. MAusIMM, Associate Professor and Program Leader in Mining Engineering, The University of Adelaide, School of Civil and Environmental and Mining Engineering, Adelaide SA 5005.
Email: echanda@civeng.adelaide.edu.au
B BESA, M KURUPPU AND E K CHANDA
Considering the above and many more advantages that the monorail system offers, Chanda and Besa
(2008; 2009) conceptualised the drilling and loading systems based on the monorail technology.
The conceptual monorail drilling and loading systems will be used in decline development for face
drilling and cleaning, respectively. Figure 2 shows the conceptual monorail drilling and loading
systems in a decline.
FIG 2 - Conceptual monorail drilling and loading system (Chanda and Besa, 2009).
The monorail train is tted with two independent drilling booms that are used in decline
development. The system has its own power supply attached to it. It has also two horizontal and
two vertical hydraulic stabilisers to act as supports during drilling operations. The loading system
consists of an incline suction pipe that is connected to the hopper. The high pressure pump/fan
connected to a storage hopper creates negative pressure inside the hopper that enables transport
NUMERICAL MODELLING OF MONORAIL SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS IN DECLINE DEVELOPMENT
of blasted rock fragments from the development face into the hopper to take place (Chanda and
Besa, 2009). The monorail loading system will also serve as a means of ore and waste transport
system from underground to surface. Men and material will also be transported using the
system by, respectively, connecting man riding and material carriers to the system. According to
manufacturers of the monorail train, Scharf, the system has a self-weight of 92 tonnes and carries
up to six containers with total payload up to 30 tonnes including the weight of the container.
The aim of this paper is to determine the minimum required strength of the roof bolt, suspension
chain and steel supports for suspending and supporting the monorail drilling and loading systems
components during operations. This is in order to avoid failure of the two systems from the support
systems as well as to overcome dynamic forces. The methodology employed to achieve this objective
is to develop numerical models that relate the weight of the monorail drilling and loading systems
components to the required strength in each roof bolt, suspension chain and steel support. Using the
developed models, numerical values of the minimum required strength in each roof bolt, suspension
chain and steel supports to suspend and support the components of the two systems are determined.
NUMERICAL MODELLING
In this section, numerical models that relate the weight of monorail system components with required
support system at various sections of the decline (ie in inclines as well as at vertical and horizontal
curves) are presented.
Equilibrium of forces in the loading system
The force required in each roof bolt and suspension chain to support and suspend the monorail
drilling and loading system components in an incline is signicant in ensuring the components of the
two systems remain suspended under load. To avoid failure of roof bolts and/or suspension chains
due to the weight of monorail system components, high strength roof bolts and suspension chains
must be installed. It is, therefore, important that the minimum required force in each support system
necessary to suspend the weight of monorail drilling and loading system components is determined.
In this section, models that determine the required force in each roof bolt and suspension chain in
an incline based on the heaviest monorail drilling and loading system components are established.
Weight of monorail loading system components versus required support system
The relationship between the weight of monorail loading system components and required force in
each roof bolt and suspension chain in an incline is shown in Figure 3.
Roof
Suspension bolts
Chain
Powerpackwith Lpart
driveunits
Lpart
FMS
Lpart
A Loaded
FC
containers
Fpart F Cos
part

Fpart F Cos
part
FpartCos
Driver's Fpart
cabin
Z
Lpart is length of monorail loading system component

Fpart is weight of monorail loading system component
Rs is roof bolt spacing
FMS is force in each roof bolt (forces suspending monorail system)
FC is force in each suspension chain
is decline gradient
FIG 3 - Forces in roof bolts and suspension chains for the monorail loading system components in an incline.
Taking equilibrium of forces in Z-direction at point A, the following equation that relates the force
in each roof bolt and suspension chain is established.
FMS = FCCos (1)
However, the monorail loading system component remains in equilibrium (in Z direction) if
the total upward force (ie total forces in suspension chains installed within length Lpart occupying
the system component is equal to the total downward force (ie weight of the heaviest monorail
loading system component). In these calculations, the weight of the rail, chains and bolts is
neglected.
Total force in suspension chains within Lpart
The total force in suspension chains depends on the number of suspension chains installed within the
span Lpart and the force in each chain. Since the roof bolt spacing (Rs) is known (which is also equal
to suspension chain spacing), the number of suspension chains installed within Lpart is determined
as follows:
L part
Total number of suspension chains with L part = e o (2)
Rs
Thus, the total force in suspension chains within the span Lpart is the product of the total number of
suspension chains installed and the force in each chain (FC) as indicated below:
Lpart
Total force in suspension chains within Lpart = FC e o (3)
Rs
Lpart
Z component of the total force in suspension chains = FC e o Cos a (4)
Rs
Weight of monorail loading system component

In determining the weight of the heaviest monorail loading system component (Fpart) of length Lpart,
the weight of the drivers cabin, loaded containers and the power pack (with drive units) and their
respective lengths were considered in this analysis. Figure 4 shows the monorail loading system
components with respective lengths and weights.

Fcont is weight of loaded monorail container
Fpower pack is weight of one power pack (with drive unit)
Fcabin/train is weight of drivers cabin or train
FIG 4 - Schematic diagram showing lengths and weights of monorail loading system components.
As shown in Figure 4, the monorail loading system consists of components of different lengths
and weights (Scharf, 2007). The heaviest component is the loaded monorail container, which has
a total weight of 50 kN. Therefore, the length (Lpart) and weight (Fpart) of the heaviest component of
the monorail loading system used in the analysis is 3.5 m and 50 kN, respectively. The weight of the
heaviest component of the monorail loading system is:
Weight of heaviest component of monorail loading system = Fpart (5)
Z component of the heaviest monorail loading system = Fpart Cos (6)
Required strength of suspension chains

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the heaviest monorail loading system component remains in equilibrium
(in Z-direction) if its weight and total force in the suspension chains are equal. Therefore, the
relationship between the weight of the heaviest monorail loading system component and the required
force in each suspension chain just before failure is determined by equating Equations 4 and 6 to
yield:
FC = Rs Fpart (7)
Lpart
However, for the heaviest monorail loading system component to remain in equilibrium
requires that the total force in the suspension chains within Lpart be equal to the total weight
of that component. Since the allowable load in suspension chains just before failure is known
(from Equation 7), the strength of the suspension chain should be more than the allowable load.
However, the classical approach used in designing engineering structures is to increase the
capacity (ultimate load) of the system in comparison with the allowable load. It should also be
noted that suspension chain failure occurs if the weight of the heaviest monorail loading system
component (allowable load) is more than the capacity (ultimate load) of the chains within Lpart
occupying the heaviest component. Since the allowable force in each suspension chain is the
same as the required force just before failure, a factor of safety is applied to increase the loading
capacity of the chains. In this study, a factor of safety of 2.0 is assumed. Therefore, applying a
factor of safety to Equation 7 yields:
FC, max = 2Rs Fpart (8)

Lpart
Since Rs and Lpart are constants, the required strength of suspension chains, therefore, depends on
the weight of the loaded monorail containers. Alternatively, Rs can be determined if the strength of
the suspension chain is known.
Required strength of roof bolts
The required strength of installed roof bolts within the span occupying the heaviest monorail loading
system component Lpart is determined using the relationship in Equation 1. Therefore, substituting
Equation 8 into Equation 1 gives the required strength in each roof bolt as:
FMS, max = 2Rs Fpart Cosa (9)

Lpart
Equilibrium of forces for the drilling system

The minimum strength required in each roof bolt and suspension chain to suspend the monorail
drilling system components depends on the weight of the drilling system components (ie the
weight of monorail train together with the two drilling booms and the weight of power pack with
drive units). Figure 5 is used to determine the required strength in each roof bolt and suspension
chains based on the weight of monorail drilling system components. It should be noted that this
analysis is limited to the case of drilling system in transit. The system is further supported when
drilling a face.
Total forces in suspension chains within Ldpart

An analysis similar to that shown in the previous section yields:
Ldpart
Z component of total force suspension chain FC e o Cos a (10)
Rs
Weight of monorail drilling system component

Figure 6, is used to determine the weight of the heaviest component to be used in the analysis. Figure
6 shows the monorail drilling system consisting of two components, ie the drivers cabin with two
drilling booms and the power pack each with different length and weight. Thus, to determine the
strength of the roof bolts and suspension chains the heaviest component of the drilling system is
Roof
bolts Suspension
Chain
FMS
A
FC
Ldpart FdpartCos
Drilling Fdpart
booms

Z
dpart is length of monorail drilling s stem component

Fdpart is weight of monorail drilling s stem component
s is roof bolt spacing
F is force in each roof bolts (forces suspending monorail s stem)
F is force in each suspension chain
is decline gradient
FIG 5 - Forces in roof bolts and suspension chains for the monorail drilling system components in an incline.
used in the analysis. Figure 6 shows that the heaviest component is the drivers cabin together with
the two drilling booms which has a weight of 56 kN (ie weight of drivers cabin is 10 kN and the two
drilling booms were assumed to weigh 46 kN (Chanda, Besa and Kuruppu, 2008). Therefore, the
length (Ldpart) and the weight (Fdpart) of the heaviest monorail drilling system component used in the
analysis are 2.6 m (suspended length only) and 56 kN, respectively. The heaviest drilling system
component in Z direction is written as:
Z component of the heaviest drilling system component = FdpartCos (11)

Fpower pack is weight of power pack with drive unit
Fcabin / train is weight of drivers cabin together with two drilling booms
FIG 6 - Schematic diagram showing lengths and weights of monorail drilling system components.
Required strength of suspension chains

The required strength (with factor of safety of 2.0) in each suspension chain is determined by
equating Equations 10 and 11 to yield:
FC, max = 2Rs Fdpart (12)

Ldpart
Required strength of roof bolts

The required strength in each roof bolt is determined by substituting Equation 12 into Equation 1 to yield:
FMS, max = 2Rs Fdpart Cosa (13)

Ldpart
Strength of support system at horizontal and vertical curves

During monorail installation at vertical and horizontal curves, the required support system must be
sufcient to overcome the dynamic effects and to avoid system failure. Also, it should be noted that
during monorail installation process, the monorail components are rigidly xed using steel supports
at vertical curves while suspension chains are used at horizontal curves. It is, therefore, necessary
to determine the strength of the required support systems that are used to suspend the monorail
components at vertical and horizontal curves. As highlighted in the introduction, the monorail system
can negotiate horizontal and vertical curve radii of 4 m and 10 m respectively. However, the curve
lengths that result from these radii are small to accommodate the whole length of the monorail
drilling and loading systems. Therefore, the weight of heaviest monorail drilling and loading systems
components passing the vertical and horizontal curve is used. In this section, models that determine
the strength of roof bolts, steel supports and suspension chains at vertical and horizontal curves based
on the dynamic forces of the heaviest monorail drilling and loading system components are presented.
Strength of steel supports at vertical curves based on weight of monorail loading system components
Taking equilibrium of forces at point A (Figure 7), the following equation that relates the force in
each roof bolt and steel support is established:
FMS = FM (14)
rv
Rs
Lpart
Roof Steel
bolts supports
FMS A
FM FD
B
Fpart

Z
Y

FM
FD
B
Fpart Cos(+)
(+)
Fpart Sin(+) F part
part is length of monorail loading s stem component

s is roof bolt spacing
F is force re uired in each roof bolts (forces suspending monorail s stem)
Fpart is weight of monorail loading s stem component
F is force in each steel support
F is net driving (propulsion) force
is decline gradient
is angle change at vertical curve
rv is vertical curve radius
FIG 7 - Schematic longitudinal-section view of required support system at vertical curve based on the weight of monorail loading system components.
During motion of the monorail loading system at a curve a centrifugal force FS (Equation 15) directed
towards the centre of the curve is needed to make the monorail train or any component attached to
it undergo motion at a vertical curve (Alan, 2003; Lawrence, 1997):
mpart v2
FS = (15)
rv
where:
FS is the centrifugal force needed to make the monorail train or its components undergo uniform
motion at a curve
v is velocity of the monorail train or its component as it moves along the curve
rv is vertical radius of the curve around which the monorail loading system or its components is
moving
mpart is mass of the monorail loading system component negotiating the curve
Total force in steel supports at vertical curve

The total force in steel supports at vertical curves depends on the number of steel supports installed
within the length, Lpart, occupying the monorail loading system component and the force in each
steel support. Since the roof bolt spacing, Rs, is known, the number of steel supports occupying the
monorail loading system component of length Lpart, at a vertical curve is determined as:
Lpart
Total number of steel supports within Lpart = e o (16)
Rs
where:
Lpart is the length of monorail loading system component
Thus, the total force in steel supports within the length Lpart at a vertical curve is the product of the total
number of steel supports installed within the length Lpart and the force in each steel support (FM) as:
Lpart
Total force in steel support within Lpart = FM e o (17)
Rs
It is assumed that the support distance Lpart is small and the variation of angle can be ignored. Using
Equation 15 and taking equilibrium of forces in Z direction at point B (Figure 7), the resultant force
of the monorail loading system component at a curve is determined as:
Lpart mpart v2
FM e o - Fpart Cosâ + Dbh = (18)
Rs rv
where:
00

700
Similarly, the net propulsion force (FD) of the monorail train at a curve is determined using Equation 19:
FD = FpartSin ( + ) (19)
From Equation 18, the strength in each steel support (with a factor of safety of 2.0) is determined as:
2
m v
FM, max = 2Rs # e part + Fpart Cosâ + Dbho (20)
Lpart rv
The strength of steel supports at vertical curves is determined based on the heaviest component of
the monorail loading system as discussed in previous section.
Required strength of steel supports at vertical curves

The required strength of each steel support at a vertical curve is determined using Equation 20. It
should be noted that the maximum force in steel supports occurs when = 0. Therefore, with this
condition, Equation 20 can be written as:
2
m v
FM, max = 2Rs # e part + Fpart Cosao (21)
Lpart rv
Required strength of roof bolts at vertical curves

According to Equation 14, the force in each roof bolt at vertical curve is equal to the force in each steel
support. Therefore, using Equations 14 and 21, the required strength in each roof bolt is determined as:
2
m v
FMS, max = 2Rs # e part + Fpart Cosao (22)
Lpart rv
Strength of steel supports at vertical curves based on weight of monorail drilling system component
The strength of required roof bolts and steel supports at vertical curves based on the weight of the
monorail drilling system components is determined using Figure 8 (conguration is the same as
loading system in Figure 7).
rv
Rs
Ldpart
Steel
Roof
supports
bolts FMS
A
FM FD
B
Fc Fdpart

Z
Y
FM
FD
B
Fdpart Cos(+)
(+)
Fdpart Sin(+) F dpart
part is length of monorail drilling s stem component

sis roof bolt spacing
F is force re uired in each roof bolts (forces suspending monorail s stem)
Fdpart is weight of an monorail drilling s stem component
F is force in each steel support
is decline gradient
is angle change at vertical curve
rv is vertical curve radius
FIG 8 - Schematic longitudinal-section view of required support system at vertical curve based on weight of monorail drilling system components.
Total force in steel supports at vertical curves

Using similar analysis as for the monorail loading system yields:
Ldpart
Total force in steel supports within curve Ldpart = FM e o (23)
Rs
The net pushing force (FD) of the monorail drilling system at vertical curve is determined as:
FD = FdpartSin ( + ) (24)
The force in each steel support (with a factor of safety of 2.0) is also determined as:
2
m v
FM, max = 2Rs # e dpart + Fdpart Cosâ + Dbho (25)
Ldpart rv
Weight of monorail drilling system component

The weight of the heaviest monorail drilling system component (Fdpart) of length Ldpart, is determined
as outlined in previous section.
Required strength of steel supports at vertical curve

Since the maximum force in steel supports occurs when = 0, the ultimate force in steel supports
at a vertical curve is determined as:
2
m v
FM, max = 2Rs # e dpart + Fdpart Cosao (26)
Ldpart rv
Required strength in roof bolts at vertical curve

Using Equations 14 and 26, the ultimate force in each roof bolt is determined as:
2
m v
FMS, max = 2Rs # e dpart + Fdpart Cosao (27)
Ldpart rv
Strength of suspension chains at horizontal curves based on monorail loading system

Force and displacement of suspension chains at horizontal curves
As the monorail loading systems negotiates a horizontal curve, suspension chains are displaced
from the vertical position due to dynamic forces resulting from the motion of the systems.
Figures 9 and 10 show the forces and displacement of suspension chain at a horizontal curve. As shown in
Figures 9 and 10, centrifugal force, FS, results as the monorail loading system moves along the curve
as given in Equation 28.
m part v2
FS = (28)
rh
where:
rh is horizontal radius of the curve around which the monorail loading system or its components
is moving
FD
VerticalSteel
supports
FS
rh
F is centrifugal force e erted on moving monorail loading s stem

F is net driving (propulsion) force
rh is hori ontal curve radius
FIG 9 - Plan view of forces at the horizontal curve.
As shown in Figure 10, as the monorail drilling and loading systems negotiate the horizontal curve,
the suspension chains are displaced from vertical positions by the angle, , and horizontal distance,
X. It is important to determine these two parameters and the force carried by the suspension chains
so as to determine whether the chains will fail or the systems will crash (as the chain is displaced)
into the sidewall of the underground opening at a horizontal curve so that control measures are put
in place.
Using Figure 10, the following equation that relates the force in each roof bolt and the force in
suspension chains at horizontal curve is established.
FMS = FCSin (29)

FC

B

FIG 10 - Displacement of suspension chain from vertical position at horizontal curve.
Angular displacement () of suspension chains due to monorail loading system

The angular displacement of suspension chains from the vertical position is determined by resolving
forces at point B to yield:
mpart v2
Horizontal force balance: FC Cosi = FS = (30)
rh
Vertical force balance: FCSin = mpartg (31)
Dividing Equation 31 by Equation 30 yields:

g r
Tani = c #2 h m (32)
v
Therefore, the angular displacement of suspension chains is determined as:
g r
d = 90 - Tan-1 c #2 h m (33)
v
Equation 33 indicates that the maximum angular displacement of suspension chains depends on
the radius of curvature of the horizontal curve and the velocity of the monorail system component
at the curve. Thus, an increase in the radius of the horizontal curve results in smaller angular
displacement and vice versa. Equation 33 also reveals that an increase in the velocity of the monorail
system component at a curve results in an increase in angular displacement of suspension chains
and vice versa.
Horizontal displacement (X) of suspension chains due to monorail loading system

Using trigonometry, the horizontal displacement by which suspension chains are displaced from the
vertical position due to dynamic forces is found using Equation 34:
2
X = eL # v o (34)
rh # g
Equation 34 shows that horizontal displacement depends on the length of suspension chains,
velocity of the monorail loading system components and the radius of curvature of the horizontal
curve. The length of suspension chains and square of the velocity of the monorail loading system
component varies directly with the horizontal displacement while the radius of curvature is inversely
related with X.
Force in suspension chains at horizontal curves

Having found as per Equation 32, Equations 30 gives the value of the force (with a factor of safety
of 2.0) in suspension chains FC due to dynamic force of the system as:
2m part v2
FC,max = # 1 (35)
rh Cosi
Using trigonometry:
Cosi = v2 (36)
^ v + g2 r h2h
4
Replacing Equation 36 into Equation 35 gives:

2mpart ^ v4 + g2 r h2h
FC,max = (37)
rh #
Force in roof bolts at horizontal curves

The force in roof bolts at horizontal curves is obtained using Equation 32 and 37 to yield:
FMS, max = 2mpartg (38)
Strength of suspension chains at horizontal curves based on monorail drilling system

Force and displacement of suspension chains at horizontal curves
Base on similar analysis as in previous section, centrifugal force, FS, which results as the monorail
drilling system moves along the curve is:
mdpartv2
FS = (39)
rh
Using Figure 10, the angular displacement of suspension chains from the vertical position is given
as follows:
mdpartv2
Horizontal force balance: FC Cosi = FS = (40)
rh
Vertical force balance: FC Sini = mdpartg (41)
Required strength of suspension chains at horizontal curves

The required strength of suspension chains (with a factor of safety of 2.0) at horizontal curves for the
monorail drilling system is:
2mdpart ^ v4 + g2 r h2h
FC,max = (42)
rh #
Force in roof bolts at horizontal curves

The force in roof bolts at horizontal curves is obtained by using Equation 32 and 42 to yield:
FMS, max = 2mdpartg (43)
Variation of support system strength with change in decline gradient

In this section, the variation of support system strength with changes in decline gradient is
established. As the decline gradient changes, there is a corresponding change in the required force
in each support system. The developed models are used to establish this variation. Table 1 show
the data used during the determination. The data is based on information from manufacturers of
the monorail train, Scharf, and publications on monorail drilling and loading systems (Chanda and
Besa, 2008, 2009; Chanda, Besa and Kuruppu, 2008b).
TABLE 1
Parameters of the monorail system.
Parameter Unit Value Comment

Lpart m 3.5 Manufacturer supplied
Ldpart m 2.6 Manufacturer supplied
mpart kg 5.1 Manufacturer supplied
mdpart kg 5.7 Manufacturer supplied
Fpart kN 50 Manufacturer supplied
Fdpart kN 56 Manufacturer supplied
Rs m 3 Manufacturer supplied
degrees 20 Assumed (Chanda et al, 2008; Chanda and Besa, 2009)
rv m 10 Manufacturer supplied
rh m 4 Manufacturer supplied
v m/s 3.5 Manufacturer supplied
L m 0.6 Manufacturer supplied
2
g m/s 9.81 Constant
Numerical values of forces required in the support systems

Using the developed models, the strength of the required support system with changes in decline
gradient for the monorail drilling and loading systems is determined as of Figures 11 and 12.
Results shown in Figure 11 and Figure 12 indicate that the force required to suspend the monorail
drilling system components is higher than that needed to suspend the loading system components.
According to the results, the force in suspension chains in an incline, horizontal curves and in roof
bolts at horizontal curves remains constant with changes in decline gradient. However, in an incline
and at vertical curves, the force in the roof bolts varies inversely with change in decline gradient, ie
as the decline gradient increases the required force in the roof bolts reduces. Similarly, the force in
steel supports at vertical curves varies inversely with decline gradient.

Force (kN)

Declinegradient(degrees)
Suspensionchainforce(FC)inanIncline
Suspensionchainforce(FC)athorizontalcurve
Roofboltforce(FMS)inaninline
Roofboltforce(FMS)andsteelsupport force(FM)atverticalcurve
Roofboltforce(FMS)athorizontalcurve
FIG 11 - Variation of force in support system with change in decline gradient for the monorail drilling system.

Force (kN)

Declinegradient(degrees)

FIG 12 - Variation of force in support system with change in decline gradient for the monorail loading system.
Strength of support system at 20 decline gradient

Chanda and Besa (2008) presented a mine design case study in which a decline gradient of 20
was used. Using this case study, numerical values of the required support system strength at that
gradient have been determined. Figure 13 shows the numerical values for each system while Table 2
shows the displacements of suspension chains at horizontal curves for 20 gradient.
11.4
Requiredstrengthofroofboltsathorizontalcurves(FMS)
10.2
12.0
Requiredstrengthofsuspensionchainsathorizontalcurves(FC)
10.7
14.0
Requiredstrengthofroofboltsatverticalcurves(FMS)
9.3
14.0
Requiredstrengthofsteelsupportsatverticalcurves(FM)
9.3
12.4
Requiredstrengthofroofboltsinanincline(FMS)
8.2
13.2
Requiredstrengthofsuspensionchainsinanincline(FC)
8.7
Supportsystem 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0
Tonnes
Monoraildrillingsystem Monorailloadingsystem

FIG 13 - Strength of support system at 20 decline gradient.
TABLE 2
Displacement of suspension chains at horizontal curves.
Parameter Unit Monorail loading system Monorail drilling system

Angular displacement () degrees 17.3 17.3
Horizontal displacement (X) cm 18.7 18.7
High strength roof bolts, suspension chains and steel supports are required to suspend and
support the monorail drilling system components more than that required for the monorail
loading system. In comparison with the roof bolts (namely Hilti OneStep roof bolts) and
suspension chains currently being used which have an ultimate strength of 320 kN (32 tonnes)
and 250 kN (25 tonnes), respectively, it is clear that the roof bolts and suspension chains
have adequate strength to suspend and support the components of the two systems. Analysis
of variation of decline gradient with strength of support system shows that the higher the
decline gradient, the lower is the force in the support system. In terms of suspension chain
displacements at horizontal curves, results have shown that both systems would give the same
angular and horizontal displacement of 17.3 and 18.7 cm, respectively. These displacements can
be minimised by reducing the velocity of the monorail systems at horizontal curves or increasing
the radius of the curve. Since both systems move on the same rail, Table 3 shows minimum
numerical values that have been recommended.
TABLE 3
Required strength of the support system.
Recommended value
Strength of parameter
kN Tonnes
Suspension chains in an incline (FC) 129.2 13.1
Roof bolts in an incline (FMS) 121.4 12.3
Steel supports at vertical curves (FSS) 137.6 14.0
Roof bolts at vertical curves (FMS) 137.6 14.0
Suspension chains at horizontal curves (FC) 117.3 12.0
Roof bolts at horizontal curves (FMS) 112.0 11.4
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

In spite of the advantages of the monorail system, one of the major risks is the potential of failure
of the support system due to inadequate strength of roof bolt, suspension chain and steel support.
Therefore, to avoid system failure, adequate strength of roof bolt, suspension chain and steel support
that can support the proposed monorail system needs to be installed.
This paper has demonstrated that to avoid roof bolt, suspension chain and steel support failure
due to additional stresses from weight of the monorail drilling and loading systems, high strength
roof bolts, suspension chains and steel supports to support the two systems must be installed. In
comparison with the roof bolts currently in use, the models developed have demonstrated that the
support system has adequate strength to support and suspend the two systems. It has also been
established that the required strength of roof bolts varies inversely with the decline gradient.
However, the strength of suspension chains in the decline and at horizontal curves as well as the
strength of roof bolts at horizontal curves remains constant. To reduce or minimise displacements of
suspension chains, it is recommended that the velocity of the monorail system at horizontal curves
be reduced during motion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Minerals and Energy Research Institute of Western Australia
(MERIWA) and Newmont for nancial support of the monorail research project at Western Australian
School of Mines (WASM) and Scharf Mining Solutions for providing technical data on the Electric
Monorail Transport System (EMTS).
REFERENCES
Alan, D, 2003. Mechanical Engineering: BTEC National Option Units, 432 p (Newnes).
Chanda, E K and Besa, B, 2008. Monorail technology A rapid and cost effective method of decline
development, in Proceedings Narrow Vein Mining Conference, pp 129-141 (The Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Chanda, E K and Besa, B, 2009. Design of pneumatic loading system for monorail application, Int J Mining
and Mineral Engineering, 1(2):181-203.
Chanda, E K, Besa B and Kuruppu, M, 2008. Design of a continuous monorail drilling system for decline
development, in Proceedings The First International Future Mining Conference, pp 101-111 (The
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Guse, A and Weibezhn, K, 1997. Continuous transport in hard rock mining, Colloquium Underground
Lateral Transport, p 1-6 (South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Johannesburg).
Lawrence, S L, 1997. Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 128 p (Jones and Bartlett: Boston).
Scharf, 2007. Electrical monorail transport system (EMTS), brochure, DBT Maschinenfabrik, Scharf, GmbH.
Case Study The Mogiana Quarry Reclamation
A Curi1 and O Quaglio2
ABSTRACT
This article presents a proposal for the rehabilitation of the mined area of the Mogiana quarry. The
Mogiana quarry produces material used in civil construction and is situated in the Brazilian State of
So Paulo in the kilometre six of the Mog Mirim - Itapira highway.
The mineral exploitation in the Mogiana quarry provokes modications in the environment such as
alterations in the relief, vegetation, quality of the air, water and landscape. Through previous study of
the area it was veried that after the closure of the exploitation the mine should be occupied mainly
by pasturage. At the closing of the mine the exploitation benches, berms and slopes in general as
well as the surrounding areas should be covered with a layer of soil and vegetated with native species
in order to mitigate the negative impacts caused by the mine. The rehabilitation project of the area
is based on the probable future use of the area, located between agricultural cultivations and cattle
creation. The great alteration of the relief and soil would make future use of the area for agriculture
difcult. It is more suitable t0 animal creation, mainly cattle. The high and thick rock slopes originated
by the mining should be covered by vegetation, where possible, to reduce the negative visual impact.
Obviously several measures will be necessary to reduce the impacts on the environment during
mining. The nal and denitive reclamation will only be possible after abandonment of the area. The
main aspects of this reclamation process will be discussed in this paper.
INTRODUCTION
The area of the mine presents a relief characteristic of the rocks of the Brazilian Paran Basin.
The outcrops in the sedimentary rocks area are characterised by sandy sediments. The magmatic
rocks are represented by an intrusive body of diabase. The sandy rocks belong to the carboniferous
period. The basic intrusive body presents ne granulation and is constituted of feldspar, plagioclase,
pyroxene and magnetite. The diabasic rocks belong to the Cretaceous period. The diabase, locally, is
an impermeable rock and the percolation of waters is only possible through the fractures system. In
the pit area there is no evidence of water. The climate of the region is classied as subtropical, warm
and humid (Stezer, 1966; Nascimento, 1988).
According to studies on natural resources performed by the project RADAM Brazil (1983), the
quarry is in a bordering area between savannah and seasonal forest. The savannah is represented
by dense arboreal formation. The savannah, denominated cerrados in Brazil is characterised by
the vast occurrence in the dominant stratum of the micro-fhanerophytas Sucupira (locust tree)
(Pterodon sp), Angico (Piptadenia sp), Pequi (Caryocar sp) and Barbatimo (Stryphnodendron sp).
The predominant species in the seasonal forest are the macro-fhanerophytas Peroba (Aspidosperma
sp), Jequitib (Cariniana sp), Cedro (Cedar) (Cedrela sp) and the meso-fhanerophytas copaiba
(Copaifera sp) and canelas (Octotea sp and Nectandra sp). The natural vegetation of the region has
been altered, frequently, by the agriculture and pastures. Citric cultures and another annual cultures
such as corn and cotton also exist in the region. According to environmental studies executed by
the project RADAM Brazil (1983), some of these areas are in an advanced process of degradation as
a result of the human action. The rehabilitation of these areas will not be done naturally. It will be
necessary to plant new species adapted to the environment. In the quarry adjacencies predominates
corn and cotton cultivation. There is a small forest at the pit vicinity.
1. Professor, University Federal Ouro Preto, Escola de Minas Demin, Campus Universitrio, Ouro Preto MG 35400-000, Brazil. Email: adilsoncuri@yahoo.com.br
2. Professor, Universidade Federal de Alfenas-MG, Departamento de Cincia e Tecnologia, Campus Avanado de Poos de Caldas, Rua Corumb, 72 Jardim dos Estados,
Poos de Caldas MG 37701-070, Brazil. Email: quaglio@unifal-mg.edu.br
A CURI AND O QUAGLIO
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE MINE

Although the mining of diabase is only a temporary occupier of the land surface, it causes serious
environmental impacts associated with overburden, hauling roads, unvegetated surfaces, coarse
rejects, topsoil and stockpiles. The quality of the air, water and land is affected. Dust adversely affects
air quality. The physical quality and quantity of surface water and groundwater can be affected if
reclamation is not practised. Watercourses may be disturbed and ow rates altered. Erosion may
be excessive and the surface and groundwater may become mineralised. The topography, drainage,
vegetation, appearance and surface texture of the mine site may all be seriously impacted (Williams
and Morris, 1993). The impacts of the mining also include the destruction of the landscape,
degradation of the visual environment and destruction of agricultural and forest lands.
The original relief was signicantly altered, existing in the pit area a general debasement of
30 m taking as reference the original ground elevation. There are cuts in the terrain projected for
construction of workshops, ofces and goods storage. These alterations interfere in the landscape
and modify the morphology of the terrain. The soil removed from the exploitation was positioned,
erratically, in two different locations, forming large piles. In these piles the soil was mixed with waste
rock of different sizes and types. All material was deposited in a disorderly manner and without
criterion. A nearby location was selected for the future soil and waste disposition, which will be
subdivided in three sectors (RB, OS, S2). In these sites will be stored, respectively, the rock blocks
(Sector RB), the superior level of organic soil (OS) and the remaining soil (S2), considering the
other levels of the soil prole. The soil should be stored in approximately horizontal layers. The total
volume of soil and waste to be stored during the mine useful life was estimated in 355 600 m3. The
estimate was made considering the thickness of the overburden and the area of the nal pit.
GUIDELINES FOR RECLAMATION OF THE DEGRADED AREAS

Soil reclamation
According to Reichmann (cited by Grifth, 1986), a vegetation with seeds is the most economic and
effective method in terms of soil recovery and slope stabilisation. Bradshaw and Chadwichv (cited
by Grifth, 1986) recommend a maximal slope inclination of 18 to maintain aesthetics, to allow a
mechanisation in the erosion control and application of soil correctives, planting and fertilisation.
Curtis (cited by Grifth, 1986) recognises vegetation as the unique long-term measure for an effective
control of soil erosion. Soil acidity inhibits vegetation establishment and affects nutrients availability
and the biological processes of the plants. Czapowskyj and Sowa (cited by Grifth, 1986) concluded
that application of calcareous was essential for pastures establishment and growth in coal mining.
Some special measures of protection, besides the control of the acidity, are necessary for
preservation of the soil quality stored in heaps. The improvement of the soils chemical and physical
condition depends on the implementation of measures for appropriate storage, such as limestone
addition and organic and inorganic manures (Farmer et al, cited by Grifth, 1986). The efciency
of this manuring depends on the fertility of the soil. In poor soils nitrogen manuring can jeopardise
pastures. The manuring with phosphates is recommended by Primavesi (1986). Then, plowing of the
terrain and a sowing of gramineous with a manure distributor or manually is recommended.
Pedologic and hydrologic measures
The mine waste was stored in two big piles inside the pit. These piles were exposed to erosion and
slidings. These deposits should receive a vegetable coverage for contention of the soil avoiding an
earthwork formation in the stream situated in the proximities. The soil supercial organic layer of
25 cm should be stored, separately, to be used in posterior reclamation. The organic soil should
be disposed in layers of at least 1.5 m of height, 3 to 4 m of width and a necessary length. The site
used for storage must have a at format to avoid the transportation of the ne particles, eventually,
subject to the erosion.
The operations of movement and deposition of the soils should be completed in drought time. In
each soil layer disposed should be done, sporadically, the planting of leguminosae. The assimilation
of the leguminosae will prosecute after a brief period of growth (100 - 120 days).
The planting should receive manure for faster growth of the vegetation, better coverage of the soil
and increase of the fertility of the waste that will be used after in the berms of the pit.
CASE STUDY THE MOGIANA QUARRY RECLAMATION
The inclination of the pit slopes should be softened and the same ones also should be vegetated to
avoid erosion and sliding. For slopes coverage the species of gramineous denominated Brachiaria
decumbens was selected due to its descending habit (creeper). This creeper provide an efcient
coverage of the slopes surfaces. A month before the gramineous planting should be completed a
manuring with phosphates and a sowing should be applied at the beginning of the rainfalls (November
- December). The sowing can be done manually.
The areas with risen slopes angles, in the neighbourhood of the stream, including the adjacent
woods, should receive a vegetal cover according to curves of levelling. The proposal is to form a dense
gramineous strip to prevent torrents formation and to retain water in the soil. Where the capacity
of water absorption of the soil is low it will be necessary to maintain a small gradient in the lateral
slope (0.5 per cent to one per cent ) to water drainage. The drainage water system must be vegetated,
where possible. For reclamation of the pit area it is possible to use the waste generated in mining.
This material can be used in the base of the layer constructed for vegetation in the berms of the pit
and in the bottom of the pit. The berms or platforms to be vegetated should have at least 4 m of width
and 10 m of height and should circle all the rock wall inside the pit. In the pit limits or in more critical
regions, dykes formed of overlapped rocks up to 30 m of height should be constructed.
These berms or platforms will receive the stored soil and improved through the techniques cited
previously.
In the top around the pit a strip of 10 m of vegetation, with the same species used in the berms
should be planted. Around the pit channels for water capitation and ow should be made to avoid
the berms ooding. The channels should be vegetated with gramineous to cut off the water speed and
not let the soil be exposed to erosion. It was planned to construct a soccer eld on one of the waste
piles, close to the quarry ofce.
Reclamation plan
The waste piles should be disposed, if possible, inside of the mine pit exploited, or close to the
areas already degraded. It should be avoided to dispose the material in valleys, mainly, with larger
inclination than 18; natural surfaces drainages, water courses; areas of permanent preservation;
unstable areas, ooded lands; areas with exuberant native vegetation; areas with fertile soils. In
terms of external and internal geometry of the pile, the following limits and cares should be observed:
maximum height of banks of 10 m; minimum width of berms of 6 m; maximum height of the pile of
200 m; existence of maintenance accesses; to reduce the angle among banks, for values less than the
natural angle of the waste; berms with minimal longitudinal and traverse gradient of one per cent
and ve per cent, respectively; pile drainage (ABNT, 1993).
Other parameters are: size classication of the materials to be disposed of to take advantage of the
maximum resistance and drainage characteristics of each material; size classication of the material;
execution of the pile in an ascending way; protection of the slopes with vegetation; correct disposition
of the organic soil of the pile for future use; interns, supercial and outlying drainage system; a
system for retention of sediments; a system for environment control or management (ABNT, 1993).
For the establishment of the vegetation of the area some species are suggested, selected due to their
characteristics of acclimatisation in the region: fast growth, tolerance in terms of nutrients decit
and hydrologic decit. The recommended species are listed in Table 1 (Nicola, 1992).
For vegetation, fruitful species of fast growth were selected, with the objectives of feed the fauna,
promote soil coverage and protect stream banks. Candiba and Calabura will be planted rst.
After a growth period of the pioneer species other native species of slower development will be planted.
Additionally, the mulberry tree (Morus nigra) will be used, which, although exotic, was chosen for
protection of the stream banks and supply feed for the animals. The indicated spacing between plants
is 2 - 3 m, planted at random, blending the individuals of the three species. A second planting will be
realised 18 to 24 months later. The objective of the second planting is to promote an enrichment of
the vegetation through the introduction of new species, such as Ing, Genipapo, Pitanga (Surinam
cherry tree), Uvaia, Jaboticabeira and Goiabeira (guava tree), using a spacing of 4 - 5 m. The indicated
spacing between plants is 4 - 5 m, planted at random, blending the individuals of the several species
selected.
TABLE 1
Species selected for reclamation in the Mogiana quarry (Nicola,1992).
Scientific name Popular name Size Location

Piptaenia macrocarpa Angico A/B L-S-P-B
Dalberoia nigra Cabina A/B L-S-P-B
Schizolobium parahibum Guapuruvu A/B L-S-P-B
Havenia dulcis Uva-japonesa A/B L-S-P-B
Bauhinia sp. Casco-de-vaca A/M L-S-P-B
Tibouchina sp. Quaresmeira A/M L-S-P-B
Caesalpinia peltophoroides Sibipiruna A/A L-S-P-B
Tibouchina pulchra Manac-da-serra A/S L-S-P-B
Morus nigra Amoreira A/S L-S-P-B
Psidium guajava Goiaba A/S L-S-P-B
Carica papaya Mamoeiro A/S L-S-P-B
Eugenia sp Pitangueira A/M L-S-P-B
Eugenia sp Jambeiro A/S L-S-P-B
Eugenia sp Uvaia A/M L-S-P-B
Averhoa carambola Carambola A/S L-S-P-B
Inga sp. Ing A/M L-S-P-B
Allamanda cathartica Alamandra C L-S-P-B
Wisteria sinensis Glicnia C L-S-P-B
Mandevilla sanderi Dipladnia C L-S-P-B
Trema micrantha Candiba Sh L-S-P-B
Muntingia calabura Calabura Sh L-S-P-B
Genipa americana Jenipapo Sh L-S-P-B
Mirciaria cauliflora Jaboticabeira Sh/M L-S-P-B
Legend: A arboreal; Sh shrubby; C - creeper; (B big, S small, M medium); L limits of the property; P strip of 10 m around the pit; S banks of
the stream; B berms.
Planting in the berms

In this planting observe the size of the species used. Close to the rock wall plant medium size species,
where the soil is more profound; in the intermediary strip plant underbrush and in the berms
extremities use creepers species. The creepers project their foliages downwards, hiding the rock wall.
The spacings between individuals of the same species should be the next:
x the distance between creepers (Alamanda, Glicnia, Dipladnia) should be 1 m and these ones can
be planted up to 0.5 m of the contention dyke,
x the distance between medium size trees should be maintained at 3 m and these ones should be
planted at least 1 m in distance from the wall of the berms, and
x the distance between underbrush should be 2 m.
Enrichment of the stream adjacent wood

The forests and other forms of natural vegetation along the rivers or any water course are considered
of permanent preservation, according to the Brazilian Forests Code. The wood preservation in the
banks of the brooks is important for the contention of the soils, protection against erosion and to
avoid a lling with land of the water course, inuencing the environmental quality. Besides giving
support to the wild fauna, the banks are of great value to the ichthyofauna. The preservation of
existing wood and planting of fruitful species should be accomplished in a strip of 10 m along both
sides of the stream.
Pastures planting
All the area used by mining will be afterwards transformed into pastures. A selection of species
adapted to condition of low fertility and high acidity is necessary for the formation of the pasturage.
These characteristics are usual in degraded areas. Plowing of the supercial layer of the soil
compacted by mining operations will be required. The height of the supercial layer compacted
should be determined through drilling in the terrain. The plowing must be done in drought time (July
to August). The fertilisation through mineral manures, as well as the need of limestone addition,
will be based on the results of the soil analyses. The maximal quantity of calcareous applied in a
year should not exceed three tons per hectare. Above this level, the availability of nutrients for the
plants will be affected. The correction of the acidity should also be realised in drought time, after
plow and at least a month before the planting of the gramineous. A manuring with phosphates can
be accomplished little time before the sowing. The quantity of the manures to be applied must be
be determined through soil analysis. Three or four months after the planting is time to proceed a
nitrous manuring to guarantee a better resistance of the plant in the winter and better coverage of
the soil in the drought times. It can be accomplished at the end of the rainfalls (March or April).
Pastures planting in the service area
The species of gramineous denominated Brachiaria decumbens will be used in this area because it
is more tolerant to poor soils and has a habit of descending growth, providing faster soil coverage.
The quantity of seeds necessary is 10 - 15 kg per hectare, depending on the quality of the soil. Before
the planting of gramineous the soil should be recovered through measures to improve its physical
structure and fertility.
With the suppression of the supercial layer of the soil in the service areas exposing the subsoil
it is necessary to incorporate great quantities of organic matter and fertilisers for the adequate
development of introduced plants. After plowing and preparation of these areas up to 20 tons per
hectare of cane husks should be added to the soil using iron fence and at the same time limestone
should be added for correction of the acidity. In October the sowing of the Crotalria (Crotalaria
juncea) and the Brachiaria together with a manuring with phosphates should be done. After the
sowing perform a passage with a land roller of little weight to increase the contact of the seed with the
soil and to increase its humidity. After a growth period of four to ve months the division of the area
in sectors, using pickets should be realised. This division will be based on the production of green
mass or organic material, observing the need for water supply, addition of salts and other chemical
products or supplements.
The trees planting for enrichment of the soil and protection of the cattle should be done mostly in
the areas with decient drainage and accentuated slope. All the sectors, delimitated by the pickets,
should have trees, with a rareed distribution in order to not provide many shadows by excessive
foliages. The recommended species are: Erythrina sp and Casesalpinia peltophoroides (Sibipiruna).
Cutting planting from 2 - 3 m height that will grow quickly and will not be susceptible to damage
caused by cattle is recommended. After the planting and when the pasture is formed it is suggested
to protect trees with a fence before introducing cattle to the area.
Pastures planting in the pit
The surface reclamation of the open pit will be executed using the overburden generated in the
mining operations. The structure and general characteristics of this material was modied. There are
a loss of the structure and natural prole of the soil and it becomes more susceptible to the erosion
and aggregation of the particles. In such cases a different handling of the pastures will be imperious.
The equipment, including tractors, must be used with moderation, doing the limestone addition,
manuring with phosphates and sowing only. The plow and the movement of the soil can be dispensed
to avoid excessive aggregation of the particles of the soil. Moreover the waste should be in good
condition, having been stored according to the previous recommendations.
The soil placement in the pit should be done in drought time. Soon after the correction of the
acidity and the manuring with phosphates should be done. The sowing of the gramineous selected
for pasture is recommended at the beginning of the next rainfall period. The species more indicated
in this case is the grass (Brachiaria mutica), which is resistant to ooding and poor soils.
To guarantee that the soil deposited in the pit stabilises without ooding risk an efcient system of
drainage should be adopted.
The fund of the pit should present a gradient in direction to the exit of water. A drainage system
should be executed in every sector of the pit. The bottom of the pit should be covered by a layer
formed by small pieces of stones so that the drainage will be facilitated. A drainage trench of larger
dimensions projected in direction to the adjacent stream is necessary to allow the owing of the
water from the pit bottom.
The trees planting with a system of radial roots benets soil drainage and must be encouraged.
These tress should be planted in groups inside the pit. The species to use can be the same ones cited
previously for pasture in the service area.
Good drainage is essential for the correct development of the pastures. Flooding of the soil for
long periods creates a reducer ambient, neutralising the effect of the limestone. This area should be
managed carefully, supporting just a few animals and short periods of cattle pasture. The division
of the pasture in sectors should be accomplished following the previous recommendations for the
pasture in the service area. Some auxiliary facilities for the handling of the cattle will be necessary.
It is possible to adapt some old mine constructions for this objective and the others ones should be
destroyed.
WASTE DISPOSITION IN THE PIT

The soil placement in the berms will be processed by the top of the pit, pouring the material,
directly, using the trucks to deposit the waste in the platforms below. The average height of soil in
the berms will be of 0.75 m, which means that about 6.900 m3 of waste will be necessary to ll this
part of the pit. In the bottom of the pit the minimum height of soil should be of 0.80 m, 40.000 m3
being necessary for the coverage of this area. The waste should be placed at drought time to allow
better disposition to the soil and to avoid damages to the physical structure of the soil.
MANAGEMENT
The development of the species chosen for vegetation, both arboreal and gramineous, for formation
of the pasture should be observed, evaluating the efciency of the coverage and adaptation of the
species to the existing condition in the area. This handling allows alterations of the initial proposal
aiming best results.
The planting should be accomplished at the beginning of the rainy station.
The handling should evaluate the number of individual for area, its height, diameter of the stem,
percentage of soil covered by vegetation, vigour, vegetative and reproductive status, presence of
plagues or diseases, possible failures in the vegetation. Relating to trees consider the projection of
the treetop, diameter for the height of 1.5 m (DHP), total height and percentage of failures for each
species. Every two months it is convenient to accomplish observations about:
x occurrence of laminar erosion and in furrow;
x formation of the vegetable coverage in the soil;
x falling of leaves, bloom, seeds and fruits liberation;
x animals footprints, animals faeces, birds feathers, animals coat, animals food residues;
x natural regeneration of plants, pioneering and secondary trees initials, herbs and underbrush;
x chemical and physical analyses of the soil,which must be done annually;
x control of herbivorous animals;
x irrigation of the location when necessary;
x fertilisation with phosphates to guarantee a good roots formation;
x inspection of the area in order to detect plagues or diseases attacks;
x protection of the area against the re;
x accomplishing of the planting in the trees failures; and
x evolution of the growth of trees and dry vegetal cover in the soil.
The main activities of the nal reclamation plan are foreseen below, in Table 2. The beginning of
the recovery plan should be accomplished before the closure of the quarry.
The management should be done during the implantation phase of the plan and every two months
after the planting and sowing of the gramineous, until the vegetation is developed and stable.
TABLE 2
Reclamation schedule.
Activities Period of the year
Soil analysis First month
Soil preparation (plow and incorporation of organic material, addition of calcareous) July - August
Waste disposition in the berms and bottom of the pit, correction of the acidity July - August
Manuring of the pastures areas with phosphates September - October
Sowing of leguminosae in the areas destined to pastures October - November
Planting of calabura , candiba and mulberry tree in the berms and adjacent woods November - December
Incorporation of the organic matter of the leguminosae March - April (second year)
New correction of the acidity based on results of soil analyses July - August
Manuring based on analysis of the soil September - October
Sowing of the gramineous for pastures formation November - December
Planting of the arboreal species in the pastures November - December
Manuring with nitrogen of the pastures March - April
Demarcation of the area with pickets March - April
Planting of slow growth plants in berms, around the pit and adjacent wood November - December (third year)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thanks the Fapemig Fundao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Minas
Gerais and the CNPQ Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientco e Tcnolgico for the
nancial support to prepare and present this work.
REFERENCES
Associao Brasileira de Normas Tcnicas (ABNT), 1993. Coletnea de Normas de Minerao e Meio
Ambiente, Norma ABNT 13029, Elaborao e apresentao de projeto de disposio de estril, em pilha,
em minerao, Rio de Janeiro.
Griffith, J J, 1986. Poltica Ambiental e mtodos de Reabilitao para Minerao de cassiterita na Floresta
Nacional do Jamari, IBDF Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento Florestal, Sociedade de Investigaes
Florestais, Departamento de Engenharia Floresta, Universidade Federal de Viosa, Brasil.
Nascimento, C M, 1988. Atlas Climatolgico do Estado de So Paulo, 93 p (Fundao Cargil: Campinas).
Nicola, J P, 1992. Resumo do plano de reconstituio ambiental da Pedreira Mogiana, Pedreira Mogi Mirim,
internal report, So Paulo.
Primavesi, A, 1986. Manejo Ecolgico de Pastagens, 184 p (ed: Nobel) (So Paulo).
Projeto RADAM-BRASIL, 1983. Levantamento de Recursos Naturais, vol 32 (Ministrio das Minas e
Energia: Rio de Janeiro).
Stezer, J, 1966. Atlas Climtico e Ecolgico do Estado de So Paulo, 61 p (Comisso Interestadual da Bacia
Paran-Uruguai e CESP: So Paulo).
Williams, D J, Wu, Y and Morris, P H, 1993. Systems analysis of engineered mine site rehabilitation, in
Proceedings Fourth International Conference on Tailings and Mine Waste, Fort Collins, Colorado (A A
Balkema: Rotterdam).
Study on Utilisation of Flyash for Barrier Layer/Buffer
Materials for Radioactive Waste Disposal
T Sasaoka1, H Shimada2 and K Matsui3
ABSTRACT
About 15 per cent of total electricity (400 MkW) was generated by nuclear power plants in the world
(2009) and about 36 000 tons of uranium has been mined in uranium mines annually. Radioactive
waste material is produced from uranium mines and nuclear power plants. The wastes must be
disposed or stored safely for long-term. If they leak and/or move from disposal or storage sites
due to air/groundwater ow, then a serious environmental pollution can occur. Hence, multi-layer
system has been proposed and employed in order to seal off these radioactive waste materials from
biosphere. Basically, bentonite is now used for establishing absorbing and sealing layers in this
system. However, the amount of high quality betonite is very limited and in some cases it is hard to
be obtained.
On the other hand, a great deal of refuse from coal burning plants is produced every year and the
amount of it is expected to be higher each year, especially in developing countries. More than half of
yash is utilised and the remaining is disposed at the disposal sites. However, the life of the disposal
site is limited and it is difcult to nd a new disposal site. It is requested that the percentage of the
utilisation of the yash be increased in every eld.
From the above two points of view, a yash-based barrier layer/cover system is considered in
this research and this paper discusses the applicability of yash as a content of barrier layer/cover
material based on the results of a series of laboratory tests.
INTRODUCTION
Considering the situation of energy demand in the world, nuclear power generation might be
growing up from now on. About 15 per cent of total electricity (400 MkW) was generated by nuclear
power plants in the world (2009) and about 36 000 tons of uranium has been mined in uranium
mines annually. Radioactive waste material such as overburden, waste rocks and tailing materials
is produced in uranium mines due to the mining operation, milling and uranium renement.
Radioactive waste is also a by-product from nuclear reactors, fuel processing plants and institutions
such as hospitals and research facilities (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2010). Since
the only way radioactive wastes nally become harmless is through decay, which for some isotopes
contained in high-level wastes can take hundreds of thousands of years, the wastes must be stored
in a way that provides adequate protection for very long times. Because if they leak and/or move
from disposal or storage sites due to air/groundwater ow, then a serious environmental pollution
can occur. Hence, a multi-layer system has been proposed and employed in order to seal off these
radioactive waste materials from biosphere (Berlin and Stanton, 1989). Basically, bentonite is now
used for establishing one of absorbing and sealing layers in this system. However, the amount of high
quality betonite is very limited and in some case it is hard to be obtained.
On the other hand, a great deal of refuse from coal burning plants is produced every year and the
amount of it is expected to be higher each year especially in developing countries. More than half of
yash is utilised and the remaining is disposed at the disposal sites. However, the life of the disposal
site is limited and it is difcult to nd a new disposal site. It is requested that the percentage of the
utilisation of the yash be increased in every eld.
1. Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: sasaoka@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
2. Associate Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: shimada@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
3. Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
T SASAOKA, H SHIMADA AND K MATSUI
From the above points of view, a yash-based barrier layer/cover system instead of bentonite-
only one is proposed in this research. This paper describes the current system and technology for
radioactive waste disposal and then proposes and discusses the applicability of yash as a content of
barrier layer/cover material based on the results of a series of laboratory tests.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MATERIAL AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission separates wastes into two broad classications: high-level or
low-level waste (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2010). High-level radioactive waste
results primarily from the fuel used by reactors to produce electricity. Low-level radioactive waste
results from uranium mine, reactor operations and from medical, academic, industrial and other
commercial uses.
High-level radioactive waste management
High-level radioactive wastes are the highly radioactive materials produced as a by-product of the
reactions that occur inside nuclear reactors (Byalko, 1994). Reprocessing extracts isotopes from
spent fuel can be used again as reactor fuel. Because of their highly radioactive ssion products,
high-level waste and spent fuel must be handled and stored with care. Since the only way radioactive
waste nally becomes harmless is through decay, which for high-level wastes can take hundreds of
thousands of years, the wastes must be stored and nally disposed of in a way that provides adequate
protection of the public for a very long time.
High-level waste will be disposed of in a stable geological formation at a depth of more than 300 m.
The vitried waste in fabrication canisters will be encapsulated in strong metal containers (overpacks)
and, once placed in the repository, will be surrounded by a clay/bentonite buffer material. The
canisters, overpacks and clay/bentonite buffer material are referred to as the engineered barrier
system. The geological environment, which isolates the waste for long time periods, is termed the
natural barrier. The multi-barrier system used for safe waste disposal is a combination of engineered
and natural barrier. Research and development on the multi-barrier system will continue with a view
to building condence in this concept (Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan, 2010).
Figure 1 shows the schematic of high-level radioactive waste disposal facility.
FIG 1 - Schematic of high-level radioactive waste disposal facility.
Low-level radioactive waste management

Low-level waste includes items that have become contaminated with radioactive material or
have become radioactive through exposure to neutron radiation. This waste typically consists of
contaminated protective shoe covers and clothing, wiping rags, mops, lters, reactor water treatment
STUDY ON UTILISATION OF FLYASH FOR BARRIER LAYER/BUFFER MATERIALS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
residues, equipment and tools, luminous dials, medical tubes, swabs, injection needles, syringes and
laboratory animal carcasses and tissues. The radioactivity can range from just above background
levels found in nature to very highly radioactive in certain cases such as parts from inside the reactor
vessel in a nuclear power plant. Low-level waste is typically stored onsite by licensees, either until
it has decayed away and can be disposed of as ordinary trash, or until amounts are large enough for
shipment to a low-level waste disposal site in containers. Figure 2 illustrates the schematic of low-
level radioactive waste disposal facility.
FIG 2 - Schematic of low-level radioactive waste disposal facility.
Uranium mill tailings

Uranium mill tailings are primarily the sandy process waste material from a conventional uranium
mill (Brookins, 1984). This ore residue contains the radioactive decay products from the uranium
chains (mainly the U-238 chain) and heavy metals. The tailings or wastes produced by the extraction
or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material
content is by-product material. This includes discrete surface waste resulting from uranium solution
extraction processes, such as in situ recovery, heap leach, and ion-exchange. By-product material
does not include underground orebodies depleted by solution extraction. The wastes from these
solution extraction facilities are transported to a mill tailings impoundment for disposal. Thick
earthen covers is constructed in order to protect it by rock and designed to prevent seepage into
ground water, over the waste. Earthen covers also effectively limit radon emissions and gamma
radiation and, in conjunction with the rock covers, serve to stabilise the piles to prevent dispersion
of the tailings through erosion or intrusion. In some cases, piles may be moved to safer locations.
Figure 3 illustrates the schematic of dumping site in uranium mine.
UTILISATION OF FLYASH
Flyash utilisation in Japan

Considering the expansion of coal utilisation, it is necessary to promote the development of highly
efcient coal and yash utilisation technologies (Centre for Coal Utilisation, 2003). In Japan, yash
production has been increasing and in FY2006, about 10 Mt of yash was produced. However, the
FIG 3 - Schematic of dumping site in uranium mine.
issue is not only the level of yash produced but also the effective availability of yash utilisation
that gradually increases every year. This means that effective yash utilisation technology has
steadily improved in Japan over the past decade. Total yash utilisation in FY2007 was 10 Mt,
and the average ash utilisation ratio was 85 per cent (Yoshida et al, 2009). The amount of yash
utilisation has steadily increased while disposal has steadily decreased. Currently yash utilisation
is approximately doubled compared with that in the early 1990s, and the amount of yash disposal
approximately reduced by half. However, the capacity of the landll site is approaching its limit year
by year. The promotion of yash utilisation must be discussed seriously.
Characterisation of flyash
The different shapes of yash generally include spheres for that with a low fuse temperature point
and irregular shapes for that with a high fuse temperature point. The average particle diameter of
yash produced by combustion of pulverised coal is approximately 25 m, coarser than clay and ner
than granular sand, which is equal to silt in terms of soil quality. The main chemical components
in yash are silica and aluminium oxide, which is close to pit soil (SiO2: 60 - 70 per cent, Al2O3:
10 - 25 per cent). Flyash produced by uidised bed combustion has a higher CaO content than that
produced by combustion of pulverised coal. Since the coal used in Japan is imported from different
countries, its physical properties vary signicantly. The chemical and physical properties of yash
produced by combustion of pulverised coal are shown in Table 1 and those resulting from uidised
bed combustion are shown in Table 2.
Utilisation of flyash in various fields

The utilisation of yash in each sector is shown in Figure 4. The amount of yash used in the cement
industry, which is one of Japans major areas of utilisation, accounts for 75 per cent of the total,
of which nearly 6.0 Mt of ash was used in the raw material for cement manufacturing. Limestone,
clay and iron oxide are used as raw materials for cement, among which clay generally accounts for
15 per cent of the total. The use of yash as a substitute for clay accounts for a large part of the
current utilisation of yash. Flyash is particularly expected to be used as a material for cement/
concrete admixtures or in public works where there is a high potential for large-scale utilisation.
TABLE 1
Main chemical and physical properties of pulverised coal combustion flyash.
Electric utilities General industries Total

Field Description
Amount used % Amount used % Amount used %
Cement raw material (substitute for clay) 4354 71.32 1522 66.90 5876 70.12
Cement Cement admixture 149 2.44 159 6.99 308 3.68
Concrete admixture 95 1.56 48 2.11 143 1.71
Total 4598 75.32 1729 76.00 6327 75.50
Pubric Works Material for ground improvement 138 2.26 104 4.57 242 2.89
Pubric works 103 1.69 25 1.10 128 1.53
Power supply construction 79 1.29 0 0.00 79 0.94
Road base material 50 0.82 110 4.84 160 1.91
Asphalt filler 9 0.15 0 0.00 9 0.11
Coal mine filler 204 3.34 0 0.00 204 2.43
Total 583 9.55 239 10.51 822 9.81
Constraction Building material board 213 3.49 164 7.21 377 4.50
Artificial lightweight aggregate 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Concrete products 18 0.29 1 0.04 19 0.23
Total 231 3.78 165 7.25 396 4.73
Agriculture, Fertiliser 53 0.87 26 1.14 79 0.94
forestry and Material for soil improvement 11 0.18 82 3.60 93 1.11
fisheries
Total 64 1.05 108 4.75 172 2.05
Others Sewage disposal agent 4 0.07 1 0.04 5 0.06
Steel manufacturing 13 0.21 8 0.35 21 0.25
Others 612 10.02 25 1.10 637 7.60
Total 629 10.30 34 1.49 663 7.91
Evective use total 6105 100.00 2275 100.00 8380 100.00
TABLE 2
Main chemical and physical properties of fluidised coal combustion flyash.
Element/characteristics Flyash class 1 Flyash class 2 Flyash class 3 Flyash class 4

Silicon dioxide % Min 45.0
Moisture content % Max 1.0
Loss on ignition % Max 3.0 Max 5.0 Max 8.0 Max 5.0
3
Specific gravity g/cm Min 1.95
45 m residue on sieve %
Max 10 Max 40 Max 40 Max 70
(Mesh sieve method)
Fineness
Specific surface area cm2/g
Min 5000 Min 2500 Min 2500 Min 1500
(Blaines method)
Percent flow % Min 105 Min 95 Min 85 Min 75
28 days Min 90 Min 80 Min 80 Min 60
Activity index %
91 days Min 100 Min 90 Min 90 Min 70
FIG 4 - Coal ash utilisation by sector in 2006.
REQUIRED PROPERTIES OF BENTONITE BARRIER LAYER (CEG, 2010)

The extent and orientation of research into bentonites is given by the unique requirements set by the
area of its exploitation. Bentonite, or a bentonite-based material, will be used as the main composition
of an engineered barrier in the underground repository, preventing any potential leakage of radio
nuclides from the container with high-level radioactive waste into a natural barrier and further into
the biosphere. The engineered barrier must retain this capability for a period of up to hundreds of
thousands of years. Within the engineered barrier, bentonite-based mixture will full absorbing,
lling and sealing functions. Therefore, there are basic geotechnical requirements for the bentonite-
based barrier.
Impermeability (filtration coefficient k = 10 - 10 and 10 - 14 m/s)
The design of a bentonite-based material (mix), which will full the required non-permeability
parameters, does not represent the biggest problem. The material itself can full this requirement
without problems. The hazard of radio nuclide leakage, however, rapidly increases with the appearance
of any discontinuity interface. Discontinuity interfaces are a potential source of formation of paths
for the spread of dangerous radioactive substances in any state. Different types of interfaces may be
distinguished, namely in relation to the way of their formation:
x discontinuity interfaces arising during preparation of multi-barrier system,
x discontinuity interfaces arising during multi-barrier systems construction, or
x discontinuity interfaces arising during long-term operation of underground repository.
Swelling capacity
Swelling capacity of the used material is important namely due to the necessity of sealing discontinuity
interfaces and/or cracks in their contact with groundwater self-sealing. Swelling capacity, described
in geotechnics by the value of swelling pressure, should be optimised by admixtures. Swelling pressure
must not negatively affect the function of the container, the function of individual structural units of
the engineered barrier or the function of the natural barrier.
Thermal conductivity
The bentonite-based barrier material must be designed in such a way to facilitate easy removal of the
heat radiated by the container further into the natural barrier. Thermal conductivity grows with the
growing volume density and material moisture content. It also shows a slight increase with growing
temperature. In order to facilitate heat removal from the container, bentonite mixture is treated by
adding graphite. Groundwater leaking from the natural barrier into the engineered barrier gradually
saturates part of it, which increases the thermal conductivity in the saturated medium. Thermal
conductivity of the material within the barrier body will show changes in time.
Extremely long-term unchangeability of bentonite-based barriers behaviour

This requirement forms the most difcult part of research objectives. It is, however, evident that
implementation of this research requires a multi-disciplinary approach with the use of all available
methods. Such methods include namely experimental research, physical and mathematical modelling
and a study into natural analogues. Input parameters for mathematical models may be obtained
namely by using laboratory testing, onsite tests and eld measurements, research in underground
laboratories. In this respect it should be mentioned that the accuracy of obtained results requires a
practice in which the tests and experiments are carried out under the conditions corresponding to
actual conditions. This means, for example, that strength tests of prefabricates should be performed
at temperatures of 70 - 140C, the material should be subjected to long-term loading with this
temperature before testing, or the thermal conductivity coefcient should be measured at this
temperature and on a material saturated with water of a specic chemical composition under the
conditions when it cannot change its volume, etc.
LABORATORY TESTS
This research investigates how much impact of different substitute ratio of yash for bentonite on
the characteristics of bentonite-based barrier layer/buffer in order to discuss the applicability of
yash as the content of bentonite-based barrier layer/buffer for radioactive waste disposal. A series
of laboratory tests were conducted as follows.
Strength test
In the case of high-level radioactive waste disposal, the depth of is more than 300 m deep from the
surface. At least 8.1 MPa in vertical direction and 6.5 MPa in horizontal direction stresses are affected
as the ground pressure. Even though several kinds of support systems are installed or measures
such as a grouting are conducted, the strength of bentonite-based mixtures itself has to be in some
extents. Therefore, the strength test under different yash-bentonite contents has been conducted in
order to evaluate the applicability of yash and investigate the appropriate mix content for applying
barrier layer/buffer for radioactive waste disposal.
The specimens were made with bentonite, yash and water. Two different sizes of yash were
employed. Before moulding, all contents were dried and water was sprayed on them and then they
were left for 36 hours. A cylindrical mould, 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in length, was used for
specimens. Mixtures which volume is 1/3 of total volume of mould are put into in mould and then
was pounded by falling heavy weight by 20 times. This procedure is repeated three times. After that,
the specimens were removed from moulds and shapes of both sides were restored. Figure 5 shows
the specimens for this test. Uniaxial compressive test and needle penetration test were performed for
each specimen. Table 3 shows the pattern of mixtures contents for specimens.
FIG 5 - Specimens for uniaxial compressive test.
TABLE 3
Patterns of mixtures contents for specimens.
No Bentonite (wt%) Flyash (wt%) Water Content (%)

1. Bentonite only 100 0 5
2. Bentonite + Flyash (raw) 80 20 5
5. Bentonite + Flyash (crushing) 80 20 5
Figure 6 shows the uniaxial compressive strengths under different mixture contents. It can be seen
that the substitution of yash for bentonite improve the strength of bentonite-based mixtures and the
strength of bentonite-yash mixtures increases with increasing its substitution ratio. The strength
of bentonite-yash mixtures are from 0.8 MPa to 2.2 MPa and this range is almost the same as the
soil around 300 m deep from the surface and meets the required properties. Moreover, depending
on the site conditions, the strength of bentonite-based mixtures can be controlled as the required
level by substituting yash for bentonite. In additions, as the particle size/distribution of yash has
no obvious impact on the mechanical properties especially UCS of bentonite-yash mixtures, it can
also be said that the original yash can be used and cost can be saved.
FIG 6 - Uniaxial compressive strengths under different mixture contents.
Falling head permeability test

The characteristics of permeability of bentonite-yash mixtures is also one of the important key for
barrier layer/buffer for radioactive waste disposal in order to prevent immersed water to overpack
from surrounding soil/groundwater and leak the radioactive materials from its inside. The falling
head permeability test was conducted. Figure 7 shows the equipment of falling head permeability
test. Based on the results of strength tests, two different contents of bentonite-yash mixtures were
selected and tested. Table 4 shows the results of this permeability test. It can be said from this
table that the permeability of bentonite-yash mixtures increases with increasing the substitution
ratio of yash for bentonite. In other words, its barrier/sealing function decreases with increasing
the substitution ratio of yash for bentonite. However, even if the substitution ratio of yash for
FIG 7 - Device of falling head permeability test.
TABLE 4
Results of permeability test.
No Permeability k15 m/3

1. Bentonite only 7.4 x 10-10
2. Bentonite: Flyash (raw) = 1:1 2.0 x 10-8
3. Bentonite: Flyash (crushing) = 1:1 1.0 x 10-8
bentonite is 50 per cent, the permeability of bentonite-yash mixtures is still around 1.0 10-8 m/sec
and this value can be considered as impermeable in practically from the engineering point of view.
Moreover, it can be expected that the permeability of bentonito-yash mixture at 300 m deep from
the surface is lower than the value obtained from this test due to the consolidation of bentonite-yash
mixtures by large ground pressure. Hence, it can be expected that the benonite-based mixture meets
the required impermeability even though a bentonite is substituted with yash in some extents.
Swelling test
As mentioned above, swelling capacity is important due to the necessity of sealing discontinuity
interfaces and/or cracks in their contact with groundwater self-sealing. Here, swelling capacity
described by the value of swelling volume. Figure 8 shows the equipment of swelling test. Table 5
shows the results of swelling test. It can be said from this table that the swelling volume decreases
with increasing substitution ratio of yash for bentonite. Moreover, the particle size of yash has no
impact on the swelling characteristics of bentonite-yash mixtures. This is because only bentonite
has swelling characteristics and yash does not have. Hence, it can be said that the barrier layer/
buffer material has to contain bentonite in some extent in order to have the swelling capacity.
pH value and electro conductivity measurement

In the case of high-level radioactive waste disposal, bentonite-yash buffer contacts directly with the
canisters and surrounding rock, not only its sealing characteristics of radioactive waste materials
but also the impact/effect of buffer itself on surrounding rock/environment has to be investigated.
For example, the chemical reaction between buffer and surrounding rock and the leakage of
contaminated material through the buffer by underground water ow, etc. Hence, pH value and
FIG 8 - Device of swelling test.
TABLE 5
Results of swelling test.
Specimen no Original height (mm) Vertical displacement (mm) Swelling ratio (%)
Bentonite only 36 5.64 15.7
Bentonite: Flyash (raw) = 1:1 46 4.63 10.1
Bentonite: Flyash (crushing) = 1:1 37.5 3.88 10.3
Bentonite: Flyash (crushing) = 1:5 38 4.02 10.6
electro-conductivity of bentonite-yash mixtures were measured under different substitution ratio

of yash for bentonite. Test procedures are as follows: the 100 ml of distilled water and 2.0 g of each
sample put into a beaker. Then the top clear layer liquid was sampled and a couple of drop was put
on the both sensors of pH and electro-conductivity. Table 6 shows the composition of test specimens.
Figures 9 and 10 show the relationship between the pH value/electro-conductivity and elapsed time,
respectively. The suspension of bentonite itself is classied as weak alkaline and the pH value of that
of yash is 12 - 13 and this is classied as alkaline. Compared with these results, no obvious change of
pH value and electoro-conductivity due to the chemical reaction among bentonite, yash and water
was observed under different composition ratios. However, as all of these samples represents alkaline,
if underground ow has any impact of storage area, the application of neutraliser or other measures
should be considered in order to restrain the impact of alkaline on the surrounding environment.
TABLE 6
Compositions of test specimens.
1 Bentonite only 2g
2 Flyash (raw) 2g
3 Flyash (crushing) 2g
4 Bentonite: Flyash (raw) = 1:1 1 g, 1 g
5 Bentonite: Flyash (crushing) = 1:1 1 g,1 g
FIG 9 - Relationship between pH value and elapsed time.
FIG 10 - Relationship between electro conductivity and elapsed time.
Thermal conductivity test

After the radioactive waste materials are stored, they generate heat and then the temperature of its
inside rises gradually. Under these situations, the deterioration of buffer can be expected due to high
temperature. In order to prevent this deterioration, the thermal conductivity of bentonite-yash
mixtures has to be investigated. Low thermal conductivity prevents the diffusion of heat generated
by radioactive waste materials to outside effectively and as a result the characteristics of buffer such
as impermeability, thermal transfer, radionuclide transport, stress relaxation may be weaken due to
the high temperature. Hence, the thermal conductivity is also one of the important characteristics of
buffer material. In this research, a thermal conductivity of each specimen was measured by using the
thermal conductivity metre QTM-500 (see Figure 11) and the impact of the different composition of
yash-bentonite on the thermal conductivity was discussed. Table 7 shows the compositions of test
specimens.
Figure 12 shows the results of this test. It can be seen that the thermal conductivity increases with
increasing substitution ratio of yash for bentonite. Moreover, the range of thermal conductivity
is 0.3 ~1.5 W/mK and all of these values meet a required conditions proposed as the buffer for
high-level radioactive waste. Hence, the substitution of yash for bentonite improves the thermal
conductivity of barrier layer/buffer. However, in this test, the impact of rising temperature due to the
FIG 11 -Thermal conductivity metre QTM-500.
(A)
(B)
FIG 12 - Thermal conductivity for each sample ((A) three days later; (B) ten days later).
heat generated by radioactive wastes on the thermal conductivity of bentonite-yash mixtures was
not taken into account. The effect of high temperatures and elapsed long time should be investigated
in the next.
CONCLUSIONS
The applicability of yash to the contents of barrier layer/buffer for radioactive wastes was
investigated in this research. From the results of a series of laboratory tests, it can be concluded that
TABLE 7
Compositions of test specimens.
No Bentonite (wt%) Flyash (wt%) Water content (%)

1. Bentonite only 100 0 5
2. Bentonite + flyash (raw) 80 20 5
5. Bentonite + flyash (crushing) 80 20 5
yash has a great potential for use in them as the bentonite is substituted. However, in order to prove
the ability and estimate the appropriate mixture contents, more research has to be conducted, such
as colloid ltration effect and long-term stability/unchangeability.
REFERENCES
Berlin, R E and Stanton, C C, 1989. Radioactive Waste Management, 444 p (Wiley-Interscience).
Brookins, D G, 1984. Geotechnical Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal, 321 p (Springer: Verlag).
Byalko, A V, 1994. Nuclear Waste Disposal: Geophysical Safety, 281 p (CRC Press).
Centre of Experimental Geotechnics (CEG), 2010. Research [online]. Available from:<http://ceg.fsv.
cvut.cz/research/>.
Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan, 2010. Available from:<http://www.numo.or.jp/>.
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2010. News releases and speeches [online]. Available
from:<http://www.nrc.gov/>.
Yoshida, Y, Shimada, H, Sasaoka, T, Matsui, K, Nakagawa, H, Sakai, Y and Gottfried, J, 2009. Consumption
of coal and utilisation of coal ash in Japan, in Proceedings 13th Conference on Environment and Mineral
Processing, 1:291-301.
Fundamental Study of Acid Drainage Control using
Flyash
H Shimada1, T Sasaoka2, K Matsui3, G J Kusuma4, J Oya5, H Takamoto6,
S Kramadibrata7 and B Sulistianto8
ABSTRACT
Japan is the largest coal importer in the world, importing from Australia, China, Indonesia, Canada,
Vietnam, etc. In Indonesia, most of the produced coal is extracted from open cut mines. More open
cut coal mines will be developed to ll the demand for coal in Indonesia and the world. Many surveys
and projects for developing new coal mines and transferring mining technology are being conducted
in tropical counties such as Indonesia and Vietnam with the aid of the Japanese Government. It has,
however, been pointed out that excessive and precarious development of mines in tropical areas
will damage the environments around the mines including cultivated lands, and reduce the precious
rainforest. This would undoubtedly exacerbate the instability of the global climate and the food crisis
in the world.
This paper describes the effects of yash on the control of acid mine drainage in order to avoid
potential negative impacts on the environment caused from open cut coal mines.
INTRODUCTION
About 200 Mt of coal is imported into Japan annually and Indonesia was its second largest exporter,
accounting for about 30 Mt. Indonesia produced about 200 Mt of coal, about 75 per cent of which
was exported in 2008. Over 99 per cent of the coal produced in Indonesia comes from open cut
mines. With this, Japan is the largest coal importer in the world. It is projected that more open cut
coal mines will be created to ll the demand for coal in Indonesia and the world. Many surveys and
projects for developing new coal mines and transferring mining technology are being carried out in
Indonesia with the aid of the Japanese Government. It has, however, been pointed out that excessive
and precarious development of mines in tropical areas will damage the environments around the
mines and reduce the precious rainforest, which would undoubtedly lead to further instability of the
global climate.
In addition, a large amount of waste from the preparation plant is produced. The properties of
this waste vary depending on the mineralogical contents of the mother rock in which the coal is
embedded. The waste quality depends on the method of mining and cleaning. The waste mainly
consists of clay, quartz, carbonaceous materials, mica, pyrite, and so on. Now, about 85 per cent
of yash is utilised and the remains are disposed of at designated disposal sites, however, the life
of these disposal sites is limited. Moreover, it is difcult to nd new disposal sites. Therefore, it is
requested that the percentage of coal ash being utilised be increased in every eld.
This paper describes some methods to generate acid mine drainage and discusses the effects of
yash on the control of acid mine drainage in order to avoid potential environmental damage caused
by open cut coal mines in tropical areas.
1. Associate Professor, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: shimada@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
2. Assistant Professor, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: sasaoka@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
3. Professor, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
4. Doctoral Student, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: ginting_jk@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
5. Mining Engineer, MMI Coal Tech Co Ltd, 1-7-7 Hachobori, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0032, Japan. Email: j-oya@mitsui-matsushima.co.jp
6. Mining Engineer, MMI Coal Tech Co Ltd, 1-7-7 Hachobori, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0032, Japan. Email: h-takamoto@mitsui-matsushima.co.jp
7. Senior Lecturer, Institute Technology Bandung, Jl, Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia. Email: suseno@mining.itb.ac.id
8. Lecturer, Institute Technology Bandung, Jl Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia. Email: bst@mining.itb.ac.id
H SHIMADA et al
CONTROL OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE

Acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is low pH water with dissolved metals and sulfate that drains from pyrite-
rich rocks which have been exposed to oxidation. Pyrite is commonly associated with coal deposits,
and its oxidation upon mining, results in the production of sulfuric acid, a signicant environmental
issue. Discharge of acid drainage into streams, rivers and lakes can adversely impact downstream
aquatic ecosystems, and as such is an environmental threat.
The time required for AMD to develop can vary from a matter of days to many years, and it may last
for many years as well. Unlike industrial pollution, AMD has the potential to continue indenitely, well
past the cessation of mining. AMD is quite possibly the most signicant environmental management
issue linked to open cut coal mine.
Coal mining produces rock by-products such as claystone, siltstone, shale and mudstone, which
contain variable amounts of naturally occurring sulfides, mainly in the form of pyrite. If sulfides
are exposed to air (oxygen) and water, they will oxidise, producing acid. Within undisturbed
rock, this process occurs very slowly. However, within a waste rock dump, the rate of such a
reaction can be much faster due to the greatly increased surface area of the broken rock. Under
these circumstances, any water leaching from the waste rock dump will be acid, and may cause
environmental damage.
A slaking behaviour of some coal by-product rocks accelerates oxidisation. Apparently, even strong
rocks show severe slaking behaviour once becoming wet. If oxidisation is not successfully controlled,
AMD from a waste dump may persist for an excess of years. The best approach to minimise the risk
of AMD from waste rock dumps is to control the entry of air into the dumps, in effect reducing the
oxidation rate of the suldes. This is achieved by constructing a cover over the dump made from
either clay or non-acid forming (NAF) waste rock as shown in Figures 1a and 1b.
(A) (B)
FIG 1 - The function of a waste dump cover to control acid mine drainage. (A) The conceptual view of sulfuric waste dump without a cover.
Water and oxygen easily enter the dumping materials and react with sulfides (pyrite). Resulting in acid mine drainage. (B) The conceptual view of a
sulfuric waste dump with a cover. The cover can limit the entry of oxygen and water and reduce the rate of the acid mine drainage.
Net acid generation (NAG) test

The different types of waste rock in current and proposed pit areas are identied through drill holes
using downhole geophysics and logging of core or drill cuttings.
At Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, NAG testing has identied two main
groups of AMD types for the waste rock being mined
1. non-acid forming (NAF), and
2. potentially acid forming (PAF).
Identifying where the waste is in the pit and when it will be mined is the critical issue for effective
waste management.
Figure 2 shows the results of the NAG test using cuttings from blast holes at Pit J (Ikematsu et al,
2005). From these test results on Pit J, it is estimated that about 80 per cent of overburden is NAF
(types 1 and 2) and about 20 per cent is PAF (types 3a, 3b and 4) at Pit J. Therefore, DC03 method is
employed as a dump cover in this area. The dump cover system will be discussed later.
FUNDAMENTAL STUDY OF ACID DRAINAGE CONTROL USING FLYASH
FIG 2 - Results of the net acid generation test at Kaltim Prima Coal.
Slaking behaviour
Some coal by-product rocks such as claystone, siltstone, shale, and mudstone show slaking behaviour
(Ichinose, 1987 Sadisun, 2004). Disintegration due to slaking increases the oxidisation process of
pyrite because of increased specic area of fragmented debris. Wet and dry cyclic conditions as those
found in tropical climates, severely accelerate slaking behaviour.
Cracks due to slaking, increases permeability in dump and softened rocks, reducing the stability of
the dump wall and increasing damage caused by erosion at rehabilitated areas.
To investigate the possibility of slaking, the quantitative test of equivalent smectite was carried
out on the KPC waste rocks using the methylene-blue adsorption test (Ichinose, 1987). Ichinose
concluded that if smectite is present in excess of six per cent, the slaking behaviour becomes severe.
Figure 3 shows the results of the test using borehole cuttings (Ikematsu et al, 2005). All values for
the rock samples have over six per cent smectite meaning that these rocks are capable of severe
slaking behaviour.
FIG 3 - Amount of smectite in the borehole cuttings.
Waste dump construction

The current cover option adopted at KPC is the placement of PAF waste in the bulk of the dump and
construction of a cover using NAF waste material utilising one of the three following cover design
options
H SHIMADA et al
1. 1 m compacted clay cover (DC01) a 1 m thick layer of compacted clay overlain by a layer (usually
2 m) of loose NAF rocks,
2. 2 m compacted NAF cover (DC02) a 2 m thick layer of compacted NAF rock overlain by a layer
(usually 2 m) of loose NAF rock, and
3. Loose NAF cover (DC03) a thick layer (10 m to 20 m) of uncompacted NAF rock.
The loose NAF cover is preferred in principle, since it is more cost-effective, has low risk of erosion,
and is immune to dump settlement, which may crack a compacted cover. However, it requires a large
amount of run-of-mine NAF rocks (KPC, 2000).
In DC01 and DC02 covers, the function of the compacted layer is to form a barrier preventing
oxygen diffusion, and thus generation of AMD. The overlain, uncompacted waste rock layer protects
the compacted layer from erosion and stores water allowing for revegetation.
Controlling acid mine drainage really depends on dump construction. It is necessary to specify
the steps for placing NAF waste and PAF waste within the dump so that the potential for acid mine
drainage is minimised. However, if the PAF waste deteriorates excessively by slaking, seepage water
from rainfall permeates to a PAF layer, and there remains a possibility that AMD may be generated
as a result. In particular, coal by-product rocks in Indonesia show remarkable slaking behaviour,
as mentioned before (Matsui et al, 2004). From this perspective, the use of a column test elicits the
effects of yash on the control of AMD in order to avoid potential environmental damage caused by
open cut coal mines.
EFFECT OF FLYASH ON CONTROL OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE

Samples and procedures of column test
It is integral that the acid components leached from pyrite are nally neutralised by their reaction
to yash. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the optimum combination and the lling method
of pyrite and yash. With this in mind, a water quality analysis of eluted water was conducted by a
column test using the samples of mixed pyrite and yash.
Figure 4 illustrates the results of the column test. In this test, a cylindrical pipe 100 bmm in diameter
and 1000 mm in length was lled with the sample. Different combinations and lling methods of
pyrite and yash were prepared as listed in Table 1. Cases 1 and 4 were solely consistent of pyrite
and yash, respectively. Cases 2 and 3 were adopted as a different kind of lling method. Two
thousand, two hundred and fty millilitres of ion exchange water was poured from the upper part
of the column for 12 hours at a rate of 3 mL/min, then, seepage water was collected in the container
at the lower part of the column. After the seepage water was nished discharging from the column,
the sample was kept as it was for 12 hours because the sample was exposed to the air. Next, 2250 mL
Flyash
Ion exchange water
Pyrite
Mixture with Flyash

and Pyrite
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4
FIG 4 - Illustration of the column test.
TABLE 1
Samples and filling methods.
Pyrite (g) Flyash (g) The filling method

Case 1 1500 0
Case 2 1500 1500 Stratified
Case 3 1500 1500 Homogeneous mixing
Case 4 0 1500
TABLE 2
Chemical components of flyash.
SiO2 AI2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO K2O Na2O

(%) 66.25 18.11 4.87 3.96 0.051 0.27 0.92
of ion exchange water was poured into the column again where the sample reacted to the water for
12 hours. In this case, the sample was not replaced. Again, the sample was kept as it was for 12 hours.
These procedures were carried out a maximum of nine times. The pyrite was a product of Furukusa,
Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and was crushed to 0.35 - 2.0 mm. The yash was a product from Matsuura
power plant, Saga Prefecture, Japan, and was crushed to the grain size of 2.0 - 5.0 mm. Table 2
shows the chemical components of yash. The pH and the qualities of iron and aluminum were
measured by pH meter and an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES),
respectively. Moreover, the quantities of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, and Cl- were measured by the ion
chromatograph method.
pH concentration and precipitates

Table 3 lists the results obtained from the water quality analysis. The colour of the seepage water
from the sample of case 1 at the rst discharging was light green and there was a black precipitate
that was FeS at the bottom of the column. The seepage water in case 1 at the second to the nal
discharges, was colourless.
The colour of the seepage water from case 2 at the rst discharging also showed a light green hue,
and there was FeS sediment at the bottom of the column. The colour at the third discharging was
colourless and there was white sediment at the bottom of the column.
With case 3, dark brown water was discharged from the column at the rst seepage and there was
dark brown precipitate, specically Fe(OH)3 at the bottom of a column. Conversely, colourless water
was discharged from the sample of case 4 at the rst seepage.
Although 7 mg/L of chloride ion was only detected in the seepage water of the first discharging
of cases 2 and 3, as compared with other components, the concentration of the chloride ion was
very low and was not detected in the seepage water of the second discharging or subsequent
discharges. It is thought that the influence of the pH on the chloride ion in the seepage water can
be disregarded.
In case 1 with only pyrite, the main component of the seepage water was the sulfate ion, due to the
elution by oxidation of the pyrite. Since the pH of the seepage water was 3.4, it is considered that the
component which exhibited acidity in the seepage water was the sulfate ion.
As the number of times discharging was increased, all ion concentrations in the seepage water had
correspondingly decreased in case 2. The main components of the rst and the fth discharging were
iron and sulfate ions, respectively, but the sulfate iron was only remnant in the seepage water of the
eighth discharging. In case 3, ion concentrations were greater than those in case 2. Since each ion
concentration decreased with an increase in the number of discharges, the same trend as in case 2
was observed.
In case 4 containing only yash, each ion concentration with the exception of the magnesium
ion, was comparable to the other cases. Moreover, the pH was 11.2 and it is hypothesised that
H SHIMADA et al
TABLE 3
Ion concentrations obtained by water quality analysis (unit: mg/L).

Item
The fifth time The first time The fifth time The eighth time
pH 3.4 1.6 10.3 10.0
+
Na 0.4 52 5.8 2.1
+
K Less than 0.4 140 25 8.0
Ca2+ 0.8 300 57 31
2+
Mg 0.34 180 0.58 Less than 0.02
-
CI Less than 1.0 7.0 Less than 1.0 Less than 1.0
2-
SO4 85 46 000 360 110
Fe 34 24 000 140 0.80
Al 0.07 70 1.0 0.63
Item
The first time The fifth time The nineth time The fifth time
pH 3.9 5.9 6.2 11.2
+
Na 74 8.0 2.3 4.8
+
K 200 9.0 2.3 4.8
2+
Ca 470 440 320 8.9
2+
Mg 170 36 13 0.04
-
CI 7.0 Less than 1.0 Less than 1.0 Less than 1.0
2-
SO4 11 000 1800 840 27
Fe 4600 340 41 2.5
Al 9.9 1.3 1.1 1.4
the components which presented the alkalinity eluted from the yash ash were mainly sodium,
potassium, and calcium ions.
Neutralising mechanism of acid water

From the results obtained from the water quality analysis, the acid neutralising mechanism of
case 2 and case 3 was discussed. First, in the seepage water of case 2, since the sample was lled
up with the yash and the pyrite in layers, it was predicted that the elution of various ions would
occur separately in each layer. As shown in Table 4, when comparing with the sum of the various
ions of cases 1 and 4 referring to the fth discharge and the various ions of case 2, it turns out
that both are extremely similar. Therefore, when lling up in layers, like in case 2, the hydroxide
ion which was eluted from the yash layer permeated the pyrite layer. After which, the hydroxide
ion was neutralised by the hydrogen ion eluted from the pyrite layer. Conversely, in case 3, even
TABLE 4
Ion concentrations (the fifth time) (unit: mg/L).
Item Case 1 Case 4 Case 1+4 Case 2

+
Na 0.4 4.8 5.2 5.8
+
K 8.0 17 25 25
2+
Ca 0.8 8.9 9.7 25
Mg2+ 0.34 0.04 0.38 0.58
SO42+ 85 27 112 360
Fe 34 2.5 36.5 140
Al 0.07 1.4 1.47 1.0
if various ion concentrations increased the number of discharges greatly, as that with case 2, the
iron and sulfate ions of the pyrite origin still exist. Moreover, since iron hydroxide precipitate was
observed in the seepage water, the interaction by homogeneous mixing with the yash and the
pyrite was recognised. That is, the Fe2+ eluted from the pyrite as shown in Equation 1, oxidised to
Fe3+ as a result of contact with the yash and dissolved oxygen as seen in Equation 2. Moreover,
oxidation of the pyrite was promoted as is seen in Equation 3, by existence of Fe3+. Therefore, the
acid neutralising effect of acid water was reduced due to increasing the hydrogen ion within the
column by repeating the reaction of Equations 1 - 3.
FeS2 + 7/2O2 + H2O " Fe2+ + 2SO42- + 2H+ (1)
Fe2+ + 1/4O2 + H+ " Fe3+ + 1/2H2O (2)
FeS2 + 14Fe3+ + 8H2O " 15Fe2+ + 2SO42- + 16H+ (3)
In order to utilise yash as the neutralising material in rehabilitation, it is suggested that the
construction method which covers the yash is best suited for the upper part of coal by-product rock
containing pyrite.
Optimum condition of flyash cover
From the results obtained from the water quality analysis, it is suggested that the construction
method which covers the yash is best suited for the upper part of coal by-product rock containing
pyrite. The central and regional governments have released the regulations regarding with
water quality for coal mining activity in Indonesia. They are Decree of the State Minister for the
Environment Number 113/2003 about Quality Standard of Wastewater for Coal Mining Business
and or Activities and Decree of the Government of East Kalimantan Number 26/2002 regarding
Liquid Waste Standard for Industrial Activity and Other Activity in the Province of East Kalimantan.
Table 5 shows the threshold limit values for mining industry. The differences of the threshold limit
value between central and regional regulations are caused by determination of the usage of water
receiving environment that more specic considered at regional government. From this table, the
optimum mixing percentage of yash with pyrite was discussed that pH 6 - 9 of the seepage water
can be discharged.
TABLE 5
Threshold limit value.
Threshold limit value

Parameter Unit Decree of the State Minister for the Decree of the Government of East
Environment Number 113/2003 Kalimantan Number 26/2002
pH 6-9 6-9
Total suspended solid mg/L 400 400
Fe mg/L 7 10
Mn mg/L 4 5
Figure 5 shows the relation between the mixing percentage of yash and pH. From this gure, if
30 - 40 per cent of yash is covered onto pyrite, the seepage water can be controlled the extent of pH
6 - 9. Moreover, as the percentage of pyrite in the waste rock is four per cent or less, smaller amount
of yash can be controlled AMD.
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the effects of yash on the control of acid mine drainage in order to avoid potential
environmental damage caused by open cut coal mines in tropical areas were discussed. In order
to utilise yash as the neutralising material in rehabilitation, it is suggested that the construction
method which covers the yash is best suited for the upper part of coal by-product rock containing
pyrite.
H SHIMADA et al
FIG 5 - Relation between mixing percentage of flyash and pH.
REFERENCES
hinose, M, 1987. A study of the effect of water content on mechanical properties of coal measures rocks,
Doctor of Engineering Dissertation, Kyushu University, Japan, 162 p (in Japanese).
kematsu, K, Matsui, K, Shimada, H, Ichinose, M, Gottfried, J, Kramadibrata, S and Nugraha, C, 2005.
Geochemical test of coal measures rocks at KPC, Indonesia, in Proceedings Annual Meeting of MMIJ,
pp 33-34 (in Japanese).
altim rima Coal, 2000. Rehabilitation specications version 2, internal report, Department Enviro,
PT Kaltim Prima Coal, 52 p.
Matsui, K, Shimada, H, Itoi, R, Ueda, T, abuki, A, Sadisun, I A, Sulistianto, B, Kramadibrata, S and Rai, M
A, 2004. Development of opencut coal mines considering Indonesian environments, in Proceedings Eighth
International Symposium on En ironmental Issues and aste Management in Energy and Mineral
Production, Antalya, Turkey, pp 157-162.
Sadisun, I A, 2004. Comprehensive study on slaking of argillaceous rocks by means of static slaking tests and
its roles in engineering design, Doctor of Engineering Dissertation, Kyushu University, Japan, 142 p.
Simulation for Dependable Mining Automation
N Hillier1 and J Ryde2
ABSTRACT
A discussion on simulation tools to aid the development of robotics platforms is presented. The focus
of the work is towards mining robotics platforms where operations are typically in unstructured,
unpredictable environments and a high degree of dependability in their operations is required. It is
argued that a test-based development approach leads to more robust solutions and faster development
cycles than traditional single-track eld-only development and that the key enabling technology for
this development paradigm is the judicious use of simulation tools.
The future direction of simulation for use in online applications such as active planning and as a
means to assist tele-operation in high latency communication applications is also briey considered
together with the requirements for a useful simulation environment in terms of the simulator
architecture.
Finally, a case study is presented on the application of the discussed methodologies to an unmanned
ground vehicle (UGV) for earth-moving tasks, which is being developed in an accelerated time frame
with a transient development team.
INTRODUCTION
Mining automation is a difcult domain for robotics development, with signicant challenges in
development and operation due to the unstructured environments (both geometrically and in material
properties), common use of multiple sensing modes and the high degrees of freedom inherent in most
experimental mining robotics3 platforms. Additionally, there are pragmatic difculties associated
with the development of mining robotics platforms stemming from long set-up and shut-down times
(pre- and post-start checks) and access to suitable test sites that do not occur with most indoor and
small platform robotics.
These issues are further compounded by those applications wherein dependability of the robot is
essential due to any number of commercial, remote deployment and/or risk constraints.
This paper argues that a successful development paradigm for mining robotics includes signicant
use of simulation environments and that certain aspects of the simulation engine architecture allow
for more rapid and exible development of the simulation itself. For clarity, the discussion here is
typically constrained to the simulation of robotics in a full three-dimensional (3D) environment.
Furthermore, the authors consider that robotics is a singular eld in the engineering disciplines
in that testing on the developed product is currently by far the predominant means of development.
Most (if not all) other engineering elds involve signicantly more extensive use of simulation or
numerical modelling tools before prototype and production testing. There are many reasons for the
slow uptake of such tools in robotics, not the least being that the popular approach of replaying log
les is sufcient for the development and testing of many robotics algorithms and that the appropriate
simulation tools are only in their infancy.
The work in Weatherly et al (2006) and Grabowski et al (2006) details the software architecture
and core development processes used in the development of a 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge entrant
(the MITRE Meteor). The 2005 Grand Challenge was a DARPA (United States of Americas Defence
Advanced Research Projects Agency) sponsored event requiring autonomous off-road vehicles to
1. Research Scientist, CSIRO, PO Box 883, Kenmore Qld 4069. Email: nick.hillier@csiro.au
2. Post-Doctoral Researcher, CSIRO, PO Box 883, Kenmore Qld 4069. Email: Julian.ryde@csiro.au
3. In this work, the authors make a distinction between mining automation and mining robotics, in that robotics includes some element of mobile actuation (such as a robotic arm,
or an automated vehicle), whilst automation covers a wider field, including robotics but also process automation and the like.
N HILLIER AND J RYDE
travel a 132-mile desert route in under ten hours without any external assistance. These works
highlight a number of advantages and also a signicant caveat to the use of simulation heavy eld
robotics development and so a summary is presented here to introduce some key concepts.
The fundamental restrictions based upon this team were:
x accelerated development (concept to deployment was approximately 11 months),
x no previous Grand Challenge experience,
x no immediately local off-road test site (the authors claim that in ten months, only ten days of
testing was conducted outside of a parking lot), and
x a relatively small development team (ve core members).
The team chose to use a simulation heavy development cycle including full ten hour race simulations
to test software robustness as well as data-replay from limited off-road real-world testing. Both the
simulated and replayed data interfaces were transparent to the code operating the real robot, a
concept that can readily be achieved through the use of modern robotics middleware (eg the Robotic
Operating System (ROS) (Quigley et al, 2009), Dynamic Data Exchange (DDX) (Corke et al, 2004)
and Player/Stage (Gerky, Vaughan and Howard, 2003)). The software was also transparent to real-
time and simulation-time concepts to overcome exible computation availability during simulation
for faster and slower than real-time execution without timing problems.
Ultimately, the Mitre Meteor DARPA Grand Challenge entry passed all the qualication rounds
to start the nal robot race (only 23 of the original 195 entrants started the desert race); however, it
ultimately failed due to misinterpretation of dust as an obstacle.
This highlights a fundamental issue for simulation driven development: the question of the
appropriate level of simulation delity and the simulation versus eld testing trade-off. The MITRE
team described the increase in model delity due to the incorporation of eld testing data as a lasting
repository of project experience, and the take away message is that simulation development and
testing alone is insufcient for practical applications; however, its judicious use can signicantly
speed up the development cycle for eld-based robotics.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE STATE-OF-THE-ART IN ROBOTICS SIMULATION

Simulators
The robotics community has recently seen rapid development of a number of capable 3D, physics
enabled simulation platforms. Beyond the ever-growing list of custom simulation solutions that
institutions are developing for their own one-off systems (for example the abundance of simulators
for the RoboCup four legged league), those that the authors consider to be the most useful or seem
to be currently the most popular for robotics research are very briey described in Table 1.
Amongst the numerous offerings available, the OpenRAVE platform is currently the tool of choice
for the authors. Features that are critical to the authors work, provided by this solution, which stand
out from the others include:
x Simple, exible interfaces in a variety of languages (C++, Octave/Matlab and Python).
x A dynamically loadable plug-in type architecture that allows for signicant customisation of
very low-level interfaces (such as the employed physics engine and collision checking) and ease
of integration into middleware (comes with interfaces to ROS, and the authors trivially added
support to DDX as required).
x A modular design providing an opportunity for a light-weight customised version to be run live on
platforms with less processing power via replacement of almost any component.
x Platform independence (support for Windows, MacOS and Linux) with the transparency of open
source code.
x The ability to dynamically create, destroy and change the geometric properties of items in the
simulation environment. This is a particularly powerful option for operations that manipulate the
environment.
Furthermore, the OpenRAVE environment allows for environment cloning, a powerful feature
that could be exploited for more advanced simulation tasks such as parallel execution for run-time
planning tasks, although the authors are yet to exploit this feature.
SIMULATION FOR DEPENDABLE MINING AUTOMATION
TABLE 1
Summary of key (comparable) simulator features of some more popular robotics simulation packages.
Simulator Employed Physics Source Platform

Gazebo (Koenig and Howard, 2004) ODE Open Linux
MS VSE (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/
PhysX Closed Windows
robotics/default)
Unity (http://unity3d.com) PhysX Closed Windows and MacOS
USARSim (Carpin et al, 2007; Zaratti,
Unreal Engine Sim open, Engine closed Windows, MacOS and Linux
Fratarcangeli and Locchi, 2007)
OpenRAVE (Diankov and Kuffner, 2008) Any (ODE by default) Open Windows, MacOS and Linux
OpenHRP (Kanehiro, Hirukawa and Kajita, 2004) Various custom algorithms Open Windows and Linux
Webots (Michel, 2004) ODE (customisable in Pro version) Closed Windows, MacOS and Linux
OpenSimulator (http://www.opensimulator.org) ODE (+ others) Open Windows, MacOS and Linux
Matlab and similar tools (http://mathworks.com) Custom algorithms Closed Windows, MacOS and Linux
Applications in automation
The focus of this paper is on the use of simulators for algorithm and system development, by emulating
a robotic platform and its environment in a virtual world. Although this is probably the most well
known application of simulation tools in robotics, there are some other notable applications that
may not be as widely known.
The competitive robotics industry has adopted simulation use wholeheartedly, with a wide range
of robotics competitions sporting either a simulation component, alternative stream (eg RoboCups
simulation leagues) or having no real-world component at all (eg Rats Life is a pure simulation
competition, although the equivalent hardware can be purchased). This is extremely benecial to the
robotics community as simulation competitions signicantly reduce the nancial barriers to entry
into the industry by removing the associated costs and skills required to purchase and maintain
robotic hardware and supporting infrastructure.
The advent and rise of augmented reality interfaces (Milgram and Kishino, 1994) is boosting work
in the area that some refer to as augmented virtuality, a eld which is particularly prevalent in tele-
operation applications with large latencies. In these applications, consistency of the user experience is
provided through a virtual interface consisting of a GUI and a simulation back-end that synchronises
with the real-world when possible. The simulation engine is then used to extrapolate the system state
and present the user with a real-time interface.
The use of simulation in robotics development is not restricted to software-only manifestations.
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation has been used extensively in many industries as a
developmental and debugging tool. In robotics, it is often used as part of a staged development
cycle, whereby sensor performance, timing issues or control demands require critical testing before
deployment. HIL simulation often acts as a substitute for sensory information, particularly where an
appropriate real-world test environment is difcult to achieve (eg off-world Rupp et al, 2009) or is
deemed high-risk in the case of potential failure (eg aerial systems).
Simulators are now also being increasingly used in a hybrid manner to articially increase robotic
populations. A typical example of this is in the eld of self-recongurable (or modular) robotics,
whereby one may wish to evaluate system performance of many tens, hundreds or thousands of
components, but have hardware for only a few tens of modules (see for example, the HIL simulation
work of Lal and Fitch, 2009).
There is also scope for simulation tools to be used within an automated machines programming
paradigm in an online manner, particularly with respect to planning tasks. This is often referred to
as decision support. Here, the robot holds some model of the world and is able to run a simulation
of the robots execution of the plan in a faster than real-time manner to evaluate various decision
metrics.
The application of the virtual world provided by simulation to robotics is almost endless. Some of
the other uses of which the authors are aware include visualisation, training (of both operators and
for evolutionary type systems) and as a tool for the design of user interfaces.
Each of the above presented applications for simulation have different performance criteria and
ideally a simulation engine should be sufciently exible to allow reuse in all of the above scenarios
with minimal customisation.
TEST-BASED DEVELOPMENT
System dependability (reliability, trustworthiness) is a key criteria for the development of robotics
within many groups due to any number of commercial, remote deployment and/or risk constraints.
In practice, there appear to be three streams of development methodology in use:
x restriction of development tools, algorithms and platforms to those that are time-proven and tested;
x verication via theorem proof (see the methodologies of Bensalem, Ingrand and Sifakis, 2008);
and/or
x thorough, test-based development.
Given the current pace of worldwide robotics research and the rapid development of new
algorithms that can be considered crucial to the performance of advanced mining automation
systems (eg simultaneous localisation and mapping SLAM, computer vision), the authors
consider that the achievement of the dependability criteria is best developed through test-based
methodologies.
Such methodologies also present a measurable metric upon which we can assess the systems
dependability. Furthermore, test-based development allows for aggressive re-factoring and
experimentation without fear of a regression in functionality. Finally, the test-based development
methodology has a demonstrated track record in other disciplines.
Practicalities for automating machinery
Test-based development has been a very successful paradigm in software engineering with various
derivatives such as test driven development seeing success (see for example Nagappan et al, 2008). It
has the potential to be benecial for robotics development; however, the translation of this paradigm
to the robotics domain can be problematic.
While it may be argued that test-based development is possible with indoor robots, it is often
impractical for application to the mining domain for a number of reasons:
x Tests on real robots have to run in real time by denition, this is time consuming for the development
cycle of test-based development, as such cycles consist of multiple iterations of writing test code,
writing program (deployment) code and running tests.
x The repeatability of the test suite is important to the methodologys success. Ensuring that the
test harness and robotic system are in the same initial state before testing can be difcult in real
mining robotics deployments, but is readily achievable for a software simulator.
x While regression testing in software engineering has negligible cost, the regular execution of
regression tests on autonomous systems can be costly in terms of fuel consumption and mechanical
wear.
Performing such tests for automated machines can be segmented into two distinct categories:
1. Those tests that exercise passive algorithms, and can be run on recorded data, such as simultaneous
localisation and mapping (SLAM), where the system is an observer of the data.
2. Those tests that exercise active algorithms, whereby the sensory data is altered by the action of
the algorithm (the system is a participant in the creation of the data eg path planning and
control execution). Such tests are required to be run on the robot (live) or through some element
of simulation.
We argue that simulation is typically the only practical means by which to exercise active tests,
and typically also allows for the exercising and evaluation of passive algorithms. Additionally, a
simulator allows for fully automated testing at any time, which is vital for regression testing and
rapid development.
Ideally, tests should be deterministic and idempotent, namely, that $f(x) = f(f(x))$. It is important
to appreciate that success in simulation is most often a necessary but not sufcient condition for
success in the eld. For this reason, simulation tests should be run following all code changes and
before every operation in the eld.
Furthermore, there is an array of tests that are substantially easier to write in simulation due to the
ready availability of expected results in the simulator internals (eg those that require or generate pose
estimates). Some may argue that such tests are not productive, because they do not easily translate to
implementation on deployed robots (the truth is not readily available); however, the mere existence
of the test and the ease with which it can be used for underlying algorithm development purposes
can greatly accelerate the development time frame and again, provides some increase in the measure
of system dependability.
SIMULATION FIDELITY
The nal aim of the use of the simulator in robotics development is to maximise the intersection of
code that can be run in the real-world and simulator. If such a system can pass all required tests in
the simulation environment, this infers that a high level of trust can be placed in the deployed code.
The issue of simulation delity is then raised. We refer to simulation delity as the level of detail and
accuracy to which the simulation reects the real system; for example, what sensor models are used
or the accuracy of the physics (or indeed, if a kinematic only simulation is sufcient).
As touched upon in the introductory discussion with reference to the MITRE Meteor DARPA Grand
Challenge entrant, the delity with which the simulation reects the real world system(s) can both be
crucial to the success of the robot and a valuable log of the development process.
Whilst it is easy to argue that one should aim for a simulation environment with the lowest possible
complexity (and hence minimal delity) required for the task at hand (this reduces the possible
number of failure points in the simulation, easing debugging and ensures that time is not spent
developing redundant functionality in the simulation environment). The ready availability of physics
simulation engines gives a base level of delity that can aid in identifying unforeseen, but common
execution failures. An example of this is the classic planar world assumptions, which the authors
found to be immediately impractical on the UGV discussed earlier, due to the pitch and roll effects
of the platform in acceleration manoeuvres and the associated errors in scanning laser returns when
mapped to a two-dimensional (2D) environment.
The issue of required delity for the task at hand has implications on the choice of simulation
package. Where by default the simulator is lacking the minimal required delity, the simulation
engine must be sufciently exible to allow the researchers to increase the delity of the simulation
environment as required.
TIMING
Beyond the delity issues of non-simulated phenomena that may be critical to the robots success (or
failure), the authors argue that the other most critical element to ensuring the successful transfer of
simulator developed code to real-world robotics is that of timing. Simulators offer the ability to control
the passage of time; however, this introduces a wide array of possible failure mechanisms to the
system that may not be apparent in systems developed without the use of a simulation environment.
Controlling time
The control of the passage of time is a powerful tool only available in simulation that, amongst other
advantages, enables real-time debugging. Conventional debugging pauses the execution to allow
inspection and possible modication of the program state. For systems operating in the real world
such debugging practice is typically impossible, as whilst the program execution is paused, time in
the real world continues (pausing the system in itself typically alters the system state, and in some
instances may induce catastrophic failure eg debugging a helicopter control system during ight).
Such debugging tools, however, are easily applied in simulation by pausing both the simulator and the
robot program when a break condition is reached. Altering simulator time can also aid with visualising
actions that would otherwise occur too fast in reality. Without simulators these sorts of debug actions
are typically done by real-time congurable logging and post mission inspection of log les.
Accelerating simulation time also allows the execution of experiments that would otherwise be
difcult to run. An example is that of training a neural network or an evolutionary system. Once the
algorithms have been trained in simulation they require less verication and intervention before
deployment on the real robot.
Simulation time-induced failures
The alteration of time in the simulation environment, whether intentional as outlined previously,
as a side-effect of under-specied hardware or a by-product of the discrete time-stepping employed
can reveal a number of failure modes. When properly addressed, a signicantly more robust robotic
solution is developed.
These variations in time affect the independence of processes and computation nodes and reveal
any dependence of algorithms on clock timing. Care must be taken that the time reference provided
by the simulation and that used in the operational code is consistent. Furthermore, if computing
resources are scarce on the deployed platform, there arise issues surrounding slower and faster
than real-time simulation, whereby required computations may use all available resources and
unpredictable behaviour may result.
CASE STUDY SKID STEER LOADER UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE

This section discusses a few uses of simulation tools in the development of an autonomous skid steer
loader (modied Bobcat S185) displayed in Figure 1. This is a versatile and ubiquitous vehicle typically
deployed on construction sites. Its main dening characteristics are its compact size, ability to turn
in place and the positioning of the operator between the boom arms. The platform has signicant
operational safety risks induced by high turn rates, large actuation forces and high moving mass.
(A) (B)
FIG 1 - (A) Implementation of the bobcat simulator in OpenRave; (B) the real bobcat.
Sensor noise failure

During early platform development, a control system failure occurred and was found to be due to
harmonic noise on a velocity sensor. This manifested in the UGV drifting in position when commanded
to hold a static position. An increase in simulator delity was made by implementing a capped
random walk as noise to the velocity sensor. The addition of this type of noise to the simulated sensor
resulted in the simulated UGV exhibiting similar behaviour to the real platform. A simple station
hold test was written and the controller adjusted to account for the sensor noise. The existence of this
sensor noise and associated test has resulted in a system that allows for the identication of future
regression in this control functionality and allows for increased condence during control system
code re-factoring.
We have since extended this type of testing to include adjusting and increasing sensor noise levels
to identify when algorithms fail, and what level of sensing accuracy is required.
Sensor timing analysis

As part of the simulator development, a number of issues related to timing became apparent (similar
to those discussed in section timing). Figure 2 shows a comparison of the differences between various
sensor timestamps as reported by the system middleware. There is a signicant variation with some
interesting multi-modal distributions in the real UGVs reported timestamps. Those reported by the
simulator are much tighter in tolerance and closer to what we would expect (see the bi-modal and
tri-modal distributions of the scanning laser sensors (lmsLeft, lmsRight, Spin0) and the GPS sensor
(novatelGPSPos, novatelGPSVel)). We know that such sensors report very regular information, yet
this is lost between the sensor and the provision of a timestamp in our middleware. The source of
the error is unclear as other sensor data (eg the inertial solution (novatelINS) and control demands
(lllDemand)) is reported within a tight distribution. These timing issues may become critical in the
future and efforts are underway to understand such errors.
(A) (B)
FIG 2 - (A) Comparison of time deltas between updates for simulation; (B) the real unmanned ground vehicle.
Trajectory comparison
As part of the development of way-point following code, a reduced set of the UMBmark odometry
benchmark test (Borenstein and Feng, 1995) was performed via way-point execution (a bi-directional
square path). The results of this test are presented in Figure 3. The simulation environment was
used to develop the way-point code almost exclusively with only minor alterations following eld
FIG 3 - Comparison of the RTK-GPS antenna trajectories measured experimentally and in simulation
for a simple bi-directional square path, starting at the origin and moving north first.
testing. It can be seen that the four corner way-points are consistently reached both in simulation
and in the experimental data set. However the simulation lacks an appropriate level of delity in the
modelled terrain there are signicant altitude changes (0.5 m over the 6 m sides of the square)
and much higher roughness in the test area as opposed to the perfectly at and uniform surface of
the simulation. These non-uniformities in the experimental test sites surface perturb the controller
and result in the poor tracking performance. Efforts are under way to import point-cloud terrain
information into the simulation space.
Nonetheless, the simulation provides easy access to the true trajectory in all circumstances.
Typically, for eld deployment, RTK GPS information is the closest (position error around 0.05 m) to
the true trajectory available and in some test sites, even this measure is unreliable due to multi-path
effects. This testing has also prompted the development of a trajectory following controller rather
than the simple way-point code currently employed, wherein access to the true trajectory is highly
benecial to the controllers development.
Earth moving demonstration
The rst signicant project milestone for this UGV is the demonstration of a material moving task.
This task involves autonomously moving material from one location to another and is executed in
both reality and the simulation environment. The simulation of earthen material is typically not
an implemented feature of robotics simulators, and whilst work on accurately modelling earthen
material in simulation for robotics has been conducted (Halbach, 2007; Cleary, 1998), we chose to
use a number of 0.1 m sided cubes as an approximate representation.
The authors believe that the use of the simulator signicantly reduced algorithm test and
development time as well as the required skill level to get a high-risk robotic platform conducting
useful tasks. We estimate development time to take a platform with open-loop, normalised control
inputs to demonstrable performance of an earth-moving task at under 900 hours. Development time
spent customising the simulation environment for this task (as opposed to learning and developing
the simulator itself) is estimated at a further 100 hours.
CONCLUSION
It has been argued that test-based development for mining robotics provides benets such as:
x tests allow for aggressive refactoring and experimental algorithms development without fear of
regression in functionality, and
x a higher condence in software system dependability is achievable.
Simulation is an enabling technology for test-based development. The key issues in using simulation
for algorithm development and testing for mining robotics applications are:
x Fidelity: does the simulation provide sufcient delity to be a useful tool (especially for testing)?
Is the architecture of the simulation engine appropriately designed for the developers to alter the
simulation delity as required, not only to change the representation of the physical world, but
also to implement a common low-level interface for code and maximise the intersection of code
that is run on the simulator and the real robot. This exibility allows the users to better examine
edge-case scenarios and the robustness of developed code.
x Timing: does the code framework, including the simulator, middleware and extensible code
elements have sufcient capability to handle non-real-time execution (if desired, or otherwise is
there sufcient resourcing available to guarantee real-time execution)? Running faster or slower
than real-time and the ability to pause both program execution and the simulation environment
concurrently provides a powerful debugging tool and a means to articially increase a learning or
evolutionary robots exposure to experience.
We have presented some results from a basic exemplar of the test-based development methodologys
use in the mining robotics domain. Further to the results presented, the authors believe that the
approach leads to accelerated progress and that the test structure gives a more robust development
process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Leon Stepan and Hendrik Erckens, who provided much of the
control system development and eld trials for the UGV work presented; the Engineering Support
team from the CSIRO Autonomous Systems Lab, who provided the automation interfaces to the
bobcat platform and the CSIROs Minerals Down Under Flagship, who provided funding for the
work presented.
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Grabowski, R J, Weatherly, R M, Bolling, R H, Seidel, D, Shadid, M and Jones, A, 2006. MITRE meteor: An
off-road autonomous vehicle for DARPAs grand challenge, Journal of Field Robotics, 23(9):811-835.
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Kanehiro, F, Hirukawa, H and Kajita, S, 2004. OpenHRP: Open architecture humanoid robotics platform,
International Journal of Robotics Research, 23(2):155-165.
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in Proceedings International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp 2149-2154 (IEEE/RSJ:
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Coal Bed Boundary Detection using Infrared
Technology for Longwall Shearer Automation
K Nienhaus1, F Mavroudis2 and M Warcholik3
ABSTRACT
Automation in underground mining enhances safety and leads to economic efciency. In the past
many efforts have been made on the automation of longwall shearer operation. With respect to the
ultimate goal of automation, ie self controlled operation, coal bed boundary detection is one of the
key problems. For longwall human labor is necessary in order to detect the exact position of the
coal seam to be excavated. The authors present a sensor concept based on infrared technology and
pattern recognition which will solve this problem. The very harsh underground conditions set high
demands on the implemented sensors. The combination of infrared sensors and powerful processing
algorithms is part of the innovative concept for automation of the new Eickhoff Bergbautechnik
GmbH SL 750 shearer loader. The multi-sensor automation system EiControlPlus which is designed for
the complete detection of the machine environment lls in the gap in the coal-excavation automation
by building a recognition system that turns the shearer loader into an intelligent machine which is
capable of detecting the correct position of the seam to be excavated and thus enables human-free
coal mining.
INTRODUCTION
Automation in underground mining is promoted for two basic reasons: improved safety and economic
efciency. The prospect of improved safety is invaluable, where the ultimate goal is to utilise as
little human labour as possible to avoid injuries and exposing miners to hazardous, noisy and dusty
environment. Besides evaluation and exploration of the deposit, extraction is an essential key to
the economic success of the mining operations. Improved economic efciency has also come to the
fore, as automation streamlines and speeds up the whole excavation process. The automation of
individual processes in recent decades led to a considerable increase in productivity and has improved
the utilisation of the capacity of the individual components. Intelligent assistant systems and multi-
sensor concepts relieve and assist machine operators and thus contribute to greater safety in the
mining industry. The difcult ambient conditions in underground mining impose high requirements
on the sensors used. Rough environmental conditions in combination with very high mechanical
demands restrict the use of the sensors underground and may lead to complete failures. Regarding the
ultimate goal of automation, ie self controlled operation, coal bed boundary detection is one of the key
problems. The EiControlPlus shearer loader automation system equipped with Department for Mining
and Metallurgical Machinerys (IMRs) infrared technology as the key component could be the solution
to safe and highly efcient underground coal mining.
COAL INTERFACE DETECTION

Currently the control systems of shearer loaders working underground are conducted manually.
The operator controls the shearer and all its functions and navigates the mining machine three-
dimensionally through the deposit to be extracted. The operator must detect the geological and
geometrical environment with his eyes and ears (cutting sound). Dust, rock fall, humidity, noise
and constraints to the operators vision are all reasons for miners demands for far-reaching
automation of the mining process. The accuracy of deposit boundary detection relies to a great
1. Professor, Head of the Department, Department for Mining and Metallurgical Machinery (IMR), RWTH-Aachen University, Wuellnerstrasse 2, Aachen 52056, Germany.
Email: knienhaus@imr.rwth-aachen.de
2. Research Engineer, Department for Mining and Metallurgical Machinery (IMR), RWTH-Aachen University, Wuellnerstrasse 2, Aachen 52056, Germany. Email: fmavroudis@imr.rwth-aachen.de
3. Research Engineer, Department for Mining and Metallurgical Machinery (IMR), RWTH-Aachen University, Wuellnerstrasse 2, Aachen 52056, Germany. Email: mawarcholik@imr.rwth-aachen.de
K NIENHAUS, F MAVROUDIS AND M WARCHOLIK
extend on the ability of the operator. Corresponding imprecision often leads to low recovery rates.
In addition, the extraction of waste rock leads to more wear of cutting tools and increased operating
and processing costs.
In the past many efforts have been made to develop sensors for coal-roof/coal-oor interface
detection. In principle two approaches were used, namely surface recognition and depth thickness
recognition. Whereas the former requires periodical cutting in the host rock to follow the coal/
rock boundary, the latter is used to predict remaining coal thickness. Consequently, for extracting a
complete coal seam the surface recognition approach is suited whereas for leaving a dened thickness
of coal at the roof or oor usually requires a depth thickness approach. The following gure gives an
overview of the coal interface detection (CID) sensors that were found to be more promising as well
as an assignment to the CID approach (Vinzelberg and Nienhaus, 2006).
By using characteristic layers (such as clay layers) in the seam the rst approach can be used
without cutting in the roof/oor repeatedly. Characteristic rock-layers can be traced inside the seam
along the longwall and can be used as guidance for the shearers path. Material characterisation
and detection of interlayering rock layers and geological strictures can be achieved with the aid of
infrared and vibration measurement. The infrared sensors can detect textures of the mineral to be
mined and utilise these textures as a control aid for the shearer loader.
BASICS OF INFRARED TECHNOLOGY AND SENSOR SYSTEMS

There are certain environmental challenges that the infrared sensors that capture the images of the
coal face have to endure, the most important being the necessity to withstand enormous vibrations
and capture clear images through dust.
Infrared radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes various types of radiation
The infrared range comprises the range of wavelengths from 0.78 mm to 1 mm. A distinction is
made between the near, middle and far range. Figure 1 shows the electromagnetic spectrum and the
subdivision of the infrared range into ranges of different wavelengths (Figure 2).
FIG 1 - Overview of coal-interface detection systems.
In infrared measurement the radiation of the measured object is measured without contact via a sensor
which is sensitive to infrared radiation. The distance between the object to be measured and the sensor
is of vital importance. The radiation must penetrate the atmosphere before it impinges on the sensor and
can be absorbed and scattered. The atmospheric effects may falsify the measurements by attenuation of
the transmitted radiation and reduction of the contrast by the natural radiation of the atmosphere.
COAL BED BOUNDARY DETECTION USING INFRARED TECHNOLOGY FOR LONGWALL SHEARER AUTOMATION
FIG 2 - Classification of the infrared ranges in the electromagnetic spectrum.
According to Wiens displacement law the maximum radiation from matter with ambient
temperature is in the wavelength range from 8.0 to 12.0 mm. To counteract the atmospheric effects
infrared sensors are used in the wavelength range from 7.5 to 14 mm. The high transmission degree
of the atmosphere in the long wave range and the resulting large distance from the visible light
also produce the clear advantages of infrared sensors in comparison to the sensors working in the
visible area (Figure 3).

FIG 3 - Emissions of the sun and earth in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The infrared sensors used offer high resistance to rough ambient conditions such as dust, haze, rain,
fumes and air humidity. In addition images can be taken in poor weather and visibility conditions.
Images can also be taken at night because the infrared image is generated by the reception of thermal
radiation.
The development of infrared sensors in the last years has led to the production of optical devises
without mechanical scanners and complex cooling systems and with extremely compact dimensions.
This enables the use of sensors in areas with high oscillations and guaranties that the sensors are
robust even in conditions where vibrations and shocks occur. The modern sensors can endure shocks
of up to 70 g and vibration of up to 4.3 g and also have small dimensions (35 37 49 mm) and low
weight of <120 g (Mavroudis and Nienhaus, 2009) (Figure 4).
MULTI-SENSOR CONCEPT EICONTROLPLUS

With the automated Eickhoff SL 750 EiControlPlus shearer loader it is possible for the rst time to
realise the idea of an automatic longwall operation where men can focus on monitoring functions in
secure and unencumbered surroundings.
Based on EiControl and EicontrolSB systems, the automation concept for the Eickhoff SL750 shearer
loader generation is intended to enable automatic face control by virtue of its innovative and high
FIG 4 - Infrared sensors.
performing sensor concept EiControlPlus. The fast-paced progress in robust sensor technology and
high performing industrial computers laid the foundation for the development of this multi-sensor
concept towards unmanned automated longwalling (Mavroudis and Nienhaus, 2009).
With its multi-sensor concept, EiControlPlus is designed for complete detection of the machine
environment. The essential components comprise coal interface detection by infrared and impact
sound sensors, collision avoidance by microwave radar technology and remote monitoring of the
working area through video monitoring. The novel automation concept thus brings about a much
better exploitation of the deposits as well as increased productivity and machine availability while
reducing the operators strain at the same time. The new modules of the EiControlPlus automation
system are presently put into operation on another SL 750 shearer loader of Ruhrkohle AG (RAG).
The next Figure 5 gives an overview of the sensors on the automated shearer loader (Eickhoff
Bergbautechnik GmbH, 2009; Mavroudis, Nienhaus and Hackelboerger, 2009) (Figure 5).
FIG 5 - Sensors on the automated SL750 shearer loader.
After investigations into the numerous, theoretically possible methods, coal interface following is
now achieved by characterising the material types and detecting the interlying layer boundaries with
the aid of infrared technology. The infrared sensors detect rock textures of the mineral to be mined
and utilise these textures as a control aid. Variations in the seam section are detected by visually
identifying the coal and the surrounding rock with simultaneous information on the exact shearer
position so that the cutter drums of the shearer loader can be optimally positioned at the interface.
Concurrently with the online coal interface following and the control data generation, a longwall
image of the entire coalface to be mined is generated from the infrared photographs and provides
further important geological data. Figure 6 shows details of the entire longwall image from different
collieries (Figure 6).
Both the permanently changing environment due to the face advance and the mostly unfavourable
geological conditions present considerable challenges for interface detection. Besides automated
detection, another tool has been developed that is designed for manual coal interface following by
an operator working on a surface computer. This tool enables the operator to perform coal interface
FIG 6 - Infrared longwall image.
following under extremely poor geological conditions and to verify mine surveying and geological data
at the same time. The sequence control can then be transferred as a le to the control computer and
activated. The infrared sensor technology has already withstood the rough conditions, underground
after trials lasting several months and demonstrated adequate availability for automatic operation.
At the same time the general reliability and robustness of the evaluation algorithm was tested, which
was also a considerable challenge in the development of the algorithm.
The coal interface detection system is supplemented by impact sound sensors. These sensors
measure and evaluate the different and easily distinguishable noises when cutting into coal or
surrounding rock, by way of the generated impact sound. The evaluation of the impact sound signals
provides important information on the cutting process of the cutter drums and corrects the boundary
layer data dened through the IR measurements. Besides coal interface detection, the impact sound
detection also provides an instrument for the analysis and monitoring of gearboxes (Mavroudis,
Nienhaus and Hackelboerger, 2009).
Collision avoidance is another central topic of the EiControlPlus shearer loader automation system.
The anti-collision facility incorporating the latest state of the art microwave radar technology is
robust against dust and spray mist and successfully detects obstacles within the tramming range of
the shearer loader. The radar based environment detection system co-developed by indurad GmbH
(spin-off of RWTH-Aachens IMR Group) expands the anti-collision requirements to the entire
longwall area and performs two separate functions which are: To follow the shield canopies to avoid
collisions of the ranging arm and cutter drum with the shield canopies or with extremely low-lying
obstacles on the one hand and to monitor the conveyor loading height to prevent blockage of the
coal clearance cross-section and to warn early of collisions of the shearer loader with lumps on the
conveyor on the other. Figure 7 shows the automated shearer loader with the EiControlPlus modules in
operation at the Auguste Victoria Colliery (RAG) in Marl Germany (Eickhoff Bergbautechnik GmbH,
2009; Mavroudis, Nienhaus and Hackelboerger, 2009) (Figure 7).
IMAGE ANALYSIS SYSTEM

When looking at the algorithms used to process the taken infrared images, there are also several
challenges which have to be taken care of in order to receive a stable, fast and reliable detection of
the interlaying rock formations.
One of the main problems when developing a set of methods is the limitation of time and computational
power combined with a large set of information. This set of information consists of several thousand images
with over 80.000 pixels each. And because of other operations of the industrial personal computer (IPC)
during the cutting process, the data analysis is done during the ten minutes in which the shearer
loader prepares the next cut. This means, that possible algorithms must process a single image in
under 0.1 s while being precise enough to produce a reliable detection.
FIG 7 - Automated shearer loader at the Auguste Victoria Colliery (RAG) in Marl, Germany.
Another problem is the geological diversity of longwalls. The texture of a face can be seen as unique
and the rock layer which should be detected has the same property. It can differ in temperature
(leading to a difference in brightness on the image), size and location, making it difcult to implement
an algorithm which is gerenalised enough to not be dependent on a specic geological situation.
Looking at the standard methods of image and signal processing, the used algorithms are either
not fast enough or are unable to deal with the uniqueness of longwall textures. On the other hand,
when searching for algorithms in the domain of pattern recognition, there is also the same problem
in speed, but the methods also showed a major weakness to a typical underground situation. This
situation is excavated material, which is almost always present in pictures because of the location of
the cameras relatively close to the bottom. This material has the property to occur unpredictable with
random body structures.
To solve this problem, this automation system divides the rock layer detection to look at the aspect
from two different perspectives. First of all, the excavated material is detected by measuring the
horizontal parallax. Afterwards the parts of the images containing only excavated material are
removed from further detection. This leads to a massive improvement in precision while shortening
the computational time needed for further processing by reducing the amount of pixels which are
processed in the second part of the detection (Mavroudis et al, 2010).
In the second step, the remaining part of the image is then processed by different image convolution
matrices to reduce noise and to extract features. The result is afterwards binarised and then given to
a line detection algorithm which is parameterised to further reduce computational complexity.
CONCLUSION
The automation system developed by Eickhoff Bergbautechnik GmbH, the RWTH-Aachen
University (IMR department) and indurad GmbH provides the basis for an assistance system for the
machine operator who, however, need not necessarily accompany the machine but instead controls
and competently monitors from a remote control centre the production process with a minimum
of routine commands. The highest yardsticks by which longwall technology is to be measured are
reliability in a very harsh environment and productivity. Therefore, it is true that the visions of an
autonomous shearer have become near to reality but the immediate future in all highly productive
longwall countries belongs to the assistance systems. Future research in this area can be directed
into combining multiple sources of sensor information and inertia navigation systems to make the
automation process even more robust and reliable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their appreciation to Eickhoff Bergbautechnik GmbH for their
cooperation and support.
REFERENCES
Eickhoff Bergbautechnik GmbH, 2009. SL 750 EiControlPlus, press release.
Mavroudis, F and Nienhaus, K, 2009. Automation and process monitoring in the mining industry by infrared
sensor technology and industrial image processing, Glckauf Mining Reporter, 1:28-32.
Mavroudis, F, Nienhaus, K and Hackelboerger, B, 2009. Shearer loader automation and communication
A guide to the autonomous shearer loader, High Performance Mining, Aachen International Mining
Symposia (AIMS), ISBN 978-3-86797-041-9, pp 269-283.
Mavroudis, F, Warcholik, M, Nalbantov and Smirnov, E, 2010. Image mining for intelligent autonomous
coal mining, in Proceedings Tenth Industrial Conference on Data Mining ICDM, Berlin.
Vinzelberg, G and Nienhaus, K, 2006. Coal Bed Boundary Detection by Laserinduced Fluorescence for
Longwall Shearer Automation, High Performance Mining, Aachen International Mining Symposia
(AIMS), Aachen, ISBN 3-7739-6018-2, pp 259-269.
Advances in Continuous Miner Automation
J C Ralston1, M T Dunn2, C Hargrave2 and D C Reid2
ABSTRACT
This paper describes new research and development currently being undertaken by the CSIRO
Mining Technology Group to advance the automation capability of continuous mining equipment
in underground coal mining operations. The effort aims at increasing the overall rate of roadway
development as well as providing a safer working environment for underground mine personnel.
The activity is funded by the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) and forms
part of a larger underground development initiative, known as the CM2010 project. The CM2010
is managed via a consortium of leading mining industry representatives through the Roadway
Development Task Group (RDTG). The Task Group has identied three research areas requiring new
development in order to realise the CM2010 project objectives: self-guiding (autonomous) continuous
miner capability, an enhanced drilling and bolting process and improved mesh deployment. CSIROs
primary role in the CM2010 project is in the development of the autonomous continuous miner
guidance capability.
This paper reports on outcomes achieved at the half-way mark of a three year research and
development project. It details the technical developments undertaken towards demonstration of
a self-steering capability to enable a continuous miner to automatically maintain a given mining
heading and mining horizon under production conditions. A primary technical requirement of this
automated functionality is the means to accurately determine both the location and orientation
of the continuous miner in real-time. Testing and validation of the guidance system solution has
been implemented using a combination of an instrumentation-grade inertial navigation unit and
radar technology. Comprehensive performance evaluations have been conducted using a scale skid-
steer mobility platform known as the Phoenix. Results achieved to the present stage of the project
are highly promising and suggest that an automated self-steering functionality is achievable under
production conditions. This new outcome represents an important move towards implementing a
step change improvement for future underground roadway development.
INTRODUCTION
The role of continuous miners
Continuous miners (CM) full an essential development and production role in the underground
coal mining industry. They are used extensively in the underground development process to create
the access roadways necessary for longwall mining operations. They are also deployed as the primary
production machine for both room and pillar and highwall mining. A typical CM is shown in
Figure 1 and consists of a track mounted machine with a rotating toothed cutting drum (typically
4 m to 5 m wide with 1 m diameter) mounted at the front of the vehicle via an articulated boom. The
boom is hydraulically operated to raise and lower the height of the drum to effect the extraction of coal.
In the case of roadway development, coal mined by the CM is discharged from the rear of the miner
via a boom conveyor into a mobile shuttle car for transportation to a xed loading facility, typically a
coal bunker or conveyor belt. Drilling and bolting rigs mounted vertically and horizontally on the body
of the CM are used for the installation of long bolts, which provide structural support for the exposed
roof and rib coal and substrate material. In the case of roadway development, some of the miners
functionality can be manually controlled by an operator using close-proximity radio remote control.
Current roadway development issues
The underground coal industry has identied some key issues associated with current practice and
utilisation of CMs and in particular, their role in the roadway development process. For example,
1. Mining Technology Research Group, CSIRO, 1 Technology Court, Pullenvale Qld 4070. Email: jonathon.Ralston@csiro.au
2. Mining Technology Research Group, CSIRO, 1 Technology Court, Pullenvale Qld 4070.
J C RALSTON et al
FIG 1 - A typical continuous miner for underground coal applications. The miners functions are remotely
controlled by an operator using close-proximity radio control technology (image courtesy of Joy Mining Machinery).
advances in longwall coal mine production in Australia have introduced new pressures on roadway
development rates. Unlike recent step-change technology improvements for longwall operations,
roadway development improvements have generally been limited and incremental in nature.
Roadway development is therefore emerging as the limiting factor in the coal production supply
chain, negatively impacting underlying protability.
There are also signicant concerns regarding the health and safety of CM operators. Operators
are exposed to operational hazards including inhalation of respiratory dust, sustained vibration
from equipment, impact noise, spalling roadway ribs (coal tunnel walls) and deterioration of joints
from repetitive turning and lifting tasks. The roadway development process also requires personnel
to operate in close proximity to roadway ribs, which presents pinch point and crush hazards. In
Australia, collisions involving underground CM personnel and shuttle cars have also led to fatalities
over the last decade.
New continuous miners research
In an attempt to promote solutions to these important issues, the Australian Coal Association
Research Program (ACARP) founded the Roadway Development Task Group (RDTG) in 2005. The
Group is a consortium of leading representatives drawn from the broader underground coal mining
community, served with a charter to address the roadway productivity and safety issues through
targeted research and development projects. The RDTG carried out a review of existing processes
and technologies and proposed a path forward for roadway development based on the introduction
of new systems that could deliver the necessary improvements in production for both existing and
new generation longwall operations. Based on this review, an extended research and development
program was initiated which gained broad industry support. This initiative was formalised as the
ACARP CM2010 roadway development strategy in 2008. The two key components of the CM2010
strategy involve:
1. new enabling technologies; and
2. improved processes, including organisational and technical competencies, to leverage the
advantages of the new technologies.
From these two components, four technology categories were identied as they related to roadway
development:
1. remotely supervised, self-guided continuous miner;
2. automated installation of roof and rib support;
ADVANCES IN CONTINUOUS MINER AUTOMATION
3. continuous haulage; and

4. integrated panel services.
The development of the rst of these technologies, namely a remotely supervised, self-guided
continuous miner, is the focus of this paper. This task involves research effort to demonstrate a
new self-steering capability to enable a CM to maintain automatically a desired mining heading
(azimuth) and mining horizon (pitch) within a potentially variable seam horizon. Output from this
guidance system is also needed to provide the real-time CM location and orientation that is necessary
to support autonomous bolting systems and haulage equipment.
An outline of the paper is as follows. First, a review of current CM capabilities is presented
which includes major previous efforts to achieve automated CM functionality. The CM guidance
solution proposed by the CSIRO is given next, including details of development and performance
characterisation. Finally a discussion is entered into in which future work is described.
CONTINUOUS MINER'S TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

This section overviews strategies and techniques for the automation of continuous miner machines,
drawing on information from historical and current state-of-the-art mining processes, as well as
from leading research in the mining automation domain.
State of the art
The current state-of-the-art in the eld of CMs is well represented by the eet of machines produced
by Joy, Bucyrus and Sandvik. Some of the more recent model types include the Joy 12 CM and Joy
14 CM. These have the option of chassis-mounted roof drill units (miner-bolter conguration)
Bucyrus 25 M, 30 M and 30 MB (Miner/Bolter) and the Sandvik ABM25 (MB600). There has been a
general trend in continuous miner development by major manufacturers towards:
x more powerful machinery, some with multiple motors;
x improved drive control and monitoring systems; and
x integration of rib/roof bolting functionality.
Whilst great improvements have been made in the speed, power and reliability of continuous miner
machinery and several subsystems have elements of automation, full automation of a CM remains
an unrealised goal in the mining industry. Progress to date with regard to automation have instead
focused on the substantial improvements made in the reliability and function of the control systems
used to operate the continuous miner.
General automation strategies
As a continuum of automation capability exists from local manual control through to full automation,
the following discrete levels have been dened to provide context for comparison:
x local manual control: operator has line-of-sight + hard-wired drive control;
x remote control: operator has line-of-sight + direct drive control typically via a portable console
interface;
x teleoperation: operator has no line-of-sight; feedback for control is via video and/or some level of
computer graphical interface, operator retains direct control via a network interface; and
x full automation: operator has no line-of-sight and is effectively a supervisor of the process; direct
machine control is autonomous, with the operator issuing commands at the task level.
Local manual control
Local manual control of the CM (from on-board the machine itself) is available on most mining
machines, however it is typically used less frequently than some form of remote control.
Remote control
It is common for aspects of the CMs functionality to be controllable remotely by an operator in close-
proximity via a radio (RF) control. This technology allows the operator to be positioned at a short
distance from the immediate CM working area, but still requires the operator to maintain visual
(line-of-sight) reference to the mining process. This level of direct manual control over radio remote
is considered the standard operating procedure for CM activities.
It is worth noting that whilst the former United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) targeting
development of a fully automated longwall system, most researchers began with the concept of
J C RALSTON et al
either remote control or teleoperation as a rst step towards automation (de Kock, Kononov and
Oberholzer, 1994; Kwitowski et al, 1989; Kwitowski, Mayercheck and Brautigam, 1992; Ntuen and
Eui, 1994; Palowitch and Broussard, 1977).
Teleoperation
Non-line-of-sight CM remote control (ie teleoperation, not autonomous operation) has been
successfully deployed in highwall coal mining. In this case, the CM is operated from an above-
ground control room so that there are no personnel located near the CM or underground at all.
However, the operational context and goals of highwall mining are distinctly different to that of
roadway development (drives are essentially temporary affairs, with no roof support installed, unlike
the semi-permanent roadways of a longwall mine). As a result, remote control approaches used for
highwall production are not directly applicable to roadway development.
Automation
The difcult task of true automation for mine machinery has also attracted much research attention
(Czemplik, Jablonski and Klempous, 1999; Devy et al, 1993; Duff, Roberts and Corke, 2003;
Einicke et al, 2008; Evans, 1985; Hu, 2008; Hua-Ling et al, 2005; Huang and Quintero, 1990;
Huang and Wnstedt, 1998; Hulbert, 1997; Plessmann, 1993; Konyukh, 2007; Marshall, Murphy
and Daneshmend, 2008; Orteu, Catalina and Devy, 1992; Palowitch and Broussard, 1977; Petty,
Billingsley and Tran-Cong, 1997; Plessmann, Dickhaus and Scheytt, 1993; Reid, 2008; Roberts et al,
2000; Scheding et al, 1999; Scheding et al, 1997b; Shaffer and Stentz, 1992; Sommer, 1992; Thring,
1983; Yeen Shien, Farmer and Hart, 1999; Zimmerman, 1982). There are some key differences
between the full automation scenario and the strategies for teleoperation mentioned above. One of
the most signicant from the point of view of the CM2010 project is the choice between an onboard
inertial-based position sensor (Errington, Daku and Prugger, 2007; Hawkins, Daku and Prugger,
2005; Madhavan et al, 1999; Sammarco, 1988; Sammarco, 1992; Scheding et al, 1997a; Scheding
et al, 1999; Scheding et al, 1997b) corrected by an external reference sensor and a purely reactive
navigation approach (Anderson, 1989; Banta, Nutter and Xia, 1992; Duff, Roberts and Corke, 2003;
Kennedy and Foster, 2006; Larsson, Broxvall and Safotti, 2008a; Larsson, Broxvall and Safotti,
2008b; Roberts, Duff and Corke, 2002; Roberts et al, 2000) using, for example, laser scanners to
avoid hitting the walls of the underground tunnel. The latter approach, while simpler and perhaps
superior for automation tasks such as LHD haulage routes, is not readily adaptable to the automation
of a continuous miner. When the machinery to be automated is actually creating the tunnel then the
reactive model does not have a reliable datum for navigation.
One attempt to overcome this guidance problem was developed by the USBM and involved the use
of a mobile control structure effectively a mobile roof support with specially designed reference
points to provide an unchanging reference point for the navigation of the continuous miner
whilst cutting (Anderson, 1989). This approach may seem clumsy, but the intention of the system
was to combine advanced roof support, bolting and ventilation functions into the support unit,
thus managing some of the other aspects of the automation problem for the continuous miner.
Of course, to ensure correct alignment of the system, the mobile control structure would require
precision placement combined with accurate knowledge of its own attitude (yaw, pitch, roll).
These requirements inevitably lead back to the necessity of having accurate real-time location and
orientation information for any successful autonomous system.
A NEW CONTINUOUS MINERS AUTOMATED GUIDANCE SOLUTION

In order to provide a solution to the CM automated guidance scenario, it is critical that a reliable
means to measure both the position and orientation in real-time is achieved. From an automation
perspective, the major parameters of interest centre on CM localisation as shown in Figure 2. Over
the past 15 years, several serious attempts have been made to provide a solution to the CM localisation
problem. However, each approach has encountered major drawbacks arising from inappropriate
technology selection, equipment survivability issues and inherent sensor performance issues. For
example, both vision and laser based sensing frequently suffer sensor observation issues owing either
to direct obscuring of the sensor face by water or solids or to dust in the air. Previous CM localisation
methods using non-vision based sensing, ie inertial navigation, have largely failed due an inadequacy
of fundamental inertial system performance, ill-considered application of commercial technology
FIG 2 - Diagram showing the main position and orientation parameters of interest towards delivery of self-guided continuous miner functionality.
and/or adoption of a single-sensor strategy which does not cope with a wide range of operational
scenarios. These sensor technology issues impact negatively on basic positioning and navigation
system performance and also introduce an unrealistic maintenance expectation on personnel. These
particular approaches have failed to deliver a sustained production-level CM guidance system.
An aided inertial navigation solution
CSIRO drew upon successes achieved in the 1990s relating to the practical application of inertial
navigation technology for highwall mining guidance. In this scenario, an aided inertial navigation
system was successfully used to provide an accurate CM guidance system. However, the highwall
solution utilised the highly constrained motion of the CM, which was rigidly coupled to an extended
conveyor train. For the roadway development scenario, the CM is considerably less constrained and
so a more sophisticated solution would be required. It was clear that a multi-sensor approach would
be needed in order to more closely meet the CM localisation performance specication. This use of
an external reference is necessary to provide a means to stabilise the inertial measurement solution.
Instrumentation-grade inertial navigation systems generally provide a means to supply an external
input (eg velocity) to aid the navigation performance. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an aided
inertial navigation solution.
Odometry aided localisation solutions are commonly used with vehicle-mounted inertial navigation
systems by utilising odometry signals from the vehicles wheels. This approach works well when the
vehicle is travelling on surfaces where wheel slip is minimal. On rough terrain wheel slip will quickly
degrade the sensor performance to the point that it is worse than without any odometry aiding.
This means that there is a need for a sensor capable of measuring vehicle motion relative to the
surrounding environment without a physical linkage from the vehicle to the surface.
It was therefore concluded that a reliable CM guidance solution would require identication of:
x a high accuracy inertial navigation system, and
x a reliable non-contact odometry source.
The review and selection process for these components that was undertaken to provide an accurate,
reliable and practical solution for CM automation is described below.
Inertial navigation system selection
A careful analysis of the required CM heading accuracy specication indicated that an Inertial
Navigation Unit (INU) with at least 1.0 million spec (angular precision to within 0.001 radians)
performance would be required. This requirement placed the choice of inertial navigation system
into the realm of instrumentation grade inertial systems. A number of high performance INUs were
J C RALSTON et al
Position
Gyros
Inertial
Navigation
Accels Solution Orientation
IMU
INS
Aiding
Process
Environment
Odometry
FIG 3 - Block diagram showing fused inertial and odometry aiding source for reliable position and orientation sensing.
evaluated to determine the maximum achievable pointing performance. See Figure 4, which shows
a typical instrumentation grade inertial navigation system. A calibrated Vernier testing table with
a repeatable heading precision of 0.00083 degrees was used to systematically evaluate each INU.
This provided the means to select the unit with best overall heading performance.
FIG 4 - Instrumentation grade inertial navigation systems (note the stapler for size reference).
Continuous miners scale development platform

To replicate the less-constrained motion of the CM in a convenient manner, all performance
evaluations used a skid-steer, battery powered, eight-wheeled vehicle that was originally deployed
as a teleoperated vehicle (then known as the Numbat) to convey information on the condition of
underground mines during hazardous situations. This vehicle has a base measuring 2.5 1.65 m. It is
designed to traverse rough terrain and operate in extremely harsh underground mining environments.
The Numbat was developed in the early 1990s by CSIRO following the Moura mine explosion in 1986
and has had a long and illustrious career of mine exploration and as a platform for sensor technology
and algorithm development (Hainsworth and Stacey, 1993; Ralston and Hainsworth, 1997). The
refurbished and modied vehicle, dubbed Phoenix and shown in Figure 5, includes radio remote
control, on board data processing and HMI computers, payload support electronics and enhanced
safety features. The Phoenix provides an ideal means to develop and validate realistic solutions for
CM guidance at this stage of the project.
FIG 5 - The skid-steered Phoenix mobility platform used for guidance system performance evaluations.
It should be noted that skid-steer vehicles, such as the Phoenix and most continuous miners,
provide unique challenges for motion control and odometry measurement. The difculties arise due
to the fact that the wheels have xed alignment to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. In previous
research on skid steer vehicles, the localisation problem has been handled in several ways. One
method is to use a model to account for the errors in odometry caused by wheel slip (Petrov et al,
2000; Wang et al, 2009; Yu et al, 2009). Another method is to apply adaptive control techniques to
minimise the error between requested heading and actual heading (Mandow et al, 2007). With the
test platform ready for deployment, the selection of an appropriate odometry source became the next
project challenge.
Sensors for odometry aiding
An exhaustive review was undertaken to identify possible non-contact odometry sensors and their
associated processing methods. Three approaches emerged as potential candidates for non-contact
odometry and so were selected for a Phoenix-based evaluation. These approaches were:
x two-dimensional (2D) laser range scanner using a scan-matching technique,
x visual odometry using a stereo camera, and
x low (ground) speed Doppler radar with dynamic range gating.
Two-dimensional laser range scanner with scan matching
Vehicle motion can be inferred using a sequence of range scans acquired from a 2D laser scanner
mounted on the vehicle with its scan plane oriented horizontally. As the sensor moves through the
J C RALSTON et al
environment, the three degree of freedom transformation between successive scans can be estimated
using the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. ICP is an algorithm used to align two point clouds by
rst computing correspondences between each point in one point cloud to its closest point in the other,
then nding the transformation that minimises the error between the matched point pairs. Many
variations of ICP exist, typically differing in terms of point selection, correspondence computation,
outlier rejection, error metric and minimisation technique (Rusinkiewicz and Levoy, 2001; Salvi et
al, 2007). The scan-matching algorithm reported in this paper is based on the implementation of
Bosse and Zlot (2008).
An Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) maintains a sequence of laser scans which together constitute a
local map. The EKF state consists of the poses at which each scan measurement is taken together with
their associated covariance. When a new scan is added, the EKF state is augmented by adding the
new pose. The EKF is updated based on the current velocity estimate and corrected by ICP matching
the new scan with the six previous scans as well as a set of scans taken at xed distances along the
trajectory. The ICP variant utilises a point-to-plane error function and a robust statistical framework
to mitigate the effect of outliers (eg from moving objects and non-overlapping portions of the scans).
Once the EKF state contains 50 poses, a new local map is started in order to limit computational load
and to allow for map-matching to detect loop closures in a simultaneous localisation and mapping
(SLAM) context, a feature that was not required for the present application. The SLAM framework
has been successfully applied to large-scale applications resulting in accurate map building while
driving hundreds of kilometres on city streets using only 2D laser range sensors as input (Bosse and
Zlot, 2009).
Phoenix testing consisted of a SICK LMS 200 scanning laser mounted with the scan plane horizontal
and the centre line oriented towards the left side of the vehicle. The scanner collects 361 range points at
37.5 Hz within a 180 eld of view and a maximum range of 8 m (technically, there are two interleaved
scans taken at 75 Hz for which our algorithm compensates by adjusting the timestamps). The range
accuracy of the scanner is stated by the manufacturer as 10 15 mm. In the current conguration,
the laser scan-matching system provides 2D position, heading and corresponding velocity estimates
in real-time. In order to measure the motion along other degrees of freedom, additional 2D laser
sensors can be mounted with the scan-plane oriented vertically.
Visual odometry using stereo camera
Stereo visual odometry is a technique for estimating the physical displacement between successive
image pairs taken by a stereo camera. The general principle of the process is to rst identify easily
locatable points (features) in one image pair and to then compute their camera-relative 3D location.
The same process is then applied to a second image pair and the detected features in the two frames
are compared to nd inter-frame correspondences. From these correspondences and the camera-
relative geometry of the features the displacement of the two image pairs can be determined. The
process is then repeated for the next image pair. There are many different algorithms for stereo
visual odometry with various approaches to feature detection, outlier rejection and pose estimation,
(Agrawal and Konolige, 2006; Howard, 2008; Nister, Narpditsky and Bergen, 2006) and there
has been a very prominent application of the concept on the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity
(Maimone, Cheng and Matthies, 2007).
Many demonstrations of visual odometry use forward-looking stereo cameras so that the camera
images can be used for other purposes such as obstacle detection. On a continuous miner, forward-
looking cameras would only image the cutting face, so side-looking cameras which image the tunnel
wall are preferable. The consequences of using a side-looking stereo pair are that the camera axis
is perpendicular to the vehicles movement and that the camera is imaging the tunnel wall from
a comparatively short distance (0.5 - 2.0 m depending on where the camera is mounted on the
vehicle). These conditions are very favourable for stereo visual odometry. The short distance to the
surface limits the error in the stereo triangulation calculation which increases with range. Secondly,
measurement of motion perpendicular to the camera axis is more accurate than motion parallel, as
the latter relies on changes in the stereo disparity.
The visual odometry method evaluated here is part of the code-base of algorithms developed by
Willow Garage3. This algorithm (Konolige et al, 2009) uses a large number of features (around
3. ROS package. See http://www.ros.org
300 per frame) with very fast feature detection and description methods (Calonder et al, 2009). To
reduce the build-up of error, the algorithm tracks the camera position relative to a key-frame rather
than the immediately prior image pair. The key-frame is replaced by a new image pair when the
current key-frame is no longer in range. The camera used in these tests is a Point Grey Bumblebee
X2 stereo camera with a 12 cm baseline which recorded 640 480 images at 15 Hz. The images were
undistorted and rectied using the factory calibrated parameters and Point Grey software.
Low ground-speed radar
A Doppler radar makes use of the Doppler Effect to measure the change of phase between an original
(beamed) signal and the reection. Variations in frequency of the signal are directly related to the
relative velocities. Standard Doppler radars lose signicant accuracy at velocities below 1 m/s, so a
custom Doppler radar sensor, designed and built to provide highly accurate velocity measurements
at low platform speeds, was used. The custom designed radar sensor is highly accurate and can
provide reliable sensing at velocities as low as 2 cm/s. Figure 6 shows a close up picture of the custom
low-speed Doppler radar.
FIG 6 - Close up view of the custom build low-speed radar. The horn antenna is seen on the bottom right hand side of the image.
This sensor is mounted on the Phoenix forward-facing, angled at 30 from the horizontal. The
footprint of the radar is approximately 10, so the material texture of the ground being sensed is
relatively unimportant, as the radar signal is effectively averaged over the radar footprint. This
device will eventually be mounted underneath the miner so as to gain a clear view of the mine oor.
Ground truth generation

An accurate tripod-mounted laser reference was used to provide ground truth for the evaluations.
The stationary laser dynamically detected and registered the position of the Phoenix and provided
accurate location information. A cost-minimisation algorithm was used to t a model of the vehicle
to the point cloud laser data, providing accurate vehicle localisation. Figure 7 shows the testing
conguration.
Evaluation of the non-contact odometry methods
Odometry performance assessments were conducted by the CSIRO at the Queensland Centre for
Advanced Technology (QCAT) in Pullenvale (Latitude 27.527076, Longitude 152.911416), in an
area where there is a high natural retaining wall that has been sprayed with shotcrete. Figure 8 shows
the testing area.
All the data acquired was independently post-processed off-line. The stereo vision and Doppler
radar data was recorded under the Windows operating system on one PC mounted on the Phoenix,
J C RALSTON et al
(A) (B)
FIG 7 - (A) The tripod-mounted laser used to provide ground truth for evaluations; (b) typical ground truth data display acquired during an evaluation.
FIG 8 - Aerial view of the CSIRO QCAT facility showing where the non-contact odometry evaluation was conducted (Image Copyright: Google Earth).
while the LMS data was recorded under Linux on a second PC. The ground truth laser data was
recorded under Windows on a separate stationary laptop. Each computer was time synchronised
before evaluations were undertaken.
The data sets from each sensor were converted into time-stamped les with the pose information
reported by each sensor. These data sets were then merged and the data streams linearly interpolated
on each 100 ms boundary, thus allowing direct comparison of results.
Some post-processing of the non-contact sensor data methods was required to ensure correct time
synchronisation. For example, the Doppler radar exhibited pure time lag in the data delivery, owing
to the communications interface used and also to the units internal ltering mechanisms. The stereo
matching algorithms similarly displayed a need for a ne calibration factors prior to data fusion.
Four separate navigation performance evaluations runs are indicated here. Runs 1 and 2 were
straight runs (no heading deviation) with the Phoenix operated by remote control from the start
point, travelling approximately 40 m ahead and then returning to the starting location. Runs 3 and 4
were executed over the basic zone, but with heading changes (approximately sinusoidal) incorporated
into the trial.
Discussion of odometry results
Figure 9 illustrates a comparison of each odometry method with the ground truth laser for runs two
(straight trajectory) and four (sinusoidal). For the cases of the laser scan-matcher and stereo visual
odometry the trajectories (three and 6 of freedom respectively) were converted into an integrated
1D displacement estimate. This form enables a more direct comparison with the Doppler radar
measurements and is also more representative of the information that would be supplied as INS-
aiding data. We observe that all three odometry methods are accurate to well within one per cent of
distance travelled. The stereo and laser based odometry solutions consistently perform with lower
error than the Doppler radar.
FIG 9 - Box plots of the trajectory errors for each odometry method computed at trajectory segment lengths of 1 m, 4 m, 7 m and 10 m. The whiskers on each
box plot are located at the three and 97 percentiles, the box covers the inter-quartile range and the mid-line is the median. Each set of three box plots are
spread close to the corresponding segment length value for visualisation purposes.
We also analysed the odometry errors by observing the error distribution over selected trajectory
segment lengths (Figure 9). To compute these distributions, we move a sliding window of the given
segment length over the full trajectory and compute the error over that window, assuming the
trajectories are aligned at the start of the window; the accumulated error at the end of the window
can then be compared. This technique allows us to estimate the growth of displacement errors
experienced at various scales of distance travelled. It is noted in Figure 9 that there is generally
only a small amount of drift, more so for the radar than the other sensors. Laser scan-matching
and stereo visual odometry have tighter error distributions, with the bulk of the distributions in the
range of a few millimetres of error for the straight runs. The errors observed for the non-straight
runs are higher, with more inconsistency present in the radars estimates as seen with the upward
J C RALSTON et al
and widening trend from Run 3. The growth of error for the laser and stereo methods is quite low in
all four runs; the laser performed slightly better in most cases, except over short distances where the
stereo camera error is marginally smaller (this has also been conrmed for segment lengths shorter
than 1 m).
The preliminary results obtained indicated that odometry sensing method was accurate to within
<1 per cent of distance travelled over 80 m runs. Given these results, we expect that any of these
sensors would increase accuracy if used as the odometry/velocity input to an INU. The laser and
camera sensors provide extra degrees of freedom on their odometry measurements that we are not
utilising here and further provide more information in the form of images and maps that might be
useful for teleoperation or other purposes.
AIDED NAVIGATION EVALUATION

The next stage of evaluation combined the inertial sensor with the non-contact odometry aiding to
evaluate the complete guidance system performance. The odometry sensors previously discussed
were used as the aiding input for a instrumentation grade INU. A tightly coupled INU aiding
localisation solution was compared with known locations measured using a high accuracy trailing
wheel on a 250 m surveyed concrete path.
Testing configuration
Odometry aided navigation system evaluations were conducted on each of the three test tracks. This
section details the results of testing on the off-road track, as this is the hardest path to navigate and
it provides the most accurate representation of the conditions that the INU is likely to experience in
underground trials. A high accuracy GPS system was used to survey the coordinates of the start and
end points used during this trial. These points, marked Start and End, are shown in Figure 10.
At the start of each trial the Phoenix was aligned on the start marker and the INU system was
initialised with the absolute coordinates of the start location. The Phoenix was then instructed
to navigate to the end coordinates using only the INU to provide vehicle position and attitude
information for the onboard control system.
Off-road, off-track testing was also conducted using a similar approach to the off-road, on-track
testing procedure. This off-track testing provided pitch and cross grade as well as a rougher surface
conditions. Figure 11 shows a typical off-track path run (blue trail) as executed by the Phoenix during
one of the tests. As the Phoenix was travelling towards the end position, manual control is temporarily
restored in order to deliberately drive the Phoenix off track in order to simulate a cut through. After
a period of time the Phoenix is manually reversed back onto the path and Automatic control is re-
engaged; the Phoenix then pulls back on line and traverses the rest of the path towards the end point.
As the Phoenix approached the end point, the vehicle automatically terminates the track.
Results and discussion

Extensive Phoenix-based testing of the guidance system has been undertaken. Development and
analysis undertaken during this project so far has concentrated on demonstrating the best possible
odometry-aided inertial navigation solution, drawing on the best available technologies.
As indicated in Figure 12, the aided inertial localisation solution is generally in close agreement
with the true vehicle position. As described above, the large excursion in the centre of the graph is
due to the deliberate manual override which was introduced to highlight the recovery mechanism
of the control algorithms. These early results provide information and condence to industry that a
reliable solution can be implemented.
Some position errors are present, which remain a topic of further investigation and optimisation.
Long-term stability of the solution also needs to be carefully analysed.
Whilst these evaluations have proved very efcacious, they have been conducted in an open, above
ground context and this cannot fully capture the range of conditions typically encountered in an
underground mining environment (excessive rough terrain, equipment vibrations, power outages).
These practical issues will be directly explored and understood during the second half of the CM2010
project. It should be noted however that the results overall provide clear indications regarding the
achievable performance of the proposed solution for CM guidance.
FIG 10 - Aerial view of CSIROs test track where the CM guidance solution was evaluated.
FIG 11 - Aerial view showing where the off-track guidance system performance evaluations were conducted.
J C RALSTON et al
FIG 12 - Plots showing the difference (error) between the ground truth measurements and each odometry method over the course of runs two
(straight trajectory) and four (non-straight).
Open communications and interoperability

This project is committed to an open communication architecture to support and promote
interoperability in the mining industry. The benet of an industry-wide specication for component
communication ensures that equipment manufactured by any complying provider will work in
a known way. This project has adopted the Ethernet/IP (EIP) communications standards, the
4
specications of which are freely available for download .
SUMMARY
CSIRO has undertaken to develop a new navigation and control system for a continuous miner. The
system aims to provide a remotely supervised, self-steering capability for enhancing the roadway
development process. The automation component will also provide the real-time machine position
and operational information that is essential for the successful integration of support and haulage
components associated with the CM2010 project. A key technical requirement in achieving this
objective involved the development of a novel inertial-aided navigation solution in order to provide
accurate real-time machine location. Extensive practical evaluations of the prototype navigation
system were performed on a scale skid-steer platform, which showed very encouraging navigation
performance. Future activities will focus on improving the underlying guidance system performance,
the design of CM control algorithms for horizontal and vertical steering and the further development
of open communications for equipment interoperability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The CSIRO Mining Technology Group would like to kindly acknowledge ACARP for funding this
project (ACARP C18023) and the members of the Roadway Development Task Group (RDTG) for
their expertise and insight.
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Path Planning and Position Control for Autonomous
Loading Operation by Wheel Loader
S Sarata1 and N Koyachi2
ABSTRACT
Authors have been conducting research on autonomous loading operation by wheel loader.
Autonomous loading cycles has been demonstrated with real size experimental model. In V shape
loading operation, travelling between scooping point and dumping point is dominant factor for cycle
time of the operation. The positions of scooping point and dumping point changes with advancing
the operation. In the developed system, path planning is performed at the beginning of every cycle.
The path is formed by combination of curve and straight path elements. During travelling on the
planned path, path following control is applied on the loader to keep position error in narrow range.
Positioning of the loader is based on dead reckoning with correction by global positioning system
(GPS) data. In a process of path following control, control value for steering angle is determined
based on position error in lateral direction. Proposed method of path planning and position control
is installed and tested in the real size experimental model. The detail and results will be described in
the paper.
INTRODUCTION
Wheel loader is a one of the major loading machines used in loading operation at surface mining.
The most common loading method is V shape loading with combination of dump trucks as shown in
Figure 1. The authors have been conducting development of autonomous system of loading operation
by wheel loader (Sarata, 2006). The developed system was installed and demonstrated on real sized
experimental model AMA UMI no 4 (here after 4) shown in Figure 2. The base machine of 4
is commercially available normal machine. The length and weight of the base machine are about 7 m
and 7 t respectively. The hydraulic system is arranged and several sensors are installed for computer
control. GPS system is equipped for positioning. Stereo-vision system and Laser Range Finder (LRF)
Dump Truck
Pile
a
b
Loader

FIG 1 - V shape loading method.
1. Senior Researcher, National Institute for Advancing Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Japan. Email: sarata-s@aist.go.jp
2. Senior Researcher, National Institute for Advancing Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Japan.
S SARATA AND N KOYACHI

FIG 2 - Experimental model YAMAZUMI no 4.
are equipped for detection of objects such as pile of ore and dump trucks in working environment.
All of motion and planning is controlled and executed by on board computers. 4 is complete self
contained system.
Scooping points and loading points are changed cycle by cycle of loading operation. In the developed
system, path planning system updates the planned path at the beginning of travelling on each V shape
path. The loader travels on the planned path with small error by applying path following control.
PATH PLANNING
V shape path has to be arranged based on location of the scooping point and the loading point in
every cycle. In the developed path planning method, the path is formed with combination of path
elements straight line element and curve element. Procedure of the path planning is very simple
and the processing takes short time. A planned path is formed within one servo cycle (10 m/sec)
prior to beginning of travelling on the path. In the path planning, Symmetrical Pseudo-Clothoid
(SPC) is dened as the curve elements (Sarata, 2006). Pseudo-Clothoid is modied clothoid from
characteristics of articulate steering mechanism. Two Pseudo-Clothoid joined in reverse directions
makes SPC. Given that the curvature is zero at both ends of SPC, the curve can be connected to
straight lines or other SPC with continuously.
V shape path consists of a curve part and a straight part. A curve part consists of straight line, SPC
and straight line in this order. As the path following control has higher accuracy in the straight part,
the curve part is used in leaving wing and the straight part is used in approach wing of V shape path
as shown in Figure 3. Procedure of path planning is as follows. If the initial point Pi and the nal
point Pf are given, draw a straight line from the nal point. This straight line makes the approach
wing of the V shape path. To generate the leaving wing, the most important factor is angle difference
of direction at the initial and nal points. At the rst, draw Pseudo-Clothoid which gives turn by
half of the angle between directions at the initial and nal points. Then same Pseudo-Clothoid is
connected in reverse direction. This SPC is shifted to the approach wing by adding a straight line
from the initial point.
The procedure of the path planning is very simple and the planned path is represented by four
parameters length of two straight lines, length of SPC and steering angler rate in Pseudo-Clothoid
part. The planned path is converted into a set of desired values for the path following control system.
The set includes series of position (x, y) and heading direction, steering angle and steering angler
velocity at interval of 1 cm on the path. The length of the path in typical experiment of 4 is about
40 m. Each series includes several thousand points. The set of desired values is generated by
numerical calculation by kinematics model of 4.
PATH PLANNING AND POSITION CONTROL FOR AUTONOMOUS LOADING OPERATION BY WHEEL LOADER
FIG 3 - Procedure of path planning.
PATH FOLLOWING CONTROL

Tasks and control mode
One cycle of loading operation consists of four tasks scooping, travelling, loading and travelling to
the next scooping. By repetition of this cycle, loading operation is completed. The tasks are connected
to the next tasks continuously in time and space, however, the beginning and ending point of each
tasks are changed cycle by cycle. In scooping task, the beginning point Pb is placed on a straight
line from the scooping point on the edge of the pile. The distance between the beginning point and
the scooping point is set at 2 m. During travel on this distance, the bucket is lowed and touches the
ground for effective scooping. Scooping task is ended at Pe when the bucket reaches the setting height
as shown in Figure 4. The ending point of scooping task is the beginning point of the travelling task
to the loading. In the same manner, the ending point of the travelling task is the beginning point of
the loading task. The beginning point of the loading task is set on the straight line from the loading
point. The distance between the beginning point and the vessel of the dump truck is set at 2.5 m for
rising up the bucket to overlap on the vessel. Loading task is ended when the bucket makes dumping
the material to the vessel and returns to upright position. This point is the beginning point of next
travelling task to the scooping. At the beginning point of travelling, path planning is executed and
planned path is updated (Figure 5).
FIG 4 - Scooping task.
Each task has corresponding control mode for path following. However, in scooping task, path following
control is not applied. During scooping motion, huge resistance force is applied on the bucket from material
of the pile so the steering angle is kept zero by control system during scooping motion. In travelling and
loading task, path following control is applied. Details are described in following subsections.
section 2: advance over the vessel
section 3:
dump
sectin 1:
arm
lift up the bucket and
approach to the truck
vessel of the
pile pile truck
dump
truck
bucket
FIG 5 - Loading task.
Positioning by dead reckoning and global positioning system

Basic concept of path following control system is feed forward and feedback control. The feed forward
term is based on planned path. The feedback term is based on error of position and direction of the
loader. Present position and direction of the loader are obtained by dead reckoning based on wheel
velocity and steering angle. Dead reckoning accumulates errors of the position and the direction. The
accumulated error is corrected by GPS positioning system. Two RTK GPS systems are installed to
measure the position and the direction on 4. The received GPS data at time t in the system time
of the loader is the data on the position at time t - t. t is the delay time of GPS system processing.
The delay time is almost ten times as large as the servo cycle (10 m/sec), and it is not constant. To
cancel the accumulated error of the dead reckoning, following update method is applied as shown in
Figure 6. The position and direction are initialised prior to the operation during the loader is stopping.
Let G0 be GPS data received in the initial position at time 0. The position and direction at time 0, P0 is
set at G0. The position and direction based on dead reckoning are calculated out in every servo cycle
and stored in memory as series P P1, P , , Pn . When GPS data Gt at time t is obtained, adjustment
on the dead reckoning is decided based on the difference between Gt and the nearest point Pn-i in
the series P. The adjustment includes transfer element as well as rotational element. By applying
the adjustment to the rest of points Pn-i+1, ,Pn in series of P, the series of estimated position with
compensation P Pn-i+1 , ,Pn are obtained. After the adjustment, the position and direction based
on dead reckoning are added to series P in every servo cycle until next GPS data Gt+1 is obtained. By
the adjustment based on Gt+1 , series P is converted to series P through the same procedure.
Virtual centre point
In path following control in travelling task, representative position of the loader is virtual centre
point of the loader. Steering mechanism of wheel loader is articulate steering. The body of wheel
G P m"
t +1
P ' Pn+1'
n P m'
Pm -j '
Pn-i+1'
Gt
Pn
P
Pn-in-i +1
G0 P2
P1
P
0
FIG 6 - Correction of dead reckoning by global positioning system.
loader is separated into front and rear part connected by the centre pin. The front and rear parts can
move around the centre pin. Steering angle is controlled by steering cylinder attached between the
front and rear part. The placement of the front and rear axles at equal distances L from the centre
pin. The virtual centre of body V is dened as the intersection point of the line CP and the circle of
curvature as shown in Figure 7.

FIG 7 - Virtual centre of wheel loader.
Where
CP is line through centre of curvature C and centre pin of the loader P
R is radius of curvature
The representative position of the loader is set at the virtual centre and the direction vector
is set at tangent vector of circle of curvature at V.
Path following control in travelling task
The control values for travelling of wheel loader are wheel revolution and steering. Practically,
ne control of wheel revolution is difcult because responsibility of the engine is not so fast and
acceleration of the body is limited. Velocity control is not related directly in the path following
control. Beside the path following control, the velocity is controlled based on simple velocity prole
constant velocity and acceleration and deceleration at both ends of the path. Desired values for the
path following control consist of position x and y, heading , steering angle and steering angular
velocity . These values are described in travel distance s but time t. The desired values for control
system at time t are selected by travel distance s at time t. The steering angular velocity is arranged
to be proportional to the velocity of the loader at time t. The arranged angular velocity makes same
shape of path under any velocity of the loader.
Diagram of the control system is shown in Figure 8. Feed-forward and feedback control are
integrated into control value for the steering.
The feedback term is decided by the error between dead reckoning corrected by GPS data and
the planned path. In the path following control, only the error in lateral direction is used. The
error in the lateral direction is shown as y in Figure 9. The origin of loader coordinate system
is fixed on the virtual centre and x-axis coincides to heading direction. is the desired position
in the planned path at the same travelling distance of the present position of the virtual centre V
is the desired position in planned path in the next servo timing. The error in the lateral
direction y is used as position error for the feedback term of the control system as shown in
Figure 8.
Path following control in loading task
In loading task, the loader comes close to the dump truck and the bucket is overlapped on the vessel
of the dump truck. More precise position control of the bucket is required. For this reason, controlled
point of the loader is not the virtual centre point but the centre of tip of the bucket. The position error
yB is dened as error of the tip of the bucket in the lateral direction as in Figure 10. The desired
vehicle
velocity Improved dead reckoning
deviation with GPS time delay
compensation,(xG, yG, G)
steering angle
planned path - Kgpsy
position(x, y), GPS
+ (y,) K gps
heading Wheel
desired steering + + str Loader
angle rate ref
+ + +
Kd
-
steering angle rate
deviation
steering angle Steering
encoder
desired steering -
Kp
angle ref +
Wheel
path length encoder
FIG 8 - Diagram of control system.
yv
(feedback
planned path y term to
Q steering)
Q xv
V
actual path
FIG 9 - Position error in travelling task.
bucket
B 'TB
V V B
wheel loader 'yB L
S
loading approach line

dumping poi nt
dump truck

FIG 10 - Position error in loading task.
values of the steering angle and the steering angular velocity are set at 0. In the loading task, position
control of the tip of the bucket has the highest priority with arrangement of gains in the control
system.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The developed control system is installed and tested on 4. Figure 11 shows the path of the virtual
centre of 4 at experiment including four cycles of scooping and loading. The actual and planned
path is drawn. They are very close except in area near the switch back point of V shape. In curve part,
control error is accumulated and the maximum position error is more than 0.5 m. On the other hand,
position error at the end of the path is very small. In straight part of the path, the path following
control system shows very good performance. It is effective to use straight path in the approach wing
of V shape path. Figure 12 shows the path of the tip of bucket in loading task. Cross represents the
FIG 11 - Experimental result (path of virtual centre of YZ4).

FIG 12 - Experimental result (path of tip of bucket in loading task).
loading point on the vessel. Four loading points are distributed for even loading of material on the
vessel. The tip of bucket reaches the loading point with small position error.
CONCLUSIONS
Path planning and path following control method are developed and tested on real sized experimental
loader 4. Position error in travelling on the path is very small. The path following control works
very well especially in straight part. It is effective to use straight path in the approach wing of V shape
path however this structure of the path requires longer path compare to those by human operators.
Path planning generate shorter path is one of the problems to be solved in future work.
REFERENCES
Sarata, S, Koyachi, N, Tsubouchi, T, Osumi, H, Kurisu, M and Sugawara, K, 2006. Development of autonomous
system for loading operation by wheel loader, in Proceedings International Symposium on Automation
and Robotics in Construction, pp 466-471 (IAARC Tokyo).
A Non-Linear Programming Model for Open Pit Mine
Equipment Selection
A Aghajani Bazzazi1, M Osanloo2 and B Karimi3
ABSTRACT
In mining industries, materials loading and handling costs represent a signicant component of the
total (capital and operation) costs. A variety of methods have been applied in surface mine equipment
selection in order to select the suitable loading and haulage system with the lowest total cost. The
optimal size and number of equipment calculation are very important task for mining engineering
because loading and haulage equipment are major proportion of open pit mining cost. Capital and
operating cost are considered in objective function with respect to interest rate, insurance and tax
in non-linear form. Shovel and truck annual productivity constraint, eet matching constraint and
number of truck per shovel constraint are incorporated in this optimisation problem with continuous
variables. This formulation will yield total cost minimisation per hour and good accuracy compared
to previous methods.
INTRODUCTION
Equipment selection is one of the most important aspects of open pit design. Mining costs are
mainly affected by the number and capacity of equipment. Equipment selection for open-pit mines
is denitely a major decision which will impact greatly the economic viability of an operation. The
purpose of equipment selection is to select optimum size and number of equipment with minimum
cost (Osanloo, 2007).
Loading and haulage cost are major proportion of open pit mining costs. Truck haulage costs are a
substantial proportion typically some 38 per cent compared with 15 per cent for drill and blast and
12 per cent for truck loading, see Figure 1 (Gregory, 2003).
A review of relevant literature indicated that operational research optimisation techniques currently
in use have serious limitations. These techniques lacked exibility and often were invalidated by their
inability to cope with a large number of variables, constraints and uncertainty, which are a natural
part of the process of removing overburden and ore extraction (Jayawardane and Harris, 1990).
Typicalopenpitminingcostbreakdown
Drilling
5%
Management& other
supervision 12% Blasting Drilling
6% 10%
Blasting
Loading Loading
Ancillary 12%
Haulaging
equipment
17% Ancillaryequipment
Management&supervision
other
Haulaging
38%
FIG 1 - Typical open pit mining costs by activity (Gregory, 2003).
1. PhD Student, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email: a_aghajani@aut.ac.ir
2. Professor, Department of Mining and Metallurgy Engineering, Amirkabir University of technology, Tehran, Iran. Email:morteza.osanloo@gmail.com
3. Associate Professor, Department of industrial Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email: B.Karimi@aut.ac.ir
A AGHAJANI BAZZAZI, M OSANLOO AND B KARIMI
The solution for the equipment selection problem has its own history. A fundamental concept is
presented in the investigations of Singhal (1986) and Singhal and Fytas (1986). These investigations
place a strong emphasis on the formulation of technological and geomechanical criteria of the
production equipment selection that have to meet the specic requirements of the mining method
used and geomechanical status of rock masses. A thorough analysis of the operating costs of the
equipment utilisation is done as a nalisation of the selection procedure.
The next stage of the problem solution is characterised by investigations dedicated to the role of
the economic factors in equipment selection. A result of these investigations is the development of
the life cycle cost (LCC) analysis (Rao, Reddy and Sathaiah, 1989). The analysis provides a well-
grounded approach to the equipment selection problem. It is based on the total costs distribution
over useful life that overcomes the disadvantage of the analysis of the purchase costs as the only
economic criterion of the equipment selection. Investigations in this direction were also pursued
by Hrebar (1990) who developed an approach to dragline selection procedure in strip mining.
Original elements of his approach are undoubtedly the implementation of production rate bench
geometry relationship, which plays an important role in the methodology of equipment selection.
The selection procedure uses discounted cash ows analysis to account for the time distribution of
the capital and operating costs of the equipment. A shortcoming of the approach lies in the absence
of a mathematical optimisation technique, which could provide a scientically grounded optimal
solution for the equipment selection problem.
The economic factors are also well investigated by Bozorgebrahimi et al (2003) with regard to the
selection of trucks. Investigations based on the implementation of optimisation techniques are made
by few researchers. Usually linear programming and mixed-integer programming techniques for
developing optimisation models of equipment selection were used (Maitra et al, 1994 Reznichenko
and Valuev, 1994 Cebecoy, Gozen and ahsi, 1995).
Various mathematical techniques are also used in seeking solution such as the genetic algorithm
(Haidar and Naoum, 1995 inchun and oudi, 2004), knowledge-expert systems (Bandopadhyay
and Venkatasubramanian, 1987 Ganguli and Bandopadhyay, 2002, Denby and Schoeld 1990) and
decision-making techniques (Denby, Clarke and Schoeld, 1990 Samanta, Sarkar and Mukherjee,
2002 Bascetin, 2004 Bandopadhay, 1987 Aghajani, Osanloo and Soltanmohammadi, 2008
Aghajani, Osanloo and Karimi, 2009).
The paper offers a mathematical model of the loading and haulage equipment selection in open pit
mines that is developed as a non-linear programming problem. The model provides the equipment
selection optimisation as part of the production scheduling problem based on minimising cost. The
main objective of the study is to assist open pit mining company in the decision-making problem
for selecting the right size and number of equipment and compare their decision with the proposed
model outcome.
THE OPTIMISATION MODEL

This section involves the use of optimisation techniques to dene the size and number of the
equipment eet that would produce the minimum total cost of the operation. To process this sort
of problem, it needs to be presented synthetically, which involves deriving a set of input parameters
required to generate a set of desired outcomes.
OBJECTIVE FUNCTION
Objective function is a function of the numeric variable that needs to be optimised. In this case,
minimising the total cost of owning and operating the various types of equipment that operating
in the mine is objective function. It is a function of the number of equipment to be utilised and
their cost. In this optimisation problem, we want to optimise four independent variables (number
of shovel (x1), shovel capacity(x2), number of truck(x3) and truck capacity(x4)). For this purpose, at
rst the relation between shovel capacity and costs of owning shovel should be recognised. Based on
Table 1 and Figure 2, this relation between capital cost and shovel capacity is as
Ssh ( ) 1686.8(x2)2 + 192 273(x2) (1)
where
Ssh is the purchase price of hydraulic shovel
x2 denotes to shovel capacity
A NON-LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODEL FOR OPEN PIT MINE EQUIPMENT SELECTION
TABLE 1
Data of hydraulic shovel costs (CostMine, 2008).
Bucket capacity of hydraulic shovels Capital cost ($) Hourly operating costs ($/hour)
cubic meters) (US dollars, 2008) (US dollars, 2008)
2.3 604 000 70.05
3.4 679 000 89.66
4 824 000 95.95
5.2 969 000 92.47
5.3 739 000 115.25
5.7 994 000 118.82
6.3 819 000 129.63
7 1 262 000 136.41
8 1 648 000 206.92
8.4 1 55 3000 202.55
10 1 848 000 232.18
11 2 388 000 276.99
14 3 676 000 380.87
14.5 4 346 000 379.83
15 3 097 000 408.59
16.1 4 396 000 444.63
18.3 4 096 000 448.73
23 4 955 000 531.03
26 6 144 000 636.98
30.6 7 592 000 781.82
33.6 6 893 000 798.6
39.8 9 291 000 1035.12
42.8 12 887 000 1124.03
FIG 2 - Relation between capital cost and shovel bucket capacity.
It is notable that as mentioned before, we want to calculate unit ownership cost ( /hour) instead of
capital cost ( ) in objective function. The unit ownership cost is considered as a xed charge per hour
which the owner has to pay irrespective of operating conditions (Hartman and Mutmanski, 2002).
The unit ownership cost of excavation equipment has two components
1. depreciation component, and
2. interest component.
The simplest method for calculating the depreciation component (Dsh) is the straight-line formula
having the expression
D sh S sh - R sh (2)
#H
where
Rsh is salvage value of excavation equipment
N is useful life of excavation equipment in years
H is hours of service of excavation equipment per year
The interest component can be assessed by the average investment method. The average investment
method has two components one representing the wearing out of the equipment and another
representing the return of the money the company has tied up in the equipment while it is operating.
The method assumes straight line depreciation and a percentage of the annual average investment
to cover interest, taxes and insurance (Runge, 1998). The basic form of interest component (Ish) is
expressed as follows
S sh ^r + i + ph^^ + 1h /2h (3)
I sh
#H
where
i is the interest rate on capital of excavation
r is the insurance rate of excavation equipment
p is excavation equipment taxes
So the unit ownership cost per hour consists of the depreciation component and the interest
component, therefore it is expressed as
Co sh
Dsh + Ish (4)
Homogenous eet of loading-haulage equipment was assumed in this optimisation model and
therefore the total ownership cost per hour (Ctow(sh)) for loading equipment is
Ctow(sh) = x1 # cow(sh) (5)
where
x1 denotes to the number of shovel
Like as excavation equipment, depreciation component and interest component was considered
for unit ownership cost of haulage equipment (trucks). Based on Table 2 and Figure 3, the relation
between capital cost and truck capacity (x3) is as
Struck ( ) 14 914(x4) (6)
As mentioned before, homogenous eet was assumed and total ownership cost per hour (Ctow(truck))
for truck is
Ctow(truck) = x3 # cow(truck) = x3 # ` D (truck) + I (truck)j (7)
Hourly operating costs are considered variable and are directly related to daily use. They should
be applied to daily use requirements, regardless of ownership period. The operating costs assume
the equipment is working a full operating hour under average operating conditions. Overhaul part,
overhaul labour, maintenance part, maintenance labour, fuel power (diesel fuel, gasoline, electric
power and natural gas), lubrication, tires and wear part are major component of operating costs.
Repair labour cost, diesel fuel, gasoline, natural gas, electricity and lubricant cost are assumed 29.97
/h, 1.078 /l, 0.927 /l, 7.663 /gig joule, 0.073 per kWh and 3.482 /l, respectively (CostMine,
2008).
TABLE 2
Data of trucks, rear-dump and rigid frame costs (CostMine, 2008).
Trucks capacity (metric ton) Capital cost ($) Hourly operating costs ($/hour)
(US dollars, 2008) (US dollars, 2008)
31.7 472 000 50.65
36.3 619 000 65.32
36.3 617 000 65.27
40.8 637 000 67.64
59 1 017 000 91.75
54.4 798 000 86.87
52.6 829 000 87.67
63.5 851 000 98.79
77.1 1 212 000 119.27
77.1 1 191 000 122.01
90.7 1 128 000 139.45
90.7 1 329 000 137.21
99.8 1 305 000 166.77
154.2 1 882 000 180.01
136.1 2 052 000 206.46
154.2 2 434 000 241.91
190.5 2 774 000 276.53
181.4 2 115 000 296.53
217.7 3 051 000 360.27
254 5 102 000 430.72
290 3 550 000 444.96
327 4 103 000 527.41
327 5 634 000 563.6
FIG 3 - Relation between capital cost and truck capacity.
Total operating cost of shovels and trucks were illustrated in Tables 1 and 2. The relation between
shovel operating cost and bucket capacity (x2) is expressed as
sh
S ^ h 25.281 # ^ x2h (8)
where
S sh is the shovel operating cost
x2 is shovel capacity in cubic metres (Figure 4)
FIG 4 - Relation between operating cost and shovel bucket capacity.
The relation between number of shovel (x1), shovel capacity (x2) and operating cost is expressed
op(sh) ' (sh)
Ct = x1 # S x1 # 25.281 # x2 (9)
In similar manner, the relation between operating cost and truck capacity (x4) is expressed as
S'(truck)^ h 1.6043 # ^ x 4h (10)
where
S truck is the truck operating cost
x4 is truck capacity in metric ton (Figure 5)
FIG 5 - Relation between operating cost and truck capacity.
Therefore, capital cost for trucks eet in open pit mines can be calculated by
op(truck) '(truck)
Ct = x3 # S x3 # 1.6043 # x4 (11)
Consequently, objective function of this problem is expressed as

(loading - haulagee uipment) loading - haulagee uipment h
= min ^C +C (12)
op(shovel) op(truck)
Ctow(shovel) + Ct ow(truck)
+ Ct + Ct
x1 # c ow(sh) + x1 # S'(sh) + x3 # c ow(truck) + x3 # S'(truck)

sh sh sh
S ^r + i + ph^^ + 1h /2h o x # S'(sh)
x1 # e S - R + + 1
# H #H
truck truck
+ x3 # e S - Rtruck + S ^r + i + ph^^ + 1h /2h o x # S'(truck)
+ 3
#H #H
1686.8^ x2h2 + 192 273^ x2h - R sh 1686.8^ x2h2 + 192 273^ x2h^r + i + ph^^ + 1h /2h o
x1 # e +
#H #H
14 914^ x4h - Rtruck 14 914^ x4h^r + i + ph^^ + 1h /2h o + x # 1.6043 # ^ x4h
+ x1 # 25.281 # ^ x2h + x3 # e + 3
#H #H
Constraints
Shovel fleet annual productivity constraint
It is obvious that shovel eet annual productivity should be determined rather than the rate of mine
annual production. Therefore, shovel productivity constraint should be expressed as
e# 1# 2 #^ 00/T h # S # # # Bf # # Hs # c (13)
where
x1 is number of shovels
x2 is shovel bucket capacity in cubic metres
Tc is shovel cycle time in seconds
SF is a swing factor a correction for shovel cycle time to allow for variation in swing arc that
will be 1.0 if due allowance has been included in Tc otherwise SF for shovels can be estimated
from Table 3
TABLE 3
Correction factors for shovel cycle times (Osanloo, 2007).
Swing arc-degrees 45 50 60 90 100 130 180

Swing factor 1.26 1.16 1.07 1.00 0.88 0.77 0.7
A is available hours the part of scheduled hours when the shovel is mechanically and
electrically ready to operate
U is utilised hours or operating hours the part of the available hours that the shovel is actually
operating at expected productivity
Bf is bucket factor (ff/sw) a random variable that combines the effects of in situ density, swell
and volumetric ll factor
ff is bucket ll factor a variable that typically, for full bucket loads, can be expected to have
low dispersion (coefcient of variation of 1 or less) considered volumetrically
sw is swell factor a variable dependent on the inherent structural and geotechnical properties
PF is a propel factor ( 1) to allow for non-productive movement of the shovel to follow the
working face in the course of normal loading operations
Compared with rope shovels, hydraulic shovels have less reach so move more often but propel at
higher speed and do not require assistance with a trailing cable or cable bridge so a factor of 0.85 is
considered reasonable for all excavation equipment in open pit mines. Hs is scheduled hours the
annual hours the shovel is expected to operate at expected productivity is specic gravity and Pe is
annual productivity.
Original equipment manufacturers and equipment dealers generally provide average cycle times
for loading equipment items. Empirical values are tabulated for a range of digging conditions
(Table 4). Typically four levels of digging difculty are specied in empirical terms viz, easy, medium,
hard and very hard. Consequently, shovel cycle time is dependent to shovel capacity(x2). Relation
between shovel cycle time and shovel bucket capacity can be expressed as (Figure 6)
0
c 0 Easy digging (14)
0
c 0 Medium digging
0
c 0 medium - hard digging
0
c 0 Hard digging
TABLE 4
Loading shovel cycle time (sec).
Shovel capacity (metric ton) E M M-H H

3 18 23 29 33
4 20 25 30 34
5 21 26 30 34
5.5 21 26 31 35
6 22 27 32 36
8 23 28 32 37
9 24 29 33 38
11.5 26 30 35 40
15 27 32 37 42
19 29 34 40 45
35 30 36 29 33
E Easy digging, loose, free-running material; eg sand, small gravel

M Medium digging, partially consolidated material; eg, clayey gravel, packed earth, clay, anthracite, etc
M-H Medium-hard digging; eg, well blasted limestone, heavy wet clay, weaker ores, gravel with large boulders, etc
H Hard digging- materials that require heavy blasting and tough plastic clays; eg granite, strong limestone, Taconite, strong ores, etc
Fleet matching constraint

Fleet matching is generally treated deterministically in terms of expected (mean) performance values
for both loading equipment and trucks. The perfect match point is hypothetical. It is where truck trip
and loading times have an exact integer relationship. Based on literature and experts viewpoint,
shovel bucket capacity should be three to six times of truck capacity and therefore this constraint
should be expressed as
3 # c # x2 # x4 # 6 # c # x2 (15)
Moreover, the relation between numbers of shovels (x1) and trucks numbers is expressed as
4 # x1 # x3 # 8 # x1 (16)
FIG 6 - Relation between shovel capacity and shovel cycle time.
Number of trucks per shovel constraint

Trucks annual productivity should be determined rather than the rate of mine annual production.
Load and haul equipment selected for open pit mines, in fact for all mines, must satisfy the specic
needs of downstream facilities including practically constant production rate of mineral product.
Each truck has a productivity of
VT PL # 60 x4 # 60
(17)
TT TT
where
VT productivity per truck tonnes per hour (t/h)
PL or x4 truck payload in tonnes
TT truck trip time minutes
Truck trip times represent in terms of four time components
1. manoeuvre-and-spot (TS) for loading,
2. manoeuvre-and-dump (TD),
3. loading (TL), and
4. travel (TV).
Accumulation of the four components is commonly termed truck trip time.
Manoeuvre and spot time for large mining trucks are suggested as Usually between 0.4 to 0.7
minutes (Hays, 1990) or Typically between 0.6 to 0.8 minutes (Caterpillar, 2004). As TS times are
a relatively small proportion of truck trip time, certainly
10 per cent, errors in estimating this time
component are of small effect. Adoption of 0.7 or 0.75 minutes will be generally acceptable.
TD time consists of two parts
1. Raising and lowering the body, generally ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 minutes.
2. Manoeuvring time. A typical range of TD times for rear dumping mining trucks is 1.0 to 1.2 minutes
(Caterpillar, 2004).
Truck-loading time can be expressed in terms of bucket cycle times as
From truck perspective TL TF + (n-1). TC
where
n number of bucket cycles
TF time for dumping rst bucket load
The relation between travel time (TV) and haul distance (DH) can be expressed as (subscript
L loaded subscript E empty)
TVL DHL (18)

SAVL DHL + DHE
& TV
TVE DHE SAV
SAVL
where
TV travel time
DHL haul distance loaded
DHE haul distance empty
SAV average speed
If the shovel does not have experience of waiting time, simple algebraic manipulation between
numbers of truck per shovel yields
x4 Tc T T T
x3 $ TT TS + TL + TV + TD c # x2 # 60 + S + V + D (19)
x1 TS + TL TS + TL x4 Tc T
c # x2 # 60 + S
Trucks fleet annual productivity constraint

As mentioned before, productivity per truck tonnes per hour (t/h) can be calculated by Equation 17.
In similar manner with Hs, Ht is scheduled hours, ie the annual hours the truck is expected to operate
at expected productivity. It is notable that trucks eet annual productivity should be rather than the
rate of mine annual production. Therefore, trucks productivity constraint should be expressed as
P # # #^ 0 Th # # # # HT (
(20)
T ^ DHL + DHE h
P # # #e 0 e # c + TL + + TD oo # # # # HT
c# 0
Bench width constraint

Based on original equipment manufacturers catalogue, the relation between truck capacity and
maximum truck width can be found. In open pit mines, the minimum bench width must be four
times than truck width (Osanloo, 2007). Therefore, the relation between truck width and bench
width is expressed as (Figure 7 and Table 5)
4 # 1.526x40.305 # b
(21)
where
Wb is bench width
CASE STUDY
Anomaly two of Gol-e-Gohar iron ore mine of Iran contained 145 Mt material that included ore,
waste, over burden of 42, 43 and 60 Mt respectively. Annual production rate in this anomaly is
10 Mt and total over burden must be removed during six years. After over burden removal, 5 Mt
ore will be extracted with stripping ratio of 1 1. The mines life is 14 years. Hard digging condition
was considered for Tc calculation. Swell factor (sw) of haematite and magnetite is equal to 0.85
and bucket ll factor was assumed to 0.8 therefore bucket factor (Bf) is equal to 0.941 (0.8/0.85).
Scheduled hours for shovel were assumed to 3600 hours (two six-hour shifts in 300 days). A and
FIG 7 - Relation between truck capacity and truck width.
TABLE 5
Relation between truck capacity and truck width.
Type Company Capacity Operating width

797B CAT 363T 9.154 m
793F CAT 250T 8.295 m
797F CAT 400T 9.116 m
785C CAT 150T 6.640 m
789C CAT 177T 7.674 m
793F CAT 250T 8.295 m
793D CAT 218T 7.680 m
EH750-3 HITACHI 42.5T 4.840 m
EH1100-3 HITACHI 72.3T 4.980 m
EH1700-3 HITACHI 100T 6.250 m
3500ACII HITACHI 185T 7.850 m
EH5000ACII HITACHI 314T 8.670 m
T282B LIEBHERR 363T 9.52 m
HD325-7R KOMATSU 36.5T 4.760 m
HD405-7R KOMATSU 41T 4.760 m
HD785-7 KOMATSU 91T 6.485 m
HD1500-5 KOMATSU 149T 6.62 m
730E KOMATSU 183.7T 7.54 m
830E KOMATSU 222.3T 7.32 m
930E KOMATSU 290.9T 9.09 m
TR100 TEREX 100T 5.9 m
MT6300AC TEREX 400T 9.70 m
U were assumed to 0.9 and 0.85, respectively. 0.85 is considered for PF factor and specic gravity
is equal to 3.2 ton per cubic metres. Ts and TD was assumed to 0.75 and one minute. Average haul
distance between pit and crushing plant was assumed 2 km and average speed of trucks were
considered to 30 k/h and therefore eight minutes was calculated for travel time (T V). Scheduled
hours for trucks (H T) were assumed as same as shovels scheduled time. Eighteen metre bench
widths were calculated for this mine. Typical life of mining equipment was illustrated in
Table 6. As mentioned before, annual scheduled hours for shovel is 3600 hours in this mine
and also total scheduled hours for this mine is about 50 400 hours. The life of equipment that
will be used in this mine is equal to mines life therefore replacement time of equipment was
not considered in this optimisation problem.
TABLE 6
Typical operating life of mining equipment (Runge, 1998).
Number of hours
Item
Poor condition Average condition Good condition
Dozer 18 000 25 000 35 000
Grader 20 000 30 000 50 000
Large front-end-loader 20 000 30 000 45 000
Hydraulic excavator (small) 15 000 22 500 30 000
Hydraulic excavator (large) 20 000 30 000 45 000
Scraper 12 000 16 000 20 000
Truck (50 to 100 t) 20 000 30 000 42 000
Truck (large) 30 000 45 000 60 000
Rope shovel 60 000 80 000 100 000
Walking dragline 60 000 1 00 000 15 000
Salvage value of shovels and trucks equipment is assumed to 20 per cent of capital cost, interest
rate on capital of excavation and trucks is equal to 12 per cent, insurance rate of equipment was
assumed to two per cent and equipment taxes are considered to ve per cent in objective function.
The nal form of loading haulage equipment selection problem in Anomaly two of Gol-e-Gohar iron
mine is summarised in Equation 22.
0.8 # ^1686.8^ x2h2 + 192 273^ x2hh ^1686.8^ x2h2 + 192 273^ x2hh # ^0.12 + 0.02 + 0.05h # ^^14 + 1h /2h
min e x1 # e + oo
30 000 30 000
0.8 # ^14 914^ x4hh 14 914^ x4h # ^0.12 + 0.02 + 0.05h # ^^14 + 1h /2h
+ x1 # 25.281 # ^ x2h + x3 # c + m + x3 # 1.6043 # ^ x4h
30 000 30 000
subject to
10 000 000 # x1 # x2 # ^3600/26.92x20.145h # 1 # 0.9 # 0.85 # 0.941 # 0.85 # 3600 # 3.2
3 # 3.2 # x2 # x4 # 6 # 3.2 # x2
(22)
4 # x1 # x3 # 8 # x1
x4 # Tc + 0.75 + 8 + 1
x3 $ c # x2 60
x1 x4 # Tc + 0.75
c # x2 60
x4 26.92x20.145
10 000 000 # x3 # x4 # e60/ e # + 0.75 + 8 + 1 oo # 0.9 # 0.85 # 0.941 # 3600
3.2 # x2 60
4 # 1.526x40.305 # 18
For solving tness function, MATLAB R2008a software was used and after running this optimisation
problem, 5.6 shovels with 2 m3 and 44.7 trucks with 22 metric ton capacity were obtained. It is
obvious that number of shovels and truck must be round up as six shovels with two cubic metres
capacity and 45 trucks with 22 metric ton capacity. This was proposed for this open pit mine with
approximately 3200 per hour cost.
CONCLUSION
Equipment selection is one of the important aspects of mine planning and although the optimum
equipment selection for a mine is a complex decision, it can be broken down into a series of relatively
well-dened variables that are directly related to the general mine conditions.
In this paper we extend non-linear programming (NLP) with continuous variables to an open pit
mine loading-haulage equipment selection problem. The model integrates capital and operating cost
in objective function, shovel and truck annual productivity constraint, eet matching constraint and
number of truck per shovel constraint. This model was applied in Gol-e-Gohar mine and the result
was veried. Incorporation of annual production uncertainty and other goal function in this type of
optimisation problem are suggested for future research.
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open pit mines based on Fuzzy-Topsis method, Gospodarka Suro cami Mineralnymi-Mineral Resources
Management, 24(3) 87-102.
gha ani Ba a i, A, Osanloo, M and Karimi, B, 2009. Optimal open pit mining equipment selection using
fuzzy multiple attribute decision making approach, Archi es of Mining Sciences, 54(2) 301-320.
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Equipment Selection What is the Issue? What About
the Application of Simulation Packages?
M Campbell1
ABSTRACT
The selection of the mining eet can have as much of an effect on the efciency and effectiveness
of an operation as the mining method. This is not to say that inefciencies are only attributable to
inappropriate equipment selections, these aspects have many factors but are not the subject of this
paper.
This paper will give an overview of equipment selection processes that have been utilised to date. It
will also look at the increase in application of study programs/simulations from an aspect of accuracy,
as well as the importance of enabling the analysis of multiple sensitivity scenario planning. An aspect
that is increasingly important in project planning with commodity market movements.
Another aspect that is increasing in popularity is that of automation, what effect does this have on
equipment selection? What additional aspects need to be taken into consideration when assessing
Automation of equipment from the beginning of a project as well as introduction into an operating mine?
Once the selection process has been nalised and equipment implemented, how do we, as an
industry, close the loop through analysis of estimated versus actual equipment application?
INTRODUCTION
One challenging aspect of a mining project is how to choose the best piece of equipment to deliver the
best outcome. The capital investment in equipment has the ability to greatly affect the viability of a
project and for this reason it is appropriate that a signicant amount of prior analysis is undertaken
to determine the most appropriate equipment selection. There are also external factors that have a
signicant impact on the equipment selection including the overall mine design, for instance is it the
intention to have a generic eet for all aspects of the operation or will there be a requirement to have
specic eets of equipment for designated areas.
There is one consistent point that the industry can depend on inuencing equipment selection. That
is that the factors affecting these decisions will continually change and evolve. Regardless of whether
this is due to internal pressure associated with expectations of increased productivity, longer life
cycles and improved reliability, or external drivers from environmental and legislative requirements
from a safety or energy efciency perspective, change will take place.
EQUIPMENT SELECTION PROCESS A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The systems and processes used for the selection of equipment for mining projects have always
proven to be a passionate topic. Throughout history various methods and rules of thumb have been
developed and applied. With this in mind it can also be noted that some projects have experienced
situations where the selection process, has in itself, had an adverse affect.
The methods used have ranged from the relaxed, itll be right, through the judge from experience,
this is what we used before or over there they are using this the make do approach of what have you
got available, as well as the intensely analytical, rst principle analysis of equipment parameters.
Each process involves varying degrees of energy and time to achieve the desired outcome, that is, the
choice of a piece of equipment best suited for a given project.
Not mentioned above is the method of personal preference and this is a major factor that must be
taken into account in our industry and in such situations it is not impossible to have individuals that
1. MAusIMM, Applications Engineer, Mining Offering Development, Sandvik Mining and Construction, 15 Magnet Road, Canning Vale WA 6155. Email: malcolm.campbell@sandvik.com
M CAMPBELL
cannot agree on the most appropriate solution purely because of what they prefer from a personal
experience.
Over the last 30 years, a trend has developed of attempting to gain exible equipment. This means
one piece of equipment that is capable of undertaking multiple tasks/applications, or applying one
size of equipment across the entire equipment solution. This does have advantages as far as simplicity
of maintenance; logistics and training as well as operating, however, in each case a question should
be asked whether it is the best option for the orebody and mining method selected.
Regardless of the method applied, there are some fundamentals that are common. These are:
x What is the drive size that the equipment is required to travel through and operate within?
x What are the individual and total eet production requirements?
x What other equipment will be employed within the same environment and how will this affect
logistics from a commonality perspective?
STUDY PROGRAMS AND SIMULATIONS

An increasing popular process is the use of computer software packages that contain equipment
parameters and enable the users to assess various types of equipment under the same conditions.
Some even have the ability to incorporate the effect of congestion within critical areas of a project.
These many and varied software packages can be referred to as either simulation packages or study
programs. See Figure 1.
FIG 1 - Multiple scenario sensitivities.
Why have these packages had a recent level of interest? Firstly, they are not an overnight
sensation, they have been in development for a number of years and throughout this time they
have undergone significant maturity. The initial versions were very basic and realistically did not
deliver what was required by the industry. As time progressed and users become more proficient
the benefits of being able to take an equipment solution perspective began to emerge and the
packages improved.
Secondly, various groups within the industry are requiring a deeper understanding of the potential
risks for a project. By applying these packages it can be demonstrated that a given equipment selection
strategy was taken based on certain criteria. An added benet of some packages is that of animation,
which can be used to demonstrate compliance with risk mitigation governance.
What must be seriously considered is the risk of unrealistic expectations in the predicted outputs
of any simulation. The quality of the outputs can only be as reliable as the quality of the inputs and
the various assumptions made in relation to these. Simulations in general have a tendency to be
optimistic in nature; due to the adjustments that are undertaken on small parameters which result
in the desired outcomes.
EQUIPMENT SELECTION WHAT IS THE ISSUE? WHAT ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF SIMULATION PACKAGES?
Multiple scenario sensitivities

During times of turbulent nancial market conditions the value of being able to undertake multiple
scenario sensitivities cannot be underestimated. Such a resource enables professionals to assess how
vulnerable the project is to market conditions, thereby providing a greater level of comfort within
risk mitigation processes.
However, there is one aspect that is commonly overlooked as far as the types of analysis go and
that is the option of a complete analysis of equipment associated with a particular mining method.
For instance what would be the impact, on production levels, of using smaller drive sizes, what effect
would mining drives at a smaller size have on an operation as far as smaller quantities of dirt having
to be hauled and a reduction in the installation of ground support?
Trade-off studies of various eets can be undertaken; this is not just assessing the effect of changing
the size and productivity, but also of whether the eet is diesel or electric. What would be the effect of
the integration of conveyors to an operation instead of trucks as the main method of hauling or is it
more benecial to have a system with the exibility of trucks as opposed to conveyors? What would
be the effect on total metres of advance if a face drill only drilled face holes and equipment dedicated
to the completion ground support system was utilised for the rest? See Figures 2 and 3.
FIG 2 - Multiple scenario sensitivities.
FIG 3 - Example of study program.
One point that needs to be taken into consideration is, that as the scenarios get more detailed the
quality and detail of information required increases and all mine activities up and downstream must
be considered. If a systematic total solution mindset is not taken in these studies then the risk is that
some restriction to the efciency of the project could very well have been overlooked. This could
result in a situation where such a problem is not realised until it is too late.
M CAMPBELL
AUTOMATION CONSIDERATIONS
Automation is an extremely topical subject within the industry, however careful consideration is
required to understand what can actually be achieved through the application of these technologies
and processes. In order to achieve an optimal outcome with automation it should be considered at
the stage of mine planning. This gives the opportunity to consider all aspects from an implementation
and operational perspective. Every process that is required to interact with a dedicated automation
zone must be considered before implementation.
It is the integration of equipment with relevant subsystems that results in the best possible result
for automation. Questions that require answers include:
x What is the extent of automation application?
x What are the expectations of an automation system?
x How will this effect the operation and maintenance of the project?
x What needs to be considered to achieve a culture of acceptance for automation within an operation?
VALIDATION AND CLOSING THE LOOP
Whatever process was used to undertake the equipment selection process, the situation may be that
a project has its required eet and is operating, but no longer performing as was predicted. This
scenario could occur at the beginning or a number of years after establishment and this can result
in cause for concern if the assumptions and processes originally made are not clearly understood.
One aspect of the equipment selection process requiring more attention is that of verifying the
assumptions and choices. The only way to improve equipment selection is to continue to monitor
progress and compare against the assumptions that were made during the selection. Validating
models can be a time consuming process, however, it is a vital component. Without this feedback
we are only undertaking half of the required analysis, this would be like designing, building and
operating a mine with the geological block model, then not undertaking mapping and sampling of
the development faces, or sampling of the production stopes and simply telling the mill they must
have it wrong as far as the grade that is delivered because the model predicted something different.
Just as validation of other utilised mining models through feedback, from mapping, sampling and
reconciliation, are critical to the success of their continued utilisation, it cannot be understated that
equipment selection processes, regardless of what is used, must also be validated.
WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

Everything that has been discussed so far has been focused on what has previously been and is
currently being utilised to assist in the equipment selection process. Whilst this is where the industry
focus is on to ensure cash ow it is our future that will ensure our existence. Whilst these processes
will remain for the foreseeable time one thing can be certain, change will happen. Such a statement
can be made because everybody is expecting more from processes and equipment and therefore is
asking for a different result. If we keep on doing the same thing and yet expect a different result it
could be interpreted as insanity.
Before this future arrives we need to start considering how equipment could be better selected. Part
of this challenge will be gaining an understanding of what will be required? That is, what will be the
mining methods used in the future, will they be slightly different versions of the current ones or will
they be something else entirely due to the nature of the deposits that we are attempting to exploit?
If we are going to do something different then how do we plan/design and operate these projects?
Should we continue to do what is currently acceptable and change only when it is required, or
instead of waiting for change to be forced on the industry through social governance, legislative
requirements, resource skill sets and project locations, should we not take a proactive approach?
One reason behind considering change early is due to difculties in the mining industry not being
willing to undertake big changes in one step. These fundamental changes in how things are done take
signicant time to be realised. For evidence look through our history. Whilst we can be proud of what
we do and how we do it, there are also examples of new processes that were attempted but failed for
trying to make changes quickly. What we are currently witnessing is that some of these previously
attempted changes in processes, equipment and technology are being employed and readily accepted
as best practice, when the implementation has been gradual and informed.
EQUIPMENT SELECTION WHAT IS THE ISSUE? WHAT ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF SIMULATION PACKAGES?
CONCLUSIONS
This paper was not intended to describe the best method or simulation package for selection of
equipment. Rather, we as an industry need not only apply what has currently proven to work but
also question how we are going to deliver things in the future. How do we know our assumptions are
correct if a structured validation process is not only planned but also implemented? This knowledge
can then be built on to improve our processes for equipment selection.
Improvement of Mechanical Tool Performance by
Waterjet Assistance
R Ciccu1 and B Grosso2
ABSTRACT
The problems arising in the excavation of hard rocks with the use of mechanical tools consist chiey
in a slow advance rate accompanied by an intensive wear due to the toughness and abrasiveness of
the rock. In order to allow the further extension of mechanical excavation beyond the limits of the
presently available technology, the assistance of waterjet aiming at improving the performance of
the equipment while reducing the wear rate of the tools, has been recognised as one of the most
interesting technical solutions. The paper illustrates the improvement of the performance of both disk
cutters and picks obtained with the waterjet assistance at the Waterjet Laboratory of the University
of Cagliari on a medium-hard rock.
INTRODUCTION
The technological developments in the construction of excavation machines and mechanical tools
enable now mechanical excavation to compete with traditional explosive-based methods. Further
research is being carried out in order to extend the application even in the case of very hard rocks.
Although drilling and blasting can be applied successfully for winning a great variety of rocks, a
number of drawbacks are often encountered such as noise, airblast, yrock and vibrations that are
generally not acceptable especially in an urban environment. Moreover, the lack of accuracy in the
cross-section prole and the damage induced by overbreak may render the roof support and the
concrete lining more expensive, thus upsetting the economic advantage of a cheaper excavation.
Finally, the D and B tunnelling cost increases gradually with length, when mucking and ventilation
become critical. On the other hand, the use of mechanical tools for the excavation of hard rock is
characterised by slow excavation rate and intensive tool wear due to the toughness and abrasiveness
of the rock (Vasek, 1996).
In order to allow the extension of mechanical excavation beyond the limits of presently available
technology the assistance of waterjet has been investigated in the case of picks and disks applied to
roadheaders and full-facers.
A long-term research program has been undertaken at the University of Cagliari aiming at
developing a hybrid system based on the synergetic action of mechanical excavation tools with high-
velocity waterjet.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
A mechanical tool can be put out of service either by rupture caused by excessive mechanical stress
or by wear due to thermal overload (Alehossein and Hood, 1999).
During the last ten years, attempts have been made to improve the tool performance and life by
x studying special material technologies,
x applying internal and external cooling actions, and
x resorting to the assistance of a water jet.
The chief advantage of using high velocity waterjet would be the reduction of the resistance of the
rock to the action of the cutting tool and thence an expected decrease of the forces shared at the tool/
1. Professor, University of Cagliari, Piazza Darmi, 09124 Cagliari, Italy. Email:ciccu@unica.it

2. Associated Professor, University of Cagliari, Piazza Darmi, 09124 Cagliari, Italia. Email:grosso@unica.it
R CICCU AND B GROSSO
rock contact area. The importance of this synergy depends on the jet power beyond the pressure
threshold typical of a particular rock.
A second, important, advantage is represented by the cooling action exerted by the jet on the rock-
tool contact area.
During the last 30 years, much research has been developed with the aim of assessing the effectiveness
of the waterjet assistance. The results appear to be very dissimilar and sometimes contradictories
due to the variety of the test conditions. In general it has been proved that the following parameters
play the most important role in determining the effect of waterjet application
x water pressure,
x nozzle diameter,
x velocity of the tool on the rock, and
x position of the jet.
In the following the ndings of the main experimental works have been reassumed separately for
disk cutters and drag tools the research developed at DIGITA are then presented and the results
analysed and discussed with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of the waterjet assistance.
Drag tools
The earliest research at the DIGITAs Waterjet Laboratories concerning the synergetic action of
mechanical instruments and jets of water was rstly focused on drag tools using the through-the-
pick and the front-of-pick congurations.
Results show that an increase in cutting rate (around 30 per cent) can be achieved with waterjet
assistance with a certain reduction of the forces at equal performance level.
Waterjet also proved to be and efcient cooling system enabling to reduce considerably the wear
rate (Ciccu et al, 1999, Ciccu, et al 2004a, Ciccu, et al 2004b).
A second group of tests was aimed at investigating the contribution of waterjet in the front-of-tool
conguration (Figure 1) in the disintegration of a much harder granite rock (compressive strength
around 180 MPa) using special tools with a at tip coated with polycrystalline diamond (Field,
1992). During these tests the wear process was studied and a signicant increase of the tool life was
achieved. Furthermore the effects previously observed concerning the forces and the mechanical
energy consumed were again conrmed (Ciccu et al, 1999).
FIG 1 - Waterjet assistance with the jet directed in front of the tool.
The most interesting ndings attained in the course of past experiments can be summarised as
follows
x with the jet in front and behind the pick, a considerable reduction (at least 30 per cent) of the
applied forces can be obtained at low displacement velocity whereas it becomes insignicant for
the highest values typical of industrial practice (2 - 3 m/s)
IMPROVEMENT OF MECHANICAL TOOL PERFORMANCE BY WATERJET ASSISTANCE
x the amplitude of oscillations of the forces around the average value is reduced resulting in a lower
chance of rupture of the picks
x less mechanical energy is consumed, although the total energy (mechanical plus hydraulic)
employed in the excavation can be considerably higher and
x wear rate is substantially lowered resulting in a longer duration of the technical life of the tool.
Rolling tools
Many research have been developed on the waterjet assistance of rolling tools. At the Rand Afrikans
University a machine was used for linear tests that can apply a vertical load of up to 900 kN to the
cutting head tted with disks having different shape (either sharp-edged, at or tted with peripheral
buttons), beneath which the rock sample carrier can travel at a maximum velocity of 1 m/s. A 55 kW
pump can issue one or more jets of water under a pressure of 45 MPa and a owrate of 82 l/min. In
a particular conguration, two Leach and Walker 1.2 mm nozzles are placed at both sides of the disk.
Tests have been made with each type of disk with or without waterjet assistance (Figure 2), in single
or multiple passes, on a homogeneous rock (norite having a compressive strength of 250 MPa and
high abrasivity).
FIG 2 - The concept of waterjet assistance.
The main result using the sharp-edged disk was a considerable decrease in vertical and horizontal
forces with the application of water jets, but the effect faded gradually at increasing spacing from
the disk as well as at increasing depth of slot due to the limited reach of the jet, suggesting that an
increase in jet-forming pressure could be benecial. Wear rate is substantially lowered resulting in a
longer duration of the technical life of the tool.
Deep tests using cutting tools assisted by waterjet have been carried out at the face of a sandstone
quarry by Bergbau-Forschung GmbH, in co-operation with the some German mining industries. The
equipment consisted of a tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 2.6 m. The results of the tests
show a 50 per cent reduction of the thrust forces with waterjet assistance which is a great advantage
since lighter and cheaper machines can be built. Important benets concerning the wear rate of the
tools and the generation of dust have also been demonstrated (Knickmeyer and Baumann, 1983).
The research carried out at Skochinsky Institute of Mining concerns the process of hard coal
breakage in underground mines using water jets in assistance to revolving tools, with the purpose of
creating slots at both sides of the disk cutter. Different congurations have been studied including
the position of the jet and the type of tool employed. It has been observed that deeper slots decrease
the strength of the coal and thence produce a higher reduction in the forces and in the specic
mechanical energy. In particular, the rolling force and the thrust force resulted to be about 1.5 to
two times and 1.2 - 1.4 times lower, respectively, while a 99.75 abatement of the dust was achieved
(Kouzmich and Merzlyakov, 1983).
PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

The experimental work developed at DIGITAs laboratory was focused on the evaluation of the
benets introduced in the mechanical excavation by the waterjet assistance. Different aspects were
studied contact forces reduction, excavation rate increment, tool wear reduction. This note discusses
in particular the increasing of the excavation performance (excavation rate) achieved for drag and
rolling tools.
EQUIPMENT
The tests have been carried out using the apparatus installed at the DIGITAs laboratories (Figure 3).
It reproduces the tool/rock interaction in the case of tunnel boring machines, where a continuous
contact with constant penetration takes place under a steady normal force along circular paths with
variable radius. However instead of moving the tool (either a pick, a disc or a roller) against a xed
workpiece, the relative motion is obtained by rotating a cylindrical sample of rock and pushing the
tool onto its upper planar surface. The drag force is determined by the torque applied to the shaft.
The rotation power is supplied by means of an electric motor provided with an adjustable mechanical
gearbox, while the vertical load is provided by a hydraulic piston actuated by a pump through an
accurate control system (oil pressure and ow rate).
FIG 3 - The experimental apparatus. TC = thermocamera; DAS = data acquisition system.
The electric motor (1), with a nominal power of 7.5 kW, rotates the vertical shaft (2) rigidly connected
at its top end to a 80 cm diameter platform (3) supported at its bottom by a set of spherical bearers
(4). The maximum speed allowed by the system is about 60 rpm.
The cylindrical sample of rock (5) is fastened onto the platform by means of a central screw with the
help of three metal pins matching corresponding holes in the rock.
The position of the tool along the platform diameter is set by means of a 0.37 kW secondary motor
(6) that drives the cutting head (7), guided by horizontal rods and axial bearings (8), by means of
snail/thread couplings .
The reaction force transmitted to the piston is discharged on a pair of horizontal beams (8) at the top
of a stiff frame through spherical bearings (9) allowing the lateral displacement of the tool under load.
Vertical load and of the horizontal force are directly measured by means of two piezoelectric
transducers, the rst placed between the end of the piston stem and the xture and the second
between the inner box and the contrast beam.
Drag tool
The tool used for the experiments was a drag bit having the shape of a conventional conical tool but
with a at cut tip so that its frontal face is a semicircle with a diameter of 12 mm, entirely covered with
a 0.8 mm thick layer of polycrystalline diamond. The bit attack angle is 98. The tool was set in the
holder as shown in Figure 4 so that the rake and the clearance angles were 20 and 12, respectively.
The pick was assisted by a water jet positioned in front of the tool wit 40 mm of stand-off distance.
The jet was directed so as to impinge on the rock sample with a forward angle of 70 at a point 2 cm
away from the tip, corresponding to the mean size of the scales detached by the tool in the dry tests.
FIG 4 - Details of the diamond tipped cutting tool.
Rolling tool
In this case the cutting head was tted with a 10 cm diameter disk having a 60 tip angle to the side
of which the nozzles were placed (Figure 5).
FIG 5 - Detail of the cutting head as seen from below.
The parameters kept constant for all he tests were

x normal load applied to the tool 10 kN,
x jet inclination from the vertical line 20 ,
x distance of the jet impingement point from the disk tip 2 cm, and
x stand-off distance of the nozzle 3 cm.
Waterjet setting parameter

The waterjet parameters kept constant for all the tests were
x nozzle diameter 0.4 mm,
x jet-forming pressure 150 Mpa, and
x resulting ow rate 2.5 l/min.
TEST MATERIAL
The material used for the experiments was a volcanic rock classied as rhyolite or dacite outcropping
in Sardinia near the village of Serrenti from which it takes the name. It is a medium-hard rock
characterised by unit weight 22.7 kN/m3, uniaxial compressive strength 37 up to about 80 MPa,
tensile strength 6.7 MPa, cohesion 11.5 MPa, friction angle 56 .
EXPERIMENTAL PLAN
Both for drag and rolling tools, two series of tests have been performed the rst with the mechanical
tool only (dry tests) the second with the assistance of a water jet. A test begins with six idle rotations
of the circular sample until reaching a constant value of the rotation speed. Then the tool is pushed
against the sample while the jet impinges the rock upon opening the cut off shutter after the active
rotation the tool is raised and the jet stopped again.
Measured parameters
During the tests vertical and horizontal forces were measured and recorded with a frequency of 1000 Hz.
The depth of cut and the excavated volume were evaluated for each test. The depth of cut was
measured every 30 along the trajectory. The excavated volume was estimated for the entire
trajectory using a ne granular material with known specic gravity poured into the groove until
lling it completely and then weighted.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In what follows, only the data of the excavated volume and excavation rate are presented with the
purpose of assessing the improvement introduced by the waterjet assistance.
Drag tools
Each series consisted of grooving tests on three circular trajectories having different radius (150,
250, 350 mm) (Figure 6). The rotation velocity of the sample was set at 42.42 rpm. For each radius
the test was repeated three times. The pick was pushed against the sample with a vertical load of
3 kN for all the tests. During the tests, normal and cutting forces, pick vertical position and angular
velocity were measured with an acquisition frequency of 1 kHz.
FIG 6 - A rock sample after a series of grooving tests.
The average value of the depth of cut is expressed as a function of the trajectory radius in the
diagram of Figure 7. The positive effect of the waterjet is clear the depth of the cut produced by the
mechanical tool in the case of waterjet assistance is 20 - 25 per cent higher for all trajectories.
4,5
Dry tests
4,0 WJ assisted tests
3,5
Averge depth of cut [mm]
3,0
2,5
2,0
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35 0,4
radius [m]
FIG 7 - Average depth of cut for dry and waterjet assisted tests as a function of the path radius. (Normal load: 3.2 kN rotation speed:42.42 rpm).
The improved tool performance is also displayed by the curves of Figure 8 concerning the comparison
between the excavated volume per unit length achieved in the dry tests and that achieved in the
waterjet assisted tests, as a function of the trajectory radius.
50
Dry Tests
Escavated volume per unit length [cm3/m]
45 WJ assisted tests
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35 0,4
Radius [m]
FIG 8 - Excavated volume per unit length for dry and waterjet assisted tests as a function of the path radius.
(Normal load: 3.2 kN rotation speed:42.42 rpm).
The relative position of the two curves corroborate the fact that the waterjet support to the tool
action determines a signicant increase in the excavated volume per unit length (about 20 per cent ).
As a direct consequence of the above results, the mechanical specic energy is substantially lower
in the case of waterjet assistance.
Rolling tools
The effect of the waterjet assistance on the tool performance was explored for different trajectories
and rotation velocities. The tests were performed for
x Radius of the circular path of the tool on the rock 0.34 m, 0.26 m and 0.15 m for dry tests and
0.29 m, 0.22 m and 0.11 m for waterjet-assisted tests.
x Rotation speed 30.30 rpm and 60.60 rpm corresponding to 50 per cent and 100 per cent of the
maximum value allowed by the gear device.
The experimental plan consisted of 24 tests (12 dry and 12 with waterjet assistance) divided into
two series at different rotation speed (6 + b6 tests at 30.30 rpm and 6 + 6 tests at 60.60
rpm). In each series the radius of curvature was changed and each test was repeated on a different
sample for conrmation (the average value was eventually taken after excluding few anomalous
results).
The grooves showed irregular borders due to the variable size of the scales arising from
the discontinuous process of cutting. Especially in the case of smaller trajectory radius the
detachment of scales occurred more frequently at the inner side of the circular groove. In most
tests the waterjet kerfs did not overlap completely with the groove produced by the disk, as it
appears in Figure 9.
FIG 9 - Geometry of the grooves in waterjet-assisted tests.
The experimental results are expressed in terms of specic excavated volume (Figure 10) and
excavation rate (Figure 11).
The analysis of the Figure 10 highlights that
x The advantage of waterjet assistance, substantiated by an almost threefold increase of specic
volume for all the trajectories, is clearly evident. Therefore, it is still relevant at the highest traverse
velocity within the explored range (0.30 m radius at 60.6 rpm) suggesting that the contribution
to stress due to the jet impact plays an important role in addition to the weakening of the rock. A
ushing action on the plasticised material can also be alleged. Further research is needed in order
to conrm this assumption.
x On doubling the rotation speed (from 30.3 to 60.6 rpm) specic volume is somewhat reduced, as
expected.
Excavation rate (Figure 11) is less affected then specic volume by the radius of curvature, owing to
the higher peripheral velocity that compensates the fall in specic volume as the radius increases. In
the case of waterjet assistance there is even a gain in excavation rate for the larger radius especially
for the higher rotation speed.
40
Volumeremovedperunitlength[cm3/cm)
w=30.30rpm DryTests
35
w=30.30rpmWJassistedtests
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4
Radiusofthecircular path(m)
40
w=60.60rpm DryTests
35
Volumeremovedperunitlength[cm3/cm)
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4

FIG 10 - Curves of the specific excavated volume.
40
w=30.30rpm DryTests
35
Volumeremovalrate[cm3/s)
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4
40
w=60.60rpm DryTests
35 w=60.60rpmWJassistedtests
Volumeremovalrate[cm3/s)
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4

FIG 11 - Curves of excavation rate.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the experimental tests show that
x The performance of the testing apparatus is satisfactory, since it allows to reproduce the operating
conditions (forces, velocity) typical of commercial machines for small tunnels.
x Considerable benets can be obtained with the synergetic action of the high velocity water jet both
in terms of excavated volume and excavation rate. This benet results around 20 - 25 per cent in
the case of the drag tool while it reaches 300 per cent for the rolling tool.
x The result that waterjet assistance seems to be more efcient for disks than for drag tools is quite
intriguing. This may depend on the fact that a jet placed ahead of the pick along the trajectory lays
on the same vertical plane as the peripheral velocity and it impinges the rock just at the midpoint of
the scales front border contributing to the scale formation only at the very moment of detachment.
On the other hand a jet placed at one or both sides of a disk cutter at a distance corresponding to
the length of the scale moves along the border of the scale under formation thus contributing to the
excavation process almost continuously. Therefore energy is much better exploited in this case.
REFERENCES
lehossein, H and Hood, M, 1999. An application of linearised dimensional analysis to rock cutting,
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 36 701-709.
Ci u, R, Grosso, B, Loddo, C, Va ek, J and Bortolussi, A, 2004a. Mechanical excavation of hard rocks, in
Proceedings 1 th International Symposium of Mining Planning and E uipment Selection (Wroclaw).
Ci u, R, Grosso, B, Loddo, C, Va ek, J and Bortolussi, A, 2004b. Waterjet-assisted drag tools for rock
excavation, in Proceedings 1 th International Conference on ater Jetting, (ed C Gee) (Mainz).
Ci u, R, Grosso, B, Ortu, G, Agus, M, Bortolussi, A, Va ek, J and Jekl, P, 1999. Rock Disintegration using
waterjet-assisted Diamond tools, in Proceedings Tenth American ater Jet Conference (ed M Hashish),
pp 465-477 (Water Jet Technology Association Houston).
ield, E J, 1992. The Properties of atural and Synthetic Diamond, 710 p (Academic Press London).
ni kmeye, W, Baumann, L, 1983. High pressure water-jet assisted tunneling techniques, in Proceedings
Second US ater Jet Conference (University of Missouri Rolla).
ou mi h, I, A, Merzlyakov, V G, 1983. Schemes of coal massif breakage by disc cutter and high velocity, in
Proceedings Second US ater Jet Conference (eds D A Summers and F F Hasto) (University of Missouri
Rolla).
a ek, J, 1996. Problems of cutting picks hard rock disintegration, in Proceedings Fifth International
Symposium on Mine Planning and E uipment Selection, pp 445-449 (Balkema Rotterdam).
Optimum Equipment Management Through
Life Cycle Costing
B Hall1
ABSTRACT
Large mining operations need equipment that consistently performs as expected. The most effective
way of ensuring this is to have a dened life cycle with an optimised maintenance strategy. The
determination of this life cycle is an economic decision, inuenced by the construction and utilisation
of the equipment. An effective life cycle costing (LCC) tool must be able to process the many variable
factors involved.
Many factors inuence the costs that are associated with a machine over its life. The most variable
of these are the costs of maintaining the equipment. Maintenance costs are dependant not only
on the utilisation of the machine, but also on the strategy that has been developed to support the
machine through its life. A combination of supplier support, component changes, regular servicing
and unscheduled maintenance needs to be modelled, based on a variety of drivers.
Traditionally spreadsheets have been used to model these factors, but the increasing complexity
of the situation can make spreadsheets unwieldy and difcult to manage. A database solution that
breaks each activity into its constituent components, links them to an associated mine plan driver
and then aggregates the result is the ideal tool to provide a time based cost prole. The evaluation
of a number of scenarios, representing different maintenance strategies/life cycles can be rapidly
undertaken. Auditability through inbuilt tools is required to provide easy tracing of data. Use of the
host companys account structure allows for reporting against the standard chart of accounts.
INTRODUCTION
Mining operations consistently need equipment that is available, and able to perform to its maximum
potential. In hard times, the need for efciency drives downtime and costs to a minimum. In boom
times, the need for productivity drives availability and utilisation to a maximum. The maintenance
manager is always under pressure to make the equipment perform. The most difcult part of his job
is often a lack of knowledge on how long the equipment has to last. The short term view can lead to
interim xes that accumulate into larger problems. It is always difcult to justify major overhauls
and upgrades when the pressure to produce more from the mine is ever present.
Ideally each piece of equipment should be operated for a dened life. The maintenance of that
equipment can then be optimised to deliver this life. Where eets of similar equipment are in use,
variations in equipment performance can be accommodated by variations in the replacement order.
This is an ideal situation, but how can the maintenance manager convince both the production and
nance managers to replace the equipment at a specied life?
The answer is to undertake a life cycle costing (LCC) analysis in advance of the equipment
replacement decision.
Life cycle costing is a analysis process that identies the costs associated with all stages of the
equipments life. Further it identies the key drivers of these costs and how they vary with time. The
sum of all of these costs represents the total outlay required to own the equipment. This cost can be
expressed as an absolute, or as a rate that varies with time. When this rate is at a minimum, then the
life of the equipment is at its optimum.
When some of these drivers are themselves functions of production parameters that very with time,
the analysis can become quite complex. Traditionally spreadsheets have been used to undertake this
analysis. While highly exible, spreadsheets can be difcult to interpret, depending on the logic used
1. Manager Business Analysis, Runge Ltd, PO Box 2447, Brisbane Qld 4000. Email: bhall@runge.com.au
B HALL
to create them. Modern spreadsheet products have extremely advanced analysis functions that can
be used to assist in the evaluation, however, their complexity makes the auditing of the process even
more difcult.
An ideal solution is to use a database, with the analysis steps broken down into simple stages. A
database tool that allows for standard formatting removes the errors associated with copying large
areas of formulas and formats. A database tool also allows for the inclusion of auditing tools that
trace data from its original entry point to its calculated outcome.
METHODOLOGY
The costs associated with owning equipment can be grouped in the following categories;
x initial purchase, construction and commissioning costs;
x nancing costs;
x direct operating costs;
x maintenance costs (including overhauls);
x downtime costs;
x decommissioning costs; and
x cost recovery on disposal.
Depending on the business model in use for the organisation, it may be relevant to consider the
income generated by the equipment. When the asset is a part of an integrated mining cycle (such as
a haul truck) then it is often difcult to assign a value to this production on an individual unit basis.
For the purposes of clarity this paper ignores the income stream and considers only the cost stream.
Initial purchase, construction and commissioning costs

At the start of the equipments life, there will considerable expenditure involved with getting the
equipment into the production cycle. This is likely to involve the purchase of the equipment, its
construction, and all associated tasks involved with its commissioning. While the timeframe involved
in this expenditure is usually short (a matter of months) for mobile equipment, it can extend over
many years for complex mineral processing plant. Graphically this is represented in Figure 1.
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
FIG 1 - Cumulative cashflow of the initial cost of the machine across its life. This includes purchase, construction and commissioning costs.
At this stage, the equipment is yet to add value. In most organisations the value of these costs
will be capitalised onto the balance sheet. As a result, these costs are generally tightly controlled.
Justication of these costs can be along and arduous process, so there is a tendency to drive these
costs to a minimum. For the purposes of this paper we will assume an initial cost of $3 000 000
spread over the rst three periods of the equipments life.
Financing costs
The cost of nance can vary greatly between organisations and with time. Even more importantly,
the inclusion of nancing costs against a piece of equipment is often a case of company policy. For
OPTIMUM EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT THROUGH LIFE CYCLE COSTING
the purposes of this paper, we will assume that the total initial cost will be nanced at an interest
rate of seven per cent. Cumulatively, the nance cost across the equipments life is shown in Figure 2.
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
FIG 2 - Cumulative financing costs of the machine across its life. This is based on a simple interest situation. More complex situations may include depreciation
and taxation effects. Lease financing options will radically change the shape pf this curve.
It should be noted that across the life of the machine, the total paid in nancing cost can be more
than the initial cost of the machine! Beware of the sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
Direct operating costs
The operating cost of the machine is directly linked to the amount of time it is in use, and inefciencies
that accumulate through the machines life. As the machine ages, it is expected that the overall utilisation
of the machine will degrade. This has the effect of dampening the increase in costs over time. The effect
is not total, and a typical curve for the cumulative operating costs is shown in Figure 3.
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Fi 3 O ti C t
FIG 3 - Cumulative direct operating costs of the machine across its life. These mainly comprise of energy and labour costs, but may include operational
consumables. The escalating trend is due to the loss of efficiency of the machine over time.
Once again, note that over the life of the machine, the operating costs approach the same amount
as the initial capital cost.
Maintenance costs
The maintenance costs of the machine will vary greatly with time. The hourly maintenance cost will
increase as the machine ages. This is offset by the lower utilisation caused by the greater maintenance
needs. However, the cost of repairs will increase with time as more components require replacement.
Similarly, regular overhauls will result in signicant jumps in cost, but provide a higher level of
availability immediately after the overhaul. The end result of this is a jagged, increasing pattern of
costs accumulating across the equipments life, as shown in Figure 4.
B HALL
$4,500,000
$4,000,000
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Fig 4. Maintenance Cost
FIG 4 - Cumulative maintenance costs over the life of the machine. The irregular jumps in the curve represent major maintenance activities undertaken at
different points in the machines life. The accelerating trend represents the increasing effort required to maintain an older machine.
The prediction of these costs is a complex process that varies with time, equipment utilisation and
maintenance strategy. An integrated database tool is required to accurately model and predict this
curve. The total costs are likely to be of the same order, or exceed the initial purchase price.
Downtime costs
Downtime costs need to be carefully modelled to ensure that the real costs of machine unavailability
are captured without doubling up on the maintenance costs already identied. The downtime costs
should only be those real costs that can be attributed to the lack of having the machine. A true
downtime costs would be the cost of hiring a replacement machine. A backup machine provided by
the equipment supplier is an example of this. The cost of such a machine is likely to be always greater
than the cost of the operators own machine. This higher rate reects the need to have a machine
available for hire, and the hirers need to sustain a protable business. The demand for the substitute
machine will vary with availability of the operators machine and thus shown variance with time. If
we assume that there is a need for a constant level of machine operation, and that this is covered by
sourcing a replacement machine, then the cost prole of this downtime will be as shown in Figure 5.
$90,000
$80,000
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Fi 5 D ti C t
FIG 5 - Cumulative downtime costs. These costs are estimated as the cots of hiring an equivalent machine while it is out of service.
Decommissioning cost
Inevitably, there is a cost associated with the removal of a piece of equipment from use. This can
vary greatly with the type of equipment under consideration, but is unlikely to vary greatly with
time. An estimate of this cost is hard to make, but can usually be associated with the initial cost of
the machine. We shall assume in this case that the cost of disposal is ve per cent of the initial cost,
and this is shown graphically in Figure 6.
Cost recovery on disposal
The value of equipment at the time of disposal is subject to the vagaries of the market at the time.
I have known of operations that did not bother to scrap machines as the cost of removing the scrap
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
FIG 6 - Cumulative decommissioning costs at any point in the machines life are likely to be the same. This does not include any allowance for changing
standards of decommissioning in the future.
from site was greater than its value at the time. In general though, a piece of equipment is inherently
worth less than its initial cost from the start of its life. The value of the machine then decays further
as its life progresses. Overhauls can add value back in to the machine, but this will never restore its
full value. In modelling this cost, it is important to model a true estimate of what a third party would
pay for the equipment and not the nancial values that are carried on the asset register. For a price
of mining equipment, a typical curve would look like Figure 7.
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
-$500,000
-$1,000,000
-$1,500,000
-$2,000,000
-$2,500,000
-$3,000,000
Fig 7. Cost Recovery on Disposal
FIG 7 - Cost recovering on disposal is the amount gathered from the sale of the machine. In some cases this will be constant as scrap metal value only.
In other cases, the value will vary with the machine condition and age. Disposal shortly after major maintenance will result in increased salvage value,
but this may not offset the maintenance costs expended.
Note that this is a negative cost, to reect that it is income rather than expenditure. It is a factor
that needs to be carefully considered, as individual factors can make the machine worth a signicant
amount at certain points in time. Currently the shortage of large earthmover tyres has raised values
for old machinery to extraordinary levels if they have good tyres tted. Similarly, the tax laws is
Australia at one stage made it possible to sell a one year old light vehicle for more than its purchase
price if you had the right type of operation!
Life cycle cost
The sum of all of these costs represents the net expenditure on the equipment over its life. The curve
in our example is shown in Figure 8.
Note that the total expenditure across 60 periods is now more than three times the initial cost of
the machine. This highlights that the initial cost does not represent the majority of the cost. What
is more important to the analysis is that the curve increases with time. If we look at the costs on the
basis of a rate rather than a total, we can see how the unit costs for the machine vary with time. This
is shown graphically in Figure 9.
B HALL
$14,000,000
$12,000,000
$10,000,000
$8,000,000
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Fi 8 Lif C l C t
FIG 8 - Cumulative life cycle costs of the machine This is the sum of all of the costs incurred with the machine, less its salvage value at each point in the
equipments life.
$400,000.00
$350,000.00
$300,000.00
$250,000.00
$200,000.00
$150,000.00
$100,000.00
$50,000.00
$-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Fi 9 Lif C l C tR t
FIG 9 - Life cycle cost curve for the machine expressed as a rate at different points in the machine life. The curve represents the average cost of operating the
machine if it was replaced at any point in its life. The minimum point on this curve defines the optimum time for replacement.
On studying this chart it can be seen that there is a denite minimum point around period 60.
Hastings (2002) demonstrated that at this point in the equipments life, the cost per period of owning
the machine is at a minimum. Therefore, the cost of owning this type of machine will be minimised if
it is replaced at this point in time. We have identied the life to which the machine will be managed.

Minimising costs
For our example machine, we identied that there was a optimum point when the machine should
be replaced to minimise costs. An indication of the scale of costs to be saved by undertaking this
approach can be seen by the following example:
Initial machine cost $3 000 000
Finance rate seven per cent
Operating cost $150/hr increasing over time
Maintenance cost $150/hr increasing over time
Availability 95 per cent decreasing over time
Utilisation of available time 95 per cent constant
Supplementary machine hire $330/hr constant
Decommissioning cost $150 000 xed (ve per cent of initial cost)
Cost recovery on disposal 80 per cent decreasing to two per cent over time
Initially specied life 120 periods (ten years) @ $81 652.54/period
Optimum life 60 periods ( ve years) @ $106 385.92/period
Changing the machine out after ve years with a similar machine will result in a saving of
($106 385.92 - $81 652.54) 120 = $2 968 005.94 over 60 periods. This is almost equal to the initial
cost of the equipment.
In his paper, Hall (2007) demonstrated that this process can be applied to both heavy and light
mining equipment, with signicant, non economic benets as well.
Tax, interest, inflation and other effects
The effects of taxation, depreciation, varying ination and interest rates all have an effect on this
analysis. It is important to capture these effects as they apply to the local legislation and company
policy. In general, these effects tend to move the minimum point in time and value. They do not tend
to change the shape of the curve signicantly. Thus they will change when you need to replace the
machine but not the fact that there is a clear economic argument to replace it.
Variability
As can be seen from the discussion above, the costs associated with the machine are complex and
variable. The analysis described is a simple one to show the principle. This analysis should ideally
be done in advance of the purchasing decision. This will allow for the maintenance and operating
practices to be tailored for the optimum life that has been identied. However, these actions then
change the assumptions on which the analysis has been made.
As shown by Rogers (2001), to avoid gross generalisations, a database tool that can model a number
of scenarios is best for the analysis. Correct development of such a tool will allow for consistency in
analysis with variation in assumptions and data. As the analysis involves a number of operational
areas of the organisation, such a tool needs to be constructed so that each functional area is responsible
for a dened part of the process. The ability to trace data through the model is a key requirement to
ensure consistency of evaluation and improve condence in the result.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of a life cycle costing approach to equipment replacement is common in industries such
as power generation and airline transport. In these cases, the nature of the equipment and their
regulation reduces the variability in costs so that the analysis is simpler. To date its use in the mining
area has been limited by the highly variable nature of the costs involved and the factors that drive
these costs.
Integrated database tools now can allow for the development of time based models that can analyse
a number of scenarios and produce reliable results. This allows the mine maintenance manager the
opportunity to specify equipment lives at the time of purchase and tailor the maintenance strategy
to this life.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper draws heavily on the work done by Russell Rogers, former Principal Software Consultant
at Runge Ltd. I would like to acknowledge Russells signicant input into developing suitable tools
for this analysis over the last 15 years.
REFERENCES
Hall, B, 2007. Light vehicle eet maintenance at Pasminso Broken Hill Mine: A practical example in life cycle
costing.
Hastings, N, 2002. Asset management and maintenance.
Rogers, R, 2001. Equipment life cycle costing with XERAS, internal memorandum, Runge Ltd.
Precision Surface Mining Choosing the Best Tool for
the Job
J Hutchins1
ABSTRACT
Precision surface mining is increasingly occupying a signicant role in open pit mining. Improvements
in technology now allow continuous surface mining of material well above 140 MPa (20 300 psi)
efciently and cost effectively when compared to drilling and blasting / primary crushing methods.
These include the elimination of the use explosives and primary crushing, the ability to precisely
extract the ore from the waste, or separate ores of varying chemistry and mine thin seams and non-
homogenous orebodies cost effectively. In addition, precision surface mining extends the useful life
of a mine by extending the mine boundaries. It can expand production capacity in existing mines
and is particularly cost effective in greeneld start-up mines. Precision mining techniques result in
higher percentage recoveries. This paper reviews several of these techniques for the Terrain Leveler
surface excavation machine (SEM), and shows their impact.
Vermeers current approach to precision surface mining is utilisation of the T1255 Terrain Leveler
SEM. Several units have been proven in round-the-clock, seven day operations throughout the world.
Among other innovations are design simplicity, stability, maneuverability, rear-mounted tilting
drum and top-down cutting. The impact of these items are discussed in more detail in the paper.
After a detailed analysis of the importance of machine availability on overall mine performance,
Vermeer has extended its equipment line to include a direct-drive option for its T1255 Terrain Leveler
SEM. In addition, improvements in dust suppression are presented.
While the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM is of optimum size and cost in small and medium sized
mines, Vermeer has recognised that larger mines require larger machines with increased capacities.
Vermeer will prototype the T1655 Terrain Leveler SEM later this year. Specications of this machine
and up-to-date preliminary results are presented. A discussion of the role of each machine size and
driving mechanisms are included.
Finally, the next stage in Vermeers providing solutions to the surface mining community will be
described a continuous loader. The impact on current mine planning is presented using a detailed
computer program developed for studying the impact of loading techniques and higher production
rates on mine plan optimisation.
INTRODUCTION
Choosing the best tool for the job means choosing not only the correct equipment, but also the most
cost-effective mining method. This paper will rst address the reasons for considering an alternate
method to drilling and blasting to remove ore from the ground. The next section will address the
current approach to precision surface mining by Vermeer Corporation. The last section will present
our vision for the future.
PRECISION SURFACE MINING

Precision surface mining is dened in this paper as mining of an orebody using continuous surface
miners. There are several inherent advantages in precision surface mining that can be considered
when compared to the more conventional drilling and blasting method of surface mining. These
include the elimination of the use of explosives and primary crushing, the ability to precisely extract
the ore from the waste, or ores of varying chemistry, and mine thin seams and non-homogenous
orebodies cost effectively. In addition, precision surface mining extends the useful life of a mine by
extending mine boundaries, can expand production capacity in existing mines and is particularly
cost effective in greeneld startup mines. A brief development of some of these advantages follows.
1. Senior Applications Engineer, Vermeer, 1510 Vermeer Road East, Pella IA 50219, USA. Email: jhutchins@vermeer.com
J HUTCHINS
Eliminate use of explosives

Using explosives to break up the rock in orebodies into useable sizes is becoming more regulated by
governments. This has resulted in increasing costs. In addition, establishment of a mine/quarry in a
particular area usually causes support infrastructure to be built up around the boundary which makes
the shock, noise and vibration unacceptable to the neighbours. There is a wide variety of rock/ore
types that are being mined using precision surface mining techniques. These include soft to medium
limestone, iron ore, copper, coal and gypsum. Where the rock characteristics allow, precision surface
mining can completely replace drilling and blasting activities in a mine/quarry.
Minimise use of explosives
In assessing the use of the two different types of mining methods, it is advisable to realise that the
two can complement each other in the same mine/quarry. Where allowed, it is often cost-effective to
remove the overburden and waste material using drilling and blasting methods. Often times the cap
rock is very hard, with no size requirements imposed other than it needs to be small enough to be
removed to the waste dump. In these cases, it makes good sense to mine down close to the ore using
drilling and blasting.
In some mines/quarries the rock is laid down in areas or veins where the production rate of the
precision surface miner could be enhanced if the rock were prestressed with a light blast charge
prior to cutting. This would still produce all of the benets inherent in precision surface mining, but
would also result in an overall increased production rate and reduced cost per ton over just using the
surface mining. In some mines in Australia it is standard practice to prestress the rst metre or so
of ore during the drilling and blasting of the overburden. The overburden is then removed down to
a level close to the ore, and precision surface mining is used to process the remainder into useable
sizes.
Eliminate primary crushing
The product size obtained from drilling and blasting operations varies widely from huge rock slabs
down to powder. This large size differentiation creates the need for a primary crusher to reduce the
product obtained down to manageable size.
Precision surface mining produces a uniform product with a tight particle size distribution. Most
of the product is smaller than 200 mm (8 ). On occasion, a rock larger than 200 mm (8 ) will be
produced on the edges of the cut. These are normally broken up into smaller rocks on the next pass of
the surface miner. In most cases, the cut product from a surface miner can bypass primary crushing,
and can be fed directly into the secondary crusher if present.
The uniform product size achieved also allows more efcient settings on secondary and tertiary
crushing systems so that savings can continue well past the primary crushing stage. In one six month
trial in limestone, a 20 per cent improvement in throughput was achieved in a Jeffries Hammer Mill,
and resident time in a third-stage ball mill was greatly reduced according to the quarry manager.
This trial was conducted during the second half of 2005.
For those crusher congurations where the primary and secondary crushers are in line, and all
product must pass through the primary crusher to make it to the secondary crusher, then the energy
costs and abrasion wear in the primary crusher will be drastically reduced. If the maximum product
size that can be accepted by the secondary crusher is smaller than 200 mm (8 ), then the primary
crusher may be needed to process the small portion of the product between 200 mm (8 ) and the
maximum secondary crusher input size.
It is the signicant difference in the large quantity of big boulders produced as a result of drilling
and blasting, compared to the occasional larger rock resulting from precision surface mining that
accounts for a large part of the cost savings in crushing.
Mine thin seams and non-homogeneous orebodies
Drilling and blasting is essentially a vertical process, where the product for an entire bench depth
is mixed together as a result of the operation. Dilution of the waste and the ore through the bench
thickness cannot be controlled. When mining in thin seams and non-homogeneous orebodies, this
dilution could make the product unacceptable. On the other hand, precision surface mining is a
PRECISION SURFACE MINING CHOOSING THE BEST TOOL FOR THE JOB
horizontal process where the waste product is deposited on the at oor separate from the ore. The
amount of dilution in any one pass can be controlled by the cutting depth. If the waste product can be
visually differentiated from the ore, then separation and loading is possible without additional steps
in the process. If the ore and waste are not visually differentiated, then it would be necessary to use
chemistry data for the ore and waste to be marked as polygons by the mine/quarry geologists prior
to separation and loading.
Two cases in point are a gypsum mine in Oklahoma, USA (Figure 1), and a copper mine in Africa
(Figure 2). As can be seen from Figure 1, the gypsum deposit is interspersed with clay pockets
throughout the mine face. The bands that can be seen in Figure 2 represent different copper content
in the ore. Mixing up the ore in both cases would result in a lower quality product. The ability to
exactly control the cutting surface is what makes continuous surface mining into precision mining.
FIG 1 - Gypsum deposit with pockets of clay.
FIG 2 - Copper mine with bands of ore.
Another application of precision mining can be found in coal mines where the coal is laid down
in thin seams separated by a parting layer. Using a continuous surface miner one can differentiate
between different qualities of coal and between coal and the parting. The operator can discern ore
differences and adjust the cutting depth of the surface miner to follow the coal seam along its length.
This prevents unwanted mixing of the different coal layers or the coal and parting. Figure 3 shows
the T1255 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine (SEM) following a coal seam in eastern
Australia.
J HUTCHINS
FIG 3 - Following a thin coal seam in eastern Australia.
Extend mine boundaries

The safety zone for mines which use drilling and blasting mining methods can vary from 100 to
300 m (328 to 984). In addition, existing conveyors, mine buildings and crushing equipment can all
limit the available ore that can be mined. The shock and vibration from continuous surface mining is
negligible, and therefore the danger zone becomes a lesser issue.
The blast zone resulting from blasting operations on the mine oor can extend well below the
surface. In many mines, the amount of material that can be mined from the oor is limited by the
location of the surrounding water table. Because of the negative consequences of punching through
the mine oor to the water table, often times 4 m to 6 m (13 to 20) of mineable material is left at
the end of the drilling and blasting operations. Precision surface mining methods have been used
successfully in a mine in Western Australia to remove an additional 4 m (13) or so of the mine oor
that previously could not have been mined using drilling and blasting methods.
Product dilution can also be minimised on a mine oor using precision mining methods over drill
and blast. Mining the remaining few metres with a surface miner, after prestressing the rock with
explosives, allows the same easy separation of the ore from the waste as on a bench.
Produce smooth floor
By its nature, the oor produced by drilling and blasting methods is very rough, forming an arbitrary
combination of hills and valleys that are very hard on the suspensions and tires of wheel loaders and
haul trucks. This uneven surface allows trapping of water, which become machine traps. The water
may also contaminate the ore, making it difcult to process in downstream crushing and screening.
The oor produced by a precision surface miner outtted with a Global Positioning System (GPS)/
laser is not only smooth, but can be tilted towards a sump for drainage. The movement of wheel
loaders and haul trucks is therefore much more efcient, with savings in ore haul times and tire
costs. Figure 1 shows the type of oor that can be achieved.
Expand production capacity
In many cases, the infrastructure in a mine/quarry is fully utilised. Any attempt to increase production
to take advantage of spiking spot prices would require considerable capital to purchase and long
lead times to install a larger primary crusher. Primary crusher capital costs will often be in the tens
of millions of dollars, with purchase/commissioning times of two to four years. Since precision
surface mining produces a uniform product size with a narrow size fraction, the primary crusher can
often be bypassed. One iron ore mine in Western Australia was able to greatly increase its annual
ore production by using two Vermeer T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM and four portable secondary
crushers. Material from the crushers was stockpiled using CAT 988 wheel loaders. This increase in
mine production was all put in place within four months from the time of order placement for the
equipment.
Greenfield mines/quarries
Implementing precision surface mining into greeneld mines/quarries is much easier than into
an existing mine/quarry. The mine planning can take into account the requirements for optimum
utilisation of surface mining. Pit locations should be dened into long, rectangular areas as much
as possible, with access roads and ramps dened separately from the overburden roads and ramps.
Optimum use of a surface miner occurs when starting from the highest point in a pit location and
working from there on down in as large an area as possible. Of course, the requirements of ore
dilution will need to be taken into account, so there will be occurrences of the surface miner working
in small, constrained areas from time-to-time. But it is essential that the mine planning include the
requirements of precision surface mining whenever possible, so that machine utilisation is kept to a
maximum.
Since the surface miner is the primary crusher in a greeneld mine, the type and size of the secondary
and tertiary crushers can be linked to the product produced by the surface miner. This infrastructure
is considerably less expensive to purchase, and more quickly installed than a large primary crusher.
Smaller size mines may consider using mobile crushing units to produce a product of the desired size
fraction.
CURRENT VERMEER APPROACH

T1255 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine
At Vermeer, the current approach to precision surface mining is utilisation of the T1255 Terrain
Leveler SEM as shown in Figure 4 (Hutchins, 2008). The view shown is from the rear of the machine.
Several innovations become immediately apparent, and have been proven in round-the-clock, seven-
day per week operations throughout the world.
FIG 4 - T1255 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine operating in a limestone mine in South Carolina, USA.
Design simplicity
The T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM is designed to maximise machine availability. The hydrostatic
transmission provides very few moving parts compared to mechanical systems. This results in fewer
opportunities for breakdowns. A hydrostatic system and sophisticated operating system (Tec Plus)
guard against operator mistreatment and maximise productivity.
J HUTCHINS
Stability
The Terrain Leveler SEM was designed from the start to deposit the cut material on the oor behind
the machine. This allows the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM to be built close to the ground with a low
centre of gravity. This makes the machine very stable, and allows safe operation on a wide variety of
sloping terrains without the danger of tipping.
Manoeuvrability
A two track system allows the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM to be extremely manoeuvrable. With
the ability to counter rotate its tracks, the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM can virtually turn in its own
footprint in less than 30 seconds. This manoeuvrability allows cost-effective use of the machine in
small spaces and narrow benches if necessary.
Rear-mounted drum
A rear-mounted drum minimises the contact of the cut material with the machine. The tracks do
not pass over the cut material, thereby keeping the original size fractions intact. The drum is easily
accessible for replacing picks (teeth) in the eld, minimising down time.
The drum is supported from the centre and is wider than the tracks. These features, together with
a rear-mounted drum, allow cutting of vertical high walls and square corners. This can be seen in
Figure 5 for a limestone mine, where the maximum amount of mineable limestone was obtained.
FIG 5 - Vertical high wall in a limestone quarry.
Tilt drum
The drum of the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM tilts 5 with respect to the tractor frame. Tilting the
drum is important in order to manage the oor or bench in the mine/quarry. It allows formation of
a at, smooth oor which can be tilted towards a sump to manage water drainage.
The tilt mechanism is activated by hydraulic cylinders which can be controlled so that a constant
tilt is imposed on the drum. The drum can also be operated in an automatic mode where the drum
is always horizontal. Tilting just the drum uses much less energy and is more simple and rugged
structurally than tilting the entire machine. It also allows efcient control of the tilt mechanism by
GPS to follow a three-dimensional orebody while producing a smooth oor (see Figure 6).
Top-down cutting
The T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM cuts down on the rock oor, as shown in Figure 7. The drum is cutting
down on the rock face, with the material passing under the drum out the rear of the machine. The
most important benet of this direct application of force, along with the high weight-to-horsepower
FIG 6 - Following three-dimensional ore seam using Global Positioning System.
ratio of the machine, is that the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM can cut harder rock than those machines
that cut up. The machine is cost effective in cutting rock in the 125 MPa (18 000 psi) range, and in
some instances has been used to cut limestone in the 200 MPa (29 000 psi) range. In these cases,
drilling and blasting was not viable.
Top-down cutting minimises contact of the cut material with the drum, which reduces wear on the
picks and pick holders. It also minimises any problems with clogging/arching/bridging of wet, sticky
material in the drum while cutting.
Another important aspect of down-cutting that can be seen in Figure 7 is that the drum rotation
is in the same direction as the transport, resulting in little or no slipping of the tracks on wet or soft
surfaces. In bottom-up cutting, the machine has to pull the drum through the cut.
FIG 7 - Top-down cutting.
Top-down cutting allows some variation in the size fractions obtained during cutting. Since all of
the material passes under the drum, and the tooth penetration reduces with depth, the deeper the
cut, the smaller the material achieved. Conversely, larger particles can be achieved by reducing the
J HUTCHINS
cutting depth, and increasing the speed (increased tooth penetration). This is not to say that we can
dial in a product size in large part the size fractions obtained are a function of how the rock is laid
into the ground. This is especially true for rock laid down in thin layers, where cutting depth has little
relationship to product size.
Vermeer rock mechanics lab
In an effort to obtain pertinent rock property information, in early 2006 Vermeer set up a state-of-
the-art rock mechanics laboratory at its facilities in Pella, Iowa, USA (Figure 8). Using computer
controlled equipment provided by GCTS Testing Systems, Vermeer has tested rock from all over
the world to build up a database of rock properties such as unconned compressive strength (UCS),
indirect tension (Brazilian Test), abrasivity (Cerchar Abrasivity Index), and density, To date, the lab
has processed rock from over 700 different locations, and performed over 1500 UCS, 1600 Brazilian,
and 3100 Cerchar abrasivity tests.
FIG 8 - Vermeer rock mechanics lab.
Demonstrations of capability
Determining the rock properties is only part of the picture. Over the past three years, the T1255
Terrain Leveler SEM has been tested on numerous sites where the instantaneous production rates
and pick (tooth) wear were exactly determined. This has enabled correlation of rock properties with
production rates and abrasivity costs.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
Currently, there are 11 Terrain Leveler SEM machines working around the clock, seven days a week
in iron ore mines in Western Australia (WA) and a large copper mine in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC). Knowledge gained from working with the local dealerships and operators of the
machines (both inside mine personnel and outside contractors) has convinced Vermeer that there
are areas where we can provide better solutions to the requirements of precision surface mining.
There are several areas that have presented opportunities for development. These include dust
control, drum drive mechanism, size of machine, and cut material loading techniques. These items
are addressed in the sections below.
Family of machines
Rather than provide just one model of Terrain Leveler SEM with one type of drive mechanism, we
have recognised the exibility of providing a family of machines/capabilities to allow mine/quarry
management to pick and choose those items best suited for their operation. Building upon our 50+
years of experience in cutting hard rock, we have continued to pay close attention to the ratio of
machine weight to engine power. In addition, we feel it is important to design our machines so that
a single tractor can be easily and quickly outtted with different attachments designed to handle
different functions. This concept reduces the down time necessary to make these changes, and results
in greater overall machine availability on site.
In preparation for this expansion of capability, Vermeer has built a new high bay facility at the
Vermeer factory in Pella, Iowa, USA (Figure 9).
FIG 9 - High bay manufacturing facility.
Dust suppression
Minimising the adverse environmental impact of mining activities is becoming increasingly important
in the world today. One of the more challenging requirements is to preserve the quality of the air
in mines/quarries. Vermeer has an ongoing program to provide its machines with the ability
to capture the dust produced as a result of its activities. The rst attempt was to use a water spray
to combine with the ne dust particles, causing them to precipitate out. This conguration is shown
in Figure 10.
While this method produced recognisable improvements in the air quality around our machines,
the improvement did not completely satisfy our goal of controlling the dust. This method required
sufcient quantities of water that the holding tank needed to be relled several times during a single
shift. Using water to suppress the dust also presented difculties in the water combining with the
dust inside the pick (tooth) holders, preventing the picks from rotating. After an extensive literature
search, and working in conjunction with experts in the eld, a prototype suppression system has
been developed that uses suction fans and self-purging lters to capture and clean the air. This
system, while considerably more complex, has proven promising in the ability to provide a cleaner
air environment without the necessity of introducing water into the equation. Figure 11 shows results
using a prototype dust control system at a gypsum mine in Oklahoma, USA. The prototype is now
located in Western Australia for additional testing.
Direct drive drum

The current drum drive mechanism on the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM supports the drum from
the centre. The drum is connected via two drive chains to drive sprockets which are driven by two
hydrostatic motors. This conguration enables the machine to cut vertical high walls and square
corners in a mine (Figure 5).
J HUTCHINS
FIG 10 - Water spray system.
(A)
(B)
FIG 11 - Before and after turning on prototype dust suppression system.
The mechanical availability of this conguration is negatively impacted by the necessity to periodi-
cally replace the chain and sprocket because of the wear and tear of interacting with hard, abrasive
material. The time used in chain and sprocket replacement, while not excessive, is time the machine is
not producing. Direct drive to the cutting drum is an attractive alternative. We envision no change in
the ability of the T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM outtted with a direct drive drum to cut hard rock.
A direct drive drum requires, by denition, that the drum be supported on the ends of the
drum instead of the middle. So in a particular mine/quarry, where cutting a vertical high wall is
of importance, two mining attachments will be made available for a quick and easy changeover.
The direct drive drum will be used for the majority of the cutting with its cost and productivity
advantages. The mine/quarry ramps and high walls would be cut using the chain- driven attachment.
For larger mines/quarries, it would then be possible for most of the terrain levellers to be outtted
with the direct drive drum, with only one or two outtted with the chain driven model. Key to this
development is the ability to easily change out the attachments from one model to the next, so that
all machines can have the capability to cut everywhere in the mine/quarry.
A prototype direct drive drum has been developed and tested in a limestone quarry close to the Vermeer
factory (see Figure 12). Further testing side-by-side with a chain driven T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM
will be conducted in a gypsum mine in the United States. In this way we can compare the performance
and reliability of the new design with the chain driven model in actual production conditions.
Figure 13 shows a prototype drum design for the direct drive drum which will enable determination
of the effect of pick (tooth) stand-off height on production rate.
FIG 12 - Prototype direct drive drum.
T1655 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine

A larger, more powerful Terrain Leveler SEM is under development by Vermeer in order to offer a
more complete line of products to the mining industry and to conserve manpower costs on the mine/
quarry site. This machine will be designated the T1655 Terrain Leveler SEM, with a power train of
895 kw (1200 hp), and an operating weight in the range of 268 metric tonnes (300 tons). In addition
to the weight to horsepower ratio, all of the design criteria developed for the T1255 Terrain Leveler
SEM will be incorporated into the new model.
The machine will continue to be very stable, highly manoeuvrable, hydrostatically driven, outtted
with a tilt drum and controlled by the Tec Plus operating system. Both direct-rive and chain-driven
drum options will be offered for the T1655 Terrain Leveler SEM. Current plans are to have a completed
prototype early in 2011. The T1655 Terrain Leveler SEM will deposit the cut material on the oor as
is the case with the T1255 Terrain Leveler SE). A three-dimensional (3D) sketch of the T1655 Terrain
Leveler SEM is shown in Figure 14, and comparison with a T1255 Terrain Leveler SEM in Figure 15.
J HUTCHINS
FIG 13 - Prototype drum design.
FIG 14 - T1655 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine with cab raised.
Loading techniques
I have conducted a study into possible effects of increased production rate on loading efciency
compared with a machine with a built-in loading conguration. This study was carried out for a
variety of mine/quarry, wheel-loader and haul-truck sizes. The effect of haul distance and rock
hardness on loading conguration was also studied. As is the case with the T1255 Terrain Leveler
SEM, the coupling effect between mining and loading predominates. With a built-in loader, when
you are not mining, you are not loading, and vice-versa. Even in the best of all possible worlds where
there is always a truck available for loading and the miner is ready to load, the cost per ton of a built-
in loader is more than loading with wheel loaders (see Figure 16). If a loading capability is available
which can equal or surpass the miner production rate capability, my study indicates there is no
combination of production rates where it has been more cost effective to mine and load at the same
time.
The inability to optimise either mining or loading with a built-in loader always requires more
manpower on the job (wheel loader/haul trucks) than when the two operations are carried out
FIG 15 - Comparison of T1655 and T1255 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine.
FIG 16 - Comparison of cost per ton using a built-in loader versus a wheel loader to load cut material.
separately. This is clearly shown in Figure 17. As the production rate increases, the cost per ton
difference between self loading and loading with a wheel loader decreases. Nevertheless, it can be
seen that the cost per ton for a miner with a built-in loader is always greater than that for a miner
using a separate wheel loader for all practical mining production rates.
J HUTCHINS
FIG 17 - Comparison of built-in loader with wheel loader for various miner production rates.
The reason for this is the second coupling effect of mining with a built-in loader the time delay
between changing trucks. This has made the cost per ton of a miner with a built-in loader greater
than that of a similar miner using a separate wheel loader in all of the cases I have been able to
investigate.
Vermeer has started development of a track-mounted, low-centre-of-gravity loading machine to
round out its family of mining machines.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper has presented arguments for implementing precision surface mining into a wide variety
of situations where it is not currently utilised. If use of explosives is difcult or not possible because
of political or environmental issues, precision surface mining will allow development of the mine/
quarry without the need for drilling and blasting. Where allowed, there is a place for both drilling
and blasting methods and precision mining methods to be used in the same mine/quarry. This
combination can provide the optimum conguration for many orebodies.
Vermeer has made a commitment to provide a complete family of precision mining equipment for
the mining industry. It is expanding both the range of capabilities, and the size of its Terrain Leveler
SEM eet so that exibility is the rule in choosing the best tool for the job.
REFERENCES
ut hins, G, 2008. The Vermeer T1255 Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine (SEM), presented at
International Colloquium on Surface Miner A Breakthrough Technology in the Mining Industry, Calcutta,
12 -13 January.
Software Tools for Open Pit Trucking Studies
S Law1
ABSTRACT
Ledcap Pty Ltd has developed two software tools for assisting in the determination of life-of-mine
(LOM) trucking requirements. The rst tool generates haul paths and the second calculates truck
travel time over these paths. The two step approach allows the paths to be viewed and if required
edited, to better represent the actual site haul routes.
The rst tool automatically creates haul paths between the mine bench and the dump. To do this
the user supplies a master haul route and a scheduled block model. The master haul path and the
block model are interacted to create multiple haul routes, one for each pit/dump bench pair in each
scheduling period. Each path carries with it a record of the scheduling period it represents and the
dry tonnage hauled over the path in that period.
The second tool calculates truck travel time over the path. Data from the manufacturers rimpull
and retarder curves are used to calculate accelerations and speed over each segment of the haul
path. As the paths are derived from digitised representations of mine haul routes the path les often
have over a hundred segments. This detailed representation of the haul route allows the software
to automatically adjust speed for different radius corners and accurately simulates the changing
accelerations over the gradient changes that occur in real life mine ramps. Rolling resistance can be
specied at a global level, at a segment level and at a period level. This allows rolling resistance to be
changed seasonally as well as spatially.
Life-of-mine trucking studies attempt to calculate an accurate answer from extremely variable
inputs. This paper will detail the features of the two software tools and how the tools provided in
the software can assist the mine planner to have greater condence in their life-of-mine trucking
requirements and the subsequent production capacity inputs to their scheduling calculations.
INTRODUCTION
The life-of-mine trucking software tools have been written to determine trucking requirements from
a schedule generated by Gemcoms MineSched scheduling software. MineSched uses shovel capacity
to drive the schedule material movements over the calendar of user dened time periods. Unless
trucking constraints are known prior to the schedule and are used to limit shovel output in truck
constrained periods, the resultant schedule will overestimate production capacity.
The software tools detailed below can be used to post calculate the trucking requirements of a MineSched
schedule. The scheduling engineer can then, by repeated iterations of the scheduler and trucking software,
determine a nal schedule that conforms to the truck and shovel eet capacity. Once the rst iteration
of the schedule is completed the authors experience is that subsequent scheduling and truck capacity
calculations take only minutes to complete. The software has been used on mines with a life of around
15 years with approximately 100 scheduling time periods and 40 000 ore and waste blocks.
Data required by the software to calculate scheduling period trucking requirements is:
x a period by period block model of material movements, and
x truck paths of the route the blocks will travel on between the source and destination locations of
the schedule.
Material movements data
The materials movement data is a block model comprising the source and destination co-ordinates
of all the mining blocks in the schedule. This spatially located block model is created as a csv le at
the completion of each MineSched schedule run.
1. MAusIMM, Director, Ledcap Pty Ltd, 32 Keesing Road, Douglas Qld 4814. Email: mining@ledcap.com.au
S LAW
For the creation of waste destination co-ordinates to occur in MineSched there must be a three-
dimensional model of the nal waste dump and the user must specify the strategy for stacking
the waste into the waste dump model. Typically the schedules involve several mine phases and
multiple waste dump locations so all sources and destinations have a location name as well as spatial
coordinates. Ore blocks delivered to a xed point such as a crusher have a standard destination
coordinate of 0, 0, 0. The scheduled block model also contains the period stockpile material transfers
required to meet blending targets.
Truck path data
A master haul route from each source to each destination must be created by the user. The master
path is a digitised Surpac string le of the haul route. The master path must travel from the two
extremities of the scheduling block data. It must start on an elevation lower than the lowest mining
block and terminate at an elevation above the highest waste dump block. Master path les will have
user supplied haul commands at points along the route that will instruct the travel time software
with parameters such as rolling resistance and stop points. An illustration of the master path and pit
and dump blocks is shown in Figure 1.
FIG 1 - Block model of schedule and master haul path the blocks will travel on.
From the material movement data and the master haul routes the rst software tool creates a haul
ramp path for each bench to bench movement in each scheduling period. This is done by attaching a
mine bench segment and waste dump bench segment to the master path as shown in Figure 2. The
path le is saved with the period number and tonnes over the path attached as parameters. There are
typically hundreds of these path les created for a schedule
FIG 2 - Period haul path.
Travel time calculation

The second software tool is a truck haul time calculator. The user creates a list of all the haul path
les in the software and species the rimpull curve, retarder curves and truck and path parameters.
The software then processes all the paths and creates a single output csv le with period number,
tonnes, travel time and fuel consumption for each path.
SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR OPEN PIT TRUCKING STUDIES
The user can import the output csv le from the truck travel time software into a spreadsheet and
use the data provided to analyse trucking requirements over the life of the schedule. Spreadsheet
analysis allows the user to vary the impact of non-travel time factors such as queuing time, seasonal
moisture content and loading parameters.
HAUL PATH CREATION

The haul path creation software is written in VBA and resides in a Microsoft Access database. At the
completion of a MineSched run the scheduling block model is written out to the material_movement_
detailed_res.csv le and this is loaded into an Access table. This le has the following elds:
x period number, period start date and end date;
x resource (shovel) used to the mine the block;
x block source location name and block source coordinates;
x block destination location name and block destination coordinates; and
x material types, quantity and quality data for the material types.
MineSched allows the user to dene where the coordinates of the point representing the block are
assigned to. This allows the user to allocate the top or bottom of the block as the block elevation.
For mining blocks the bottom of the block is usually chosen as this is the elevation the trucks travel
on. For waste blocks the dumping strategy determines whether the top or bottom of the block is
specied. This is graphically illustrated in Figure 3.
FIG 3 - Block coordinate locations are determined by truck travel elevations.
Master haul routes

The master haul routes are Surpac string les of the path the truck takes between the mining location
and the dump location. The return path is automatically generated as the reverse of the haul path
unless the return path is a different route, in which case a separate string le of the return path is
required. Surpac sting les are comma delimited les with the following elds:
String number, Y, X, Z, description elds
Description elds are used to specify haul commands that advise the haul time program of segments
properties such as rolling resistance and maximum speed. Each string le contains one path. An
example of a point from a string path le is shown below with rolling resistance and maximum
velocity haul commands in the description eld.
2, 9693.814, 6278.868, 273.838, RR = 2.5, VM = 25
This approach to specifying the haul prole by using a string le allows the user to build haul
proles in Surpac from screen digitising of haul routes from the pit and dump designs. Changes in
haul parameters such as maximum allowable speed can be graphically applied to the point on the
haul prole where the change occurs.
S LAW
The software can create string les of the blocks to be mined in a period or phase. By displaying the
blocks in Surpac, along with the pit and dump designs, the user can visualise the block locations the
master ramp has to provide a haulage route for. This is essential as in complex multi-phase mining
and dump schedules the scheduler will determine the location of waste and ore blocks. An example
of the blocks, pit and waste designs graphically displayed in Surpac are shown below in Figure 4.
With ore and waste blocks and pit and waste dump all graphically displayed, the user can screen
digitise the master haul route for a phase.
FIG 4 - Graphical display in Surpac of blocks overlaid on pit and dump designs.
Point haul instructions

Haul instructions are either point or path commands but are applied at a point in the haul path le.
A typical point command is the stop command. The command ST = 20 appearing on a point in the
haul prole will signifying the truck must come to a stop at that point and remain stopped for the 20
seconds. A typical path command is VM = 30. This signies that from this point on the maximum
allowable speed is 30 km/hr. The maximum speed will remain at 30 km/hr until a new maximum
speed command is issued or the velocity cancel command VX, is issued. The VX command resets
the maximum speed to the global maximum speed. The list of available haul commands and their
function is shown below (Table 1).
TABLE 1
List of available haul commands and their function.
AF = x m/s Acceleration factor Overrides the acceleration for the next segment only
VM = x km/hr Maximum speed New maximum speed
VC = 0 Apply global maximum speed Maximum speed reverts to the global maximum speed
VP = x km/hr Speed at point Truck must be travelling at this speed when it reaches the point this command is on
RR = x Rolling resistance Applies this rolling resistance to this point forward
ST = x seconds Stop time Truck must come to a stop for the time specified at this point
DT = x seconds Dump time Truck must come to a stop for the time specified at this point and truck weight is reduced to unloaded weight
TH = x tonnes Tonnes hauled The tonnes hauled over the path
PE = x Period mined The period the path applies to
Generation of period haul routes

Prior to running the software to generate the period haul routes the user must prepare a table that
assigns master haul ramp le names to the mine and waste dump locations in the schedule block
model. The table also contains the pit and dump bench segment haul commands. An example of
typical entries to this table is shown below in Figure 5.
The user can restrict the inuence of master ramps by specifying the top and bottom bench
elevations. In this way multiple ramps can be assigned to a single mining phase by elevation.
FIG 5 - Period haul ramp with location of software positioned haul commands.
To generate period by period haul routes from the master haul route the haul path software rst
calculates the haulage centroid of the blocks to be mined in the period. A bench segment from this
point to the master segment is then created and appended to the master haul route. This process is
repeated for the dump segment. These segments are then joined into the master haul route at the
elevation of the bench and the part of the master haul route outside the bench elevation extent is
discarded. The user has the option to add an additional length to the pit and dump bench segment
to provide for corners and diversions that would add to the bench haul segment in practice. The
addition can be a xed length or a per cent age of the bench segment.
The centroid position is the mass weighted average haul distance back to the master haul ramp at
the elevation of the blocks. It is calculated using the following formula:
n
/(Tr # Dr)
Dbench = r = 1 n
/Tr
r=1
where:
D = horizontal distance from the block to master haul path
T = tonnes in the block
n = total number of blocks for the period on the mine or dump bench
For a period with multiple benches mined (or dumped) a path le is created for each mine/waste
bench pair. The user can specify separate haul commands for the bench portion of the haul prole.
These will apply to the bench part of the haul then revert to the haul commands applied to the master
haul path when on the master haul path. This is illustrated below in Figure 5.
If the user has not provided a return haul path then the software will create a return path by
reversing the path and joining it to the end of the haul path. In doing this the haul commands on
the return segment of the path will be at the end of the part of the haul segment they apply to. The
software has to slide the commands back up the return path to the correct start point in the path.
A typical period haul path le is shown below. The pit bench segment is at elevation 335.0 and the
dump bench segment is at 240.0 Note the bench haul commands on point 1 have been moved back
to the start of the bench segment, from point 18 back to point 17.
x Pt 1 2, 9540.821, 7207.530, 335.000, RR = 3,VM = 30, TH = 1 384 869, PE = 55;
x Pt 2 2, 9834.219, 7109.313, 335.000, VM = 30, RR = 2.5;
x Pt 3 2, 9973.153, 7053.510, 320.028;
x Pt 4 2, 10 258.694, 6621.370, 304.133;
x Pt 5 2, 10 248.755, 6573.220, 299.320, VM = 40;
x Pt 6 2, 10 243.780, 6555.396, 299.320;
x Pt 7 2, 10 353.110, 6203.490, 263.615;
x Pt 8 2, 10 477.913, 6003.678, 240.000, RR = 3,VM = 30;
x Pt 9 2, 10 395.768, 5726.263, 240.000, DT = 0;
x Pt 10 2, 10 477.913, 6003.678, 240.000, VM = 40, RR = 2.5;
x Pt 11 2, 10 353.110, 6203.490, 263.615;
S LAW
x Pt 12 2, 10 243.780, 6555.396, 299.320;

x Pt 13 2, 10 248.755, 6573.220, 299.320, VM = 30;
x Pt 14 2, 10 258.694, 6621.370, 304.133;
x Pt 15 2, 10 099.532, 6984.837, 320.299;
x Pt 16 2, 9973.153, 7053.510, 320.028;
x Pt 17 2, 9834.219, 7109.313, 335.000, RR = 3,VM = 30;
x Pt 18 2, 9540.821, 7207.530, 335.000; and
x Pt 19 0, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, END.
During the processing of the blocks and haul routes a ag is set each time a block is processed. Blocks
that are processed more than once are reported at the end of processing. This occurs when a block falls
within the inuence of more than one master ramp and results in double counting of the tonnes in the
block. The user must edit the master ramp assignment table to prevent the double counting of blocks.
A folder of haul and return paths is created for each resource. This allows the user to separate
paths that apply to different truck types or excavators for separate haul time calculation. There is a
table provided to map the resource names from MineSched into user dened groupings. The haul
and return paths are created as separate les and joined together in a nal step. The software has an
option to check the combined les for errors.
HAUL TIME CALCULATION

Calculation of haul times is carried out with VBA routines residing in a Microsoft Excel workbook.
Excel was selected for its user interface. Truck performance data is easily input and rimpull and
retarding data can be graphically viewed and checked.
Input parameters
Input parameters are global or truck dependant. There is a global data sheet containing the list of
haul path les to process and the global parameters. This is the sheet that the software is run from.
Each truck type has a sheet with truck dependant data.
Global data specied is the site maximum speed, maximum allowable ramp slope, global rolling
resistance and period dependant rolling resistance. Rolling resistance can be specied in three
places, with each value being summed to provide a nal rolling resistance. These three places are:
1. globally to be applied to all parts of the haul route,
2. locally using the RR haul command at points on the haul route, and
3. period dependant from a lookup table of period verses rolling resistance.
At the start of processing a haul route the period number is read and if the lookup table of period
rolling resistance exists then the value matching the period is added to the global rolling resistance and
applied to all parts of the haul route. This allows rolling resistance to be seasonally and spatially varied.
Program functionality
The user needs to create a list of all the haul path les to process. This is done using a le picker dialog
to point to the folder the haul paths are in. The le picker then places the names of all the string les
in the folder in a list on the global sheet. The user can edit this list if required. The software then
processes each path, creating a single csv le with the following elds:
Path le name, distance (m), time (s), fuel (l), period number, tonnes
TABLE 2
Table used to assign haul profile strings to mine and dump phases.
Top Bot Bench X Dump X Bench haul Dump haul

Source Dest Path
bench bench dist dist com com
P_NP_Ext4_prestrip D_Dump Ramp_ps_d_dump.str 30 30 RR = 3,VM = 30 RR = 3,VM = 30
P_NP_Ext4_stage_1 D_Dump Ramp_ptg1_d_dump.str 0.2 0.2 RR = 3,VM = 30 RR = 3,VM = 30
P_NP_Ext4_stage_3b D_Dump Ramp_stg3b_d_dump.str 220 75 30 30 RR = 3,VM = 30 RR = 3,VM = 30
Detailed individual reports of each path le can also be created. These include velocity and
acceleration reports with segment by segment summaries down to one second intervals.
The processing of each haul path takes place in two steps. The rst preprocesses the path and
determines if the maximum speed on any segment needs to be reduced to implement retarding or
cornering speed control. If speed control is required then velocity max (VM) or velocity point (VP)
commands will be inserted at the appropriate points in the haul prole to restrict speeds. The path is
then processed to determine the haul time.
The software always starts with a loaded truck at rest. The truck is then accelerated in one second
intervals using the rimpull data. Acceleration will proceed until one of the following occurs:
x the maximum allowable speed is reached;
x the maximum rimpull is reach, resulting in a terminal velocity;
x the end of the segment is reached; and
x a point is reached at which deceleration is required to meet an end of segment speed requirement.
This same process will be repeated segment by segment over the full length of the path. If a terminal
speed is reached in a segment then one second increments can be abandoned and a calculation done
on the travel time to the end of the segment.
Fuel consumption is calculated in each time interval by proportioning full load consumption
against applied load. The software allows the user to specify idle and retarder fuel consumption from
the manufacturers data.
The maximum acceleration rates for the trucks are user determined, not calculated from truck
inertia and applied rimpull, as truck drivers rarely apply instantaneous full load when operating
trucks. The user must site determine loaded and unloaded acceleration and deceleration rates from
site conditions. Cornering speed restrictions must also be site determined.
A problem with haul proles containing many short segments is that a truck may enter a segment
at a speed that is too high to allow deceleration, in that segment, to end of segment speed restriction.
At present this is handled by calculating the extra time that would have been required to slow down
and adding this to the total path time. The segment this occurs in is reported in the error report so
the user is aware of the problem. Current software development is implementing a rollback capacity
where the calculation will move back to a segment where there is sufcient distance to decelerate to
the required speed.
The user must recognise that life-of-mine trucking studies are subject to a large number of variables
and an accurate calculation of a user dene haul prole may not be an accurate estimate of the
average travel time over the life of the mine. The site must be doing regular reconciliations of actual
haul times versus calculated haul times to ensure their haul time parameters are realistic.
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Analysis of the total cycle time and truck/shovel productivity is carried out in a spreadsheet. Truck
and shovel productivity is supplied by the user. Dump time in the haulage time software has been set
to zero for all studies to date and has been provided by the user as part of the spreadsheet data. As
the mining period is part of the data provided by the software, the user can include period dependant
data in their nal analysis. Shown below in Table 3 are some lines from the workbook calculations
for each path in each period.
The individual period haul path data sheet is summarised into a table of truck versus period number
as shown in Table 4 below and a graph created of the truck requirements shown in Figure 6.
PROBLEMS AND SHORTCOMINGS

There are situations where the system will produce ramps that are impractical to construct. This will
typically happen on a donut shaped cutback bench, or waste dump built around the side of a hill, as
shown in Figure 7. In this case the user can specify an additional length of ramp to add to the bench
segment to adjust for the error or edit the ramps to correct the problem.
S LAW
TABLE 3
Workbook calculations of each routes cycle times.
Time minutes
Load Avg
Trip
Period Days Tonnes km Trips and Haul Que Hours Days Trucks T x Km speed
time s
Dump km/hr
23 32 661.3 1229 5.1 7.0 29.1 76.7 24.3 2.17 0.12 0.0037 6242 27.6
24 31 647.8 3162 5.0 17.9 74.8 193.1 62.6 5.51 0.30 0.0097 15777 27.7
10 31 826.2 103 751 4.3 587.2 2456.3 8085.2 1467.9 200.16 10.89 0.3512 445 808 18.7
9 32 785.9 322 197 4.0 1823.4 7627.9 23 883.7 5014.4 608.77 33.11 1.0348 1 276 190 18.1
10 31 981.5 32 040 5.1 181.3 758.5 2966.2 453.3 69.63 3.79 0.1222 164 295 18.8
8 29 961.9 9888 5.0 56 234.1 897.1 153.9 21.42 1.17 0.0402 490 096 18.6
9 32 966.2 418 288 5.0 2367.2 9902.9 38 120.2 6509.9 908.88 49.44 1.5450 2 091 691 18.6
TABLE 4
Table of trucks versus period number.
Period start date Period Trucks Tonne x km Total Tonnes

1 July 2010 1 9 17 3 536 635
1 August 2010 2 9 17 3 817 607
1 September 2010 3 9 16 3 770 890
1 October 2010 4 13 20 4 592 968
1 November 2010 5 13 20 4 546 800
1 December 2010 6 12 19 4 708 857
1 January 2011 7 12 19 4 731 750
1 February 2011 8 15 22 4 307 084
1 March 2011 9 15 23 4 840 611

FIG 6 - Table and graph of trucking requirements.
FIG 7 - Ramp positioned over mined out area or through hill.
CONCLUSION
The software is being used to determine life-of-mine truck requirements for mine scheduling at
Savage River Magnetite Mine. It is now part of the standard planning tools that are used to create
the budget schedules. The construction of master haul routes has necessitated a detailed review of all
ramp designs in the mine plan. This review means all ramps are critically evaluated and adds to the
condence in the long term plan. The software is also being used to rapidly review different dump
options with total fuel burn and truck numbers being used as a proxy cost comparison.
The nature of LOM trucking requirements is that the travel time calculated is an average
representation of a cycle that is repeated many times. Any errors in the times will be summed over
each cycle and accumulate. It is important that the calculations are regularly calibrated against actual
cycle times and the reasons for variations are well understood.
Infrared Imager as a Tool for Monitoring of Power
Shovels, Gearcase Bearings and Electric Motors
V Sergeev1, M Zhuravlev2 and R Y Poderni3
ABSTRACT
Thermal method of diagnostic as a nondestructive monitoring is based on data logging of infrared
radiation from heated surface or from the associated thermal eld. Monitoring of gearcases and
motors hidden faults, such as, bearing degradation (deep-seated wears and tears, fretting wear,
spalling and jamming solids of revolution) is closely related to high variations in temperature. The
use of portable thermal imaging devices provides considerable advantages due to easy remote access
to the unit under test even when it is operating minimum time required to obtain information and
an opportunity for a real-time diagnosis of the tested subjects condition.
INTRODUCTION
The power shovel consists of a set of the interconnected units and details having different vital resources,
degree of reliability and resistance of deterioration. The working condition of a power shovel depends
on reliability of all without exception components, included in him. The breakage of any detail of a
power shovel results in a stop of operation and as rule in economic losses from its idle time.
The development of power shovel failure forecasting method based on data logging of infrared
radiation from heated surface or from the associated thermal eld with the use of portable thermal
imaging devices is a stage of nondestructive monitoring development. Most hidden faults of power
shovels important components such as motors, electrical equipment, contacts, gearcase bearings,
moving details degradation can be easily discovered through their temperature variation. The use
of portable thermal imaging devices provides considerable advantages due to easy remote access to
the unit under test even when it is operating, minimum time required to obtain information and an
opportunity for a real-time diagnosis of the tested subjects condition.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
After heating a researched surface, the homogenous (qualitative) site intensively dissipates heat and
his temperature relatively modest, and the non-uniform (defective) site dissipates heat poorly and
his temperature is above the line. The thermal receiver registers this temperature difference.
Passive and active thermal control
The difference between the passive and active thermal control is that the former does not require
an external thermal source and the thermal eld of the controlled object is generated either during
its operation, due to surface friction, bearing units, electrical contacts, or other cause, or during
the manufacturing process, ie due to tempering, annealing, welding or other process. The passive
control was used in this study to diagnose the conditions of bearings and electrical equipment of
electrical power shovels.
Two methods can be used to diagnose the conditions of bearings units
1. instantaneous gauging of temperature of a researched surface, instant temperature reading and
2. consecutive gauging of temperature to achieve a more complete picture of dynamics of development
of possible defect over a certain time interval.
1. President, Closed Joint Stock Company Tyazhmashservice Ltd, 41 Shorsa ul, Krasnojarsk City 660094, Russia. Email: tms_kras@mail.ru
2. Vice-President, Closed CJC Tyazhmashservice Ltd, 6 Leninsky Avenue, Moscow 119991, Russia. Email: mzhur@mail.ru
3. Professor, Moscow State Mining University, 6 Leninsky Avenue, Moscow 119991, Russia. Email: poderni@yandex.ru
V SERGEEV, M ZHURAVLEV AND R Y PODERNI
The method of consecutive gauging is more accurate for forecasting the development of defects and
the prevention of large failures of the important mechanisms of power shovel.
Infrared Imager
Infrared Imager is a device that measures the changes in the eld temperature of a researched body
or surface in an infra-red range of an electromagnetic spectrum (from 900 up to 14 000 nanometers)
and creates a colour image of this thermal eld. The Infrared Imager contains a sensitive element
a matrix or lattice of tiny detectors, which perceives infra-red signals and transforms them into
electrical pulses, which, subsequently, after amplication, are transformed into video signal. The
received video signal, by means of the electronic block of measurement, registration and mathematical
processing, is converted into a digital signal and is passed to the screen of the computer or a display.
Among various models of the Infrared Imager, the most preferable due to it maintenance characteristics
for the technical control of technical condition for power shovels is the Infrared Imager Fluke and
Testo (Figure 1).
Photo lens Loud-speaker
Cover of photo lens
Memory card 2 Gb Main LCD display

Microphone
Picture area
User menu
Input- buttons
output
adapter
Infrared lens
Focus ring
Starting button
Solid body Left or right hand

strap
FIG 1 - Infrared Imager Fluke.
Infrared Imager application

Infrared Imager at the control of latent defects and deterioration of gearcase bearings of power
shovels and electric equipment follows from physical properties of bearings and electrical units,
which undergo rapid temperature change (heating) when the slightest defect or malfunction occurs.
In addition, the benets of infrared Imager application are
x easy remote access to object of the control at a working power shovel,
x minimal time to acquire information, and
x possibility of an instant (real-time) diagnosis of the conditions of the measured unit.
CASE STUDY ELECTRIC POWER SHOVEL

This section discusses the use of the Infrared Imager to determine the conditions of the electrical
contacts and bearings of the power shovel, especially, the detection and forecast of the development
of defects for various bearing mechanism of power shovels. During the experiment, both thermal
eld imaging and video/photography were used to provide visual evidence of failure. In Figure 2, the
photography and thermal image of the electrical junctions inside of the frequency converter box are
shown. The weak tightening of electrical junctions become apparent at thermal recording (Sergeev,
2010).
INFRARED IMAGER AS A TOOL FOR MONITORING OF POWER SHOVELS, GEARCASE BEARINGS AND ELECTRIC MOTORS
(A)
(B)
FIG 2 - The photography (A) and thermal image (B) of the weak electrical contact junction inside of the frequency converters box.
The case study shows a typical deterioration process of a basic power shovel winch assembly unit
caused by delays in maintenance (replacement of rich greasing of the bearing or bearing unit), which
could lead to an irreversible destruction process and emergency failure of the entire assembly unit.
Increase reaction between various components of an assembly, ie separator, rotating parts, internal
and external ball bearings may lead to increase of friction and power losses through heating. The
magnitude of friction is directly proportional to increase in temperature and may result in an increase
of a radial backlash of the bearing, pressing process of the rotating shaft and commencement of
destruction of separator and rotating parts.
In a Figure 3, the thermal images of the power shovel winch bearing are shown. These thermal
diagrams have been acquired consecutively over 20 working shifts and shows dynamics of
development of defects of the bearing based on the temperature changes of the thermal eld.
The temperature at the same site of the bearing changed continuously from the base of
20 - 220 C (Figure 3a) and after 20 working shifts up to a dangerous temperature levels of to 86 - 900 C
(Figure 3b).
The analysis of this thermal picture shows increase of defects of the bearing during its operation.
Figure 3a shows the weak heating of the bearing unit cover acquired by the Infrared Imager. This
heating occurred as a result of increase of a reaction between moving contacts because not enough
rich greasing of rollers was provided or changes of the grease chemical structure occurred or bearing
replacement was delayed. Step by step, the bearing unit heated up much more strongly with a larger
heating area (image taken from different perspective to Figure 3a). It is possible, with sufcient
V SERGEEV, M ZHURAVLEV AND R Y PODERNI
(A)
(B)
FIG 3 - The thermal diagrams of the bearing heating taken off consecutively over 20 working shifts and show
dynamics of its defects development based on the temperature changes: (A) 20 - 220 C; (B) 86 - 900 C.
probability, to assert the development of defects, ie intensive deterioration of moving parts and,
probably, the deterioration paths within the internal and external sides of the bearing.
Figure 3b shows further enlargement of the heating area and an increase in temperature of the
researched unit, which also indicates partial destruction of moving parts, elements of separator and
signicant deterioration of the bearing surface.
CONCLUSION
Among the diversication of existing diagnostic methods and means of nondestructive inspection
of power shovel important components such as motors, electrical equipment, contacts, gearcase
bearings, moving details the most acceptable and effective method for monitoring of their working
condition is thermal. The last can be realised by means of portable Infrared Imager capable to
provide easy remote access to the unit under test even when it is operating minimum time required
to obtain information and an opportunity for a real-time diagnosis of the tested subjects condition.
REFERENCES
Sergeev, V , 2010. Means of nondestructive control for diagnostic of working condition of components and
units of mining equipment, Journal Mining E uipment and Electro-Mechanics, 1 51-57.
The EMESRT Approach to Equipment Design Bringing
End Users into the Picture
G von Horsten1
ABSTRACT
The Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT) was established by mining companies
in 2006 to inuence manufacturers equipment design through a process of engagement. 2010
EMESRT member companies include Anglo American, Barrick, BHP Billiton, Centennial Coal,
Collahausi, Newcrest, Newmont, Rio Tinto, Vale and Xstrata.
Driven by a persistent need for retrots to new equipment, such as haul trucks, EMESRT initially
engaged with Surface Equipment Manufacturers including Caterpillar, Komatsu, Leibherr, Hitachi,
Le Tourneau and Terex. These OEMs responded positively to the EMESRT initiative, welcoming
the opportunity for dialogue with an aligned industry regarding human factors issues related to
equipment design, rather than needing to respond to the disparate range of demands for design
modications previously received from individual customers.
This engagement process is about making global sustained changes within the OEM organisations
and within the mining companies. It is a very international exercise. For example, over two weeks in
September 2010, a total of 21 different miners from ten different companies travelled from Australia,
South Africa, Canada, Brazil, Singapore and the United States to engage with OEM counterparts who
assembled from the United States, Japan, France, Sweden, Finland and Germany.
EMESRT Surface Group representatives completed a whirlwind tour of the major North American
manufacturers of mining equipment. Starting in Dallas (Atlas Copco, LeTourneau), this tour
passed through Gainesville (Sandvik), Newport News (Liebherr), Guelph Ontario (Hitachi) and
Milwaukee (P&H Mining/Joy Global; Bucyrus), before winding up in Peoria, Illinois (Komatsu,
Caterpillar). Over nine meetings, this group engaged with 129 individuals from nine OEMs. The
EMESRT group welcomed miners from four non-member companies to come along for the meetings.
These companies are Syncrude Canada Ltd, the Kearl Oil Sands Project Imperial Oil (ESSO),
Suncor Energy Ltd and Teck Resources Ltd.
Other mining industry sectors have now expanded the EMESRT scope from surface mining to
include exploration and underground mining equipment. In 2009, EMESRT was organised into
four Technical Groups, consisting of EMESRT member company representatives, to focus on
engagement with OEMs of surface, underground coal and soft rock, underground hard rock, and
exploration drilling equipment. An advisory group has been formed to coordinate activities between
all workgroups and provide strategic direction and cohesion between all activities.
The Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (UQ-SMI) facilitates and coordinates all EMESRT
activities on behalf of member companies. Building on successes with individual Surface Mining
OEMs, EMESRT now aims to help OEMs in their transition to a sustainable design process that
will incorporate and address specic design philosophies at the concept phase of design, so that
signicant improvements can be made up front for little cost within the overall budget. EMESRT
members plan to educate all stakeholders, internally, within their own companies, and externally,
by addressing industry associations, regulators and other end users about new ways of evaluating
equipment design based on EMESRT purchasing specications.
This presentation will outline the EMESRT approach and report on progress in 2010.
1. Principal Reliability Engineer Mobile Plant, Barrick Gold (Aust-Pacific), Level 10, 2 Mill Street, Perth WA 6000. Email: gvonhorsten@barrick.com
Ranking of Belt Conveyor Systems for Prefeasibility
Study
E Y Baafi1 and D A Bedward2
ABSTRACT
Prefeasibility planning and cost estimation of conveyor systems has historically been undertaken
by comparing xed plant transport requirements to that of similar systems in service. This paper
describes the development of a prefeasibility conveyor technical design and cost estimation
application using Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) platform. The application tool
known as D-Con ey (Dachshund Convey) was developed with the goal enabling the end user
x to develop a technical model for conceptualised conveyor systems,
x to perform economic analysis on the developed technical model, and
x to conduct a comparative and risk analysis.
An Excel VBA based platform was utilised to draw upon both the analytical and graphical capabilities
of a spreadsheet. Some of the features of D-Con ey system include a revolutionary dynamic graphical
help system, known as the information pane in lieu of traditional help les as well as the use of
familiar graphical user interface elements such as the MS Ofce 2007 task ribbon. The D-Con ey
system incorporates material database allowing for mass handling prefeasibility estimation in other
industries it has been validated at a local quarry.
INTRODUCTION
Conveyor belt systems
Belt conveyor systems are traditionally utilised to transport bulk materials between multiple points.
They are generally chosen as the primary means of bulk materials transportation in-plant by most
mining operations over the life of mine. An advantage of a belt conveyor system is its capability to
transport materials with a constant uniform throughput. Belt conveyor systems are also cheaper to
operate primary due to cost savings associated with low personnel, energy and labour requirements.
Conveyors are typically reliable and easily integrated into both continuous and automated systems,
such as those used for inter-plant transportation. With the exception of mobile conveyors, most
belt conveyor systems require a xed installation. Once installed, they are not highly customisable
and therefore a conveyor belt system must be designed during the planning phase to accommodate
changes in production.
Conveyor design specications are based largely on numerical modelling and empirical data given by
both International Standards Organisation (ISO 251, 2003 ISO 5048, 1989) and Deutsches Institut
fur Normung (DIN 22101 (2002 - 2008) and British Standards primarily. Thorough numerical
analysis have been compiled for conveyor belts by others (Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers
Association, 2002 ardley and Stace, 2008 Woodcock and Mason, 1988). In most cases, the
required carrying capacity, or throughput of the conveyor installation would have been determined
due to existing transport and plant requirements. In-plant conveyors would be generally designed
to facilitate bulk materials transport between minerals beneciation equipment, such as crushers,
which is normally designed to cope with the mines extraction and production rates. Therefore data
such as required carrying capacity for a conveyor system are generally known from the outset.
According to Equation 1, the carrying capacity of a belt conveyor system is directly proportional
to the average cross sectional area of the heaped material, the bulk density of the material, and the
speed of the conveyor belt.
1. MAusIMM, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522. Email: ebaafi@uow.edu

2. GAusIMM, Quarry Development Management Trainee, Hanson, Ground Floor, 601 Doncaster Road, Doncaster Vic 3108. Email: david.bedward@hanson.com.au
E Y BAAFI AND D A BEDWARD
T ab (1)
where
T carrying capacity of the conveyor (t/hr)
a average cross sectional area of the belt (m2)
b the bulk density of the material (t/m3)
the belt speed of the conveyor (m/s)
For a three-roller troughed belt
0.0047117 + 0.125 + ^0.0065913 - 1.025cos^ mhh rb sin^2b h
T ;c mc - mE (2)
sin^ b h 180 2
where
belt width (mm)
troughing angle (degrees)
angle of surcharge (m/s)
At a prefeasibility stage of the design process, there would not be enough known design parameters
to utilise any single one of the previously mentioned standards alone. This paper discusses both
the development and implementation of a practical model for conceptualised belt conveyor bulk
materials handling model D-Con ey which can be used to determine the necessary technical
requirements and the associated minimum discounted unit costs. The proposed model was based
upon multiple standards and design methods.
The model D-Con ey is intended to be utilised for the selection and ranking of multiple belt
conveyor projects by determining the optimum operating costs and associated technical capabilities.
The model utilises a Microsoft Excel 2007 Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) functionalities.
DEVELOPMENT OF D-CONVEY
Development overview
D-Con ey model makes use of multiples frames, which may be accessed from the ribbon menu interface
(Figure 1). Applicable technical requirements, for the scope of prefeasibility, are rst determined
and utilised as a basis for selecting itemised cost model variables. A cash ow is then automatically
created to provide the net present service cost, annual equivalent cost and the discounted unit cost
per tonne of material conveyed.
FIG 1 - Overview of D-Convey.
RANKING OF BELT CONVEYOR SYSTEMS FOR PREFEASIBILITY STUDY
D-Con ey is initialised whenever an excel workbook D-Con ey.xls is loaded. The application
starts on the title screen followed by the users input/output screens (Figure 2). Five ribbon tabs are
included to navigate the ribbon submenus titled Project, Technical, Costing, Financial and Reports.
These submenus are toggled upon a mouse click through the use of the MultiPage control. The
application screens are activated by selecting a button in the ribbon submenu.

FIG 2 - Excel 2007 ribbon menu interface (top), D-Convey ribbon menu interface.
Feed data
The user is rst required to select the proposed feed type to be conveyed from a list box control on
the feed data screen (Figure 3). A database of over 150 materials is imported when the program is
loaded. The values are imported by reading row by row from a separate closed excel workbook named
MaterialProperties xls. This method of importing bulk material properties was chosen to allow
users to open the MaterialProperties xls workbook separately and add or modify the bulk material
data. Once a feed is selected, the user selects feed properties listed from the list box or enter custom
values in textbox controls. If a given value option button is selected, the corresponding textbox is
disabled for user input and the data is transferred from the list box to the corresponding textbox. If
a custom value option button is selected, the associated textbox is cleared and user input is enabled.
With the material grading and maximum lump size selected, the worksheet LumpSise- idth-Speed
routine is activated in the background and the PopMaxSpeedAndBelt idths subroutine is executed
to determine the maximum speed values using the approach suggested by Rulmeca (2003). Any of
the four option buttons provided at the bottom of Figure 3 may be used to describe the feed mass
ow rate uniformity. This information is then used to apply the appropriate feed correction factor to
determine the effective loaded volume of the bulk material on the belt.
FIG 3 - D-Convey feed data screen.
General arrangements
The general arrangements screen shown in Figure 4 utilises a Cartesian coordinate (x, y) system for the user
to plot the conveyor prole and general arrangements. The prole of the belt is plotted between a series of
nodes (nodes one to 11) from a given start point on the Cartesian plane (typically 0, 0). The prole between
the nodes is dened in terms of section length (m) and grade (per cent) of each section only. Other values are
tabulated for each section including angle of elevation ( ), change in vertical and horizontal distances (m),
ending position (x, y) of the current upper bound node and starting position (x, y) of the next lower bound
node. If the entered section grade exceeds the maximum recommended conveyor angle of inclination given
in the bulk materials list box the user is prompted with a warning message. Once the user has nalised
conveyor prole entry, a checkbox is selected to verify that all relevant data has been entered. The user
further selects the nodes where the feed is to be loaded and the corresponding mass ow rates.
FIG 4 - D-Convey general arrangements screen.
Troughing configuration
The troughing conguration and belt speed/width screen (Figure 5) is used for the specication of
the belt and troughing conguration. The user rst selects a troughing conguration and associated
troughing angle using the option buttons. Once a troughing angle is selected the conveyor belt width
is suggested by the system from a list of ISO251 2003 belt widths.

FIG 5 - D-Convey troughing configuration and belt speed/width screen.
RANKING OF BELT CONVEYOR SYSTEMS FOR PREFEASIBILITY STUDY
Drive configuration
Diagrammatic representations of differing drive congurations are provided in the drive properties
(Figure 6) to enable the user to easily visualise the associated congurations. Typical angles of wrap
for given drive congurations in this screen are those suggested by Rulmeca (2003). The selection
of rubber lagging in combination with differing belt cover materials is used to determine the drive
coefcient of friction, or drive coefcient of grip (Brook, 1971). The values of wrap angles, belt covers
and the lagging inuence the required belt tension for no slip to occur at the drive.
FIG 6 - D-Convey drive properties screen.
VALIDATION OF D-CONVEY
A 227 m long belt conveyors at a quarry in New South Wales, was modelled using D-Con ey. The belt
CV01 conveys rock from the primary jaw crusher to a stockpile. The rock is basalt with an average
specic gravity of 1.77 it is utilised for construction aggregates, gravels and road base materials.
There is a second additional feed point upstream from the crusher feed point onto CV01 where
+20 mm to -60 mm scalped material is fed. Material is introduced into the circuit via trucks tipping
off directly onto the grizzly before the primary crusher and hence, the feed is not uniform and does
tend to surge. The rst feed point at the crusher possesses a mass ow rate of 580 t/h and the
secondary feed point upstream for returned scalps deposits 40 t/h of bulk material on the belt.
Rubber belt covers are utilised with textile reinforced conveyor belts the factor of safety is ten. Since
very adverse conditions exist on this site and the bulk material is quite sharp and abrasive, belts are
generally replaced every two years. One hundred and thirty-three millimetre diameter idlers were
suggested by D-Con ey model as a maximum size for being typical of an installation of this type.
Currently at Bass Point CV01 has 152 mm diameter idlers installed, which are the next size up. The
suggested values of 1 m carrying idler spacing and 3 m return idler spacing suggested by utilisation of
the Rulmeca (2003) method of analysis is approximately equal to the values in place on the conveyor.
The conveyor possesses a rubber lagged, single v-belt drive with an angle of wrap of approximately
220 . Typical values of drive coefcient of friction and 90 per cent gearbox efciency were chosen.
The conveyor operates for 60 hours of production per week at two shifts per day, six days per week.
This can be evenly divided to give a total of ve operating hours per week, over 12 shifts per week.
The quarry operates for 48 weeks per year. The total annual throughput is approximately equal to
the production rates at the quarry typically amount to 5500 - 6000 t/day. Gearbox overhauls are
undertaken every ve years for the conveyor system at an average cost of 35 000 per overhaul. Oil
changes are done yearly on the conveyor system at a cost of 800 per oil change. Electrical energy
has been factored in at 20 cents per kWh. All costs have been scaled up by ten per cent to account for
uncertainty.
D-Con ey nancial analysis of the belt conveyor in the quarry resulted in a net present service cost
of 1.6M with an annual equivalent cost of 130k per year. This equated to a discounted haulage cost
of 7.5c per tonne of material conveyed which compared favourably with the quarrys historical data.
CONCLUDING REMARK
A conceptualised belt conveyor installation model has been developed. D-Con ey has the ability
to rapidly determine applicable technical requirements and properties of conceptualised conveyor
installations. The D-Con ey model has a dynamic help system, and the ability to pick typical values
for almost every design component.
REFERENCES
Brook, N, 1971. Mechanics of Bulk Materials Handling, 166 p (Butterworths Law Publishers Ltd London).
Conveyor uipment Manufa turers sso iation, 2002. Belt conveyors for bulk materials.
D N 22101, 2002 - 2008. Continuous conveyors - belt conveyors for loose bulk materials basics for
calculation and dimensioning online . Available from http //infostore.saiglobal.com/store/Details.
aspx ProductID 616541 Accessed 15 July 2009 .
S , 2003. Conveyor belts with textile carcass widths and lengths online . Available from http //
www.iso.org/iso/catalogue detail.htm csnumber 27295 Accessed 15 July 2009 .
S , 1989. Continuous mechanical handling equipment Belt conveyors with carrying idlers calculation
of operating power and tensile forces online . Available from http //www.iso.org/iso/catalogue detail.
htm csnumber 11069 Accessed 15 July 2009 .
ulme a, 2003. Rollers and components for bulk handling online . Available from http //www.scribd.
com/doc/34103076/RULMECA-Rollers-and-components-for-bulk-handling Accessed 15 July 2009 .
Wood o k, C R and Mason, J S, 1988. Bulk Solids Handling An Introduction to the Practice and Technology,
540 p (Springer).
ardley, E and Stace, L, 2008. Belt Con eying of Minerals, 200 p (Woodhead Publishing Limited Cambridge).
BATMIN Business Analysis Tools for Mining
D Heugh1
ABSTRACT
BATMIN, BATMINE, BATMIND are an abbreviation for Business Analysis Tools for Mining,
Mine Evaluation and Mine Design respectively. BATMINP are proprietary tools customised to suit
individual client requirements.
The rst suite of tools provides for analysis and evaluation of open pit mining equipment alternatives
and includes eet selection, eet sizing and production, productivity and economic outcomes. The
models address all mine process activities including drilling, blasting, loading, hauling and auxiliary
services. All models are built to provide for simultaneous evaluation of multiple alternatives that are
time and condition related. Provision is made for modelling from rst principles and/or default or
shortcut inputs. Sensitivities to key input parameters are easily performed and consistent logic is
applied throughout the process. The models are built to provide key outputs in a format suitable for
presentation and documentation. Provision is also made in the models for validation of both inputs
and outputs through benchmarking, back analysis and budget comparison.
The same models can be used for short interval (12 month) planning and control, medium-term
(three to ve years) and long-term life-of-mine (LOM) planning.
Millions of dollars are spent each year on mining plant and equipment. Decisions that impact on
the medium and long-term are made. BATMINP tools have been used to perform studies with good
results and in most cases the studies have been validated through back analysis and comparing model
outcomes to real data.
The open pit models are designed to evaluate and quantify mining equipment selection alternatives
based upon the total cost of ownership (TCO) or life cycle costing (LCC) concept. Model inputs are
processed in a planning logic to compare alternatives and to determine eet selection and sizing and
provide production, productivity and economic outcomes. Some preprocessing of data is performed
to provide feedback to the user and allow for adjustments to be made prior to nal processing.
The models allow for multiple equipment combinations in a mixed eet and mostly, processing
is performed from rst principles. Input parameters differ between time periods. Sensitivities to
changes in input parameters are easily, quickly and consistently performed and alternative mining
equipment strategies evaluated. Thus, outputs from running the models provide a reasonable
estimate of mining equipment requirements and costs.
Company policy and a unique operating environment provide the terms of reference for modelling.
Company policy relates to minimum standards, assurances and guarantees and includes:
x safety (eg machine access, visibility, lighting, speed control, braking, re prevention measures,
electrical earth protection, etc);
x environment (eg gas and noise emissions, control of waste products, power and fuel efciency,
recyclability, etc);
x technical specication (eg material quality, welding standards, electrical standards, labelling,
paint standard, etc); and
x performance guarantees (eg mechanical availability, operating capacities, suitability to unique
site specic operating environment, capital and operating costs, service and support, etc).
The more stringent the company policy, the more likely mining equipment costs will grow and
there is a risk of being provided with custom versus standard mining equipment.
Other terms of reference include:
x time denitions and inputs (Appendix 1),
x original equipment manufacturer (OEM) technical and economic inputs (Appendix 2), and
x the unique site specic operating environment (Appendix 3).
From the aforementioned, it is clear there are many variables. Adding to the complexity, each variable
could have a range of values which in turn are time and condition dependent. Fleet sizing is not an
1. FAusIMM, Managing Director, KVA Associates SA, Avenida Golf Lomas de la Dehesa 10969, Lo Barnechea Santiago, Chile. Email: dheugh@kva.cl
D HEUGH
absolute science - a range of equally valid solutions can be expected. In developing the range of solutions, two
critical elements are addressed:
1. consistent and conventional logic is applied throughout the process, and
2. sensitivity to key input parameters is easily performed.
With these tools, thorough and detailed analysis of alternatives is made easier and good, reliable and realistic
outcomes are provided.
INTRODUCTION
The rst suite of BATMIN tools provides for analysis and evaluation of open pit mining equipment
alternatives and includes eet selection, eet sizing and production, productivity and economic
outcomes. The models address all mine process activities including drilling, blasting, loading,
hauling and auxiliary services.
The BATMIN structure is simple (see Figure 1). There is a set-up le that provides for limited
preprocessing of data inputs. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive inventory of data inputs
and limited feedback to the user so that adjustments can be made prior to nal processing. Secondly,
BATMIN comprises the total cost of ownership (TCO) processing models. Initially, the product
developer (Knowledge Value Add Associates SA) will host the TCO processing models, but if demand
warrants it, the TCO processing models could be hosted on a web server. Finally, there is a Reports le
to provide the outcomes of data processing to the user. Copies of the reports le can be downloaded
in excel or pdf format.

FIG 1 - Structure of BATMIN products.
BATMIN is a business analysis tool that interfaces with the user via a set-up le. The set-up le can
be accessed via the internet and allows the user to select options, upload, view and modify mining
equipment data, load unique site specic operating parameters, receive outputs, communicate
with other users and contact the product developer. To assist the user in preparing the set-up le,
a database le can be requested. If both les are opened together, selections can be made in the
set-up le to upload data from the database le. The latter will store relevant published data on
selected mining equipment. If the selected mining equipment is unavailable, the user may request
the product developer to add the equipment to the database le.
PREPROCESSING
Preprocessing in the set-up le provides user feedback so that adjustments can be made to data
inputs prior to nal processing. Examples include:
x Mechanical availability (MA) determined as a function of:
x the regular preventative maintenance regime;
x the planned maintenance regime (change-out of major parts, components and subassemblies
that cannot be performed as part of the preventative maintenance regime);
x reliability as expressed by Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) and Mean Time To Repair
(MTTR); and
x time in relation to accumulated machine operating hours.
x Altitude de-rating determined as a function of:
x operating altitude,
BATMIN BUSINESS ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR MINING
x de-rating altitude,
x ambient air temperature, and
x barometric pressure.
x Fuel burn determined as a function of
x nominal engine capacity (bhp, kW);
x specic fuel consumption (lbs/bhp/hr, lt/kW/hr);
x load condition (relative fuel burn according to operating load - varies between zero per cent to
100 per cent ); and
x operating time under load condition.
x Truck speed determined as a function of:
x rimpull (propel/retard);
x total resistance = grade resistance + rolling resistance; and
x vehicle weight (empty/loaded).
x Instantaneous rate of penetration (IRP) determined as a function of:
x bit loading/pulldown force,
x rotation speed,
x bit diameter,
x rock strength, and
x rock factor.
The set-up le will also permit data upload from the database le that includes technical specications
and performance characteristics of equipment selected. The outcomes from preprocessing and data
upload provide feedback to the user so that adjustments can be made to the inputs prior to nal
processing.
PROCESSING
Firstly, TCO processing retrieves data from the set-up le. The data is copied into the TCO models
and then processed to provide quantitative outcomes for assessment. Outcomes include:
x eet sizing;
x total cost of ownership;
x capital cost;
x operating cost;
x machine productivity and production estimates;
x cash ow;
x machine acquisition schedules;
x fuel burn;
x cycle times;
x production weighted haulage proles and distances;
x instantaneous rate of penetration;
x bailing velocity;
x altitude de-rating; and
x maximum production rate (Qmax) and real production rate (Qreal), among others.
Outcomes are presented in tables and graphs. A reports le is generated and can be downloaded in
Excel or pdf format.
Processing models treat a number of machine options simultaneously, thereby providing a
comparison of alternatives. For example, the loading and haulage modules allow six loader and six
truck options to be processed simultaneously for 12 consecutive periods of time (month or year).
That is, 6 6 12 (432) solutions are presented in one model run.
Furthermore, operating cost and productivity sensitivities are performed at the same time.
Processing models allow evaluation with an existing and/or mixed eet and will determine whether
there is a shortfall or surplus in machines to satisfy production requirements. In all cases, the models
will provide solutions according to machine assignment logic. Where a shortfall in machines to
satisfy production requirements is determined, the model will provide solutions for all machines
being evaluated.
D HEUGH
Some differentiation in machine application is also provided. For example:

x drill application could be production, production and buffer, buffer, or presplit and
x loader application could be primary or secondary.
Finally, provision is made for humidity and operating contingency. For example, if humidity of
material is four per cent and loading contingency ten per cent, the loading eet would be sized for
114 per cent of the production plan.
SET-UP
Set-up is a web hosted le that allows the user to customise inputs for TCO processing. Data can be
loaded and saved over a period of time and when ready, the user can submit the data for processing.
Data is condential and only those with access can retrieve data or receive processing outcomes.
Set-up comprises a number of data sheets in Excel format that require either selections to be made
or data to be entered. Data corresponding to selections made can also be edited. Language and
currency can be selected and outcomes have labelling according to these selections.
Data sheets include:
x General. Language, currency, period (month or year), exchange, discount and tax rates, machine
selection, machine assignment logic, etc.
x Haul prole. Material type and volume, loading and discharge locations and haulage proles as a
function of time.
x Techno-economic. Machine technical specications and performance characteristics, time
denitions and inputs, cost and consumption of fuel, power, lubricants, hydraulic uid, hoses,
ropes, cables, chains, liners, ground engaging tools (GETs), tyres, etc, operator costs, bucket/
dipper/blade and truck body repair and maintenance costs.
x Parts, components, subassemblies and consumables. Inventory of parts, components, subassemblies
and consumables together with quantities, costs and nominal life expectancy.
x Capital cost. Price ex-works, optional extras ex-works, expenses and land transportation to port
of embarkation, associated costs port of export, ocean freight, insurance, customs duties and
expenses port of arrival, freight to mine, assembly, training, local expenses and insurance, optional
extras locally sourced, tyres, bucket/dipper/blade, truck body, additional parts, components and
subassemblies and maintenance infrastructure (workshops, ofces, stores) required to support new
machines, etc.
x Maintenance. Maintenance organisation structure, stafng numbers and costs, tools, plant,
equipment and third party services required to perform maintenance and travel, accommodation,
communications, medical, insurances, etc.
x OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and machine SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats) analysis.
LOGIC
Productivity and production estimates (rule-of-3)
Productivity: There are two sets of variables that impact productivity (m/hr, t/hr). The rst relates to
machine capability (eg bit loading/pulldown force, rotation speed, bucket/dipper size, loading speed,
loader-truck matching, truck payload, rimpull curves, etc). The second relates to operating conditions
(eg altitude, climatic conditions, rock strength, material conditioning, roadway condition, etc). That is,
for a dened set of operating conditions, productivity is dependent upon machine capability.
Drill productivity (m/hr) is dependent upon three factors:
1. Instantaneous rate of penetration (IRP m/hr) which in turn is dependent upon rock factor, rock
strength, bit loading/pulldown force, bit diameter and rotation speed.
2. Blasthole depth as this impacts on drilling time (blasthole depth/IRP). The greater the depth, the
more the drilling time. The more the drilling time, the better the drill productivity.
3. Set-up time (reposition rig, level machine, extend stabilisers, raise tower, install rst drill rod,
collar, install additional rods, remove rods, retract stabilisers, lower tower).
Loader productivity (t/hr) is dependent upon three factors:
1. loader-truck matching,
2. loading cycle time, and
3. truck assignment (loader saturation = maximum loader productivity).
Truck productivity (t/hr) is dependent upon three factors:

1. loader-truck matching,
2. truck cycle time, and
3. truck assignment (<loader saturation = maximum truck productivity).
Theoretical/instantaneous productivity and actual productivity could be poles apart, sometimes
even after calibrating the factors used in its determination. This is usually explained by inefciencies
in cycle time. In the former, these inefciencies are eliminated from the calculation in the latter
they are included.
Production: Production (Tables 1 - 3) is dependent upon productivity (m/h, t/h) and effective time
per period (hrs/period). Effective time per period is dependent upon three factors:
1. physical availability,
2. use of availability, and
3. operator efciency.
TABLE 1
Productivity and production estimates loaders.
A B C D E F
Bucket/dipper rated capacity st 110 90 75 55 47 35
3
In situ material density t/m 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.54
Swell factor % 55.0 55.0 55.0 55.0 55.0 55.0
3
Loose density t/m 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64
3
Bucket/dipper rated capacity yd 79.6 65.2 54.3 39.8 34.0 25.3
3
Bucket/dipper rated capacity m 60.9 49.8 41.5 30.4 26.0 19.4
Bucket/dipper fill factor theory % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Bucket/dipper fill factor theory t 99.8 81.6 68.0 49.9 42.6 31.7
Truck capacity st 400 400 400 400 400 400
Truck capacity t 363 363 363 363 363 363
Bowl fill factor % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Truck payload real t 363 363 363 363 363 363
No passes theory No 3.64 4.44 5.33 7.27 8.51 11.43
No passes practice No 4 5 6 8 9 12
Bucket/dipper fill factor real % 90.9 88.9 88.9 90.9 94.6 95.2
Load time first pass sec 34.0 34.0 42.0 34.0 42.0 42.0
Load time subsequent pass sec 34.0 34.0 42.0 34.0 42.0 42.0
Truck exchange time sec 80.0 80.0 80.0 80.0 80.0 80.0
Losses in loading cycle sec 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
Total loading time sec 226.0 260.0 342.0 362.0 468.0 498.0
Other time losses sec/hr 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Load time % 60.2 65.4 73.7 75.1 80.8 81.9
Idle time % 39.8 34.6 26.3 24.9 19.2 18.1
No trucks loaded per hr No 16 14 11 10 8 7
Loader productivity t/eff hr 5780 5024 3820 3609 2791 2623
Scheduled time per period hr 8760 8760 8760 8760 8760 8760
Physical availability % 89.8 89.0 89.8 87.1 89.8 92.3
Use of availability % 86.4 86.3 86.2 86.3 86.2 86.6
Operator efficiency % 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.8
Effective time hr 6709 6647 6698 6505 6698 6921
Loader production per period kt 38 782 33 396 25 585 23 474 18 697 18 152
D HEUGH
TABLE 2
Productivity and production estimates trucks.
A B C D E F
Bucket/dipper rated capacity st 110 90 75 55 47 35
3
Swell factor % 55 55 55 55 55 55
3
Loose density t/m 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64
Bucket/dipper rated capacity yd3 79.6 65.2 54.3 39.8 34 25.3
Bucket/dipper rated capacity m3 60.9 49.8 41.5 30.4 26 19.4
Bucket/dipper fill factor theory % 100 100 100 100 100 100
Bucket/dipper fill factor theory t 99.8 81.6 68 49.9 42.6 31.7
Truck capacity st 400 400 400 400 400 400
Truck capacity t 363 363 363 363 363 363
Bowl fill factor % 100 100 100 100 100 100
Truck payload - real t 363 363 363 363 363 363
No passes - theory No 3.64 4.44 5.33 7.27 8.51 11.43
No passes - practice No 4 5 6 8 9 12
Bucket/dipper fill factor real % 90.9 88.9 88.9 90.9 94.6 95.2
Load time 1st pass sec 34 34 42 34 42 42
Load time subsequent pass sec 34 34 42 34 42 42
Truck exchange time sec 80 80 80 80 80 80
Losses in loading cycle sec 10 10 10 10 10 10
Total loading time sec 226 260 342 362 468 498
Other time losses sec/hr 0 0 0 0 0 0
Haul/dump/return/queue min 20 20 20 20 20 20
Haul/dump/return/queue sec 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200
Truck cycle time sec 1426 1460 1542 1562 1668 1698
Truck productivity t/eff hr 916 895 847 837 783 770
Truck production per period kt 5983 5843 5533 5462 5115 5024
Physical availability comprises two elements:

1. mechanical availability (MA); and
2. other delays (eg power failure, unfavourable climatic conditions, tyre changes, bucket/dipper/
truck body maintenance, install/remove ropes, cables, chains, GETs, etc).
Machine assignment logic
Matching and priority or proportional machine assignment logic: Priority logic assigns production
to machines as a function of productivity (highest to lowest). Proportional logic assigns production to
machines in proportion to production capacity. Matching applies to loaders and trucks and assigns
priority or proportional production to matched loader-truck machine eets as a function of machine
eet capacity. For example, if one of the machine eets (eg loader eet) has more production capacity
than the matching truck eet, production from the loader eet can be limited by matching truck eet
capacity. Alternatively, in addition to the matching truck eet, other trucks could be assigned to the
loader eet and production will be limited by the loader eet capacity.
TABLE 3A
Productivity and production estimates drills.
A B C D E F
Pulldown force rated lb 141 000 120 000 105 000 75 000 50 000 27 800
Maximum bit loading lb 119 850 102 000 89 250 63 750 42 500 23 630
Rotation speed rated rpm 125 125 90 117 130 96
Hole/bit diameter in 12.25 12.25 10.625 7.875 7.875 4.5
Hole/bit diameter mm 311.2 311.2 269.9 200 200 114.3
Rod diameter new mm 273.1 273.1 219.1 165.1 165.1 76.2
Rod diameter wear mm 219.1 219.1 193.7 165.1 165.1 76.2
3
Compressor capacity rated m /min 84.9 73.6 73.6 45.3 29.7 13.5
Altitude derating factor % 54.82 54.82 54.82 54.82 54.82 54.82
Compressor capacity derated m3/min 46.5 40.3 40.3 24.8 16.3 7.4
2
Annular area between rod and wall new m 0.017 0.017 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.006
2
Annular area between rod and wall wear m 0.038 0.038 0.028 0.01 0.01 0.006
Bailing velocity new m/min 2662 2308 2068 2480 1626 1298
Bailing velocity wear m/min 1214 1052 1454 2480 1626 1298
Bench height m 15 15 15 15 15 15
Sub drill m 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Hole depth m 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 15
Burden m 10.4 10.4 9.5 6 6 5
Spacing m 12 12 11 6.4 6.4 1.5
3
Tonnage generated per hole t 4853 4853 4071 1496 1496 293
Productivity t/m 294 294 247 91 91 20
Pulldown force rated t/mm 0.206 0.175 0.176 0.17 0.113 0.11
Pulldown force utilised t/mm 0.175 0.149 0.15 0.145 0.096 0.094
Pulldown force utilised klb/in 9.784 8.327 8.4 8.095 5.397 5.251
Rock strength MPa 114 114 114 114 114 114
Rock strength kpsi 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5
Rock factor 115.2 115.2 115.2 115.2 115.2 115.2
Drill bit factor 1 1 1 1 1 1
IRP Bauer and Caldwell m/hr 100.7 85.7 62.3 78 57.8 41.5
IRP Calder and Workman m/hr 71.4 60.8 44.2 55.3 41 29.4
Auxiliary equipment logic: Auxiliary equipment requirements are based upon operating criteria.
For example:
x Minimum one wheel dozer per operating bench, maximum one wheel dozer per operating shovel.
x Minimum one bulldozer per active terrace (waste dump and stockpile) plus one bulldozer for
pioneering work.
x Motor grader. Based on climatic conditions, trafc and extent and complexity of active roads.
x Water truck. Based on climatic conditions, trafc and extent and complexity of active roads,
benches and terraces.
x Presplit and buffer drilling. Based on presplit requirements (eg only nal pit wall, including
intermediate expansions, or as required).
x Excavator. One per operating cutback.
x Tyre handler. Based on sizing of rubber tyred eets (trucks, graders, wheel dozers, front end
loaders, forklifts, cranes, etc) and frequency of tyre changes.
D HEUGH
TABLE 3B
Productivity and production estimates drills.
A B C D E F
Reposition rig sec 60 60 60 60 60 60
Level machine, extend stabilisers, raise tower, sec 240 240 240 240 240 240
install first rod
Collar sec 30 30 30 30 30 30
Install additional rods sec
Drilling time Bauer and Caldwell sec 590 693 954 762 1028 1431
Drilling time Calder and Workman sec 832 977 1345 1074 1450 2017
Remove rods, retract stabilisers, lower tower sec 60 60 60 60 60 60
Losses in drilling cycle sec 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total drilling time Bauer and Caldwell sec 980 1083 1344 1152 1418 1821
Total drilling time Calder and Workman sec 1222 1367 1735 1464 1840 2407
Other time losses sec/hr 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Drill productivity Bauer and Caldwell m/eff hr 60.6 54.8 44.2 51.6 41.9 29.7
Drill productivity Calder and Workman m/eff hr 48.6 43.5 34.2 40.6 32.3 22.4
Drill production per period Bauer and Caldwell m 301 108 272 410 219 495 256 196 208 041 147 295
Drill production per period Calder and Workman m 241 523 215 814 170 030 201 566 160 387 111 414
Drill production per period Bauer and Caldwell kt 88 557 80 117 54 157 23 228 18 862 2879
Drill production per period Calder and Workman kt 71 033 63 471 41 953 18 275 14 541 2177
x Compactor. Based on climatic conditions, trafc and extent and complexity of active roads,
benches and terraces.
x Cable roller and motivator. Based on selection and sizing of electric drilling and loading eets, one
each per operating cutback, etc.
x Forklift. One per operating cutback.
x Heavy duty (eg 80 t) crane. Based on selection and sizing of drilling and loading eets, one per
operating cutback, etc.
x Small/service (eg 5 yd3) front end loader (FEL). Minimum two units.
In addition, auxiliary equipment requirements can be determined as a function of maximum
production rate (Qmax) as detailed below (Table 4):
x Travel speed (bulldozer, wheel dozer, motor grader, water truck and excavator) or number events
per time period (cable roller and tyre handler). Excavator travel speed = lateral face distance
serviced/time period (eg 50 m in 12 hrs = 0.005 kph). Alternatively, excavator travel speed =
bucket width/(dig cycle time number passes to complete task).
x Time period to complete a full cycle (shift = 12 hrs, week = 168.5 hrs, month = 730 hrs, year =
8760 hrs).
x Roadway width (motor grader, water truck, compactor) or slot width (bulldozer, wheel dozer and
excavator).
x Distance. Roadway network (motor grader, water truck and compactor). Slot distance (bulldozer
and wheel dozer). Slot distance = travel speed time period pass factor. Lateral face length
serviced (excavator).
x Pass width (blade/bucket width, spray bar width of roadway coverage, width of compactor drum).
Spray bar width of roadway coverage = 2 water truck body width.
TABLE 4
Maximum production rate (Qmax).
Qmax Bulldozer Wheel Motor Water Compactor Tyre Cable roller Excavator
dozer grader truck manipulator
A Travel speed/max no kph, no 2 4 6 10 10 6 2 0.02
events per cycle events/
period
B Cycle time hrs 12 12 168.5 12 730 12 12 12
C Roadway/slot width m 5.6 6.32 35 35 35 N/A N/A 1.68
D Qreqd distance/ km/period, 12 24 25 25 25 4 2 0.08
required no events no events/
per time period period
E Pass width m 5.6 6.32 4.88 11 2.13 N/A N/A 1.68
F Width ratio % 100 100 13.9 31.6 6.1 150 100 100
(if C = 0, A/D, E/C)
G Nominal frequency No 2 2 2 3 6 4 2 3
of passes per time
period
H Pass factor (1/G) % 50 50 50 33.3 16.7 25 50 33.3
I Freq of passes per No 1 1 2.82 0.51 2.96 1.5 1 1
cycle (if C = 0, A H,
A B F H/D)
J Qmax (D I) km/period, 12 24 70.42 12.63 74.04 6 2 0.08
No events/
period
K Blade height/bucket m/m3 2.77 2.18 0.79 N/A N/A N/A N/A 3.32
capacity
L Blade/bucket fill % 66.67 66.67 33.33 N/A N/A N/A N/A 95
factor
M Loose density t/m3 1.64 1.64 1.64 N/A N/A N/A N/A 1.64
N Qmax (E J K L t - km/hr 16.96 30.09 6.29 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.03
M/(B F))
x Width factor. Pass width/roadway width. Where roadway width is irrelevant (eg tyre handler
or cable roller), width factor = nominal number events per period/required number events per
period.
x Frequency of passes. Number of passes per time period to achieve objective. For example, forward/
reverse operation (bulldozer and wheel dozer) = 2, frequency of wetting roadway in time period,
number of passes to achieve desired compaction/roadway surface condition, number of passes to
dress down face, nominal number events per period (tyre handler and cable roller).
x Pass factor = 1/frequency of passes.
x Blade width.
x Blade height.
x Blade/bucket ll factor. Slot depth as a function of blade height (bulldozer and wheel dozer),
blade load (motor grader), bucket ll factor (excavator).
Real production rate (Qreal Table 5) is a function of Qmax and various productivity factors
including:
x operator factor (fo typically 0.60 - 0.75);
x material density factor (fd typically 1.37/real loose density);
x material state factor (fx loose stockpile = 1.2, hard to cut/dead free ow/wet or sticky/ripped or
blasted = 0.8);
x visibility factor (fv normal = 1, dusty = 0.85, rain or night operation = 0.8); and
x grade factor (fg downgrade >1, at = 1, upgrade <1, can be read off chart).
D HEUGH
TABLE 5
Real production rate (Qreal).
Bulldozer Wheel Motor Water Compactor Tyre Cable roller Excavator

A Operator factor % 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
B Material density % 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37
factor
C Material state % 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
factor
D Visibility factor % 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
E Grade factor % 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
F Derating factor % 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61
(A B C D E)
G Qmax km/period, no 12 24 70.42 12.63 74.04 6 2 0.08
events/period
H Qmax t-km/hr 16.96 30.09 6.29 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.03
I Qreal (F G) km/period, no 7.39 14.73 43.22 7.75 45.44 3.68 1.23 0.05
events/period
J Qreal (F G) t - km/hr 10.41 18.47 3.86 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.02
Qreal = Qmax fo fd fx fv fg
Fleet sizing (Table 6) is determined from required production rate (Qreqd). That is:
Number of machines = Qreqd/Qreal
TABLE 6
Auxiliary fleet sizing.
Bulldozer Wheel Motor Water Compactor Tyre Cable roller Excavator

A Qreqd distance/ km/period, no 12 24 25 25 25 4 2 0.08
no events per events/period
time period
B Qreal (F G) km/period, no 7.39 14.73 43.22 7.75 45.44 3.68 1.23 0.05
events/period
C Active operating 5 5 1 1 1 1 1 3
sites
D Fleet sizing No 8.12 8.15 0.58 3.23 0.55 1.09 1.63 4.8
(A C/B)
Truck cycle time and fuel burn

Fuel consumption/fuel burn (Table 7 and Table 8) relates to:
x nominal engine power (bhp);
x specic fuel consumption (lbs/bhp/hr, lt/bhp/hr);
x load condition (relative fuel burn according to operating load variable between zero per cent to
100 per cent); and
x operating time under load condition (obtained from rimpull curves and haulage proles).
Fuel consumption estimate = SC bhp (LFn Tn):
SC = specic consumption (certied laboratory test result)
Bhp = gross engine bhp engine rating
LF = load factor ( per cent)
T = operating time under load condition
TABLE 7
Load factor and operating time under load condition trucks.
Typical load Load factor LFn Operating time Time (%) Tn

condition (%)
Idle 5 LF1 Load, dump, manoeuvre and queue time T1
Flat empty 18 - 20 LF2 Travel time T2
Flat loaded 38 - 40 LF3 Travel time T3
Incl down empty 0 - 10 LF4 Travel time T4
Incl downloaded 0 - 10 LF5 Travel time T5
Incl up empty 50 - 80 LF6 Travel time T6
Incl uploaded 80 - 100 LF7 Travel time T7
Total 100 100 Tn
TABLE 8
Load factor and operating time under load condition other diesel machines.
Typical load condition Load factor LFn Operating time Time (%) Tn
(%)
Idle 15 LF1 Waiting T1
Propel LF2 Travel, manoeuvre, reposition rig T2
Maximum load condition (crowd, drilling, LF3 Loading, drilling, dozing, grading, T3
dozing, grading, compacting, etc) compacting, etc
Swing LF4 Swing time between loading face T4
and truck
Discharge LF5 Dump time T5
Machine set-up LF6 Level machine, extend stabilisers, raise/ T6
lower tower, install/withdraw rods
Total 100 100 Tn
The faster the truck, the shorter the cycle time. The faster the truck in high fuel consumption segments
of the haul prole (inclined up and at loaded), the better in terms of fuel burn. Conversely, the slower
the truck in high fuel consumption segments of the haul prole, the worse in terms of fuel burn.
Power consumption
Power consumption (Table 9) is a function of:
x maximum demand (peak power draw),
x load factor/demand under load, and
x load time.
Power consumption estimate = MD (LFn Tn):
MD = maximum demand
LF = load factor (per cent)
T = operating time under load condition
Instantaneous rate of penetration altitude de-rating, bailing velocity, drill productivity and
production assignment
Instantaneous rate of penetration (IRP): For rotary drills, IRP is dependent upon rock factor
(Figure 2), rock strength, bit loading/pulldown force, bit diameter and rotation speed. Rock factor is
a function of three rock constants (Table 10) and rock strength (MPa).
Rock factor = rock constant A {rock constant B}rock strength (MPa) [rock strength (MPa)]rock constant C
D HEUGH
TABLE 9
Load factor and operating time under load condition electric machines.
Typical load condition Load Factor (%) LFn Operating time Time (%) Tn
Idle 15 LF1 Waiting 15 T1
Propel LF2 Travel, manoeuvre, reposition rig T2
Crowd/drill LF3 Loading/drilling time T3
Swing LF4 Swing time between loading face and truck T4
Discharge LF5 Dump time T5
Machine set-up LF6 Level machine, extend stabilisers, raise/lower tower, T6
install/withdraw rods
Total 100 100 Tn
TABLE 10
Rock constants.
Rock constant A B C
Value 520.8304 0.9985 -0.2825
ROCK FACTOR vs COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

230,0
210,0
190,0
170,0
Rock factor
150,0
130,0
110,0
90,0
70,0
50,0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Compressive strength (MPa)
FIG 2 - Rock factor versus compressive strength.
Bit loading differs from pulldown force by virtue of the weight of the drill column. There are studies
that have reported and published this relationship, such as:
x Bauer and Caldwell (1966): Penetration rate = {(Rock factor 28 log10rock strength) bit
loading/bit diameter rotation speed/300} where:
penetration rate = ft/hr
rock strength = kpsi
bit loading = klbs
bit diameter = inches
rotation speed = rpm
x Workman and Calder (1996): Penetration rate = {(Rock factor - 28 log 10 rock strength) bit
loading/bit diameter rotation speed/17.6} where:
penetration rate = m/hr
rock strength = MPa
bit loading = tonnes
bit diameter = mm
rotation speed = rpm
Many of the drill manufacturers have developed their own variations of this relationship to estimate
IRP. Some have more than one alternative. For the same set of rock strength, bit loading, bit diameter
and rotation speed inputs, different IRP formulas tend to provide different penetration rates. Thus,
it would seem that the IRP calculation is not an exact science and the result should be examined
and veried by comparing it with real or benchmark data before acceptance. The IRP result can be
calibrated by applying a drill bit factor.
Altitude de-rating: Compressor output is a function of the rated output at sea level, ambient
air temperature and altitude. Air density is a function of both barometric pressure and ambient
temperature. Barometric pressure is a function of altitude.
Compressor output at altitude = Rated output at sea level air density ratio.
Air density ratio = Air density/Standard air density
where:
Air density (lb/ft3) = 1.3253 BP/(459.6+T)
where:
1.3253 = Mass (lb) of 459.6 ft3 of air at 0F and 1 inch Hg barometric
pressure
BP = inches Hg
T = F
Standard air density: At 20C and 101.325 kPa pressure, air has a density of 1.2041 kg/m3
(0.075 lb/ft3). Standard sea level pressure = 1 atm (760 mm Hg, 101.325 kPa).
Bailing velocity is a function of bit (blasthole) diameter, rod diameter and compressor output at
altitude.
Drill productivity is a function of IRP, blast hole depth and set-up time.
Drilling time = Blasthole depth/IRP
Set-up time = Re-position rig, level machine, extend stabilisers, raise tower, install
rst drill rod, collar, install additional rods, remove rods, retract
stabilisers, lower tower.
Cycle time (sec) = Drilling time + set-up time
Drilling cycles/hr = 3600/cycle time
Drill productivity (m/hr) = Blasthole depth drilling cycles/hr
Production assignment to drills depends upon blasting patterns (production, buffer and presplit)
and pit perimeter exposure (buffer and presplit) per time period.
Blasting
Two important concepts in blast design are the following:
1. The coarser particle size fraction in the particle size distribution curve (fragmentation prole)
is often associated with the furthest point (FP) from the column charge (Figure 3). Thus, tighter
blast design patterns serve to reduce this fraction.
2. Selection of blasthole diameter and explosive type determines the energy intensity at any point
between the blast hole perimeter and the FP (Figure 4). More energy intensity = Finer fragmentation.
For control blasting purposes (buffer and presplit), the Holmberg-Persson (1978) perimeter blast
design approach has found widespread use since its introduction. The approach is based upon rock
damage being related to peak particle velocity (PPV) associated with the blast-produced seismic wave.
It is logical and easy to apply. The basis for the design approach is the peak particle velocity expressed
as:
PPV = KQ/R
where:
PPV = peak particle velocity (mm/s)
Q = linear charge weight (kg/m)
R = distance from charge (m)
K, , = constants.
D HEUGH
100.0%
90.0%
Blast pattern
Size distribution %
Energy intensity
40.0%
Base Case
15.0%
Desired
Fragmentation size
FIG 3 - Particle size distribution (fragmentation profile).
Base Case
Desired
Energy intensity
FP Furthest Point
FP FP
Distance from column charge
FIG 4 - Energy intensity versus distance from blast hole perimeter.
To be able to use this design approach, one must select values for the constants. One way has simply
been to assume the values suggested by Holmberg-Persson (K = 700, = 0.7, = 1.5).
Another way is to make site measurements of PPV recorded at different distances from a blast
(Figure 5).
From the captured signals, the PPV values corresponding to the different explosive charge weights
are identied.
In practice, one develops the curves for the explosive concentrations of interest and the site
constants. One measures the over-break and rock damage. Using this value and the curves, one can
determine the limiting PPV (PPVcrit). One now has a practical design tool for the site.
One of the interesting ndings is that , the power of the distance, can be well represented by = 1.
This is quite logical since for far eld measurements (ie R >>charge length), the charge may be
represented by a sphere. The task then becomes one of nding K and .
To be able to apply the curves for perimeter control blast design, knowledge of the limiting PPVcrit
is required. Two examples of PPVcrit are in the amount of over-break and measure of new crack
formation respectively.
The amount of over-break (excavation outside of the line of perimeter holes) is one measure of
undesired blast damage. This is the simplest measure and the one easiest for miners to understand
since it can be directly translated into economic terms due to:
Xs K Velocity factor determined from field measurements

Xo linear explosive charge (kg/m)
Ro distance from charge (m)
H Charge length (m)
Xo-Xs Ro Xs Length of stemming (m)
Xo Depth of measurement (m)
H Decay factor determined from field measurements
H+Xs-Xo
PPV = K*[ /Ro*{arctan((H+Xs-Xo)/Ro)+arctan((Xo-Xs)/Ro)}]

HP = Holmberg-Persson = [ /Ro*{arctan((H+Xs-Xo)/Ro)+arctan((Xo-Xs)/Ro)}]
FIG 5 - Holmberg-Persson peak particle velocity model near field.
x The additional scaling (dressing down) time required.

x The extra muck to be moved.
x The need for extra reinforcement due to wider spans and higher walls. For civil engineers, it
may translate into the need to replace the removed rock with concrete. Over-break can be easily
quantied using normal surveying techniques.
No over-break does not mean there is no damage to the surrounding rock mass. New crack formation
in the surrounding rock mass can be dened as another measure of undesired blast damage:
PPVcrit = VpT/E
where:
Vp = Velocity of p-wave propagation in intact rock
T = Tensile strength of intact rock
E = Youngs modulus
Depending upon the intensity, vibration will produce different effects on intact rock:
Intense fragmentation = 4 PPVcrit
Create new fractures = 1 PPVcrit
Extend existing fractures = PPVcrit
Reduce cohesion and produce slippages < PPVcrit
SUMMARY
The BATMIN suite of tools was developed to ll a perceived gap in numerical modelling software
for mining equipment evaluation. In some instances, commercial software is available to perform
partial analysis (eg haulage prole, truck cycle time, fuel burn and eet sizing), but the product
developer has yet to encounter a product that provides for an integrated analysis. In this context,
integrated analysis includes:
x old with new machines;
x multiple equipment combinations in a mixed eet;
x alternative applications for machines in the same family;
x alternative machine assignment logic;
x time estimation by element;
x capital cost estimation by element;
D HEUGH
x xed maintenance cost estimation by element;

x variable maintenance cost estimation by element;
x unique site specic operating environment;
x simultaneous evaluation of multiple machine alternatives;
x machine acquisition and capital cash ow schedules; and
x machine retirement schedules, among others.
The tools apply conventional logic to processing data. With BATMIN, consistent, thorough and
detailed analysis of alternatives is made easier and good, reliable and realistic outcomes are provided.
REFERENCES
Bauer, A and Caldwell, P N, 1966. Drilling in open pit iron mines, American Mining Congress.
Bauer, A and Caldwell, P N, 1967. Open pit drilling Factors inuencing drilling rates, Fourth Canadian
Symposium on Rock Mechanics.
Holmberg, R and Persson, P-A, 1978. The Swedish approach to contour blasting, in Proceedings 4th Conference
on Explosives and Blasting Technique, pp 113-127 (International Society of Explosives Engineers).
Iverson, S, Kerkering, C and Hustrulid, W, 2008. Application of the NIOSH-modied Holmberg-Persson
approach to perimeter blast design, in Proceedings 34th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting
Technique, 2:1-33 (International Society of Explosives Engineers).
Workman, J L, Calder P N, 1996. Large hole rotary drill performance, in Proceedings 22nd Annual Conference
on Explosives and Blasting Technique.
APPENDIX 1 TIME DEFINITIONS AND INPUTS

Physical availability can be estimated by determining downtime, including:
x preventative maintenance regime,
x planned maintenance regime,
x MTBF and MTTR, and
x provision for other delays (Tables A1 and A2).
TABLE A1
Time definitions.
Typical operator time definition Events

Calendar Scheduled Uptime U Operating Effective time E Drilling, loading, hauling, services (including manoeuvre and
time C time S time O dump, queuing, waiting, etc)
Operating delays OD Minor delays <10 mins including tests, fault detection, cleaning,
repositioning, etc
Non-productive operation NP Instruction, ramp and berm construction, face preparation, etc
(ie motor running but no production to report)
Reserve R Standby, withdrawal for blasting, no operator, mealtime, shift
change, refuelling, lube, move cables, lack of material, etc
Downtime Maintenance Planned P Preventative Inspections, services, adjustments, predictive maintenance
D M P1
Planned P2 Component replacement, major overhaul, tyre, track, bucket and
blade replacement
Unplanned Failure F Premature component failure, excessive wear, unavailability of
UP parts and/or personnel, etc
Accident A Operational damage incl. blasting, collision, overloading, poor
road condition, poor operating practice, etc
Other delays OT Natural disaster, power failure, climatic conditions, install/remove
ropes, cables, chains, GETs, etc
Non Public holidays, seasonal demobilising, etc
scheduled
time NS
Mechanical availability = (S-M)/S Use of availability = O/U
Physical availability = U/S perator efficiency = E/O
TABLE A2
Non-productive operation and downtime inputs.
Category Description Unit

Non-scheduled time Public holidays hrs/annum
Seasonal demobilising hrs/annum
Among others hrs/annum
Other delays Power failure hrs/annum
Unfavourable climatic conditions hrs/annum
Rope/Cable/chain/tyre/GETs change hrs/annum
Bucket/dipper/blade and truck body maintenance hrs/annum
Fit/Remove tyre chains hrs/annum
Accident Operational damage hrs/annum
Accident damage hrs/annum
Failure Reliability (MTBF and MTTR) hrs/annum
Unavailability of parts hrs/annum
Unavailability of personnel hrs/annum
Reserve Standby min/day
Withdrawal for blasting min/day
No operator min/day
Meal time min/day
Shift change min/day
Refuelling and lube min/day
Move cables min/day
Lack of material min/day
Among others min/day
Non-productive operation Instruction min/day
Ramp and berm construction min/day
Bench cleanup min/day
Face preparation min/day
Queuing min/day
Operating delays Minor fault detection min/day
Housekeeping min/day
Repositioning min/day
APPENDIX 2 CRITICAL DATA REQUIRED FROM ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER

For the company to perform a proper evaluation of mining equipment alternatives, the following are
required:
x Equipment performance characteristics;
x nominal life expectancy of unit;
x mechanical availability (subject to accumulated operating hours);
x nominal payload restriction;
D HEUGH
x load factor restriction (approved range subject to conditions);

x cycle times (eg rst pass, subsequent passes, set-up and break down, collaring, add and remove
bars, repositioning, etc);
x travel speeds (loaded and empty subject to roadway inclination);
x power consumption (rated, loaded, idling);
x fuel consumption (rated, loaded and empty subject to roadway inclination);
x lubricant consumption;
x hydraulic uid consumption;
x GETs usage (subject to material characteristics);
x bits, bars, adaptors and stabiliser usage (subject to material characteristics);
x ropes usage;
x track pad usage (subject to material characteristics);
x tyre usage (subject to roadway and haulage prole characteristics); and
x planned/programed maintenance requirements (frequency, duration, man hours).
x Capital:
x standard basic conguration (without bucket, bowl, tyres, etc);
x escalation of price due to exchange rate uctuation;
x escalation of price due to delay in delivery;
x special discount on ex-works price;
x expenses and land transportation to port of embarkation;
x insurance (could be insured by afliate);
x associated cost port of export;
x freight forwarder;
x ocean freight;
x insurance ocean freight;
x international fees;
x custom duties;
x custom expenses;
x transport to the mine (basic unit, bucket, bowl, tyres, components, spares, etc) local
distributor costs;
x assembly (cranes and fuel/power included);
x local insurance;
x ballast;
x training;
x optional extras to be sourced at destination (eg radio, heaters, re extinguisher system, hazard
light, etc) including installation and maintenance;
x additional major components and spares (required for operating eet);
x standard bucket bowl; and
x rims and tyres.
x Components:
x part number,
x part description,
x part quantity per machine,
x part nominal life, and
x part nominal cost.
x Preventative/planned maintenance:
x maintenance regime;
x staff requirements;
x consumables (lters, oil and hydraulic uid replacement, hoses, brake discs and pads, etc);
x infrastructure requirements (eg light delivery vehicles, cranes, forklifts, tyre handler, motor
handler, cylinder handler, etc);
x tool requirements (eg compressors, welding machines, artisan tools, pneumatic tools, torque
tools, electrical tools, general tools, etc); and

x operating costs (eg housing, feeding, travel, medical, communication, training, IT, stationery,
etc).
x Worldwide client listing and usage of mining equipment units.
APPENDIX 3 UNIQUE SITE SPECIFIC OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Inputs that relate to the unique operating environment include:
x Operating environment:
x altitude;
x climatic conditions;
x production volumes;
x haulage proles;
x use of availability;
x operator efciency;
x site specic speed restrictions;
x site specic load factor restrictions;
x dump and manoeuvre time;
x queuing time;
x truck spotting time;
x single/double sided loading;
x material characteristics (eg densities, swell factors, UCS, etc);
x bench height; and
x subdrill.
x Costs:
x power;
x fuel;
x lubricants;
x hydraulic uids;
x GETs;
x ropes;
x cables;
x tri-cones, bits, bars, adaptors and stabilisers;
x tyres;
x explosives;
x operator; and
x maintenance personnel.
Preliminary Study on the Improvement of
Afforestation Techniques Applied to Aggregate Mines
in Japan
Y Sakai1, Y Sato2, K Matsui3, H Shimada4 and T Sasaoka5
ABSTRACT
Development of aggregate resources for use in structural concrete has been encouraged in Japan
to support infrastructure improvement and national land conservation. Natural aggregate is a
valuable resource necessary for sound economic development, and its importance is growing. After
completion of aggregate mining projects, planting and afforestation are implemented. But sandy soil
in excavation sites is not optimum for the growth of vegetation, and many years are needed before
forests are restored. Planting techniques should be improved to support efcient reforestation in a
shorter period of time. For this purpose, problems hampering growth of vegetation must to be solved
through application of physical and physicochemical techniques to ensure that the environment and
the ecosystem will be conserved in project sites.
INTRODUCTION
Development of natural aggregate resources in Japan has been supporting national land conservation
and infrastructure improvement. Aggregate has been necessary for concrete used for structural
frameworks. Chiba Prefecture, supplying aggregate to a large consuming area in the Tokyo metropolitan
district, is leading other prefectures in the production of aggregate, producing 17 962 937 m3 annually
as of 2008 (Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2010).
Pit sand and gravel extracted in the northwestern part of the Bousou hilly district, in particular, are
among the highest quality natural aggregate resources in Japan. However, extraction of pit sand and
gravel requires clearing of forests which serve as a signicant CO2 sink helping to curb global warming.
Thus, it is necessary to address the urgent tasks of environmental protection at sand and gravel
pits, afforestation after the completion of sand/gravel extraction and ecosystem recovery. Aiming at
contributing to environment-conscious exploitation of resources, this paper elaborates on some critical
aspects of afforestation after extraction of sand/gravel, taking the operation of DC Co Ltd as an example.
DC Co Ltd is a company extracting pit gravel/sand in Chiba Prefecture.
THE PRESENT SITUATION OF AGGREGATE RESOURCES IN JAPAN

Aggregate types
Aggregate is a broad category of material mixed with cement and water for making mortar or
concrete. It includes sand, crushed sand/stone, gravel, slag and others. It is roughly divided into
coarse aggregate and ne aggregate according to its grain size. As Figure 1 shows, there are natural,
synthetic and recycled aggregates. Natural aggregate is classied according to extraction sites,
namely river sand/gravel, land sand/gravel, pit sand/gravel, and sea sand/gravel.
Distribution of aggregate resources
Land/pit sand and gravel are extracted from quaternary sedimentary rocks which are distributed in
a wide area in eastern Japan. Due to a decrease in the number of sites where extraction activities are
1. Manager, DC Co Ltd, 250 Yamada Yoshino Kimitsu, Chiba 292-0413, Japan. Email: sakai_yoshiaki@dccorp.jp
2. Director, DC Co Ltd, 250 Yamada Yoshino Kimitsu, Chiba 292-0413, Japan. Email: sato_yasuhiro@dccorp.jp
3. Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-Ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
4. Associate Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-Ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: shimada@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
5. Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-Ku, Fukuoka
Y SAKAI et al
Aggregate
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FIG 1 - Classification of aggregates according to extraction sites and production processes.
economically viable, aggregate production is dwindling. In other areas west of Osaka, very little land/
pit sand and gravel are distributed due to the lack of quaternary sedimentary rock formations. Sea
sand and gravel are found in many places in the coastal waters and in the Seto Inland Sea. In the seas
of Kyushu and Seto where extraction condition is favourable, sand and gravel have been exploited
for many years, and thus further development of aggregate resources is not expected. Figure 2 shows
the production of sand and gravel according to the area in scal year 2009 (Manufacturing Industries
Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2010).
FIG 2 - Sand and gravel production by regions in 2009.
On top of this, many prefectures have banned extraction of sea sand and gravel as part of their
efforts for environmental conservation. In these circumstances, alternative aggregate resources are
urgently needed. On the other hand, hard rock available for extracting crushed sand and stone is
distributed across Japan. Such hard rock includes sandstone, shale and limestone formed in the
Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Eras, rhyolite formed at the end of the Mesozoic Era, and andesite and
basalt formed between the Neogene Period and the Quaternary Period.
The past and present situations of aggregate resources development

The high economic growth in the past resulted in a rapidly increasing demand for aggregate. To
satisfy the demand, resources such as land/pit/sea sand and gravel and crushed stone were exploited.
Prior to such a steep rise in demand, river sand and gravel accounted for much of the aggregate
supply. But with the increase in the aggregate production, extraction of river sand and gravel was
gradually brought under control because problems such as bridge pier scouring became serious. As
shown in Figure 3, the annual supply of natural aggregate increased to about 350 Mt to meet the
rising demand. To make up for a supply deciency caused by the continuing increase in demand,
PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF AFFORESTATION TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO AGGREGATE MINES IN JAPAN
FIG 3 - Changes in the aggregate supply in Japan.
production of crushed stone increased remarkably. The consumption of aggregate peaked at 949 Mt
in 1990. Since the collapse of the asset-inated bubble economy, however, the demand for aggregate
has been decreasing.
Particularly in scal 2008, the global nancial crisis caused a decline in personal consumption as
well as a decrease in the number of public works projects, which helped to reduce consumption of
aggregate to 456 Mt (Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
2009), less than 50 per cent of the peak consumption.
The current consumption stands at around 540 Mt/a, of which one-third is natural aggregate. The past
heavy consumption of aggregate now poses an increasingly serious problem, namely the insufciency of
quality sand. Additionally, restrictions on the extraction of sea sand and gravel are being strengthened
for the purpose of advancing environmental measures. Use of recycled aggregate has been promoted,
but it is not sufcient to meet the demand. In the past, use of crushed stone was effective in satisfying
the increasing demand for aggregate. But resources available for long-term production of crushed stone
in an economically viable manner are diminishing, because suitable rock deposits are already exploited
and awareness is enhanced with regard to the need for land conservation. Production of crushed
stone has become difcult also because a large amount of energy is needed for crushing hard rock and
control of dust and powder is required in the production process. While quality aggregate resources
are becoming scarce, high-quality aggregate is increasingly needed due to the rise in demand for high-
strength concrete. Under the circumstances, therefore, stable supply of high-quality aggregate is a
high-priority issue. In order to address this issue, supply of aggregate must be increased by promoting
research and development concerning recycled aggregate production, as well as by advancing efcient
extraction of natural aggregate in an environment-friendly manner. Reliable quality control is also
necessary for ensuring supply of high-quality aggregate.
The following sections describe the current situation and some challenges of natural aggregate
exploitation with a focus on Chiba Prefecture. In Chiba, pit sand and gravel have been extracted for
many years to supply aggregate to the entire Kanto area including the Toyo metropolitan district
which has high demand for concrete.
Aggregate resources in Chiba Prefecture

Concrete is one of the fundamental materials necessary for developing and maintaining comfortable
living environment. Chiba Prefecture is adjacent to an area consuming a large amount of concrete,
the Tokyo metropolitan district, and it has 126 operating mines where natural aggregate (ie pit sand
and gravel) is exploited (Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
2010). Chiba Prefecture has one of the largest deposits of sand and gravel in Japan. Having a physical
advantage of adjoining the metropolitan district that has a strong demand for concrete, the prefecture
has long been a place of active extraction of pit sand and gravel which are mainly supplied to Tokyo
Y SAKAI et al
and other places in the Kanto area. The natural aggregate resources available in Chiba are mostly pit
sand and gravel. Chiba leads other prefectures in the production volume of natural aggregate, and 17
926 937 m3 of sand and gravel were extracted in 2009 as compared to the national total extraction of
108 462 096 m3 (Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2010).
The aggregate delivered from Chiba to the Kanto area is mostly pit sand and gravel (16 942 152 m3),
which constitute a large portion of the aggregate supplied to the Kanto area. Basically, the Kanto area
depends on Chiba for natural aggregate. In the river basin of the Tone in Chiba, river sand and gravel
are distributed and exploited, but the amount of extraction is very limited.
As shown in Figure 4, the geological features in Chiba are distinctive in three different areas,
namely the hilly district of Bousou in the south, the Shimousa highlands in the central and northern
prefecture, and the Kujukuri plains along the Pacic coast in the east. There are Neogene and
Quaternary sedimentary layers in the northwestern part of the Bousou hilly district. The Neogene
sedimentary rocks include sandstone, mudstone and conglomerate, among which sandstone and
conglomerate are excavated for use as aggregate. Ichijuku and Mandano Formations, in particular,
contain quality coarse sand, and these formations have been excavated for obtaining pit sand and
gravel. Figure 5 shows working face in Mandano Formation. Rocks for producing crushed stone,
FIG 4 - Geological features and major pit sand/gravel mining sites in Chiba (China Prefecture, Japan, 1993).
FIG 5 - Working face.
such as Paleogene rocks, basalt and serpentine, are distributed in the southern part of the Bousou
Peninsula and near Choushi. The distribution is limited and only a small amount of crushed stone
is produced. When necessary, rocks are supplied by other prefectures for crushed rock production.
THE STATE OF OPERATION SITES AFTER EXTRACTION AND THE ISSUES REGARDING
AFFORESTATION
Pursuant to the Gravel Gathering Act and the Forest Act, and according to an approved extraction
project plan, an extraction site is backlled after the completion of gravel extraction. Land is levelled,
drains are built, slopes and small steps are prepared, revegetation mats are applied to slopes, and
various tree species including Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress are planted in at land at a
proper time. When the site is located in Neogene sedimentary rock layers, the soil is oligotrophic,
being vulnerable to weathering and erosion. Because such soil is not optimum for plants to grow, it
takes a considerable time to restore the site and the ecology to a pre-development state. As shown in
Figure 6 and 7, the Japanese cypress planted in soil improved with compost grows much better than
the one planted in pit sand (DC Co, Ltd, 2007).
FIG 6 - Difference in the growth of Japanese cypress trees.
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FIG 7 - Current state of growth of Japanese cypress.
It is not possible to improve soil in the entire afforestation area due to technological and economic
difculties. Thus, efforts are being made to identify problems from various perspectives including
preparation of planting ground, soil improvement and selection of planting species. Solutions to
identied problems will be examined to work out a simple planting method that ensures optimum,
Y SAKAI et al
early afforestation. It is desirable that such a planting method will help enhance the natural
regenerative power of plants and that the planted trees will require as little human intervention as
possible.
Dominant tree species and meteorological conditions in Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture is in a laurel forest zone, where oak and pasania are dominant. Other common
tree species in the entire region include castanopsis cuspidata var sieboldii, Japanese evergreen
oak, machilus thunbergii and quercus serrata. Figure 8 shows the air temperature distributions
in January and July, and the annual mean precipitation in Chiba Prefecture (Kumagai, 1992).
FIG 8 - Temperature distributions (in (a) January and (b) July) and annual mean precipitation in Chiba Prefecture. ( An aggregate mine of DC Co, Ltd).
The study reported in this paper has been conducted at gravel pits of DC Co Ltd operated by
Ichihara ofce and Yoshino ofce. The latter ofce is in the city of Kimitsu, and the environment
preservation division of the city government has made public the meteorological data collected by
Tawarada Observatory as shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
TABLE 1
Annual temperatures (C).
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Annual
Monthly average 14.8 17.0 20.2 26.5 26.3 21.6 17.1 9.8 5.4 3.4 4.4 7.2 14.5
Highest 25.6 26.0 30.0 34.2 34.8 32.2 28.2 19.8 20.0 14.2 13.9 20.6 34.8
Lowest 2.3 7.9 13.5 20.1 17.1 11.2 2.6 -0.5 -3.6 -6.8 -5.0 -4.1 -6.8
Average daily maximum 21.3 21.8 24.2 28.7 29.4 27.1 24.3 17.5 10.9 10.8 8.7 13.9 29.4
Average daily minimum 10.5 13.4 16.0 23.6 20.5 15.8 9.6 5.2 1.2 -0.4 1.4 2.8 -0.4
TABLE 2
Humidity (percentage).
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Annual
Monthly average 74 79 84 83 81 86 81 75 81 71 75 71 78
Average daily maximum 97 96 98 96 98 98 97 98 99 100 100 99 100
Average daily minimum 43 61 57 67 57 72 59 57 53 34 48 35 34
Land preparation and cover soil

A site after extraction is backlled to a planned height. Basically, the surface soil which was removed
for gravel pit development is used for backll, and soil from other extraction sites is sometimes
added to prepare land for planting. However, it is very difcult to use all soil stripped from extraction
TABLE 3
Precipitation.
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Monthly precipitation
63.5 92.5 218.5 133.5 160.0 322.5 157.5 26.5 126.0 165.5 77.0 170.5
(mm/month)
Days with precipitation
8 14 17 11 7 16 9 4 15 8 11 14
(days/month)
Precipitation duration
52 67 90 43 49 105 69 24 94 55 52 81
(hours/month)
Maximum hourly
4.5 8.0 17.5 19.0 20.0 36.0 13.5 3.5 14.0 14.5 11.0 16.0
precipitation (mm/hour)
Maximum daily
19.0 21.5 73.0 56.0 99.5 117.5 68.5 13.0 34.5 61.0 24.5 47.5
precipitation (mm/day)
sites for backll. First, vast land is needed for piling up and storing stripped soil, and a huge budget is
required to transport soil between an extraction site and a storage site as well as to ensure adequate
soil management until the soil is used for covering the extraction site. Second, heavy rain or a major
earthquake might cause collapse of heaped earth or soil run-off, which can cause damage to a wide
area outside the extraction site. Additionally, because a 20 ton bulldozer (with a ground contact
pressure of 62 kPa) and/or a 40 ton power shovel (80 kPa) are used for land preparation (Komatsu
Construction Equipment Sales and Service Japan Ltd, 2010), sand and gravel of extremely small
grain sizes are compacted. It is possible that the compacted sand and gravel adversely affect the
growth of plants. In this respect, it is critical that covering with stripped soil is kept at a minimum
and that land is improved to ensure early, optimum growth of plants. It is necessary to develop a
condition which enhances deposition of organic matter and spontaneous recovery of fauna, ora and
soil microbes.
Depth of improved soil in the ground
The standard effective thickness of planting soil for proper growth of vegetation is shown in Table 4.
(Japan Landscape Contractors Association, 2006.)
TABLE 4
Effective soil thickness by tree height.
Low trees Tall trees

Tree height (m)
Less than 3 3~7 7 ~ 12 Less than 12
Effective soil thickness (m) 0.5 ~ 0.6 0.6 ~ 0.8 0.8 ~ 1.0 1.0 ~ 1.5
According to Table 4, a planting soil thickness of 1.0 ~ 1.5 m is necessary for growing Japanese
cypress and Japanese cedar, the species which were removed from the site under study prior
to aggregate extraction. In reference to this standard effective thickness, for the purpose of
understanding in more detail the thickness and the area of improved soil which are required for
planting, the roots of a Japanese cypress tree (71 years old, 19.0 m high) and a Japanese cedar tree
(51 years old, 16.5 m high), both of which had been felled, were ploughed up for analysis. A ground-
based laser scanner, which is often used for three-dimensional surveying at mines (Matsuda,
2005), was used for scanning the roots. The cypresss rootstock after trimming and ltering (one
pixel per 1 mm3) is shown in Figure 9. The rootstock was 1800 mm long and 1900 mm wide, having
the brous root system developed laterally. The cedars rootstock was 2200 mm long and 1200
mm wide. Judging from the age of each tree, the rootstock can be regarded as the maximum size of
each species. In planting three year old seedlings 500 ~ 700 mm high, pedogenic process involving
soil microbes in the course of the growth of the seedlings can be taken into account. In view of this,
it is assumed that growth of one seedling is ensured by applying improved soil to an area which
is 1000 mm in diameter, although the dimension of the area may be slightly different depending
on tree species. In that area, 1.17 m3 of improved soil can be applied to a depth of 1500 mm. Thus,
Y SAKAI et al
-1000 -500 0 500 1000 -1000 -500 0 500 1000mm

(A) (B)
0
-500
1,800
2,200
-1000
1,900
1,200
FIG 9 - Growth of the rootstock, (a) Japanese cedar; (b) Japanese cypress).
when an extraction site is backlled for planting, care should be taken to prevent a bulldozer or a
power shovel from compacting the soil to a depth of 1.5 m from the nished surface. Otherwise,
land should be entirely or partially cultivated to the depth of 1.5 m after the backlling work by a
bulldozer or a power shovel.
Physical conditions of improved soil
Water permeability of improved soil is one of the physical factors that affect growth of plants. Poor
permeability results in excess water in the ground, which causes decreased oxygen supply to roots
as well as generation of harmful substances by anaerobic microorganisms. Although sandy soil is
presumed to have good permeability, a eld permeability test apparatus was used for determining
the permeability because past experience at the extraction site had indicated the possibility of poor
permeability after rain.
As shown in Figure 10, at a depth of 300 mm in the Yoshino testing ground (Figure 10a) where
mount-shaped organic compost had been applied and Japanese cypress trees had been growing well,
the soil permeability was so high as to make it almost impossible for the test apparatus to determine
the permeability. While the permeability was also good at a depth of 600 mm, it was poor at the bottom
of the compost at a depth of 900 mm. This result suggests that the bottom of the compost is on the top
of the backll consisting of pit sand and others, the same type of soil used for the planting ground at
Yoshino ofce (Figure 10b) which is 15 m away from the Yoshino testing ground (Figure 10a). At the
afforestation site (Figure 10c) of Ichihara ofce, a small bulldozer had been used to modify the slope and
only the surface had been prepared before planting. Thus, while the permeability was good at a depth
of 300 mm, the permeability at a depth of 600 mm and deeper was as poor as at the site (Figure 10b) of
Yoshino ofce. At the site (Figure 10d) about 2 m away from the site (Figure 10c), the ground had been
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FIG 10 - Soil permeability at each afforestation site, determined by a Hasegawa system of field permeability test apparatus.
cultivated in an area 1.0 m across to a depth of 1.5 m with a power shovel for the purpose of improving
the permeability. The test conducted in two months after the cultivation showed that the permeability
at a depth of 600 mm and deeper had been improved to the baseline value, 30 mm/hour or greater
(Japan Landscape Contractors Association, 2006). As shown in Table 5 and 6, the soil hardness which
affects rhizome development was favorable at a depth of 300 mm but the soil was so hard at depths of
600 mm and 900 mm to hamper rhizome development or prevent roots from growing. At the latter
two depths, the soil was determined to be unsuitable for plant growth (Japan Landscape Contractors
Association, 2006), which suggested the need for soil improvement. After improvement, the soil did
not suppress the growth of rhizomes at any depth, but it was desiccated easily, being too soft and
containing too much air. In the future, it is necessary to consider the use of soil amendments,
including coarse sand and fertiliser retention materials which are different in grain size from soil,
for promoting formation of soil aggregate and maintaining good soil permeability after rainfalls. The
water retentiveness of soil does not affect planted trees as immediately as the permeability and the
hardness of soil. However, seedlings planted in soil with a high pit sand content may wither and die
when the soil becomes overly dried after many ne days in summer. It seems effective to make use
of xeric ground cover plants which do not compete with planted species for nutrient and water. As
shown in Figure 11, clover has been used as a ground cover plant at Ichihara ofce on a trial basis,
but it is necessary to conrm that the plant does not compete with Japanese cypress for nutrient and
water.
TABLE 5
Soil hardness by depth at an afforestation site, measured by a Yamanaka system of soil hardness tester.
At Ichihara, before soil improvement At Ichihara, after soil improvement

Depth (mm) Hardness (mm) Quality Hardness (mm) Quality
300 15.0 Soft 8.0 Too soft, too much air
600 25.7 Hard 10.0 Too soft, too much air
900 29.3 Consolidated 8.5 Too soft, too much air
TABLE 6
Assessment of the values measured by a Yamanaka system of soil hardness tester.
Hardness (mm) Hardness Applicability Assessment

Less than 27 Consolidated Stunting root growth
24 ~ 27 Hard Curbing rootstock growth
20 ~ 24 Compacted Curbing rootstock growth of some species
11 ~ 20 Soft Not hampering rootstock growth
More than11 Too soft, too much air Not hampering rootstock growth (decreased bearing capacity/increased desiccation)
FIG 11 - Gravel pit before planting and after planting with ground cover application.
Y SAKAI et al
Physical and chemical requirements of improved soil

The soil for planting was analysed in terms of its chemical properties. The results are shown in
Table 7. As shown in Table 7, except for the cation concentration (PH) and the electrical conductivity
(EC), the values are much lower than the target values of soil applicable to landscaping or soil in
woods in general in terms of the total carbon (TC), the total nitrogen (TN), the cation exchange
capacity (CEC) and the available phosphoric acid. Although desirable values depend on tree species,
priority should be placed on survival and sound growth of seedlings. In this regard, it is critical to
carefully plan and implement basal and additional fertilisation with an aim of improving the fertility
of soil through additional nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potassium.
TABLE 7
Chemical properties of the soil used for afforestation.
PH EC TC TN CEC Available phosphoric acid

(H2O) ( mS/m-1) (%) (%) (Cmol(+)Kg-1) (mgP2O5Kg-1 dry soil)
Pit sand 7.55 1.32 0.026 0.006 4.8 4.8
Target value 4.5 ~ 7.5 *
1 ~ 10 **
4 ~ 15 ***
Less than 0.1***
20 ~ 40 ***
Less than 10****
* (Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2010).

** (DC Co, Ltd, 2007).
*** (The Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage, and Rural Engineering, 1989).
**** Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1985.
Species desirable for afforestation

In the past, three year old seedlings of Japanese cypress and Japanese cedar have been planted at
extraction sites in consideration of the request from the site owners or because these species had
grown at the sites prior to aggregate extraction. But in the future, it is necessary to select tree species
that can survive in the sites where Neogene sedimentary rock is predominant. Such a geological
condition is not optimum for the growth of vegetation because soil is oligotrophic, being susceptible
to weathering and erosion. An experiment being conducted at Yoshino ofce site shows that Alder
(Alnus japonica) and Japanese green alder (Alnus rma) grow very well over a short period of time
and that they rarely wither and die. Meanwhile, pine trees grow on a slope which was prepared quite
some time ago in the same site as show in Figure 12. Pine seeds must have been brought there by
wind and birds and germinated. Because these pine trees have grown tall on the slope where the soil
is hard, afforestation by seeding pine on slopes can be considered in the future.
FIG 12 - Pine trees growing on the slope.
CONCLUSIONS
Extraction of pit sand and gravel needs to be conducted in a more environment-friendly manner
because woods, a signicant CO2 sink helping to curb global warming, are cleared for extraction site
development. Afforestation work at any extraction site should not aim at early recovery of ecosystem
or rapid growth of vegetation. It is necessary to give priority to sustainability and natural growth
process of vegetation. When seedlings are planted without careful consideration, they cannot grow
on their own and need human intervention for all time. In this paper, optimisation of afforestation
at extraction sites was examined from the standpoints of a desirable depth of improved soil and
physical/physicochemical features of improved soil. The authors will continue the study on the
optimisation of afforestation at extraction sites from various perspectives, aiming at developing a
technique which supports ecological recovery, ensuring that planted trees grow on their own with as
little human intervention as possible. It is also intended that such a technique will help shortening
the time required for natural regeneration at a planted area.
REFERENCES
China Prefecture, Japan, 1993. Chiba prefectural archive, no 14896 (administrative documents).
DC Co, Ltd, 2007. Interim report on an experiment with compost for afforestation, 3 p.
Japan Landscape Contractors Association, 2006. Handbook on Land Preparation for Planting.
Komatsu Construction Equipment Sales and Service Japan Ltd, 2010. Catalogue 2010.
Kumagai, H, 1992. Laboratory of nature conservation: Distribution of woody species in chiba prefecture,
Technical Bulletin of Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University, 45:94-95.
Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2009. Supply and
demand of aggregate, internal report.
Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2010. River bureau,
ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism: Report on gravel extraction, internal report.
Matsuda, S, 2005. Application of a Ground-based Laser Scanner to Sand/Gravel Pits, Aggregate Resources,
145:25-35.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1985. Guide to the Soil Fertility Enhancement Act, 141 p.
The Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage, and Rural Engineering, 1989. Handbook on
Agricultural Engineering, fth edition.
Reopening and Production Planning of Krdar
Yoncal Quarry, Turkey
Topal1, B Elevli2, H Akakoca3, K Oul4 and M M Gle5
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a study about reopening of a quarry near to the geothermal region of K tahya,
Turkey. The production method was gallery blasting which resulted in very high ground vibrations.
Therefore the quarry had been closed down by the local authorities about 12 years ago due to
possible damages to the geothermal resources. In order to reopen the quarry, reserve estimation and
production planning studies needs to be carried out as well as applying environmentally sensitive
production method. The result of reserve estimation studies showed approximately 12.5 Mt reserve
in the area. The market studies indicated that annual production of 600 000 tonnes could be sold.
These results justify to reopen the quarry. In order to overcome environmental problems, bench
blasting production method instead of gallery blasting has been planned. This method enables to
design a drilling blasting pattern that will almost result in no ground vibrations.
INTRODUCTION
With 58 per cent share, aggregate production takes the first place of all mineral production in
the world. Approximately 290 Mt of aggregates are consumed annually in Turkey. In Europe the
average aggregate usage is seven tons per person, while in Turkey, this figure is about four tons
per person ( zt rk, elikkol and Erkan 2007 Topal, 2009). In recent years, due to the increasing
demand of construction sectors, aggregate mining has gained considerable importance. In
parallel to this, a project design and feasibility studies of available aggregate reserves has also
gained attention.
The number of aggregate resources is more and wide spread. But because of the necessity to
keep unit costs down, the number of usable resources is limited. The main cost of aggregate is
transportation cost. Moreover, restrictions on land use and environmental issues also limit the use
of existing resources. Therefore possible quarries require a good planning.
DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM

Quarry stone industry has become one of the most important subsectors with the level of investment,
the annual balance sheets, production volume and employment opportunities in Turkey. However,
the industrys rapid growth has brought many environmental problems with it. These problems
have brought operators face to face with the local people and governments. The main reason of
these problems is that the quarry planning and production systems have utilised little engineering
disciplines. As a result of this situation, some of the aggregate resources may be wasted and also
job security of employees may lead to in danger (Ak akoca et al, 2004, 2007, 2009 Topal, 2009).
The majority of producers are small and medium-sized, production volume and quality
is variable and is not at the desired level in crushed stone industry. Production scale is not
appropriate to the amount of reserves in hand and is often not the optimum production level. In
addition to that production is being blocked after a few years because of unplanned production
1. Assistant Professor, Dumlupinar University, Department of Mining Engineering, Ktahya, Turkey. Email:topal@dumlupinar.edu.tr
2. Professor, Ondokuzmays University, Department of Industrial Engineering, Samsun, Turkey. Email: birol.elevli@omu.edu.tr
3. Associate Professor, Dumlupinar University, Department of Mining Engineering, Ktahya, Turkey. Email: hkoca@dumlupinar.edu.tr
4. Mining Engineer, Ankara-stanbul HST Project Supervision Chief, Second Railway Const Grp Man, Turkey. Email: k.ogul@hotmail.com
5. Mining Engineer, Dumlupinar University, Department of Mining Engineering, Ktahya, Turkey, Email: miracgulec@hotmail.com
TOPAL et al
and increased production costs make the production almost impossible. Open-pit design is
done not conforming to engineering disciplines and does not cover all forms of reserves.
This situation increases the initial investment and production costs (Topal, Ak akoca and
Elevli, 2009). Quarry improvement works has accelerated in the last period (Ak akoca et al,
2004, 2007, 2009 Topal, 2009 Uysal, Elevli and Ak akoca, 2004 Erdil and Erko , 1995
zkahraman and ift i, 2002). The drilling and blasting stage is the most important part of
this applications (Bellairs, 1995 Pugliese, 1978). Especially environmental problems can be
reduced by suitable drilling and blasting applications (Konak et al, 1999 Uysal, Elevli and
Ak akoca, 2004).
RESERVE ESTIMATION AND PLANNING

In this study, reserve estimation and production planning of a quarry has been summarised (G le ,
2009). The quarry is located in K tahya- oncali region on the west of Turkey. Quarry had been
operated for several years until it was closed 12 years ago because of legal reasons. The previous
production method was not based on the engineering design therefore the quarry has some huge
gaps, very high and sharp hills (Figure 1).
FIG 1 - Overview of the quarry and the gaps.
Aggregate production is summarised with six stages. It starts with exploration and evaluation stage.
In the second step, the annual production planning is done. The third is drilling and blasting. The
next stages are loading-hauling and crushing-classication.
Exploration and evaluation
There is no problem in terms of availability of reserves of the quarries in Turkey. So, exploration
process is generally limited to geological study. At this stage, the land belongs to the topographic
data obtained in parallel in the light of geological data and the evaluation of regional prospection
identied mineralisation locations have been provided in detail.
In this quarry mineralisation covers a dome live area and a soil is almost negligible as shown
in Figure 2. There are large gaps in the eld production due to the gallery blasting production
techniques used formerly. Production bench height is selected as 12 m, due to available drilling
machines capacity. The production is planned bench by bench from top to down since mineralisation
is like dome. The reserves were calculated as 21.5 Mt in every bench taking into account of the
boundary of each bench by using Surfer 8.0. Figure 2 shows the planned production benches.
Planning
For production planning, the amount of reserve has been estimated and some marketing surveys
have been carried out. As a result of those surveys, a potential market of 600 000 tonnes annual
production has been estimated and production plan was carried out accordingly. Within the scope
of this study, aggregate production stages such as planning, drilling-blasting, loading, transporting,
REOPENING AND PRODUCTION PLANNING OF KIRDAR YONCALI QUARRY, TURKEY
FIG 2 - Planned production stages.
crushing and classication facilities design have been dened and equipment selection has been
completed according to annual production plan.
Drilling and blasting design to obtain desired fragmentation has been worked out considering
the rock mechanical features. All of the plans have been modelled by computer programs and the
reshaping of the mine during 22 years of operation has been mapped annually (Table 1).
In parallel with this planning, annual production map and three-dimensional surface maps. Figure 3
shows that after production for quarry.
Drilling and blasting
Obtained particle size distribution and minimum ground vibration are the most important
parameters in the design phase of the drilling and blasting. This is also very important for the
process improvement concept of production. To optimum design of drilling and blasting pattern, the
uniaxial compressive strength and hardness of rock must be examined. Some representative core
samples were taken from the land and uniaxial compression tests were performed and the strength
TABLE 1
Planned annual production values.
Year Volume (m3) Tons/year Year Volume (m3) Tons/year

1 218 905 591 044 12 163 077 440 308
2 240 458 649 237 13 260 947 704 557
3 191 737 517 690 14 204 132 551 157
4 213 696 576 981 15 184 356 497 763
5 228 154 616 017 16 210 515 568 390
6 204 687 552 655 17 152 846 412 685
7 186 639 503 925 18 199 022 537 360
8 201 165 543 147 19 205 423 554 644
9 192 922 520 890 20 209 841 566 571
10 204 431 551 964 21 215 236 581 138
11 221 658 598 477 22 230 258 621 698
Total 4 540 113 12 258 307
TOPAL et al
FIG 3 - The end of the year 22.
of rocks were determined. Using the laboratory test results, drilling and blasting design parameters
are dened and given in Table 2. Blasting is scheduled for 32 times per year. The amount of blasted
material was calculated as 571 535 t/a (Blasting with 90 per cent efciency).
TABLE 2
Blast design data.
Name Amount
Diameter (mm) 120.6
Slice thickness (m) 3.5
Distance between holes (m) 3.5
Amount of ANFO per meter (kg) 10.28
Amount of ANFO per holes (kg) 100
Total ANFO amount (kg) 5000
Total hole number (number) 50
The amount of material uncovered (ton/blasting) 19845
The number of dynamite used 50
The number of capsules used 50
Cable length for ignition (m) 200
Loading and hauling

For loading of pile formed after blasting, hydraulic excavator will be used. For this planned eld
the excavator bucket volume is calculated to be as 2.76 m3. The required number of excavator is
two. To be used in production, construction-type trucks are the most appropriate to choose. Taking
into account such issues as the most appropriate initial investment required for spare parts, repair
and maintenance costs, small businesses in construction and mining prefer this type of trucks. Two
trucks are required for each hydraulic excavator. When considering other activities, the purchase of
ten trucks was thought to be sufcient for the quarry.
Crushing and classification
The planned crushing and classication plant is shown in Figure 4. Planned facility specications
was designed to produce aggregate sizes used in Turkey. In Turkey, generally 0 - 4 mm, 4 - 12 mm,
12 - 22 mm, 22 - 70 mm and 22 - 85 mm size aggregates are used (Topal, Elevli and Ak akoca,
2009). Some minor revisions were made in designing the facility of any size and quantity to produce
REOPENING AND PRODUCTION PLANNING OF KIRDAR YONCALI QUARRY, TURKEY
FIG 4 - The planned crushing-classification plant.
aggregates. There will be two crushers (primary and secondary) in plant. Planned annual production
capacity of the plant is around 1 Mt.
CONCLUSIONS
A quarry reserve that could not be assessed because of its proximity to the geothermal resources was
evaluated. In this way it was possible to take production permit.
The environmental negativity, which consisted of large manufacturing spaces which occurred due
to previous gallery blasting, was corrected.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank The Scientic and Technological Research Council of Turkey, head of Dumlupinar
University and head of KIRDAR Quarry who contributed in making this attendance.
REFERENCES
k ako a, H, Elevli, B and Uysal, , 2004. Changing from gallery blasting to bench blasting method in
Kirdar Quarry Mining, International Symposium on Mine Planning and E uipment Selection MPES ,
pp 157-160 ( Balkema Rotterdam).
k ako a, H, Topal, and Elevli, B, 2009. Process management approach in quarries and determination of
the process Kirdar Quarry, in Proceedings Fifth ational Symposium on Aggregate, pp 233-242, stanbul,
Turkey.
k ako a, H, Uysal, , Elevli, B and Topal, , 2007. Evaluation of the development of the environmental
sensitive bench blasting method in a quarry, in Proceedings Sixth International Industrial Minerals
Symposium, pp 359-365, zmir, TMMOB-MMO, Ankara, Turkey.
Bellairs, P G, 1995. Optimum drill and blast an ever changing target, in Proceedings 1st Annual Conference,
pp 149-154, International Society of Explosive Engineers, Brisbane.
rdil, M and Erkoc, O , 1995. An approach for modelling studies to determination of particle size distribution
formed after blasting, Turkey, 1 th Mining Congress, pp 89-95, Ankara.
TOPAL et al
G le , M, 2009. Production planning and pre-feasibility study for Krdar yoncal quarry, graduate thesis,
Dumlupnar University, Department of Mining Engineering, K tahya, Turkey.
onak, G, im ir, F, K se, H, Aksoy, C O and Pamuk u, , 1999. Measurement and evaluation of environmental
effects of blasting in quarries, 2nd national symposium of aggregate, pp 241-255, stanbul. Measurement
and evaluation of environmental effects of blasting in quarries, in Proceedings Second ational uarry
Symposium Turkey, pp 241-255.
kahraman, H T and Ciftci, H, 2002. Improvement and evaluation of blasting in G lta cement factory by
digital photograph method, Journal of Mining, pp 3-10, Haziran, Ankara.
t rk, , elikkol, M and Erkan, M, 2007. The report of Turkey aggregate sector, hazr beton Kasm
Aralk, stanbul.
ersson, P, Holmberg, R and Lee, J, 1994. Rock Blasting and Explosi es Engineering (CRC Press New ork).
ugliese, J M, 1978. Designing blast patterns using empirical formulas, US Bureau of Mines, informal
circular 0
Topal, , 2009. The effects of particle size on production process and costs in quarries, PhD thesis, Dumlupnar
University, K tahya, Turkey.
Topal, , Ak akoca, H and Elevli, B, 2009, The effect of particle size distribution on the cost of loading and
haulage in quarry mining, in Proceedings Fifth ational Symposium on Aggregate, pp 187-197, stanbul,
Turkey.
Topal, , Elevli, B and Ak akoca, H, 2009. The effect of particle size distribution on the cost of crushing-
sizing plant in quarry mining, 1st International Mining Congress and Exhibition, pp 545-554, Antalya,
TMMOB-MMO, Ankara, Turkey.
ysal, , Elevli, B and Ak akoca, H, 2004. Environmentally sensitive drilling and blasting design for a surface
mining, International Symposium on Mine Planning and E uipment Selection MPES , pp 329-333
(Balkema Rotterdam).
Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Whole-Body
Vibration for Drivers of Mining Equipment
V Dentoni1, G Massacci2 and L Piras3
ABSTRACT
According to the data provided by the most recent European Survey on Working Conditions, roughly
25 per cent of the European working population is exposed to mechanical vibrations for no less
than one quarter of the work shift duration, while around ten per cent are exposed for the entire
work shift. The occupational exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV), in particular, represents a
major health risk in mining, quarrying and civil excavation activities. In accordance with European
Directive 2002/44/EC, the latest version of the Italian law on physical risks has recently conrmed
the possibility of using relevant literature data on vibration magnitude in order to evaluate personal
occupational exposure (vibration database or data provided by the manufacturer). Still the alternative
option, based on eld measurements, represents the most appropriated method of risk assessment,
as it accounts for the actual operating condition at the workplace; actual operator and vehicle under
investigation and specic working cycle. The article discusses the vibration measurements taken on a
number of heavy machinery (excavators, loaders, trucks, dumpers, etc) employed for talc extraction
in a mine located in Sardinia and the resulting personal exposure for the drivers. The assessment was
carried out in accordance with the specications of ISO 2631-1 and EN 14253.
INTRODUCTION
According to the data provided by the most recent European Survey on Working Conditions (European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2008), in spite of a decline
in the proportion of workers employed in traditional and physically demanding sectors, changes
in levels of exposure to most work-related physical risks tend to be modest. Among the physical
risk factors included in the European Survey, the highest values of exposed working population are
associated with repetitive hand or arm movements, painful and tiring positions, noise and vibration.
As regards vibration in particular, roughly 25 per cent of the European working population is exposed
to mechanical vibrations for no less than one quarter of the work shift duration, while around ten per
cent is exposed for the entire work shift; gures become even more signicant when considering only
male workers.
Previous studies (Dentoni et al, 2004; Dentoni and Massacci, 2007) proved that occupational
exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) represents a major health risk in civil excavation and
mining remediation activities. This article discusses the results of the exposure assessment for the
drivers of earth-moving machinery employed in a talc mine located in Sardinia. The assessment was
carried out in accordance with the specications of ISO 2631-1 (1997) and EN 14253 (2003).
UNCERTAINTY IN THE EVALUATION OF PERSONAL EXPOSURE

According to European Directive on physical agents (European Parliament, 2002) the occupational
exposure to vibration can be assessed either on the basis of measurements taken on-site or by referring
to relevant information on the vibration magnitude provided by the manufacturer or otherwise
available; the Italian law on physical risks has lately conrmed those two alternative options.
As regards the information provided by the manufacturer, it has to be considered that this type of
data is unlikely to be consistent with the actual vibration transmitted through the seat pan when the
1. Senior Researcher, Department of Geo-Engineering and Environmental Technologies, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, Cagliari, Italy. Email: vdentoni@unica.it
2. Professor, Department of Geo-Engineering and Environmental Technologies, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, Cagliari, Italy. Email: Massacci@unica.it
3. Doctorate Student, Department of Geo-Engineering and Environmental Technologies, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, Cagliari, Italy. Email: Letiziapiras@yahoo.it
V DENTONI, G MASSACCI AND L PIRAS
vehicle is operating on-site; in fact the vibration emission declared by the manufacturer is obtained
from laboratory measurements taken on new vehicles, in accordance with the requirements of specic
international standards. The Italian institution ISPESL (Istituto Superiore per la Prevenzione e
la Sicurezza sul Lavoro) suggests the use of amplifying factors when using the acceleration data
acquired from the manufacturer, in order to account for differences between laboratory and eld
conditions.
National and international vibration databases (ISPESL, 2010; KarLA, 2010) are nowadays available
and provide the results of vibration measurements taken on different categories of machines during
eld operations; however, considering the variety of machinery on the market, the number of different
models and possible applications, it may sometimes be difcult to nd the data that applies to the
specic case under investigation. Even when the type of machinery under investigation is included in
the vibration databanks, the resulting exposure assessment is likely to be affected by a considerable
degree of uncertainty which is mainly related to differences in the vehicle characteristics (age and
state of maintenance), driver expertise and working conditions.
A eld study conducted by Pinto and Stacchini (2006) on four categories of vehicles (fork lift
trucks, wheel loaders, garbage trucks, buses) showed that changes in the vehicle characteristics and
in the work cycles are the most relevant uncertainty components when assessing the daily personal
exposure. In particular, when considering the case of wheel loaders employed in marble quarries for
loading, moving and unloading marble blocks, the global relative uncertainty of the daily personal
exposure for the drivers was found to be around 31 per cent, with a major contribution due to the
variability in the vehicle characteristics.
The results of an extensive vibration survey performed by Dentoni and Massacci (2007) on a variety
of earth-moving machinery employed in mine reclamation activities showed a coefcient of variation
of the equivalent RMS acceleration between 13.4 per cent (for trucks and dumpers) and 30.8 per cent
(for excavators and backhoe-loaders). The inter-cycle variation of the equivalent RMS acceleration
discussed by Newell, Manseld and Notini (2006) in another eld study resulted in a coefcient of
variation of 12 per cent for track loaders.
VIBRATION EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT

The evaluation method dened by ISO 2631 refers to the exposure parameter A(8), corresponding
to the continuous equivalent frequency-weighted RMS acceleration over a standard period of eight
hours. A(8) is expressed by Equation 1:
A^8h = aw : Te (1)
8
where:
aw is the continuous equivalent frequency-weighted RMS acceleration (over a Te period)
Te is the actual duration of the occupational exposure
The calculation of aw requires the determination of the three frequency-weighted axial components
of the acceleration transmitted through the vehicle seat. The three frequency-weighted acceleration
components (awx, awy and awz) must be determined with reference to the orthogonal axes of a standard
reference system dened by ISO 2631, where the x-axis represents the direction of the vehicle motion
(fore-and-aft vibration), the y-axis is the corresponding orthogonal direction (lateral vibration) and
the z-axis is orthogonal to the plan dened by x and y (vertical vibration). The origin of the reference
system is located on the seat pan (interface between the source of vibration and the driver).
Specic weighting factors are indicated by ISO 2631 to account for a different sensibility of
the human body depending on the vibration frequency. For a seated person, in particular, the
frequency-weighted acceleration components along x and y axes need to be multiplied by a 1.4
factor to account for a higher sensibility of the human body to vibrations transmitted along
the horizontal directions (this is true when considering the eld of maximum sensibility in the
frequency domain: between 0.5 and 2 Hz for x and y axes, between 4 and 8 Hz for z-axis). Only the
highest of the three acceleration values is included in the calculation of the exposure parameter
A(8), as expressed by Equation 2:
ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO WHOLE-BODY VIBRATION FOR DRIVERS OF MINING EQUIPMENT
aw = max `kx : awx, ky : awy, kz : awz j (2)
where:
kx = ky = 1.4
kz =1
According to European Directive 2002/44/EC, the exposure parameter A(8) is to be compared
with a daily exposure action value EAV = 0.5 m/s2 and a daily exposure limit value ELV = 1.15 m/
s2. The latter version of the Italian law on physical risks has reduced the daily exposure limit value
to 1.00 m/s2; in addition, a short-time exposure limit of 1.5 m/s2 has been introduced. The Italian
Institution ISPESL specied the duration of the short-time period in the minimum statistically
relevant acquisition time, which is at least three minutes for WBV measurements.
CASE OF STUDY
This work illustrates the results of the daily exposure assessment for the drivers of the vehicles
employed in a talc mine located in Sardinia. The equipment under investigation includes two
trucks, a tracked excavator, a wheel loader, a backhoe-loader, a dumper and a core drill. Most of
the vehicles are relatively new (less than ten years of age), with the exception of one of the two
trucks and the wheel loader, both purchased in 1992; periodic servicing is regularly performed on
the mining equipment to meet production and safety requirements. Tracks and yards within the
mine boundaries are characterised by wide and hard driving surfaces, limited slopes and absence
of rock asperities. The occupational experience in mining declared by the drivers of the vehicles
under exam is between 15 and 30 years.
The activities carried out within the mine include:
x drilling with the core drill,
x mineral extraction with the excavator,
x reduction of blocks size with the hammer mounted in the back-hoe loader,
x material moving and heap formation with the wheel loader and the back-hoe loader, and
x material transportation within the mine with trucks and dumpers.
The exposure evaluation was carried-out on the basis of the information regarding the work
organisation provided by the mining company and conrmed by the workers; such information
includes the work cycle performed by each vehicle, the basic work phases included in each cycle and
their relative duration. In this specic case under exam the mine activity is organised in a way that
each worker drives the same vehicle for the entire work shift, so that uncertainties in the personal
exposure assessment related to the variability in the vehicle characteristics and in the driver expertise
are overcome.
Different operating conditions were considered for the same vehicle: different paths within the
mine, different velocity depending on the load and different types of material (for loading and
excavation), so that the resulting personal exposures account for the typical variability in the work
cycle, according to the specication of EN 14253. Each activity in the work cycle was sampled for an
adequate period of time TM (between ten and 30 minutes) as to consider the variability of the RMS
acceleration and obtain statistically representative results.
EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE

A PC-based device was used to record and analyse the vibration phenomenon over the time and the
frequency domain. The instrument allows the simultaneous detection of the vibration components
along the three axes of the reference system, as dened by the technical standards. The measurement
instrument includes the following elements:
x a semi-rigid disc enclosing a tri-axial ICP accelerometer (PCB type 356B40) for the detection of
the vibration on the seat pan,
x a data acquisition and spectral analysis unit (SINUS Messtechnik GmbH -SoundBookTM system)
integrated in a tablet PC (Panasonic Toughbook CF18) specically designed to perform eld
measurements,
x a 15 wireless monitor (Panasonic CF-VDW07) to set and operate the acquisition system and
check the sampling process from a safe distance, and
x a PCB vibration calibrator (type 394M26) to check the instrumentation before and after each set
of measurements (acceleration of 1 g at 159.2 Hz).
The measurements were taken on each vehicle while performing its typical work cycle. By observing
in the wireless monitor the real time processing of the acquired vibration signals, it was possible to
decide when to stop the measurements; each sample was in fact prolonged until the continuous
equivalent RMS accelerations reached a steady value along each of the three orthogonal axes of the
reference system. In case of deviation from the usual working procedure the undesired events were
singled out and delete from the recording.
For each vehicle under investigation and for each activity included in its work cycle the following
data was acquired:
x linear and weighted time-history of the RMS accelerations along the three axis of the reference
system, for each activity included the work cycle;
x linear and weighted continuous equivalent RMS accelerations along the three axis, with respect to
the measurement duration TM of each activity; and
x linear and weighted frequency distribution of the continuous equivalent RMS accelerations along
the three axis, with respect to the measurement duration TM of each activity.
Tables 1 to 7 report the results of the vibration measurements taken on the vehicles under investigation
for each basic activity included in the work cycle (the vehicle work cycle is intended as a combination
of two or more basic activities). The gures include the relative duration of each basic activity, the
frequency-weighted acceleration components along the three axes of the reference system (awx, awy
and awz), the three corresponding corrected values (kxawx, kyawy, kzawz) and the maximum value
aw. The resulting continuous equivalent accelerations are calculated for the Entire work cycle
(Te = 100 per cent) considering the combination of the basic activities performed by the vehicle and
their relative duration.
TABLE 1
Results for truck FIAT 440.
Duration awx awy awz kxawx kyawy kzawz aw
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Material loading and transportation 43.8 0.24 0.43 0.47 0.34 0.60 0.47 0.60
Material unloading and return to loading point 37.5 0.34 0.62 0.79 0.48 0.87 0.79 0.87
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -
Entire work cycle 100 0.26 0.47 0.58 0.37 0.66 0.58 0.66
TABLE 2
Results for excavator CAT 365 C.
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Loose material moving 18.7 0.24 0.38 0.32 0.34 0.53 0.32 0.53
Loading of loose material on the dumper 18.7 0.19 0.37 0.32 0.27 0.52 0.32 0.52
Manoeuvring 6.5 0.28 0.47 0.50 0.39 0.66 0.50 0.66
Excavation and loading of blocks 18.7 0.61 0.59 0.47 0.85 0.83 0.47 0.85
Excavation and blocks moving 18.7 0.82 0.63 0.62 1.15 0.88 0.62 1.15
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -
With reference to Tables 1 to 7, the graph in Figure 1 shows the synthetic results in terms of corrected
axial values (kxawx, kyawy, kzawz) for the Entire work cycle of each vehicle: the highest of the three
TABLE 3
Results for truck FIAT 330.
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Material loading 12.5 0.04 0.10 0.18 0.06 0.14 0.18 0.18
Transportation along tracks 31.3 0.22 0.44 0.60 0.31 0.62 0.60 0.62
Manoeuvring and material unloading 8.3 0.15 0.26 0.30 0.21 0.36 0.30 0.36
Return to loading point 29.2 0.47 0.61 0.80 0.66 0.85 0.80 0.85
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -
TABLE 4
Results for wheel loader JCB 435.
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Material moving and loading 43.8 0.53 0,38 0.57 0.74 0.53 0.57 0.74
Driving along tracks and yards 37.5 0.37 0,49 0.64 0.52 0.69 0.64 0.69
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -
TABLE 5
Results for backhoe-loader Komatsu WB97S.
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Material selection 25.0 0.30 0.22 0.44 0.42 0.31 0.44 0.44
Material moving and loading 12.5 0.41 0.53 0.51 0.57 0.74 0.51 0.74
Driving along tracks and yards 6.3 0.70 0.68 0.81 0.98 0.95 0.81 0.98
Blocks demolition with hammer 25 0.28 0.41 0.55 0.39 0.57 0.55 0.57
Blocks moving and heap formation 12.5 0.54 0.57 0.66 0.76 0.80 0.66 0.80
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -
TABLE 6
Results for dumper PERLINI 405.
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Material loading 12.5 0.06 0.06 0.17 0.08 0.08 0.17 0.17
Transportation along tracks 31.3 0.22 0.41 0.56 0.31 0.57 0.56 0.57
Manoeuvring and material unloading 8.3 0.17 0.20 0.39 0.24 0.28 0.39 0.39
Return to loading point 29.2 0.39 0.43 0.62 0.55 0.60 0.62 0.62
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -
accelerations corresponds to the personal exposure A(8) for a standard duration of the daily exposure
time (Te = 8 h). The comparison with the threshold values established by law shows that in two cases
(Tables 6 and 7: dumper and core drill) the vibration exposure was less than the action value (0.5 m/
s2), while the limit value was never exceeded (1.15 m/s2 according to European Directive 2002/44/EC,
1.00 m/s2 according to Italian regulation).
TABLE 7
Results for the core drill Atlas Copco ROC D5.
Work activities
(%) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2) (m/s2)
Moving and positioning 12.5 0.38 0.53 0.64 0.53 0.74 0.64 0.74
Perforation 68.8 0.08 0.10 0.17 0.11 0.14 0.17 0.17
Pause 18.7 - - - - - - -

FIG 1 - Resulting continuous equivalent acceleration components for the entire work cycle (480 min).
The respect of the short-time limit value (1.5 m/s2) establish by Italian regulation was also veried
starting from the time-history of the RMS registered for each basic activity: the mean value of the
RMS acceleration was calculated for each three minute interval included in the overall measurement
time TM and compared with the short-time limit value, which was never exceeded.
The overall result of the assessment corresponds to an acceptable exposure condition for the
drivers, which can be associate with an adequate state of maintenance of the vehicles, a prevalently
good condition of tracks and yards within the mine and to the driver's ability to control the vehicle
velocity depending on the travelling surface and on the load to be transported. The effectiveness
of the driver's attitude, in particular, became apparent during eld monitoring thanks to the
measurement instrumentation described above, which allows to check the variation of the RMS
acceleration in real time and associate that variation to the specic event under exam: relatively
minor values were registered when the speed was properly reduced to drive without load along
the same path (return to the loading point for trucks and dumpers) or to pass uneven stretch of
prevalently regular paths.
CONCLUSIONS
Previous eld studies proved that occupational exposure to WBV represents a major health risk
for the drivers of earth-moving machinery employed in civil excavation and mining remediation
activities. This article discusses the results of the exposure assessment performed in a talc mine
located in Sardinia on the basis of the vibration measurements taken on seven vehicles during eld
operations. The exposure parameter A(8) was found lower than the limit threshold established by
law for all the seven cases under investigation. The objective characterisation of eld condition was
not part of this work, nevertheless the overall positive result of the exposure assessment can be
associated with the good state of maintenance of vehicles, tracks and yards observed during eld
monitoring and to the ability of the drivers in performing their tasks.
As was previously discussed, the assessment of the daily personal exposure parameter A(8) may
be affected by the uncertainty in the evaluation of the vibration magnitude aw and by the uncertainty
in the evaluation of the exposure duration Te. The uncertainty in the evaluation of aw is mainly
related to the variability in the vehicle characteristics (age and state of maintenance), in the driver
expertise and in the work cycle. The cases here discussed are not affected by the variability in the
vehicle or in the driver characteristics, which other eld studies proved to be the most relevant. As
for the variability in the work cycle, different operating condition have been taken into account and
long-duration measurements were performed in order to obtain statistically representative values
of aw, according to the requirements of EN 14253. This study does not account for uncertainty in
the evaluation of the exposure duration; however, it has to be considered that the daily vibration
exposure A(8) is proportional to the vibration magnitude aw and to the square root of the exposure
duration Te and therefore the uncertainty related to the exposure duration has a less signicant
effect on the accuracy of the exposure evaluation than the uncertainty related to the vibration
magnitude.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Investigation carried out in the framework of projects conducted by IGAG CNR (Environmental
Geology and Geo-Engineering Institute of the National Research Council), Cagliari, Italy.
REFERENCES
Dentoni, V and Massacci, G, 2007. Whole-body vibrations in mining remediation activities, in Proceedings
10th International Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral
Production (ed: Singhal, Fytas, Jongsiri, Ge), pp 175-186 (The reading Matrix Inc: Irvine).
Dentoni, V, Massacci, G, Contini, A, Mura, P, Presicci, V and Perra, A, 2004. Whole body vibration in road
tunnel excavation, in Proceedings 13th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment
Selection (ed: Hardygra, Paszkowska, Sikora), pp 767-771 (A A Balkema Publishers).
EN 14253:2003. Mechanical vibration Measurement and calculation of occupational exposure to whole-
body vibration with reference to health Practical guidance, CEN, Brussels.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2008. Physical risk
factors (3), in Fourth European Working Condition Survey, pp 29-34 [online]. Available from: <http://
www.eurofound.europa.eu>.
European Parliament, 2002. Directive 2002/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25
June 2002 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks
arising from physical agents (vibration). OJ L177, volume 45, 6 July 2002, pp 13-19.
ISO 2631-1:1997. Mechanical vibration and shock Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body vibration
Part 1: General requirements, ISO, Geneva.
ISPESL, 2010. Vibration databank [online]. Available from: <http://www.ispesl.it/vibrationdatabase/>
[Accessed: October 2010].
KarLA, 2010. Catalogue of representative noise and vibration data at workplaces <http://www.las-bb.de/
karla/> [Accessed: October 2010].
Newell, G S, Manseld, N J and Notini, L, 2006. Inter-cycle variation in whole-body vibration exposures of
operators driving track-type loader machines, Journal of Sound and Vibration, 298-3:563-579.
Pinto, I and Stacchini, N, 2006. Uncertainty in the evaluation of occupational exposure to whole-body
vibration, Journal of Sound and Vibration, 298-3:556-562.
Shell be Right Mate Culture and Safety
P Milnes1, N S Melkoumian2, D Mather3, T Milnes4, A Stewart5 and L Tan6
ABSTRACT
While improvements in occupational health and safety (OHS) in the mining industry have decreased
fatalities and accidents, little attention has been paid to the cultural confound of safety in the increasingly
multicultural mining industry. Occupational health and safety processes often contain assumptions
of cultural understanding that may not be shared or understood by mining employees. There are
potentially dangerous and costly implications of cultural difference in the mining environment.
Some people have been enculturated with high levels of anxiety concerning catastrophe and
uncertainty while others have a more laissez faire attitude to accidents and disaster. The level of
cultural anxiety about uncertainty can be a major factor in the acceptance of OHS processes. OHS
manuals based on a comprehensive set of rules and procedures may assume that the authority of
rules is shared by all employees regardless of a variety of cultural understandings when this may
not be the case. Similarly, cross-cultural employees may not share a background or acceptance of
expensive technological innovation and so resist/avoid the application of new safety equipment.
Then too, OHS staff may not realise the signicance of religious belief or personal responsibility on
employees attitudes to safety in the workplace environment. A lack of consideration of these cultural
elements could have fatal and expensive results.
This paper explores the impact of cultural difference in the understanding of OHS in the Mining
Industry, presents a model to improve the understanding of the cultural confound in safety, improves
analysis of OHS in practical multicultural situations, provides assistance for those involved in OHS
training and may become a basis for developing OHS policy and procedure.
INTRODUCTION
Based of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, Zimbardo (2004) suggested that behavioural
changes are a result of the situation and the situation is determined by the system. The person
adapts to the situation, which in turn adapts to the system of power. Conversely, the system exercises
coercion over the situation and the situation exercises coercion over the person.
Similarly, occupational health and safety (OHS) systems organise situations and modify personal
behaviour. While OHS principles and practice may seem obvious to policy makers, workers in the
system may not share their concerns and may behave differently in specic situations. Cultural
differences give rise to how individuals avoid uncertainty, how this uncertainty manifests in anxiety
and how they tolerate ambiguity.
This paper combines four methods that humans use to avoid uncertainty. A cultural kite diagram is
constructed to compare the uncertainty avoidance strategies of the individual worker, the situation and the
system. The size of the cultural discrepancies between system, situation and individual become immediately
apparent. Management can then target training and select effective interventions to improve OHS outcomes.
PERSON, SITUATION AND SYSTEM

The concept of person, situation and system was rst systematically researched in 1972 when Phillip
Zimbardo set up the now infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. The research was designed to
1. Consultant, Belco Consulting, 4 James Street, Gilford WA 6055. Email: peter@belco.com.au

2. Lecturer, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005.
3. Senior lecturer, Western Australian School of Mines, Locked Bag 30, Kalgoorlie WA 6433. Email: D.mather@curtin.edu.au
4. Psychologist/Senior Clinical Intervention Officer, Department of Corrective Services, Post Box 93, Moonyoonooka WA 6532. Email: timothy.milnes@correctiveservices.wa.gov.au
5. Senior Lecturer, School of Biomedical Science and Exercise, Edith Cowan University, WA 6231. Email: a.stewart@ecu.edu.au
6. Psychologist Registrar, Psychology Australia, 10 Grosvenor Road, Mount Lawley WA 6050. Email: lemueltan@hotmail.com
P MILNES et al
observe the difference that could be achieved in human behaviour by a change of situation. However,
after six days Zimbardo had to call off the experiment, which was supposed to last two weeks, because
of the profound changes in the normally healthy university students who as prison guards became
increasingly cruel and sadistic and prisoners who became pathological, depressed and psychotic
(Zimbardo, 2007). Dr Zimbardo, who was later the President of the American Psychological
Association and an expert witness at the investigation into the use of torture in Iraq, noted the
similarities of his guards to the cruelty of American soldiers in charge of prisoners in Abu Ghraib,
Iraq. He suggested (2007: 10) that the behavioural changes were a result of the situation and the
situation was determined by the system.
OHS operates within a system that organises situations and modies personal behaviour. These
three levels of OHS can be observed in the following illustration:
A local mining company had a carefully devised, practical, periodically revised and
appropriately enforced OHS system where staff were well trained in the rules and respected
them. The workshop situation was well-appointed, appropriately equipped with safety
facilities and tools and staffed by people who were well-trained in the OHS system. However,
during an in-service course, one person admitted that when he was working at home he
may consider welding without appropriate clothing and protective shoes particularly if he
wanted to get a job done and did not have the clothing and shoes with him even though he
would not dream of welding in this clothing in the work situation.
When work routines encouraged observance of OHS principles and required clothing was readily
available, he had no difculty with compliance. Removed from the inuence of the work system and
situation, he had no problems in adapting his behaviour toward the expedient. The situation and the
system have the power to change peoples attitude and compliance to safety and this could be for
better or for worse.
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (UA)

All people live with uncertainty resulting from catastrophes such as crop failures, natural disasters,
accidents, acts of war, nancial corrections and personal tragedy. Hofstede (2008) labelled the
resulting anxiety about safety as Uncertainty Avoidance (UA):
Uncertainty avoidance deals with a societys tolerance for ambiguity. It indicates to what
extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable (anxious) or comfortable
(relaxed) in unstructured situations (Hofstede, 2008).
Hofstedes denition included two aspects of uncertainty avoidance/anxiety and tolerance of
ambiguity.
Cultural levels of anxiety
While people from all cultures live with uncertainties of life, the anxiety that it creates is not tolerated
by all cultures in the same manner. Some cultural groups are High UA exhibiting high levels of
anxiety and expend great effort in their management of uncertainty while other cultural groups are
Low UA exhibiting a higher level of toleration towards misfortune and a more fatalistic attitude to
lifes events.
These attitudes concerning safety and avoiding uncertainty should not be classied as good or
bad, but simply different. For the people involved, their attitude to safety is natural because it was
part of their enculturation. Among the rst things a child learns are the distinctions between clean/
safe and dirty/dangerous but these denitions vary widely from one society to the next and even
between families within the same society.
The British-American anthropologist Mary Douglas (1966) argued that dirt is a relative concept,
which is matter that is out-of-place while dangerous are things are to be avoided. Some cultural
groups may have a relaxed attitude to dirt and danger, while others teach a strict code of avoidance.
In strongly avoidant cultures, parents discourage risk-taking, try to protect their children from
danger, teach them a sharp distinction between good/clean and evil/dirty and discourage contact
with different people. In lower avoidant cultures, classications of dirty and dangerous are more
exible and parents are prepared to give the benet of doubt to unknown situations, people, ideas
and deviant behaviour. They would encourage their children to explore their surroundings even if
danger is present and teach risk management rather than risk avoidance.
SHELL BE RIGHT MATE CULTURE AND SAFETY
Hofstede (1991) claimed that the level of anxiety concerning uncertainty manifests itself in
behavioural cultural characteristics:
In countries with strong UA, people come across as busy, dgety, emotionally aggressive and active.
In countries with weak UA people give the impression of being quiet, easy-going, indolent, controlled
and lazy. These impressions are in the eye of the beholder: they depend on the level of emotionality
to which the observer has been accustomed in his or her own culture (Hofstede, 1991) (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Cultural anxiety contrasted adapted from Hofstede (1991) and Milnes (2007).
High anxiety cultures Low anxiety cultures

The uncertainty inherent in life is felt as a continuous threat which must Uncertainty is a normal feature of life and each day is accepted as it comes
be fought
Low tolerance of risk-taking even in situations and circumstances may Greater acceptance of risk-taking especially in responding to particular
require it. circumstances
High stress; subjective feeling of anxiety Low stress; subjective feeling of wellbeing
Aggression and emotions may at proper times and places be ventilated Aggression and emotions should not be shown
Acceptance of familiar risks; fear of ambiguous situations and of Comfortable in ambiguous situations and with unfamiliar risks
unfamiliar risks
Tight rules for children on what is dirty and taboo and What is different, Lenient rules for children on what is dirty and taboo and What is
is dangerous different, is curious
High levels of legal remedy sought in the courts for correcting misfortune Social remedies are sought for correcting misfortune
Emphasis on choice and an assumption that humans can control their Emphasis on fate and an assumption that humans cannot control their
environment and so work towards changing it environment but simply adapt to it
Although Hofstede has managed to quantify anxiety levels of cultural groups, personal levels
of anxiety may vary considerably within social groups. For this reason tests such as the DASS21
(Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995), a 21-item self report instrument, are useful in measuring three
negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress within individuals. This psychometric
test can be used to quantify personal stress levels and compare results between individuals.
Tolerance of ambiguity
Budner (1962) dened ambiguity as uncertainty in real life: novelty (insufcient cues), complexity
(too many cues) and insolubility (contradictory or indistinguishable cues). Norton (1975) summarised
the causes of ambiguity as:
x multiple meanings;
x vagueness, incompleteness, or fragmentation;
x probability;
x unstructured;
x lack of information;
x uncertainty;
x inconsistencies and contradictions; and
x lack of clarity.
Tolerance of ambiguity can be a reection of personality (Ely, 1995) where people with higher
tolerance of ambiguity are likelier to feel comfortable in uncertain conditions (Budner, 1962). Huber
(2003) points out that tolerance of ambiguity results in attributes of exibility and creativity and that
these are increasingly valuable to businesses addressing the unpredictability and change process of
globalisation. On the other hand, Anitsal, Anitsal and Elmore (2009) found that people with higher
levels of tolerance of ambiguity were more likely to cheat. Kajs and McCollum (2009) have presented
a summary of the research indicating that while tolerance of ambiguity in one situation could be
benecial, there are other situations when a greater intolerance of ambiguity is benecial (Table 2).
OHS policy makers need objective measures of their employees UA levels in order to predict
employees that share, or are trained to share, similar UA levels to the company. OHS ofcers involved
in multicultural work situations need to:
P MILNES et al
TABLE 2
Tolerance and intolerance for ambiguity characteristics (Kais and McCollum, 2009).
Tolerance for ambiguity characteristics Intolerance for ambiguity characteristics

Cultural disposition Cultural disposition
Collaborative as well as receptive to working in cross-cultural environments Dogmatism, authoritarianism, conformity, rigidity, and ethnocentricity
(Bakalis and Joiner, 2004) (Bakalis and Joiner, 2004; Geller et al,1993)
Personality style Personality style
Thrives on challenges (Taylor, 2000), is resilient and flexible (Patterson, Overwhelmed by challenges (Taylor, 2000), is stressed and anxious in
2001), psychologically aware (Beitel, Ferrer and Cecero, 2004); tends to reaction to uncertainty; tends to seek feedback, except when job-specific
avoid seeking feedback except in contexts of job advancement (Bennett, (Bennett, Herold and Ashford, 1990)
Herold and Ashford, 1990)
Uncertainty avoidance Uncertainty avoidance
Views uncertain situations as desirable (Budner, 1962), suspends closure, Views uncertain situations as threatening (Budner, 1962), finds only
tolerates failure, takes risks, is relaxed in monitoring self (Blau, 2003) one solution to bring closure to a process instead of multiple alternative
solutions, tends to be rigid (Furnham,1994)
Learning style Learning style
Predisposed to critical thinking, open-mindedness, flexibility, independence Attracted to structured elements in learning (Furnham,1994),
and integrative thinking; positive approach to generating solutions uncomfortable with unstructured courses, flexible grading criteria, and
(Furnham, 2003); enjoys instruction that helps to explore new perspectives tasks with multiple answers/options (DeRoma, Martin and Kessler, 2003)
(Sallot and Lyon, 2003)
Thinking style Thinking style
Flexible, discovery-based, creative and reflective. Believes that action-based Stereotyping favored over probability thinking (Geller et al, 1993), has a
research, lifelong learning and leadership are intertwined (Huber, 2003). tendency to refuse to identify and admit uncertainty in contexts (Sallot and
Personal belief in solving complex problems (Sallot and Lyon, 2003) Lyon, 2003) and has a tendency to distort information (Yurtsever, 2001;
de Roma 2003)
Management style Management style
Has a development style of management that emphasises interpersonal Has a tendency for benevolent and/or autocratic style of management and
relationships (Yaffa, 2003), favors motivational methods and interpersonal has a task-orientation (Yaffa, 2003) and upholds traditional hierarchical and
relations over professional behaviours (Norr and Crittenden, 1975) class structures (Norr and Crittenden, 1975)
Working style Working style
Entrepreneurial, adaptable, creative and innovative (Lane and Klenke, 2004) Successful with repetitive activities; mechanical, rule-driven (Lamberton,
Fedorowicz and Roohani, 2005)
Decision-making style Decision-making style
Risk taker, low anxiety, self-confident, creative, open to new ideas, explore Avoids risks, has tendency for insecurity and anxiety; poor regard for
options of cognitive complexity and abstract thinking (Stoycheva, 2003). humanistic issues and idealism (Stoycheva, 2002). Conservative, systems-
Could engage in risky, foolhardy or short-cut options. Conceptual approach based decision-maker who prefers traditional techniques to solve new
and analytical decision-making style to find alternative solutions problems
(Williams, 2006)
x be qualied to observe the cultural differences that may affect attitudes toward safety,
x be able to describe the differences objectively,
x analyse potential misunderstandings that may occur at the cultural interface,
x nd solutions that avoid possible cultural conict, and
x implement and maintain optimum safety policies.
By describing and understanding different approaches to safety and appreciating cultural safety
rationales, efcient mechanisms can be developed that ensure the safety of all people in a multicultural
working environment.
Impact of anxiety and tolerance of ambiguity on occupational health and safety
Occupational health and safety (OHS) is concerned with the maintenance of safe physical working
environments and the avoidance of catastrophe and while OHS principles and practice may seem
obvious to policy makers, workers in the system may not share their concerns. Organisational
systems and employment situations are rarely simple and clear-cut.
Usually large elements of ambiguity confront the individual in new situations and in complex and
contradictory situations at all levels of a system. While sometimes prizing an employees ability to
be creative, OHS systems also expect conformity and intolerance of new approaches. This tension
needs to be acknowledged when implementing OHS systems or presenting OHS inductions.
There is great value in knowing about ambiguities and tensions that are inherent in the workplace
situation and the broader system so that these can be appropriately addressed in OHS policy and
training. Similarly, there is great value in knowing about the personal levels of anxiety and tolerance
that employees have. This information will assist OHS ofcers to know how to target training, select
instructional elements and tailor their approach.
For this reason, administration of psychometric tests such as the DASS (Lovibond and Lovibond,
1995) and Budners (1962) Tolerance-Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale can assist policy-makers. Budners
16 item Tolerance-Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale measured on a Likert scale provided seminal work
in the area in 1962 and is a reliable instrument. Since then other instruments of high construct ability
include: the Nutt (1988) instrument consisting of 15 questions about ambiguous personal and work
situations, Rydell and Rosens (1966) 16 item true false, McDonalds (1970) AT-20 and McLains (1993)
MSTAT-1. Obviously privacy issues need to be addressed but these can be overcome by anonymous
testing or permission being granted. Also, measures of these characteristics should not be viewed
pejoratively because they simply represent other ways of viewing and feeling about the world.
CULTURAL ATTITUDE TO UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

It is a fact that high anxiety about the future and intolerance of ambiguity is a feature of western
orientated OHS. However, while the OHS ofcers implementing safety policy may be very concerned
about the possibilities of catastrophe, people who work in the organisation may have differing views
and anxiety levels about these possibilities. For example, some may believe that Gods will prevail
and there is little use in worrying about the uncertainties and possibilities of catastrophe and is thus
more productive to consider the more predictable features of their lives. The simple example above
illustrates that cultural differences in the workplace are important in policy-making, training and
implementation of OHS.
There are four fundamental avoidance methods (Hofstede, 1991) that can be usefully employed to
measure cultural attitudes to uncertainty avoidance. Different cultural groups establish and react to
rules, relationships, religion and technology differently. In addition, within the cultural group these
strategies have moral authority because:
x they make sense to people who live in that society,
x individuals accept the effectiveness of the strategies, and
x most people in the group are usually compliant.
These can be analysed holistically and can be represented diagrammatically.
Rules
Legalist cultures those who trust that codes, rules and laws are necessary to avoid (or at least
manage) uncertainty. Jeito nding cultures are those that trust the individuals to work out ways
to overcome difculties and distrust the processes of law-making it is a Portuguese word used in
Brazil to denote the way around the rules. For example, while compliance to western occupational
health and safety codes may be seen by some a mandatory regardless of circumstance (Legalist),
other cultural groups may be relaxed in adapting the codes to suit the situation and the circumstance
(Jeito). The dependence on rules in uncertainty avoidance is represented in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Dependence on rules in uncertainty avoidance.
Legalist cultures Jeito (expedient) cultures

Tight rules for children on what is dirty and taboo Lenient rules for children on what is dirty and taboo and broad
definitions of acceptable behaviour
Many and precise laws and rules because there is an emotional need for Few and general laws and rules and a belief that there should not be any
rules, even if these will never work more rules than is strictly necessary
If rules cannot be respected, they should be revised If rules cannot be respected, they should be ignored or ways found to go
around them
Conservatism, extremism, law and order Tolerance, moderation and practical outcomes
In times of crisis, legal systems and organizations are sought out to assist, In times of crisis and blockage, individual and social means are sought to
fault is assigned to failing systems and legal remedies are devised to overcome obstacles whether or not these are strictly legal
prevent a repeat of the effects of crisis
P MILNES et al
For those from a Legalist culture, there is a belief that through rules the uncertainty of human
behaviour can be made to be more predictable because the variations of behaviour are minimised.
As a result effort is put into the creation, application and interpretation of rules. Alternatively, people
from a Jeito society pride themselves that many problems can be solved without formal rules. In
such cultures Hofstede (2008) claims that there seems to be an emotional horror of formal rules and
rules are only established in case of absolute necessity.
OHS policy makers from Legalist cultures may nd themselves frustrated with those from Jeito
cultures. While they may prescribe compliance and obedience to their handbooks to ensure avoidance
of uncertainty and legal consequences, their workers may ignore their rules, try to nd their way
around them, or nd other ways of doing things.
Misunderstandings are bound to occur in multicultural situations involving people from both
Legalist and Jeito cultures. Legalist ofcers would develop high levels of anxiety with a non-
compliant and risk-taking workforce with relaxed attitudes and behaviours. Alternatively, Jeito OHS
supervisors would develop resentful behaviour patterns towards workers who are highly anxious,
rigid, ofcious and nicky.
Technology
Technocratic cultures are those who emphasise human control over the environment by
modication, technical solutions and research to minimise the effects of catastrophic events and
make the environment to predictable and certain. User cultures begin with the premise that the
environment cannot be controlled, have limited faith in technological solutions, are content to adapt
their lives to the physical environment and use whatever tools, materials and resources that come
to hand. For example, while westerners may demand higher benchmarks for safety construction to
withstand cyclonic conditions in northern Australia (Technocrats), Indigenous people may take a
more fatalistic attitude to construction, use whatever is available and reason that the big winds are
destructive anyway (users) (Table 4).
TABLE 4
Technological dependence in uncertainty avoidance.
Technocrat cultures User cultures

Belief in experts and specialisation Belief in generalists and common sense
High value placed on the acquisition and maintenance of tools, resources and Tools, resources and materials are valuable if they are useful
materials
Good quality tools are carefully maintained and tools are used for specific Any tools available are used and may be adapted for a variety of functions
purposes
Lending tools, resources and materials is frowned upon tradesmen have Borrowing tools, resources and materials is encouraged tradesmen share
their own tools tools.
Emotional need to be busy; inner urge to prepare for possible calamities The laissez faire approach to environment results in less emphasis on
preparation
Familiar risks may be acceptable but ambiguous situations and unfamiliar Comfortable in ambiguous situations and with unfamiliar risks
risks are feared
Lots of time, expense and effort put in to creating controlled environments Lots of time is spent in uncontrolled environments and people are content
and people believe that the accumulation of material is important to guard with less material. People may readily use and discard resources and appear
against the unknown to be unconcerned with breakages
OHS policy-makers from Technocrat cultures may be frustrated by people from User cultures who do
not treat or value tools, materials and resources in the same way that they do and be appalled at their
willingness to do without technological resources when they are uncomfortable or difcult to use. For
example, while safety glasses may be an excellent means of avoiding possibilities of eye damage, people
from extreme User cultures may nd them uncomfortable and a hindrance to output and so avoid
wearing them. People from User cultures will only nd technological solutions viable if they are on
hand and useful. Meanwhile, OHS User cultures may nd Technocratic dependence on technological
solutions over-expensive and cumbersome and so avoid implementation of their solutions.
Religion
Secular cultures believe in human transcendence and utilise scientic methods to observe the world.
Transcendentalist cultures believe in a theological/mystical worldview and observe religious rites
and integrate metaphysical understandings into the very fabric of their cultural identity. For example,
while fertility ceremonies may not be accepted by many westerners (Secularist) as a meaningful
strategy for avoiding water shortages they are in central Australia (Transcendentalist). The moral
authority of Indigenous ceremonies increases compliance and participation for Indigenous people
(Table 5).
TABLE 5
Dependence on religion on uncertainty avoidance.
Secular culture Transcendentalist culture

View the environment as physical and mechanical View the environment as spiritual and organic
Scientific observations leads to a rationally understood world that is The world is spiritually known and mystically understood and believe that
controllable and technologically adaptable to human requirements religious rites may be required to avoid catastrophe
Humans are perceived as apart from nature and therefore have a right to Humans are perceived to be a part of nature and so accept natural order
modify and utilize the natural environment of the environment
In times of crisis, humanistic solutions are sought In times of crisis, religious rituals are observed
Religion represents human attempts to manage perceived transcendental forces that either control
human affairs, bring acceptance when defenseless, certainty to life after death, or victory over
ones opponents. Moral codes are developed in addition to theological constructs to explain and
maintain consistency in human affairs so that certainty can be acquired in spite of the supernatural
uncertainties of life. Against a cultural worldview where people see themselves as an integral part
of the environment, the western tradition has emphasised a separation derived in large part by the
epistemology of positivism a concept popularised by August Comte (in Seymour-Smith, 1998)
during the nineteenth century.
Examining the characteristics of positivism assists understanding its impact on western
consciousness (Kincheloe, 2001). All knowledge is scientic knowledge (only scientically produced
information should be regarded as authentic human knowledge) and facts and values can be kept
separate and objectivity is always possible (allowing for value-free proclamations that project the
illusion of political and moral neutrality) (Garrison,1989). The inuence of scientic positivism results
in a Secular culture. Other cultural groups continue to believe in the moral authority of the theological
and metaphysical aspects of life. Often, however, there is a mix of Secular and Transcendental views.
For example, even within largely Secular cultures, there are many who continue to believe in a
theological worldview, observe religious rites and train their children in their own way of thinking.
OHS policy-makers from Secular cultures may become frustrated with people from spiritual
cultures who fatalistically accept Gods will, want time off to work engage in religious rituals and
generally have a transcendental worldview. On the other hand transcendentalists could be outraged
by the idea that humans ultimately control nature and take a utilitarian approach to the Earths
resources, without due regard to religious considerations and transgress moral laws.
Relationships
In Collectivist cultures, people see themselves as we (part of large extended families) and in times of
misfortune they expect others to look after them and obligated to look after others. In Individualist
cultures, people see themselves as I (or part of a nuclear family) and in times of misfortune are
largely responsible for themselves (Milnes, 2007) (Table 6).
For some cultural groups, catastrophe is managed through the development and maintenance of
relationship while for other groups catastrophe is managed by individual effort (Hofstede, 2008)
or external insurance agencies. Most Western cultures, such as mainstream USA, Australia, the UK
and New Zealand, are highly individualistic. Maintenance of individual rights to pursue ones own
happiness and freedom is paramount and is usually protected by law. In Collectivist societies, people
are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups which protect them in exchange for unquestioning
loyalty. The interest of the group prevails over the interest of the individual.
P MILNES et al
TABLE 6
Dependence on relationships in uncertainty avoidance.
Collectivist cultures Individualist cultures

Personal and social networks are the insurance systems for occasions Impersonal company insurance systems and political organisational
when calamity strikes systems are developed for occasions when calamity strikes
People are born into extended families or clans which protect them in Everyone is supposed to take care of him/herself and his/her immediate
exchange for loyalty family only
Collective economic responsibilities define rigid or demand expectations Individuals take economic responsibilities for their own and immediate
that resources are distributed according to obligation so that there is family and distribute and consume resources according to self-interest
enough for everyone
Private life is invaded by others Everyone has a right to privacy
Generosity is a valued personal attribute Achievement is a valued personal attribute
Mutual obligation and reciprocal sharing is demanded Personal responsibility is demanded
In times of crisis, people who are known are sought out for help In times of crisis, experts are sort out for help
While most ancient religions emphasised the collectivist ideals of the responsibilities of humans
to each other, the ideal of individual rights has a much shorter history from the Magna Carta
(1215) to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that begins: Whereas recognition of
the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is
the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world ... Children from individualistic families
grow up in nuclear families and are educated to be independent, freethinking and gauge success on
the degree to they can make it on their own, be their own boss and in control of their own destiny.
For Collectivist OHS ofcers, safety is the responsibility of the group so that it is expected that in
times of crisis, the group will take care of each person. Care is reciprocal so that when disaster strikes
one, the whole group is xed into lines of obligation and people can demand that others comply.
On the other hand, an Individualist may narrowly dene the rights and responsibilities of workers
without understanding the power, obligation or inuence of the group. By demanding strict personal
obedience to codes designed to ensure the safety of others, they may not understand the actions from
Collectivist cultures and vice-versa. Frustration may arise when the neat Individualist systems run
counter to the Collectivist responsibilities.
A MEASURE OF CULTURAL UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The four strategies (rules, technology, religion and relationships) that humans use to avoid
uncertainty are combined along a two axis plane. Bringing into consideration the aspects of the
person, the situation and the system, three cultural kites can be constructed to create a visual
representation of potential and specic problems and issues in the OHS environment. The size of the
cultural discrepancies between system, situation and individual also become apparent. Management
can then target specic training or other interventions to improve OHS outcomes.
Psychometric testing for anxiety and tolerance of ambiguity are well developed, but at the time of
writing no single set of tests are easily available to measure individual, situational and system cultural
kites. It is, however, possible to conduct a simple qualitative measure based on scale estimates of each
of the four strategies. The estimates are then plotted onto a two axis plane, as illustrated on Figure 1.
Figure 1 is represented with the technocratic, secular, legalist and individualist strategies in the
centre. The purpose is to portray a western orientated culture in which most mining companies seek
to operate. The system thus will be represented by a small kite (System Kite) very near the centre of
the diagram illustrated by red lines on Figure 1. Construction of a situational kite is more specic
to the workplace and the individuals who interpret the system, ie, the OHS ofcers. A situation where
there is some laxity in the rules and a strong system of mateship exists is represented in blue on
Figure 1. Finally, an individual who is Secular in outlook (scientic), shares similar mateship and
technology characteristics as the situation does, but displays a deep mistrust of the rules (Jeito) is
represented in black.
What is immediately obvious from Figure 1 is that the situation (in blue) is different from the
system (in red). The situational environment allows limited breaking of rules because it recognises
FIG 1 - A measure of cultural attitudes to uncertainty avoidance.
the importance of some degree of collectivism (mateship). This phenomenon could create tension
between management (system) and the OHS ofcers (situation) assuming that the OHS ofcers
create the system. The area between the red and blue kites illustrates the severity of the issue, perhaps
indicating that education on the importance of rules needs to be presented to the OHS ofcers. The
individual in this case (in dashed black) has a high disregard for the rules, but falls more or less within
the situational bounds of relationships, technology and religion. Training is important to bring the
individual in line with the rules established by the situation. It must, however, be noted that within
a situation there are many individuals who will display different cultural kites. For example, if an
individual has a high user score, then technologically orientated training is needed.
CONCLUSIONS
The uncertainty or risk and management interventions, associated with OHS can to some measure be
attributed to cultural differences. Further, OHS is designed according to a system that sets the rules
and regulations, but it operates in unique situations and with individuals often from diverse cultural
backgrounds. Taking this into consideration and identifying the methods that humans use to avoid
uncertainty and deal with ambiguity a qualitative model is developed. The model seeks to measure the
conicts that might materialise from a system imposed on a particular situation and between various
individuals. Quantitative psychometric methods are being developed to formalise the model.
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Using Haulage Accidents and Incident Reports to
Identify the Impact of Substandard Haul Road Design on
Operational Safety
R J Thompson1
ABSTRACT
Well designed and maintained haul roads are the key to minimising truck haulage on-road hazards
and costs, as well as increasing productivity. However, practically designing and managing a haul
road for optimal performance is often difcult to achieve. Poorly designed and built roads exhibit
high rolling resistance a one per cent increase in road rolling resistance can typically reduce speed
on ramp by as much as ten per cent - and on the at by up to 26 per cent. In the current economic
climates, investment and operating decisions come under scrutiny. In the long run, this scrutiny
returns improved efciencies and leaner, healthier operations. The focus of this evolving evaluation
process should and will certainly fall on haulage operations simply by virtue of their contribution to
overall cost of operations often in excess of 50 per cent of total costs for deep open-pit mines. Whilst
the end result improved efciency and reduced cost per ton hauled is not in itself problematic,
it is the route, or process followed to achieve these savings that needs to be carefully managed. We
can be guided on this journey by our understanding of how a road is designed, and, critically, the
interplay between a good design and safe, cost efcient haulage.
This paper briey summarises the evolution of mine haul road design, from the seminal USBM work
of Kaufman and Ault in 1977, through to current geometric, structural, functional and maintenance
management design components. These augmented design and management guidelines have been
developed over the past decade, both in response to the requirements of mine operators for more
safe and efcient haulage systems, and the truck manufacturers requirements for a more predictable
and controlled operating environment. These developments have been paralleled by the need to
minimise haulage hazards, both from a health and safety perspective. Generally, both objectives have
been achieved, but with some specic areas of design and operation still presenting ongoing potential
health and safety hazards.
The paper then summarises current design guidelines for these safety-critical issues, both from
a road-design best-practice and road management perspectives. Implementation of the approach
is seen as a basis for reducing the potential of an under-designed mine road to lead to health and
safety defects and secondly as a means of giving haul road safety and performance issues greater
prominence in the minds of the road-user, operator, mine planner and designer alike.
INTRODUCTION
The haul road design and subsequent road management and maintenance forms a principal
component of a transport operation in surface mines. Most mine operators will agree that a strong
relationship exists between well constructed and maintained roads and safe, efcient mining
operations. Large modern surface mining operations generally incorporate high standards of road
design work into the overall mine plan. The result is usually a well constructed roadway that is safe
to operate and easy to maintain. This situation can be quite different for smaller surface mining
operations where either only a few vehicles are used in the transport of material or trafc volumes
are comparatively low. Larger operations usually exhibit and stronger and more well-dened
management philosophy in which special localised consideration is often given to haul road design,
management and maintenance, whereas smaller operations, by virtue of their size, generally operate
without such extensive design and management input (MHSC, 2009; Randolph and Bolt, 1996).
Where design and management input is lacking (ie using an empirical approach based on local
experience) safe, economically optimal roads eventually result but the learning curve is steep
1. Professor of Mining Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australian School of Mines, Locked Bag 30, Kalgoorlie WA 6433. Email: r.thompson@curtin.edu.au
R J THOMPSON
and slow. This approach does not lend itself to an understanding of the road design process and
more importantly, if haul road safety is substandard, it does not easily allow the underlying cause
of the unsafe condition or the role of road design in contributing to an accident (as a root-cause or
associated factor) to be identied.
One of the rst, and arguably most important initiatives to formalise the approach to design and
management of mine haul roads was the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) Information Circular
8758 Design of Surface Mine Haulage Roads A Manual, by Walter Kaufman and James Ault,
published in 1977. The aim of this publication was to provide a complete manual of recommended
practices that promote safer, more efcient haulage. The authors recognised that the development of
surface mine haulage equipment had outstripped available (mine) road design technology, resulting
in numerous accidents caused by road conditions that were beyond the vehicles and drivers ability
to negotiate safely.
The content of the USBM design guidelines was developed primarily in response to haulage
accidents, but also included current practice information from mining companies and equipment
manufacturers. Content covered such aspects as road alignment (both vertical and horizontal), road
cross-section, construction materials, surfacing materials, road width, cross-slope and berm design,
together with trafc control and drainage provisions, as was suggested criteria for road and vehicle
maintenance and for runaway vehicle safety provisions.
A more rigorous approach categorises the various issues that must be addressed in a haul road
design (following Thompson and Visser, 1999):
x The geometric design - commonly the starting point for any haul road design and refers to the
layout and alignment of the road, in both the horizontal and vertical plane, stopping distances,
sight distances, junction layout, berm walls, provision of shoulders and road width variation,
within the limits imposed by the mining method. The ultimate aim is to produce an optimally
efcient and safe geometric design, sufce to say that an optimally safe and efcient design can
only be achieved when sound geometric design principles are applied in conjunction with the
optimal structural, functional and maintenance designs.
x The structural design provides haul road strength to carry the imposed loads over the design life
of the road without the need for excessive maintenance, caused by deformation of one or more
layers in the road most often soft, weak or wet in situ materials below the road surface.
x The functional design, centred on the selection of wearing course (or surfacing) materials where
the most suitable choice and application is required which minimises the rate of defect formation
in the road surface, which would otherwise compromise road safety and performance.
x The maintenance design which identies the optimal frequency of maintenance (routine grading)
for each section of haul road in a network, thus maintenance can be planned, scheduled and
prioritised for optimal road performance and minimum total (vehicle operating and road
maintenance) costs across the network. This is especially important where road maintenance
assets are scarce and need to be used to best effect.
Comparing the content of the USBM work to the more recent integrated mine road design
methodology of Thompson and Visser (1999), it is evident that the USBM work addressed each of
the design components, although not specically relating each design guideline to its associated
design component. Designing a safe and efcient haul road is best achieved through an integrated
design approach. If one design component is decient, the other components will not work to their
maximum potential and road performance and safety is often compromised. This will most often be
seen as inherently unsafe, maintenance intensive and commonly, high rolling resistance roads.
This combination of circumstances translates into hazardous, high-operating cost, low-productivity
haul roads.
The cure, however, is not necessarily just more frequent maintenance; faster cycle times, better
driving habits, etc. No amount of maintenance will x a poorly-designed road. Each component
of the road infrastructure must be correctly addressed at the design stage. Figure 1 illustrates the
integrated design approach.
SAFETY CRITICAL DEFECTS IN MINE ROAD DESIGN

Just as when developing the original USBM guidelines in 1977, amending existing or developing
new mine road design methodologies requires reference to current surface (powered) haulage
USING HAULAGE ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENT REPORTS TO IDENTIFY THE IMPACT OF SUBSTANDARD HAUL ROAD DESIGN
FIG 1 - Typical integrated approach to road design.
accident and incident records to identify the major contributory factors that led to these accidents.
Several studies have been undertaken, both in the United States (Randolph and Boldt, 1996; USBM,
1981; Aldinger, Kenney and Keran, 1995) and South Africa (MHSC, 2009). From an analysis of the
principal substandard surface mine road design factors which were most frequently encountered
in the accident reports, these studies lead to the identication of several key problem areas which
should guide development of appropriate design recommendations.
Using the MSHA database to make a preliminary assessment of truck-related accident rates in US
mining for the period January December 2008, although the incident rates are low on an industry-
wide basis (about one per cent of all accidents), when the Powered Haulage Haulage Trucks class
of accidents are analysed per mine type, for surface coal and metal mines approximately eight per
cent of accidents are attributable. When the incident rate per 1000 employees is considered, surface
coal and metal mining predominate, reecting to an extent the highly mechanised nature of transport
on these mines but also the contribution of truck haulage accidents to overall accident rates.
Whilst this data puts the paper into context, without referring to each incident report to examine
the details of the accident, it is difcult to determine how the role of road design impacts on safety.
A more detailed textual analysis was reported by Randolph and Boldt (1996), based on the analysis
of Aldinger, Kenney and Keran (1995), using accident reports over the period 1989 - 1991, which is
shown in Figure 2.
In their study of surface coal mining, equipment operation was the most common category of
accident for haulage trucks (46 per cent). Within the equipment operation accidents, the most
R J THOMPSON
Others Rough
6% Ground
45%
Dumping
Other 6% Jarring 15%
38% Loading
Maintenance Others
34%
22% 20%
Equipment
Operation
46% Collision
9%
Passive Too
Loss of Close to
Strain 6%
Ingress- Control Edge
Egress 26% 27% 36%
Other
36%
Runaway
28%
FIG 2 - Surface coal haulage truck accident categories (after Aldinger, Kenney and Keran, 1995).
common types were jarring (38 per cent) and loss of control (27 per cent). The main jarring categories
were rough ground (44 per cent), loading (33 per cent), and dumping (16 per cent). Loss of control
categories included too close to edge (36 per cent) and runaway (27 per cent). Whilst there is no
specic reference to the design component that was implicated in these accidents, it has been shown
that haul road structural design defects contribute signicantly to jarring-rough ground incidents
(Miller, Thompson and Lowe, 2004), whilst functional and geometric design were likely contributory
factors in the loss of control accidents.
The MHSA safety bulletin (Fesak, Breland and Spadaro, 1996) reported the results of 4397 accidents
from 1990 - 1996 from which some 1300 lost time accidents associated with water trucks, front end-
loaders, tractor/scrapers, ore carrier/large trucks, ore haulage trucks, or other utility trucks were
isolated and evaluated. They reported that 39 per cent of the lost-time accidents were associated with
roads and (trafc) control issues. However, the specic road or (trafc) control design component
that was decient or implicated in the accident was not recognised.
Internationally, a study conducted in South Africa by Thompson et al (1998) found that in the
majority of accident reports analysed, scant attention or recognition was given to basic road design
components, even where the decient condition which led directly to the accident was clearly stated.
From this work, Figure 3 shows how the type of design activity relates to attributable accident rate
(accidents that involved vehicles on mine haul- or road-ways). It is seen that the more formal a
design activity is, the less is the attributable accident rate.
The attributable accident records were further analysed to determine the substandard act or
condition which either led to, or was implicated in each attributable accident. Once the agency is
identied, the specic action or condition implicated is identied. The principal decient road design
factors thus determined were as detailed below:
x Geometric design:
x Junction layout poor junction layout or incorrect or inappropriate signage. Poor visibility of
or from junction. Uniformity of trafc controls.
x Safety berms no safety berms where road runs on an embankment (ll area) or berms too
small. No berm maintenance. Vehicles which lost control on these sections ran off the road.
x Road shoulders collisions with vehicles (breakdown, etc) parked on roadside, no shoulder
or road too narrow. Poor demarcation of parked equipment. Poor or temporarily obstructed
sight lines.
x Run-aways-brakes accidents due to brake failures whilst hauling laden down-grade or vehicle
run-aways down-grade. Excessive gradients (>10 per cent).
4.5
Formal design
methods4
3.5
Informal 2.5
N ASSESSM ENdesign
T Q U ESTIO N N AIR E
methods
2
G old U C oalS C oalU Platinum S Platinum U D iam ond S D iam o
G O LD 1.5 C O AL PLAT D IAM
U O &S U O &S U O &S U
1
No design 0.5
2 methods
2.00 3.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 3.00
2.00 4.00 2.00 2.00 1.00
0
3.00
0 5 00 10
3. 15 20 25 30 35 40
Percentage attributable accidents / 1000 workers
3 2.0 3.3 3.1 2.0 3.6 3.0
0.49031921 0.0287253Functional
3.1437936 2.7986387
design methods4.8046754 Geometric
0.2727175design
10.450777 6.451
methods
Trend for Functional Designs Trend for Geometric Designs
FIG 3 - Relationship between road design and attributable accident rates.
x Structural design:
x Jarring poor ride quality due to permanent deformation in base or in situ materials and
reected damage in surfacing (wearing course).
x Directional stability large areas of potholing and slip cracks. Evasive action of vehicle in
leaving demarcated lane.
x Functional design:
x Dustiness wearing course material selection inappropriate.
x Poor visibility excessive dustiness generated from vehicle wind shear or due to windy
conditions, especially at night.
x Skid resistance wet wearing course material, either after rain or watering to allay dust. In
several instances, dry skid resistance also problematic. Inappropriate material for geographic
location of road.
x Large stones light delivery vehicles or smaller utility vehicles running over large stones
protruding from the wearing course. Spillage from trucks is also a common causative factor.
Evasive action of vehicle in leaving demarcated lane.
Using an analytical approach similar to the road safety audit system developed by Austroads (1994),
but modied here to accommodate the requirements of surface mine haul roads design and operation,
Figure 4 presents the various percentages of agency factors implicated in these attributable accidents.
Of the total transport accidents analysed and categorised, 47 per cent could be directly attributed to
road design and operation. 60 per cent of these were related to non-standard acts including human
error and mechanical issues. Of the 40 per cent associated with substandard road design factors,
geometric and functional components predominate as the agencies implicated, with maintenance
and structural design exhibiting less inuence.
As highlighted by Austroads (1994), solutions to (mine haul) road safety problems are physical in
nature since they predominantly relate to the road design components of geometry, structure and
function. However, this work has shown that human factors (including non-standard practices),
vehicle (mechanical) factors and other deciencies in road design are all implicated in attributable
accidents. Figure 5 illustrates the relative percentage contributions of each of these factors to
attributable accidents.
The work by MHSC (2009) on mine roads and Austroads (1994) on public roads both conrmed
that whilst improved road design activities may well reduce design-related accidents, it would appear
that little recognition is given to the human factors which are a signicant contributor to haulage
accidents. The human factor is the most problematic to address in a road design. It is often easier
break the link between the interactive effects which may lead to accidents than trying to predict
R J THOMPSON
Geometric
21%
Functional
17% Maintenance &
structural
Road design Vehicle 2%
Not attributable related mechanical &
53% accidents other
47% 11%
Practices Human Error
19% 30%
FIG 4 - Role of road design in attributable accidents.
FIG 5 - Factor interactions contributing to truck haulage accidents.
and reduce human error. These human factor interactive effects include the structural, functional,
maintenance and geometric design components and from Figure 5 it is seen that 25 per cent of
the accidents in which human error was implicated were also associated with deciencies in road
design. To prevent an accident or reduce the severity of its consequences, a road should be more
accommodating to human error. In this way a haul road can be designed to compensate for human
error; the more that is known about human error, the better the road can be designed to accommodate
those actions or non-standard practices.
MINE ROAD DESIGN GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT

Just as the authors of the original USBM guidelines recognised that the development of surface
mine haulage equipment had outstripped mine road design technology, the continuing increase in
truck size to date, together with more recent powered haulage accident and incident analyses, has
warranted further development of mine road design guidelines. Using the USBM (1977) manual as a
starting point, these key developments are summarised below, as applied to the geometric, structural
and functional design components dened earlier.
Geometric design
The geometric layout of a mine haul road is dictated to a great extent by the mining method used and
the geometry of both the mining area and the orebody. Mine planning software enables various haul
road geometric options to be considered and the optimal layout selected, both from a road design
and economic (lowest cost of provision) perspective. Whilst these techniques often have default
design values embedded in the software, it is nevertheless necessary to review the basic concepts of
geometric design if any modications are to be considered in the design of mine roads, either on the
basis of economics or, more critically, from a safety perspective.
The road layout or alignment, both horizontally and vertically is generally the starting point of
the geometric design. Practically, it is often necessary to compromise between an ideal layout and
what mining geometry and economics will allow. Any departure from the ideal specications will
result in reductions of both road and transport equipment performance.
The USBM data of Kaufman and Ault still forms a sound basis for this design component albeit
with updates to truck types and dimensions. Broadly speaking, safety and good engineering practice
require haul road alignment to be designed to suit all vehicle types using the road, operating within
the safe performance envelope of the vehicle, or, where this is not possible, at the speed limit applied.
Ideally, geometric layout should allow the vehicles to operate at their maximum safe speed, but
since the same road is used for laden and unladen haulage, there is often the need to minimise laden
travel times, through appropriate geometric alignment, whilst accepting compromise (generally in
the form of speed limits) on the unladen return haul. Some of the more common geometric design
problems are listed below:
x Avoid sharp horizontal curves at or near the top of a grade section of road. If a horizontal curve is
necessary, start it well in advance of the vertical curve.
x Avoid switchbacks where possible - but if mine plan dictates their use, make radius as large as
possible and avoid placing on grade.
x Avoid sharp horizontal curves requiring a (further) speed reduction following a long sustained
downgrade where haul trucks are normally at their highest speed.
x Avoid short tangents and varying grades, especially on multi-lane roads. Grades should be smooth
and of consistent grade percentages.
x Avoid intersections near the crest of vertical curves or sharp horizontal curves. Intersections
should be as at as possible with sight distances being considered in all four quadrants. Where an
intersection lies at the top of a ramp, consider 100 - 200 m of level road before the intersection
and avoid stopping and starting a laden haul truck on grade.
x Avoid intersections with poor drainage. Drainage design at intersections should stop any ponding
of water against intersection super-elevated curves.
x Avoid sections of road with no camber or cross-fall. Often encountered at curve super-elevation
run-in or -out, these at sections should preferably be at a one to two per cent vertical grade to
assist drainage.
x Avoid staggered cross roads or other multiple road junctions. Preference should be given to three-
way over four-way intersections Re-align roads to provide for conventional cross road layouts
and at any junction, always provide splitter or median islands to prevent vehicles cutting corners
through a junction.
x Avoid signage, vegetation, roadside furnishings or excessively high splitter islands that would
otherwise eventually limit sight distances in any of the four quadrants required.
x Avoid having the inside (and lower) side of a super-elevated bench-to-ramp access road at a
steeper gradient than the ramp road itself, by reducing the centre-line grade of the curve. The
inside grade of the curve should not exceed that of the ramp road. Using a transition spiral, and
where pit room permits, set the inside gradient of the curve atter than the ramp grade by two to
three per cent to compensate for increased curve rolling resistance.
A crest or road-edge berm/bund will not effectively stop trucks (especially high speed laden or
unladen trucks) from leaving the road. At best, they will provide limited deection and warning to
the driver that the truck path needs correcting. The material comprising the berm and its natural
angle of repose signicantly inuence how the berm performs. The slope of the sides of the safety
berm should be preferably as steep as possible 1.5H:1V - this ensures better re-direction of the
truck and less tendency to climb and topple. But in doing this, ensure stability and maintenance
of height because a at or low berm will also cause truck roll-over. For large haul trucks, the berm
height should be at least 66 per cent of the truck wheel diameter.
R J THOMPSON
Truck GVW and approach angle has a signicant deformation effect on the berm, which is typically
constructed from unconsolidated material. The ability of a berm to re-direct reduces as angle of
approach increases. Furthermore, large tyre sizes and non-centering steering mechanisms reduce the
tendency of the truck to redirect itself when encountering a berm. With 4 6 and 6 6 wheel drive
articulated dump trucks, berm dimensions in excess of 66 per cent wheel diameter are recommended,
due to the trucks ability to climb smaller berms. Other factors such as inertial characteristics, sprung
mass ratio and suspension characteristics indicate signicantly different response patterns for haul
vehicles when encountering berms.
Structural design guidelines
The California Bearing ratio (CBR) cover-curve design method (USBM, 1977) has been widely
applied to the design of mine haul roads in which untreated materials are used. Although it has
generally been superseded by the mechanistic approach described later, there are some design cases
where it would still be appropriate. In Figure 6, an updated version of the USBM CBR design charts
are presented, appropriate for the wheel loads of ultra-class trucks, together with the approximate
bearing capacities of various soils types dened by the Unied Soil Classication and American
Association of State Highway Transportation Ofcials systems.
The formula in Equation 1 can also be used to estimate the pavement layer thickness (ZCBR (m))
required above a material of California Bearing Ratio (CBR per cent):
J N
K CBR O (- 0.415 + P # 10-4)
ZCBR = 9.81t w [0.104 + 0.331e(- 0.0287tw)];2 # 10-5KKL P OOPE= CBR G (1)
P P
where:
tw is the truck wheel load (metric tons)
P is tyre pressure (kPa)
To accommodate the effects of dual wheel loads (to replicate the increased induced stresses deeper
in a road layer), the Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL) can be approximated by increasing the
single wheel load by 20 per cent, or more reliably, the layer thickness ZESWL (m) required is given
following Equation 2 as:
-1
ZESWL = ZCBR + ;0.184 + c0.086CBR + 17.76CBR mE (2)
tw
When multi-layered roads are considered in conjunction with a base layer of selected blasted waste
rock, a mechanistic approach is more appropriate. When a selected waste rock layer is located under
the wearing course, road performance is signicantly improved, primarily due to the load carrying
capacity of the waste rock layer which reduces the susceptibility of the soft subgrade and in situ to
the effects of high axle loads. It also has the added advantage of reduced construction costs (by virtue
of reduced volumetric and compaction requirements), compared with the CBR cover-curve design
approach.
A mechanistic design is based on a theoretical linear-elastic multi-layer system model of road
layers. A limiting design criteria of vertical compressive strains in the subgrade or in situ is then
used to assess the haul road under the specic loading conditions, thereby determining the adequacy
of the structural design.
More details are presented by Thompson and Visser (1996), but in general terms, applied load,
subgrade strength and the pavement structural thickness and layer resilient modulus factors
predominantly control the structural performance of a haul road. An upper limit of 2000 microstrain
is generally placed on layer strain values. Strain values exceeding 2500 microstrains are associated
with unacceptable structural performance in all but the most lightly trafc and short-term roads.
Data from Figure 7 can be used to assist in selecting a limiting strain value, according to the category
of road to be built, its operating life and trafc volumes. In addition, to prevent excessive damage to
the wearing course, deformation at the top of this layer must be limited to no more than 3 mm.
Functional design guidelines
The USBM guidelines provided the rst insight into haul road functionality through consideration
of general road performance. The primary characteristics considered were road adhesion and rolling
resistance and the most practical construction materials recognised were asphaltic concrete, crushed
CaliforniaBearingRatioCBR(%)
1 10 100
CoverThickness(mm) 0.0
55 40 25 15
500.0
1000.0
TruckTruckwheel
GVM(t)load(t)
1500.0
9015
2000.0
150 25
2500.0
240 40
320 55 3000.0
390 65
3500.0
450 75
510 85
570 95 4000.0
630 105
4500.0
CBR (%) . 1 2 3 4 6 8 . 10 , 20 40 60 80 100
Modulus (Eeff)(MPa) . 10 14 21 28 35 41 55 69 104 138 207 276 345 414

. .
A-1-b A-1-a
A-2-7 A-2-6 A-2-5 A-2-4
A-3
AASHTO Soil Classification A-4
A-5
A-6
A-7-6 A-7-5
CH
MH
CL
ML
SW
SP
SW-SC
SW-SM
SP-SC
SP-SM
Unified Soil Classification
SC
SM
GW
GP
GW-GC
GW-GC
GP-GC
GP-GM
GC
GM
Subgrade soil category Poor Medium Good Excellent
FIG 6 - CBR cover curves for 90 - 630 metric ton GVM haul trucks and approximate bearing capacities of various soils types defined by the Unified Soil
Classification and American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) systems.
stone or gravel and stabilised earth. The concept of functionality was not specically introduced but
rather alluded to in terms of some of the defects reported with these various construction materials.
In conclusion, they recommended crushed stone or good quality natural gravel as wearing course
materials, together with specications for gradation and Atterberg limits.
The most common wearing course material for haul roads remains compacted gravel or gravel and
crushed stone mixtures. In addition to a low rolling resistance and high coefcient of adhesion, their
R J THOMPSON
Range of
maximum
permissible
vertical elastic
Haul Road Category
strains
(strains) Limiting pavement layer vertical compressive strain
values for mine haul road structural design
Typical Description
Traffic volumes <

Traffic volumes >
10000
100kt/day
100kt/day
Limiting microstrains
Category III Haul Road
Category II Haul Road
Category I Haul Road

1000
Permanent life-of-mine 900 1500

CATEGORY
high traffic volume main

hauling roads and ramps
I
in- and ex-pit.

Operating life >20 years 100
0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320
Semi-permanent 1500 2000 Traffic volume (kt/day) x performance index

CATEGORY
medium- to high traffic

volume ramp roads in-
II
and ex-pit. Operating

life >10 years
Shorter-term medium- 2000 2500 Maximum permissible vertical strains can also be
to low-volume in-pit determined from (kt/day x performance index)
CATEGORY
bench access, ex-pit where performance index is defined as;

dump, or ramp roads. 1 Adequate but fairly maintenance intensive
III
Operating life <5 years 2 Good with normal maintenance

(@ > 50kt/day) or <10 interventions
years (@ <50kt/day) 3 Outstanding with low maintenance
requirements

FIG 7 - Haul road classification and associated mechanistic structural design limiting strain criteria.
greatest advantage over other wearing course materials is that roadway surfaces can be constructed
rapidly and at relatively low cost. As with structural designs, if local mine material can be used for
construction, the costs are all the more favourable. This cost advantage is, however, not apparent in
the long term if the characteristics of the wearing course material result in an inherently unsafe and
maintenance intensive road.
By relating wearing course performance in terms of safety-critical defects (derived from an analysis
of those road design factors implicated in haulage accidents, following Thompson and Visser (2006),
the defects most commonly associated with mine haul roads, in order of decreasing impact on haulage
safety and operational performance are typically:
x skid resistance wet, skid resistance dry, dustiness, loose material, corrugations, stoniness
loose, potholes, rutting, stoniness xed, cracks (slip, longitudinal and crocodile).
By examining which wearing course material property parameters lead to these defects, a
specication was developed for wearing course materials selection. The specications are based
on an assessment of wearing course material shrinkage product (Sp) and grading coefcient (Gc),
dened in Equations 4 and 5 as:
Sp = LS P425 (3)
Gc = (P265 - P2) # P475 (4)

100
where:
LS = bar linear shrinkage
P425 = per cent wearing course sample passing 0.425 mm sieve

P2 = per cent wearing course sample passing 2 mm sieve
A suitable wearing course material can be determined from the selection chart in Figure 8, in terms
of two parameters that describe the material; the grading coefcient (Gc) and shrinkage product (Sp).
If the three most critical haul road defects are considered, it appears that mine road-user preference
is for much reduced wet skid resistance, dust and dry skid resistance defects. This denes the focus
point of the specications to an area bounded by a grading coefcient of 25 - 32 and a shrinkage
product of 95 - 130 in which the overall and individual defects are minimised (Area 1). Extending
this region to encompass poorer (but nevertheless operable) performance enables an additional area
(Area 2) to be dened.
The specications should also be evaluated in the light of other material property limits identied
as important in functional performance but not directly assessed in Figure 8. Table 1 presents a
summary of these property limits.
TABLE 1
Additional wearing course material selection parameters.
Impact on functionality below Material parameter Range Impact on functionality above

recommended range Min Max recommended range
Reduce slipperiness but prone to raveling Shrinkage product 85 200 Increased dustiness and poor wet
and corrugation skid resistance
Increased loose stones, corrugations and Grading coefficient 20 35 Increased raveling and poor dry skid
potential tyre damage resistance
Reduced dustiness but loose material will Dust Ratio 0.4 0.6 Increased dust generation
ravel
Increased loose stoniness Liquid limit (%) 17 24 Prone to dustiness, reduced raveling
Increased loose stoniness Plastic limit (%) 12 17 Prone to dustiness, reduced raveling
Increased tendency to ravel, loose Plasticity index 4 8 Prone to dustiness and poor wet skid
stoniness resistance
Poor wet weather trafficability, churning, Soaked CBR at 98% AS 1289 6.1.1 80 Increased resistance to erosion,
excessive deformation and cross-erosion. rutting and improved trafficability
Maintenance intensive
Ease of maintenance, vehicle friendly ride Maximum particle size (mm) 40 Poor surface finish following
and no tyre damage maintenance, potholing and
potential tyre damage
Maintenance design
The maintenance aspect of haul road design cannot be considered separate from the geometric,
structural and functional design aspects since they are mutually inclusive. Design and construction
costs for the majority of haul roads represent only a small proportion of the total operating and
maintenance costs. Whilst it is possible to construct a mine haul road that requires no maintenance
over its service life, this would be prohibitively expensive, as would the converse but rather in terms
of operating and maintenance costs. An optimally safe and efcient road design will include a
certain amount and frequency of maintenance (watering, grading, etc) and thus maintenance can
be planned, scheduled and optimised within the limits of required road performance and minimum
vehicle operating and road maintenance costs.
Road maintenance itself is rarely implicated as a contributory factor in mine road accidents.
This is because maintenance is seen as a reactionary measure, a maintenance activity, (blading,
grading, watering, etc) being initiated when road performance becomes unsatisfactory. However,
if the geometric, structural or functional design components are incorrectly addressed at the design
stage, a road will invariably become maintenance intensive as a result and frequent maintenance
interventions will be required. Maintenance per se will not correct the underlying road design
R J THOMPSON
400
Dustiness
Shrinkage product 350
Slippery w hen w et
300
250
200
150
Loose stones
100
and tyre Loose material
50 damage Corrugates
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Grading Coefficient
Recommended selection area 1 - ideal
Recommended selection area 2 - operable
FIG 8 - Haul road wearing course material selection.
deciency, only temporarily reduce its impact on safety and operational efciency. Hence in this
discussion, maintenance management system design (Thompson and Visser, 1999, 2003) should
not be considered as a universal remedy for poor road design in the rst instance and the root-
cause of road under-performance should be sought in the geometric, structural or functional design
components.
CONCLUSIONS
Well designed and maintained haul roads are the key to minimising truck haulage on-road hazards
and costs, as well as increasing productivity. However, practically designing and managing a haul
road for optimal performance is often difcult to achieve. We can be guided on this endeavour by our
understanding of how a road design is developed, and, critically, the interplay between a good design
and safe, cost efcient haulage.
The USBM work of Kaufman and Ault was the starting point of a formalised approach to mine
road design. Just as the authors of the original USBM guidelines recognised that the development
of surface mine haulage equipment had outstripped mine road design technology, the continuing
increase in truck size to-date, together with more recent powered haulage accident and incident
analyses, has warranted further development of mine road design guidelines.
Augmented design and management guidelines have been developed over the past decade, both in
response to the requirements of mine operators for more safe and efcient haulage systems, and the
truck manufacturers requirements for a more predictable and controlled operating environment.
Amending existing or developing new mine road design methodologies requires an analysis of
surface (powered) haulage accident and incident records to identify the major contributory factors
that led to these accidents. Several studies are summarised from which it was seen that the principal
substandard surface mine road design factors were geometric and functional design issues, with a
lesser, but still signicant contribution from inadequate structural design.
Whilst improved mine haul road design does indeed reduce haulage accidents, recognition also
needs to be given to human factors which are a signicant contributor to haulage accidents. The
human factor interactive effects include the geometric, structural and functional design components
and to prevent an accident or reduce the severity of its consequences, a road should be more
accommodating to human error. The more that is known about human error in the context of mine
haulage, the better a road can be designed to accommodate those actions or non-standard practices
that would, on a poorly designed road, invariably escalate an error into an accident.
REFERENCES
Aldinger, J A, Kenney, J M and Keran, C M, 1995. Mobile equipment accidents in surface coal mines, USDOI
Bureau of Mines IC 9428.
AUSTROADS, 1994. Road safety audit, National Association of Road Transport and Transport Authorities of
Australia, AP-30/94, Sydney, Australia.
Fesak, G M, Breland, R M and Spadaro, J, 1996. Analysis of surface powered haulage accidents [online],
Mine Safety and Health Administration, USDOL HAS Bulletin. Available from: <http://www.msha.gov/
PROGRAMS/HSAPUBS/SURPOWER.pdf> [Accessed: 1 November 2009].
Miller, R E, Thompson, R J and Lowe, N T, 2004. A GPS-based system for minimizing jolts to heavy equipment
operators, Society of Automotive Engineering, SAE Transactions, Journal of Commercial Vehicles, SAE
2004-01-2726, ISBN 0-7680-1641-X, pp 850-855.
Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC), 2009. Mine Health and Safety Council research reports in
thrust Ares [online]. Available from: <http://www.mhsc.org.za/dmdocuments/Reports/COL/col467/
COL467.pdf> [Accessed: 1 August 2010].
Randolph, R F and Boldt, C M K, 1996. Safety analysis of surface haulage accidents, in Proceedings 27th
Annual Institute on Mining Health, Safety and Research, pp 29-38 (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University: Blacksburg).
Thompson, R J and Visser, A T, 1996. Towards a mechanistic structural design method for surface mine haul
roads, Journal of the South African Institute of Civil Engineering, 38:2.
Thompson, R J and Visser, A T, 1999. Management of unpaved road networks on opencast mines,
Transportation Research Record (TRR) 1652, Transportation Research Board, Washington.
Thompson, R J and Visser, A T, 2003. Mine haul road maintenance management systems, Journal of the
South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 103:5, May/June.
Thompson, R J and Visser, A T, 2006. Selection and maintenance of mine haul road wearing course materials,
Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy, Mining Technology, 115(4):C140-C153.
Thompson, R J, Visser, A T, Smith, R A F and Fourie, G A F, 1998. Benchmarking haul road design standards to
reduce transportation accidents, International Journal of Surface Mining and Reclamation Engineering,
12(4):157-162.
United States Bureau of Mines (USBM), 1977. The Design of Surface Mine Haul Roads A Manual, IC
8758 (USDOI Bureau of Mines).
United States Bureau of Mines (USBM), 1981. Study of Mine Haulage Roadway Surface Safety Hazards,
OFR 5-83 (USDOI, Mines, Minerals, Health and Safety Technology Division: Bumines).
Prediction of Near-Field Rock Damage Due to
Production Blasting in Limestone Quarries, Japan
S Wahyudi1, H Shimada2, T Sasaoka3, S Kubota4, Y Ogata5 and K Matsui6
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the near-eld rock damage owing to production blasting in limestone quarry in
the western region of Japan. The studys purpose is to learn the mechanism of crack development
due to blast vibration. In this study, blast vibrations magnitude was expressed with peak particle
velocity (PPV) which was obtained based on seismographs recorded database. In attempt to pursue
a researchs purpose of this study, there were two considerable interests: near-eld blast vibration
propagation and prediction, and crack observed and prediction. Furthermore, with regards to
considerable interest of the study, there were three essential aspects which were challenged, such as:
monitoring and interpretation of seismic wave propagation in a rock mass near large explosive charge
of production blast scale, measurement of blast rock damage in adjacent to blasthole, and determine
critical value of PPV which may produce signicant rock damage. In order to determine precision
critical PPV, understanding correlation between rock damage with vibration level is rstly important
to be done. This paper also discusses how to measure, detect and quantify near-eld blast vibration
and blast rock damage in adjacent to blasthole.
INTRODUCTION
Conceptually, besides producing fragmentation, rock blasting also produces blast vibration with
which it is closely associated. However, ideally, after production blasting, the extent of rock damage
which found running along the bench contour is little or non-existent, nevertheless in reality there
is a blast damage transition (BDT) zone between these zones of maximum destruction and zero or
minimum disturbance zone.
When an explosive explodes, the blasthole releases compressive shock wave to the entire rock mass
adjacent to borehole. Part of the wave energy could simply be reected when it meets a free face
of blasting bench and transformed into a compressive or tensile stress wave (Saharan, Mitri and
Jethwa, 2006). At that moment, those stress waves will continuously fragment the rock mass until
their energies are used up, and eventually, the energies fall to levels that are less than the tensile
strength of the rock mass. When the energy intensity diminishes to the level where no fragmented
rock is obtained, ie beyond the fragmentation zone, the energy will be released through rock mass as
seismic wave that also known as blast vibration. It is widely known that the amount of seismic energy
that is released through the rock mass should be no more than 15 per cent of the total explosive
energy (Sanchidrian, Segarra and Lopez, 2007). However, sometimes because of high blast vibration
levels, the rock mass in adjacent to blasthole may be damaged. Furthermore, rock damage also may
reduce connement during subsequent blasting which, in turn, increasing the likehood of airblast,
yrock and drilling difculties (Taqieddin et al, 1991).
1. PhD Student, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: wahyudi.sugeng@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
2. Associate Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: shimada@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
3. Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: sasaoka@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
4. Researcher, Industrial Safety and Physical Risk Analysis Group, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan.
Email: kubota.46@aist.go.jp
5. Group Leader, Industrial Safety and Physical Risk Analysis Group, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan.
Email: yuji-ogata@aist.go.jp
6. Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
S WAHYUDI et al
Over the years a number of research has been done to help us understand and control the rock
damage due to blasting. These include work by Langefors and Kihlstrom (1963); Singh (1993); Yang
et al (1994); Ramulu, Chakraborty and Sitharam (2009). Their research is mostly conducted in
underground mine. Meanwhile, the work which is attempted to correlate the blast vibration with
rock damage has been done by Langefors and Kihlstrom (1963); Singh (1993); Mojtabai and Beattie
(1996); Calder (1977); Oriard (1982); Singh (2002); Ramulu, Chakraborty and Sitharam (2009).
Singh constructed the damage criteria based on vibration levels, PPVs. Meanwhile, Mojtabai and
Beattie (1996) related the observed degree of damage to monitored PPV and scaled distance (SD) for
four rock units of varying strength in open pit bench blasting. In the work related to vibration level
which produces signicant rock damage for tunnels, Langefors and Kihlstrom (1963) proposed that
PPVs of 305 mm/s result in the fall of rock in unlined tunnels, and PPVs of 610 mm/s result in the
formation of new cracks.
Calder (1977) observed that no fracturing of intact rock will occur with a PPV of 254 mm/s. However,
PPVs of 254 mm/s to 635 mm/s would cause strong tensile and some radial cracking. The breakup
of a rock mass will occur at a PPV of 2540 mm/s. Meanwhile Oriard (1982) proposed that most
rock masses suffer some damage at PPV above 635 mm/s. In the study of blast vibration damage to
underground coal mines from adjacent open pit blasting, Singh (2002) conrmed that major damage
was observed when the magnitude of PPV exceeded 181.9 mm/s. Ramulu, Chakraborty and Sitharam
(2009) found that repeated dynamic loading imparted on the exposed tunnel from subsequent blasts
in the vicinity is going to contribute to rock mass weakening and preconditioning. They stated that
after 33 repeated blast rounds, the threshold vibration level for compact basalt was found to be 164
mm/s and after 30 cycles of repeated blast rounds the threshold vibration level for amygdaloidal
basalt was found to be 91 mm/s.
Due to the fact that damage in surface mining has received less attention comparatively toward
underground mine, our current study is focusing on rock damage induced by blasting in surface
mining. In surface mining, rock damage induced by blasting has a signicant impact on slope
stability besides of difculties in drilling. Rock damage in a certain condition may weaken a rock
mass and potentially leading to stability problems. However, despite of this rock damage adjacent
to a recent blast might not threaten the rock stability of the area at the time; it may become critical
in the long-term performance of the pit wall due to repeated blasting. Persson, Homberg and Lee
(1994) demonstrated that even micro-cracks caused by blasting can measurably reduce the rock
strength. Hence, this study is critical and crucial for safety, productivity and environment of mining
industry.
In attempt to pursue the goal of the study, there are three experiments which are strongly inter-
related each others:
1. monitoring and interpretation of seismic wave propagation in a rock mass near large explosive
charge of production blast scale,
2. monitoring blast rock damage in adjacent to blasthole, and
3. determine critical value of PPV which may produce signicant rock damage.
EXPERIMENT DETAILS
Test for the study of near-eld blast vibration is conducted in Tosayama limestone quarry meanwhile
the study of blast rock damage is carried out in Higashitani limestone quarry. Both of them are
located in the western region of Japan. Rock properties, blast design and experiment design at
the site are listed in Table 1. While Figure 1 shows experiment eld layouts which were conducted
during experiment. In this study, the blasting experiments were not exclusively designed but were
conducted along with the normal production blasting. Observation hole as well as blast vibration
monitoring equipment (seismographs) were drilled and set-up perpendicular toward rows of
blastholes, respectively. Meanwhile, mixture of ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) with a density of
800 kg/m3 and dynamite dayagel with a density of 1360 kg/m3 was used as primary explosive and
primer, respectively. During eld experiment, blasting events were conducted for single raw blasting
bench and was designed to not be exploded at the same instant of time. Delayed non-electric (NONEL)
blasting caps of 25 and 500 mm/sec delay were used to initiate hole by hole explosive charge.
PREDICTION OF NEAR-FIELD ROCK DAMAGE DUE TO PRODUCTION BLASTING IN LIMESTONE QUARRIES, JAPAN
The question which may appear in this section is the inaccuracy in predicting near-eld PPV. This
concern had been stated by Taqieddin et al (1991). Through their experiment, they had revealed that
vibrations at short SD, 5 m/kg to 24 m/kg, varies widely even for a similar SD value. Therefore,
we give more attention to the inconsistency of near-eld PPV prediction in this study.
FIG 1 - Experimental layout (A) near-field blast vibration; (B) rock blast damage.
TABLE 1
Rock properties.
Information Tosayama limestone Higashitani limestone

Rock property
Compressive strength 40.1 MPa 42 MPa
Tensile strength 3.48 MPa 5.69 MPa
3
Density 2550 kg/m 2680 kg/m3
Young modulus 5.15 GPa 6.03 GPa
Poisson ration 0.21 0.22
Blast design
Diameter of blast-hole 140 mm 140 mm
Length of blast-hole 12 m 17.4 m
Stemming 4m 4.2 m
Slope angle 75 75
Burden 5m 6m
Spacing 5m 5.5 m
Length of investigation hole - 17.4 m
Experimental design
Seismograph location regards to blast-hole
Seismograph 1 10 m 45 m
Seismograph 4 75 m -
Investigation hole location regards to blast-hole
Observation hole 1 - 3m
Observation hole 2 - 15 m
S WAHYUDI et al
EQUIPMENT USING IN FIELD MEASUREMENT

Accelerometer TEAC 707Z, digital recorder TEAC LX-20
The blast vibration in the rock mass close to an explosive charge is usually characterised with high
amplitude and wide frequency ranges. Therefore, the selection and installation of accelerometer
is based on an evaluation of the ranges in maximum amplitude and frequency of vibration which
expected to be generated by blast in the monitoring point. In this case, the accelerometer TEAC
707Z was chosen as an instrument to monitor blast vibration. The accelerometer TEAC 707Z has
ability record the vibration frequency up to 5000 Hz. The accelerometer was connected to the digital
recorded TEAC LX-20 in order to record blast vibration signature. In this experimental work, cement
is used to provide coupling the accelerometer to the rock mass. The accelerometer TEAC 707Z, digital
data recorded TEAC LX-20 and amplier is shown in Figure 2. During blast vibration measurement,
the TEAC LX-20 stored the waveforms in analog form. Since the whole event was saved to a disk in
order of acceleration, another step that must be done for a complete analysis was integration. This
was mathematically derived to transform data from acceleration to velocity. An example of recorded
acceleration wave and calculated velocity wave is shown in Figure 3.
FIG 2 - Vibration monitoring equipment and layout.
FIG 3 - Mathematically process transform data from acceleration to velocity.
Borehole camera
Nowadays, borehole camera utilisation in rock damage monitoring is quite common. Monitoring
rock condition by using borehole camera through investigation hole can provide a great deal of
information on the performance of rock quality, in term of rock damage, pre- and post- blasting.
Borehole camera has proven its worth in several rock mechanic stability evaluations as been done by
Inco (1994) (Scoble et al, 1997). The borehole camera used in this study consists of:
x camera unit,
x direction indicator system, and
x control unit.
The camera unit consists of a camera probe and a cable. Meanwhile, the camera unit is used to
control direction of camera by rotate the camera, subsequently the target can be caught by lens and
recorded well by camera. Mirrors are attached to a charge coupled device (CCD) camera making
the side view observable. Side view image and the direction indicator are integrated to identify the
direction of the observed wall in an observation hole. This integrated system may produce accurate
understanding of the properties of fracture. This camera contains a standard video output and can be
connected with any TV or video-recording system with video cassette recorder (VCR) input. Borehole
cameras components inside the observation hole are given in Figure 4.
FIG 4 - Various components of borehole camera inside the observation hole.
RESULT AND ANALYSIS

Characteristic of blast vibration in a rock near large explosive charge of production blast scale
Recorded data
Monitoring near-eld blast vibration was done for three blasting events and ten particle acceleration
successfully recorded. The measurement design is as given and shown in Table 1 and Figure 1a.
Two recorded data of seismographs, ie which recorded by accelerometer at distance of 10 m of rst
monitoring and 50 m of second monitoring, were interpreted as invalid since their phases and
amplitudes were not consistent with the other ten recorded particle accelerations. This invalid data
may be due to sensor installation problems in those both accelerometers. As mentioned before that
the data which was recorded by digital recorder TEAC LX-20 were of in acceleration form. Hence,
mathematically derived was needed to transform data from acceleration to velocity in order to attain
PPV.
Note that the shape of the waveform and the duration of vibration are not taking into discussion,
only the highest velocities (PPV) are taking into calculation. Assuming that the peak longitudinal,
transverse and vertical velocity which were noted by VL, VT, and VV, respectively, at a point occur
at the same time, the PPV resultant is then calculated by PPV=[VL2 + VT2 +VV2]1/2. This assumption
may result in a larger estimation result of the absolute PPV than the actual one. However, from an
engineering point of view, the assumption will lead us to a conservative assessment of engineering
safety. Meanwhile, in frequency analysis, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was employed in order
to obtain frequency of seismic wave. Figure 5 illustrates the PPV and frequency at the different
monitoring distance. The data which is illustrated in Figure 5 shows that there are no high frequency
signals superimposed on the recorded PPV.
x Figure 5 depicts that the data are clustered into two groups, ie the data which were recorded at:
1. in distance less than 25 m from blast source, and
2. in distance more than 25 m from blast source.
S WAHYUDI et al
Furthermore, Figure 5 shows that:

x the recorded PPV values per component points up that the longitudinal component which were
monitored in distance less than 25 m from blast source are characterised with high PPV and low
frequency (<30 Hz);
x the vertical component typically consists of lower PPV and higher frequency (generally more than
30 Hz) than longitudinal component;
x PPV and frequency values of transverse component are in between of longitudinal and vertical
values (in the range of 20 Hz to 40 Hz); and
x particle motion amplitudes of longitudinal and transverse component decrease rapidly along with
distance from blast source meanwhile the vertical component is attenuated slower.
FIG 5 - Recorded near-field blast vibration data.
Difficulties in near-field blast vibration prediction

The generation and prediction of blast vibration has become an attractive subject for many researchers
since the middle of the twentieth century. Many simple predictors have been proposed for PPV
estimation as given in Table 2. However, those all blast vibration predictor mostly are applicable for
predicting PPV in far-eld and not adequately accurate to predict PPV when at short SD or distance of
measurement (R). Scientically, if the error of estimation which is resulted from conventional blast
vibration predictor is high, those equations may be unacceptable. Hence, in the next subchapter,
the available conventional blast vibration predictor will be compared with Holmberg and Persson
approach in attempt to achieve an accurate estimated PPV.
TABLE 2
Different conventional blast vibration predictor.
Name Equation
US Bureau of Mines (USBM), 1959 PPV = K 6 R/ Q @-
b
Ambraseys-Hendron, 1968 PPV = K 6 R/Q1/3@- b

Langefors-Kihlstrom, 1963 PPV = K 6 ^Q/R2/3h @
b
Bureau of Indian Strandard, 1973 PPV = K 6Q/R2/3@b

Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI predictor), 1993 PPV = n + K 6 R/ Q @-
1
Holmberg and Persson approach

Holmberg and Persson (Holmberg and Persson, 1978), in their approach, have assumed:
x the entire charge detonates instantaneously, and
x the amplitudes are simply summed without considering arrival direction.
Holmberg and Persson approach is illustrated in Figure 6a and expressed with Equation 1:
PPV = K{q/ro[tan-1({H + J - zo}/ro) - tan-1({T - zo}/ro)]}

(1)
where:
K and
= parameters for a given site
(ro, zo) = observation point
q = the linear charge concentration
T = length of the stemming
H = Height of blasting bench
J = length of subdrilling
Furthermore, since the blasthole which carried out in the current study is inclined o, then Figure
6a can be modied as showed in Figure 6b, consequently, Equation 1 also becomes:
PPV = K{q/ro[tan-1({[h - zo]sin }/{[ h - zo]cos + ro}) - tan-1({[T - zo]sin }/{[T - zo]sin + ro})]}
(2)
FIG 6 - (A) Division of the charge into incremental charges Holmberg and Persson approach; (B) modified.
Characteristic of near-field blast vibration prediction

In this study, several important and widely used predictors (as shown in Table 2) were used to
analyse the characteristic of PPV prediction in near-eld region. To determine the site parameters
that exist in the PPV prediction equations, multiple regression analysis was carried out by using
all data pairs as previously revealed. Using this way, one could calculate the maximum possible
amplitude at the monitoring point which the result is revealed in Figure 7a. Moreover, the calculated
values of parameters for the various prediction equations are shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Calculated values of site parameters.
Site parameters
Equation
K n
USBM, 1959 992.53 2.55 -
Ambraseys-Hendron, 1968 5036.6 2.55 -
Langefors-Kihlstrom, 1963 0.0597 7.66 -
Bureau of Indian Standard, 1973 0.0597 3.83 -
CMRI predictor, 1993 336.08 - -22.72
S WAHYUDI et al
The comparison between the best t curves (R = 0.95), which was determined based on recorded
PPV and charge weight scaling law prediction as given in Table 3, with estimated PPV resulted by
Holmberg and Persson approach conrms that prediction equations which are given in Table 3,
except CMRI, seem got difculties on predicting PPV in distance less than 25 m from blast source
(see Figure 7a). CMRI can predict PPV well in the distance less than 25 m but overestimate in distance
more than 25 m (see Figure 7b). Generally, the PPV values which were predicted by using Holmberg
and Persson approach are just overlapping the best curve t. It can be concluded that Holmberg and
Persson approach can be taken as a predictor to estimate PPV in rock mass adjacent to blast sources.
FIG 7 - (A) Peak particle velocity as function of distance; (B) zoom in.
Damage observed and prediction

The eld experimental layout of damage observed and monitoring PPV is described and illustrated
in Table 1 and Figure 1b, respectively. In fracture identication, each discontinuity images which
were obtained from borehole camera has been treated by the same procedure. A total of borehole
camera surveys which were taken during observation and successfully captured were 163 pictures.
After all images were processed, all the pictures were sorted out rst by editing and matching the
same images before and after blasting and then printed out. Consequently, the pictures, which
showed differences in fracture existence, were identied by their position coordinates. Furthermore,
the orientation and location of each discontinuity was determined, and then the level of damage
was evaluated. Since differentiation between natural discontinuities and new fractures produced by
current blasting is important in rock damage assessment in this analysis, then the quality of damage
is dened as density of fracture per metre. The rock damage assessment method is illustrated in
Figure 8a. Meanwhile, the images of observation holes captured by borehole camera before and after
blasting are shown in Figure 8b, which clearly indicate that creation of fractures due to blasting at a
depth of 2.5 m at rst observation hole. The gures which successfully assessed shows that rock mass
at surface to top of charge and toe elevation to bottom area are more damage than in top of charge to
toe elevation area. Furthermore, new fractures mostly are generated at hanging side of investigation-
holes wall.
In a eld experiment of blast vibration, there are three points which distinguish the study in the
current subchapter from the study of characteristic of near-eld blast which was discussed before,
such as:
x research purpose or target and achievement,
x amount of charge weight per-delay in Kg (Q), and
x shortest distance of measurement (R).
In this part, the study was attempted to determine the critical PPV which may produce signicant
fracture, hence, the study was conducted on a large explosive charge of production blast scale. Due
to a large charge weight which was employed in this study (150 kg and 160 kg weight explosive per-
delay), in equipment safety reason, the seismographs were located starting from 45 m distance of
measurement to the nearest blasthole. Subsequently, PPV level in adjacent to blasthole (less than
25 m) was an estimated value instead of recorded value. The estimation of PPV was obtained by
FIG 8 - (A) Illustration of fracture assessment; (B) example of image captured by borehole camera.
using Holmberg-Persson approach based on characteristic of near-eld which has been achieved in
previous study.
Figure 9 shows comparison between recorded PPV which were measured in Tosayama and
Higasitani for varies weight of explosive charges and distance of measurements. Characteristic of
PPV of Tosamaya and Higashi seems in same shape or trend. In this term, characteristic of near-eld
of Tosayama could be taken as rationale in work of near-eld PPV prediction in Higashitani.
FIG 9 - Characteristic near-field peak particle velocity at Tosayama and Highasitani.
As discussed earlier, blast vibration prediction model using charge weight scaling law, ie the
Holmberg and Persson approach, was adopted to predict the PPV in rock mass adjacent to blasthole.
K and parameter of Holmberg and Persson approach can be obtained from USBM equation as
given in Table 2 (Lundborg, Holmberg and Persson, 1978). K and are parameter that relate to the
geological condition of the blasting site. The USBM formula expresses the statistical relationship
S WAHYUDI et al
between PPV and SD, rather than the functional relationship between them. Namely, the best t
curve, as shown in Figure 7, indicates average line of database instead of real value of recorded PPV.
Hence, according to statistic theory, the probability that testing vibration velocity is greater or lower
than the calculation value is 50 per cent. Due to high error which may produces in PPV prediction at
short SD, determine the maximum and minimum value of K parameter is indeed a must. Moreover,
in work of determine the critical PPV which may produce a signicant fracture, it will produce a
better result in term of safety if minimum K value is employed in prediction PPV. Therefore, to
ensure the absolute safety of engineering, ie determine the critical PPV value which may produce
signicant new fracture, a minimum K value is applied in this study. The step nding the maximum
and minimum K value is discussed below.
In the determining of K and parameter, the recorded PPVs, which were recorded in the range of
18.63 mm/sec to 212.6 mm/sec with dominant frequency in between 41 Hz to 50 Hz, rstly is plotted
as a function of SD. The equation was obtained based on recorded database as follows:
PPV = 1936.4(R/Q)-1.795 (R=0.99) (3)
To determine maximum and minimum K value, rst step is Equation 3 which was written as linear
regression equation as follows:
y = 3.287 - 1.795x (4)
Equation 4 reects the relationship between x and y. For any given x, the random variable
approximately conforms to a normal distribution N(0, Sy2). Thus:
Sy = {[Q(c,
)]/[n - 2]}0.5 (5)
where Sy is the residual standard deviation, Q(a, b) is the sum of the square of the deviation of the
measuring value:
Q(c,
) = Lyy - Lxy.
(6)
According to the feature of normal distribution for each given:
P(o - /2.Sy < yo < o + /2.Sy) = 1 - (7)
The condence interval for which the ducial probability equals 1- for denite number pairs of xo
and yo can be shown to be [o - /2.Sy, o + /2.Sy] where o = c+
.xo = 3.287-1.795x.
For each given value of , the value of /2 can be obtained with the formula P(|| > /2) =
by
consulting a normal distribution table. The condence range of yo can also be expressed as:
[c +
.xo - /2.Sy, c +
.xo + /2.Sy] (8)
By supposing that c1 = c - /2.Sy, c2 = c + /2.Sy, then yos range of condence can be written as
[c1 +
.xo, c2 +
.xo]. To calculate the condence range, the sum of the amount of deviation of the
measuring value Q(a, b) should be calculated rst.
According to Equation 6:
Q(c,
) = Lyy -Lxy.
= 0.2015-(-0.3618).(-1.795) = 0.0289
Sy = {[Q(c,
)]/[n - 2]}0.5 = [0.0289/(5 - 2)]0.5 = 0.0981
For = 0.05, the normal distribution table gives /2 = 3.182. Then, for a ducial probability of
0.95, the condence range is: [2.9748 - 1.795x, 3.5992 + 1.795x].
According to the relationship between c and K:
K1 = 102.9748 = 943.712, K2 = 103.5992 = 3973.296
Hence, the condence range with a ducial probability of 0.95 is:
[943.712(R/Q)-1.795, 3973.296(R/Q)-1.795]
This means that when the formulation of Equation 9 is adopted to calculate the value of PPV, the
probability that the actual measured velocity is lower than the calculated is only ve per cent under the
similar condition of inuenced parameter. Thus, the K and parameters of Equation 9 can be employed
for Holmberg and Persson approach to predict satised PPV in rock mass adjacent to blasthole.
943.712(R/Q)-1.795 (9)
In the determination of critical PPV which the rock fractured, matrix of calculation is employed to
correlate between rock damage and PPV on the rock mass (Figure 10). This matrix consists of two
columns and ve rows. Furthermore the correlation between fracture per metre and PPV is illustrated
in Figure 11. This gure shows that new fractures were clearly generated because of blasting. The
gure also implies that:
FIG 10 - Matrix calculation point Holmberg and Persson approach.
FIG 11 - Damage observed and prediction.
S WAHYUDI et al
x There is a graduated damage zone between the rst observation hole (OH1) with the second
observation hole (OH2).
x Highly rate damage is occurred in OH1 meanwhile less damage is appeared in OH2.
x Number of fracture before blasting which monitored in OH1 is higher than OH2. High number of
fracture in OH1 may be caused by repeated blasting from sequence blasting event.
Furthermore, both PPV and crack density were plotted as shown in Figure 12. This gure shows
that fracture grow proportionally with the PPV. This fact strengthens early founding that PPV was
responsible for new fracture development. The relationship between PPV and crack density is
illustrated in Equation 10:
y = 0.3831e1.0891x (10)
where y notes PPV in mm/s and x remarks ratio crack density increase in per cent. The relationship
reveals that critical PPV value may produces a fracture in limestone of Higashitani is 383 mm/s.
FIG 12 - The increase number of fracture per-metre versus peak particle velocity.
CONCLUSIONS
There are three aspects in this current study:
1. monitoring and interpretation of seismic wave propagation in a rock mass near large explosive
charge of production blast scale,
2. measurement of blast rock damage in adjacent to blasthole, and
3. determine critical value of PPV which may produce signicant rock damage.
Monitoring and interpretation of seismic wave propagation in a rock mass near large explosive
charge of production blast scale conrms that the particle motion amplitudes of longitudinal and
transverse component decreases rapidly along with distance from blasthole, meanwhile the vertical
component is attenuated slower. The longitudinal component was characterised by high PPV in rock
mass in radius less than 25 m from blasthole. However, the longitudinal was also described with low
frequency. Meanwhile, the vertical component typically consists of lower PPV and higher frequency
than longitudinal component. And PPV and frequency of transverse component are in between
longitudinal and vertical values.
In this paper, near-eld blast vibration which expected to fracture rock mass adjacent to blasthole
was made through the application of the charge weight scaling law compared well with measured
results. The comparison shows that the Holmberg-Persson approach is t as a predictor to estimate
PPV in rock mass adjacent to blasthole. The Holmberg-Persson approach evidently has ability to
predict near-eld PPV just overlap the best curve t of recorded data sets of PPV. However, the
probability that predicted PPV greater and lower then the recorded value is 50 per cent. This result
make unsure safety in prediction especially when predict PPV in distance less than 25 m from
blasthole. This concern is exacerbated by the found that the PPV values which recorded in distance less
than 25 m is widely different. Therefore, obtaining the minimum and maximum value of K parameter
in order to ensure the absolute safety in work of critical value of PPV determination is indeed a must.
Finally, this study shows that borehole camera is satised enough to analyse the rock damage in
investigation hole. Meanwhile, in the result of rock damage due to blasting revealed that fracture
grows proportionally with the PPV. The result shows a new fracture in limestone of Higashitani will
develop in critical value of PPV 383 mm/s.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the Taiheiyo Cement Co Ltd, Tosayama mine and Mitsubishi
Material Higashitani Limestone Mine Co Ltd who have shown support for this research and who
have made their data available for this publication. Thanks also extended to workers for providing
necessary help during study.
The author (Sugeng Wahyudi) is also grateful for nancial assistance provided by the Global-Centre
of Excellence in Novel Carbon Resource Science, Kyushu University.
REFERENCES
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Holmberg, R and Persson, P A, 1978. The Swedish approach to contour blasting, in Proceedings Fourth
Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, pp 113-127 (Society of Explosives Engineers).
Langefors, U and Kihlstrom, B, 1963. The Modern Technique of Rock Blasting, 405 p (Wiley: New York).
Lundborg, N, Holmberg, R and Persson, P A, 1978. The dependence of ground vibrations on distance and
charge size, report R11:78, Byggforskning (in Swedish).
Mojtabai, N and Beattie, S, 1996. Empirical approach to prediction of damage in bench blasting, Trans IMM,
105: A75-A80.
Oriard, L L, 1982. Blasting effects and their control, Underground Mining Methods Handbook, pp 1590-1603
(SME/AIME: New York).
Persson, P A, Homberg, R and Lee, J, 1994. Rock Blasting and Explosives Engineering, 540 p (CRC Press).
Ramulu, M, Chakraborty, A K and Sitharam, T G, 2009. Damage assessment of basaltic rock mass due
to repeated blasting in a railway tunneling project A case study, Tunneling and Underground Space
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Saharan, M R, Mitri, H S and Jethwa, J L, 2006. Rock fracturing by explosive energy: Review of state-of-the-
art, International Journal for Blasting and Fragmentation, 10(1-2):61-81.
Sanchidrian, J A, Segarra, P and Lopez, L M, 2007. Energy components in rock blasting, International
Journal of Rock Mechanic and Mining Science, 33:130-147.
Scoble, M J, Lizotte, Y C, Paventi, M and Mohanty, B B, 1997. Measurement of blast damage, SME Annual
Meeting, pp 103-108.
Singh, P K, 2002. Blast vibration damage to underground coal mines from adjacent open pit blasting,
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science, 39:959-973.
Singh, S P, 1993. Prediction and determination of explosive induced damage, Fourth International Symposium
on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting Fragblast4, pp 183-192 (Balkema).
Taqieddin, S A, Ash, R L, Smith, N S and Brinkmann, J R, 1991. Effects of some blast design parameters on
ground vibrations at short scaled distance, Mining Science and Technology, 12:167-178.
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vibration and damage, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 12:169-182.
Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm for Block
Aggregation in Open Pit Mines
H Askari-Nasab1, M Tabesh2, M M Badiozamani3 and H Eivazy4
ABSTRACT
Open pit mine plans dene the complex strategy of displacement of ore and waste over the mine
life. Various mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulations have been used for production
scheduling of open pit mines. The main problem with these models is the inability to solve real size
mining problems. We present a mixed integer linear programming formulation for the open pit
long-term production scheduling problem. To reduce the number of binary integer variables in the
formulation, we aggregate blocks into larger units referred to as mining-cuts. We present a semi-
supervised clustering algorithm which aggregates smaller blocks based on rock types and grade
ranges into mining-cuts without introducing an error in the grade estimated values. The cluster-
based aggregation algorithm is fully integrated into an MILP mine production scheduling prototype
software. We have implemented, veried, and validated our models. The efciency of the new
platform is evaluated through iron ore mine case study.
INTRODUCTION
Mining is one of the major industries which the modern humans life depends on. Various materials
are mined daily to feed plants and factories all over the world. Mining processes deal with exploration,
design, extraction and reclamation of large areas and handling millions of tons of material. This is
also a large investment and complex industry. Therefore, operations research has been widely used
to improve processes. These techniques are mostly implemented on development and exploitation
stages (Newman et al, 2010).
Open pit mine planning is the process of deciding on the sequence of extracting blocks from the mine
in order to obtain the highest NPV subject to a set of constraints. This process is usually undertaken
based on two main approaches. The rst approach is a two-stage problem:
1. decision making about which blocks to be extracted, and
2. nding the appropriate sequence of extraction.
In the second approach both problems are solved simultaneously. Although the second approach
seems to result in a better solution, Caccetta and Hill (2003) prove that the optimum pit found using
the simultaneous approach would fall inside the pit outline found by pit optimisation techniques.
Therefore, the second approach is taken for this paper.
Open pit production scheduling is a known problem which has attracted so many researchers.
This problem has been studied in various levels of details and time horizons. Models are usually
categorised into three major sets based on the time horizon they deal with: long-term; mid-term; and
short-term (Osanloo, Gholamnejad and Karimi, 2008).
Long-term open pit mine production planning (LTOPP)
Various models for LTOPP have been proposed in literature. Traditional approach is to dene
production levels (in tonnages) of ore and waste (Gershon, 1983). On the other hand, the most famous
1. Assistant Professor and Director, Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL), School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, 3-044 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada. Email: hooman@ualberta.ca
2. PhD Candidate, Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL), School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, 3-044 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada. Email: tabesh@ualberta.ca
3. PhD Candidate, Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL), School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, 3-044 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada. Email: mbadiozaman@ualberta.ca
4. PhD Candidate Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL), School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, 3-044 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada. Email: eivazy@ualberta.ca
H ASKARI-NASAB et al
current ones consist of zero-one variables indicating if block i is extracted at period t, subject to some
constraints on mining and processing capacities, grade blending, as well as slope constraints. They
usually work with discounted value of blocks to take time value of money into account. For a review
of the operations research models used in mine planning review (Osanloo, Gholamnejad and Karimi,
2008) and (Newman et al, 2010). The LTOPP model considered in this paper is the mixed integer
linear programming model proposed by Askari-Nasab, Awuah-Offei and Eivazy (2010). The model
includes continuous variables representing the portion of block extracted in each period. Gershon
(1983) uses the same variable denition but the problem with his model is that slope constraints allow
for partial removal of the block not only if the above blocks are completely removed but also when
a portion of them are removed ( Osanloo, Gholamnejad and Karimi, 2008). Askari-Nasab, Awuah-
Offei and Eivazy (2010) add binary variables to overcome this problem. The main issue with various
models proposed in the literature is the size of the problem. Since most open pit mines consists of
hundreds of thousands of blocks, it is beyond todays commercial software and hardware to solve
the problem and nd the optimal solution at a block level resolution. Attempts to overcome this
curse of dimensionality have been made. Busnach, Mehrez and Sinuany-Stern (1985) and Klingman
and Phillips (1988) aggregate blocks into horizontal layers in a phosphate mine before modelling
the production planning. Pursuing the same goal, Gershon and Murphy (1989) create aggregated
layers of blocks which are totally mined as ore or waste. Samanta, Bhattacherjee and Ganguli (2005)
also mention the complexity of an open pit mine production planning problem. They take the same
layering approach but solve the problem using a genetic algorithm and a different objective function.
Samanta, Bhattacherjee and Ganguli (2005) try to control cumulative grade deviations from the
target grade specied for the entire scheduling period. Genetic algorithm is also used by Zhang
(2006) combined by a block aggregation technique to reduce the number of variables in the model.
Caccetta and Hill (2003) modify the denition of the decision variable from being extracted in period
t to being extracted by period t and propose a branch and cut algorithm for solving the problem.
They state that their algorithm generates tight bounds while it is unable to nd the optimum solution
especially as the size grows. Bley et al (2010 ) use the same variable denition with a variable reduction
method. The authors form a so called precedence knapsack problem based on each attribute of the
block and the existing constraints. Then, they nd scenarios where the extraction sequence is not
possible due to cumulative availability of resources and remove those variables from the problem.
The study implements and compares various techniques for single-block, multiple-block and block
conict scenarios and concludes that the rst two techniques have contributed signicantly to the
CPU time required by the solver. Kumral and Dowd (2005) implement another meta-heuristic on
mine production planning. The authors consider three minimisation objective functions:
1. the deviation from the required tonnage
2. penalty and opportunity cost for the available content of each element, and
3. the variability in the amount of each element in each period.
An initial solution is found using Lagrangian parameterisation and improved using simulated
annealing (SA) regarding to a weighted summation of the three mentioned objective functions.
Minemax (Minemax Pty Ltd, 1998 - 2009) is a commercially available strategic mine scheduling
software, which uses MILP formulation. Given that Minemax is a commercial software we couldnt
nd detailed information about the approach and formulation, but our understanding from the
evaluation of the demo tutorial version of Minemax is that as a general strategy it is suggested
to initially decompose the nal pit into nested pit shells based on parametric analysis concepts
represented by Lerchs and Grossmann (1965). The pit shells dene a pit to pit precedence, constrained
by the minimum and maximum number of benches by which the mining of one specied pit shell
is to lag behind the previous one. The other option to dene rules for precedence of extraction is
either by proportions mined on each bench or by block precedence based on the overall pit slopes.
Subsequently, blocks within each pit shell are formulated as a separate MILP model, which can
contribute to the overall quantity of mining and processing targets within the grade and precedence
constraints. This approach result in MILP formulations for each pit shell with smaller size which
will converge faster, but it could not be considered a global optimisation of the problem since the
pit shells are dened by the parametric analysis rst. Another optimisation strategy is using sliding
windows which are subproblems that are tackled on a period by period basis. Blasor (Stone et al,
2007) and Prober (Whittle, 2007) are other proprietary software which claim to tackle the strategic
mine production scheduling by a MILP.
HIERARCHICAL CLUSTERING ALGORITHM FOR BLOCK AGGREGATION IN OPEN PIT MINES
Based on the literature review, it can be inferred that in most of research works the focus is either
on heuristic and meta-heuristic approaches to solve the mine production planning problem, which
do not guarantee the optimality of the solution, or on penalty function and Lagrangian relaxation
methods to scale down the problem and make it solvable with mathematical programming
approaches. Thus, the concept of block aggregation to decrease the number of variables and to make
the problem tractable is considered only in few researches. The algorithm by Askari-Nasab, Awuah-
Offei and Eivazy (2010), which uses Fuzzy C-means clustering to make mining-cuts is among the
latest aggregation approaches. In the next sections, the theoretical framework used in developing the
proposed algorithm is reviewed, followed by the presentation of the proposed hierarchical clustering
algorithm to create mining-cuts.
CLUSTERING CONCEPT
Clustering is dened as the process of grouping similar entities together in a way that maximum
intra-cluster similarity and inter-cluster dissimilarity is achieved. This can be modelled and solved
as a mathematical programming problem but the difculty lies in the amount of resources and
time required for solving the problem. The clustering problem is proven to be NP-Hard (Gonzalez,
1982). Therefore, a wide range of non-exact algorithms has been developed in the literature. These
algorithms are usually performed by introducing a measure of similarity or dissimilarity between
the objects. A wide range of clustering algorithms has been presented in the literature. These
techniques can be categorised into two major groups: hierarchical and partitional clustering. As its
name implies, hierarchical clustering is performed through forming a hierarchy of clusters. On the
other hand, partitional clustering is performed by partitioning data objects into a number of groups.
Hierarchical clustering is known to lead to better clusters rather than partitional algorithms but
by consuming more time (Feng et al, 2010 ). The proposed algorithm in this paper is based on a
hierarchical approach. Therefore, the rest of the chapter focuses on hierarchical clustering and its
implementation.
The cluster tree used in hierarchical clustering is formed using two different methods: agglomerative
and divisive. Agglomerative clustering method is a bottom-up approach (ie considers each object as
a cluster and starts joining them to create new clusters) in contrast with divisive clustering which is
performed in a top-down fashion. In the latter approach, the whole set of objects is considered as a
single cluster and the algorithm splits each cluster into two new classes iteratively until the required
number of clusters is reached.
Clustering techniques can also be categorised into specic-purpose versus general-purpose
algorithms. The main difference between these two sets is in the objective function. General-purpose
clustering algorithms deal with a set of attributed objects and try to form a number of clusters in a
way that they reach to the predened intra-cluster similarity or inter-cluster dissimilarity while the
other type of algorithms try to create clusters aligned with the objective function of the problem. A
famous and widely studied example in the second group is the cell formation problem (Vakharia and
Wemmerlv, 1995). The clustering algorithm proposed in this paper is specically developed to solve
the mine production planning problem. Since the proposed approach is a hierarchical agglomerative
clustering algorithm, the general procedure of these types of algorithms is reviewed as follows
(Johnson, 1967):
1. Start by considering each object as a cluster, so that if there are N objects, then there are N clusters.
The similarities between clusters are the same as the similarities between the objects they contain.
2. Find the most similar pair of clusters and merge them into a single cluster.
3. Compute similarities between the new cluster and the rest of the clusters.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all objects are merged together and a cluster with size of N is created.
PROPOSED ALGORITHM
The mixed integer formulation of the open pit mine planning problem, used in this paper, consists of
continuous and binary variables and various sets of constraints. The model is described briey but a
more detailed explanation can be found in (Askari-Nasab, Awuah-Offei and Eivazy, 2010).
Continuous decision variables (ytk [0.1]) are used to determine the fraction of cut k scheduled
to be mined in period t. To consider the precedence constraints, binary variables (btk {0,1}) are
dened. btk is set to one if extraction of cut k starts by or in period t. Another continuous decision
variable (Stk [0,1]) decides on the portion of cut extracted as ore and set to be sent to the mill.
Dening Ck as the set of immediate predecessor cuts that must be extracted prior to extraction of the
mining-cut k. Followings represent the mathematical model:
T K
max / /`vkt # skt - qkt # yktj (1)
t = 1k = 1
K e K
glt,e # / gk # ok # sk / / ok # sk # gut,e
t t
6te "1,..., T ,, ee "1,..., E , (2)
k=1 k=1
K
plt # / ok # skt # put 6te "1,..., T ,, ee "1,..., E , (3)
k=1
K
mlt # /ôk + wkh # yk # mut
t
6te "1,..., T , (4)
k=1
st k # ykt 6ke "1,..., K ,, te "1,..., T , (5)
t
t
bk - / yi s # 0 6ke "1,..., K ,, te "1,..., T ,, seCk (6)
i=1
t
/ yik - bkt # 0 6ke "1,..., K ,, te "1,..., T , (7)
i=1
l
t
b k - bt + k # 0 6ke "1,..., K ,, te "1,..., T - 1, (8)
Equation 1 indicates the objective function of the model which is the total discounted revenue minus
the total discounted cost imposed to extract the material from the mine. Equations 2, 3 and 4 impose
the lower and upper bounds for various element grade blending constraints and control the mining
and processing capacity. Equation 5 guarantees that the fraction of material sent to the mill as ore is
less than or equal to the total mined amount. Equations 6, 7 and 8 control the precedence relations
for the order of extraction of mining-cuts. Those are the constraints containing binary variables
which add up to the complexity of the model. Askari-Nasab, Awuah-Offei and Eivazy (2010) use a
clustering procedure based on fuzzy C-means algorithm to reduce the number of binary variables in
the formulation. Developing these clusters is done based on similarities between blocks related to
the physical location of each block and its grade which is taken into account as a (zero-one) ore-waste
categorisation. On the other hand, they presume that the portion scheduled to be extracted from
each cluster is uniformly taken from all the blocks in that cluster. Thus, having more homogenous
clusters regarding to grade distributions and block values is required.
The algorithm proposed in this paper is an agglomerative hierarchical algorithm used for aggregating
blocks into mining-cuts based on a similarity index which will be elaborated in more details. The
clustering algorithm proposed in this paper follows a bottom-up fashion. Each bench is clustered
separately and then, the algorithm proceeds to the bench above.
Similarity index
Various properties can be considered when dening similarities between blocks. However, increase
in the number of properties makes the indices more complex and hard to understand. Thus, following
attributes of the blocks are chosen to compute similarity indices:
x Location: since the clusters are going to be used in determining production schedules, aggregating
far apart blocks is not of practical interest.
x Grade: grades of major elements in each block are the most important characteristics of the
block. This becomes more of importance when there is a uniform extraction assumption in the
production scheduling formulation.
x Rock type: different rock types can incur different mining and processing costs and affect the
value of each block. Also, the production planning model is going to decide whether a cluster has
to be sent to the mill or the waste dump. Then, rock type is of signicance in dening the similarity
index.
x Beneath cluster: as mentioned, the number of constraints with binary variables seems to have
a high effect on the complexity of the problem. In addition, if the precedence relations are not
managed properly, the schedule has to extract more low value clusters to reach to the high value
ones. Consequently, it is attempted to form the clusters on top of each other as much as possible.
One of the common methods of dening similarity indices is to use Euclidean distances for all
the attributes of the objects being studied. However, this cannot be used for categorical variables.
Therefore, a penalty function approach has been taken for these attributes. The idea of penalty
values is borrowed from (Dsea et al, 2008). The similarity value between blocks i and j is dened
as Equation 9:
Rij # Cij
Sij = W
u ijij D # G
uW G (9)
D ij
Dij is the Euclidean distance between centres of blocks i and j as presented in Equation 10. As the
clustering is performed in bench by bench manner, the elevation of blocks is not taken into account.
This forms the distance matrix for each bench. The matrix is then normalised by dividing all elements
by the maximum value in the matrix Dij, representing the normalised distance value between blocks
i and j, is presented in Equation 11.
D = ^ xi - x jh2 + ^yi - y jh2 (10)
ij
u ij = Dij (11)
D
Dmax
Calculated normalised distance factor is then powered to WD which is the considered weight for the
distance factor. Higher weight for distance factor can compensate others and make more circular
clusters.
The same approach is taken for grade difference values. Although there can be more than one
element of interest in the orebody (by-products and contaminants), one element is considered as
the major element and its index is calculated as the Euclidean distance between the grade values in
percent. To avoid incomparable (innite) numbers in similarity indices, the grade difference value
is considered equal to a very small number wherever the grade values for both blocks are the same.
'^Gi - G jh
2 Gi ! Gj
Gij = d Gi = Gj (12)
Gij
Gu ij = (13)
Gmax
The grade difference factor in the similarity index is powered to WG after being normalised. The
higher this weight is, the more the created clusters follow the grade distribution in the orebody.
Rock type similarity factor is calculated by Equation 14. This considers a penalty value of r [0,1]
if two blocks are of different rock types and 1, if the blocks are of the same rock type. Although this is
called a penalty, lower value for r results in higher effectiveness for rock type changes and patterns.
Rij = )1 if blocks i and j are from the same rock type (14)
r otherwise
Beneath cluster factor is calculated by assigning a penalty value of [0,1] as the dissimilarity
between two blocks which are above different clusters (in beneath bench) and one, when the blocks
are above the same cluster. This is represented by Equation 15.
Cij = )1 if blocks i and j are above the same cluster

c otherwise (15)
Hierarchical clustering
Since the proposed method obeys an agglomerative pattern, the clustering begins by considering
each block as a cluster. Assuming that there are N blocks in the bench within the dened pit, there
should be N clusters at the beginning. The algorithm selects the most similar and adjacent blocks
(lets take blocks i and j) and merges them together. Then the algorithm replaces the cluster data with
smaller index (lets say i) with the merged cluster and removes the other one from the matrices. If
there are more than one maximum values in the similarity matrix the one with larger index is chosen.
The similarity indices related to the merged cluster should now be computed by Equation 16.
(16)
Sì,j j,k = min^ Sik, S jkh 6ke "1,..., N ,, kY
e "i,j ,
For faster run, an adjacency matrix is formed and updated in each step. This is a zero-one matrix
which indicates whether blocks i and j are adjacent to each other or not. When the two blocks (or
clusters) are merged together the adjacency matrix can also be updated using a max operator as
shown in Equation 17.
Aì,j j,k = max^ Aik, A jkh 6ke "1,..., N ,, kY

e "i,j , (17)
The procedure continues to achieve the predetermined number of clusters. As the resulted
clusters are going to be later used in determining the production plan, the size of the clusters
has to be controlled. Therefore, a maximum cluster size is taken as an input which is assigned
based on equipments and capacities. This parameter is usually considered equal to the selective
mining unit. Accordingly, if merging two clusters exceeds the maximum acceptable size, they are
removed from the candidate list and the next adjacent pair with highest similarity index is selected.
The pseudo code for the hierarchical clustering algorithm is shown in Figure 1.
FIG 1 - Hierarchical clustering algorithm pseudo code.
CASE STUDY
A case study of scheduling an iron ore deposit was carried out to verify the hierarchical clustering
algorithm from mining point of view. Mining and processing are both at mining-cut level. The total
number of blocks within the nal pit limit is 19 492. We used hierarchical clustering algorithm to
aggregate the blocks into 766 mining-cuts. Three types of ore; top magnetite, oxide, and bottom
magnetite are classied in the deposit. The blocks in the geological model represent a volume of
rock equal to 25 m 25 m 15 m. Table 1 summarises the information related to the case study. The
objective function aimed to maximise the net present value with a discount rate of ten per cent per
period. The CPLEX solver was set to nd a solution within two per cent gap.
TABLE 1
Final pit and production scheduling information.
Description Value Description Value

Number of blocks 19 492 Minimum mining width (m) 150
Number of mining-cuts 766 Number of periods (years) 20
Total tonnage of rock (Mt) 427.33 A(rows x columns) 114 793 x 46 020
Total ore tonnage (Mt) 116.29 Number of decision variables 46 020
Recovered Fe (Mt) 76.33 Number of integer variables 13 900
Average grade of MWT% 72.9%
Mining capacity (Mt/year) 25
Figure 2a illustrates the plan view of bench 1545 m, the orebody is outlined with the grade distribution
of magnetic weight recovery. Figure 2b illustrates the magnetic weight recovery of iron ore. Figure 2c
illustrates the mining-cuts created using the hierarchical clustering algorithm. And Figure 2d shows
the production schedule generated by the MILP scheduler. Figures 3a and 3b illustrate the rock-type
and mining-cuts created on bench 1530 m. Rock-type 101 includes the iron ore and the other rock
FIG 2 - Plan view of bench 15 at elevation 1545 m (units in metres).
FIG 2 CONT - Plan view of bench 15 at elevation 1545 m (units in metres).
FIG 3 - Plan view of bench 16 at elevation 1530 (units in metres).
FIG 4 - Cross section 600740N looking north (units in metres).
FIG 5 - Cross section 98300E looking east (units in metres).
types are waste. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the rock types and the MILP generated schedules at cross
sections 600 740 N looking north and cross section 98 300 E looking east respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
We present a semi-supervised clustering algorithm, which aggregates smaller blocks based on rock
types and grade ranges using hierarchical clustering into mining-cuts without introducing an error
in the grade estimated values. The main objective of the developed clustering algorithm is to reduce
the number of binary integer variables in the mixed integer linear programming formulation of open
pit production scheduling problem. To achieve this goal, the blocks are aggregated into larger units
referred to as mining-cuts. The similarity among blocks is based on rock types, grade ranges, spatial
location and the dependency of extraction of a mining-cut to the mining-cuts located above it. The
algorithm is developed and tested on an iron ore deposit.
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mixed integer linear programming, International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering.
Bley, A, Boland, N, Fricke, C and Froyland, G, 2010. A strengthened formulation and cutting planes for the
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Dsea, M, Silva, L, Silva, M A and Cavalcanti, S C H, 2008. Adaptive mean-linkage with penalty: A new
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Feng, L, Qiu, M H, Wang, Y X, Xiang, Q L, Yang, Y F and Liu, K, 2010. A fast divisive clustering algorithm
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Minemax Pty Ltd, 1998-2009. MineMax Scheduler 4.2 ed, West Perth.
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Osanloo, M, Gholamnejad, J and Karimi, B, 2008. Long-term open pit mine production planning: A review
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Samanta, B, Bhattacherjee, A and Ganguli, R, 2005. A genetic algorithms approach for grade control planning
in a bauxite deposit, Application of Computers and Operations Research in the Mineral Industry, pp 337-
342 (Taylor and Francis).
Stone, P, Froyland, G, Menabde, M, Law, B, Pasyar, R and Monkhouse, P H L, 2007. Blasor Blended iron ore
mine planning optimization at Yandi, Western Australia, in Proceedings Orebody Modelling and Strategic
Mine Planning (ed: R Dimitrakopoloulos), pp 133-136 (The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
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Proceedings 15th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection (MPES) (ed: S R
L Fiordo) pp 1234-1239.
NOTATIONS
vkt the discounted revenue generated by selling the nal product within mining-cut k
in period t minus the extra discounted cost of mining all the material in mining-cut
k as ore and processing it
t
qk the discounted cost of mining all the material in mining-cut k as waste
e
gk
average grade of element e in ore portion of block n and average grade of element
e in ore portion of mining-cut k
gue,t upper bound on acceptable average head grade of element e in period t

gle,t lower bound on acceptable average head grade of element e in period t
ok ore tonnage in mining-cut k
wk waste tonnage in mining-cut k
put upper bound on processing capacity of ore in period t (tonnes)
plt lower bound on processing capacity of ore in period t (tonnes)
mut upper bound on mining capacity in period t (tonnes)
mlt lower bound on mining capacity in period t (tonnes)
t
yk [0,1] continuous variable, representing the portion of mining-cut ck to be mined in period
t, fraction of y characterises both ore and waste included in the mining-cut
t
bk [0,1] binary integer variable controlling the precedence of extraction of mining- cuts btk is
equal to one if extraction of mining-cut ck has started by or in period t, otherwise it is
zero
t
sk [0,1] continuous variable, representing the portion of mining-cut ck to be extracted as ore
and processed in period t
Operative Expert Estimation of Innovative Policy of
Mining Enterprise Technological Development using
Sustainable Development Principles
S Zh Galiyev1, A A Boyandinova2 and K K Zhusupov3
ABSTRACT
In this paper the system of an operative expert estimation of innovative policy of mining enterprise
technological development on sustainable development principles, created in the laboratory of
economic analysis, planning and management of Mining Institute after D A Kunayev is represented.
It is based on application of technology of satellite navigation and global positioning system (GPS).
It allows to estimate the geotechnological complex functioning efciency in the automated mode
and on the basis of the obtained results to develop a complex of management measures on the
competitiveness increase, realised by means of the automated corporative management system of
geotechnological complex. The estimation of complex competitiveness is carried out on such basic
aspects, as technical, technological, organisational, ecological and economic as all of it give certain
expenses and inuence on complex overall performance. The major difference of the given approach is
its realisation within the limits of the automated corporative management system of geotechnological
complexes. It is based the fact that data of monitoring of complexs work will provide a sustainable
development of geotechnological complex of mining enterprise.
INTRODUCTION
World experience shows that at present stage it is almost impossible to make competitive production,
to nd and master new commodity markets without introduction of information technologies of
monitoring and management. An imperative need of coordination of diverse information technologies
and means of their realisation in uniform program and technological complex for the purpose of
increasing of management efciency by the enterprises has led to occurrence of idea of corporative
information systems creation. In this view creation of a system of an operative expert estimation
of innovative policy of mining enterprise technological development on sustainable development
principles within the limits of the automated corporative management system which becomes the
base system to obtain the rational variants of complex work is important and actual.
OPERATIVE EXPERT ESTIMATION SYSTEM OF INNOVATIVE POLICY OF MINING ENTERPRISE

A system of an operative expert estimation of innovative policy of mining enterprise technological
development on sustainable development principles, created in the laboratory of economic
analysis, planning and management of Mining Institute after D A Kunayev, is based on application
of technology of satellite navigation and GPS. It allows to estimate the geotechnological complex
functioning efciency in the automated mode and on the basis of the obtained results to develop
a complex of management measures on the competitiveness increase, realised by means of the
automated corporative management system of geotechnological complex Dzhetygara (ACMS GC
Dzhetygara). The estimation of complex competitiveness is carried out on such basic aspects, as
technical, technological, organisational, ecological and economic as all of it give to some extent
certain expenses and inuence on complex overall performance. The major difference of the given
approach is its realisation within the limits of the ACMS GC Dzhetygara on the basis of the fact that
data of monitoring of complexs work that will provide a sustainable development of geotechnological
complex of mining enterprise.
1. Vice-President, Administrative, Kazakhstan Institute of Industry Development, Joint Stock Company, Ansar Building, 13 Flow, 25, Syganak ctr, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan.
Email: Igd_director@mail.ru
2. Head of Laboratory, Research, Mining Institute after DA Kunayev, Branch State Enterprise, 191, Abay av, Almaty 050046, The Republic of Kazakhstan. Email: AsiyaB@rambler.ru
3. Chairman of Board, Production, Kostanay Minerals, Joint Stock Company, 67, Lenin str, Zhitikara, Kostanay Region 110700, The Republic of Kazakhstan. Email: LEAPM@mail.ru
S ZH GALIYEV, A A BOYANDINOVA AND K K ZHUSUPOV
One of the priority principle of operative expert estimation of innovative policy of mining enterprise
technological development with surface mining of mineral deposits is the fact that information ows
circulating in the corporate system of control and during the simulation modelling of the mining and
transport plants operation should be comparable in structure, format and size.
The scheduling of mining and transport operations is made on the basis of the factual data and
suggested activity for improvement of the system of organisation, planning and other functions of
control on the basis of simulation modelling by means of the information program and methodical
complex of the automated planning of the mining and transport operations IPMC Planning of
MTO (Dzhaksybayev, 1999 Galiyev, Boyandinova and Boyandinova, 2007) the planned repair is
realised on the real piece of equipment by means of setting of planned indices and requirements, the
information about factual realisation of the planned choice (about factual choice) is formed on the
basis of the every shift current reporting of the system ACMS GP ADIS. Further the comparative
analysis of the planned optimum and factual choices of operation of the mining and transport
plant is made. After considering the analysis fullled and purposed activities begins the simulation
modelling and optimisation of the possible variant of mining and transport operations.
The most efcient and reasonable is to examine activities for control of the mining and transport
plant operation in the framework of the technologically steady period when the comparability
degree is very high. However, thanks to the common criterial indices, almost all possible choices are
principally comparable.
The order and sequence of realisation of an operative estimation of competitiveness includes four
basic stages
1. formation of initial data,
2. the feasibility study on an overall performance of an existing geotechnological complex,
3. an estimation of competitiveness of geotechnological complex functioning, and
4. a complex of administrative measures on the competitiveness increase, realised by means of
ACMS GC Dzhetygara.
The block-diagram of methods algorithm is represented in Figure 1.
FIG 1 - Block-diagram of methods algorithm of competitiveness estimation of geotechnological complexes functioning.
OPERATIVE EXPERT ESTIMATION OF INNOVATIVE POLICY OF MINING ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
First, in block 1, formation of initial data is carried out. Initial data includes two types of data
1. technical and economic indicators (TEI) from the reports of ACMS GC Dzhetygara from the
block 2, and
2. additionally entered indicators.
The initial indicators received from TEI of ACMS GC Dzhetygara are
x a productivity of mining and transport complex on types of rock mass, working park of excavators,
trucks and trains
x operating ratios of working hours of main technological equipment, average time of a trip,
average race per shift, average distance of transportation and lifting height by kinds of transport
means and
x specic consumption of electric power and diesel fuel, specic operating costs of mining and
transport complex on rock mass.
Following indicators are additionally entered the full cost price and the commodity output price,
extraction coefcient, volume of a consumer demand for made production, etc. As the considered
period for which the competitiveness estimation of geotechnological complex functioning is made,
three basic period types can be accepted shift (12 hours), month (60 - 62 shifts) and the unxed
period, ie can be considered any period of time, for example some days, quarter, etc. As period
parameters are examined year and month (for all types of periods), day and shift (for shift and
unxed period) and quantity of shifts (for unxed period).
The important block (block 4) is denition of expenses for maintenance service and repair of
technological equipment which is carried out by means of an information software and methodical
complex automated management system of reproduction process of productive capacities of mining
and transport systems of open-pits (Galiyev et al, 2007), also being one of subsystems of ACMS GC
Dzhetygara.
In the phase of an overall performance denition of an existing geotechnological complex (blocks
5 - 11) the analysis of a complex current condition with the purpose of revealing of potential of cost
price decrease as work is carried out. For this purpose on the basis of information software and
methodical complex of simulating modelling of open-pits mining and transport complex work
(CEBADAN) diagnostics of geotechnological complex functioning (block 3) is carried out. On model
the order and sequence of mining and transport complex (MTC) work in analysed shift is reproduced.
Thus the illogical operations realised by separate units of equipment or incorrectly made decision in
management of mining and transport complex work will come to light.
Modelling of a current condition of mining and transport system of open-pit (MTSO) and calculation
of an optimum variant of its work is made. As criterion functions in this case are accepted uniformity
of loading and coordination of equipment functioning, reduction of unreasonable idle times of units
of equipment and perfection of organisation of main technological equipment work. On the basis of
the received variants the choice of an optimum variant of MTSO work taking into account concrete
mining-geological and mining-technical conditions of equipment operation is carried out.
The following basic technical and economic indicators of complex functioning are accepted
x production volumes on ore and waste
x indicators of main technological equipment operation operating ratios, trip time of trucks, race,
transportation distance and lifting height of rock mass and
x consumption of electric power and diesel fuel, specic operating costs per ton of rock mass and
conditional economic benet.
After that comparison actual and received optimum variants of an existing geotechnological complex
functioning among themselves is carried out on the basic technical and economic indicators, such as
x the cost price of MTC functioning,
x its productivity,
x degree of congestion of technological equipment,
x throughput and loading abilities of transport communications, and
x factors of congestion and active congestion sites for railway.
The next step of the algorithm is revealing of existing reserves of efciency increase of
geotechnological complex functioning on following basic indicators
x decrease potential of MTC functioning cost price

x increase potential of MTC productivity
x possibility of narrow places in technological chain elimination
x parity rationality of mining and transport equipment, and also equipment loading and
x an estimation throughput and loading abilities of transport communications (schemes of railway
development and roads).
A table of existing reserves of efciency increase of geotechnological complex functioning is formed
on the basis of results of comparative analysis. Indicators values can be both positive and negative. If
value of an indicator is negative it means, that the technological complex works effectively, if positive
there is a necessity of entering of organisational changes in technological process of mining and
transport works.
The estimation of competitiveness of geotechnological complex functioning (stage 3) is made in
blocks 12 - 15. As the basic criteria at an estimation of competitiveness of geotechnological complex
functioning the following is accepted
x cost price of MTC work on rock mass, being one of the most capacious both major economic
indicators and dened by the method investigated in works (Galiyev, 2007 Boyandinova, 2002
Galiyev, 1994)
x presence of a consumer demand for production and
x specic cost indicator for repair of main technological equipment which characterises the level of
repair costs, falling to each unit of the equipment balance cost, led to one ton of production, and
is dened by the following formula
c rep.cost
E
Crep.
= n k resid. (1)
Pyear / / C ij
i=1 j=1
where
Crep total annual expenses on maintenance service and repair of main technological equipment,
ktg
Pyear annual production rate of a mining and transport complex, t
resid
C ij residual cost of technological equipment which is on the enterprise balance (excavators,
trucks, trains, etc) ktg
x Protability of MTC functioning. The calculation formula of production protability of a mining
and transport complex has the following appearance (Boyandinova, 2002)
kMTSO # Pr # Dore # kext. - 100C1MTSO ^1 + Rstr.h (2)
RMTSO =
C1MTSO ^1 + Rstr.h
where
kMTSO reduction coefcient
Pr price of 1 t commodity ore, tg
Dore density of ore, t/m3
kext extraction coefcient of a product from one ton of ore, per cent
1
C MSTO specic operating costs of MTSO on rock mass, tg
Rstr stripping ratios, t/t
Apparently from Equation 2, level of production protability of mining and transport complex
depends on conditions of the manufacture, established price level on production and means of
production, level of wages and other factors, and deviations of protability level at the different
mining enterprises are connected with different mining and geological, mining and technical,
technological and organisational conditions of enterprise manufacture. On protability of mining
and transport equipment functioning positive inuence render
x increase in price of the realised commodity ore,
x decrease in the cost price of transportation,
OPERATIVE EXPERT ESTIMATION OF INNOVATIVE POLICY OF MINING ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
x size of the basic production assets,

x size of normalised circulating assets,
x labour productivity growth,
x elimination of idle times and working hours losses,
x perfection of organisation, and
x management of transport work.
If actual protability of mining and transport complex is accepted in production the algorithm
works.
When actual protability of mining and transport complex appears less accepted in production the
algorithm passes in the following stage a complex of administrative measures on competitiveness
increase realised by means of ACMS GC Dzhetygara. In this case, in blocks 17 - 19 by means of modules
of an information software and methodical complex of automated planning of mining and transport
works on open-pit, simulating modelling of MTSO work and the automated management system of
reproduction process of productive capacities of MTSO carries out a choice of an optimum variant
of geotechnological complex functioning. The thorough analysis of mining and geological as well as
environmental condition at the open mine is fullled, the disadvantages of organisation of mining
and transport operations resulting in the downtime and inefcient use of the main technological
equipment, compliance of the mining and technical conditions to the conditions and modes of its
operation are searched, and the available potential to enhance the efciency of geotechnological
plant management is determined. Further the planned variant is realised on real object.
After that the algorithm comes back to the rst stage formation of initial data and algorithm
repeats anew.
The competitiveness estimation of open-pits geotechnological complex functioning can be carried
out at various stages
x at an estimation of an actual condition on the basis of data of the automated system of operative
monitoring of geotechnological complex work,
x at planning or designing of mining and transport complex work on the basis of data of the
automated scheduling of mining and transport works,
x at a stage of search of an optimum variant of mining and transport complex work on the basis of
simulating modelling data.
The software estimates competitiveness of a geotechnological complex on its current condition. If
results are satisfactory, the software is use for work. The complex of administrative organisational
measures for improvement of a condition and work of a geotechnological complex otherwise is accepted.
Formation of electronic reports and target forms is provided with the software interface of target
forms of monitoring system. The interface represents set of the software and methodical services
which are based on use of systems of technology of electronic document circulation and managements
by database, allowing it to raise availability and transparency of an information about technological
processes. Possibilities of the system of information storage in a base information platform allows it
to provide replenishment of data sets, inclusion of new types of data and an information representing
in tabular form. System addition with modern means for information representing in the graphic
form, interpolation and statistical processing is supposed.
CONCLUSIONS
Thus, the developed automated system of operative expert estimation of innovative policy of mining
enterprise technological development on sustainable development principles allows to consider
possible rational variants of economy development of an enterprise and to choose optimum for given
mining and geological, mining and technical, technological and economic conditions of mineral
deposits operation. The major difference of the given approach is its realisation within the framework
of automated corporative management system of geotechnological complexes on the basis of the fact
data of its work monitoring that will provide a sustainable development both a geotechnological
complex, and a mining enterprise as a whole.
The offered system is the effective tool for experts of an average and the top echelon of the mining
enterprises for the control, taking into account and management of an open-pits geotechnological
complex work.
REFERENCES
Boyandinova, A A, 2002. Development of method of operative planning and management of reproduction
process of productive capacities of mining and transport systems of open-pits, PhD thesis (unpublished),
Mining Institute after D A Kunayev, Almaty.
D haksybayev, A K, 1999. Development of planning method of the mining and transport works at the open-
cast mines on the basis of technologically steady periods, PhD thesis (unpublished), Mining Institute after
D A Kunayev, Almaty.
Galiyev, S h, 1994. Economic aspects of an estimation and analysis of excavator and railway systems work
on open-pits, Complex Use of Mineral Ra Materials, 4 68-72.
Galiyev, S h, Boyandinova, A A and Boyandinova, A, 2007. Software and methodic provision of the
calendar planning of mining and transport works at the pits, in Proceedings 1 th International Symposium
on Mine Planning and E uipment Selection MPES 00 and Tenth International Symposium on
En ironmental Issues and aste Management in Energy and Mineral Production S EMP 00 ,
ISBN 978-0-9784416-0-9, pp 338-348 (Bangkok, Thailand).
Galiyev, S h, hussupov, K K, Tatishev, E N, Boyandinova, A A, Shabelnikov, E A and Bektureev, A S, 2007.
Automated Corporati e Management of Geotechnological Complexes on Surface Mines, 237 p (Almaty).
Investigating the Sensitivity of Different Estimation
Techniques over Block Dimensions
A Hekmat1 and M Osanloo2
ABSTRACT
It cannot be said that accurate and reliable ore reserve estimation is the fundamental of any mining
operation success. Estimation techniques which are used to estimate the grade distribution of an
orebody together with the assessment of uncertainty and risk have a vital inuence on the success
of any optimisation algorithm. Traditional estimation techniques such as kriging or inverse distance
weighting are frequently used for assigning grade values to blocks. Various attempts have been made
in order to compare geostatistical estimated methods for ore reserve estimation. This paper aims to
evaluate the sensitivity of different estimation methods over changing the block dimension. For this
reason, several block models with different dimensions were derived in Chador Malu iron ore mine
which is located in 180 km northeast of Yazd in the centre of Iran. Each block model was estimated
by different estimation methods such as nearest neighbours (NN), inverse distance (ID) and ordinary
kriging (OK). The results of each estimation methods were compared against a control block le
created by using the assay results of all blastholes drilled in the ore over four benches of the pit. The
results signify that by estimating the large block size, no signicant improvement occurred due to
the employment of different estimation techniques. Furthermore, the grades estimated based on ID
method is more reliable, but OK methods estimated more accurate tonnage.
INTRODUCTION
In open pit optimisation, the depth and width of the pit from which the ore is extended at a prot is
dened using an open pit optimisation algorithm. The rst step in pit optimisation entails building
a block model and assigning grades to each block applying an interpolation technique based on
the available drill-hole data. Estimation techniques together with the assessment of uncertainty
and risk have a vital inuence on the success of any optimisation algorithm. Traditional estimation
techniques such as kriging or inverse distance square weighting are frequently used for assigning
grade values to blocks. Not withstanding the fact that development geological estimation techniques
improved the mining operation, these have not resolved the problem of grade uncertainty in mining
projects. There are many cases in which the actual grades mined during production differs from
the predicted. For example, Baker and Giacomo (1998) showed that out of 48 mining projects in
Australia, nine realised reserves less than 20 per cent of the originally expected. For Canada and the
USA, a World Bank survey showing that 73 per cent of mining projects failed due to the problems in
their ore reserve estimation.
Various attempts have been made in the past in order to compare geostatistics to other conventional
methods such as inverse distance squared (ID) or nearest neighbour (Barnes, 1977; David, 1979;
Modis et al, 2008). It can be accepted that a good estimation method should give the smallest
possible discrepancy between expected and achieved results. Sensitivity to block size is perhaps one
of the most misunderstood concepts in resource estimation, optimal open pit design and planning.
There is an obvious advantage to be gain in the decreased computing time which comes from a
large block size. Furthermore, magnitude of any estimation error is a function of the volume of
material being estimated. The smaller the volume of material being estimated the higher the error
involved. This is intuitively obvious since larger blocks are more likely to contain known sample
points than smaller blocks. Moreover, large blocks decrease the variance of the block estimation and
1. Student, Department of Mining and Metallurgy, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email:as.hekmat@gmail.com
2. Professor, Department of Mining and Metallurgy, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email: morteza.osanloo@gmail.com
A HEKMAT AND M OSANLOO
increase the production rate; in contrast, result the loss of denition of grade variations within the
orebody. Selection large blocks results decreasing the unreliability of the revenue block model which
is essential in pit optimisation.
Armstrong and Champigny (1989) discussed the question of estimating small blocks. They concluded
that the meaningful estimates of individual blocks can be obtained when the variogram range is large
compared to the size of the blocks and the grid spacing, but that is not possible when the range is
small (Armstrong and Champigny, 1989). Hulse explored the interrelationship between the block
size, the sample spacing and the variogram model. In his study, kriging estimation variance was
used as a comparative measure of estimate quality; he concluded that a sample spacing of four times
the block size is only founded when the variogram range is approximately ten times the block size
(Hulse, 1992). Hekmat, Osanloo and Asi (2008) displayed the effect of different block dimensions
on the mineable reserve.
In this paper, a study was made using three block estimation methods to estimate a range of
different block dimensions from exploration and development drill holes in Chador Malu iron ore
mine. These methods are:
1. the nearest neighbour method (NN),
2. the inverse distance squared method (ID), and
3. the geostatistical ordinary kriging method (OK).
The blasthole sample analysis was used for a check of the validity of different estimation methods.
All of the estimation and data analysis presented in this paper were generated using Datamine and
SPSS softwares.
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF OREBODY

Chador Malu iron ore mine is the largest mine in central of Iran which is located 54 km north of Bafq
town and 180 km northeast of Yezd city. The proven reserve is estimated to be 400 Mt of ore with the
mean grade of iron 51.02 per cent, phosphorous 0.95 per cent and sulfur 0.11 per cent. Prefeasibility
study for the Chador Malu mine was rst done in 1921 and more detailed work was carried out in the
beginning of 1960s. Finally, detailed exploration began in 1975 and ended in 1978. Mining is based
on the open pit method and the mine is equipped to produce approximately 12 Mt of ore per year.
Kriging method is a common technique for recoverable reserve estimation regardless of the fact
that kriging smoothness the special variability of grade and reduces estimation variance. In the
case of selective mining this can leads to serious errors when calculating the mining sequence and
evaluating the mining operation.
A total of 124 drill holes including 89 vertical and 35 incline diamond drill holes, total drilling
length of 35 350 m, ware used in this study. The drill holes are located in some 100 100 m grid
(Figure 1). A three-dimensional wireframe envelope was constructed based on mineralisation and
geological interpretation, to constrain the mineralisation for grade estimation. Sample intervals
were composited over 4 m vertical intervals. The samples were analysed for iron and sulfur content.
FIG 1 - Exploratory drill hole grid in Chador Malu iron ore mine.
INVESTIGATING THE SENSITIVITY OF DIFFERENT ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES OVER BLOCK DIMENSIONS
Several experimental variograms were calculated in different directions. The variogram contour
plot (Figure 2) illustrates the major and minor axes of anisotropy in 135 NW and 45 NE degrees
respectively. Finally a one structure anisotropic spherical model with a nugget of 25 and the sill of
114 per cent Fe and the range of inuence equals 130 NW and 35 NE metre was tted to the
experimental data (Figure 3).
FIG 2 - Variogram contours plot in Chador Malu iron ore mine.
FIG 3 - Perpendicular variograms and their corresponding one structure anisotropic spherical model in Chador Malu iron ore mine.
The samples used for the evaluation of each block were selected through an octant ellipsoidal search
strategy with the maximum search distance of 130 m on the horizontal plan and 90 m on the vertical.
The minimum and maximum accepted number of samples was three and 20 samples respectively. In
all estimation methods the same search parameter were used.
BLASTHOLE DATA ANALYSIS

In order to compare the NN, ID and OK estimation methods, the blastholes of four mined benches
in a 6 8 m regular pattern (Figure 4) were mapped and their Fe assays were considered as the real
grade.
FIG 4 - The position of blasthole date in the deposit- Chador Malu iron ore mine.
The comparison between the results of the above mentioned estimation methods to reality was
carried out based on the samples taken from attitude 1440 to 1520. All total of 4739 blasthole samples
were available for the study.
Figure 5 shows the wireframe of exploited benches and its position in the deposit.
In the exploited area, several block models were created with a range of different block dimensions
and the iron value of each block was estimated based on the surrounding blasthole samples. A
Ore deposit
Exploited benches
FIG 5 - The position of exploited benches in the deposit.
parallelepiped search space was considered with the dimensions equals the block size. In order to
assign the average of all blasthole samples in each block to its iron value, a variogram model with the
pure nugget effect (C0 = 25 per cent Fe) was considered and the ordinary kriging method was used
to estimate each block. The minimum and maximum accepted number of samples was one and 20
respectively. This block model was considered as reality.
A statistical analysis was made to determine how good the values for the control blocks were.
Figure 4 illustrates the histogram which reveals the frequency distribution of the number of blastholes
in a 20 20 15 (m3) and 10 10 7.5 (m3) blocks on the mined portion of the 1440 bench. The
statistical mean of 10.7 blastholes per block for 20 20 15 (m3) size (Figure 6a) indicates of good
grade control. On the other hand, the statistical mean of 2.32 blastholes per 10 10 7.5 (m3) blocks
(Figure 6b) shows that the small block size cannot indicate grades as well as the large size.
FIG 6 - Frequency distribution of the number of blastholes per block in the bench 1440.
However, it can be noted in Figure 6 that there are many blocks with fewer holes. Table 1 presents
the descriptive analysis of different block size which are estimated based on blasthole data. As it is
illustrated in Table 1 when the block size increases, more data will contribute in block estimation,
therefore more indicative block model obtain in large block sizes.
TABLE 1
Descriptive analysis of blasthole blocks in the bench attitude of 1440.
Average no of blastholes Average grade of each Average std dev of grade Average variance about
Block Size
block the mean
10 x 10 x 7.5 2.3 59.8 4.1 16.5
10 x 20 x 7.5 3.2 59.8 4.4 19.2
20 x 10 x 7.5 3.3 59.8 4.4 19.2
10 x 10 x 15 4.3 60.2 5 24.8
20 x 20 x 15 10.2 59.6 4.9 23.9
STATISTICAL COMPARISON OF ESTIMATION METHODS

The most signicant statistics for direct comparison of the block estimates is the absolute difference
between the control block value and the computed value which called the average error of estimation
and is calculated by Equation 1:
Ee = / V - Z
(1)
M
where:
Ee is the average error of estimation
X is the blasthole block value
Y is the estimated block value
N is the number of blocks
2
The estimated variance (Se ) is also calculated based on Equation 2:
2
Se2 = / V - Z
^ h
M (2)
Table 2 shows the average grade, average error of estimate and average estimated variance of error
for different estimation methods in a range of block size. It is inferred from Table 2 that inverse
distance method is more reliable for computing mineral inventory in Chador Malu iron ore mine.
Even though the block grade does not change signicantly in different block sizes, OK and ID
estimation of small blocks result more iron grade and less average error. The NN estimation method
results the most discrepancy with reality and estimation variance.
TABLE 2
Statistical description of blocks in the bench attitude of 1440.
Block Size Ordinary kriging Inverse distance Nearest neighbour Real

X Y Z Fe Ee Se2
Fe Ee Se2
Fe Ee Se2 grade
10 10 7.5 54.7 6 66 56.2 5.5 58 53.1 8.6 175 59.8

10 20 7.5 54.3 6.6 77 55.6 6.2 65 53.2 8.7 175 59.8
20 10 7.5 54.6 6.6 73 55.6 6.1 61 52.9 9 180 59.7
10 10 15 54.6 6.5 69 55.3 6.5 48 57.5 6.7 88 59.7
20 20 15 53.8 7 73 55.5 7 51 56.5 7.2 103 59.6
Although differences in block size do not change the average block grade signicantly, the result
of ordinary kriging of small blocks shows higher and more reliable grade. This is because of the
smoothing effect in ordinary kriging of large blocks. Furthermore, in kriging the small blocks,
surrounding low grade samples assign lower weights but increasing the block size causes low grade
samples located in the block. The same results obtained for average block grade in ID method. Both
of these methods are weighted averages. In the inverse distance approach, the weights used are
inversely proportional to some power of the distance (square in this study) between the sample and
the point to be estimated. Kriging weights are directly related to the variogram mode, data geometry
and the block size. This method is looking for the set of weights which added to one (100 per cent)
and minimise the estimated variance. As it is pointed out the variogram model in Chador Malu iron
ore mine is a one structure anisotropic spherical model. Because of the anisotropical structure of this
deposit, expanding the block size in x and y directions result different average grade.
Nearest neighbour method also employs the weighting approach. If this method is used to predict
the grade of a point (ie central of a blast), the weights are simply one for the closest sample and
zero for the others. When the block size increases, its central coordinate will change; hence, another
sample with different grade may become the nearest sample to the block. Hense, there is not any
specic relationship between block size and its grade in the NN method.
It is also deduce from Table 2 that by increasing the block size, the same average error of estimate
(Ee) obtain from different estimation methods but the estimate of variance (Se2) is different, due to the
high density of drill holes. In general, the 10 10 15 (m3) block size approaches more reliable results.
Figure 7 compares the 20 20 15 (m3) block models which are estimated by NN, ID and OK
methods on the bench with attitude of 1470. The same comparison is done for the 10 10 7.5 (m3)
block size in Figure 8.
Real data Ordinary kriging
Inverse distance Nearest neighbour

FIG 7 - Different estimation methods in the bench attitude of 1470, with the block dimension of 20 20 15 (m3).
It is apparent from Figures 7 and 8 that:

x All estimation methods have a smoothing effect on the special distribution of iron content.
x OK and ID methods produce similar estimation, but NN method cannot present the special
distribution of iron grade. This method just creates a rough estimate of the orebody.
x OK and ID methods are limited in estimating high grades (more than 65 in this case study). NN
method over estimates the high grades and underestimates the low grades.
x Small blocks can present different grades more accurately.
x The ability of estimating the high grades in small blocks is more than large blocks.
DISCUSSION
The grade tonnage tables and plots were obtained for two different block sizes. These plots mainly
show the tonnage of ore above a given cut-off and the grade of the recovered tones. Table 3 summaries
the mean grade and overall tonnage of material above each cut-off grade for different estimation
methods. As it is illustrated in Table 3, different block dimensions result various tonnage. In this case
study, the blocks which assigned both real and estimated grades are considered. Since the calculation
of real block grades was made based on a searching space equals the block size, large blocks have
more chance to contain data points. Consequently, further blocks will assign the real and estimated
grades and more tonnage obtained using large block size.
Real data Ordinary kriging
Inverse distance Nearest neighbour
FIG 8 - Different estimation methods in the bench attitude of 1470 with the block dimension of 10 10 7.5 (m3).
In order to compare the tonnage of different block size, the tonnage of each cut-off was normalised
by dividing it by the total tonnage. Figure 9 reveals the comparison of various estimated tonnage
with reality for two different block sizes. It is concluded from Figure 9 that:
x all estimation methods enable to predict the exact tonnage of mean grade,
x the difference of tonnage between small and large blocks in OK method is more than others,
x block dimensions have less inuence on tonnage obtained by NN method,
x ordinary kriging of large block size produces more reliable tonnage, and
x in all methods the tonnage is underestimated for the cut-off grades less than the mean grade and
over estimated for the cut-off grades more than mean grade.
Figure 10 presents the grade tonnage plot of different estimation methods for 20 20 15 (m3)
block dimension. The inuence of estimation methods on grade and tonnage is perceptible
in Figure 10. Ordinary kriging has the ability of estimating the tonnage nearly accurate,
but because of the smoothing effect, the estimated grade is less than the reality in low cut-off
grades.
The prediction of grade and tonnage in inverse distance method is acceptable, even though the
tonnage obtained by OK method is more accurate. In spite of reasonable estimation grade in nearest
FIG 9 - Various estimated tonnage for two different block sizes.
FIG 10 - Grade tonnage plot based on various estimation methods in 20 20 15 (m3) block model.
TABLE 3
The grade tonnage table based on different estimation methods for two various block dimension.
66.30 blasthole Difference between real and

Cut- Ordinary kriging Inverse distance Nearest neighbour
data (real) estimated tonnage (%)
Block size off
grade Million Million Million Million
Grade Grade Grade Grade OK ID NN
ton ton ton ton
30.00 53.00 48.28 54.10 46.00 54.80 47.04 58.60 50.55 4.50 9.00 6.95
40.00 53.50 47.01 54.50 45.00 57.80 41.43 58.60 50.55 7.00 10.98 18.05
45.00 54.30 46.00 55.20 45.22 58.40 40.13 58.70 48.00 4.17 10.55 20.62
20 x 20 x 15 50.00 55.90 44.00 56.80 44.00 59.90 35.78 59.00 44.00 0.00 12.96 29.21
55.00 58.30 40.00 59.10 39.00 61.20 30.88 60.00 35.00 14.29 22.85 38.91
60.00 61.30 23.00 61.50 28.00 62.80 21.37 62.50 20.63 11.48 44.61 57.72
65.00 65.10 0.08 4.00 3.05 3.05 2.20 100.00 92.09
30.00 53.50 29.37 54.50 29.68 56.30 28.62 58.90 30.60 4.00 3.00 6.45
40.00 53.90 28.83 54.80 29.23 58.00 26.99 59.10 30.45 5.30 4.00 11.36
45.00 54.70 27.00 55.50 27.60 58.40 26.38 59.30 30.00 10.00 8.00 12.07
10 x 10 x 7.5 50.00 56.00 22.73 56.70 23.31 60.10 23.22 59.90 28.78 21.00 19.00 19.32
55.00 58.40 13.75 59.10 15.75 61.60 19.52 60.90 25.00 45.00 37.00 21.89
60.00 61.30 3.49 61.60 6.18 63.30 13.65 63.10 15.33 77.24 59.70 10.97
65.00 65.20 0.02 65.90 2.34 66.30 3.07 100.00 99.35 23.66
neighbour method, the poor estimation of tonnage especially in low cut-off grades is appeared in this
method.
CONCLUSION
It is important to understand that the block size is critical in resource estimation. Many problems have
been encountered in maintaining grade control due to differences between early block estimates and
actual production grade. Various attempts have been made in order to compare several estimation
methods.
In this paper, in addition to comparing estimation methods, the sensitivity of block dimensions
on the results of estimation methods is considered. This study was done based on the database of
Chador Malu iron ore mine. The blasthole assays of four exploited benches were considered as reality
and several block dimensions were estimated based on exploration drill hole data in Chador Malu
iron ore mine.
The statistical comparison shows that inverse distance method can estimate grade more accurate
than others, but the block tonnage estimated by ordinary kriging has less differences with reality.
Comparison the tonnage changes on different block sizes reveals that large block sizes enable to
predict block tonnage more accurately.
The average error of estimation of different estimation methods leads to a constant value by
expanding the block size. Based on this parameter it can be concluded that using the block model
with the dimensions of 10 10 15 (m3) will leads to more accurate block grade, but the more
tonnage obtained with 20 20 15 (m3) block size.
Since the rate of grade changes in iron ore mine is not signicant, it is preferred to use an estimation
method which enables to predict an accurate tonnage. Despite the most accurate grade estimation of
ID method, the OK approach seems more suitable because of its ability to nearly estimate the block
tonnage. Because of the dense sampling pattern in Chador Malu iron ore mine, the results of ID and
OK methods are very similar but NN method is poor especially in tonnage estimation.
Consequently, in order to predict a more reliable production rate and hence the best production
planning, ordinary kriging method suggested as the suitable estimation method in this particular
mine.
REFERENCES
Armstrong, M and Champigny, N, 1989. A study on kriging small blocks, CIM Bulletin, (82)923:128-133.
Baker, C K and Giscomo, S M, 1998. Resource and reserves: Their uses and abuses by the equity markets, Ore
Reserves and Finance, a joint seminar between Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Melbourne,
and ASX, Sydney.
Barnes, M P, 1977. Mineral inventory versus production planning case stury-Scaton mine, Arizona, in
Proceedings 14th International Symposium on Application of Computer Methods in Mineral Industry,
pp 595-602 (AIME: New York).
David, M, 1979. Grade and tonnage problems, Computer Methods for the 80s in the Mineral Industry
(ed: A Weiss), pp 170-189.
Hekmat, A, Osanloo, M and Asi, B, 2008. Sensitivity analysis of mining block dimensions in production
planning of open pit mines, in Proceedings 17th International Symposium on Mine Planning and
Equipment Selection (MPES), pp 342-350.
Hulse, D E, 1992. The consequence of block size decisions by ore body modeling, in Proceedings 23rd
International Symposium on the Application and Operation Research in the Mineral Industry (APCOM23),
pp 225-232.
Modis, K, Stavrou, S, Terezopoulos, N and Vattis, D, 2008. Geostatistics versus inverse distance squares
in ore reserves estimation: Comparative case study in copper ore body in Cyprus, Mining Technology,
117(1):48-52.
A New Effective Labour-Planning Model for Mines
1
L D Meyer
ABSTRACT
The mining industry is the largest source of foreign income for South Africa. It is also the main source
of employment in the country and, as an industry; it is also one of the largest. Due to the labour-
intensive nature of the industry, labour costs in South African mines make up nearly 50 per cent of
the total mine cost. It is thus imperative to have optimum labour planning and labour management
systems in place.
The focus of this study was to investigate current underground labour-planning models. It is shown
that there are serious limitations. The range between an oversupply and undersupply of labour can
be as high as ten per cent. A new system was therefore developed to ensure a constant labour demand
and supply on a daily basis.
One of the main objectives was to determine the existing labour supply range and thus the
requirements to ll the undersupply. For this purpose, a specic methodology was designed to
capture and process all the relevant information. Mine personnel was involved throughout the
entire process to ensure ownership of the new model. This buy-in was achieved through planning
workshops, interactive presentations and discussions.
The improved frequency of daily blasts validated the new system by providing the correct amount
and mix of the labour force. The new labour-planning model was then extended to optimise revenue.
Implementation on a mine resulted in increased income of R95 million.
INTRODUCTION
In South Africa the hard rock mining industry (for example platinum and gold) is a labour-dependent
industry. The labour cost is the highest single cost item on a mine. Statistics South Africa (2006,
p 9) states that: the value of the mineral sales in South Africa was R 193 589, 5 M. The labour cost in
South African mines equates to up to 50 per cent of total on-mine costs. Chamber of Mines (2005,
p8) states that there are 2.6 per cent or 413 180 employees of the economically active employees in
the country, employed in the mining industry. Chamber of Mines (2005, p9) states that in 2005, the
industry paid R72 billion in wages and benets to employees.
Mines have a constant productivity improvement drive that results in less people producing at
higher levels from the same environments as in the past. Additional pressure is added by metal price
variations, ination, exchange rate uctuations, labour relations and the vast amounts of capital
involved. It reduces the exposure risk, but shortcuts are often taken, thus resulting in unsafe work.
To achieve a safe and quality daily blast (these blasts are proportionate to the amount of rock
extracted from the mine and therefore the amount of product produced), it is important that every
employee completes his or her daily tasks. Therefore it is important to have a formalised labour-
planning system to ensure maximised prots and an effective workforce.
Anglo American Platinum Corporation Limited (2005), Annual Report (2004, p 43) states that the
cost associated with the revenue is incremental because 70 per cent of the cost in the mines is xed
and only 30 per cent of the cost is variable.
In the mines, according to Troll (2001), a daily cycle has to be completed to achieve the output
targets. This cycle consists of the following activities: cleaning, drilling of blastholes and charging-
up of explosives and the installation of support. A specic number of employees are assigned to this
cycle. Every employee is trained to do a specic task in this mining cycle.
The minimum required production targets have to be achieved on a daily basis. When the minimum
target for that day or shift is not achieved, it means that the opportunity to generate revenue for that
1. Anglo Platinum, PO Box 22712, Helderkruin, 1733, South Africa. Email: b.meyer@mweb.co.za
L D MEYER
day or shift is lost and will never be recuperated. In a labour intensive environment, it is therefore
imperative that the correct number of the proper skill is used in the process.
BACKGROUND TO THIS STUDY

Labour planning in mines
Labour planning refers to the planning, scheduling and managing of the labour force in order to
allocate the required number of employees to each of the activities that make up the mining process.
The planning of the production activities is therefore an integral aspect of the labour planning
process. Input parameters per activity are determined and are combined to build up to the total
production requirements.
Conventional mine production planning is done based on the past experience of the production
personnel. Historical output levels are used as a basis for future plans and mining layout changes are
made at the discretion of management.
A lack in a formal labour-planning process creates confusion between the departments and leads to
conict, as indicated in Figure 1. This results in production loss that has a direct effect on the prot
of the operation; costs were committed to the activities, but little or no return was obtained due to
the loss of production.
Up front plan
due to lack
of standards:- Results in results in
results in
different
volumes
leave
Staff changes absenteeism
variations
results in
meet Changing
highest Recruit- on
demand ment Mine plan
Excess Forced
staff leave
Staff
Reductions
FIG 1 - Short graphical illustration of the problems and consequences of the current labour process.
Only the correct number of labourers on the stope panel will ensure a quality blast. The revenue will
also increase due to more panels being blasted. If there is a shortage of labourers, the mine cannot
achieve a daily blast and is called a lost blast. Lost blasts are the primary reason for a loss in revenue
and for an increase between planned and actual blasts.
Available methods for labour planning

Several labour-planning software packages were released during the past 30 years and systems, like
Cads Mine (2002) and Data Mine (2002), are widely used. These systems are very powerful and
accurate information can be generated. However, these are aimed at specialist elds (for instance
life-of-mine planning) and are not totally user-friendly to the untrained. They are also not simple
for optimisation and scenario planning in the sense needed by Managers for quick decision-making.
A NEW EFFECTIVE LABOUR-PLANNING MODEL FOR MINES
Shortcomings of existing labour-planning methods

The methods that the mines use for labour planning is based on efciencies. This has the result
that the employees and the resources are not fully optimised, but are actually wasted. Building on
previous inefciencies often occurs, resulting in crisis management conditions.
Where the management turnover is high, one often nds that mining planning and resulting
management methods change constantly, depending on the preferences of the different managers.
This causes the mines to never reach steady-state production levels. If better systems were in place,
this would reduce the negative impact on the ore reserves.
Problems identified during the study
During the research, the following problems were identied:
x The management of ore reserves is not done adequately.
x Blast efciency is not taken into consideration when production targets are set.
x Different production targets.
x Difculties in leave planning.
x High absenteeism and misuse of sick leave.
x No parameters for the support teams, because the planning of support teams is done haphazardly,
which results in the over- or under planning of these departments. When there is an under
planning in these departments, it may cause unsafe acts, which may lead to serious incidents.
x There are no standard labours planning parameters that can be used to simplify the labour
planning process.
Need for this study
It is evident that there exists a need for a formal, easy to use and modular labour planning process
for the labour intensive mining environment. By optimising the operation of the labour force, the
effectiveness and efciency of a mining operation can be increased.
The purpose of the study is create a new effective labour planning systems (NELPS), which will
be used to determine the optimum labour complement required, thereby ensuring a safer working
environment and maximising use of available resources.
OVERVIEW OF MINING, MINE LABOUR AND MINE LABOUR-PLANNING PRACTICES

Preamble
The labour-planning system used by mines was investigated to determine the procedures in use
for the planning of production targets and labour management. Efciency per stoping (m per
stoping employee) and development (m per developing employee) of employees are used on all the
mines. These are the only guidelines available for labour planning on the mines. The manning of the
remaining activities is done on labour requests from departmental heads and the success depends
on their negotiating skills.
Production planning input
Planning the production requirements
Production planning is the starting point of the labour-planning process. The production planning
volumes form the basis of any labour-planning system. Production targets are determined annually
during budget planning, which starts four months before the new nancial year.
For budgeting, this annual gure is divided into 12 intervals. These monthly gures become the
monthly production targets. Because months consist of a different number of production shifts, it
follows that the daily production targets differ from month to month.
Production planning
Blast efficiency
Blast efciency refers to the blast frequency or lost blasts (actual number of blasts per month: possible
number of blasts per month) multiplied by the advance efciency (actual advance [metres] per blast:
planned advance [metres] per blast).
Because the planning system did not take the blasting efciencies in the development ends and
stoping panels into consideration, the production plan is overstated and impossible to achieve.
L D MEYER
Production planning is done according to a mine master plan. The previous years results are not
taken into consideration, because lost blasts and poor advance per blast, which are expressed as
blast efciency, are not used when the planning is done. This plan is done with the knowledge that
the targets cannot be met.
Shafts
The planning of production targets is spread unevenly over the working levels, on some levels 1800 m
is planned and on other levels 3000 m is planned. This uneven load on different levels leads to some
further unique problems in terms of the hoisting of broken rock, the lowering of material and the
movement of employees on the levels.
Development
In hard rock mines a standard of 30 m per month is planned for haulage advance metres. The
problem lies therein that some levels produce more tons per month than others. The replacement
factor, which is dened as square metres opened for every development metre achieved, is used to
calculate the amount of development metres to be blasted to replace the depleted ore reserves.
This means that for every ledging and stoping square metre blasted, a certain amount of development
metres is required to replace the depleted square metres.
Ore reserves
Ore reserves refer to the orebody that is adequately exposed for evaluation and exploitation and
expressed in a time frame of months. The time frame indicates that the stoping operations can
continue for that period, before the stoping operation ceases.
The mining industry is of the opinion that an 18 month ore reserve should be maintained. This
should mean that if the primary development (minimum upfront development to extract a block
of reef effectively) is stopped, ore could be extracted at the steady-state rate for at least another 18
months.
The ore reserve is managed as a total gure. This method of managing ore reserves for the mine,
the ore reserves per level is not taken into consideration at the moment. The gure seems to be in
order but when broken down to the requirements per mine there are major discrepancies. In some
cases, there are too many months ore reserves on certain half-levels and on other half-levels, there
are not enough.
Stoping
To ensure that the production planning is achieved on a daily basis, it is important to ensure that
enough equipped panels are available for stoping.
When a raise has been holed, the next step in the mining sequence is to ledge this raise. Ledging
means that the raise is mined out on the strike direction normally 6 m on the either side of the raise.
This is done on an erratic way and normally this operation is a few months behind which leads to the
shortage of required panels for stopping.
Panel equipping follows the ledging of the raise and means the ledged raise is equipped with
equipment, winches and mono winches and infrastructure like air- and water pipes, electrical cables
and a mono-winch rope and pulleys.
The production planning is not spread equally over the working levels and it is difcult for the
logistics personnel to cope. The load is not evenly spread and on some levels there are an under
demand and over supply and vice versa on the other levels. These lead to an inefcient operation.
Building the labour plan
Labour requirements
Labour planning is done after the production planning has been completed, with the resulting
production targets. Labour planning is a process to establish what the labour requirements are to
achieve the planned production targets.
Labour planning is also not consistent. A different amount of labour is required on a monthly basis
due to incorrect production planning and no provision is made for non-production employees.
Currently an efciency factor of 14 m2 per employee is used to calculate the total number of employees
required. An efciency factor of 6 m per employee is used to calculate the required development
employees. The required labour differs monthly because of the different shifts in the month.
The daily production target, which is daily m, is divided by m per employee to calculate the
number of employees required. When the daily production targets are not constant for the year,
the different daily employee targets make the management of labour difcult. This means that one
month there are too many employees and the next month too few employees.
The time to interview, sign on and train an employee takes six weeks. However, the demand for
employees differs from month to month. The supply and demand of labour therefore does not follow
a synchronised pattern. This leads to a potential over- or undersupply of employees.
Annual leave
Annual leave is not taken into account when setting up the labour plan. As a general rule, no leave
planning is done on the mines. Employees are normally told only a day before their leave commences
that they have to go on leave, without any prior arrangements. Then the employees still have to wait
up to three days before they get their leave pay.
On returning from leave, an employee has to wait for a vacancy in his job category before he can be
signed back on the mine. This takes between three and 14 days.
The ex-leave employee goes to the training centre between four and 14 days before commencing
work. During this period there is a labour shortage in the operations and the employees in the
operations cannot catch up the lost production.
As a result of the different amount of labour required on a monthly basis, there is no leave planning.
People are sent on leave according to a weekly actual-labour gure. This means that the workers are
forced to take leave at a days notice. The employees only receive a pro rata leave bonus if leave is
taken before the leave cycle is completed.
Absenteeism
Absenteeism refers to time that an employee is not on the job during scheduled working hours,
excluding granted leave of absence or holiday time. Like annual leave, absenteeism is also not taken
into account when doing the labour planning. The absenteeism pattern is constant throughout the
year, with absenteeism peaking before long weekends and pay days.
Clearly, there are many legitimate reasons for taking sick or other types of leave. It is often debatable
how much of the sick leave is reasonable. It often depends on the pattern and circumstances rather
than the actual total amount of sick leave that an individual takes.
Absenteeism and sick leave can seriously affect a companys productivity. Employees are allowed
to take ten days sick leave a year. As a result of this rule, the employees believe they are entitled to
this even when they are not sick. They will take all the sick leave allowed during a calendar year for
fear of losing the days.
The mining activities require hard physical work due to conned space, the change in barometric
pressure and the heat. Employees are selected on their physical abilities and heat tolerance. Mawson
(2005) states that the effect of HIV/Aids is believed to have a negative effect on the physical abilities
of the employees and these employees tend to be more absent from work than a few years ago. Up to
now, the effect was not closely monitored, but it will be monitored in the future.
DEVELOPING A NEW EFFECTIVE LABOUR-PLANNING SYSTEM (NELPS)

Preamble
To reduce the confusion that is caused by different mines planning systems, it is important to develop
a system that is used for labour planning, which uses common parameters and calculating principles.
An effective labour plan will ensure that no time is wasted on debates between the role-players in
the different departments trying to understand what labour numbers are required to deliver on daily
targets.
The experience of expert personnel will be drawn to get to the ideal plans, which are easy to
understand and to implement. This new effective labour-planning system will be built on following
parameters:
L D MEYER
x xed output per half-level,

x blast efciencies,
x dened planning parameters, and
x calculate the number of stoping panels to be mined.
NELPS will ensure success through the following criteria:
x optimum half-level output;
x optimistic production targets, by taking of the blast efciencies into consideration;
x constant production planning on a daily basis, annually;
x good ore reserve management;
x proper labour planning;
x proper leave planning;
x manage the reduction of absenteeism; and
x reduce the difference between planned blasts and actual blasts.
Linear programming techniques will be used in building the labour-planning system. The mining
activities will be broken down to the smallest manageable unit. The outputs of the half-level will be
summarised to shaft levels and to the mine level.
The problem-solving framework
Production is always faced with capacity constraints. Materials may be scarce, machines have
production limits and skilled labour is tough to nd. The goal is to choose the best course of action
within prevailing constraints. What is considered best is the decision that will yield the largest output,
the most revenue and greatest prots at the lowest cost?
The mining operations are broken down into activities to ensure a process ow. Activities that
were identied are resources, capacity, scheduling, inventory, standards and control. The mining
operations are big and it is important to break the operations down into manageable activities. The
value chain must be maintained from resources to control in order to ensure an effective operation.
Linear programming
Linear programming is used to aid in the decision-making process. The linear programming principle
used is the required input variables which are processed, the outputs are then analysed, implemented
and results are monitored to ensure the labour planning process maintains a logic ow.
It is a mathematical technique that will maximise or minimise a linear function subject to systems of
linear constraints. It is primarily concerned with determining the best allocation of scarce resources,
including capital, labour and ore resources.
The new labour system using the dened variables for the mining operations process the data
through a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and deliver outputs to ensure an effective management tool.
Efficiency and effectiveness
Efciency focuses on how something is done in order to avoid waste in converting a physical input
to a physical output.
Efciency is a yield-based measure. Effectiveness can be dened as the ability to identify and do
the things that contribute to the organisation. The emphasis of effectiveness is on doing right things
and not just solely doing things right (which is what efciency is about). Effectiveness, then, focuses
on what is done in order to maximise the contribution gained from people resources. Effectiveness is
a result-based activity. The purpose of this study is to change the focus of the labour-planning system
from an efcient operation to an effective operation. NELPS gives constant production targets on a
daily basis, taking into account blasting efciencies, for the calendar year.
Developing new effective labour planning system
Five main aspects were identied and the new system was developed to model these. This improved
labour-planning system takes into account ve main aspects relevant to the problems, which are
discussed in the following sections.
Half-level planning
The current norm of most mining houses is to manage on a shaft level. The total shaft output is
compared to the total shaft cost. If, however, a specic half-level or group of half-levels is more or
less protable, it may be hidden.
The introduction of the half-level planning concept will spread the production evenly over the
working levels. This will ensure the optimum utilisation of the assets not wasting. This optimisation
will ensure maximum protability.
Figure 2 describes the half-level suite of a typical breast-mining layout. Note that each level is
divided into two half-levels by the shaft (east and west). Each half-level contains all the mining
activities mentioned before (development, ledging, equipping, stoping, vamping and reclamation)
and is independent from any other half-level. It is thus the smallest self-sufcient producing unit.
S t a t io n X - c u t
C e n t r e G u ll y
H a lf- le v e l
B lo c k
ASG
S h a f t P i ll a r
#
H a u la g e W e s t H a u la g e E a s t
R a is e
N

FIG 2 - Plan view of the half-level suite.
NELPS will be used to standardise the planning system on a mine. A list of mining parameters
that have been derived from on-mine studies are used for input. This list of mining parameters
characterised for NELPS is site specic and must be obtained for each half-level on a shaft. NELPS
uses the half-level planning model, Vermeulen (2002) technical sheet as an input sheet for this
model.
These standards x the outputs per half-level per shift after which the development requirements
can be calculated by using a replacement factor as supplied in the specic mine standard. This is
a very rigid approach but will be supported if the variance between underground mining methods
proves to be limited. NELPS is built up by using production targets and production parameters.
Dening the standard block is the most important part for modelling the relationship between
the activities on the half-level. Every development end supporting the extraction of a specic reef
area has to be listed and dened in terms of its dimensions (length, width and height) as well as its
position relative to the reef plane (made in reef or waste).
It is also important to determine the maximum advance per single blast obtainable per end. This
advance should be equal to the effective length of the blastholes.
Blast efficiency
The blast frequency and the advance per blast are measured in a stope and the blast efciency is
calculated. The blasting shifts per month are counted. The crew advance per month is calculated by
multiplying the number of shifts with the blast efciency. This crew advance is used in the monthly
planning process and in NELPS. The actual output per crew is planned for production targets and
not the ideal output per crew as was done previously.
A development end can be advanced at a rate of 46 m per month. This is calculated by multiplying
the length (2 m) of the blast hole with the number of shifts (23) per month. The maximum possible
advance per development end of 36 m per month is taken into account in NELPS. A blast efciency
L D MEYER
of 86 per cent is achieved by dividing the actual with the planned advance in metres. Therefore the
blast and advance frequencies have to be measured to calculate the blast efciency to obtain the new
planned targets.
Production planning
Development
Development is done to open ore reserves. (In a standard block, as described, a certain number
of metres are to be developed to open a specic block of ore reserves.) The number of primary
development (initial development carried out in any portion of a mining area) metres per standard
block is not affected by the loss factors; however, less reef square metres per development metre are
extractable after applying the loss factor.
Losses do however inuence the amount of secondary development (the development carried
out within the area delineated by primary development) metres required per standard block. The
replacement rates are specied in terms of square metres reef extractable per metre developed, or
metres developed per square metre extractable.
Effective stoping can take place in standard blocks with all development being complete, including
all the orepasses. Mines normally apply a single replacement factor, which means that every metre
of development replaces a xed number of square metres. It is, however, not correct, that the
replacement factor is dependent on block sizes and total losses.
Ore reserves
Ore reserves are the economically mine-able ore derived from mineral resources. It includes diluting
factors such as scaling from the hanging wall, over breaking of the hanging wall or footwall due to
bad drilling practices and also allows for losses that may occur when it is mined.
The life per half-level is, for example, calculated by dividing the strike length by the life in months
in a stope. If, for example, the strike length is 2000 m, there will be ten standard blocks on the half-
level when the crosscuts are 200 m apart. The life per half-level in this example is ten blocks times
ten months per block, which is 100 months or 8.3 years.
The life (months) in a stope is calculated by dividing the total ore reserves (m) minus losses by the
square metres achieved per month, for example crosscuts that are 200 m apart and the raise that is
180 m long with 30 per cent total losses in a stope will give 25 000 m. The monthly stoping call is
2760 m, which gives a life in stope of (25 000 m divide by 2760 m) nine months. To maintain the
required ore reserves of 18 months per half-level, two raise lines have to be developed at any time.
The situation differs from half-level to half-level on a shaft and it is important to analyse each half-
level on its own merit per shaft and for the mine.
To maintain a sufcient ore reserves for the mine, it is important to ensure that the minimum
required ore reserves are available per half-level. To ensure a harmony in the mining operations, it
is essential that the ore reserves be managed on a half-level basis.
The ore reserves per half-level vary between 15 and 24 months, with the average on 18 months. The
ore reserves are depleted at a constant monthly rate of 2760 m and scheduling of all the activities
has to be done to ensure that the next ore reserve block is completed before the previous block is
depleted completely. When these blocks are mined and measured on a monthly basis, the planned
parameters are replaced with the actual results.
In this study the half-level ore reserve planning has been checked and no references or benchmarks
could be found to indicate that it is currently being done at any mining operation. NELPS schedules
each half-level and recommends what monthly stoping planning is to be done to ensure a constant
ore reserve.
Stoping
All the activities, which contribute to the stoping operations, in the stoping cycle. It is important
to note that each activity in the cycle is an important link to ensure a successful stoping operation.
The ow in NELPS takes each activity into consideration when determining the required number of
stoping employees.
Shaft capacities
Shaft capacities are determined by the hoisting capacity of broken rock per month. The calculation
of equipment requirements is limited to winches, locomotives and hoppers (rock transport
conveyances). These are considered the main equipment items for any conventional mine. Various
other calculations can be performed once their quantities are known.
Other equipment, for example rock drills, fans, pumps, loaders, material cars, drilling platforms,
explosives cars, etc is not mentioned in the model but can easily be calculated with the information
made available by NELPS.
Labour planning
Stoping labour
NELPS calculates the number of employees required for the stoping operation by multiplying the
number of panels to be worked with the required number of employees per stoping panel.
The stoping labour required for the operation is calculated by means of manning the required
stoping panels to achieve the targets. The required number of employees is determined by breaking
down each activity on the stoping panel. The required number of employees per panel is site specic
and when NELPS is used on other shafts, the total number of employees that is required per panel
has to be calculated.
The stope general employees are the additional workers that carry out the services for the stoping
operations. The activities and a factor in terms of number of employees required per activity were
determined and were built into NELPS. All the activities and general parameters are used in NELPS
when the labour requirements are calculated.
Development labour
The number of employees per standard development was counted and it was found that, for haulage
development, six employees are required to perform the job. The number of employees differs from
end type to end type and from one shaft to the other and it is important to determine the required
number of employees per development end type.
NELPS calculates the number of employees required for the development by multiplying the
number of development ends to be worked with the required number of employees per development
end.
A guideline was built for calculating the development labour required for development. The factors
were determined by analysing the development activities per half-level and per development end.
For example, a crew of six employees blasts 36 m per haulage at a standard 23-shift month. The
number of employees required per end is determined by NELPS by multiplying the number of ends
to be blasted with specied factors. This differs from shaft to shaft and has to be determined for a
specic shaft or mine.
Logistics
There are no parameters for calculating service labour gures on the mine and this differs from
shaft to shaft. The tramming parameters were determined after consultation with supervisors and
employees. The parameters are not rigid but can be used as a guideline when planning is done for
a specic shaft. The parameters differ from mine to mine. These parameters must be taken into
consideration when determined for another mine.
The average tramming distance, standard tons per kilometre per locomotive in a 24 hour shift and
number of tramming crews required are taken into consideration when the required tramming crews
are calculated.
The average tramming distance in kilometres is the distance between the tipping point and the
furthest draw point. The standard tons kilometre per locomotive is the locomotives capability over
a 24 hour period.
The tramming crew consists of a driver and a guard per locomotive and a supervisor for each of
the ve locomotives on a level. NELPS uses the parameters that have been drawn up to calculate the
service departments labour requirements.
L D MEYER
The shaft logistics are the activities carried out in and around a mineshaft. The main activities
are to raise and lower employees, explosives, material and broken rock. The shaft parameters were
determined for a vertical or decline shaft and are a guideline in determining the labour required for
those operations. None of these parameters were previously available on the mines.
Services are classied as the employees who are doing the maintenance, administration and
managing of the labour force. The service departments are engineering, ventilation, survey and
manpower. NELPS multiplies determined parameters with the total number of underground
employees to get the required employee numbers for the mine services. Provision is also made for
employees on leave and in the training centre.
Absenteeism
The unavailable employees are monitored daily and weekly meetings are held to track the actions
being taken against the employees that were unavailable the previous week. The absenteeism of the
production personnel dropped to 9 per cent per day from an average of 12 per cent per day.
This can be contributed to a happier workforce that is part of the mine workers are no longer
mere passengers that are totally dependent on management initiatives.
The cost only reects the cost to the company and does not reect the loss in revenue due to
non-production for the day and the year. There is therefore a big potential for increased prot by
decreasing absenteeism. NELPS takes the high percentage of absenteeism into consideration by
decreasing the blast efciency for stoping and development. When the absenteeism rate improves
with the old blast efciency, it may lead to higher production output or the required number of
employees can be reduced.
PREDICTION OF USING NEW EFFECTIVE LABOUR PLANNING SYSTEMS

Description of new effective labour planning systems
The parameters required by NELPS were based on the following:
x Half-level planning.
x Monthly advance rates of the various excavations taking blast efciencies into consideration.
x Relevant dependencies scheduling of the different development ends relative to one another.
x The system starts with the input of the following parameters into a technical sheet (Excel
spreadsheet): in situ grade, blast efciency, development, stoping, logistics and geological losses.
The outputs are details per half-level; these outputs are used to plan the requirements of a shaft
or mine. The required tons, shifts per month and number of employees per activity parameters
are put into another spreadsheet and the output is given per mining activity.
x These parameters are put into a master plan; this master plan calculates the number of employees
that are required per mining activity and added to indicate the total numbers of employees that
are required per shaft or mine.
The improved labour-planning system will give, as indicated in Figure 3, the following:
x A xed daily production plan for the year.
x The type of development end is specied and a daily target for each end is calculated to ensure
replacements are raised on time.
x Calculate the panels to be blasted on a daily basis. To achieve these targets, the lost blasts and
poor advance per blast are taken into consideration. These two factors are combined and are
called blast efciency.
x Labour planning will be done on constant daily production.
x This labour provision will eliminate the daily over-/undersupply of labour.
Revenue estimates
The revenue is calculated by using an equivalent value per 4E gram delivered to the metallurgical plant.
The term 4E gram refers to the sum of four different elements, namely platinum, palladium, rhodium
and gold. The ore is analysed and the prill split and recoveries are determined in laboratory tests.
NELPS does not calculate the nancial situation but is important to be nancially evaluating the
process to determine if the project generates additional prots. The prot is calculated by subtracting
the revenue from the cost.
FIG 3 - Process flow.
Therefore, knowing the grade, costs per ton, tonnage milled annually (or monthly) and the platinum
price, one can calculate an estimated prot, as the above example shows.
The example indicates only the prot platinum sales. For the calculations in the nancial runs, the
total Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) are taken into consideration.
Disadvantages of the system
NELPS requires basic Microsoft Excel knowledge as well as understanding of the relationships
between the various underground activities shaft operations (vertical and inclines) development,
ledging, equipping, stoping, sweeping, vamping, reclamation, logistics and services. These are,
however, specialist elds and are not totally user-friendly to the untrained.
However, if NELPS is used properly, very powerful and accurate information can be generated; it is
not the intention of this document to suggest that current labour-planning models should be replaced.
L D MEYER
VERIFICATION AND RESULTS

Results
To generate more revenue it is important to achieve the daily production targets. To ensure that the
daily targets are met NELPS were built to determine the required targets. These new targets were
built into the mines production plan in September 2005.
The new stoping target is divided into the stope panel lengths to obtain the number of stope panels
and development ends that have to be blasted. The actual m achieved were below 4000 m per day
in April 2005 and there is a steady increase since the introduction of NELPS and was over 5000 m
per day in August 2006, as indicated in Figure 4. Therefore, since the application of NELPS the mine
showed an increase in production of over 20 per cent.
A constant daily labour plan was planned which is indicated in Figure 5 shows the constant labour
plan for the year from the new plan and that, on average, 204 more employees were necessary to
achieve the planned increased production rate.
Income
The income is calculated by subtracting the costs from the revenue.
The following benets were calculated by using revenue and costs.
Table 1 shows an improvement of income of R95 million for year for the mine.
Daily Square M etres: Plan and Actual

8,000
7,000
Square metres per day
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
05
06
5
06
5
05
05
06
-0
-0
n-
n-
b-
g-
r-
r-
ec
ct
Ju
Ju
Ap
Fe
Ap
Au
Old Plan Actual New Plan
FIG 4 - Daily m plan and actual.
FIG 5 - Employee plan.
TABLE 1
Yearly cost and revenue benefits (Anglo American Platinum Corporation Limited, 2006).
Description Forecast 2006 Actual 2005 Variance

Square metres 1 298 675 1 117 300 97 300
Tons milled 6 974 000 6 000 000 522 510
Platinum Group Metals 1 139 800 992 900 136 900
Pt ounces refined 595 200 556 400 39 800
Revenue 8 286 300 000 4 837 500 000 3 448 800
Costs 3 090 500 000 2 501 700 000 588 800
Income before tax 5 195 800 000 2 335 800 000 2 860 000
Tax 1 268 354 000 569 935 200 698 419
Income after tax 3 927 446 000 1 765 864 800 2 161 581
Revenue at same PGM basket price as 2005
Revenue 5 553 210 000 4 837 500 000 3 448 800
Costs 3 090 500 000 2 501 700 000 588 800
Income before tax 2 462 710000 2 335 800 000 2 860 000
Tax 601 175 500 569 935 200 698 419
Income after tax 1 861 535 000 1 765 864 800 95 930 050
SUMMARY
Focusing on the half-level optimum outputs and the actual blasting efciencies that are achieved
on a mine ensures that the planned targets take all the constraints into consideration when setting
targets. The new targets are achievable and this ensures that the minimum required targets are easily
met. There is a good chance that the targets will be exceeded with the new plan which caters for
inefciencies. To achieve the planned targets ensures that the revenue is better because the required
tons are mined.
Improved labour planning and leave planning will reduce the absenteeism on the mine due to
improved morale among employees, because the employees will know that the management team
cares about them. There are enough employees so that each one can do his/her daily tasks and they
will not have to stand in for their colleagues.
CONCLUSIONS
Main findings
The consideration of the revenue variable of the prot equation has big nancial leverage potential.
Therefore, it is important to change the mindset of cost-saving to that of maximising revenue. The
scale of benets in the mining industry is big at the moment because of the exchange rate and metal
prices.
The problems stated have been resolved a program capable of calculating the production planning
targets has been developed. Half-level planning, as the starting point for NELPS, proved to be the
correct approach in solving the complex situation. By ensuring that the required parameters in a
half-level are correct, a strong basis will be created for an optimised mine plan.
NELPS calculates the required production targets on a daily, monthly and yearly basis, by adding the
requirements per half-level and the number of half-levels required for the shaft or mine. The labour
required to operate the mine effectively is calculated by NELPS by knowing the input requirements
per activity and the number of activities.
NELPS can be used for long-term production planning and periods. The NELPS concepts are
simple and understood by the users on the mine. NELPS gives guidelines on how to manage a half-
level, which is the smallest self-sustained unit.
Mines can now be divided into manageable units to optimise overall efciencies. Layouts may be
assessed on a scientic and nancial basis instead of a personal preference basis.
L D MEYER
REFERENCES
Angl0 American Platinum Corporation Limited, 2005. Abridged consolidated nancial statements and
statistics for the year ended 31 December 2005, annual report.
Angl0 American Platinum Corporation Limited, 2006. Abridged consolidated nancial statements and
statistics for the year ended 31 December 2006, annual report.
Brown, J, 2006. Gold elds operating costs rises 20 per cent, business report, 27 October.
Cads Mine, 2002. Available from: <http://www.cadsmine.co.za/> [Accessed: 8 July 2006].
Chamber of Mines, 2005. South Africa shares in global production [online]. Available from http: <www.
bullion.org.za> [Accessed: 27 August 2006].
Data Mine, 2002. Data mining information [online]. Available from: <http://www.the-data-mine.com/>
[Accessed: 8 July 2006].
Mawson, N, 2005. Full Aids risk unknown Hermanus [online]. Available from: <http://www.miningweekly.
co.za/min/news/today/?=75256> [Accessed: 27 March 2006].
Statistics South Africa, 2006. Mining production and sales, statistical research report number P 2041,
April.
Troll, P, 2001. Mining optimisation phase 2: Rediscovery blast cycle and functions, report.
Vermeulen, A, 2002. Methods to optimise underground mine production, Masters thesis (unpublished),
Northwest University, South Africa
Mass Mining using Room and Pillar Methods at
Estonia Oil Shale Mine
R Freeman1 and O Nikitin2
ABSTRACT
The Estonia Mine, operated by Eesti Energia Kaevandused AS (EEK), the mining division of the
Estonian Governments energy company, Eesti Energia AS, is a large room and pillar mine located in
Eastern Estonia. It supplied approximately 4.9 Mt/a of oil shale in nancial year ending 2010, which
is used for electricity and shale oil generation. Due to the Estonian climate and the power stations
need for a dry product, Estonia Mine has developed a planning system where short-term demands
of the power stations dictate the schedule. Such an arrangement requires maximising exibility and
consequently the mine only operated for 199 days in 2010.
The footprint plays a key role in achieving mass mining rates as the 12 km 12 km lease area allows
the mine to split into mining districts that act independently of each other and maximise the number
of work areas available. Coupled with this, the geology of the mine is relatively homogenous over the
mining lease, simplifying the mine design and production methods.
During the last five years, EEK has commissioned a comprehensive conveyor network.
Consequently, material handling only requires loaders to dump oil shale direct from the
production face onto a chain conveyor that feeds the conveyor network that ultimately supplies
the enrichment plant. Dewatering is also of critical importance, with 90 Mm3 of water discharged
annually. EEK uses large trenches up to 3.5 m deep and 1.2 m wide to channel groundwater.
Track mounted mechanical saws are used to cut slots in the floor, to control overbreak in blasting
these trenches.
EEK has introduced Salzgitter Machinenbau GB 280S auger drills that drill three 280 mm diameter
holes simultaneously. This has improved void hole drilling times and reduced the drilling required
for each face, reducing the overall production cycle time. Blasting activities have also been decoupled
from other mining activities negating the need for ring times through the use of small independent
rings, required to control vibrations.
INTRODUCTION
Recent years have seen a proliferation of large scale open pit mines moving underground to
continue their production. Consequently, the boundaries of underground mining continue to
be pushed to produce ever higher production rates. The most common approach for large-scale
underground mining is to apply a caving method (Table 1). At around 10 Mt/a, stoping methods
become viable.
However, these methods require a very particular geology to support these rates. The deposits
need to be massive both in scale and geology. Large quantities of dilution are accepted to benet
from these economies of scale. It is no coincidence that the majority of these large scale mines are
extracting copper, as porphyry deposits are ideal for these forms of extraction.
However, the question needs to be asked, can large scale underground mining be achieved without
these levels of dilution? Are these production rates possible in stratiform deposits? Can methods
other than caving and stoping be used? What about tabular deposits?
The Estonian state-owned energy company, Eesti Energia AS, is answering these questions at its
Estonia Mine.
1. MAusIMM(CP), Senior Mining Engineer, SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd, 5th Floor, Churchill House, 17 Churchill Way, Cardiff CF10 2HH, United Kingdom. Email: rfreeman@srk.co.uk
2. Senior Manager, Development Department, Eesti Energia Mining, Jaama tn 10, Jhvi 41533, Estonia. Email: oleg.nikitin@energia.ee
R FREEMAN AND O NIKITIN
TABLE 1
Overview of selected large-scale underground mines.
Mine Company Commodity Method RoM production rates

Bulianta Shenhua Group Coal Longwall 22.5 Mt1
El Teniente Codelco Copper (polymetallic) Block caving 48.6 Mt1
Grasburg Freeport McMoRan Copper/gold Block caving 23.1 Mt3
Kirunavaara LKAB Iron ore Sublevel caving 27.5 Mt2
Malmberget LKAB Iron ore Sublevel caving 15.4 Mt2
Olympic Dam BHP Billiton Copper (polymetallic) Sublevel stoping 9.8 Mt1
Palabora Rio Tinto Copper (polymetallic) Block caving 11.3 Mt1
1. 2009 production (Raw Materials Group, 2010).

2. 2008 production (Freeport McMoRan, 2010).
3. 2008 production (Raw Materials Group, 2010).
ESTONIA MINE
Oil shale mining in Estonia commenced in 1916 and has continued almost continuously since then.
Today, the countrys largest producer of oil shale is the Estonia Mine, which extracts oil shale that is
used primarily to generate electricity, but also to produce shale oil. Underground mining has been
continuous using room and pillar methods since 1972 and is operated by Eesti Energias mining
division, Eesti Energia Kaevandused (EEK).
Located in north-east Estonia near the Russian border, the mine exploits commercial oil shale
beds within the Upper Ordovician Estonia oil shale belt (Figure 1). The oil shale seam has an average
thickness of 2.7 m, at an average depth of 62 m, dipping at 1o to the south. As overburden thickness
decreases and the oil shale crops-out to the north, open pit mining techniques have traditionally
been used (Figure 2).
FIG 1 - Location of Estonia Mine.
Though these are not ideal conditions for large scale underground mining, EEK achieved a
production rate of 8.4 Mt of run of mine (ROM) ore in the nancial year ending March 2010. This is
a considerable achievement that is made more impressive by the fact that the mine only operated for
199 days due to uctuations in power supply requirements. This equates to an annualised production
rate of approximately 14.8 Mt/a (assuming 350 operating days per year). From the ROM production,
approximately 42 per cent is removed through an enrichment plant to produce 4.9 Mt of saleable oil
shale products, with dened caloric values (CV) for both power generation and shale oil production.
Due to the Estonian climate and the need for a dry product to supply the power stations, there are
only small stockpiles maintained between the mine and the power plant it feeds. To accommodate
this, Estonia Mine has developed a planning system where short-term demands of the power stations
MASS MINING USING ROOM AND PILLAR METHODS AT ESTONIA OIL SHALE MINE
FIG 2 - Location of Estonia Mine within the Estonian oil shale mining district.
dictate the schedule. Such an arrangement requires maximising exibility in the underground
operating systems to allow for the increased production demands during winter. As a result of these
short-term uctuations in demand the mine only needs to operate at the reduced number of days
per years.
Such high production rates at a room and pillar mine with a relatively thin orebody cannot be
explained by a single characteristic or innovation. There are a number of factors that are key to mass
mining at Estonia Mine, including:
x footprint,
x geology,
x material handling,
x water management,
x reducing production cycle times, and
x decoupling production.
FOOTPRINT
The key to any mass mining operation is ensuring that there are sufcient work areas available to
achieve the production rates required. The basic limit to any operation is the number of areas that
can be worked simultaneously multiplied by the rate of production in those areas. Hence the simplest
way to increase any production rate is to add more work areas.
Unlike porphyry deposits that allow for three dimensions of operations, the Estonia deposit has
only a single mining horizon, so mining may only progress in two directions. The size of the footprint
is therefore critical to creating sufcient work areas.
As the oil shale mined at Estonia Mine forms part of a regional stratiform deposit, the economically
viable layers are limited by the mining lease boundaries rather than by the geology. The extents of
these boundaries are approximately 12 km 12 km and limited by an energy productivity factor 35
GJ/m2. To capitalise on this abundant space, EEK operates the mine as four independent mining
districts that feed a common material handling system. Each mining district has a work force and
eet of equipment permanently assigned to it. Production is scheduled to be split evenly over the
mining districts and the life of mine plan shows this approach continuing until resources are depleted.
A single development crew, however, undertakes the opening up of panels in all mining districts.
Development and the material handling system are the only features shared by each mining district.
The current distribution of mining allows for further mining districts to be added. However,
production is capped by the forecast feed requirements of the power station it feeds.
Without such a large footprint, production would be concentrated in a much smaller area. This would
reduce the number of work areas available and the workforce that can be utilised. Consequently, a
large footprint is essential to mass mining using room and pillar methods.
GEOLOGY
One area that mines have no control over is the geology of the ore. Mass mining using caving
methods relies on large areas of homogenous geology, or high grade zones that justify large volumes
of dilution. The simpler the geology, the more predictable production and mine design become, and
consequently the easier it becomes to scale up production. Though at rst glance, a 2.74 m thick,
at lying, stratiform deposit does not sound conducive to mass mining, it is the homogeneity of the
deposit that is favourable. The mining height at Estonia Mine changes with the seam thickness and
the strength of the overlying strata, ranging from 2.8 m to 3.8 m.
The mineable oil shale layer is subdivided into beds of oil shale and limestone, each with a well
dened thickness and CV. These vary only slightly between the extents of the mining lease. Overall,
the CV reduces to the south as the oil shale layer deepens, but the variation in CV is very gradual
and has been well dened by drilling, both during the Soviet-era and by more recent Estonian State
drilling programs.
There are also very few geological structures that complicate the mining. The only fault that shows
any appreciable displacement of the ore can be found to the north of the mining lease and the
displaced oil shale is recovered from an adjacent mine to avoid ramping.
The main geological features that impact mining are karstic features within the oil shale horizon,
which may extend to the surface. Insufcient drilling has taken place to be certain of their impact on
the mining cycle so the current life of mine plan avoids the areas where karstic features are expected.
Traditionally, when karstic features have been reached they were mined around as the mining losses
were above the legislative limits. Though these legislative limits no longer apply, mining has not
intersected any karstic regions in recent years.
Consequently, the largely homogeneous geology assists mass mining by allowing a uniform mining
method and equipment to be applied throughout the mine. This uniformity simplies the mining
process and improves operational efciency.
MATERIAL HANDLING
Most mines operate signicant stockpiles between the mine and the processing facility to provide a
buffer between mining and processing. EEK operates relatively minor stockpiles to prevent moisture
accumulating in the ore, which has a negative impact on the energy conversion process. Also unique to
energy operations is the variable nature of the processing feed requirements. In the winter, electricity
requirements peak to levels far above summer requirements, on average 32 per cent higher. Though
this impact on production is largely alleviated by having a exible shift system, the role of the materials
handling system cannot be underestimated.
As the surge capacity between the mine and the power generation facility is minimal, the materials
handling system has to be both reliable and be able to move a variable production rate. During last
ve years, EEK has commissioned a comprehensive conveyor network that extends throughout the
mine. The conveyor system is comprised of four components (Figure 3):
1. mining block chain and belt conveyors,
2. panel belt conveyors,
3. main belt conveyors for each wing, and
4. inclined conveyors to the surface.
There are two 350 m inclined conveyors in operation on a slope of 18o. Each is a 1200 mm wide belt
conveyor operating at 3.15 m/s with 2 500 kW motors and a maximum capacity of 2200 t/h. The
operation has been established such that the inclined conveyors act as the bottleneck of the operations.
FIG 3 - Schematic diagram of material handling system.
Both inclined conveyors operate for 19 hours each day allowing ve hours for maintenance. The
preventative maintenance each day is an important part of maintaining a reliable feed to the plant
as breakdown in the central conveyors will bring all production to a halt. As all mining districts feed
these conveyors, the shift cycles are structured around these maintenance times.
The mine is divided into two wings, with the inclined conveyors located near the centre of the mining
lease, effectively splitting the mine into east and west areas. Production is split evenly between the
two wings. Each wing comprises two 1200 mm belt conveyors acting in series, feeding into a hopper
that feeds the inclined conveyors. Their lengths vary from 1400 m to 2700 m. Three are powered
by 4 315 kW motors and one with 4 250 kW motors. Belt speed is 3.8 m/s with a maximum
productivity of 2900 m/s.
As is common in room and pillar mining, Estonia Mine has split into a series of panels that form
the basic structure of the mine. Production advances along these panels and each can act as an
independent mining district. Each panel being worked is serviced by a 1200 mm belt conveyor with
a maximum capacity of between 1500 and 1600 t/h (2.5 to 2.8 m/s). Their lengths vary considerably
with the advance of the individual panels, from 600 m to 2300 m. The motors consist of various
congurations utilising 250 kW and 350 kW motors.
Located within the panels are the individual mining areas. Loaders with bucket sizes from 6 - 8 m3
are used to load the ore from the faces onto chain conveyors built into the oor of the drives for easy
loading. The chain conveyors are located such that they are always within tramming distance for a
loader. They are generally 30 - 40 m long.
The chain conveyors feed onto mining block belt conveyors. There are 13 belt conveyors installed
throughout the mine with six more in reserve as replacements and which allow for uctuations in the
number of work areas. Most belt conveyors are 650 m in length with one 100 m and two 200 m as
well. They are powered with motors varying from 90 kW to 150 kW. Each is limited to 2.5 m/s with
a maximum capacity of 980 t/h. The whole network of conveyors is automated and controlled from
a central control room on the surface.
Key to the success of the materials handling system is the simplicity of the design. There is a single
process to transport the ore from the production face to the conveyor system. Room and pillar
mining requires production at a large number of work areas. A conveyor network allows loading at
multiple locations near all production faces and no rehandling is required until the ore reaches the
surface. This reduces the number of processes required to extract the ore making the production
cycle simpler, more efcient and more predictable than a multi-element materials handling system.
WATER MANAGEMENT
The main impediment to production at the Estonia Mine is the high level of groundwater that ows
into the mine. Interbedded layers of limestone that form part of the deposit create a local aquifer
with a high level of recharge. The large footprint of the mine and almost 40 years worth of legacy
void also create a wide catchment area for the groundwater to drain into. In recent years, the Estonia
Mine has averaged 90 Mm3 of water discharge from the mine each year but in wet years this can be
higher.
As the deposit is stratiform, workings dip gradually to the south at approximately 1o, providing
natural drainage but resulting in rapid ooding of the south of the mine if drainage is not controlled
adequately. As many of the current working areas are at the southern extremity of the mine, reliable
dewatering is paramount to achieving the high production rates.
EEK controls the ow of water by cutting channels in the oor of the drives. The water either drains
or is pumped into purpose built development that runs parallel to the main wing conveyors. Here,
large channels are dug up to 3.5 m deep and 1.2 m wide that focus the ow to one of eight pumping
stations that discharge the water to the surface. Each pumping station uses four to ve centrifugal
pumps, ranging from 250 to 800 kW, to discharge the water into surface ponds.
To cut these channels, EEK uses a combination of mechanical excavation and blasting. Cutting a
3.5 m deep trench using blasting alone would create considerable cratering and render the development
inaccessible. To control the blast, EEK uses a skid-mounted chainsaw to cut a groove approximately
1.5 m deep into the sides of the channel (Figure 4). These grooves focus the proceeding trench blast
and prevent cratering by decoupling the explosive energy from the oor of the development.
As water ow rates are so high, dewatering forms the main obstacle to efcient production. EEK
a b
FIG 4 - (A) Saw used to cut (b) dewatering channels.
not only recognises the risk posed but applies signicant resources and investment to controlling
the groundwater drainage. In doing so, groundwater no longer poses an impediment to production
resulting in more efcient mining.
REDUCING PRODUCTION CYCLE TIMES

Room and pillar mining has a relatively small unit production from each face, so productivity is
achieved by mining many production faces with a high turnaround. Production from each face
is limited by the thickness of the oil shale seams and geotechnical conditions, hence improving
turnaround and cycle time of faces is the most effective way to improve production. EEK has
introduced a number of innovative mining practices in order reduce face turnaround times.
Rock bolting is kept to a minimum due to the short lifespan of the production development and
the spot bolting approach taken. Drilling therefore has the largest impact on the production cycle
and is where the greatest efciency gains can be made. EEK has made signicant productivity
improvements through an innovative approach to drilling.
Production faces range from 5 m in width for areas of poor ground to 7 m wide in good ground
conditions. Atlas Copco Boomer 281s are used to drill 37 mm blast holes into the face. Depending on
the face prole, between 22 and 26 4 m blast holes are used. These drilling ratios have been achieved
through the introduction of the Salzgitter Machinenbau (SMAG) GB 280S large bore drilling vehicle.
The SMAG drill is a unique drill that allows three 280 mm diameter void holes to be augured into
the face simultaneously. The soft nature of the rock allows rapid drilling, the three drill holes can be
drilled in approximately 20 seconds. Typically, three holes are drilled in faces less than 5 m wide and
six holes are used in development greater than 5 m wide (Figure 5). Drill setup times between each
three-hole cycle are typically six minutes.
FIG 5 - Typical production face drill pattern now applied to the interbedded oil shale and waste limestone layers.
Each six-hole drill pattern will create void of just over 0.25 m2. Previously a mechanical saw was
used to undercut the production faces 2 m deep (Figure 6). The oil shale and interbedded limestone
were then blasted into this void. Though the number of blast holes has largely remained the same,
the new blasting pattern has seen advance per blast double and improvements in the productivity of
all equipment (Table 2).
TABLE 2
Comparison between previous and new production blasting methods.
Technology
Previous method New method
Explosive Cartridge emulsion Pumpable emulsion
Drilling depth 2m 4m
Advance per blast 1.8 m 3.7 m
Average ROM per blast 40 BCM 83 BCM
Machine productivity
Russian BUA drill Atlas Copco Boomer 281
Face drilling 14 faces/shift 15 faces/shift
672 m/shift 1440 m/shift
Manual loading Mobile mixing unit
Blasting
8 faces/shift 25 faces per shift
Loading 395 BCM/shift 493 BCM/shift
Drilling with Russian MBK drill and manual
SMAG FA 523
Bolting installation
70 bolts/shift 125 bolts/shift
Undercutting of production face 280 mm augured holes
Void drilling Ural mechanical saw SMAG 280S
11 faces/shift 18 faces/shift
Workforce efficiency
Worker productivity 60 BCM/worker/shift 110 BCM/worker/shift
22 23 24 25 26 27
17 18 19 20 21
12 13 14 15 16
6 7 8 9 10 11
1 2 3 4 5
FIG 6 - Typical production face drill pattern previously applied to the interbedded oil shale and waste limestone layers.
Trials are currently underway to utilise the same drilling innovations in the development activities
in conjunction with trials to use pumped emulsion instead of packaged explosives. This has allowed
EEK to increase the borehole length from 2.0 to 4.0 m. Using an undercutting method similar to
sluing, advance of up to 3.8 m per face has been achieved.
Reducing the cycle time of the production cycle has therefore played an important role in increasing
production rates to their present levels. These upgrades in technology and equipment has enabled
EEK to improve the productivity of its workforce from 60 m3/worker/shift to up to 110 m3/worker/
shift of ROM.
DECOUPLING PRODUCTION
To maximise productivity on any piece of machinery, it must be constantly active. This requires there
to be a steady supply of work areas available for the machinery, the fewer work areas available, the
more likely there will be interaction between equipment and hence delays.
EEK has reduced interaction by separating each panel into three distinct zones that are worked
simultaneously. Each zone is split into a pair of two mining blocks (Figure 7) making six mining
blocks being active per panel at all times. These pairs are important as they allow the blasting
activities to take place in one mining block whilst the loading, bolting, and drilling takes place in the
other mining block, physically isolating these activities from one another.
Estonia Mine is so close to the surface that there is a regulatory limit imposed restricting all
individual blasts to 100 detonators to restrict ground vibrations. To achieve production, 300 to 400
production faces are red each day. However, the regulatory limit means that only two faces may be
red simultaneously in the same area. One advantage of the regulatory limit is that it reduces each
ring to a level that can be carried out using independent ring procedures. Independent rings are
made possible by the twinned mining block design that allows blasting to be completely decoupled
from the rest of the production cycle.
A number of safety procedures are used including bunting, signage, physical isolation, and a siren
system is employed throughout the mine to ensure the blasts are conducted in a safe manner. All
workers are made familiar of these procedures as part of the induction and by physically separating
blasting activities from the other production activities, inherent safety is built into the procedure.
Through decoupling the blasting activities from the other production activities, EEK is able
increase the productive work time by approximately 25 per cent. This plays a major role in improving
efciency and achieving high production rates.
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the example set by EEKs Estonia Mine suggests that room and pillar mining can be
used to achieve large scale production rates in underground mining. Though the current theoretical
production limit is approximately 13.5 Mt/a, EEK has plans to increase production through further
efciency improvements. There is scope to further increase production should the need arise by
introducing another crew to create a fth mining district. The footprint and current mine design
FIG 7 - Schematic of mining blocks within each panel showing alternating blast locations.
could accommodate a move should such a need arise. However, changes would be required to the
ventilation system.
In fact the main obstacle to achieving very high production rates with the existing equipment is
the capacity of the enrichment plant. Beyond 9 Mt/a of saleable oil shale (15.4 Mt/a of ROM), a new
enrichment plant would be required.
The Estonia Mine also shows how dependent production can be on the orebody that is being mined.
If the geology was more complex, a less standardised approach would need to be taken to mining.
Added complexity would slow the productivity and substantially limit production. The same can,
however, be said for all existing mass mining techniques. Sublevel and block caving require a very
particular geology to be applicable so it would make sense that a room and pillar mine would be the
same.
Estonia Mine proves that given the right conditions and intelligent application of technology,
mining methods traditionally considered to be medium scale mining techniques can be scaled up to
provide efcient, cost effective production on a much larger scale.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Ljudmila Kolotogina and Veiko Rim from
Eesti Energia and Richard Oldcorn from SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd. Also to Gareth Thomas at SRK
Consulting (UK) for assistance with the diagrams. Acknowledgements must also go to the staff at the
Estonia Mine.
REFERENCES
Freeport McMoRan, 2010. Grasberg minerals district [online]. Available from: <http://www.fcx.com/
operations/grascomplx.htm> [Accessed: 30 September 2010].
Raw Materials Group, 2010. Raw Materials database, electronic database, accessed September 2010.
A Tool for Benchmark Study of Roadway
Development Performances
G Gibson1 and E Y Baafi2
ABSTRACT
In responding to why some longwall roadway development rates are different among mines, the
Roadway Development Task Group (RDTG) of Australian Coal Association Research Program
(ACARP) has initiated a benchmarking study to survey each longwall mine to determine the
correlation between roadway development practices and roadway development performances. This
paper describes a web-based relational database system which has been developed purposely to
monitor the performance of Australian longwall roadway developments aimed at assessing both the
physical and operational factors which could inuence roadway development practices and their
performance indicators. Statistical analysis of an earlier survey suggested that continuous miner
units that achieved more than 1750 m were units mining two-heading development.
INTRODUCTION
There are various inherent characteristics of roadway development practices which fundamentally
inuence their overall performance rates. As part of a strategy to improve roadway development
performance in Australian longwall mines, the Roadway Development Task Group (RDTG) of
Australian Coal Association Research Project (ACARP) has initiated a benchmarking study by
surveying each longwall mine to monitor the performance of roadway development in Australian
longwall. The study is also aimed at assessing both the physical and operational factors which could
inuence roadway development practices and their performance indicators. This paper describes
a web-based relational database system, RoaData which has been developed purposely to survey
Australia longwall roadway developments.
RoaData is a user friendly web-based online relational database system with various functionalities
aimed at reducing the amount of time required by user to complete the mine operational and
performance data. The basic model structure of the database is shown in Figure 1. RoaData consists
of two main relational databases with the rst database made up six tables.
USING ROADATA SYSTEM

Logging on
The Roadway Development Benchmark Survey Database, RoaData, is a tool which was developed
as a module of ACARPs underground coal mining (ACARP, 2010a). The database is located at
http://undergroundcoal.com.au (ACARP, 2010b) with its homepage shown in Figure 2. Two elds
are provided for entering both the users name and password. An enabling option is provided for
remembering the users name and password whenever this page is displayed.
Accessing mine data
After successfully logging on, Figure 3 is displayed to conrm the respondents colliery and the
survey starting date. From this page the user may review and make changes to his/her personal
information. Clicking on edit my prole button allows the user to update the database with any of
the following changes:
x personal information name/job position and contact details, and
x name of the colliery.
1. Managing Director, GaryGibson and Associates, Wollongong NSW 2500. Email: gary@yarrowlumla.com.au
G GIBSON AND E Y BAAFI
In cases where the number of mains and development panels has either increased or decreased
from the previous surveying period, the user can update the number of the panels by clicking on the
edit units button of Figure 3. This action displays Figure 4.
Log on
Enter/Update
Mine Data System
Administrator
Mine Parameters
Development Parameters
Gas and Ventilation
Shift and Personnel
Managing Development Parameters
Performance
FIG 1 - The RoadData system.
FIG 2 - Log on homepage of RoaData.
A TOOL FOR BENCHMARK STUDY OF ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCES
FIG 3 - Accessing mine sata.
FIG 4 - Editing number of development panels.
Entering mine data

The basic data required from the collieries is classied under the following six sections:
1. mine parameters,
2. development parameters,
3. gas and ventilation,
4. shifts and personnel,
5. management of development performance, and
6. development performance.
Each of the six sections is accessible by clicking on the edit button immediately below the section.
The six sections are also accessible via links provided under members menu (top left hand corner of
Figure 5).
FIG 5 - Entering mine data.
The basic mine data required from each participating colliery is summarised below:
Mine parameters
x Seam type,
x mine geometry,
x depth of cover,
x pillar dimensions, and
x stress distribution.
Development parameters
x Number and operating arrangement of continuous miners in each mains/panel unit,
x types of continuous miners,
x roof bolting rigs utilised on each machine,
x coal clearance system utilised between continuous miner and conveyor,
x details of conveyor system loaded onto in the panel/unit,
x face services, and
x primary/secondary support cycles.
Gas and ventilation parameters
x In situ gas regime prior to any predrainage,
x method of gas predrainage,
x In situ gas regime during mining,
x intake gas levels at last completed cut through,
x return gas levels one pillar outbye last completed cut through,
x ventilation quantities at last completed cut through,
x face ventilation system,
x open circuit capacity of auxiliary ventilation fan,
x nominal diameter of auxiliary ventilation ducting, and
x wet bulb temperatures at continuous miner.
Shifts and personnel
x Mines personnel and materials access,
x personnel travel distances and times between the surface muster area and the working faces,
x material transport distances and times between the surface materials supply and loading area and
the working faces,
x material supply system utilised in face area,

x normal crew manning of units by core skill and/or responsibility,
x roster system utilised for development crews,
x workforce adopt the following work/accommodation/travel arrangements,
x crew manning levels,
x age of development crews,
x annual turnover of development crews,
x number of days per annum that scheduled shutdown periods occur, and
x production/maintenance shifts.
Managing development performance
x Process development plan,
x adherence to the development process and supporting procedures, and
x bonus system.
Performance
x Lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) for development over the 12 months,
x the top ve causes of loss time injuries (LTIs) in development,
x the top ve causes of rst aid injuries in development,
x budget metres versus actual metres achieved for the 12 months,
x average performance levels, and
x the top ve engineering/operating delays as percentage of available/ scheduled time.
Figures 6 and 7 are example templates used by the respondent to enter data. Similar templates have
been developed for other proles.
FIG 6 - Mine parameters.
Auto fill option

The auto ll tool of RoaData system allows data from similar units with the same response to be
entered once. To use this function the elds for the rst unit information is completed. Next, the
auto ll check box is clicked. The remaining elds are automatically lled once the check box labelled
I have completed this part of the survey entirely is clicked and also the save button at the end of each
template is clicked (Figure 8).
FIG 7 - Development parameters.
FIG 8 - Auto Fill option and saving data.
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
One of the roles of the system administrator is to reset the survey periods. This function involves rst
selecting the stop period button and then selecting the start new period button. Other options made
available to the system administrator include managing the contact details of the mine respondents
and viewing responses. At any stage, the system administrator can easily determine which mines
have responded and to what extent. Other tasks performed by the system administrator include:
x managing contact details of the mine respondents and other information such as password,
x managing mine data for a specic period for a group of mines, and
x exporting available data to Excel csv format by mine or period for a comprehensive statistical
analysis.
An Excel VBA data analysis module has been developed to display a number of graphs for easy
comparison. When the data is copied, the graphs automatically update, providing results instantly
(Figure 9).
Preliminary analysis of an earlier survey suggested that continuous miner units that achieved
more than 1750 m were units mining two-heading development. The same survey results showed
that having six bolting rigs improves the probability of higher development metres, while having
less than six bolting rigs heavily limits performance capability. Also, installing 1500 mm rib bolts
also appears to limit development rates, with those continuous miners achieving higher production
levels all installing 1200 mm rib bolts.
FIG 9 - Output from RoaData.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A web-based relational database, RoaData, has been designed for Australian underground coal
mines to compile the annual development performance of Australian longwall mines purposely
to monitor the performance of Australian longwall roadway developments. The data compiled by
RoaData is aimed at assessing both the physical and operational factors which could inuence
roadway development practices and their performance indicators. Unfortunately there has been a
limited success in compiling the roadway development data due to lack of participation by many of
longwall mines. While most mine ofcials are very busy people and have other production related
priorities the success of this initiative by RDTG of ACARP depends on the mines.
REFERENCES
Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP), 2010a. Underground coal [online]. Available
from: <http://undergroundcoal.com.au> [Accessed: 1 July 2010].
Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP), 2010b. Underground coal database [online].
Available from: <http://undergroundcoal.com.au> [Accessed: 1 July 2010].
Planning the Kotre Basantpur-Pachmo Coking
Coal Mine
M D OBrien1, R Srikanth2, A L Vidale3 and G M Springbett4
ABSTRACT
The contiguous Kotre Basantpur and Pachmo (KBP) coal blocks in the Hazaribagh District of
Jharkhand State in east India are being developed by Tata Steel Limited (Tata Steel) to supply coking
coal to a new steel mill at Kalinganagar in Orissa.
The planning challenges are many. The multiple coal seams range in thickness up to 6 m and extend
to nearly 500 m depth, with dips up to 25 and highly variable quality. Several normal faults with
throws up to 150 m intersect the deposit. There is little room for waste dumping on the lease, several
large nalas (seasonal creeks) cross the blocks, and the KBP leases are not contiguous with Tata Steels
existing mining operations at West Bokaro. Geotechnical conditions, while not well dened at this
stage, are largely unfavourable. There are several villages on the blocks, and extensive paddy elds.
In 2009, Adelaide Mining Consultants Pty Ltd (AMC) completed a Detailed Project Report (DPR)
for a production level of 8 Mt/a. A terrace mining system was proposed using 28 m3 hydraulic
excavators and 185 t trucks working horizontal up-dip slices. Subsequently the viability of in-pit
crushing and conveying was assessed, but the full results were not available for this paper.
It is planned to extract a total of 147 Mt of raw coal at a strip ratio of 5.2 bank cubic metres per tonne
(bcm/t). The planned maximum pit depth is over 300 m.
The project includes a washery, a 2 25 MW uidised bed power station to utilise all the coarse
washery rejects, and a railway spur line to carry the washed coal to the railhead some 7 km distant.
INTRODUCTION
West Bokaro is one of Tata Steels two captive coal mining divisions that supply coking coal to its
integrated steel plant at Jamshedpur. Two existing open cast coal mines produce approximately
5 Mt/a of run of mine (RoM) coal to supply about 2 Mt/a of washed coking coal at 15 per cent ash to
the steel plant in Jamshedpur.
The authors have worked together on several other projects at West Bokaro, including the detailed
project report for the south eastern block in 1998 and 2001 and the West Bokaro 7 Mt mine plan in
2004 and 2005. Although this work is not directly referenced, preparation of the KBP DPR drew
heavily on experience and knowledge gained and the methodology used in the earlier projects.
The Kotre Basantpur and Pachmo coal blocks were allotted to Tata Steel by the government of
India in August 2005, and the transfer of the surface rights from Central Coal Limited (CCL) was
completed in mid 2008. The blocks are located north east of Tata Steels West Bokaro lease, and are
separated from it by CCLs Kedla block. The lease conditions require time-bound mine development
and coal production and maximum resource extraction.
The multiple thin coal seams are moderately to steeply dipping and heavily faulted, although the
surface is generally at to gently undulating. Extensive earthworks are required to divert the many
nalas (creeks) owing across the block. Some 70 per cent of the lease area is notied as Forest.
To achieve the required production level of 8 Mt/a, it is necessary to open two mining areas. The
west pit is planned to produce 6 Mt/a on average, and the east pit 2 Mt/a. The mining method
1. FAusIMM, Managing Director, Adelaide Mining Consultants Pty Ltd, 298 Davies Road, Merrijig Vic 3723. Email: adelaidemining@bigpond.com
2. MAusIMM, General Manager Raw Materials Projects, Tata Steel Limited, Jamshedpur 831001, India. Email: rsrikanth@tatasteel.com
3. MAusIMM, Consulting Mining Engineer, Andrew Vidale Consulting Services Pty Ltd, Suite 1, Level 6, 68 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000. Email: andrew@vidaleconsulting.com
4. MAusIMM, Principal Geologist, G&S Resources Pty Ltd, Suite 6, 1 Markey Street, Eastwood SA 5063. Email: grsgeo@ozemail.com.au
M D OBRIEN et al
involves excavating a boxcut to full depth, and then hauling waste across the pit to in-pit dumps. The
mine plans maximise the amount of waste rock to be dumped in mined out areas, but a large amount
of outside dumping is still required, because the steep dip of the oor and the considerable depth of
mining inhibit an early start to in-pit dumping. Since the coal seams occur throughout the lease, it is
necessary to acquire land outside the lease for waste dumps.
A washery, 50 MW uidised bed power station, train loading system, railway spur line, ofces,
stores, training centre, workshops, and residential colonies are to be constructed as part of the
project. The spur line will connect to Indian railways main line at Dania some 7 km to the east.
At full production, more than 40 million bcm (Mbcm) per year of waste will be moved to produce
8 Mt/a of coal, from which approximately 2.6 Mt of clean coal will be produced at 15 per cent ash.
Mine development will commence in 2011 once the mining lease is granted and land is acquired for
the box cut and initial overburden dumps. Coal mining will commence in 2013, and full production
will be reached in 2017.
GEOLOGY
Stratigraphy and coal occurrence
The KBP Block is located in the West Bokaro coaleld, part of the Damodar Valley Group of Coalelds,
and is described in reports produced by the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited
(CMPDIL) (1997, 1998). Coal development occurs within a predominately Permian sedimentary
sequence, unconformably overlying pre-Cambrian basement (Table 1). Jurassic dolerites and
peridotites locally intrude the sediments and a veneer of Recent alluvium completes the sequence.
The Barren measures and the Barakar and Karharbari formations make up the West Bokaro Coaleld
sediments. The block has undergone gentle folding and signicant, locally intense faulting.
TABLE 1
Stratigraphic sequence, Kotre Basantpur and Pachmo block.
Formation Lithology Max drilled thickness (m)

Recent alluvium Unconsolidated sand and silt 24
Grey shales, carbonaceous sandy shale, with thin coaly bands and
Barren measures formation 110
ironstone shales
Medium to coarse grained sandstone, pebbly in the lower part of the
Barakar formation 430
formation. Interbedded with shale, carbonaceous shale and coal seams
Predominately arkosic sandstone, pebbly sandstones and thin coaly
Karharbari formation 75
horizons
Undifferentiated pre-Cambrian
Granitic gneiss, schist, pegmatite
metamorphics
Pre-Cambrian metamorphics consisting of granitic gneiss and schist form the basement to the coal
bearing sedimentary sequence and are exposed along the northern block boundary.
The Karharbari formation unconformably overlies basement and is characterised by feldspathic/
micaceous sandstones. One persistent coal seam (seam 0) has been identied, with a number of
minor, discontinuous coal horizons encountered elsewhere in the formation.
The Barakar formation conformably overlies the Karharbari sediments and contains all the major
coal seams. Twenty-six correlated coal seams occur within a sequence of sandstone, shale and
carbonaceous shale. These range in ascending order from seam 0a to seam 13, and consist of 14 major
and 12 minor or erratically developed seams over a maximum stratigraphic interval of approximately
430 m. Average seam thickness within the major seams ranges from approximately 1.6 m to 6.1 m,
while minor seam thickness is typically between 0.4 m and 0.9 m. Signicant regional thickness
variations are evident in a number of seams, particularly along the eastwest axis. Block wide average
ash for the major horizons ranges between 23.7 per cent and 35.1 per cent (as received).
Interburden intervals within the Barakar formation vary signicantly through the sequence from
1 m to 45 m and are typically 10 - 20 m. Pronounced regional variations in interburden thickness
are common.
PLANNING THE KOTRE BASANTPUR-PACHMO COKING COAL MINE
Typical seam thickness and average ash content are shown in Table 2, and the typical disposition
of the seams in Figure 1.
TABLE 2
Typical seam thickness and ash content of major seams.
Seam Typical thickness (m) Typical ash (% ar)

13 2.0 33.8
12 2.3 29.8
11 3.6 31.6
10 4.4 27.3
9 1.6 28.6
8 2.3 29.2
6/7 6.1 23.7
6a 4.3 25.9
5 5.7 28.7
4 4.9 30.0
3 4.0 32.4
2t 2.6 34.3
2b 2.3 35.1

FIG 1 - Geological cross-section.
The uppermost Permian formation, the Barren formation, is only occasionally intersected in KBP,
and is dominated by shales (dark grey, grey and carbonaceous), sandy shales with interbeds of shale
and sandstone, and minor coal streaks. The Permian sequence is unconformably overlain by recent
unconsolidated silt and sand up to 20 m thick.
Block structure and faulting
The KBP block is situated predominately on the northern limb of a synclinal structure trending
approximately west-northwest-east southeast. Faulting can be extensive and locally intense, although
irregularly distributed within the block. Faults are characteristically orientated in a northwest to
southeast direction, are thought to be exclusively normal in character and are moderately to steeply
dipping ( 65 ).
The strike and dip of strata vary considerably over the block. In the western/central and extreme
eastern portions of the block, sediments strike broadly eastwest. However, between these two regions
a distinct warping to a northwest-southeast orientation is apparent.
M D OBRIEN et al
Dips appear to vary between 5 and 25 , and are attest in the axial plane region, where the
orientation of the beds is reversed from the dominant southerly (to south-westerly) direction, to
northerly. Steeper dips ( 15 ), are more common in the east. Overall, a dip range of 10 - 20 is
most common. Limited borehole data and several major fault dislocations preclude accurate dip
determination.
Resources
Measured and indicated resources within the block total 233 Mt. Of this, 150 Mt (from seams 3, 4,
5, 5a, 6/7, 8, 10, 11 and 12) are classied as measured and 83 Mt as indicated. This includes all coal
within seams 2b, 2t, 9 and 13, portions of seams 3, 4 and 5 and the minor seams 2a, 7c, 8a, 8b and 8c.
A further 40 Mt is classied as inferred, mainly within the basal seams (ie seams 0, 0a, and 1) and
seams 3a, 7a, 7b , 9a, 10a and 11a. The basal seams are only occasionally intersected correlation is
tentative and coal quality data limited, while the other horizons show either an erratic occurrence
and/or a limited coal quality data set.
GEOTECHNOLOGY
Apart from the coal seam delineation drilling, no geotechnical data was available. Limited useful data
was available from nearby mines and from regional geology. Any geotechnical parameters derived
from analysis of the available data must be considered indicative only. The decades of experience that
Tata Steel has gained at West Bokaro provide no guidance to managing slope stability at KBP. Even
though KBP is in the same geological formation, with similar rock properties, the proposed depth of
mining, the steep dips and massive faults mean that slope stability issues are greatly exacerbated.
Ongoing geotechnical studies will rene design parameters and identify potentially hazardous areas
so that appropriate risk mitigation measures can be taken (Prime Geotechnics Pty Ltd, 2008).
The combination of a 300 m pit depth, widespread faulting and steep dips poses design challenges
for both pit slopes and in pit-dumps. Design must take into account not only geotechnical parameters
but also the direction and sequence of mining and in-pit dump construction.
One of the major slope stability problems arises where the combination of normal faulting and
dipping strata produces hanging low-walls, where the strata dip down into the workings, as shown
in Figure 2. The mine design eliminates some of the worst situations by over-excavation of the low
wall as described below (see utimate pit design).

FIG 2 - Hanging low-walls.
The dip of the strata is signicant not only for the stability of the pit walls, but because it also has
a major effect on the stability of in-pit dumps. Where the strata dips are steepest, it is not feasible to
construct perched waste dumps that follow the pit oor down dip as mining progresses, as shown in
Figure 3. Even in areas where fault throws and/or strata dips are less severe, the low-wall geometry
is not amenable to the construction of such dumps. In-pit waste dumps must therefore be initially
constructed bottom-up and buttressed against the nal highwall. Once established the dumps can
advance along strike toward the mining face.
This is a signicant design consideration. The orientation of the lease boundary and nal highwall
with respect to the strata strike determine the minimum size of a boxcut that can create a stable
geometry for the establishment of the in-pit dumps and thus the earliest opportunity for waste to be
placed back in the pit.
FIG 3 - Perched waste dumps.
MINE DESIGN
The principal objective was to design a mine that produced the maximum tonnage of coal of
an acceptable quality, rate of production and cost, while meeting appropriate levels of safety,
environmental protection and security of supply, all in accordance with pertinent legislation of the
government of India. Conventional underground mining was judged to be impractical, but some
opportunities for highwall mining were identied where strata dips atten in the vicinity of the nal
highwall near the axial plane.
Minable reserves coal quality and ash cut-off levels
No washability data was available from KBP, and the data from the nearby northeast block was
not amenable to unambiguous interpretation. It was therefore agreed that the optimal ash cut-off
value should be the one that maximised RoM coal production. In order to determine this cut-off, the
impacts on in situ resources and run of mine reserves and quality of four different geological models
based on ash cut-offs of 35 per cent, 40 per cent, 45 per cent and 50 per cent were evaluated. These
cut-offs span the range typically applied at other Tata Steel operations.
The loss and dilution parameters specic to each cut-off scenario were adjusted to reect the
intended mining strategy. For example, a 50 per cent cut-off includes inferior coal within the targeted
mining zone mining losses of this inferior coal contact material are preferable to further dilution
with higher ash non-coal material. Conversely, at a 35 per cent ash cut-off only the highest quality
coal is targeted mining dilution from lower quality coal is preferable to further losses of high quality
coal.
The results from this analysis indicated that in practice the RoM coal tonnage would be very similar
in all cases. The relative ease of separating coal from non-coal material compared with the difculty
of identifying and separating bands of different quality coal within a seam led to the adoption of the
50 per cent ash cut-off with high mining losses and minimal dilution.
Ultimate pit design
The factors considered in designing the ultimate pit included
x mining method and equipment
x required production levels
x company and government policy on balancing extraction tonnage with cost and quality
x surface constraints, including natural and man-made features, infrastructure requirements and
buffer zones
x geotechnical parameters and
x mining regulations.
The procedure followed to achieve the ultimate pit design was as follows
x the economics of recovering each successive seam were examined to see if there was an obvious
economic pit depth,
x the practicality of mining to that depth was assessed and the depth adjusted as necessary,
M D OBRIEN et al
x the possible surface extent of the pit was identied,

x the pit walls were extended down from the surface to the oor at geotechnically stable angles, and
x adjustments were made to remove irregularities.
The economic assessment showed quite clearly that the oor of seam 2b was the logical pit bottom.
However, the location of known major faults and the disposition of the seams required some lower
seams to be mined in places to ensure stability.
Two pit oor options were examined in detail. The rst assumed that mining would take place
exclusively within the coal measures. This meant that the potentially unstable hanging low-walls
on the north side could be avoided only by stepping up through the sequence at each fault crossing,
leaving a signicant amount of lower seam coal in the pit oor. The second option involved removing
those hanging low-walls by benching into the barren metamorphics. Both options resulted in the
same strip ratio, but the second option was chosen because it recovered an additional 56 Mt of coal
and greatly reduced geotechnical risk, while providing a source of excellent road building material.
Figure 4 shows the nal pit oor and the benching in waste on the north wall.
FIG 4 - Ultimate pit design.
Boxcut design and location

Criteria for boxcut design selection included strip ratio, coal tonnage and quality, depth, dump space
created, outside dump volumes, the topography of mine and dump areas, proximity to outside dump
areas, proximity to washery, transition to steady state, ground and surface water management and
human constraints. On nearly all of the technical criteria, the preferred boxcut was at the shallower
and less geotechnically complex eastern end. However, this is immediately adjacent to the populous
Pachmo village, so any delays in resettling the people from this village will delay mine start-up.
For that reason, mining was planned to start at the sparsely populated western end, with the second
pit commencing at the eastern end four years later.
The size and orientation of the west pit boxcut was driven by the geotechnical considerations with
respect to advancing face, low-wall and in-pit dump stability. The toe of the boxcut was positioned
to allow the minimum size in-pit dump to be constructed from the bottom up whilst fullling the
need to buttress the dump against the nal wall. The boxcut face was oriented to keep the strata dip
direction into the face.
The design of the east pit boxcut was less critical as the pit is shallower and narrower, and the strata
dip direction geotechnically more favourable.
Waste dump capacities and locations
A total of 290 Mbcm of waste will be placed in outside dumps. The entire block contains coal which,
under the lease conditions, cannot be sterilised, so there is no dump space on the lease. The only
area available for the outside dump is north of the lease. Here there is no coal, but the topography
is hilly, intersected by many steep sided nalas, and most of the area is notied as Forest. Tata Steel
has negotiated the purchase of an area of this Forest land north of the west pit, and negotiations are
continuing for the acquisition of more land at the eastern end. Topographic constraints limit the
useful area available.
The outside dump forms a bund which will divert the northern nalas around the pit initial dump
design and construction are heavily inuenced by this requirement.
Terrace designs and haul road layouts
Due to the steep strata dips, a cross-pit switchback ramp is the only feasible solution for reaching the
lower depths of the pit. Highwall aligned ramps present several problems
x they cut through the strata possibly creating unstable slopes,
x they require additional waste stripping in the high strip ratio upper sequence, and
x they release less in-pit dump space than a switchback ramp system.
Six terraces were designed for the west pit and three for the east pit. One complication of the two
pit system is accessing the pillar of material remaining when the two systems converge and all direct
access to the surface is lost. The in-pit haul roads in the highwall and their connections with the
in-pit dumps were initially the principal access onto this pillar and ultimately the only access into the
working face for this last stage of the pit.
The optimisation of the terrace length is a complex exercise that must take into account the geometry
of the ramp and haul road systems, size of mining equipment, frequency of ramp construction, dump
geometry and scheduling/sequencing considerations. Based on a combination of experience with
similar operations in Australia and the sinking rate assessment for KBP, 200 m was chosen as a
suitable starting point. This will be optimised in the next phase of planning.
The haul road layout took into account haulage cost, up-ramp versus horizontal versus down-ramp
haulage volumes, the balance of waste material per seam and available dump space, short and long
term waste swell, geotechnical limits on waste dump height, and coal sterilisation.
The surface dump is a critical part of the system designed to mitigate ooding and to collect water
for the washery, hence it is necessary to construct it as early as possible. The strategy for developing
the dump was to minimise the haulage lift at the expense of haul length during the excavation of the
western boxcut by dumping out the entire dump area to a low height. This results in some material
from the western third of the pit being hauled almost the full length of the pit and dumped north of
Pachmo village.
A semi-permanent surface waste road will be established along the northern pit crest. This will
allow access onto the surface dump along its entire length without the need to haul waste from the
western end over the potentially higher levels at the western end of the dump. Once in-pit dumping
commences, only high level waste from the terraces will need to be hauled via the surface. As the
pit develops and the in-pit dumps rise above the existing topographic level and merge in with the
surface dump, access onto the northern road will be lost. At this stage the permanent surface road in
the southern corridor will also be used for waste haulage.
Two horizontal high-wall roads will be used in the pit, supplemented by a haul road in the northern
wall within the metamorphics for the deepest part of the pit. The two high-wall roads will be located
about 60 m and 120 m below surface. At these levels, each road will carry approximately the same
volume of waste. Local ramps will be formed in the dumps to limit the maximum dumping height to
about 30 m.
MINING METHODS AND MINE DEVELOPMENT

Discussion of appropriate technologies
In considering the most appropriate technologies for mining KBP, only shovel and truck systems
were examined in detail, although a cursory examination was made of the application of in-pit
crushing and conveying (IPCC) for waste handling in the western boxcut. A more detailed feasibility
study on the application of IPCC to waste removal was later undertaken by AMC with the assistance
of an Indian consulting rm. The preliminary results are summarised in the following section.
M D OBRIEN et al
After consideration of the options available, it was concluded that the only feasible mining system
was to use large hydraulic backhoe excavators for both waste and coal, digging 5 m benches below
grade. This equipment could be supported by smaller hydraulic excavators operating in backhoe or
face shovel conguration and/or wheel loaders. The mine geometry was developed around the use
of such machines.
Description of selected mining method
The steepest slope on which mining machinery such as excavators, loaders, dumpers, bucketwheels
and surface miners can be safely and efciently operated is about one in 20, or 3 . In very few areas
of KBP are the dips atter than 5 the commonest range is 10 to 20 (one in six to one in three).
It is thus not possible to operate conventional mining machinery on the roof or oor of the seams.
The only feasible option is to mine the deposit on horizontal benches, extracting waste and coal as
it is encountered as the benches proceed across or along the pit. The system selected involves 200 m
wide, 5 m high benches advancing across the pit in the up dip (northerly) direction.
Waste removal
The coal measures are overlain by about 20 m of alluvium, varying from organic topsoil to coarse
gravel. Topsoil will be stripped and placed either in a stockpile or directly into regeneration areas.
Much of the alluvium moved in the rst few years will be used for water management structures and
to form a base for surface roads and ex-pit waste dumps.
Waste rock removal constitutes the biggest mining task, with over 100 Mt/a to be moved. The
disturbed nature of the deposit and the difculty in developing large working areas favour the use
of a large number of small machines, but the sheer volume of material dictates big equipment.
The size of equipment recommended is a compromise between these two factors. The dumper size
recommended is 185 t to 200 t, and the excavator size 20 to 30 m3. The biggest dumper offered by the
Indian dealers in 2009 was 185 t, and the biggest excavator, 28 m3, but since then larger equipment
(240 t dumpers and 34 m3 excavators) has been deployed in India.
Because of the complex geology, a backhoe conguration is considered most appropriate for the
excavators, and a 5 m bench height has been assumed throughout, although there may be instances
within large waste intervals where greater face heights may be possible.
Drilling and blasting
One of the options for drilling and blasting at KBP is through-seam blasting (TSB), whereby blast
holes are drilled through a sequence of coal and waste, deck charged, and blasted so as to maximise
shatter but minimise heave. Bulldozers and excavators are then used to separate the coal from the
rock. This technique is used at a small number of Australian mines, and may ultimately be applied
at KBP. However, it is a difcult technique, requiring a high degree of control, and can be applied
successfully only after extensive eld testing. As soon as rock mining commences, trials will be
conducted of TSB and deck blasting of waste below coal.
However, for costing purposes it was assumed that the current West Bokaro drilling and blasting
techniques would be used, ie 160 mm vertical blast holes charged undecked with site mixed slurry.
Any material that cannot be blasted in this way will be ripped, including most of the coal.
The drills selected include jackless drills that can operate on slopes up to 20 .
Loading, hauling and dumping
All loading of waste and coal will be from a at oor using excavators or wheel loaders. As a general
rule, the biggest excavators (21 to 30 m3) will be used in areas where large waste blasts can be red,
and the smaller excavators (15 to 20 m3) and wheel loaders (15 to 25 m3) will be used for smaller
waste blasts, ripped waste and coal. However, all loading equipment will be suitable for all duties.
Only the stockpile loaders will be tted with coal buckets.
The same capacity dumpers were selected for coal and waste, but coal dumpers will be tted with coal
bodies. The recommended size is 185 to 200 t, subject to optimisation during the procurement phase.
Coal mining breaking, loading and transport
The average coal seam is only 2.5 m thick, dipping between 10 and 20 . The thickest seams average
only 5 m thick. In many situations it will be possible to drill blast holes from the roof of the seam
using jackless drills. The remainder will have to be ripped and pushed down to the loader without
blasting. Dozers of the 400 kW class will be required to achieve the necessary productivity.
Coal will be loaded by wheel loaders or excavators operating on a at bench. Because of the complexity
of the operation, it is considered that dumper haulage from the face to the surface stockpiles is the
most appropriate. Conveyor haulage can be examined at a later stage.
Mine production capability
Due primarily to the steep strata dips it will not be possible to operate the pit using the conventional
practice of mining along a seam roof or oor and it will be necessary to develop the mine in horizontal
benches that cut across the strata.
This geometry will limit the rate at which the pit can develop as the numerous relatively thin waste
and coal intervals will divide a given working area into multiple small areas. Accordingly the extent
to which more efcient, larger scale mining practices can be employed will be limited.
For a given bench geometry there will be a maximum sinking rate at which the bench can be
developed, due to the limited operating area available for any one task and the clearance required
between simultaneous tasks. Substantially increasing the production rate of the pit can only be
achieved by increasing the length of the active operating area or areas, which in turn will impact
on the size of the working void and the balance of waste going to the out of pit and in-pit dumps.
Minimising the size of the out of pit dump is critical as the space available for out of pit dumping is
limited and increasing the dump volume means increased dump height and haulage costs.
A detailed analysis was conducted of the working area and the interaction and interdependence of
drilling, blasting, loading and hauling operations. This process demonstrated that for consecutive
activities a maximum coal production rate of between 3.9 and 4.3 Mt/a would be achievable from a
single pit.
In practice activities such as drilling and blasting of future blocks will occur in parallel with the
excavation of active blocks. Further simulations assuming partly parallel operations resulted in a
potential coal production rate of between 5.5 and 6.0 Mt/a. This capacity was used as the basis for
mine design and scheduling, and is the main reason why two pits are needed to achieve 8 Mt/a.
If, in the early years, it can be shown that 8 Mt/a can be achieved from the west pit alone, the east
pit boxcut may not be required.
In-pit crushing and conveying
A supplementary study has commenced to assess the potential for in-pit crushing and conveying to
reduce the waste transport cost during the development of the west pit, during which 290 Mbcm of
waste is scheduled to be dumped out of pit to a level nearly 500 m above the pit bottom.
KBP is not an ideal IPCC application as there are numerous active mining areas on multiple
benches, rapidly advancing mining faces and non-continuous waste removal operations. A further
challenge is the short potential payback period. Although some ex-pit dumping does continue after
the completion of the boxcut in year ten, the bulk of the waste thereafter is dumped in-pit via short and
predominantly horizontal hauls. Success will depend on early installation and maximum utilisation.
Issues considered included the proportion of waste amenable to handling with the IPCC system,
component capacities, spreader application in and out of pit, crusher and conveyor locations and
impacts on mine design and mining sequence.
It has been tentatively concluded that it is technically feasible to congure an IPCC system with
minimal impact on in-pit activities or interruption to coal ow, using xed crusher locations with
truck haulage from the face. There are also potentially signicant savings for transporting the shallow
upper benches of terraces one and two due to the limited availability of outside dump space.
The likely conguration is a staged introduction of two separate crushers, one on the surface and
one in-pit, and two conveyor and spreader systems on the western third of the outside dump. Each
system will have a capacity of nominally 10 000 t/h to 15 000 t/h. The use of two systems minimises
the impact of high spreader relocation delays caused by the irregularity of the dump perimeter.
The rst crusher will be installed on the surface at the northwest corner of the west pit boxcut and
a conveyor and spreader installed on the western end of the dump to be operational by year three.
During years three to six, the IPCC system will handle most west pit waste. Around year ve, a
second crusher and a second conveyor will be installed in the west pit boxcut approximately 90 m
M D OBRIEN et al
below the surface. This second system will feed into the existing spreader and handle most of the
remaining west pit boxcut waste to year ten.
Once the in-pit crusher is operational, the surface crusher will be relocated approximately 2 km
east and remain on the surface just north of the pit crest. A second spreader system will be installed
to handle all of the high level waste from the west pit terraces out to approximately year 11.
Selection of mining system
Three possible mining systems were examined in detail. These systems were chosen after considerable
qualitative evaluation by AMC and Tata Steel staff and were arrived at by mapping the strategic
decisions that could be taken in the development of KBP.
All three systems are predicated on the following assumptions
1. coal production rate of 8 Mt/a of RoM coal
2. mining must commence in 2011, at the western end and
3. access to the eastern end is available in 2015.
The three cases considered were
x Case 1 Mining commences from the western boxcut, ramping up to 5 Mt/a by 2014. In 2015, the
west pit production increases to 8 Mt/a, and mining continues eastward to completion. This assumes
8 Mt/a can be achieved from a single pit, which the simulation showed will be difcult to achieve.
x Case 2 as per case 1 to 2014. The east pit commences in 2015, building up to 2 Mt/a, maintaining
that production level to completion, while the west pit produces 6 Mt/a.
x Case 3 as per cases 1 and 2 until 2014. In 2015, the east pit commences, ramping up to 5.75 Mt/a
in two years and then continuing at 5.75 Mt/a to completion, while the west pit produces 2.25 Mt/a.
Technical assessment
The technical assessment involved consideration of strip ratio, dump lift, peak waste removal levels,
in-pit inventory, geotechnical risk, and outside dump footprint.
The non technical factors considered included security of supply, the size of the nal void, outside/
in-pit dump balance, risk of ooding, human settlement issues and the approvals process.
Summary and conclusions
It was concluded that case 3 should not be considered further because it involves the dump lift is
considerably higher, surface water management is more complicated, the nal void is greater and the
outside dump footprint is much greater than for the other cases.
Case 1 has several advantages over case 2. A single pit involving a single boxcut is easier to design and
manage, water management is simplied, the dump lift is lower, the location of infrastructure such as
conveyors, pipelines, and workshops is more straightforward, and the nal void is smaller by about
50 Mm3. However, it has not been demonstrated that a production rate of 8 Mt/a can be achieved.
Tata Steel elected to proceed with case 2, for reasons relating mainly to security of supply and
exibility of production capacity. If there are problems in achieving the production levels in the west
pit, production can be lifted in the east pit. If approval is given by the Ministry of Coal for case 2, then
Tata Steel has more exibility in how it develops the mine as case 1 is not precluded.
Mine development sequence
The mine development sequence can be seen in Figure 5.
Production scheduling
The production schedule was based on the following
x Total product coal required is 2.6 Mt/a at 15 per cent ash. Based on an average 32 - 33 per cent
recovery, this requires the mining of approximately 8.0 Mt/a of run of mine coal per year.
x Coal is fed to the washery on a seam by seam basis, or a blend of seams with similar washability
characteristics.
x Ash is the only quality parameter of signicance.
The waste removal schedule was as far as practical manipulated to minimise total dumper numbers.
Table 3 shows the summary production schedule for the nancial years ending 31 March 2011 to
2032.
FIG 5 - Mine development sequence.
TABLE 3
Summary production schedule.
Combined east and west pits West pit East pit

Financial year Total waste Average strip Total waste Total waste
RoM coal (kt) RoM coal (kt) RoM coal (kt)
ending March (kbcm) ratio (bcm/t) (kbcm) (kbcm)
2011 500 500
2012 1250 9772 7.58 1250 9772
2013 3000 16 879 5.65 3000 16 879
2014 5000 32 250 6.30 5000 32 193 57
2015 7750 36 000 4.58 6000 25 844 1750 10 156
2016 to 2021 average 8000 37 400 4.67 5800 27 100 2200 10 300
2022 to 2029 average 8000 44 500 5.56 6180 35 020 1820 9480
2030 7700 43 000 5.04 4500 26 751 3200 16 249
2031 6000 27 013 4.81 3563 16 513 2437 10 500
2032 3751 18 033 5.57 3751 18 033
Totals 146 451 763 647 5.21 107 563 571 143 38 888 192 504
EQUIPMENT SELECTION
Mining equipment
As far as possible, equipment was selected on the basis of total cost per tonne or bcm over the life of
the machine, which will ultimately translate into lowest cost per tonne of coal. However, the over-
riding factor for the major equipment (excavators and dumpers) was capacity. The limited working
room available and the low working benches dictated the use of a small number of high productivity
units rather than a greater number of the most economical units. Other factors associated with
risk management were also taken into account, such as dealer support, maintainability, reliability,
training needs, exibility in operation and Tata Steel preference.
Although electric machines were preferred for reasons of lower hourly operating cost, reduced
reliance on diesel fuel and lower CO2 emissions, it was considered that the reduction in mobility
and exibility caused by trailing cables and in-pit power lines more than offset the saving in fuel
costs. Indian mining regulations complicate the use of electric power in-pit, especially for pits using
M D OBRIEN et al
highly mobile excavators and frequent blasting. Only diesel machines were used for costing, but this
decision is not irrevocable.
Front line equipment was scheduled to operate 350 days per year, three shifts per day. The annual
run-hours per year were based on improvements over Tata Steels current experience, to be achieved
through better operational and maintenance practices.
For all equipment, estimates were made of productivity and operating costs based on information
from Tata Steel and dealers. Dumper numbers were estimated using cycle times calculated from dumper
performance charts and haul routes calculated for each of the 740 mining blocks. The equipment
recommended is summarised in Table 4 selection will be optimised in the procurement phase.
TABLE 4
Major equipment recommended.
Duty Selection No required

Drilling waste west and east pits Jackless drill rigs such as the Atlas L830 or the Sandvik i1600 5
Conventional drill rigs such as the Revathi C650 or the Atlas DM30 4
Drilling coal west and east pits Jackless drill rig such as the Atlas L830 or the Sandvik i1600 1
3
Backhoe hydraulic excavators 28 m capacity such as the Hitachi EX550 or the Terex O&K RH200 4
3
Loading west and east pits, coal Front shovel hydraulic excavators 28 m capacity 1
and waste 3
Backhoe hydraulic excavator 20 m capacity such as the Hitachi EX3600 or the Terex O&K RH170 3
3
20 m wheel loaders such as the Le Tourneau L1150 or the Caterpillar 994 1
Hauling waste west and east pits 185 to 200 tonne dumpers 35
Hauling coal west and east pits 185 to 200 tonne dumpers fitted with coal bodies 5
300 kW ripper/dozers such as the Caterpillar D9 or the Komatsu D275 for coal 3
Dozers west and east pits, all
650 kW dozers such as the Caterpillar D11 or the Komatsu D475 for dump work 7
duties
400 kW wheel dozers 4
Appropriately sized graders, track and wheel dozers, wheel loaders, sprinklers, dumpers and
Service fleet
compactors plus other miscellaneous earthmoving and service function equipment
RoM coal stockpile reclaiming 15 m3 wheel loader 2
Coal handling plant

Two 160 000 tonne capacity mine mouth stockpile areas will be provided, one located between the two pits,
and one east of the east pit. The central stockpile and crusher station will be decommissioned in about 2020.
Semi-mobile primary and secondary sizers will be located at each stockpile to reduce RoM coal to
minus 75 mm. Dumpers will carry coal to the stockpiles from the mine and a wheel loader will be
used to feed the sizer. Although the sizer station design will probably allow direct dumping, it was
assumed that all coal would be rehandled from stockpile.
A 1600 t/h overland conveyor running along the southern boundary of the lease will carry coal
to a xed tertiary crushing station located near the washery for reduction to its optimal liberation
size, probably between -13 mm and -10 mm. Crushed coal will be stored in silos with a total 10 000 t
capacity.
WATER MANAGEMENT
The Chutua Nala ows east along the southern lease boundary, joining the Bokaro River south of
Pachmo village. The Pachmo Nala ows south and forms the boundary of the Kotre Basantpur and
Pachmo Blocks, the Jhumra Nala ows south east through the middle of the Kotre Basantpur Block,
and the Kotre Nala ows south east along the eastern lease boundary. There are three minor nalas
between the Jhumra Nala and the Pachmo Nala. The Baghraiya Nala rises just east of Pachmo village
and ows south to the Bokaro River. These are shown in Figure 4.
The nalas crossing the lease must all be diverted to allow mining to proceed. The downstream ow
of the nalas must be maintained during and after mining as many people depend on the water for
paddy irrigation and other uses. Little stream ow data is available an Indian hydrological expert
will be engaged to collect data and to evaluate the proposed water management plans.
There are ve sources or classications of water, each needing special attention
1. water owing in the northern nalas, especially Jhumra Nala and Pachmo Nala
2. surface water not included above
3. mine water from groundwater and precipitation
4. industrial area run-off and
5. groundwater in situ as it affects slope stability.
Water management was generally considered under three headings
1. prevention of inow,
2. removal from workings, and
3. treatment before release to the environment.
Groundwater and its effects on slope stability form part of the geotechnical management program.
Prevention of inow to the mine from the nalas requires the construction of signicant diversion
structures along the northern margin of the lease. The design and proper construction of these
is critical to the success of the project. For the most part, the northern dumps form the diversion
structures, but careful design will be needed to ensure that water ow is efcient and that dump
stability is not jeopardised.
Mining of the west pit will not be possible unless the Jhumra, Kotre, and other nalas west of
the Pachmo Nala are diverted away from the mine workings. Because of the fall of the land, the
preferred direction of the diversion is east to the Pachmo Nala, but this will eventually interfere with
development of the east pit.
There are three major phases of ood protection. In the rst phase, the waste dumps are congured
to divert the western nalas both east into Pachmo Nala and west into Kotre Nala. After a few years,
a ood protection bund is built north of the East Pit to divert the eastern nalas into Pachmo Nala.
After about ten years, the gap in the dumps feeding Pachmo Nala is lled, so that all diverted water
ows west to the Kotre Nala and hence to Chutua Nala and the Bokaro River. Pipes placed under the
dumps will allow a controlled amount of water to feed into the washery supply dam on Pachmo Nala.
On completion of mining, the dumps north of Pachmo Nala will be breached to allow water to ow
into the mine void and the southern nalas.
At this stage, it has not been determined if engineering works will be required to ensure that the
Kotre Nala has the capacity to carry the extra water. It will be necessary to incorporate settling basins
in the diversion structures to minimise siltation of the nalas off the lease the design of these will
form part of the expert hydrologists scope of work.
MANAGEMENT PLANS AND COSTS

A series of management plans was prepared for Tata Steel to assist it in executing the mine plans. In
addition to the water management plan described above, plans were prepared for geology and mine
planning, blasting systems design, surface facilities, environmental management and personnel
planning.
Detailed year by year capital and operating cost schedules were prepared. No revenue estimates
were made because of the unavailability of reliable washability data. Costs were presented in a range
of formats to suit different users.
The total capital cost to full production will be in the order of AU1 billion, not including resettlement
costs. Operating costs are estimated between AU25 and AU30 per tonne RoM. These estimates
will be revised as the project develops.
CONCLUSIONS
The DPR has shown that the KBP blocks can be mined economically, although throughout the life of
the mine there will be many technical challenges, including water management and slope stability.
The acquisition and analysis of high quality geological, geotechnical and hydrological information
will be critical to the success of the project, as will a tightly controlled mine planning process.
M D OBRIEN et al
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Tata Steel for permission to publish this paper. This project could
not have been completed without the assistance of Tata Steel staff at West Bokaro, or without
Dr Norbert Baczynskis geotechnical contribution.
REFERENCES
Central Mine lanning and Design nstitute Limited, 1997. Geological report on Basantpur-Kotre
block, West Bokaro Coaleld, Bihar, volume I (text), Annexure III and VI, internal report, pp 1-38 and
134-143.
Central Mine lanning and Design nstitute Limited, 1998. Geological report on Pachmo block, West
Bokaro Coaleld, Dist Giridih, Bihar, volume I (text), internal report, pp i-ii, I-1 to I-11 and II-1 to II-14.
rime Geote hni s ty Ltd, 2008. Geotechnical review Kotre-Basantpur and Pachmo blocks, West Bokaro
Coaleld, India, internal report.
Mining the LG6 Chromitite Layer A Comparison of
Two Approaches
S M Rupprecht1
ABSTRACT
Underlain by and intruded into the sedimentary rocks of the Transvaal Supergroup the Bushveld
Complex is the largest known layered intrusion in the world and contains one of the richest ore
deposits on earth. It has been the worlds major source of Platinum Group Metals (PGM) since
the mid-1900s with Chromite and PGMs the two most economically important components of the
Bushveld Complex. The lower group (LG), within the critical zone, consists of seven chromitite layers
and it is within this sequence of chromitite layers, the most important target of the lower chromitite
group is found, ie the LG6 chromitite unit. The LG6 chromitite unit consists of a chromitite duplex
composed of the lower LG6 chromitite layer (Steelport seam), averaging 1 m thick, overlain by a
0.66 m waste parting and a thin 0.34 m thick LG6a chromitite layer (leader layer).
Two mining methods are commonly applied in the Bushveld Complex to extract the LG6 chromitite
layer package. One method consists of footwall development utilising rail bound equipment to gain
access to the orebody and then extracts only the LG6 chromitite layer by means of hand held rock
drills and scraper winches. The second method is the use of mechanised equipment to access the
orebody on the plane of the ore utilising bord and pillar mining method, which extracts the full
mineral resource, ie the LG6 and LG6a layers.
Conventional narrow vein stoping is often selected due to the large conventional mining skills
base found in South Africa, the perceived cost and dilution implications of utilising mechanised
equipment, and the difculties of using mechanised equipment at dips above 12 . The driving factor
for mechanised mining is the perceived ability to access the orebody quickly and inexpensively, and
extract the entire mineral resource package (LG6 and LG6a) while limiting capital expenditure and
improving safety.
This paper investigates these two commonly applied approaches, highlighting the benets and
problems associated with the two approaches. Comparisons will be made of the two mining methods
and recommendations given for the mining engineer to consider before selecting the appropriate
mine design.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUSHVELD COMPLEX

Underlain by and intruded into the sedimentary rocks of the Transvaal Supergroup the Bushveld
Complex is the largest known layered intrusion in the world and contains one of the richest ore
deposits on earth. Located on the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa it reaches a maximum thickness
of 7780 m in the Eastern Limb, and has a surface extent of approximately 66 000 km2 (Figure 1). Its
origin has been attributed to a huge sill or lopolithic intrusion or a vast surface volcanic ow, and its
age has been dated at 1.9 billion years. It consists of a basal mac to ultramac suite known as the
Rustenburg Layered Suite and an upper part comprising the Rooiberg felsites, granophyres and the
Bushveld Granite (Sch rmann, Grabe and Steenkamp, 1998). It has been the worlds major source
of Platinum Group Metals (PGM) since the mid-1900s and has also been an important source of
chromium, vanadium, iron and tin. Chromite and PGMs are the two most economically important
components of the Rustenburg Layered Suite. The PGMs are concentrated in two principal reefs
in the eastern and western limbs (Viljoen and Sch rmann, 1998) the Merensky Reef and UG2
chromitite layer both within the upper critical zone, while the chromite deposits occur mainly
within the lower critical zone. Based on the dominant minerals or rock types found in each zone the
mac rocks of the Rustenburg Layered Suite can be subdivided from the base upwards into six zones
1. University Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, corner Siemert and Belt Streets, Doornfontein Johannesburg 2028, South Africa. Email: stevenr@uj.ac.za
S M RUPPRECHT
known as the marginal, lower critical, upper critical, main and upper zones (Figure 2). The lower
group (LG), within the critical zone, consists of seven chromitite layers and it is within this sequence
of chromitite layers that the LG6 chromitite unit occurs.
FIG 1 - Simplified geological map of the bushveld complex (modified after Viljoen and Schrmann, 1998).
FIG 2 - Schematic of the different zones of the Rustenburg layered suite (Schrmann, Grabe and Steenkamp, 1998).
MINING THE LG6 CHROMITITE LAYER A COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES
Geological parameters
Regionally the LG6 chromitite unit is the most important target of the lower chromitite group of the
Bushveld Complex, combining the most favourable chemistry and thickness. The LG6 Unit consists
of a chromitite duplex composed of the lower LG6 chromitite layer (Steelpoort Seam), averaging
112 cm to 119 cm thick, overlain by the 36 cm thick LG6a chromitite layer (leader layer) (Figure 3). A
pryoxenite middling 94 cm to 115 cm separates the two chromitite layers with average total package
between 249 cm and 263 cm. A comparison of the geological parameters for the two approaches can
be viewed in Table 1. It is interesting to note that the thickness of the middling does not inuence
the mining method decision as in either case the ore package can be taken in its entirety or undercut
FIG 3 - Schematic of the different zones of the Rustenburg layered suite (Schrmann, Grabe and Steenkamp, 1998).
TABLE 1
Geological parameters.
Description Conventional Mechanised

Chromitite layer thickness
LG6 119cm 112cm
Pryoxenite middling 94cm 115cm
LG6a 36cm 36cm
Average total package 249cm 263cm
Dip of chromitite layer 18 16
Rock density chromitite layer package (in situ)
LG6 4.3 4.1
Pryoxenite middling 3.34 3.1
LG6a 4.3 4.1
Rock density (broken)
LG6 2.58 2.5
Pryoxenite middling 2 1.85
LG6a 2.58 2.5
Geological losses 15% 10%
S M RUPPRECHT
to remove only the main lower LG6 chromitite layer. However, the plant recovery will be inuenced
and a recovery of 58 per cent is achieved when mining the full package versus a 75 per cent recovery
when selectively mining only the main LG6 chromitite layer.
MINE DESIGN
Conventional mining method
The main access development will consists of two declines sunk at an angle of 50 off the true dip
direction and at an apparent dip of 12 to allow for the true dip of the chromitite layer of 18 . The
declines are developed some 35 m in the footwall to a width of 5.0 m and a height of 4.0 m. The
design philosophy regarding mine access is to develop the 12 decline at a rate of 40 m per month
utilising mechanised rubber tyred equipment. A total decline length of some 1300 m will be required
to be developed as well as three station cross cuts. It is planned that a contractor be used to sink
the decline and station excavations utilising a three-shift development crew. Due to the weathered
nature of the immediate surface area, a 60 m crown pillar (positioned on the dip of the reef) will
separate the surface outcrop from the underground workings.
The initial 5 m of development from the high wall position are considered as the portal area and
represent the interface between surface and underground. The support of this section is designed to
undercut and provide stability to the brow between the portal hangingwall, sidewalls and the slope
face of the high wall (Figure 4). As no surface mining will be undertaken, the area for the portals are
excavated over a width of 30 m to accommodate both portals until a solid rock face of 5 m high is
established at a slope angle of 70 .
Hill side
Anchor Pattern
Excavated
Area Portal
Area
Decline
Filled Area
FIG 4 - Cross-section sketch through portal area.
The stope design is largely based on typical narrow vein mining method (Figure 5) as currently
practiced on the mine. The LG6 chromitite layer is accessed by cross cuts from haulage drives that
are positioned approximately 15 m in the footwall with cross cuts spaced 180 m centre to centre
allowing a nal strike length of 90 m on either side of the centre gully raise. The back length of 208
m has been selected to t eight panels of 26 m each consisting of a 20 m panel with in-stope pillars
running on strike, 6 m wide by 10 m long and spaced 2 m apart skin-to-skin supporting each panel
(Figure 6). Panels are serviced by the centre gully raise developed on the dip of the LG6 chromitite
layer. Conventional breast stope faces will be mined from centre raises in both directions and stope
panels drilled using electric Hilti rock drills and blasted using anfex explosives and shock tube
initiation. A two panel system is proposed whereby each crew is allocated two faces that are blasted
on alternate days. The design stoping width will be 1.19 m mining on the LG6 chromitite layer. Strike
cleaning is done adjacent, and on the up-dip side of the pillars with no strike gully being excavated
to limit footwall dilution.
FIG 5 - Conventional narrow vein stoping.
FIG 6 - Schematic of typical stope and development layout.
Approximately two working levels will be required to support the planned throughput of 45 000 t/m.
Each level will have nine raise lines in operations a vamping raise, three stoping raise line with a
total of 20 stoping panels, a ledging raise, and a development raise. In addition to the producing raise
lines there will be a development crew that will carry out all waste development, such as footwall,
cross cut and boxhole development. In the order of 22 500 tonnes of run of mine (ROM) ore will be
produced per month per level.
Underground transport will be primarily by rail bound equipment with the exception of using the
decline shaft conveyor to move ore and waste from the shaft station rock passes to surface. From
the shaft stations personnel and material will be transported by ten tonne battery locomotives to the
working places, ie stopes or development ends. For rock handling purposes, each locomotive will
utilise eight six tonne hoppers to either draw ore from the stope ore passes or to handle ore loaded
S M RUPPRECHT
via a pneumatic rocker shovel from at end development ends. It is envisaged that each level will
have ve battery locomotives and four spans of hoppers (eight hopper per train). During dayshift the
development locomotives will be used to transport material or assist with rock transportation when
necessary along with one spare locomotive per level.
Based on the planned decline length of 1300 m and a linear advance rate of 40 m per month, a
60 month period is required to develop the decline and associated decline infrastructure. A further
three years are required to achieve a steady state production rate of 45 000 t/m.
Mobile mechanised mining method
The main access development will consist of three declines sunk at an angle of 55 off true dip
direction and an apparent dip of 9 to allow for the true dip of 16 . The declines are developed on
the LG6 and LG6a chromitite package with the declines mined to a width of 5.0 m and a height of
2.8 m (Figure 7). Due to the weathered nature of the immediate surface area, a 60 m crown pillar
will separate the surface outcrop from the underground workings. The portal design is similar to the
conventional mining layout (Figure 4) with the high wall area established over a width of 40 m.
FIG 7 - Schematic of mechanised mining layout and access.
It is intended to mine the LG6 and LG6a chromitite layers together with the intervening
chromitiferous pyroxenite at a mining width of 2.65 m. The LG6 (Steelport Seam) varies in thickness
from 1 m to 1.4 m at the bottom, and is separated from the LG6a by a waste parting of between 0.9 m
and 1.2 m thick. The LG6a seam (leader layer) has a gradational hangingwall contact and an average
width of 0.38 m.
Mining is planned at mining widths of 2.65 m applying apparent dip bord and pillar with 12 m
bords and square pillars (Figure 8). The design of the pillars varies with depth, as it is planned to
support the entire overburden load to surface so as to prevent major beam failures or plug failures.
Pillar depth contours are calculated from the surface typography as the mine is under a mountainous
area. The non-yielding pillars are designed to have a factor of safety of 1.5 below 100 m depth and
2.0 in shallower areas.
The bord and pillar mining method will utilise a trackless mining eet with the exception of drilling
hangingwall support which will be drilled using pneumatic hand held rock drills. Drilling of the face
will be done with a single boom drill rig with a planned advance of 3.0 m. Cleaning and transport of
the ore to the strike/dip conveyor system will be conducted utilising ve tonne LHDs.
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
Conventional production schedule
For underground mine scheduling, a steady state rate of 45 000 t/m has been established as
a reasonable production rate and is based on the practical experiences of the current mining
FIG 8 - Mechanised bord and pillar mining schematic.
operations. The ten year production schedule is depicted in Table 2 and is based on an extraction
rate of 67 per cent. The production schedule is designed to bring the mine into production at the end
of ear 6 and into full (steady state) production by the start of ear 8. It should be noted that steady
state production is delayed due to the conservative development rate applied to sinking the decline.
Decline development is scheduled at 40 linear metres per month while the stoping schedule is based
on 22 500 t/m per level. A build-up period of three years is required before the stoping sections reach
steady state production levels.
TABLE 2
Underground mining equipment (conventional mining).
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total
ROM tonnage 0 0 0 0 0 842 253254 559696 512030 503894 1829716
Mechanised mining production schedule

The detailed production schedule showing annual tonnage from underground mining operations
is depicted in Table 3. The schedule is based on an extraction rate of 70 per cent. The production
schedule is based on an aggressive mine development schedule that is designed to bring the mine
into production at the end of ear 2. The mine design limits development and stoping to 12 500 t/m
and 20 000 t/m respectively. A build-up period of six months is assumed for stoping sections to
reach maximum production levels. It should be noted that steady state production is delayed due
to the amount of decline development required to establish ore reserves and full production is only
reached at the start of ear 6.
TABLE 3
Capital cost for mechanise mining method.
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total
ROM tonnage 0 65 724 592 004 622 320 659 805 720 00 720 00 720 00 720 00 720 00 5 539 853
Tonnage profile
The tonnage prole for the two mining methods is presented in Figure 9. As discussed previously, the
conventional mining method requires a signicant build period when compared to the mechanised
method. For the conventional method, the development of the decline represents the critical path
S M RUPPRECHT
to commencing mining operations and is inuenced by the advance rate of 40 m per month, which
is a conservative development rate. By increasing the development rate the access development
schedule can be reduced by some two to three years. In the case of the mechanised mining layout,
ore production almost begins immediately as access development is done on the ore horizon with
only the initial 60 m being too weathered to be treated as ore.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Capital expenditure for conventional mining
The capital cost estimate for conventional mining layout is based on actual owner operated costs with
the exception of the decline development, which has been costed on a contract mining basis. The
development of the declines, station cross cuts and associated infrastructure has also been included
in the capital estimate. Underground mining equipment costs, as well as initial costs to equip stoping
and development operations are depicted in Table 4. Underground mining capital cost requirements
has been estimated at R40.6 million to support mining operations to reach a steady state production
rate of 45 000 t/m. A further provision of R52.5 million has made for the development of the 1300 m
long decline, and associated infrastructure.
TonnageProfile
800000
700000
TonnesperYear
600000
500000
400000
300000 Conventional
200000
Mechanised
100000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Years
FIG 9 - Tonnage profile.
Capital expenditure for mechanised mining

The capital cost estimate (Table 5) for the mobile mechanised mining method has been generated
largely by obtaining written quotes and tenders from manufacturers, suppliers and contractors. The
development of the 348 m decline and strike development (150 m) and associated infrastructure
has been estimated at R45.0 million which supports the LOM plan of 60 000 t/m. A 2.5 per cent
provision has been made for mining contractors to purchase capital equipment.
OPERATING EXPENDITURE
The mining operating cost estimate based on conventional mining utilising a conveyor decline is
estimated at full production at approximately R305.56 per ROM tonne. The operating cost per ROM
tonne is shown in Table 6. Operating cost are based on actual costs as experienced on the mine with
the exception of modifying track bound hoisting costs to decline conveyor costs.
A mining operating cost estimate was generated based on the proposed mobile mechanised mine
design. Operating cost are based on equipment suppliers estimates and database and have been
benchmarked against other South African chrome producer operating in the area. Table 7 shows a
breakdown of the operating cost generated in terms of cost per tonne processed. At full production,
although operating cost varies slightly from year to year, they are approximately R147.61 per ROM
tonne.
TABLE 4
Conventional mining operating costs.
Equipment Unit price (Rand) No Capital cost (Rand)

Winches
37 kW winch 81 700 68 5 558 000
55 kW winch 121 300 48 5 821 000
75 kW winch 154 800 18 2786 000
Monowinch 15 kW 43 000 18 772 000
Stope drills Rental 60 Rental
Development drill
S.25 13 886 15 208 300
1.3 m airleg 2559 15 38 400
Locomotives 933 700 11 10 270 800
Hoppers 67 700 88 9 955 000
Rocker shovel loader 314 900 7 2 204 300
Timber cars 20 800 38 789 200
Flat cars 17 400 12 209 000
Explosive cars 35 500 20 710 200
Store cars 26 100 9 235 200
Long material car 49 600 4 198 300
Box front and cylinder 33 500 60 2 010 000
Initial stope equipping 112 600 24 2 701 400
Initial development equipping costs 22 800 5 113 900
Total 40 567 000
TABLE 5
Capital cost for mechanise mining method.
Item Cost estimate (ZAR)

Portal development 535 700
Decline development (348 m) 2 937 800
Strike development (150 m) 1 266 300
Drill rigs 10 050 000
LHDs 21 382 400
MPVs 3 216 000
MPVs cassettes 1 294 400
U/G vehicles 643 200
Ventilation 3 236 100
Sub total 44 026 200
Purchase and dispersements 1 100 700
Total 45 126 900
CONCERNS AND BENEFITS

The mature mine developing a browneld project chose to access the orebody by means of a twin
decline located some 35 m in the footwall of the chromitite layer at an apparent dip of 12 . From the
decline the orebody is developed by conventional rail bound development and stoping. Conventional
drill and blast was selected over mechanised mining due to the dip of the reef being above 12 . The
driving factors to select this mining method were as follows
S M RUPPRECHT
TABLE 6
Item Cost R/t

Variable cost
Stope
Support 5.74
Explosives 13.45
Drill Steel 3.73
Scraping 11.04
Ventilation 0.79
Other 4.92
Cost per tonne ROM 39.67
Flat end development
Support 0.48
Explosives 1.77
Drill Steel 0.46
Construction 2.63
Other 0.19
Cost per tonne 5.53
Cost per linear metre 2203
Inclined ends
Support 0.28
Explosives 1.5
Drill Steel 0.4
Construction 0.8
Other 0.86
Scraping 1.45
Cost per tonne 5.36
Cost per linear metre 913
Variable cost per ROM tonne 50.54
Direct fixed cost
Salaries 149.6
Outsourced services 4.98
Engineering 98.57
Safety Clothes, safety and production awards 1.5
Stationery 0.2
Miscellaneous 0.16
Total direct costs per ROM tonne 255.02
Total production cost per ROM tonne 305.56
x Concern of utilising mechanised equipment in an orebody which the dip is greater than 12 .
x Perceived disadvantage of mechanised equipment causing higher dilution thus a lower plant
recovery.
x The companys disbelief that mechanised mining led to lower operating costs and shortage of
experienced and qualied operators and mechanics for the equipment. Similarly, the poor
availability associated with some mechanised equipment.
x Inability to use mechanised drill rigs to drill roof bolts.
TABLE 7
Item Cost R/t

Labor 45.14
Equipment 32.66
Safety and environment 4.38
HR and social 4.01
Mining 13.86
Conveying 13.57
General consumables and infrastructure 7.72
Water and power 12.89
Subtotal 134.19
10% contingency 13.42
Total 147.61
x Current operation is mined utilising conventional equipment, ie hand held rock drills, scraper
winches and rail bound transportation. A change to a mechanised mining method would have
many implications in terms of capital expenditure and operational costs and in the short term
would lead to the duplication of mine expenses, for example, maintenance, stores, and labour.
x Company philosophy to ensure realistic and steady state feed to mines smelter. Mines nancial
target was to operate at breakeven and prot margin was obtained through the smelter and parent
company in China.
x Companys cash balance capable of supporting long lead time of new shaft system.
Possible drawbacks associated with a conventional mining method were recognised as follows
x safety issues associated with narrow vein mining and scraper winches,
x conventional mining identied as labour intensive and the mines use of contract mining becoming
an issue with local community, and
x decline shaft system would eventually need to be duplicated further along strike if the mine would
like to increase tonnage to smelter.
The second chrome mine proposed to use mechanised equipment for its Greeneld Project. The
main drives toward the mine design were to minimise capital expenditure combined with a t
for purpose approach towards infrastructure development and expenditure. The following were
considered and inuenced the company to select a mobile mechanised mining layout.
x The minimal amount of capital was the primary drive to utilise mechanised equipment and the
selection of low tech mobile equipment. This has proved to be successful for other chrome mines
x On reef development was a key design criteria based on the success of other chrome mines in
South Africa, namely Thorncliffe Chrome mine.
x Companys technical consultants preference to mechanised mining.
x Perceived high productivity rates associated with mobile equipment and a direct reduction of
personnel requirements to conduct mining operations.
x Concern of leaving the LG6a chromitite layer in the hangingwall.
Possible drawbacks associated with a mechanised mining method were recognised as follows
x Dip of orebody at 18 was identied as a possible risk as at various times mechanised equipment
will be required to operate at true dip.
x Lack of good quality geological information regarding the continuity of the orebody. Major
faults on a regional basis were identied however smaller geological discontinuities wouldnt be
identied due to the wide borehole spacing.
x Possibility of down throw faults and pot holes could inuence development schedule in that
redevelopment would be required under this circumstance which could is some instances delay
operations for three to six months.
S M RUPPRECHT
x Mechanical availability of mobile equipment as technical skills are in short supply in South Africa.
x Lack of storage capacity when mining on reef is a concern as ore is tipped directly on to the
conveyor belt. Production can be negatively impacted if conveyors are not available
x Although the mine plan calls for ten per cent of the internal waste to be scalped from the ore
stream, this isnt easy to always achieve and requires the LHD to operate from the down-dip side
of the conveyor belt and have access to old areas for waste stowing a practice which requires
both time/availability of the equipment and associated increase in working costs.
CONCLUSIONS
Two approaches to extract the LG6 chromitite layer are discussed based on two actual feasibility
studies located within 20 km of each other. The rst approach is based on a twin decline system
developed in the footwall, which supports a traditional conventional mining method utilising rock
drills, scrapers and horizontal rail bound transportation and a decline conveyor. This method removes
only the lower portion of the chromitite layer leaving the LG6a (leader layer) in the hangingwall.
The second method accesses the orebody by means of on ore declines utilising three roadways. The
mining method utilises room and pillar mining with mechanised drill rigs, LHDs and underground
conveyors.
The conventional mining method is a conservative approach which requires at least two years to
develop with operating cost in the order of R305 per tonne and capital expenditure R434 million
including surface infrastructure. The project costs are based on actual cost as achieved on the mine
and all mine design aspects are based on tried and proven technology. The mechanised layout
proposes lower operating costs R148 per tonne and lower capital expenditure of R45.1 million.
However the mechanised mining layout is unproven in such steep dipping areas and although the
plan is to mine at minor dip there will be times when true dip will be required to be negotiated.
Development on ore assists with an early payback as development essentially produces ore, albeit
at a lower grade, immediately thereby reducing capital requirements. However, on ore development
also has the potential to suffer delays and additional costs if unexpected geological discontinuities
are encountered, especially down throw faults.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank the University of Johannesburg for supporting the publication and
presentation of this paper.
REFERENCES
S h rmann, L W, Grabe, P J and Steenkamp, C J, 1998. Chromium in the mineral resources of South Africa,
Handbook Council of Geoscience (eds M G C Wilson and C R Anhaeusser), pp 90-105.
il oen, M J and Sch rmann, L W, 1998. Platinum group metals in the mineral resources of South Africa,
Handbook Council of Geoscience (eds M G C Wilson and C R Anhaeusser), pp 532- 568.
Computer Simulation of Roadway Development to
Support Longwall Mining
E Y Baafi1 and I Porter2
ABSTRACT
Longwall mining is an efcient and cost effective means of extracting coal from underground
seams, however, effective longwall operation requires that roadway development must be kept
sufciently ahead of the longwall advance. The development process requires the coordination of
a range of mining equipment operating in challenging working conditions. For efcient operation
to be possible the equipment used must be matched to the local environment and the mining
conditions. A number of options can exist for laying out and conguring any roadway development
system, however, evaluating the likely performance of these options can be difcult. Dynamic system
simulation provides a proven technique to study the interaction between components of a complex
system, in addition, dynamic system simulation has the ability to explicitly allow for the randomness
and variability of, for example, shuttle car tramming time, loading and discharging time and the
time to complete support operations. A computer simulation system based on the dynamic system
simulation approach has been developed to allow users to model roadway development operations
in a typical two heading conguration. The simulation model provides the user with options to
investigate the likely impact changes in equipment conguration and/or operational procedures may
have on performance indicators such as development rates, time to complete a pillar and equipment
utilisation.
INTRODUCTION
Longwall mining is associated with high coal recovery and relatively low unit production costs.
Roadway (gate road) development is an integral process in preparing a longwall block for mining
(Figure 1). For the optimum longwall production target to be achieved not only must the longwall
perform as expected but the associated roadways must be developed sufciently in advance of
longwall extraction. The roadway development process involves the interaction between coal cutting

FIG 1 - Roadways of an underground coalmine.

2. MAusIMM, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522. Email: iporter@uow.edu
E Y BAAFI AND I PORTER
by a continuous miner, coal tramming by a shuttle car to the boot end, roof and rib support and other
face operations including stone dusting, vent tube extension and face movements. These operations
are beset with delays which ultimately impacts on roadway development rates.
In a mining operation, a delay is recognised as any event that holds up production or prevents mining
equipment from operating under normal conditions. Planned (scheduled) delays are easy to predict
as these delays are regular process delays required for mining such as stone dusting, maintenance or
safety talks. Unplanned (unscheduled) delays are typically random in nature and are unpredictable.
These delays include gas trips, repairs of faulty equipment or normal mining tasks taking excessive
amounts of time to complete. Figure 2 is a typical breakdown of how the potential operating time for
a piece of mining equipment is reduced to the actual run time due to various delays.

FIG 2 - Breakdown of a typical equipment calendar time.
After calendar time is reduced by non-resourced time, the potential operating time for equipment
may be termed, resourced time. This resourced time is then reduced by maintenance time which
consists of planned downtime, scheduled maintenance, and breakdown time, a maintenance delay
factor that may not be expected to occur, but must be rectied so that the machine can operate. In
Figure 2, an operational delay can be either an uncontrollable or controllable delay. Uncontrollable
delays, which may include events such as methane gas trips, are random and not directly controlled
by the crew, on the other hand, controllable delays such as shift change and crib time are predictable
and are managed by the face crew and supervisors. Figure 3 shows typical delays in a development
panel during scheduled operating time. Equipment related delays in a panel are generally longer
than other delays, and delays associated with the continuous miner although usually few often take
a minimum of a shift to be rectied. When modelling roadway development, it is not necessary to
identify every individual delay, but identify generic delay categories and assign individual delays to one
of these categories. In Australian underground coal mining, delays are commonly classied under the
following seven generic delays, which can be planned or unplanned (Porter and Baa, 2010)
1. mine process,
2. outbye services,
3. panel engineering,
4. panel process,
5. sequence move,
6. unscheduled delay, and
7. unrecorded delay.
Each of these delay categories is analysed statistically and an appropriate distribution is assigned.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of unplanned panel engineering delays in a typical Australian
underground coal mine, it can be observed that most of the delays were under 15 minutes but some
were many hours, any model of the system must take into account this variation and the randomness
of occurrence.
COMPUTER SIMULATION OF ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT LONGWALL MINING
Crib
Pre-Shift Inspections
Transport
Mining
Safety
No Authorised Coal
Pit Top Meeting
No Labour To Operate
Pilot Circuit
Cable Reel
Hoses
Shuttle Car
Drive Shafts
Hyd. Steering Cylinder
Tyres
Traction Motor Control
Earth Leakage
Conveyor
Cable
Bin Full
Belt 6
Washery Induced Delay
belt 5
Belts
Winder Fault
Incline Belt Stoppage
Belt 4
Belt 3
Belt 2
Belt 1
Spillage / Boot End
Non Scheduled Maintenance
Ventilation Fan (Main)
Mine Process
Brushing Floor
Panel Preparation
Production Services
Vent Diverted to Longwall
Bad Roof / Floor / Ribs
Belt Move / Extension
Power
CH4 Circuit
Fittings
Continuous Miner
Hyd. Hoses
Chains
Rig
Hoses
Pump
Control Bank
Electrical System
Covers / Guards
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Hours
N (Scheduled) - Development 1 N (Scheduled) - Development 2
FIG 3 - Delays in a typical development panel.
FIG 4 - Distribution of unplanned panel engineering delays of a coal mine.
DISCRETE SIMULATION MODELLING

Simulation is a technique commonly used to build a model of a system so that the behaviour of
the system under specic conditions may be studied. One of the key powers of simulation is the
ability to model the behaviour of the system as time progresses. A simulation system RoadSIM
was developed to develop simulation models for evaluation of roadway development options for a
given development panel conguration (Baa et al, 2009). It is a what if tool that allows a range
of equipment congurations and operating practices to be assessed in terms of achievable advance
rates and equipment utilisation.
A signicant feature of the RoadSIM system is the ability to take into account the variability and
randomness inherent in most mining related operations. Within RoadSIM provision has been made
to develop models that account for this variability and randomness in operations including
x duration of random delay and time between successive delays,
x cycle times for cutting and loading of coal at the development face,
x cycle times for bolting,
x shuttle car tramming,
x cycle time for discharge of coal from a shuttle car,
x roof bolting,
x availability of outbye services,
x availability of continuous miners,
x availability of bolting equipment, and
x availability of feeders and/or breakers.
RoadSIM was developed using Microsoft Excel and the Arena (Kelton, 2007) simulation system.
Excel is used to provide a exible and familiar data entry and reporting facility while ARENA is used
to provide the simulation engine and animation facilities. Figure 5 shows the basic components of
the system. The key attributes of the RoadSIM simulation system are
User interface Engine and animated display
EXCEL ARENA
Project Workbook RasAzZawrTrafficStudy
Model
Logic Other
Case Run Model
Input Input
S1C1 Sheets Data
S1C1
S1C1
Performance
Report
Model Animation
Reports and
Log Files
Custom
Reports
FIG 5 - RoadSIM system components.
x The ability to respond to what if questions. For example, what will be the impact on roadway
development rates if the roadway development resources, technologies or practices are altered.
x Reproduction of the randomness of roadway development processes.
x The use of animation to view roadway development operations and bottlenecks.
The modelling approach focused on the unit operations of two-heading developments from the face
to the boot end. The modelling allows for but does not explicitly model the movement of services, etc
associated with a sequence move.
COMPUTER SIMULATION OF ROADWAY DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT LONGWALL MINING
RoadSIM MODEL OUTPUT

RoadSIM output provides summary information on performance indicators such as
x rst coal to rst coal time between pillars,
x face exposure rates in metres per operating hour,
x miner utilisation, and
x shuttle car utilisation.
As well as high level summaries (Figure 6) more detailed information is also available on likely
advance rates along the length of a pillar from the boot end (Figure 7). By comparing the performance
statistics generated the model can be used to determine if options being considered provide an
improvement in development rates, or simply move a bottleneck to another point in the process
Reducedbymaintenance
and
Reducedbybelt
Reducedbyrecorded
Reducedbyunrecorded
FIG 6 - Continuous miner utilisation predicted by RoadSIM.
FIG 7 - Roadway development rate predicted by RoadSIM.
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
As mentioned previously, one of the key attributes of the RoadSIM simulation system is the ability to
respond to what if questions. Figures 8a and 8b depict how support time and shuttle car discharge
times may impact on typical roadway development rates. Typically, RoadSIM would be used to
consider the impact on development rates of aspects of operations such as
x pillar and cut through dimensions,
x number of shuttle cars in use,
x cycle times for cutting and loading at the development face,
x cycle times for bolting,
x shuttle car tramming speeds,
x cycle time for discharge of a shuttle car,

x delays effecting out-bye services, and
x delays effecting face operations.
Figure 8a shows that if shuttle car discharge times are reduced from four minutes to around two
minutes, there is an improvement in advance rates, but below two minutes there is a statistically
insignicant increase in advance rates. Similarly, if bolting times drop below nine minutes the system
constraint has moved elsewhere.
AdvanceRate(m/op.hour)
4.6
4.4
m/operatinghour
4.2
4.0
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
0 1 2 3 4
SCDischargeTime(min)
(a) Impact of shuttle car discharge rate (b) Impact of bolting cycle times
FIG 8 - Sensitivity analysis predicted by RoadSIM.
CONCLUDING REMARK
A discrete event simulation system has been developed using ARENA for the Australian coal
mining industry to model and manage the performance of roadway development as required to
support longwall mining operations. The modelling system allows various options to be explored to
determine how a required development rate can best be achieved to support longwall advance rates.
The RoadSIM template provides a model for up to two continuous miners with single or multiple
shuttle cars operating in two headings. The system can be used to study what if scenarios to explore
the effect of process and equipment modications. This is a useful tool for evaluating underground
roadway development process changes.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
The development of RoadSIM was funded under the Australian Coal Association Research Program
(ACARP) Project C17019. The authors would like to thank Gary Gibson of Gary Gibson and Associates,
Richard Porteus of strata Coal, Frank Hendriks of West Cliff Colliery and members of the Roadway
Development Task Group of ACARP for their valuable input during the model development.
REFERENCES
Baafi, E, Porter, I, Gray, G and Rojas, O, 2009. The Modelling of Road ay De elopment to Support Long all
Mining, 100 p, ACARP Project C17019.
elton, W D, 2007. Simulation ith Arena, 630 p (McGraw-Hill).
orter, I and Baa, E, 2010. Underground roadway development delays, in Proceedings Aachen International
Mining Symposium, pp 321-331 (Aachen University Aachen).
Information and Methodical Base of Simulation
Modelling of Excavator-Truck-Conveyor Complex
Operation
S Zh Galiyev1, A A Boyandinova2 and Zh A Adilkhanova1
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the scientic bases of creation of simulation modelling systems of excavator-truck-
conveyor complex work are represented. During the simulation modelling process of big mining
and transport systems work the strict and full account of an order and sequence of all operations
of simulated process is carried out. Step-by-step xing of mining and transport system elements
condition excavators in loading and unloading points, trucks, road section, unloading points
in storage bin, crushers and conveyors is conducted. Work and idle time of system elements are
considered. During modelling process the information characterising system work as a whole is
collected. It allows us to establish qualitative and quantitative inuence of each system element on
the nal results of its functioning and provides to estimate rationality of a particular organisation
variant of mining and transport equipment interaction from technological positions. Simulation
results are: economic and technological indicators of mining and transport complex functioning of
the period for each subsystem, as well as on the road, the points of loading, unloading and reloading.
INTRODUCTION
Conveyor transport becomes ever more important at the open mines of Commonwealth of the
Independent States as well as of a number of foreign countries. At deep surface mines with complex
geological conditions, conveyor transport can be effectively used in combination with other kinds
of cyclic transport. To carry out the established volumes of work using such kinds of combined
transport, it is necessary to solve a number of problems with regard to provision of coordinated,
trouble-free and effective operation of kinds of transport. Implementation of simulation modelling
geosystems with the use of conveyor transport on the basis of achievement of modern computer
technologies and technical means will allow successful solution of these complex issues.
Modelling of mining and transport complex operation allows us to reproduce the order and
sequence of all basic operations of rock mass excavation, loading, transportation and unloading with
high degree of detailing and accuracy. It provides the opportunity of adequate research of the system
response to the impact of organisational, technical, technological and economic factors (sensitivity of
the model), to study the energy intensity of processes, to fully solve the problems of environmentally
effective organisation of mining and transport operations (Galiyev, Dzhaksybayev and Kaumenov,
2000; Galiyev, Zhussupov and Sarsenbayev, 2001; Galiyev et al, 2004).
Modelling of truck and conveyor transport operation implies the reproduction of movement of
conveyor belts and technological trucks along the mine roads. The result is accumulated statistical
data about their productivity, fuel and energy consumption, tire and conveyor wear and nally costs
for excavation, transportation and storage of rock are estimated. During the simulation modelling
of the trucks special attention is paid to the reproduction of elements of truck trafc: acceleration,
movement at constant speed, stopping. At that, trucks speed at a road parts is calculated according
to the traction characteristics of a vehicle as well as with due consideration of external conditions:
parameters, prole and quality of road pavement, transported rocks weight, etc.
1. Vice-President, Administrative, Kazakhstan Institute of Industry Development, Joint Stock Company, Ansar Building, 13 Flow, 25, Syganak ctr, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan.
Email: Igd_director@mail.ru
2. Head of Laboratory, Research, Mining Institute after DA Kunayev, Branch State Enterprise, 191, Abay av, Almaty 050046, The Republic of Kazakhstan. Email: AsiyaB@rambler.ru
3. Head of Laboratory, Research, Mining Institute after DA Kunayev, Branch State Enterprise, 191, Abay av, Almaty 050046, The Republic of Kazakhstan. Email: Zhanna_mark10@mail.ru
S ZH GALIYEV, A A BOYANDINOVA AND ZH A ADILKHANOVA
Calculating the speed and fuel consumption of trucks in traction estimates their technical condition
is considered by means of engines efciency factor. The indicator of road pavement quality is specic
resistance to the rolling (Dzhaksybayev, 1999).
In order to obtain the values of engines efciency factor for trucks and specic resistance to the
rolling (Dzhaksybayev, 1999) for the rst time has offered to use simulation models themselves by
means of subsequent change of values of the searched parameters in comparison of output specic
fuel consumption value with the actual one, ie indicator of specic fuel consumption was used as a
criteria on the basis of which it is possible to make reliable conclusion on the technical condition of
open-pit roads and trucks.
INFORMATION AND METHODICAL BASE OF SIMULATION MODELLING

In connection with the particularity of excavator-truck-conveyor complexes, simulation of interaction
processes of mining and transport equipment as well as the accumulation of current information
about their operation is done on the basis of event approach, however time accuracy of the modelling
can also vary in the range of one minute (Zhussupov, 2007).
In the course of modelling of mining and transport system of surface mines the modelling accuracy
of cyclic transport trafc is one of the basic characteristics determining the adequacy of mining and
transport system of open mines research by means of simulation model. First of all this is related
to the fact that the process of rock mass transportation to unloading point and back movement of
empty transport to loading points takes signicant time in the technological process.
Besides, the speed and time of movement of vehicles are the most important operational indicators
of the mining and transport works determining the character of trafc along certain road parts and
time of complete turn.
The basic characteristic of excavation and loading operations is the duration of maintenance (loading
and unloading) of vehicles (truck bodies) characterised by mathematical expectation, dispersion and
distribution function. Description of excavation and loading operations on the basis of statistical
assessments ensures accurate modelling of the studied process on the basis of numerical estimate of
excavation and loading operations duration quite relevant for the use in simulation modelling.
Adequacy of simulation model to the reproduced process and reliability of research results carried
out with its use is ensured at all stages of modelling. Certain degree of reliability of the obtained
results is due to the use of actual input data considering certain mining, geological and technological
conditions. Simulating algorithm adequately reproduces the operation of the complex that ensures
observance of all current technological and plan indicators in conformity with the set values.
The basic principles of modelling of excavator-truck-conveyor complex operation is aiming at the
rational correlation of mining and transport equipment and evenness of the load of individual units
of equipment included in the mining and transport system of the open pit per unit of time. The eet
of loading and transport equipment must be correlated to such indicators as:
x number of excavators and trucks;
x volumes of excavator bucket and truck body; and
x productivity of crusher and conveyor; etc.
Other important principles are provision of coordinated operation of equipment and reduction
of unreasonable idle times of mining and transport equipment. Capacities of simulation modelling
complex ensure the operative and reliable determination of the causes: irrational organisation of
mining and transport complex (MTC) operation, availability of narrow places in the structure of
transport communications, lack of transport, etc and obtainment of desirable result on the basis of
making structural decisions on the improvement of organisation of MTC operation.
Structuring of the database of simulation model for organisation, storage, correction and processing
of input and output data, has been done on the basis of the database (*.mdb) DBMS Microsoft
Access. Designing of database tables is done due consideration of principles of relational tables of
databases and reference data integrity. Microsoft Access ensures reliable saving, data integrity and
convenient connection with the base. So, the system of simulation modelling can process the data
that are reliably saved and protected.
The structure of the database consists of the blocks input data and output data which are
subdivided into several parts. Input data are given as an example of organisation of the systems
database (Table 1). Table 2 contains the list of output tables of the database and their purpose.
INFORMATION AND METHODICAL BASE OF SIMULATION MODELLING OF EXCAVATOR-TRUCK-CONVEYOR COMPLEX OPERATION
TABLE 1
Content of simulation modelling system input data of excavator-truck-conveyor complex operation.
# Title Purpose Tables elements

1 Standard and Organisation and storage of standard and reference Models of excavators, engines of excavators, models of trucks,
reference information according to the models of mining engines of trucks, traction parameters of trucks, types of road
information equipment, vehicles, conveyor belts, roller carriages and pavement, specific resistance to the rolling depending on the road
their sections and types of road pavement, characteristics pavement, models of conveyors, conveyor lines, crushers, rock
of rocks, technical and technological characteristics of parameters, additional parameters of excavators, trucks, roads,
conveyor lines and crushers conveyors and crushers (technical and economic indicators)
2 Road of open- Organisation and storage of data according to transport Points of block sections, block sections, routes of movement along
pit communications of open-pit the block sections in open-pit, list of routes, open-pits, list of
typical points, loading points, points of shift turnover, discharge
points
3 Mining and Organisation and storage of data about the fleet of Connections of mining and transport equipment, fleet of trucks,
transport mining equipment and trucks fleet of excavators, actual technical indicators for each unit of
enterprise equipment
4 Crushers Organisation and storage of data about technical and Capacity of bunkers, crushing plants, connections of crushers and
technological parameters of crushers conveyor belts
5 Conveyor line Organisation and storage of data about the fleet of Points of block sections, transfer points, unloading points, links of
conveyor belts and their links, disposition of links of conveyor line, disposition of links
conveyor belt
6 Planned Organisation and storage of data about planned Volumes of rock mass at the loading and unloading points of
indicators indicators trucks, at the output points of crushers and at the conveyors
unloading points
Interrelations between the tables of output data is shown in Figure 1. In the database, tables are
connected by means of the following principles:
x one per one,
x one per many, and
x many per many.
The realised database allows to effectively processing the data of mining and transport complex,
to operatively correct its and reliably store, ensures easy users access to the results of simulation
modelling of excavator-truck-conveyor complex operation.
Aggregative algorithm of simulation modelling of excavator-truck-conveyor complex is shown in
Figure 2. Initially in block 1 the input data are formed: It is standard and reference information
on models of mining and transport equipment and their technical and economic indicators, actual
technical and process parameters of mining and transport equipment, crushers and road, as well as
planned indicators on volumes of mining and transport operations.
The modelling of complexs operation is done at the following stages. For each unit of equipment
corresponding cycle of modelling is passed. The second block, one of the basic cycles, represents the
beginning of excavators modelling cycle. In the imitation model it is possible to set ve various steps
of modelling:
1. one second,
2. ten seconds,
3. 20 seconds,
4. 30 seconds, and
5. one minute.
The condition of each excavator is determined in block 3. If it is operating, the rock transported
by the conveyor and duration of its operation is calculated in block 4. At each passing through the
block, with each following modelling step, existing volume of rock is added with the productivity per
modelling step. In the same manner the time of excavators operation is calculated:
Viex = Viex- 1 + DV ex, m 3 (1)
tiex = tiex- 1 + Dt ex, s
TABLE 2
Content of simulation modelling system output data of excavator-truck-conveyor complex operation.
# Title Purpose
1 Distribution of economic indicators Organisation and storage of output data about the distribution of economic indicators according to
according to the basic items the basic items (operating costs, depreciation costs, total costs)
2 Reports on economic indicators of Organisation and storage of economic results of modelling
modelling
3 Results of modelling on trucks by event of Organisation and storage of output data about the results of operation of trucks during the working
working shift shift:
loading;
unloading;
idle time;
movement;
maneuvers;
workshop;
breakdown;
direction of movement;
location;
what brought and from where; and
distance of transportation, etc.
4 Reports on trucks operated per shift Organisation and storage of output data about trucks operated per shift:
ID of work shift; and
ID of truck, etc.
5 Characteristics of trucks and standards of Organisation and storage of output data about characteristics of trucks and standards of their
their consumption consumption:
model;
number in fleet;
production year;
time of unloading;
depreciation rate;
tire consumption rate; and
transmission efficiency, etc.
6 Reports on road block sections Organisation and storage of output data about road block sections per work shift:
ID of work shift;
ID of block section;
pavement; and
length, etc.
7 Results of modelling by excavators, by Organisation and storage of output data about results of excavators operation during the work
events of work shift shift:
loading;
downtime;
maneuvers;
breakdown; and
dump truck to which the rock was unloaded, etc.
8 Reports on excavators per work shift Organisation and storage of output data about excavators per work shift:
code of work shift; and
code of excavator; etc.
9 Results of modelling by crushing plants by Organisation and storage of output data about results of operation of crushing plants during work
events of work shift shift:
crushing;
downtime;
breakdown; and
volume of crushed rock, etc.
10 Reports on crushing plants per work shift Organisation and storage of output data about results of operation of crushing plants during work
shift
11 Results of modelling by crushing plants Organisation and storage of output data about crushing plants per work shift:
per work shift cost indicators; and
what is crushed, etc.
TABLE 2 CONT...
Content of simulation modelling system output data of excavator-truck-conveyor complex operation.
# Title Purpose
12 Results of modelling by events of Organisation and storage of output data about results of operation of conveyor lines per work shift:
conveyor lines per work shift depreciation rates; and
consumption of conveyor line, etc.
13 Reports on conveyor lines per Organisation and storage of output data about results of operation of conveyor lines per work shift:
work shift code of work shift; and
code of conveyor, etc.
14 Results of modelling by conveyor Organisation and storage of output data about conveyor lines per work shift:
lines per work shift what and how much has been brought; and
cost indicators, etc.
15 Results of modelling by events at Organisation and storage of output data about by events at discharge points per work shift:
discharge points loading;
unloading;
duration; and
code of rock mass, etc.
16 Characteristics of rock mass Organisation and storage of output data about rock mass at discharge points:
content,
quantity,
ore, and
rock.
17 Results of modelling by Organisation and storage of output data about discharge points per work shift:
discharge points per work shift volume;
number of unloaded dump trucks;
time of unloading and dump trucks maneuvers; and
type of discharge point, etc.
18 Process parameters of dump Organisation and storage of output data about process parameters of dump truck:
trucks number of worn tires;
indicators of fuel consumption; and
cost for tires and fuel, etc.
19 Results of modelling of Organisation and storage of output data about rock mass:
realisation of planned indicators volume of discharged rock mass; and
degree of realisation of the plan, etc.
20 Results of modelling Organisation and storage of output data about modelling of complex operation:
date of modelling;
duration of shifts;
models of dump trucks;
number of operating equipment;
average speed of traffic; and
actual indicators for each unit of equipment, etc.
where:
Viex- 1 the rock volume unloaded by an excavator before, m3
Vex the rock volume unloading per modelling step, m3
tiex- 1 operational time at the beginning of current modelling step, s
tex duration of modelling step, s
If an excavator stands idle, the total idle time since the beginning of modelling is calculated in block
6 by the following equation:
titex = titex + Dtitex, s (2)
i i-1
where:
titex total idle time of loading elevator at the beginning of current modelling step, s
i-1
Dtitex duration of modelling step, s

FIG 1 - Interrelations between the output data tables.
FIG 2 - Aggregative algorithm of simulation modelling of excavator-truck-conveyor complex work.
In the seventh block the technical and economic indicators of an excavator idle are calculated:
electricity consumption, activity ratio of loading points, cost indicators, etc. After the blocks 5 or 7
the algorithm returns to the block 2 and the cycle is closed.
Upon successful completion of one cycle (one modelling step) of excavators, the algorithm comes
to the block 8 where another basic cycle starts modelling of trucks operation.
The condition of each truck operating in the complex is determined in block 9. If a truck stands idle,
the total idle time since the beginning of modelling is calculated in block 10 (similarly to Equation 2),
and the technical and economic parameters of trucks downtime are calculated in block 11.
If a truck is operating, its load is determined in block 12. If equipment is loaded, the transported
rock mass and duration of its operation are calculated in block 13 (similarly to Equation 1), and the
technical and economic parameters of trucks operation are calculated in block 14: distance of rock
mass transportation, weighted average height of rock lift, average trafc speed, total and specic fuel
consumption, indicators of trucks tire wear, etc.
If a dump truck is empty, the time of empty equipment movement and the technical and economic
parameters of empty trucks operation are calculated in blocks 15 and 16:
t ntr = t ntr + Dt ntr, s (3)

i i-1
where:
t ntr total movement time of an empty truck at the beginning of the current modelling step, s
i-1
Dt ntr duration of modelling step, s

It is necessary to note that during modelling of trucks operation, maneuvers both at loading and
unloading points, and in loaded and empty states are considered.
At the passing through blocks 11, 14 or 16 the cycle returns to block 8 and then to block 17.
The cycle of modelling of crusher operation starts in block 17.
The state of crusher is determined in block 18. If the crusher is operating, the volume of work and
time of operation of crusher since the beginning of modelling are calculated in block 19 (similarly to
Equation 1).
The technical and economic parameters of crusher are calculated in block 20:
x quantity of crushed rock mass;
x electricity consumption; and
x depreciation costs; etc.
If the crusher stands idle, the total idle time since the beginning of modelling is calculated in block
21 (similarly to Equation 2) and the technical and economic parameters of the idle time of the crusher
are calculated in block 22.
Upon the passing through block 20 or 22, the algorithm returns to block 17 and then to block 23
where the cycle of conveyor modelling starts.
The rock mass transported by conveyor and duration of its operation are calculated in block 24
(similarly to Equation 1).
The technical and economic parameters of conveyor operation are calculated in block 6:
x electricity consumption;
x average height of rock mass lift;
x degree of plan realization; and
x transportation cost per ton of rock mass, etc.
Upon the passing through block 25, the algorithm returns to block 2, after which the following
modelling step is realised.
On the basis of obtained modelling results, the subsystem allows to do full scale technical and
economic analysis of the whole system operation and its links and components individually including
operating costs, costs for equipment in operation and idle time, loading degree of mining, transport
equipment and transport communications. According to the results of technical and economic
analysis the diagram of distribution of all considered costs for operation and maintenance of mining
and transport systems of open-pits is built.
In the framework of optimisation the following tasks are solved:
x Establishment of real, rational and maximum possible productivity of mining and transport
system.
x Determination of rational combination and numerical relation of mining and transport equipment.
x Formation of repairs charts of main mining equipment.
x Analysis of trafc load of open-pit road.
x Research of energy intensity of road parts.
x Determination of transfer periods, place of location, number and optimal parameters of intra-
mine reloading storages.
x Assessment of economic efciency of variants.
x Analysis and assessment of conditions of mining and transport complex when the degree of
equipment load is calculated and available potential of efciency increase of its use is determined
due to the improvement of road quality, load rate of vehicles, selection of optimal mode and
conditions of operation of vehicles.
x Search for ways of efciency increase of excavator and truck complex operation by means of
reduction of mining and transport operations cost and increase of companys prot due to the
sale of extra volumes of ore.
x Development of standards of fuel consumption of trucks corresponding to certain conditions.
Determination of the number of tires and fuel needed for realisation of the set volume of work.
CONCLUSIONS
Conformity of the simulation model to the practically reproduced process and reliability of research
results is ensured at all stages of the modelling. A certain degree of reliability of the obtained results
is due to the use of factual input data considering certain mining, geological and technological
conditions. Simulating algorithm adequately reproduces the work of mining dispatcher of open-pit
that ensures the observance of all current technological and planned indicators in conformity with
the set values.
During the simulation modelling process of big mining and transport systems work the strict and
full account of an order and sequence of all operations of simulated process is carried out. Step-by-
step xing of mining and transport system elements condition excavators in loading and unloading
points, trucks, road section, unloading points in storage bin, crushers and conveyors is conducted.
Work and idle time of system elements is considered. During modelling process the information
characterising system work as a whole is collected. It allows us to establish qualitative and quantitative
inuence of each system element on the nal results of its functioning and provides to estimate
rationality of a particular organisation variant of mining and transport equipment interaction from
technological positions.
The system of simulation modelling of excavator-truck-conveyor complex operation is a powerful
tool for constant detection of potential to increase the production efciency due to the improvement
of use of the main technological equipment, improvement of organisation of its operation. It helps
to determine the needed quantity of equipment units and its productivity sufcient for realisation of
planned volumes due consideration of the mentioned principles. Simulation results are: economic
and technological indicators of mining and transport complex functioning of the period for each
subsystem, as well as on the road, the points of loading, unloading and reloading.
REFERENCES
Dzhaksybayev, A Kh, 1999. Development of planning method of the mining and transport works at surface
mines on the basis of technologically stable periods, PhD thesis, Mining Institute after D A Kunayev, Almaty.
Galiyev, S Zh, Akhmedov, D Sh, Tatishev, Yh N, Zhussupov, K K, Boyandinova, and Dzhaksybayev, A
Kh, 2004. Technologies of Automated Management of Geotechnological Complexes in the Field of open
Mining Operations, 250 p (Almaty).
Galiyev, S Zh, Dzhaksybayev, A Kh and Kaumenov, G T, 2000. Assessment of energy efciency of mining and
transport systems operation of open-pits, Integrated use of Mineral Resources Magazine, 1:13-20.
Galiyev, S Zh, Zhussupov, K K and Sarsenbayev, Ye Ye, 2001. Ecological and economic aspects of mining
and transport complexes functioning of open-pits, in Proceedings Scientic and Technical Conference
Dedicated to Tenth Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan Essential Problems of
Development of Mineral Fields, pp 237-240 (Tashkent).
Zhussupov, , 2007. Technology of corporate control of geotechnological complex on surface mining,
Doctor of technical sciences thesis, Kazakh National Technical University, Almaty.
Simulation and Animation Model for the Millerton
Coal Mine (New Zealand)
T OConnell1 and J R Sturgul2
ABSTRACT
A simulation and animation model was constructed for the Stockton Coal Mine. This mine is located
in the north western area of the South Island of New ealand. This model was used to study the
optimum size of the stockpile areas whilst achieving the correct product coal qualities. The model
evaluated the impact on stockpile size and product coal qualities for both bulk and selective mining.
The effect of modifying the amount of known clean coal quality was also investigated. The software
used was GPSS/H for the simulation and Proof Professional for the animation.
From the study, it was recommended to incorporate selective mining in future studies. The
shipping plan needed to be modied for a better correlation between coal production levels, in situ
coal resources and wash plant capacity.
INTRODUCTION
The Stockton coal mine is located on a rugged plateau in the Southern Alps on the west coast of the
South Island of New ealand. The mine is part of the Buller coal elds which have been mined via
underground methods since the 1860s. Underground mining continued at various sites around the
Stockton Plateau until the late 1960s.
In more recent times, mining has transitioned to open cut methods targeting the unmined areas of
the Stockton Plateau that contain high quality, hard coking coal. Average in situ ash ranges between
one per cent and three per cent with swell regularly exceeding nine.
MILLERTON
Recently, the mine began investigations into the potential development of the Millerton section of
the Stockton Plateau due to depleted inventories at their current production pits. Unlike the current
open cut areas, the Millerton pit has been underground mined previously however, signicant
quantities of high quality coking coal remain, predominantly in the underground pillars.
Several large res raged for many years within the abandoned areas of the Millerton pit, with most
of these visible from nearby Westport ( 30 km away) at night. There are still several active res
within the Millerton pit.
Excluding the obvious dangers, the challenge to the mine was to manage the large quantities of
contaminated coal generated at Millerton. Large amounts of coal were left in the roof above the old
underground drives and on the fringes of the pillars. However, over time, this coal has collapsed into
the old drives and is blended with rock and other contaminants from the historical workings, such
as rail lines and wooden chocks.
In addition to the coal contaminated with rock, the res have generated a signicant amount of
burnt coal that must be removed from the product coal.
SIMULATION OVERVIEW
The rst mining operation was simulated by Rist (1961). His model used an IBM 1620 computer
and a special simulation language both of which are obsolete. Bauer and Calder (1973) recognised
the importance of simulation models for mining operations. Since then the state of the art for mine
1. Director, Optimal Mining Solutions Pty Ltd, 23 Kimruska Place, The Gap Qld 4061. Email: tony@optimalmining.com.au
2. Professor, School of Civil Environmental Mining Engineering, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005. Email: jsturgul+AEA-civeng.adelaide.edu.au
T OCONNELL AND J R STURGUL
system simulation has advanced considerably, especially with the introduction of animation in the
1990s. Software which has been used in mining includes ARENA , WITNESS , MODSIM and
general purpose simulation system (GPSS)/H .
The simulation project commenced with a weeks visit to the mine to study the complex coal mining
and handling. A preliminary model was constructed on site. The actual model was constructed
over a period of six weeks with several visits to the mine site to ensure that the model was correct.
The simulation was accomplished using two separate software packages from Wolverine Software
GPSS/H and Proof Professional .
GPSS/H is a simulation programming language which has an established record for simulating
complex mining operations. The rst mine in the world to be designed via a simulation and animation
model was the Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea (Sturgul, 1995). GPSS/H is a low level simulation
language that can handle extremely complex discrete systems such as are found in mining operations.
Sturgul (2000) gives numerous examples of using simulation for mining operations.
Proof is a CAD-style program that provides graphical representation of the simulation coding and
calculations. This allows the end user to view the simulation in progress. It is considered essential
to include this animation to verify that the simulation does indeed represent the actual model. The
simulation was constructed so that every truck load of coal from the Millerton pit was simulated,
with logic written that controlled the destination of the trucks depending on items such as coal
type, coal quality, mining shift, stockpile levels, weather status, etc. Destinations included the mill,
the stockpile and a soon-to-be-constructed, large, second stockpiling area on the boundary of the
Millerton pit.
In addition to coal tonnages, the coal quality was tracked at all locations of the simulation including
stockpiles, feed bins and the train load out facility. The simulation also took into account many
factors, including
x randomly shutting the mine down for inclement weather for random durations, with the overall
weather availability averaging 80 per cent
x shutting down randomly xed plant such as the CHPP, run of mine (ROM) and aerial ropeway
due to breakdowns
x shutting down xed and mobile plant for planned maintenance
x stopping coal movements to allow for shift change and prestart meetings and
x utilising the various rosters utilised at Stockton (ie coal mining from the pit on day shift only,
rehandling from stockpiles to the ROM or CHPP on night shift, etc).
The primary aim of the simulation was to provide results for
x the maximum size of the stockpiling area,
x the average quality of Millerton coal (both clean and wash) being produced, and
x how much of the CHPP feed Millerton generates.
Additionally, the simulation was constructed to evaluate the effect of changing the coal mining
method at Millerton. For this analysis, two distinct options were developed
1. selective mining where the coal was selectively mined and the uncontaminated coal was
specically targeted, and
2. bulk mining where the coal was mined in one progressive front.
The bulk mining option provided operational benets over selective mining which required continual
establishment-type works to allow the excavator and truck to access the coal required. However, the
bulk mining option resulted in increased production of contaminated coal which had to be managed
at the stockpiling facility, as the mine required a targeted level of clean coal to be produced each year.
SIMULATION CONSTRUCTION
The plan contained all haul roads (see Figure 1), stockpile areas, the buildings, and train track facility.
A plan showing the entire mining area (see Figure 2) was drafted and represented by animation
software known as Proof Professional . Paths for the trucks to travel along were digitised with travel
times calculated from speed limits, previous time and motion studies and other truck simulation
software.
SIMULATION AND ANIMATION MODEL FOR THE MILLERTON COAL MINE (NEW ZEALAND)
FIG 1 - General layout of haulage routes for animation.
FIG 2 - Animation layout showing simulation in progress.
The planned pit progression was then combined with the geological block model to provide an
overall schedule of coal trucks containing the correct coal types and qualities dependent on the
current mining method (selective or bulk). The coal truck schedule was then fed into the GPSS/H
code that had been written to determine the correct processing of the coal dependent on the many
factors that inuence the coal trucks. The coal truck schedule was used twice once for the selective
T OCONNELL AND J R STURGUL
mining option and once for the bulk mining option to provide a direct comparison of the two mining
methods.
The nal GPSS/H code, which contained over 10 000 lines, was written to interface with the
constructed Proof plan of the mining area with truck movements and coal movements along
conveyors matching the calculated outputs from the GPSS/H code. This was one of the largest
simulation programs ever written for a mining model. The animation given by Proof also shows the
following statistics
x coal qualities and tonnages on each stockpile,
x the status of the mine (down for weather or not),
x the current day of the week and shift, and
x the overall average availability of the mine site (for weather) and CHPP.
Each of the above statistics was updated continuously so that, at any point in time, the statistics can
be observed. Additionally, all of the statistics were reported in an Excel spreadsheet. Notice the many
possible stockpile positions as well as the products.
SIMULATION RESULTS
The simulation was run for the selective mining option and for the bulk mining option with vastly
different results generated. The starting point for the random number sequence used in GPSS/H,
which calculates when and for how long unplanned maintenance or weather events occur, was
modied several times to generate a Monte Carlo-style analysis of the results.
The results indicated that the bulk mining option required a stockpiling area almost three times as
large as the selective mining option. Given that the stockpiling area was yet to be constructed, the
selective option provided a signicantly lower capital option.
The simulation provided results for the average product coal quality and the CHPP feed tonnes
generated from Millerton which were used in future planning and budgeting.
The model is used continually for mine planning. Numerous what if questions have been posed
and answered using the model developed. Because of the complex nature of the mine plan and design
specication, this is one of the largest simulation models developed to date for a surface mine of any
type. Even so, the computer code was able to incorporate all design criteria.
REFERENCES
Bauer, A and Calder, P, 1973. Planning open pit mining operations using simulation, APCOM, pp 273-298
(South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Johannesburg).
ist, K, 1961. The solution of a transportation problem by use of a Monte Carlo technique, APCOM I, pp L2-1
to L2-15 (Arizona Press Tucson).
Sturgul, J R, 1995. Computer simulation matures for mining, Engineering and Mining Engineering, pp 5-12
(Institute of Mining and Metallurgy London).
Sturgul, J R, 2000. Mine Design Examples Using Simulation, 380 p (Society of Mining Engineers Littleton).
Performance Evaluation of Machinery used in
Dimensional Stone Mining and Processing
S S Rathore1 and S C Jain2
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, technology has improved to extract dimensional stone blocks at quarry sites and also
to process these at processing plants for making slabs and tiles. In the process of quarrying and
processing, performance evaluation of machinery is very important to achieve optimum output at
minimum cost with improved technology. Cost analysis of improved technology includes parameters
such as manpower, energy consumption, tool consumption, depreciation, maintenance and also
others. The chainsaw machine with long boom and rail in marble quarries and multi-diamond wire
saw machine for slab making from granite blocks at processing plants have recently been introduced
in India. Thus, a study was carried out under a research project on these machines to assess their
suitability. In this paper, performance evaluation and cost analysis of chainsaw and multi-diamond
wire saw have been carried out with existing machines on the basis of research ndings.
INTRODUCTION
India is a treasure trove of dimensional stones, such as marble, granite, sandstone, aggy limestone,
slate, quartzite, etc and spread all over the country. Indian dimensional stone industry is growing
steadily at an annual rate of about ten per cent per annum and provides employment to over a million
people (Gupta and Singh, 2007). Dimensional stones are mostly extracted in the form of blocks at
quarry site and processed to make slabs and tiles to use in construction industries. In recent years,
diamond wire sawing has become predominant method of marble block extraction. Application
of diamond wire saw has been started in soft granite of southern India and sandstone deposits of
Rajasthan State in India (Rathore and Bhandari, 2002 Rathore, Bhandari and Gupta, 2008). In
addition to diamond wire saw, chainsaw is also used in extraction of soft marble having less silica
contents. The blocks of marble and granite extracted at quarry are processed in gangsaw processing
plants but recently a multi-diamond wire saw has been introduced in India to process granite blocks.
In present context of global competitive market, cost-effective dimensional stone block extraction
and processing technology with maximum recovery of blocks and slabs is required. Presently,
recovery of the saleable blocks at quarry site is only 20 to 50 per cent and at some granite quarries
recovery is less than ten per cent (Rathore, Bhandari and Gupta, 2008). Hence, to reduce waste
generation of dimensional stones during quarrying and processing by using proper machinery
in the form of improved technology is most important to compete at global level. In this context,
performance evaluations of chainsaw with long boom and rail in marble quarries and multi-diamond
wire saw machine for slab making from granite blocks at processing plant have been carried out in
comparison to existing machineries used.
In the research study, cost analysis of improved technology was carried out considering parameters
such as manpower, energy consumption, tool consumption, depreciation, maintenance and also
others during quarrying and processing. Manpower cost includes the payment made to persons actual
involved in operation of machine. It was calculated on per hour basis and then converted in Indian
rupees (one Indian rupee 70 euro at the time of study) per square metre of cutting or processing.
Energy cost was calculated on the basis of power consumed in operation by machinery hourly in units
or kWh. Tool consumption was the main cost parameter and it includes the cost of cutting tools/
items required during quarrying and processing of marble and granite. The depreciation cost was
1. Associate Professor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur 313001, India. Email: ssrathore58@yahoo.co.in
2. Assistant Professor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur 313001, India. Email: scjain44@rediffmail.com
S S RATHORE AND S C JAIN
calculated based on price and working life of machinery in hours. Cost of maintenance parameter
includes the general maintenance and small items required for proper running of machinery.
DIMENSIONAL STONE RESOURCES AND PRODUCTION

Indian dimensional stone deposits are mainly marble, granite, sandstone, aggy limestone, slate,
quartzite, etc. Amongst these marble deposits are widespread in India with deposits of economic
importance being concentrated in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana
and Andhra Pradesh with a total reserves of 2216 Mt (Rathore, Bhardwaj and Jain, 2000). India is
endowed with one of the best granite deposits in the world having excellent varieties comprising over
200 shades. India accounts for over 20 per cent of the world resources of granite with reserves of
about 42.916 million cubic metres (Gupta and Singh, 2007). Sandstone reserves in India are 1000 Mt
and slate deposits are about 500 Mt.
India is one of the major producers of dimensional stone in the world. At the same time, stone
industry has been growing steadily at an annual rate of around ten per cent per year for the past few
years and production of last ten years of marble, granite, sandstone, aggy limestone and slate are
given in following Table 1 on the basis of information collected from various Directorate of Mines
and Geology of India (Gupta and Singh, 2007 Jain, Rathore and Paolo, 2009).
The trends of production of dimensional stones produced in India have also been shown graphically
in Figure 1.
TABLE 1
Indian stones production (in thousand tonnes).
Type of stone 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Marble 6831 6318 7511 8460 9608 10 904 12 243 13 684
Granite 5900 6205 6710 7059 7759 8364 9044 9776
Sandstone 6659 6861 6363 8153 9313 8626 8809 8958
Flaggy limestone 2096 2164 3387 3757 4268 5291 5291 7420
Slate 16 18 14 11 110 98 129 163
Total 21 502 21 566 23 986 27 449 31 059 33 283 36 520 40 001

FIG 1 - Production trend of dimensional stone in India.
CHAINSAW WITH LONG BOOM AND LONG RAIL

The chainsaw Fantini, Italian make machine with long rail and long boom was in operation at white
marble mines of M/s Hindustan Marble Pvt Ltd at Ambaji, Gujarat in India as shown in Figure 2.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF MACHINERY USED IN DIMENSIONAL STONE MINING AND PROCESSING
This machine was installed in the year 2009. The technical specications of the machine are as
under
Machine model 70 SUP-H
Arm length 3 m and 6 m
Track length (long rail) 12.00 m (40)
Depth of cut 2.9 m (horizontal) and 3 m/6 m (vertical)
Length of cut 11 m (35)
Cutting media TC tools (99 segments)
Electric motor power 70 HP
Pump motor 5 HP
The physic-mechanical properties of green marble (serpentine) and white marble are given in
Table 2.

FIG 2 - Fantini chainsaw (with long rail 12 m and arm length 6 m).
TABLE 2
Physico-mechanical properties of green marble (serpentine) and white marble.
Physico-mechanical property Green marble (serpentine) White marble Ambaji ASTM standards
Bulk specific gravity 2.65 2.84 C-97
Compressive strength (MPa) 159 - 299 106 C-170
Flexural strength (MPa) 28 15 C-880
Modulus of rupture (MPa) 28 - 33 12 - 15 C-99
Abrasion (resistance to wear) 1.0 - 1.1 3.6 IS 1237
Performance evaluation
Performance evaluation was carried out for both 3 m and 6 m boom length. The analysis of cutting
performance of chainsaw is given below
Effective depth of cut 2.9 m (3 m arm), 5.8 m (6 m arm)
Cutting speed 0.6 - 0.9 m/h (green marble) 3 m arm
0.9 - 1.2 m/h (white marble) 3 m arm
0.45 - 0.60 m/h (white marble) 6 m arm
Theoretical production 1.74 - 2.61 m2/h (green marble) 3 m arm
2.61 - 3.48 m2/h (white marble) 3 m/6 m arm
Waste time about ten per cent

Net production 1.56 - 2.35 m2/h (green marble) 3 m arm
2.35 - 3.13 m2/h (white marble) 3 m/6 m arm
Average net production 1.83 m2/h (green marble) 3 m arm
2.74 m2/h (white marble) 3 m/6 m arm
With the use of long rail (12 m) shifting and installation time saves and hence, advantage to get
10 - 15 per cent more production per day and long bench cut is also possible with this machine. The
bench size 6 m can be kept with 6 m cutting arm.
The manpower cost for one operator and one helper was calculated to Rs67/h or Rs37/- per m2.
Energy consumption was calculated to 40 kWh and power cost was Rs240/- or Rs132 per m2.
The main tool consumption was cutting media in form of TC segments. Total about 100 segments
are used around periphery of the chain. Segments life is four cuts of size 2.9 m 5.5 m 63.8 m2.
Cost of segments is 100 Rs80 per segment Rs8000. Hence, cost of segment per m2 is Rs8000/
63.8 Rs125.39 or nearly Rs126/-. The cost per hour is about Rs125.39 1.83 Rs229.46 or nearly
Rs230/-. Cost per bearing is Rs6000/- and 12 to 15 bearing required per annum or nearly Rs7500/-
per month. The cost of bearing per hour is Rs7500/28 21 Rs12.75 or nearly Rs13/- and per m2 is
Rs7.10.
The cut is a dry cut and water is required only for cleaning the powder coming from the cut. The
requirement of water is about 600 litres per square metre cutting and cost is about Rs2/- per m3 or
1000 litre. The cost of water per hour is Rs1.2 and per m2 is nearly Rs1/-.
Cost of chainsaw machine is approximately Rs9 000 000/-. We have considered life of machine
15 years. The machine runs per day approximately 18 hours. Effective working days in a month is 26.
Hence, cost of depreciation calculated was Rs107/h or Rs59/m2.
The other items includes grease, hydraulic oil, nut bolts, rollers, pins, etc and approximately
yearly consumables cost for chainsaw is about Euro 7000/- or Rs4.00 lakhs. Hence, cost per hour is
Rs400 000/(12 months 26 days/month 18 h/day) Rs72/h or Rs40/-per m2.
The maintenance cost includes payment to mechanic/technician/electrician, etc and some other
small spares. Cost in one year is nearly Rs560 000. Cost of maintenance is about Rs560 000/
(18 h/day 26 days/month 12 months) nearly Rs100/h. Hence, cost of maintenance per
m2 Rs100/1.83 Rs55/-. The summary of cost analysis of chainsaw machine Fantini make is given
in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Summary of cost parameters for Fantini chainsaw machine (cutting performance 1.83 m2/h).
S No Cost parameter Cost (Rs/h) Cost (Rs/m2)
1 Manpower cost 67 37
2 Electric energy consumption 240 132
3 Tool consumption 243 133.10
4 Water consumption 1.2 0.66
5 Machine consumption 107 59
6 Maintenance 100 55
7 Others 72 40
Total 830.2 456.76
Result shows that cost per square metre is Rs463/-. The main cost parameter is segment
consumption. Other important cost parameters are electric energy and machine depreciation.
The study compared the performance and working of chainsaw having long rail and boom machine
with existing Indian chainsaw machine. Indian chainsaw machines are not so successful in quarries
due to more maintenance cost. With the use of short rails steps are formed on oor of the bench,
which creates problems in further working. But with long rail the problem has been solved and also
less time is required for making horizontal cut.
MULTI-DIAMOND WIRE SAW MACHINE

The rst Italian multi-diamond wire machine was installed in India at Stone Tech plant, Malur
Industrial Area, Bangalore, Karnataka. Diamond wire of Coplast make was used for cutting slabs
from granite blocks. Figures 3 and 4 shows the view of multiwire machine in operation and operating
panel respectively. The technical specications of the multi-diamond wire machine are given as
below
Make Bidese Impianti Via Astico 40/cFara Vicentino
Weight 31 500 kg
Dimensions 9000 9500 6650 mm
Cut width 4000 mm
Realisable thickness 20 mm
Diamond wire length 19.6 m (each wire)
Total wire 58
Diameter of wire 7 mm
Wire rotation speed 10 to 40 m/s
Cutting advancing speed 5 - 100 cm/h

FIG 3 - A view of block cutting with multiwire machine.
FIG 4 - Operating panel of machine.
Going up speed 3000 cm/h

Power (400V + 50 Hz) 250 kW Main motor and advancing motor 24 Nm
Water requirement 700 L/min at 3 bar (0.3 MPa)
Wire decent transmission Conical roller bearing
The granite blocks generally processed at study site are Jubilee, Kashmir white and Madurai granite
considered as soft red multi-coloured from Karanpura and Paradise from Krishnagiri considered
as medium hard tan brown from Hyderabad, coral red from Tamilnadu considered as hard stone
and rubi red from Karnataka, orange black from Andhra Pradesh considered as very hard. Physico-
mechanical properties of some granite samples are given Table 4.
TABLE 4
Physico-mechanical properties of granite samples.
Red-multi coloured
Kashmir white Tan brown granite
Physico-mechanical property granite from ASTM standards
granite from Hyderabad
Kanakpura
Density (kg/m3) 2608 2621 2706 C-97
Bulk specific gravity 2.62 2.62 2.72 C-97
Absorption by weight (%) 0.41 0.26 0.11 C-97
Compressive strength (MPa) 165.98 164.23 181.83 C-170
Flexural strength (MPa) 9.16 13.16 7.34 C-880
Modulus of rupture (MPa) 10.54 21.97 10.34 C-99
Performance evaluation
The cutting performance of machine depends upon down feed rate, stone material characteristic and
peripheral speed of diamond wire. The average down feed cutting speed of machine was kept 20 cm/h
in cutting medium hard granite blocks. One-metre diamond wire length consists of 37 diamond
beads. Diamond beads diameter in new wire was found between 7.2 to 7.4 mm and at the stage of
discarding wire it was about 6 mm. Machine takes eight to ten hours to cut a block of 2 m height. As
a result it was observed that one metre linear wire length could cut 8 - 12 m2. It was found that wire
get start breaking after cutting of about 7500 m2. After breaking it is send to Italy for replastication
and again put for cutting. One set of diamond wire cuts around 6500 m2. Total maximum number of
slabs cut were 58 of 20 mm thickness having size 3.5 m 2 m. The average performance found for
one diamond wire set of Coplast was 13 450 m2.
Average cutting rate per hour no of wire down feed rate (m/h) block length (m) 57 0.2
3.5 or 39.9 or 40 m2/h. Cutting rate for traditional gangsaw was 5 m2/h.
One operator and one helper are required to operate the multi-diamond wire saw machine. The
total energy consumption in one-hour operation of multi-diamond wire saw machine was 163 units
and power cost was Rs6/- per unit. Energy consumption per m2 was Rs25/- for multi-diamond wire
saw machine and Rs66/- for traditional gangsaw machine. Cost of one metre linear wire including
cost of replastication was Euro 70/- or Rs4900/-. Diamond wire cost calculated per m2 was
Rs415/-. In traditional gangsaw tool consumption is mainly steel blades, steel grit and lime and
cost per m2 was Rs216/-. Cost of water is about Rs3/- per m2 cutting for multi-diamond wire saw
machine and Rs4/- for gangsaw machine. The cost of multi-diamond wire saw machine and gangsaw
was about Rs40 million and Rs12 million respectively. Hence, depreciation cost calculated was
Rs14/- per m2 for multiwire and Rs34/- per m2 for gangsaw.
The other consumable items were grease, gear oil, hydraulic oil, nylon beading and wheels (guiding
and tensioning) for operation of multi-diamond wire saw machine and cost comes Rs1.00/- per m2.
Similarly, other items includes for gangsaw are bearing, shaft, etc and cost per square metre was
about Rs20/-. Cost of day-to-day maintenance per annum was Rs1.2 lacs for multi-diamond wire
saw and Rs1.8 lacs for gangsaw.
The cutting cost comparison of multi-diamond wire machine with Coplast wire and traditional
gangsaw is given in Table 5. Result shows that main cost parameter is diamond tool (diamond wire)
consumption in multi-diamond wire saw and cutting media (blade + steel grit + lime) in gangsaw.
Other important cost parameters are electric energy and machine depreciation. Figure 5 shows
graphical view of cost comparison with both machines.
TABLE 5
Cutting cost analysis for multi-diamond wire machine with Cofiplast wire and traditional gangsaw.
Multiwire Traditional gangsaw

S No Cost parameter 2
Cost (Rs/m ) Cost (Rs/m2)
1 Manpower cost (one operator + one helper) 2 2
2 Electric energy consumption 25 (4 - 5 units/h) 66 (11 - 12 units/h)
3 Diamond wire consumption/blade + steel grit + line (cost of one metre linear
415 216
wire including cost of replastification was Euro 70/- or Rs4900/-)
4 Water consumption 3 4
5 Machine depreciation (multiwire 4 crore and gangsaw 1.2 crore) 14 34
6 Others [grease, gear oil, hydraulic oil, nylon beading and wheels (guiding and
11 20
tensioning)] gangsaw bearing, shaft, etc
7 Maintenance 1 6
Total 471 348

FIG 5 - Cost analysis for multi-diamond wire machine and gangsaw.
Table 6 shows the other parameter for comparison between multi-diamond wire machine with
Coplast wire and traditional gangsaw machine. It shows that multi-diamond wire machine is about
four times more costly than gangsaw machine at initial deployment stage. But later during operation
stage, electric energy consumption is almost half of the gangsaw machine. Additional advantages of
cutting with multi-diamond wire saw cutting that wastage of granite is less due to uniformity in cutting.
The cost is slightly more with multi-diamond wire saw cutting as compared to gangsaw machine but
at the same time more recovery of nished slabs with multi-diamond wire saw. As a result, overall the
multi-diamond wire cutting technology for granite processing is feasible and cost competitive with
traditional gangsaw with added advantage of faster production and less time required in polishing
plants due to uniform surfaces of the slabs. Thus, polishing plant produce ten times slabs cut from
multi-diamond wire machine as compared to gangsaw cut and as a result saving in electric power
and diamond tools during polishing.
TABLE 6
Italian multi-diamond wire machine using Cofiplast diamond wire and gangsaw machine.
Italian multi-diamond wire
S No Parameters Gangsaw machine with blade
machine with Cofiplast wire
1 Cutting media Diamond beads Steel blade + steel grit + lime
2 Feed size of block (LWH) in metres 3.8 1.7 2 3.5 3.2 2
3 No of slabs per block (maximum) 58 105
4 No of blocks cut/month 50 5
5 No of slabs/month 58 50 = 2900 105 5 = 525
6 Uniformity of slabs 98 - 100% 85-90%
2
7 Output of slabs of polishing plant (m /day) 360 36
8 Width of groove cut in mm (wastage) 8 10 - 11
9 Labour requirement Operator 1 Three times more as comparison to
Helper 1 multiwire
10 Power consumption (kWh/m2 cutting) 4-5 11 - 12
11 Cost of cutting Slightly more -
12 Slabs cut per meter of block width 35.5 33 - 34
CONCLUSIONS
With the use of long rail with chainsaw cutting machine, the problem of steps in quarry has been
solved and also less time is required for making horizontal cut. Thus, in soft marble deposits,
chainsaw cutting with long rail machine is most suitable to use.
Performance of multi-diamond wire saw machine was eight times more than traditional gangsaw
in cutting slabs from granite blocks. The cost is slightly more in multi-diamond wire saw cutting
as compared to gangsaw machine but at the same time more recovery of nished slabs. The time
required in polishing plants is very less due to uniform surfaces of the slabs cut with multi-diamond
wire saw cutting machine.
Thus, on the basis of study carried out, it is concluded that chainsaw cutting machine with long rail
and multi-diamond wire saw machine are suitable for soft marble and granite respectively for Indian
stone quarries.
REFERENCES
Gupta, R K and Singh, K, 2007. Indian stone industry An insight, Journal Indian Dimensional Stone
Industry, pp 18-23 (Centre for Development of Stones Jaipur).
ain, S C, Rathore, S S and Paolo, M, 2009. Advanced technologies in processing of dimensional stones,
in Proceedings ational Seminar on Technological Ad ancements in Mining Industry, pp 140-146
(Institution of Engineers Jaipur).
athore, S S and Bhandari, S, 2002. Prevention of damage to blockable marble while blasting overburden, in
Proceedings Fragblast- , pp 361-365.
athore, S S, Bhandari, S and Gupta, T P, 2008. Improvement in technology for waste reduction in sandstone
quarries of Jodhpur area, in proceedings national workshop organised by MEAI Rajasthan Chapter, Beijing,
China, pp 40-48.
athore, S S, Bhardwaj, G S and Jain, S C, 2000. Dimensional Stone Technology (Himanshu Publication
New Delhi).
A Comparison of Rebar and Spiral Bolts using
Laboratory Pull-Out Tests
S S Kang1, D K Je2, A Hirata3 and D Kim4
ABSTRACT
This study is to compare reinforcement of rebar and spiral bolts using laboratory pull-out test. For
this purpose, the pull-out test was performed in laboratory for a curing period of 7- and 28-days.
Based on the results of the laboratory pull-out test, the pull-out load of two support members rapidly
increased with displacement until the breakpoint and then gently increased with displacement.
The maximum pull-out load of spiral bolt was larger than that of rebar bolt. This implies that a
spiral bolt is more stable than a rebar bolt for securing the stability of a ground or rock mass when a
support was installed in a ground or rock mass under the same condition. In addition, the maximum
external pressure of two support members increased with pull-out load and with displacement and
the distribution of external pressure was commonly larger at the upper part than at the lower part of
specimen. This indicates that the bond failure location by pull-out load should be mainly occurred
at the surface portion of specimen. In conclusion, the reinforcing effect of a support depends on a
curing period and a type of support member, and reinforcement of a spiral bolt is more effective than
that of a rebar bolt.
INTRODUCTION
Support members such as ground anchors, cable bolts or rebar bolts are currently used in various
geo-structures to stabilise from the ground to the rock mass around excavated geo-structures.
Ground anchors which are to reinforce the ground have been mainly used as ground reinforcement
devices, and also cable or rebar bolt which are to reinforce the rock mass have been primarily used
as rock reinforcement devices (Brady and Brown, 1985 Franklin and Dusseault, 1989). Support
members of various types developed for this purpose can restrict the subsequent deformation of
the geo-structures due to further excavation (Windsor and Thompson, 1992, 1993 Windsor, 1997).
Accordingly, an evaluation of the reinforcing effect as support member is very important to be
maintained stabilisation of geo-structures such as tunnels, large caverns, retaining walls, slopes, and
so on. The reinforcing effect of support members has been proposed by many researchers (Hyett,
Bawden and Reichert, 1992 Kaiser, azici and Nose, 1992 Winsor and Thompson, 1992 azici and
Kaiser, 1992 Ito et al, 2001). According to Hyett, Bawden and Reichert (1992), they reported that
cable bolt capacity depends on the cement properties (water cement ratio), the embedment length,
and the radial connement acting on the outer surface of the cement annulus. Also, Kaiser, azici
and Nose (1992) suggested that the bond strength of fully grouted cable bolts is primarily affected
by stress change at the cable-grout interface. Rock reinforcement design for jointed rock mass was
reported by Windsor and Thompson (1992). As the mechanical and elastic properties of both rebar
and grout as well as the geometry of the borehole and the bolt, the controlling parameters of bond
strength at the bolt-grout interface are identied ( azici and Kaiser, 1992). Ito et al (2001) discussed
the reinforcing effect of cable and rebar bots since the failure patterns in pull-out test of them can be
visualised by -ray CT scanner method.
Spiral bolt is a newly designed support member that is able to be applied as a replacement of rebar
bolt or cable bolt. Spiral bolt was rstly introduced by Hirata et al (2005). They mainly proposed
1. Professor, Chosun University, 375 Seosuk-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea. Email: kangss@chosun.ac.kr
2. Graduate Student, Chosun University, 375 Seosuk-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea. Email: baby1228@cyworld.com
3. Professor, Sojo University, 4-22-1 Ikeda, Kumamoto 860-0082, Japan. Email: hirata@eco.sojo-u.ac.jp
4. Professor, Chosun University, 375 Seosuk-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea. Email: dkimgeo@chosun.ac.kr
S S KANG et al
spiral bolt for the reinforcement of the ground foundation. In this study, we compared reinforcement
between rebar bolt and spiral bolt and then discussed applicability of spiral bolt as a new support
member. For the purpose, we rstly performed laboratory pull-out test with a curing period of
7- and 28-days. Then, we analysed the relation between pull-out load and displacement, the relation
between external pressure and pull-out load, as well as distribution of external pressure for dening
a process of the bond failure.
PULL-OUT TEST IN LABORATORY

Specimen and experiment
Material of rebar and spiral bolts used for this study belongs to SD350 and SS400, respectively. The
material properties of these bolts are listed in Table 1. A cross-section area of rebar bolt is 506.7 mm2
with a diameter of 25 mm and that of spiral bolt is 225 mm2 with a thickness of 9 mm and with a
width of 25 mm. A specimen for pull-out test, which is the soft steel cylinder as articial rock with
an inner diameter of 69.2 mm, with a thickness of 3.6 mm, and with a length of 550 mm is shown
in Figure 1. A specimen was produced by lling with cement-mortar grout after establishing bolts in
the soft steel cylinder. A ratio of water cement-mortar for this experiment is 0.288 1, and a curing
period is two cases of 7-day and 28-day with a curing condition of laboratory room temperature. The
physical properties of the soft steel cylinder and grout are listed in Table 2. oungs modulus and
Poissons ratio of the soft steel cylinder are 206 GPa and 0.30, respectively. Unconned compressive
strength, oungs modulus, and Poissons ration of cement-mortar grout in curing period of 7-day
are 24.76 MPa, 28.18 GPa, and 0.27, and 36.97 MPa, 42.27 GPa, and 0.25 in curing period of 28-day.
The eight rosette gauges at positions of z 100, 190, 280, 370 mm were adhered on a pull-out test
specimen as shown in Figure 1, which is to evaluate stresses occurred in the soft steel cylinder.
FIG 1 - Specimen for the pull-out test of rebar and spiral bolts installed in a thin-walled cylinder with grout.
A COMPARISON OF REBAR AND SPIRAL BOLTS USING LABORATORY PULL-OUT TESTS
TABLE 1
Material properties of rebar and spiral bolts.
Material Size (mm) Area (mm2) Elongation (%) Yield load (kN) Pull-out load
(kN)
Rebar bolt SD350 0 = 25 506.7 19.0 258.0 353.0
Spiral bolt SS400 t = 9, d = 25 225.0 38.0 69.0 102.0
TABLE 2
Physical properties of a thin-walled cylinder and grout to curing period; 0in: inner diameter; t: thickness; Er: Youngs modulus; r: Poissons ratio of a thin-
walled cylinder; St: uniaxial compressive strength; Eg: Youngs modulus; g: Poissons ratio of grout.
Thin-walled cylinder Grout (water: cement-mortar = 0.288:1)

in (mm) t (mm) Er (GPa) r (mm) Curing period St (MPa) Eg (GPa) g
7-day 24.8 28.2 0.27
69.2 3.6 206.0 0.30
28-day 37.0 42.3 0.25
Pull-out test
Figure 2 shows equipment for pull-out test as universal testing machine (model no KPUT-100,
Kumpung Ltd, Korea), which contains a pull-out test specimen, digital indicator, and data logger. A
pull-out test specimen was xed by upper and lower jiggers. Displacement due to pull-out load was
obtained using a digital indicator (model no 543-464B, Mitsuyo, Japan), and strains occurred from
each rosette gauge was recorded using a data logger (model no DC3100, Tokyo Sokki, Japan). Pull-
out load was controlled using a servo controller. Pull-out velocity was 0.05 kN/min.
FIG 2 - Universal testing machine for the pull-out test in laboratory.
Evaluation of external pressure

Strains which occurred on the thin-walled cylinder surface when pull-out test was performed were
measured, and stresses were calculated from measured strains. Then, external pressure of bolts was
examined applying thin-walled cylinder theory ( azici and Kaizer, 1992). Relation of pull-out load
and strain obtained from pull-out test are shown in Figure 3, which represents as linear behaviour
in low pull-out load and non-linear behaviour in high pull-out load. Non-linear behaviour means
that it is not due to plasticity of a thin-walled cylinder but is due to occurrence of dilation pressure
S S KANG et al
by means of grout expansion in specimen after generating bond failure in specimen by means of
pull-out of bolt. Since shear strains in the range of linear behaviour is nearly zero (Dally and Riley,
1991), strains of each direction become principal strains. In the range of non-linear behaviour, a thin-
walled cylinder shows the same behaviour with a solid line in Figure 3, in the case that any change in
specimen is does not occur. That is, the measured strains away from a solid line can be assumed due
to the inside change of a thin-walled cylinder. Accordingly, if the difference between the measured
*
strains and elastic strain represented by a solid line from x- and y-directions is f*y and fy , true strains
of each direction can be expressed as
fx f*x + of*y (1)
where is Poissons ratio of a thin-walled cylinder. External pressure of bolt as internal pressure of
a thin-walled cylinder (Figure 4) can be calculated as
pex tv
r x (2)
where
t is 3.6 mm as a thickness of a thin-walled cylinder
r is 34.6 mm as a inner radius of a thin-walled cylinder
x is stress of x-direction
35
Spiral bolt
30
Pull-out load (kN)
25
20
x* y*
15
10
0
-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100
Strain ()
FIG 3 - Relation between pull-out load and strain for true strain to the x- and y-directions.
FIG 4 - Schematic diagram of pull-out and theory of a thin-walled cylinder.
RESULTS
Curing period 7-day
Pull-out load versus displacement
The relation between pull-out load and displacement in curing period of 7-day is shown in Figure 5a.
In case of rebar bolt, pull-out load rapidly increased from pull-out load of 27.0 kN with a displacement
of 6.6 mm, and then gently increased from pull-out load of 198.0 kN with breakpoint of 12.5 mm. The
maximum pull-out load was 226.4 kN at a displacement of 18.3 mm. In case of spiral bolt, behaviour
between pull-out load and displacement was similar with that of rebar bolt. That is, pull-out load
rapidly increased from pull-out load of 74.0 kN with a displacement of 5.6 mm, and then gently
increased from pull-out load of 208.0 kN with breakpoint of 9.8 mm. The maximum pull-out load
was 285.6 kN at a displacement of 20.9 mm. The results are arranged in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Results of the pull-out test, umax: maximum displacement, Lmax: maximum pull-out load, Pex-max: maximum external pressure.
Rebar bolt Spiral bolt

Curing period 7-day 28-day 7-day 28-day
umax (mm) 18.3 14.0 20.9 19.1
Lmax (kN) 226.4 240.1 285.6 287.1
Pex-max (MPa) 3.0 5.5 7.5 10.3
External pressure
In the relation between external pressure and pull-out load with respect to curing period of 7-day
(Figure 5b), external pressure in rebar bolt increased with pull-out load and the maximum external
pressure was 3.1 MPa at the maximum pull-out load of 226.4 kN, and the maximum external
pressure of 7.5 MPa at the maximum pull-out load of 285.6 kN in case of spiral bolt. Figures 5c and
5d represent relation between external pressure and displacement at position of each rosette gauge.
As shown in the gure, each external pressure in rebar bolt rapidly increased with displacement after
occurring displacement of 7.7 mm (Figure 5c), and in case of spiral bolt (Figure 5d) external pressure
rapidly increased with displacement after occurring displacement of 6.2 mm (z 100 mm) 7.5 mm
(z 190 mm). Figures 5e and 5f show the distribution of external pressure at each position. The
distribution of external pressure in rebar and spiral bolts became the largest value at a position of
z 100 mm when a displacement of 12 mm was occurred. On the other hand, any change of external
pressure did not observe at all positions when displacement of 3 mm and 6 mm was occurred. From
above the results we can suggest that the bond failure location in specimen should be inferred from
the z 0 value, ie at the surface portion of specimen.
Curing period 28-day

Pull-out load versus displacement
The relation between pull-out load and displacement in curing period of 28-day with a different
specimen is shown in Figure 6a. In case of rebar bolt, pull-out load rapidly increased from beginning
of pull-out load, and then gently increased from pull-out load of 200.0 kN with breakpoint of
6.8 mm. The maximum pull-out load was 240.1 kN at a displacement of 14.0 mm. In case of spiral
bolt, pull-out load rapidly increased from beginning to pull-out load of 197.0 kN with a breakpoint
10.8 mm, and then moderately increased with displacement. The maximum pull-out load is 287.1 kN
at a displacement of 19.1 mm (Table 3).
External pressure
In the relation between external pressure and pull-out load with respect to curing period of 28-day
(Figure 6b), external pressure in rebar bolt increased with pull-out load and the maximum external
pressure was 5.5 MPa at the maximum pull-out load of 240.1 kN, and the maximum external
S S KANG et al
(a) 300 (b) 10

285.6 kN 7 days 7 days
External pressure (MPa)

250 8
226.4 kN 7.5 MPa
Pull-out load (kN)
200
6 Spiral bolt
150 Spiral bolt
4
285.6 kN
18.3 mm
20.9 mm
100 3.1 MPa
226.4 kN
Rebar bolt
2
50
Rebar bolt
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Displacement (mm) Pull-out load (kN)
(c) 25 (d) 25
Rebar bolt: 7 days Spiral bolt: 7 days
20 20 100 mm
External pressure (MPa) 190 mm

15 15
100 mm 190 mm 280 mm
10 280 mm 10 370 mm
5 5
370 mm
0 0
-5 -5
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)
(e) 15 (f) 15
10 10
12 mm 12 mm
5 9 mm
5
9 mm
6 mm 6 mm
0 0
3 mm 3 mm
-5 -5
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Positions along bolt axis (mm) Positions along bolt axis (mm)
FIG 5 - Results of the pull-out test: (A) pull-out load versus displacement; (B) external pressure versus pull-out load; (C) and (D) external pressure versus
displacement; (E) and (F) external pressure versus positions along bolt axis with respect to rebar and spiral bolts in case of curing period seven days.
pressure of 10.3 MPa at the maximum pull-out load of 287.1 kN in case of spiral bolt. Figure 6c
represents relation between external pressure and displacement at position of each rosette gauge.
In the gure, each external pressure in rebar bolt rapidly increased with displacement to breakpoint
of about 6.7 mm, and then became uniformly. External pressure of spiral bolt in case of z 190 mm
rapidly increased with displacement after occurring displacement of 11.2 mm. Figure 6d shows the
distribution of external pressure at each position. The distribution of external pressure in rebar bolt
represents the largest value at a position of z 100 mm in case that displacement was occurred
with 6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm and their external pressures had almost same value. The distribution of
external pressure in spiral bolts was shown the same trend with that of rebar bolt. From above the
results we can suggest that bond failure in specimen may be mainly occurred at the upper part of
specimen, and also partially occurred at the lowest part of specimen.
(a) 300 (b) 12

287.1 kN 28 days 28 days
250 10 10.3 MPa

240.1 kN
Pull-out load (kN)
200 Rebar bolt 8 Spiral bolt
150 6
5.5 MPa
14.0 mm
19.1 mm
287.1 kN
100 4
240.1 kN
50 Spiral bolt 2
Rebar bolt
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Displacement (mm) Pull-out load (kN)
(c) 25 (d) 25
20 20 190 mm

280 mm
370 mm
15 15
100 mm
10 10
100 mm
190 mm
370 mm
5 5
280 mm
0 0
-5 -5
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)
(e) 15 (f) 15
10 10
12 mm 12 mm
9 mm
6 mm
5 5 9 mm
3 mm 6 mm
0 0 3 mm
-5 -5
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Positions along bolt axis (mm) Positions along bolt axis (mm)
FIG 6 - Results of the pull-out test: (A) Pull-out load versus displacement; (B) external pressure versus pull-out load; (C) and (D) external pressure versus
displacement; (E) and (F) external pressure versus positions along bolt axis with respect to rebar and spiral bolts in case of curing period 28 days.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The pull-out test in laboratory was performed to compare reinforcement of rebar and spiral bolts in
case of grout curing period of 7- and 28-days. The results are summarised as follows.
In the mechanical properties of a rebar bolt and a spiral bolt, the size of the cross-sectional area of
a rebar bolt was about 2.3 times larger than that of a spiral bolt. The rate of extension of a spiral bolt
was about two times higher than that of a rebar bolt, whereas the yield load and the pull-out load of
a rebar bolt were about 3.7 and 3.5 times higher than those of a spiral bolt.
In the laboratory pull-out test of a rebar bolt and a spiral bolt on a curing period of 7- and
28-days, pull-out load of two support members rapidly increased with displacement until breakpoint
and then gently increased with displacement. The maximum pull-out load of spiral bolt was larger
than that of rebar bolt, while the maximum displacement of spiral bolt was smaller than that of
S S KANG et al
rebar bolt. It implies that a spiral bolt is more stable than a rebar bolt for securing the stability
of a ground or rock mass when a support was installed on a ground or rock mass under the same
condition. The maximum external pressure of two support members increased with pull-out load
and with displacement and the distribution of external pressure was commonly larger at the upper
part than at the lower part of specimen. It means that bond failure by means of pull-out load may be
occurred at the upper of specimen, and then passed to the lower. In conclusion, the reinforcing effect
of support member depends on a curing period and the type of support member, and reinforcement
of a spiral bolt is more effective than that of a rebar bolt.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Energy and Mineral Resources Engineering Program Grant funded
by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Korea.
REFERENCES
Brady, B H and Brown, E T, 1985. Rock Mechanics for Underground Mining, 527 p (Allen Unwin).
Dally, W and Riley, F, 1991. Experimental Stress Analysis, Third Edition, 672 p (McGraw-Hill New ork).
ranklin, J A and Dusseault, M B, 1989. Rock Engineering (McGraw-Hill New ork).
irata, A, Kokaji, S, Kang, S S and Goto, G, 2005. Study on the estimation of the axial resistance of spiral
bar based on interaction with ground, Journal of the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan,
121 370-377.
yett, A J, Bawden, W F and Reichert, R D, 1992. The effect of rock mass connement on the bond strength of
fully grouted cable bolts, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences Geomechanics
Abstracts, 29 503-524.
to, F, Nakahara, F, Kawano, R, Kang, S S and Obara, , 2001. Visualization of failure in a pull-out test of cable
bolts using -ray CT, Construction and Building Materials, 15 263-270.
aiser, P K, azici, S and Nose, J, 1992. Effect of stress change on the bond strength of fully grouted cables,
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences Geomechanics Abstracts, 29 293-306.
Windsor, C R, 1997. Rock reinforcement system, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Sciences, 34 919-951.
Windsor, C R and Thompson, A G, 1992. Reinforcement design for jointed rock mass, in Proceedings rd
US Symposium Rock Mechanics (eds J R Tillerson and W R Wawersik), pp 521-530 (Balkema Rotterdam).
Windsor, C R and Thompson, A G, 1993. Rock reinforcement-technology, testing, design and evaluation,
Comprehensi e Rock Engineering-Principles, Practice and Projects, volume 4 (ed J A Hudson),
pp 451-484 (Pergamon Press Oxford).
a i i, S and Kaizer, P K, 1992. Bond strength grouted cable bolts, International Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Mining Sciences Geomechanics Abstracts, 29 279-292.
Determination of Fracture Toughness of Anisotropic
Rocks Under Water Vapour Pressure by Semi-Circular
Bend Test
M Kuruppu1, Y Obara2 and M Kataoka3
ABSTRACT
Failure of rock materials is a process of crack propagation. Crack initiation takes place when the
crack tip stress intensity K reaches a critical value called fracture toughness, K1C. The rock fracture
toughness is known to be affected by the surrounding environment such as temperature, conning
pressure and humidity. In order to examine the effect of humidity, a series of semi-circular bend
tests were performed under various water vapour pressures in a rock material that is known to be
anisotropic. Water vapour promotes stress corrosion of rock and therefore the fracture toughness
was found to have a decreasing trend with increasing water vapour pressure. The rate of decreasing
the fracture toughness depends on the microcrack density that promotes the migration of water
vapour into the rock. Also in an anisotropic rock, the fracture toughness depends on the direction of
crack in relation to the anisotropy of the rock material.
INTRODUCTION
Fracture mechanics deal with initiation and propagation of cracks subjected to a stress eld. The
applicable theories depend on the brittleness or the ductility of the material. The cracks in rocks can be
pre-exisisting or newly induced due to increased loading. The crack propagation that occurs in geological
formations is often brittle and unstable in nature. But cracks can also propagate slowly and is known
as stable crack propagation. An example of rock fracture mechanics is the fracturing of a Brazilian rock
disc specimen in diametral compression in the laboratory to determine the indirect tensile strength or
fracture toughness of the rock. The fracturing of a rock specimen due to the action of cutting using a
wedge-shaped cutting tool is another example of rock fracture mechanics. Hydraulic fracturing as used
to determine the in situ stresses and dynamic rock fragmentation is a third example. A fundamental
feature of rock fracture mechanics lies in its ability to establish the relationship between rock fracture
strength to the geometry of crack or cracks and the fracture toughness, the most fundamental parameter
in fracture mechanics describing the resistance to crack propagation. It follows that crack propagation is
the major cause of material failure in many cases. Thus, assessment of fracture toughness is important
to the understanding of the behaviour of structures involving rock materials. Fracture toughness tests
differ from ordinary strength tests in rock mechanics by requiring specimens with well dened cracks.
Rock fracture toughness has been applied as a parameter for classication of rock materials, an index
for rock fragmentation of rock material property in the interpretation of geological features and in
stability analysis of rock structures, as well as in modelling of fracturing of rock (Whittaker, Singh and
Sun, 1992; Ouchterlony, 1986).
Fracture mechanics principles were originally developed for man-made materials such as metals.
However, large differences exist in basic material response of metals and rocks during fracturing.
They may be summarised as follows:
x Stress state: Most rock structures are subjected to compression but not tension. Therefore rock
materials are strong in compression but weak in tension. Rocks are often brittle in nature, ie they
break with small deformation. They usually break due to tension.
1. Senior Lecturer, Curtin University, Locked Bag 30, Kalgoorlie WA 6433. Email: m.kuruppu@curtin.edu.au
2. Professor, Kumamoto University, Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. Email: obara@kumamoto-u.ac.jp
3. Student, Kumamoto University, Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. Email: i24nuovo4secolo51@yahoo.co.jp
M KURUPPU, Y OBARA AND M KATAOKA
x Nature of rock fracture: Rocks break in a brittle manner, but without plastic ow.
x Fracture process zone: In metals, the process zone near the crack tip is plastic in nature. But in
rocks the process zone is formed due to microcracking. They also display high degree of non-
linearity during deformation.
In rock fracture mechanics applications, there are two distinct types of engineering problems. One
is concerned with the prevention of failure in which fracture growth or movement, along the pre-
exisisting fractures, is prevented such as in connection with the stability improvement of excavated
rock structures. The other is concerned with the generation and propagation of new fractures as in
hydraulic fracturing, rock fragmentation by cutting and in drilling and blasting to optimise fracture
processes in individual areas.
Failure of rock materials is a process of crack propagation. Crack initiation takes place when the
crack tip stress intensity factor K reaches the critical value, called fracture toughness KC. The rock
fracture toughness is known to be affected by the surrounding environment, such as temperature,
conning pressure and humidity. In order to examine the effect of temperature, the double torsion
test was performed under a condition of temperature 20 to 400C and water vapour pressure 103 to
105 Pa for granite and gabbro (Meridith and Atkinson, 1985). They showed that the fracture toughness
of gabbro increases below 100C and decreases thereafter and at 400C it becomes 60 to 50 per cent
of that of 20C. Granite also has similar characteristics. Al-Shayea, Khan and Abduljauwad (2000)
determined the fracture toughness of limestone at in situ conditions of temperature and conning
pressure. In order to examine the effect of water vapour, a series of semi-circular bending tests were
performed under various water vapour pressures (Obara et al, 2006). It was shown that the fracture
toughness of Kumamoto andesite is dependent on water vapour pressure.
The uniaxial compressive strength and the tensile strength of rock are mechanical properties
similar to the rock fracture toughness. It is also known that they are dependent on the surrounding
environment, particularly water vapour pressure in the atmosphere. The water vapour promotes
stress corrosion of rock (Freiman, 1984). Therefore the strength decreases with increasing water
vapour pressure. Jeong, Kang and Obara (2007) showed that the uniaxial compressive strength
and tensile strength of rock increase with decreasing water vapour pressure. However, considering
the signicance of the inuence of moisture on rock properties such as fracture toughness further
research is needed. In addition, some rock materials are anisotropic, which can result in properties
such as fracture toughness depend on the orientation of cracks with respect to planes of anisotropy
(Whittaker, Singh and Sun, 1992).
Several tests exist in order to examine of fracture toughness, namely Chevron Bend (CB) test
(Ouchterlony, 1986), Single Edge Notched Round Bar in Bending (SENRBB) test (Ouchterlony,
1980), Short Rod (SR) test (Barker, 1977), Central Straight-Through Brazilian Disk (CSTBD) test
(Atkinson, Smelser and Sanchez, 1982), Central through Chevron-Notched Brazilian Disk (CCNBD)
test (Fowell and Xu, 1993) and Semi-Circular Bend (SCB) test (Chong and Kuruppu, 1984). The
International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM, 1988; ISRM, 1995) suggested CB, SR and CCNBD
specimens as standards for fracture toughness measurement. Among many different testing methods
for the fracture toughness, the SCB specimen is chosen for its simplicity of specimen preparation and
testing procedure. For these reasons the SCB specimen has been popularly used by many researchers
to determine fracture toughness of geomaterials (Aglan et al, 2009; Chen et al, 2009; Mull, Stuart
and Yehia, 2002).
Therefore, in this study, fracture toughness of anisotropic rock was measured using SCB specimens
under water vapour pressure. Its dependence on anisotropy was also measured.
SEMI-CIRCULAR BEND TEST

The geometry of the Semi-Circular Bend specimen is shown in Figure 1. Developed by Chong and
Kuruppu (1984), this specimen is a typical rock core-based specimen requiring very little machining.
It is made of slicing the core into disks and then splitting each disk into two halves to make two
specimens having almost identical properties. This character is sometimes useful as the variation
of fracture properties through a core length is usually signicant. It is suitable for small, compact
specimens requiring duplicate samples to investigate fracture toughness when subjected to changing
parameters such as strain rate, conning pressure, moisture content and temperature. The fracture
toughness KIC is of the following form (Chong and Kuruppu, 1987):
DETERMINATION OF FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF ANISOTROPIC ROCKS UNDER WATER VAPOUR PRESSURE BY SEMI-CIRCULAR BEND TEST
R

a t
2s

FIG 1 - Semi-circular bend specimen.
Pmax ra
KIC = Y1 (1)
2rt
YI is the dimensionless stress intensity factor shown in Figure 2 as a function of the dimensionless
crack length a/r with r being half the disk diameter (Lim, Johnston and Choi, 1993). Pmax is the
maximum load attained before fracture and t is the thickness. The results of Figure 2 can be
approximated by a third order polynomial as follows:
Y1 = 5.5634 - 11.219â/rh + 17.687â/rh2 + 124.89â/rh3 - 364.54â/rh4 + 302.14â/rh5 (2)

25
20
15
YI
Y
10
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
a/r
FIG 2 - Mode 1 normalised stress intensity factor of semi-circular bend specimen.
Equation 2 is applicable for the span ratio s/r of 0.8 only. The half disk specimen can be also tested
for mixed mode fracture toughness studies (Kuruppu and Chong, 1986). Researchers have used the
SCB specimen to investigate mixed mode fracture by having an angled crack instead of a symmetric
crack.
THE APPLICATION OF SEMI-CIRCULAR BEND TEST FOR FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
MEASUREMENT OF ANISOTROPIC ROCK
A series of tests for the determination of fracture toughness of Africa Rutenburg granite was carried
out at the laboratories of Kumamoto University in Western Japan. Figure 3 shows SCB specimen
made of Africa Rustenberg granite and prepared for Mode 1 testing. This rock is composed of
amphibole, plagioclass, pyroxene, etc which are investigated by qualitative analysis using X-ray
diffraction.
In order to investigate the orientation of micro cracks, observation of a thin section of this rock was
performed using polarisation microscope. Figure 4 shows a photograph of the thin section which
shows that the grain boundaries are mostly aligned with x-axis. Axes x and y in this gure are dened
r
a t
FIG 3 - Semi-circular bend specimen made of Africa Rutenburg granite.
Amphibole
Biotite Plagioclase
(Axis-1)
y
x (Axis-3) 1mm
FIG 4 - A thin section micrograph of Africa Rutenburg granite.
arbitrarily and x-direction is aligned with Axis-3 of the frame of reference. In order to count the
distribution of micro crack orientation, the strike of each micro crack is measured and its frequency
is summarised in the rose diagram with an interval of 20 as shown in Figure 5. This result shows
that the many micro cracks are almost oriented between 100 and 120 from x-axis.
y(Axis1)
x(Axis3)
FIG 5 - Rose diagram showing the frequency of microcrack orientation.
This rock is known as anisotropic and has been tested for elastic wave velocity in three perpendicular
directions (Figure 6). The results show that the elastic wave velocity is the same in two directions.
However it is different in the third direction, which conrms that Africa Rustenburg granite is a
transversely isotropic material. On the basis of the results, the three directions were dened as Axis-1,
Axis-2 and Axis-3 and planes perpendicular to each axis were dened as Plane-1, Plane-2 and Plane-3.
The elastic wave velocity in Plane-1 is approximately equal considering two perpendicular directions
in that plane with Vp = 6575 m/s and 6543 m/s. However, the elastic wave velocity measured in a
direction perpendicular to Plane-1 is higher (Vp = 6757 m/s). That direction has a lower resistance
to elastic wave propagation perhaps showing lower micro crack density in Plane-1 compared to that
Crack1 Vp=6757m/s Axis1
Crack2
Plane1
Vp=6543m/s Plane2
Plane3

Vp=6579m/s Axis2
Axis3
FIG 6 - Elastic wave velocity in three perpendicular directions.
in Plane-2 and Plane-3. The micro cracks in Plane-1, Plane-2 and Plane-3 are called Crack-1, Crack-2
and Crack-3 respectively for the purpose of identication.
The material exhibits two groups of inherent cracks. The two groups of Crack-2 and Crack-3 are
oriented perpendicular to Axis-2 and Axis-3 respectively. They have the same intensity of crack and
therefore the elastic wave velocity is found to be the same. The group of Crack-1 which is oriented
perpendicular to Axis-1 has higher elastic wave velocity. Therefore the intensity of cracks is less than
that in the other two groups.
In this study, two types of SCB specimens were prepared, 1 - 2 type and 3 - 2 type (Figure 7). The
rst gure denes the direction of propagation of the crack. The second gure denes the plane of
the specimen. The articial notch in each specimen has been chosen to represent natural cracks
having that plane and direction.

Axis1 Axis2 Crack1 32type
Axis1
12type

Axis3

Plane2
Axis3
FIG 7 - Preparation of specimens using a core drilled in the direction of Axis-2.
SCB specimen is made from typical rock core approximately 75 mm in diameter. The core is sliced
into disks of approximately 20 mm thickness and then split into two halves. The specimens were
machined using a diamond coated, circular disk cutter. An articial notch was made by a diamond
blade with a thickness of 0.4 mm. The crack length ratio a/r = 0.5 where a and r are dened in
Figure 3. It is necessary that water in specimen is removed to examine inuence of surrounding
environment of rock. In order to achieve complete dry condition of the rock specimens, they were
kept in the electric drier oven at 100 for more than 30 days.
EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE
Experimental system
The set-up of specimen for SCB test is shown in Figure 8. Test specimen is placed on two lower
support rollers with support span width 2s and the span ratio s/r is 0.8. The load is applied through
one upper and two lower rollers. Loading plate with load cell can move up and down vertically by
guide rods.
Loadcell
Loadingplate
Roller
Specimen
Guiderod Roller
FIG 8 - Set up of specimen for testing.
Figure 9 shows a vacuum chamber used in the test to control surrounding environment of rock
specimen. The chamber, which is made of SUS304 steel, has upper and lower anges with a rod
for compression and six ports and a valve to inject the gases. Two of the ports are used to lead
the output from strain gauges pasted to the specimen surface. Another two ports are to measure
the vapour pressure in the chamber by two types of pressure gauges. One port is the window for
observing inside of the chamber and the last port with a valve is connected to the air evacuation
system through a exible tube. During the test, the chamber is linked to the vacuum system that is
used to introduce the required level of vapour pressure.
FIG 9 - Vacuum chamber.
The specimen is placed on a loading plate inside the vacuum chamber. The chamber along with the
specimen is placed in a Material Test System (MTS) servo-controlled testing machine having a capacity
of 100 kN as shown in Figure 10. The anges of the chamber are supported by two columns with springs
(Figure 11). These springs prevent any load application on the specimen while the vapour pressure is
controlled before the start of the test. Load and displacement data during the test is measured by a
load cell with a capacity of 10 kN and a displacement gauge connected to the test specimen.
In this test, it is necessary that the air in the chamber is removed along with water vapour.
Subsequently, we introduced various quantities of water vapour as required for testing. The evacuation
system consists of two pumps, a rotary pump and a turbo molecular pump. The water vapour pressure
is measured using two gauges. One is APGX pressure gauge with a measurement range of 10-1 to 105
Pa and the other is AIMS pressure gauge with a measurement range of 10-6 to 100 Pa, both shown
Figure 12. Pressure data measured by these gauges is recorded as a voltage through a control panel.
Testing method
SCB specimen is wiped dirt using acetone. The environmental chamber with the specimen placed
inside is set up on the MTS testing machine. The specimen is loaded via a rod passing through the
FIG 10 - Material Test System testing system.
FIG 11 - Set up of the chamber supported by two steel columns with springs.
Flexibletube

Turbomolecularpump

Chamber

Rotarypump
FIG 12 - Schematic view of air evacuation system.
upper ange of the chamber. Tests were performed at a constant displacement rate of 0.01 mm/min.
The water vapour pressure is controlled before testing as described below.
Figure 13 shows the change of pressure in the chamber during test. The air in the chamber is
removed using the two vacuum pumps until the pressure dropped to less than 10-2 Pa. Distilled water
is then injected through the injection valve to a pressure of about 103 Pa. As a result, the pressure in
the chamber becomes the saturated water vapour pressure and the chamber is lled with only water
vapour. Subsequently the water vapour in the chamber is exhausted until reaching the pressure
required for the test. This water vapour pressure is maintained for about six hours before the fracture
toughness test is performed.
5
10
Startoftest
Startofvacuum
3
10 pump
pressure p, Pa
Injectionof
1
10 distilledwater
-1
10
-3
10
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time, hour
FIG 13 - Pressure in the chamber during testing.

Table 1 shows results of fracture toughness tests of Africa Rustenberg granite. SCB tests were
performed on 11 specimens of 1-2 type and 14 specimens of 3-2 type. The range of water vapour
pressure in the test is from 8.4 10-2 Pa to 7.7 102 Pa. The fracture toughness KIC is calculated by
Equation 1.
TABLE 1
Fracture toughness and water vapour pressure for Africa Rustenberg granite.
Water vapor pressure Fracture toughness Water vapor pressure Fracture toughness
Type No Type No
p(Pa) KIC(MN/m3/2) p(Pa) KIC(MN/m3/2)
1-2 1 4.2 x 10-1 2.44 3-2 1 8.4 x 10-2 1.93
-1 -1
1-2 2 7.2 x 10 2.48 3-2 2 2.4 x 10 1.95
1-2 3 8.5 x 10-1 2.42 3-2 3 5.2 x 10-1 1.75
0 -1
1-2 4 5.4 x 10 2.42 3-2 4 8.6 x 10 1.85
0 0
1-2 5 8.7 x 10 2.37 3-2 5 1.1 x 10 2.03
1 0
1-2 6 1.6 x 10 1.97 3-2 6 2.5 x 10 1.86
1 0
1-2 7 3.3 x 10 2.32 3-2 7 4.7 x 10 1.92
1 1
1-2 8 6.9 x 10 2.11 3-2 8 1.5 x 10 1.81
1 1
1-2 9 8.7 x 10 2.23 3-2 9 3.5 x 10 1.62
2 1
1-2 10 2.0 x 10 2.06 3-2 10 4.8 x 10 1.94
1-2 11 3.8 x 102 1.97 3-2 11 9.3 x 101 1.79
2
3-2 12 1.4 x 10 1.66
2
3-2 13 4.2 x 10 1.85
2
3-2 14 7.7 x 10 1.81
Figure 14 shows a fractured specimen after test. The crack propagated straight from the edge of
articial notch to the upper loading point. Figure 15 gives an example of load-displacement curve of
a test done at the vapour pressure shown in the gure. This curve is downward convex at low stress
level and is linear until specimen failed at maximum load. The relation between fracture toughness
KIC and water vapour pressure is shown in Figure 16. The vertical axis is fracture toughness and
the horizontal axis is water vapour pressure and both axes are logarithmic. The values of fracture
toughness of 1 - 2 type are larger than those of 3 - 2 type. This shows that rock fracture toughness
depends on anisotropy. The fracture toughness of both types varies almost linearly against water
vapour pressure and they have a decreasing trend. Lines drawn using least square approximation are
also shown. The equation of those lines is represented as:
KIC = bp-m (3)
where:
is a constant
m is the negative slope of the approximated line on the logarithmic graph
The parameter m is 0.0307 for 1 - 2 type and 0.0097 for 3 - 2 type. As the m-value for 1 - 2 type is
larger than for 3 - 2 type, the inuence of water vapour pressure to fracture toughness for 1 - 2 type
may be stronger than that for 3 - 2 type.
FIG 14 - Photograph of a fractured specimen of Africa Rustenberg granite.
2500
p=4.2x10 Pa
1
2000
1500
Load, N
1000
500
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Displacement, mm
FIG 15 - A typical load-displacement curve.
12type
3
KIC, NM/m3/2
2
32type
1 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10
p, Pa
FIG 16 - Relationship between fracture toughness and water vapour pressure.
3 - 2 type specimens which have the notch cracks in Plane-1 may be fractured by the effect of
grain boundaries, which are oriented in the same plane. Conversely 1 - 2 type specimens require
fracturing through the gains while overcoming greater resistance. A microstructural study of rock
materials has shown that intergranular cracks (grain boundary cracks) and transgranular cracks
(cracks cut across mineral grains) are present in rock materials (Whittaker et al, 1992). However,
they may have different resistance to fracture. From this and the observed results, it is found that
the fracture toughness depends on the orientation of the articial crack with respect to the material
inhomogeneity. This also explains the difference of m value between Africa Rustenberg granite 1 -
2 type and 3 - 2 type. Microcracks are known as planes of weakness in a rock. The effect of stress
corrosion on such planes can be signicant thus reducing the resistance to crack propagation rapidly.
Therefore water vapour migrated through the dense array of microcracks has a greater inuence on
the fracture resistance of 1 - 2 type making the m value larger.
CONCLUSIONS
Africa Rustenberg granite has isotropic properties in one plane (Plane-1) but the properties in
the other two major planes are different from those of Plane-1. Hence its properties are close to
transversely isotropic. Both the elastic wave velocity and the fracture toughness showed the
directional dependence. The measured elastic wave velocity was lower in both major directions of
Plane-1 as there is a high microcrack density in perpendicular planes. When the fracture toughness
was measured in a plane perpendicular to Plane-1 (eg 1 - 2 type), it was found to be higher than
when the notch cracks were oriented in Plane-1. Moreover, the logarithmic graph of KIC versus water
vapour pressure shows a distinctly different gradient for 1-2 type in comparison with that for 3 - 2
type. This can be explained by the increase in fracture resistance in a direction perpendicular to the
orientation of grain boundaries and the facilitation of rapid stress corrosion due to the higher density
of microcracks. Therefore the fracture toughness of Africa Rustenberg granite depends on both the
parameters investigated in this study, namely the water vapour pressure and the orientation of the
crack with respect to the microstructural anisotropy of the material.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
One of the authors (MK) thankfully acknowledges the fellowship offered by Japanese Society for the
Promotion of Science to visit the rock fracture mechanics research group in Kumamoto University,
Japan.
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Aglan, H, Morsy, M, Allie, A and Fouad, F, 2009. Evaluation of ber reinforced nanostructured perlite-
cementitious surface compounds for building shin applications, Construction and Building Materials,
volume 23, pp 138-145 (Elsevier).
Al-shayea, N A, Khan, K and Abduljauwad, S N, 2000. Effects of conning pressure and temperature on
mixed-mode (I-II) fracture toughness of a limestone rock, Int J Rock Mech Min Sci, 37:629-643.
Atkinson, C, Smelser, R E and Sanchez, J, 1982. Combined mode fracture via the cracked Brazilian disk test,
Int J Fract, volume 18:4:279-291.
Barker, L M, 1977. A simplied method for measuring plane-strain fracture toughness, Eng Fract Mech,
9:361-369.
Chen, R, Xia, K, Dai, F, Lu, F and Luo, S N, 2009. Determination of dynamic fracture parameters using a
semi-circular bend technique in split Hopkinson pressure bar testing, Eng Fracture Mech, 76:1268-1276.
Chong, K P and Kuruppu, M D, 1984. New specimen for fracture toughness determination for rock and other
materials, Int J Fract, 26:R59-62.
Chong, K P and Kuruppu M D, 1987. Fracture toughness determination of layered materials, Eng Fract Mech,
28(1):43-54.
Fowell, R J and Xu C, 1993. The cracked Chevron notched Brazilian disc test geometrical considerations
for practical rock fracture toughness measurement, Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr, 30:821-824.
Freiman, S W, 1984. Effects of chemical environments on slow crack growth in glasses and ceramics,
J Geophys Res, 89:4072-4076.
ISRM Testing Commission, 1988. Suggested methods for determining the fracture toughness of rock, Int
J Rock Mech Min Sci and Geomech Abstr, 25:71-96.
ISRM Testing Commission, 1995. Suggested method for determining mode-I fracture toughness using
cracked Chevron notched Brazilian disk (CCNBD) specimens, Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr,
32:57-64.
Jeong, H S, Kang, S S and Obara, Y, 2007. Inuence of surrounding environments and strain rates on strength
of rocks under uniaxial compression, Int J Rock Mech Sci, 44:321-331.
Kuruppu, M D and Chong, K P, 1986. New specimens for modes I and II fracture investigations of geometries,
in Proceedings Soc Expl Mech, Spring Conf on Expl Mech, pp 31-38, New Orleans, USA.
Lim, I L, Johnston, I W and Choi, S K, 1993. Stress intensity factors for semi-circular specimens under three-
point bending, Engng Fract Mech, 44:363-382.
Meredith, P G and Atkinson, B K, 1985. Fracture toughness and subcritical crack growth during high-
temperature tensile deformation of Westerly granite and Black gabbro, Phys Earth Planet Int, 39:33-51.
Mull, M A, Stuart, K and Yehia, A, 2002. Fracture resistance characterisation of chemically modied crumb
rubber asphalt pavement, J of Materials Sci, volume 37, pp 557-566 (Kluwer Academic Publishers).
Obara, Y, Sasaki, K, Matusyama, T and Yoshinaga, T, 2006. Inuence of water vapor pressure of surrounding
environment on fracture toughness of rock, in Proceedings ARMS- Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium,
CD-7 chapter.
Ouchterlony, F, 1980. A new core specimen for the fracture toughness testing of rocks, Swedish Detonic
Research Foundation Rep DS, P10, Stockholm, Sweden.
Oucterlony, F, 1986. A core bend specimen with chevron notch for fracture toughness measurements, rock
mechanics: key to energy production, n Proceedings 27th U Symp on Rock Mech (ed: H L Hartman),
pp 177-184 (SME: Littleton).
Whittaker, B N, Singh, R N and Sun, G, 1992. Rock Fracture mechanics, principles, design and applications,
Developments in Geotechnical Engineering, 71 p (Elsevier: Amsterdam).
Performance of the Coal Mine Openings and Pillars in
Anisotropic Stress Field
Ylmaz1 and T nl2
ABSTRACT
The stability of parallel underground coal mine galleries and pillars have been investigated using
two- and three-dimensional (3D) numerical stress analysis. Anisotropic horizontal in situ stresses
and the direction of the excavations have been considered in the numerical analysis. The stability of
the tunnels driven in a coal seam at various working depths has been investigated taking into account
different strata conditions and then results from two- and three-dimensional numerical modelling
studies were compared. Maximum principal stress components have been chosen in three various
directions: vertical, parallel and perpendicular to the tunnel axis. Analysis have shown that in the
anisotropic in situ stress eld, the favourable direction of underground mine openings which have
different strata conditions depend not only on the horizontal in situ stresses but also on the vertical
in situ stresses. Furthermore, 3D numerical modelling studies have been carried out to investigate
stability of multiple entry longwall panel gate roads and pillars with various width-to-length ratios
(W/L). Results of the modelling studies have shown that the critical dimension of coal pillars depends
on their width and the direction of maximum horizontal stresses.
INTRODUCTION
The failure caused by high induced stresses in the vicinity of underground openings is related to
geomechanical characteristics of the rock masses, the shape of the excavations, and magnitude and
the orientation of the in situ stresses. In fact, instability caused by anisotropic in situ stresses is a
common problem of mining operations. Therefore, special attention must be given to those areas in
terms of mine stability and economy.
The result of in situ stress measurements at various regions of the world indicate that the principal
components of the in situ stress eld do not deviate very much from the vertical and horizontal
directions; however, their magnitudes and order are quite variable (Amadei and Stephansson, 1997).
Furthermore, it has been reported that many horizontal stress elds are distinctly biaxial on the
horizontal plane, with the maximum horizontal stress component perpendicular to the minimum
horizontal stress component (Hoek and Brown, 1980; Morris, 1990; Siddall and Gale, 1992). Since
two horizontal stress components are perpendicular to one another and their magnitudes are
different from each other, stress concentrations around the underground openings are affected from
the orientation of the opening. As a result, entries oriented nearly perpendicular to the maximum
horizontal stress suffer greater damage than those oriented parallel to it. If the orientation of the
opening is not among the design constraints, it should be optimised with respect to the in situ
stress components. It has been reported that in some regions (eg UK, Australia, USA) the stability
of mine roadways has been improved by orienting the longitudinal axes of the openings parallel to
the maximum horizontal stress (Pugh, 1988; Gale, 1991; Siddall and Gale 1992; Farmer, 1997; Mark,
Mucho and Dolinar, 1998; Meyer, Stead and Coggan, 1999). The fact that the vertical stress is the
minimum component of the in situ stresses in these regions has usually been understated. However,
it should be note that in the anisotropic in situ stress eld, the vertical in situ stress can be the
minimum, intermediate, or maximum component of the principal in situ stresses. In fact, the cases
where Pv is the intermediate or maximum component of the in situ stresses have not been thoroughly
investigated.
1. Research Assistant, Karaelmas University, Zonguldak 67100, Turkey. Email: ozguryilmaz@karaelmas.edu.tr

2. Associate Professor, Karaelmas University, Zonguldak 67100, Turkey. Email: unlutugrul@hotmail.com
YILMAZ AND T NL
The main body of this paper is given in two sections. In the rst one, stability of the underground
openings and pillars have been investigated using two- and three-dimensional numerical stress
analysis methods taking into account anisotropic horizontal stresses and the direction of the
excavations. In the numerical analysis, various strata conditions and working depths were simulated
and then results were compared from two- and three-dimensional numerical modelling studies. In
the second part of the study, 3D numerical modelling studies have been carried out to investigate
stability of multiple entry longwall panel gate roads and pillars with various width-to-length ratios
(W/L). For these purposes, the methodology used in the study is summarised; then, the results of the
study are presented and ndings are discussed.
METHODOLOGY
The effect of an anisotropic stress eld on the stability has been investigated for rectangular shaped
and parallel coal mine galleries and pillars. The openings have a width-to-height ratio (W/H) of 2. In
this section, the important aspects of the methodology used in this study are briey explained.
In situ stress field and positioning

It has been assumed that one of the three components of the principal stresses is in the vertical
direction (Pv), and the other two components are on the horizontal plane (Ph and Pz) and aligned to
parallel and perpendicular to the axial direction of the tunnel as it shown in Figure 1. The horizontal
stress component perpendicular to the vertical axis of the opening is called as the horizontal in situ
stress (Ph), and the third principal component parallel to the longitudinal axis of the opening is called
as the axial in situ stress (Pz). Depending on the value assigned, either Ph or Pz may be the maximum
horizontal stress. For various Pv levels, the stability of the opening and the pillars has been evaluated
when its longitudinal axis is oriented parallel and perpendicular to the maximum horizontal stress.
Vertical
principal
stress
Pz Pv
Horizontal
principal Ph Ph
stress
Axial Pz
principal
stress Pv
FIG 1 - Definitions of the principal components of the in situ stresses.
In order to ensure a considerable anisotropy for the in situ stress eld, the magnitudes of these
principal components have been chosen as 3P, 2P and P. Here, P is only a stress scaling factor.
Assigned stress scaling factors for principal in situ stresses for these six different combinations are
given in Table 1.
Rock mass strength and assessment of instability

For the assessment of stress-induced instability occurring around underground openings, the results
of the two- and three-dimensional elasto-plastic (E-P) stress analysis have been used. Phase2 (ver 5.0)
PERFORMANCE OF THE COAL MINE OPENINGS AND PILLARS IN ANISOTROPIC STRESS FIELD
TABLE 1
Assigned stress scaling factors for principal stresses.
Case number Vertical principal stress, Pv Horizontal principal stress, Ph Axial principal stress, Pz
I.a 2P 3P
Shallow P
I.b 3P 2P
II.a Moderate P 3P
Shallow 2P
II.b 3P P
III.a P 2P
Deep 3P
III.b 2P P
(Rocscience, 2004) nite element code was used for the two-dimensional (2D) elasto-plastic stress
analysis; for the 3D elasto-plastic stress analysis, Flac3D (ver 2.1) (Itasca, 2003) nite difference
code has been employed.
In the 2D E-P stress analysis (Phase2), the Hoek-Brown empirical failure criterion (Hoek and
Brown, 1980) is considered for the characterisation of the rock mass and coal strength. Its generalised
version is expressed as (Hoek, Kaiser and Bawden, 1995; Hoek and Brown, 1997):
v' max = v' min + vci $ `m b $ v' min /vci + sja (1)
where:
max and min = maximum and minimum principal effective stresses at failure, respectively
ci = uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock
The Hoek-Brown constant mb, s and a, depend on the quality of rock mass, and they can be estimated
by some empirical expressions involving the geological strength index (GSI). The GSI concept is
introduced by Hoek, Kaiser and Bawden (1995), and the value of GSI ranges from about ten, for
extremely poor rock masses, to 100 for intact rock. Further details of this criterion can be found
elsewhere (Hoek, Kaiser and Bawden, 1995; Hoek and Brown, 1997).
In the 3D E-P stress analysis (Flac3D), the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion (Jaeger and Cook,
1969) is considered for the characterisation of the rock mass and coal strength. The Mohr-Coulomb
failure criterion represents the linear envelope that is obtained from a plot of the shear strength of a
material related to the normal stress. This relation is expressed as:
x = c m + v'tan{m (2)
where:
is the shear strength
is the effective normal stress
cm and m = cohesion and angle of internal friction of rock mass, respectively
Strength parameters of the various strata conditions and coal considered in this study are given in
Table 2. In this study, three different strata conditions have been considered; high strength roof and
oor, high strength roof and low strength oor, and low strength roof and oor.
In order to compare the yield zones determined in different E-P analysis, a quantitative measure
introduced by Gerek and Geni (1998) has been used (Figure 2). It is called the index of yield zone
or IYZ, which is the ratio of the total area of yielded elements to the entry area. Thus, using the
IYZ values, it has been possible to compare the relative sizes of the yield zones occurring around
the openings for a given set of in situ stresses. Furthermore, for determinations of the overstressed
region around the opening in the two- dimensional analysis, the strength factor approach suggested
by McCreath and Diederichs (1994) has been employed. The strength factor is a ratio of available
strength to induced stresses in terms of deviatoric stress.
YILMAZ AND T NL
Yielded area
determined by E-P
analysis
Entry Coal Pillar Entry
Index of Yield Zone (IYZ)
Total area of yielded elements

IYZ =
Entry area
FIG 2 - Key figure to explain the presentation of the result.
TABLE 2
Strength parameters of the rock masses and coal.
Strength parameters High strength rock Low strentgh rock Coal

Uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock, ci (MPa) 100 40 20
Youngs modulus of rock mass, Em(GPa) 30 6.5 4.5
Poissons ratio of rock mass, v 0.2 0.3 0.35
Geological strength index, GSI 70 50 50
Tensile strength of rock mass, tm (MPa) -5 -1 -0.5
Cohesion of rock mass, cm (MPa) 8 1.5 0.5
Angle of internal friction of rock mass, m () 42 30 34
EFFECT OF ANISOTROPIC IN SITU STRESSES

In this section, results of 36 (ie 18 2D and 18 3D) E-P stress analysis are presented. The stress-
induced failure potential is examined for each case. Finite element model used in 2D numerical
analysis is given in Figure 3. As can be seen in Figure 3, four entries located in a horizontally bedded
coal seam have been generated for each strata condition.
30
20
6 15 6
[m]
160
FIG 3 - Finite element model used in two-dimensional numerical analysis.
Roof and floor stability

All results for the 2D numerical analysis are illustrated in Figures 4 to 6 for the different strata
conditions. When IYZ values and strength factor contours are considered in Figure 4 (high strength
roof and oor), the observed results can be summarised as follows: when Pv is the minimum and
intermediate in situ stress component (Pv = P and Pv = 2P), it can be said that the entry heading
has not had a considerable effect on the roof and oor stability. However, when Pv is the maximum
stress component (Pv = 3P), orienting the openings parallel to the minimum horizontal stress has
resulted in smaller yield region, compared with the reverse situation. In this case, it should be noted
that this type of orientation is more advantageous especially for the roof and oor stability. In the
high strength roof-low strength oor condition (Figure 5), when Pv is the minimum in situ stress
component, orientation of the opening parallel to the higher horizontal stress is more favourable;
nonetheless, when Pv is the maximum component, orientation of the opening parallel to the lower
horizontal stress is more advantageous; and when Pv is the intermediate in situ stress component,
there is no dramatic effect of opening orientation on stability. Finally, in the low strength roof-oor
condition (Figure 6), the same observations with the previous condition can be inferred. When Pv is
the minimum in situ stress component, orientation of the opening parallel to the higher horizontal
stress is more advantageous, but this advantage has a tendency to reduce with the depth.
2.0 1.6
1.2
1.6
1.6
IYZ= 2.09 IYZ= 1.73

Pv
3P 3P
2.0 P 2P
1.6 2P P
1.6
1.2 1.6 2P 2P 1.2
2.0 P 3P
3P P 1.2
Pz P P Ph
IYZ= 1.86 3P
IYZ= 1.78
2P
3P 2P
1.6 1.6
2.0
1.2 1.2 2.0
IYZ= 1.81 IYZ= 1.62
FIG 4 - Results of the two-dimensional analysis for the high-strength roof and floor condition.
The nite difference model used in the 3D numerical analysis is given in Figure 7. As can be seen in
Figure 7, four entries located in a horizontally bedded coal seam have been generated for each strata
condition similar to the 2D approach. In this case, continuous pillar has been applied to simulating
the same impression with the 2D application.
The IYZ values derived from the 2D analysis have been compared with those derived from the 3D
analysis. As can be seen in Figures 8 to 10, the IYZ values have been computed for each discussed
strata condition separately. The observed results can be summarised as follows; although the two
different numerical analysis approaches have shown dissimilarity in numeric values, the area of
YILMAZ AND T NL
2.0 1.6
1.2
1.6 1.6
2.0
1.6 1.2 IYZ= 9.34 1.2 IYZ= 8.33
Pv
3P 3P
2.0 1.6 P 2P
2P P
1.6 1.2 1.6
1.2 2P 2P
P 3P
3P P
Pz P P Ph
1.2 IYZ= 6.38 IYZ= 5.93 1.2
2P 3P
3P 2P
1.6 1.6 1.6
1.2 2.0 1.2 2.0
1.2
IYZ= 5.39 IYZ= 10.40
FIG 5 - Results of the two-dimensional analysis for the high-strength roof and low-strength floor condition.
1.6 1.2
2.0 1.2
1.6 1.2
IYZ= 14.77 IYZ= 8.26

Pv
3P 3P
P 2P
1.2 2P P 1.2
2P 2P 1.2
1.2 P 3P
3P P
Pz P P Ph
1.2 IYZ= 7.99 2P 3P IYZ= 6.78
3P 2P
1.2
1.2 1.6
2.0
IYZ= 6.19 IYZ= 10.27
FIG 6 - Results of the two-dimensional analysis for the low-strength roof and floor condition.
103 m
FIG 7 - Finite difference model used in three-dimensional numerical analysis.
High-Strength Roof and Floor Conditions

Parallel to the maximum horizontal stress Parallel to the maximum horizontal stress
Parallel to the minimum horizontal stress Parallel to the minimum horizontal stress
3 3
FLAC 3D PHASE 2
2 2
1 1
0 0
1 2 3 1 2 3
Pv / P Pv / P
FIG 8 - Comparing two- and three-dimensional analysis for high strength roof and floor conditions.
High-Strength Roof and Low-Strength Floor Conditions

12 12
FLAC 3D PHASE 2
8 8
4 4
0 0
1 2 3 1 2 3
Pv / P Pv / P
FIG 9 - Comparing two- and three-dimensional analysis for high strength roof and low strength floor conditions.
YILMAZ AND T NL
Low-Strength Roof and Floor Conditions


20 20
FLAC 3D PHASE 2
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
1 2 3 1 2 3
Pv / P Pv / P
FIG 10 - Comparing two- and three-dimensional analysis for low strength roof and floor conditions.
yielded zone (in other words their IYZ values) show a similar shape. As can be seen in Figure 8, since
the IYZ values change in a narrow interval, it can be said that in the high strength strata condition
there is no conspicuous effect of opening orientation on the stability. As can be seen in Figures 9 and
10, in the other two low strength strata conditions; when Pv is the minimum in situ stress component,
orientation of the opening parallel to the higher horizontal stress is more advantageous; nonetheless,
when Pv is the intermediate in situ stress component, two different orientations give a similar results;
nally, when Pv is the maximum in situ stress component, orientation of the opening parallel to the
smaller horizontal stress is more favourable.
In summary, it can be inferred that in the low-strength strata conditions, the orientation of the
opening has a greater effect on stability than in the high strength strata conditions. Because of this, in
the second part of the study, only the low-strength roof and oor conditions have been undertaken.
Pillar stability
In this section, stability of pillars between parallel multiple entry longwall panel gate roads have
been investigated using 3D numerical stress analysis methods. Anisotropic horizontal stresses and
various width-to-length (W/L) ratios of the pillars are considered. For clarity, only the case in which
Pv is the maximum in situ stress component has been considered. The general approach followed
in the preparation of the model is presented in Figure 11 and considered pillar lengths are given in
Table 3 for three different pillar widths (9, 15 and 21 m).
TABLE 3
Three different pillar geometry cases.
First case (Wp = 9 m) Second case (Wp = 15 m) Third case (Wp = 21 m)

Lp (m) Lp (m) Lp (m)
9 15 21
12 20 28
15 25 35
18 30 42
Continuous Continuous Continuous
In the evaluation of the numerical analysis, the IYZ values determined along the middle line of the
median pillars (the B-B line, see Figure 11) have been used. Observed results for three different cases
can be summarised as follows.
In the rst case (Figure 12), since pillar dimensions are too small as far as opening dimensions
concerned, pillars act as yielding pillars. Increasing pillar length has no effect on the stability in the
Wp
Entry
B'
Lp
Crosscut
FIG 11 - Three-dimensional pillar model.
W
W p p
FIRST CASE
, , , m and f
Wp=9 m,, Lp= 9,12,15,18
LLp
p
Parallel to the maximum horizontal stress

Parallel to the minimum horizontal stress
ne (IYZ)
25
20
Yield Zon
15
10
Index of Y
0
0.0 0.5 1.0
Continuous 05
0.5 06
0.6 0 75
0.75 Square
Pillar Width to Length Ratio (Wp/ Lp)
FIG 12 - Effect of pillar width-to-length (W/L) ratios on stability for pillar length of 9 m.
case of the orientation of the entries parallel to the higher horizontal stress, in the other hand, in the
case of the orientation of the entries parallel to the smaller horizontal stress, increasing pillar length
has an improvement effect on the stability.
In the other two cases (Figure 13 and 14), pillars act as abutment pillars, they do not behave like
yielding pillars anymore. In the case of the orientation of the entries parallel to the higher horizontal
stress, again, it can be said that increasing pillar length has a limited effect on the stability. However,
in the case of the orientation of the entries parallel to the smaller horizontal stress, increasing the
length of the pillar results in signicant improvement stability.
CONCLUSIONS
Series of parametric studies have been carried out to establish the effect of anisotropic stresses on the
stability of parallel coal mine galleries and the pillars. The potential for stress-induced failure around
YILMAZ AND T NL
the openings and pillars has been investigated by using two- and three-dimensional elasto-plastic
stress analysis. When Pv is the minimum stress component, orientation of the openings parallel to the
higher horizontal stress is more favourable; nonetheless, when Pv is the maximum stress component,
orientation of the opening parallel to the lower horizontal (perpendicular to the higher) stress is
more advantageous. Analysis have shown that in the anisotropic in situ stress eld, the favourable
direction of underground mine openings which have different strata conditions depend not only
on the horizontal in situ stresses but also on the vertical in situ stresses. If the strata conditions are
unfavourable (relatively weak and exhibit low deformation characteristics), the effect of anisotropic
stresses becomes more important. Therefore, anisotropic stress elds should particularly be taken
into account when designing mine openings and pillars. Results of the modelling studies of pillar
width-to-length ratios have shown that the critical dimension of coal pillars depends on their width
and the direction of maximum horizontal stresses.
REFERENCES
Amadei, B and Stephansson, O, 1997. Rock Stress and Its Measurement, 489 p (Chapman and Hall: London).
Farmer, I W, 1997. Regional in situ stresses in mine design, Transactions of the Institution of Mining and
Metallurgy (Sect A: Min Industry), 106:A95-A99.
Gale, W J, 1991. Strata control utilizing rock reinforcement techniques and stress control methods in Australian
coal mines, The Mining Engineer, 150(352)247-253.
Gerek, H and Geni , M, 1998. Effect of anisotropic in situ stress eld on the stability of underground
openings, in Proceedings Fourth Regional Rock Mechanics Symposium, pp 235-246 (TUKMD: Zonguldak)
(in Turkish).
Hoek, E and Brown, E T, 1980. Underground Excavations in Rock, 527 p (IMM: London).
Hoek, E and Brown, E T, 1997. Practical estimates of rock mass strength, International Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Science and Geomechanics Abstracts, 34(8):1165-1186.
Hoek, E, Kaiser, P K and Bawden, W F, 1995. Support of Underground Excavations in Hard Rock, 215 p
(Balkema: Rotterdam).
Itasca, 2003. FLAC 3D Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 3 Dimensions (Version 2.1), Volumes I-V
(Itasca Consulting Group, Inc: Minneapolis).
Jaeger, J C and Cook, N G W, 1969. Fundamentals of Rock Mechanics, 593 p (Chapman and Hall: London).
Mark, C, Mucho, T P and Dolinar, D R, 1998. Horizontal stress and longwall headgate ground control, Mining
Engineering, pp 61- 68.
McCreath, D R and Diederichs, M S, 1994. Assessment of near-eld rock mass fracturing around a potential
nuclear fuel waste repository in the Canadian Shield, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining
Science and Geomechanics Abstracts, 31(5):457-470.
Meyer, L H I, Stead, D and Coggan, J S, 1999. Three dimensional modelling of the effects of high horizontal
stress on underground excavation stability, in Proceedings Ninth International Congress on Rock
Mechanics, pp 411-416 (Balkema: Rotterdam).
Morris, C J, 1990. The inuence of rock mechanics on mine design, roof bolting report, British Coal
Corporation Technical Department, Head of Rock Mechanics Branch.
Pugh, W L, 1988. Strata control and roof bolting in Western Area, The Mining Engineer, 147:584-593.
Rocscience, 2004. Phase2 (ver 5.0): Finite element analysis for excavations and slopes [online]. Available
from: <http://www.rocscience.com/products/phase2.asp> [Accessed: 17 August 2010].
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Fundamental Study on Fracturing Grouting for Shaft
Lining Reinforcement at Deep Alluvium Seam in
Eastern China
Q Yu1, H Shimada2, T Sasaoka3 and K Matsui4
ABSTRACT
Many problems result when coal mine shafts are built in complicated geological conditions and
serious shaft lining ruptures have often occurred in the eastern part of China since 1987. Grouting is
applied as one of the major measurements for shaft lining ruptures. However, as the general location
of reinforcement grouting for shaft lining is deep in or near the bottom aquifer, while using cement
grout as the grouting material, the grouting mostly belongs to fracturing grouting in deep alluvium.
In these conditions, the mechanism and behavior of fracturing grouting has not yet been understood.
From these points of view, this paper describes the mechanism of shaft lining rupture and fracturing
grouting and then discusses the effect of grout injection on the stability of shaft lining by means of
numerical analysis and eld data obtained so far.
INTRODUCTION
Serious shaft lining ruptures have often occurred in the eastern part of China, such as Datun, uzhou,
Huaibei, anzhou, ingxia, Hebi, Dongrong, etc since 1987 (Gu, 2000). The geological conditions of
all these spots are the almost same. All these shaft linings pass through deep topsoil of Quaternary
strata for which the composition of the bottom aquifer is complex and before shaft lining rupture,
the water head of the bottom aquifer has fallen dramatically and large scale subsidence occurred.
During the water head falling, the soil layer applies additional force to the outer shaft lining. As the
additional force is increasing with the effect of other joint forces, the condition of shaft lining goes
into a plastic state gradually and then can be ruptured. As the maximum additional stress occurs in
the bottom aquifer and near the bedrock surface, most of the ruptures have happened in this zone.
As these subsidences might be related to the bottom aquifer drainage, the most important and
difcult task is how to prevent the water ow in deep alluvium. Main treatment methods are the
strengthening of shaft lining and the reinforcement of surrounding soil. Up to now, there are three
main treatment methods for shaft lining rupture described as below (Liu et al, 2005)
1. Grouting method Grouting techniques are applied for reinforcing the aquifer around the shaft
in order to improve the bearing capacity of soil and reducing the consolidation deformation by
water loss.
2. Sets of wall reinforcement method This method is to reinforce the shaft lining directly. Its
mechanics is to improve the bearing capacity of the shaft lining against the additional stress. Its
quick to work on, but the unreinforced part of shaft lining will be ruptured with the increasing
additional stress. So this method has the initial function on anti-permeable and reinforcement and
cant solve the problem from the root. Generally it is used in combination with other treatment
methods.
3. Stress-relief slot method This method is to cut a groove on the shaft lining and ll it with
compressible materials. Its mechanics is to unload the additional stress by the materials
1. Doctoral Student, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: yuqing_ky@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
2. Associate Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: shimada@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
3. Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: sasaoka@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
4. Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Q YU et al
compression. It can prevent the stress concentration of the shaft lining up to the compression
limitation of the materials. Because consolidation of the surrounding soil is a long term process,
this method just plays a role in a short period. Therefore, the grouting method is the most effective
and common method used for shaft lining rupture treatment.
The grouting technology, like the several other ground improvement methods, is in a constant
state of ux, with new materials and construction techniques being developed constantly. Modern
grouting technique was developed in the mining industries, concerned with the control of ground
water seepage and strength of surrounding rock/soil in mines, tunnels and shafts, and then it was
applied widely to civil engineering eld. After the shaft lining ruptures happened, grouting methods
have been adopted for repairing shaft linings and, in 1938, Maag proposed the rst theory of alluvial
injection by taking into consideration pump pressure, density and viscosity of grout, rate of injection,
permeability of the ground and the geometry of ow (Shroff and Shah, 1999).
The current researches are mostly focused on the causes, mechanisms and solutions for these
kinds of geotechnical issues in engineering projects and they still have been the major topics in
recent 20 years in the shaft construction. In this research, the mechanism of shaft lining rupture and
the property of fracturing grouting for reinforcement are described. The numerical analysis of the
shaft lining stress variation during the grouting was conducted and then compared with the actual
measurement data obtained from a mine.
MECHANISM OF SHAFT LINING RUPTURE

The result of a technical survey shows that, in all broken shafts, there is a thick bottom aquifer under
the steady impermeable layer and the aquifer is in direct contact with the weathered rock in the top
of bedrock. Their geological conditions of hydrology and geology have some same characteristics. All
the shafts pass through the deep topsoil in Quaternary materials and mostly the thickness is about
200 m. Quaternary strata are divided into upper, middle and lower groups under the strata is the
coal-bearing rock. The upper is the water-bearing stratum, the middle is a relatively impermeable
layer, and the lower is the conned bottom aquifer. Before a shaft lining was ruptured, the water
pressure of the bottom aquifer around the shaft is signicantly reduced and the larger subsidence
occurred due to the inuence of mining drainage.
For the mechanism of shaft lining rupture, there are a few hypotheses that have been proposed by
some scholars such as the construction quality hypothesis, the tectonic movement hypothesis, the
earthquake hypothesis and the vertical additional force hypothesis ( ang, Cui and hou, 1997). In
these hypotheses, the vertical additional force hypothesis plays a dominant role and it is described
below. Shaft lining bears the horizontal underground pressure, the self weight (including equipment
weight) and the vertical additional force. The research results of shaft lining destructive tests and the
in site experimental data in mining area of Huaibei, uzhou, etc conrmed the existence of vertical
additional force and its impact on the shaft lining rupture (Cui and Cheng, 1991).
The vertical additional force theory can be described as follows. Deformation of hydrophobic
aquifer, water levels dropped, and the aquifers effective stress increased due to the special mining
activities. This caused consolidation and subsidence of the surface. During the process of strata
settlement, the soil layer imposed a vertical additional force on the outer surface of the shaft. While
the vertical stress increases gradually to its limitation, the shaft lining cannot bear the force and then
is ruptured. The rupture usually happens near the interface between soil and bedrock, sometimes
in the alluvium a few metres above the bedrock. When shaft lining rupture occurs, the inner shaft
lining delaminates and spalls, longitudinal steel bows inward, transverse cracks form and intersect
in the horizontal direction along circle, seepage occurs or even sand gushes, and mostly seriously,
concrete blocks fall out and break the equipment in shaft. In addition, the shaft bends up cage
guides, drainpipes and pressure ventilation pipes are in longitudinal bending, and in serious cases
the cage is stuck due to torsional deformation.
ang and Fu (1999) established the model of shaft lining under force (as shown in Figure 1) based
on the special stratum conditions that led to shaft lining rupture. The model is divided into three
simple models model of soil mass consolidation settlement (Figure 2a), model of double-layer,
elastic half-space body under force (Figure 2b) and model of rod under force (Figure 2c). The one
dimensional equation of vertical additional force fn( ) was given as follows
FUNDAMENTAL STUDY ON FRACTURING GROUTING FOR SHAFT LINING REINFORCEMENT AT DEEP ALLUVIUM SEAM IN EASTERN CHINA
0 Ground
2 0
Shaft lining

Overburden
Aquifer
Bed rock

FIG 1 - Model of shaft lining under force.
0 Ground 0 0
2 0 2 0
Pp
`
Soil
( c)

Soil zone
Aquifer Aquifer
* ( )
Bed rock Bed rock
(a) (b) (c)

FIG 2 - Division of the model of shaft lining under force.
fn ^ h 2P ^ h
= - r1 (1)
E1 2 R0 2
where
E1 is elastic modulus of shaft lining
R0 is diameter of shaft
P is the axis force
f
The function between n and relevant factors was also expressed as
E1
fn Ep 9p
= F c R0 , n1, , h , , (2)
E1 H E1 H Ed H j
where
Ep is elastic modulus of hollow shaft (hollow shaft was looked as a solid rod)
1 is Poissons ratio of shaft lining
p is water pressure difference of the aquifer
Ed is compression modulus of the aquifer
The result of analysis for theoretical solution shows that The vertical additional force increases
with depth, is in direct proportion to consolidation compressing strain of dewatering layer, is
approximately in direct proportion to the thickness of the aquifer, decreases with the ratio of the
elastic modulus of shaft lining, is without relation to Poissons ratio, and is with some relation to
external radius of shaft lining.
Q YU et al
According to the analysis of the mechanism of shaft lining rupture and the conditions of hydrogeology
and engineering geology, some characteristic factors of the ruptured shaft have been summarised as
follows
x Thickness of topsoil Shaft lining rupture only happens in the shaft built in thick alluvium, so the
thickness of topsoil is an essential factor for shaft lining rupture. The thicker the topsoil is, the
greater conned pressure exerted by the soil to the shaft is and the interaction area between soil
and shaft lining increases. Hence, the additional stress becomes to be larger when the bottom
aquifer compresses, and then the possibility of the rupture arises.
x Thickness of bottom aquifer The deformation of the strata around the shaft depends on the
thickness of the bottom aquifer, and the subsidence deformation is related to the additional stress
value of shaft. So the thicker the bottom aquifer is, the greater the possibility of rupture.
x Draw-down rate of bottom aquifer The draw-down rate of bottom aquifer decides the deformation
rate of the strata around the shaft, and thus the time of shaft lining rupture is decide.
x Outer diameter of shaft According to the determined geological conditions, the external surface
area is proportional to the additional stress value of shaft, so the size of outer diameter is one of
the major factors and is related to the shaft lining rupture.
x Thickness of shaft lining The larger net cross-sectional area of shaft results in smaller inner stress
and this is benecial to the stability of the shaft.
APPLICATION OF GROUTING REINFORCEMENT
Grouting technology
Grouting technology is the injection of uid, grouting material into the ground or cracks, and how
the material diffuses, solidies and hardens to reinforce ground or stop seepage. Grouting is now
applied widely in all the elds of foundation engineering. Amongst those basic functions are as
follows (Shroff and Shah, 1999)
x Permeation or penetration Here the grout material ows into the soils voids or rocks seams with
only minimal effect on the original structural arrangement.
x Compaction or controlled displacement In this situation the grout material remains more or less
intact as a mass and exerts pressure on the soil or rock to compact and thereby densify the weaker
zones of the nearby areas.
x Hydrofracturing or uncontrolled displacement When the grouting pressures are greater than the
tensile strength of the soil or rock being treated, the latter material fails, and the grout rapidly
penetrates into the fractured zone. Thus, lenses of nearly solid grout are projected into densied
regions of the in situ soil or displaced rock masses.
Cement grouts can be used for both permeation and strength. They develop the strength and sealing
ability when the cement hydrates and cures into a system of interlocking crystals. The lower the
water/cement ratio, the larger the strength of the stabilised mass. Shaft lining with water control by
strata grouting was carried out at a site (Stadler, 1983). Borehole data revealed Pleistocene sediment
of wide range with silt content dominating permeability, changing it at intervals of 0.5 m for several
hundred times its value. Grouting method was selected after intercepting large quantities of water
while sinking the intake shaft. A Portland cement based mix with higher grouting pressure was
used to inject grouting material into the ground. In eastern China, the strata grouting method was
adopted in reinforcement of shaft lining rupture.
Strata grouting for shaft lining reinforcement

Strata grouting is a method that requires drilling into the ground around the shaft and grouting
though the casing into strata near the rupture location. Essentially this method is drilling hole around
the shaft and must use directional drilling technology. The borehole must reach the precalculated
position in the bottom aquifer and then the grout is injected into the soil to ll the soil pores, compact
and compress the soil and cemented soil particles.
Simulation and observation of strata grouting method shows that it has the functions to restrain
and release the additional vertical force by stratum reinforcement ( hou, 1996 hou, Cui and Liang,
1999). It can improve the soil modulus of consolidation compression, thus the rate of additional
vertical stress growth with time or water pressure drop can be reduced. This is called restrain
function. In another aspect the grouting makes the soil stratum move upward around shaft, and the
compressive stress within the shaft lining is reduced to some extent. This is called release function.
Strata grouting is a positive reinforcement technique to control the shaft lining rupture. Figure 3
shows the changes of shaft lining additional strain. O-A segment shows the relation of -t before shaft
lining rupture. The shaft lining additional strain increases gradually due to dewatering of aquifer
and nally to the ultimate additional strain c. A-B segment represents the shaft lining rupture
and the additional strain is down to residual additional strain r. B-D segment is the continuation
of dewatering and the additional strain increases again as a certain law. If the bottom aquifer is
reinforced by grouting at the time t1, part of the overlaying soil will have an upward displacement or
the upward trend and the additional strain will be released. C-E segment shows the -t relation and
the additional strain reduce to w. The shaft lining additional strain will continue to develop along the
trend of E-F segment if the reinforcement grouting to hinder dewatering of aquifer is not considered.
Actually part of the aquifer can be fully densied and the growth rate of shaft lining additional strain
with time will change as the trend of E-G segment. Therefore reinforcement grouting to the aquifer
has both restrain (h section) and release (d section) effect to additional strain.
c
r
w
c 1 2 3
FIG 3 - Releasing and restraining of shaft lining additional strain (Zhou, 1996).
Mechanism of fracturing grouting

As the strata grouting in deep alluvium belongs to fracturing grouting, its necessary to get a clear
understanding of the mechanism of fracturing grouting. Fracturing grouting is a construction
method that the grout under high pressure can overcome the initial stress and tensile strength of soil
or rock mass and fracture the soil perpendicular to the minor principal stress plane. Figure 4 shows
the stress condition and fracturing situation during the fracturing grouting. The aim of fracturing
grouting is improving strength and reducing permeability of soil by fracturing, compression and
lling, and then the impervious curtain can be made up of grout and compressed soil.
After the grout is injected into the soil, at rst the grout ows into the soil and then forms the
impervious curtain with compressed soil. The whole process can be divided into the following four
processes.
1. Slurry bubble and compression process. After pressurising from the injection pump, the grout
ows through grouting pipe into soil layer. At rst the grout cannot fracture the soil and assembles
around the grouting pipe forming an ellipsoidal slurry bubble. As grout injection is continued, the
slurry bubble develops and compress the around soil. The grouting pressure increases quickly in
this stage and the pressure curve and ow curve are shown in Figure 5.
2. Fracturing and owing process. While the grouting pressure increase to the limitation (rst
fracturing pressure as the peak point A shown in Figure 5), the soil layer can be fractured and the
grout can ow into the cracks, and then drop in grouting pressure (the segment AB in Figure 5).
The fracture happens in the minimum principal stress plane. The fracturing plane is vertical if the
soil layer is homogeneous. In short, the grout natural fractures in the weakness of soil layer. As
Q YU et al
First Fracturing
V1
Second Fracturing
V2
s
V3
FIG 4 - Stress and fracturing in soil.
C
Grouting pressure
C
Grouting rate
B
A
B A
0 Grouting time/min 0 Grouting time/min

(a) Grouting pressure (b) Grouting rate

FIG 5 - Time curve of grouting pressure and grouting rate.
grouting is continued, the grout concentrates stress in the cracks and makes the cracks expand
quickly. The grouting pressure is reduced quickly at rst, and then maintained at a low level as
the point B shown in Figure 5.
3. Passive earth pressure process. When cracks develop to a certain extent, grouting pressure
increase again, the maximum and minimum principal stresses begin to transform, the horizontal
principal stress transforms into a state of passive earth pressure (the horizontal principal stress
is the maximum principal stress). At this moment, the greater grouting pressure is needed to
expand the cracks in soil, and the second peak point C of grouting pressure is shown in Figure 5.
After the pressure peak, the horizontal cracks happen and grouting pressure reduces again.
4. Filling and hardening process. After grouting, an irregular cylinder is formed near the grouting
pipe, and different thicknesses of sheet, strip and agglomeration are formed in soil layer, and then
the impervious curtain is formed.
Diffusion radius in fracturing grouting

The critical water cement ratio of cement grout transformation from Newton uid into Bingham
uid is W/C 1. At present, the common used water cement ratio of cement grout, clay-cement
grout and composite cement grout is W/C 0.8 1.0 and these almost are a Bingham uid. Sun et al
(2009) gave out the formula of diffusion radius of fracturing grouting between plates (the schematic
of plates as shown in Figure 6).
FIG 6 - Schematic of grouting fluid movement between plates for Bingham fluid.
During the grouting process, when grouting time is t, the grouting volume is
= dbL = At (3)
where
A b is the sectional area of fracturing
L t is diffusion radius of fracturing
i s the average velocity in cross section of crack, shown as follows
dp 8yP3 - d3 d2 4y 2
= 2 = 3 - xs + P G (4)
hP d 8dr 8
where
P is plastic viscosity
is crack width
yp is area width of static velocity p
p is uid pressure
S is static shear stress of uid
Based on Equations 3 and 4, one can get
dp 8y P3 - d3 d2 4y 2
= 2 = 3 - xs + P G (5)
At hP d 8dr 8
Using separation of variables for Equation 5, and the boundary conditions when the grouting
pressure p increases to fracturing pressure, grout fracture and ow occur in the soil layer. If p0 is
fracturing pressure, the corresponding diffusion radius is r0 after grouting time t, the diffusion
radius is to be r0 + L and the corresponding grouting pressure is p1, then
9p`8y P3 - d3j (6)
L=
12hP dv + 3xs `d2 + 4y P2j
Equation 6 is the formula of diffusion radius of Bingham uid for fracturing grouting in dense soil.
This equation assumes uid is laminar ow and cannot be applied for the turbulence.
ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF GROUTING PRESSURE ON SHAFT LINING
Though the strata grouting has the functions to restrain and release the additional vertical force,
it may cause the damage to the shaft lining in opposite side. The shaft lining will bear the overload
non-uniform horizontal stress by the improper selecting of grouting range or grouting technology.
The impact of grout injection pressure on the shaft lining was investigated.
Field measurement
The net diameter of the main shaft in Baodian mine is 6.5 m and the thickness of the shaft lining is
1.0 m constructed by C28 concrete. The thickness of alluvium is 148.69 m and it contains three aquifers.
The bottom aquifer is important to the mine and the water level is affected by mining. Before grouting,
the static water level is 101.2 m away from the wellhead which decreased by 100.0 m compared to
Q YU et al
the original water level. The rupture location is 136 144 m in depth and the grouting depth range is
93.5 149.0 m. The grouting target is the sand layer and also grouting to clay layer opportunely.
Initial grouting pressure is 2 4 MPa, the maximum pressure and end pressure are not more than 6
MPa. The sites of grouting holes and the layout of concrete strain metres were as shown in Figure 7.
Z3
Z4
Z2
Z1
Z5
#
1,2 # 3#, 4# N
30.0m
7#, 8# 5#, 6#
Z10 Z6
Z9 Z7
Z8
FIG 7 - Sites of grouting holes Z1 ~ Z10 and the layout of concrete strain metres 1# ~ 8#.
Figure 8 shows the circumferential strain curves of measuring points during alternately grouting ( 5
and 7) (by ang et al, 2007). From the curves obtained so far, when grouting in 5, the strain metre
4 had the relative tensile strain, other side strain metre 6 had the relative compressive strain and
when grouting in 7, the relative tensile strain happened in strain metre 6 and relative compressive
strain happened in strain metre 4 . That means when grouting, the nearest zone of shaft lining to
injected hole is relative tension and the zone in 90 central angle is relative compression.
Strain/
Time/d

FIG 8 - Circumferential strain curves of measuring points during alternately grouting (by Yang et al, 2007).
Simulation of impact of grouting pressure

Finite element software was used to simulate the impact of grouting pressure during the grouting
process. Phase 7.0 is a two-dimensional (2D) elasto-plastic nite element analysis program for
underground or surface excavations in rock or soil. Three geometry models (see Figure 9) were
established and the initial grouting pressures were set at 2 MPa, 4 MPa, 6 MPa and 8 MPa. The
D D D
A C A C A C
B B B
(a) (b) (c)
FIG 9 - Geometry model of grouting impact on shaft lining.
mechanical properties of aquifer, shaft lining and interface used in these analyses are shown in
Table 1. As the stress accumulates around the inner lining, the values of the deviatoric stress along
the circumference of the inner lining are used to evaluate the impact of grouting pressures.
TABLE 1
The mechanical parameters of aquifer, shaft lining and interface.
Element type Shaft lining Aquifer Interface

Elastic modulus (MPa) 30000 50 Normal modulus (MPa) | 100
Poisons ratio 0.15 0.3 Shear modulus (MPa) | 100
Interior friction angle 25 20 20
Cohesion (MPa) 2 0.04 0.03
x Single injected hole (see Figure 10a). The deviatoric stress is small in shaft lining nearest to the
injected hole (at point C) and the opposite position (at point A). The stress in other areas is higher
and the peak stress is observed to occur at point B and D near the 90 central angle to the lowest
stress area. As the grout injection pressure is increased, the stresses in zones A and C are decreased
due to the tension effect and the stresses in zones B and C are increased due to compression effect.
Double injected holes (90 ) (Figure 10b). The deviatoric stress is small in the shaft lining nearest
to the grouting holes (point C and D) and the opposite areas A and B. The stress in other area is
higher and the peak stress occurs in the area AD, BC and CD. As the grouting pressure increased,
the stresses at point C and D and area AB are increased slightly due to the tension effect and the
stress in area AD, BC and CD is increased due to the compression effect.
x Double injected holes (180 ) (Figure 10c). The deviatoric stress is small in shaft lining nearest
to the grouting holes (point A and C), and in other areas the stresses are higher, and more peak
stresses are in these area. It can be seen that as the grouting pressure increased, the stresses at
point A and C are increased due to tension effect and the stresses in other areas are increased due
to the compression effect.
The minimum principal stresses in the shaft lining in the three models are shown in Figure 11.
From the results obtained, during the grouting process tensile stress acts in the minimum principal
stress plane. And as the grouting pressure is increased, the tensile stress increased in the zone for
which the deviatoric stress is low. It can be said that although the deviatoric stress is low, it is still
not safe for shaft lining.
Comparing the results of the three grouting positions in Figure 9, the minimum deviatoric stress is
in the zone near the injected hole the peak stress in the second grouting position is less than for the
other two grouting positions when the injected holes are distributed in a row, there are more peak
stresses and these have the large impact on the shaft lining. There are tension zones and compression
zones in the inner shaft lining, and the tension zones are nearest to the grouting hole and the other is
farthest from the grouting hole. The central angle of the compression zone or tension zone is about
90 when a single hole grouting is conducted. In actual grouting process, it should be avoided to
conduct grouting in two holes in a line and at the same time.
Q YU et al
5 2MPa
Deviatoric Stress /MPa

4 4MPa
6MPa
3
8MPa
2
0
A B C D A
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance /m
(a) Single grouting hole
6
2MPa
5
4MPa
4
6MPa
3 8MPa
0
A B C D A
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance /m
(b) Double grouting holes (90)
6
5
2MPa
4 4MPa
6MPa
3
8MPa
2
0 A B C D A
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance /m
(c) Double grouting holes (180)
FIG 10 - Deviatoric stress changes along the circumference of inner lining under different grouting pressure.
From the results of numerical analyses and measurement data, the impact of grout injection
pressure on the shaft lining is made clear.
x Alternately grouting in a single injected hole or double injected holes near 180 central angle in
the same depth, the shaft lining in tension zone has a great relative tensile (compression), thus it
may cause the shaft lining tensile (compression) rupture. It is apparent that this order of grouting
arrangement is not conducive to shaft lining safe.
x Alternately grouting in double injected holes with about 90 centre angle may make shaft lining
safe because it may offset the tension and compression strain to some extent.
CONCLUSIONS
In many circumstances, there is a thick bottom aquifer under the steady impermeable layer and
the aquifer is in direct contact with the weathered rock at the top of bedrock. Before shaft lining
0.8
0.6
0.4
Sigma Three /MPa

0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6 beforegrouting 2MPa
0.8 4MPa 6MPa
1 8MPa
1.2 Distance /m
(a) Single grouting hole
0.6
0.4
0.2
Sigma Three /MPa
0
0.2
0.4
0.6 beforegrouting 2MPa
4MPa 6MPa
0.8 8MPa
1 Distance /m
(b) Double grouting holes (90)
0.8
0.3
Sigma Three /MPa
0.2
0.7
beforegrouting 2MPa
4MPa 6MPa
1.2 8MPa
Dista nce /m
(c) Double grouting holes (180)
FIG 11 - Minimum principal stress changes along the circumference of inner lining under different grouting pressure.
rupture has occurred, the water head of the bottom aquifer around the shaft signicantly dropped
and large subsidence occurred and has big impact on the mining drainage. The additional vertical
force was the main reason for shaft lining rupture and three models were established for analysis of
the vertical additional force. There are some similar characteristics for the shaft lining rupture such
as thickness of topsoil and bottom aquifer, draw-down rate of bottom aquifer, outer diameter of
shaft, and thickness of shaft lining.
Strata grouting has the functions to restrain and release the additional vertical force by stratum
reinforcement. As the strata grouting in deep alluvium belongs to fracturing grouting, the mechanism
of fracturing grouting was explained and the diffusion radius in fracturing grouting was also
proposed. There are four processes after the fracturing grouting into soil such as slurry bubble and
compression process, fracturing and owing process, passive ground pressure process and lling
and hardening process.
Q YU et al
From the results of a series of numerical analyses and eld data, the grouting pressure has obvious
impact on the shaft lining. There are tension zones and compression zones in the inner shaft lining,
and the tension zones are nearest to and farthest from the grout injection hole, respectively. The
central angle of the compression zone or tension zone is about 90 when single hole grouting is used.
When alternately grouting in a single injected hole or double injected holes near 180 central angle at
the same depth, the shaft lining in tension (pressure) zone has a great relative tensile (compression)
zone, that may cause the shaft lining to fail in tension or compression. Apparently the order of this
grouting arrangement is not safe. When alternately grouting in double injected holes with about
90 centre angles, it is conducive to shaft lining stability, because it may offset the tension and
compression strain to some extent. In actual grouting procedures, grouting of two holes in a line and
at the same time should be avoided.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The rst author is grateful for nancial assistance provided by the Global-Centre of Excellence in
Novel Carbon Resource Science, Kyushu University. The authors also offer grateful thanks to State
Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining
and Technology for the assistance with this research.
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Gu, M H, 2000. Failure of shaft caused by special geologic hazards and corresponding prevention measures,
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Liu, H , Wang, S J, Ni, H Wang, T F, eng, Q B and Hu, B, 2005. Design of new harnessing method for shaft
lining fracture of coal mining, Journal of Hohai Uni ersity atural Sciences , 33(2) 190-193.
Shroff, A V and Shah, D L, 1999. Grouting Technology in Tunnelling and Dam Construction, orld Tunnelling,
Stadler, G, 1983. Specic grouting projects in the pre-alpine region, in Proceedings European Conference
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stratum, Journal of China Uni ersity of Mining Technology, 9(2) 129-135.
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during drainage and grouting, Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 26(s1) 2713-2717.
hou, G Q, 1996. Study on the relationship between grouting consolidation parameters in hydrous layer of
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The Application of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy
Processing to Define Optimal Post Mining Land use
for Pit Area to Recognise Reclamation Costs in Open
Pit Mining
A H Bangian1, M Ataei2, A Sayadi3 and A Gholinejad4
ABSTRACT
Open pit mining has considerable damaging effects on the environment of the mining region. These
harmful inuences have to be controlled during mining operation until mine closure. Different
sections of mined land, such as pit(s), waste dump(s), tailing pond(s), roads, areas for onsite facilities
and free land zones which are not mined, have to be reclaimed through treatment of environmental
pollution and implementation of a permanent post mining land use (PMLU) after mine closure.
Implementation of a permanent optimal post mining land use (OPMLU) is one the most decisive
criterion which effects on reclamation procedure, mine closure and their costs. Therefore to dene
ultimate pit limit (UPL), mine closure and reclamation costs should be entered in the calculation
iterations same as the other variable costs of the projects. Estimation of closure and reclamation costs
of a mining project is carried out based on the attained OPMLU and the specications of the mine
site. In this paper, a model is developed to provide OPMLU for pit area through fuzzy multi-attribute
decision making (FMADM) technique. The model was implemented on a hypothetical copper mine
in northwest of Iran as a case study. Lumber production was selected as OPMLU for the pit area. It
is nally concluded that through the developed model, OPMLU for different sections of mined land
in an open pit mine project is dened. Also closure and reclamation costs are estimated based on the
dened OPMLU to achieve a more accurate UPL.
INTRODUCTION
Different sections of mined land in open pit mining such as pit(s), waste dump(s), tailing pond(s),
roads, areas for onsite facilities and free land zones which are not mined, are affected by various
environmental impacts during mining operation up to mine closure phase. These contain such harmful
impacts as entering chemical and physical pollutions, toxic and heavy metals to run-off, surface and
underground water resources, generation of acid mine drainage, efuent from ore processes, cyanide
tailings, chemical environmental toxicities, mining hazardous residues, radioactive mine wastes,
etc. Destruction of natural landscape, original topography, regional vegetation, ora and fauna,
and also primary land use, are some of other environmental inuences of open pit mining method.
Reclamation plan of mined land contains control and possible treatment of all created environmental
inuences during the operation in each section of mined land. It also includes mine closure phase
and further, implementation of a permanent post mining land use (PMLU) for different sections of
mined land. It therefore is obvious that the quality and description of the reclamation plan and also
its costs are depended to the type of PMLU which would be selected to implement on mind land
after mine closure. As a mining project begins with exploration stage and is nally nished with
1. Academic Member and PhD Candidate, Department of Mining, Technical Faculty, Industrial Engineering College, Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch, No 209, Azarshahr St,
North Iranshahr St, Tehran, Iran. Email: ah.bangian@gmail.com
2. Associate Professor, Department of Exploitation, Faculty of Mining, Petroleum and Geophysics, Shahrood University of Technology, University Blvd, Shahrood 3619995161, Iran.
Email: ataei@shahroodut.ac.ir
3. Associate Professor, Department of Exploitation, Section of Mining, Faculty of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Ale Ahmad Highway, PO Box 14115-111, Tehran, Iran.
Email: sayadi@modares.ac.Ir
4. MSc Mining Engineer, Department of Mining, Technical Faculty, Industrial Engineering College, Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch, No 209, Azarshahr St, North Iranshahr St,
Tehran, Iran. Email: a.gholinejad@gmail.com
A H BANGIAN et al
reclamation so the costs of reclamation affect the net present value (NPV) of a project. Thus it is
necessary to dene the optimum post mining land use (OPMLU) for each section of mined land in
planning phase of the project.
In this paper an approach has been developed to dene OPMLU permanently for pit area after
mine closure. The developed procedure considers the possible PMLU alternatives and identies the
effective criteria for determination of the priorities amongst the alternatives. Fuzzy multi-attribute
decision making (MADM) modelling was used in the procedure. The approach of this paper is
different to the previous approaches and it presents more comprehensive views to dene OPMLU
through the specications of fuzzy logic. On the other hand, as the nature of the effective parameters
for dening OPMLU is the same as the fuzzy numbers and includes incremental changes without
denite limits, thus the use of fuzzy MADM modelling can noticeably produce more reliable result
than the other techniques. The approach is also different to approaches by introducing other new and
separated alternatives and effective criteria for different section of mined land in open pit mining.
The presented approach denes OPMLU through 17 applicable PMLU alternatives, ve relevant
effective criteria and 96 attributes for pit area amongst different sections of mined land in open pit
mining. Presented approach of this paper was implemented on a hypothetical copper mine in Iran
and the steps of the implementation have been presented. Through the presented approach OPMLU
for different section of mined land in open pit mining are predictable. From the other point of view
the cost of closure and reclamation of different section of open pit mined land is depended to the type
of OPMLU. Thus the approximate cost range of closure and reclamation phase of an open pit mining
project can be determined in planning phase to achieve the NPV of the project and considering the
other economical requirements of project in the planning phase.
RELEVANT ALTERNATIVES AND CRITERIA TO ATTAIN OPTIMAL POST MINING LAND USE
FOR PITS
Open pit mines cover large areas and comprise of a number of sections of mined land. The different
sections of mined land in this method include pit(s), waste dump(s), tailing pond(s), roads, areas
for onsite facilities and free land zones which are not mined. Amongst these sections, pit area has
completely different condition from others. Pit(s) are mostly the deepest area in an open pit mine.
This is generally the place where pollutants which have been generated through the mining activities
and underground water come into contact. Pits also commonly cover an area which is larger than
other sections of mined land. The most severe affects of open pit mining on landscape quality and
topography of the mined region is created through pit excavation. Thus it is concluded that pit
reclamation principal and its PMLU alternatives and criteria should not be similar to other sections
of an open pit mine. A further point of importance is the effects of OPMLU of pit area on dening
OPMLU for other sections of a mine.
Planning of reclamation of mined land is carried out by creation of uniformity in the landscape
quality, remediation of polluted soil, water, air, etc. Thus OPMLU for each section of a mined
land should be dened based on the specications of that section and it also distinctly affects the
implementation of reclamation procedure and its costs.
Relevant alternatives
In Table 1, ve categories of PMLU including 17 alternatives for pit area have been presented. The
alternatives have been presented based on their practicable execution within the pit area.
Relevant criteria
Dening of OPMLU is carried out based on the relevant criteria. Several specialists have previously
presented some criteria as the most effective criteria such as population, air and water condition
(Burger, 2004 Isabell, 2004), soil condition (Knabe, 1964 Song and ang, 2006), cultural, social
and economical criterion of the region (Ramani, Sweigard and Clar, 1990 Hill, 2003 Mu, 2006).
Osanloo (2001) and Osanloo, Akbari and Hamidian (2006) have categorised the relevant inuential
criteria in two groups including natural factors and cultural factors which contain several subfactors.
In this paper, the inuential criteria to dene OPMLU for pit area have been presented in ve
categories including 96 attributes. The mentioned criteria and attributes are presented specically
for pit area and are more extensive than the previous approaches. These criteria, attributes and 17
relevant alternatives of PMLU for pit area create the structure of the MADM model.
THE APPLICATION OF FUZZY ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESSING TO DEFINE OPTIMAL POST MINING LAND USE FOR PIT AREA
TABLE 1
Alternatives for reclamation of pits in open pit mining method.
No. Overall PMLU Symbol Detailed PMLU

A1 Arable farmland
A2 Garden
1 Agriculture
A3 Pasture
A4 Nursery
A5 Lumber production
2 Forestry A6 Woodland
A7 Shrubs and native forestation
A8 Lagoon
3 Lake A9 Aquaculture
A10 Aquatic sports
A11 Water Reservoir
4 Pit backfilling A12 Garbage burying
A13 Landfill
A14 Park
A15 Blasting techniques training
5 Miscellaneous
A16 Ski and rock artificial climbing
A17 Military activities training
Technical criterion
Technical criterion is the rst category and includes several attributes as follows
x high rate earthquake statistics (HRES),
x regional ood potential (RFP),
x landscape quality (LQ),
x reusing potential of mine facilities (RPMF),
x extreme events potential (EEP),
x environmental contaminations (EC),
x outlook of future businesses (OFB),
x distance from special services (DSS),
x structural geology (SG),
x prosperity in the mine area (PMA),
x current land use in surrounding area (CLUS),
x market availability (MA),
x proximity to water supply (PWS), and
x shape and size of mined land (SSML).
The schematic structure of the attributes of technical criterion has been presented in Figure 1.
Technical Criterion
PRMF
SSML
HRES
CLUS
Drain
PMA
PWS
OFB
DSS
RFP
EEP
MA
LQ
SG
EC
FIG 1 - Schematic structure of the attributes of technical criterion.
A H BANGIAN et al
Executive criterion
Executive criterion also includes several attributes as follows
x authority of reclamation project execution,
x executive managing experiences availability,
x reclamation techniques availability,
x required machines and equipments availability,
x need to specialist workforces,
x budget providing potential, and
x regional potential for implementation the new land use.
The schematic structure of the attributes of economical criterion has been presented in Figure 2.
Executive Criterion
ARPE EMEA RTA RMEA NSW BPP RPI
FIG 2 - Schematic structure of the attributes of executive criterion.
Mine site criterion

Mine site criterion comprises the following four attributes soil, climate, topography and pit geometry
which consist of several subattributes. Figure 3 shows the schematic structure of mine site criterion.
As the gure shows the subattributes of soil, these are categorised in two physical and chemical
groups.
Mine Site Criterion
Soil Climate Topography Pit Geometery
Physical Chemical

FIG 3 - Schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of mine site criterion.
Physical subattributes of soil are

x soil stability rate,
x general soil colour,
x erosion rate,
x porosity,
x permeability,
x water conduction ability, and
x petrologic type of bedrock.
Chemical subattributes of soil contain salinity rate (Salin), organic material and nutrient elements
(OMNE), contamination rate (CR), acid generation potential (AGP) and pH (pH). Figure 4 shows the
schematic structure of the subattributes of soil in two physical and chemical groups.
Climate consists of several subattributes
x regional ora and fauna,
x very cold days,
x very hot days,
Soil
Attribute
Physical Chemical
OMNE
Perm.
WCA
Salin.
Pors.
AGP
GSC
PTB
SSR
CR
ER
pH

FIG 4 - Schematic structure of the sub-attributes of soil in two physical and chemical groups.
x geographical situation,
x vegetative coverage,
x hydrology of surface and groundwater,
x regional average temperature,
x air moisture,
x wind velocity,
x precipitation,
x frost free days, and
x surface evaporation rate.
Figure 5 shows the schematic structure of the subattributes of climate.
Climate
Attribute
Temp.
VHD
VCD
Prec.
HSG
FFD
SER
RFF
WV
AM
VC
GS

FIG 5 - Schematic structure of the attributes of climate.
Topography comprises several attributes as follows

x regional pezometeric level,
x regional exposure to sunrise,
x overall regional elevation,
x overall regional slope, and
x surface relief.
Figure 6 shows the schematic structure of the subattributes of topography.
Topography
Attribute
RPL RES Elev. Slop. SR

FIG 6 - Schematic structure of the attributes of topography.
Pit geometry consists of the several following subattributes

x walls stability,
x benches height,
A H BANGIAN et al
x benches width,
x benches slope,
x pit slope,
x pit volume,
x pit area, and
x pit depth.
Figure 7 shows the schematic structure of the subattributes of pit geometry.
Pit Geometery
Attribute
BSlop.
PSlop.
Depth
Area
Vol.
BW
WS
BH

FIG 7 - Schematic structure of the attributes of pit geometry.
Economical criterion
Economical criterion includes several attributes and subattributes as follows
x break even point,
x income,
x internal rate of return,
x regional economical condition coordination,
x positive changes in real estate value,
x cost, and
x potential of investment absorption.
The income attribute includes three subattributes as follows
1. mining project income,
2. increase in income of local community, and
3. increase in governmental incomes.
Also the cost attribute includes three subattributes as follows
1. operational costs,
2. capital costs, and
3. maintenance and monitoring costs.
The schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of economical criterion has been
presented in Figure 8.
Economical Criterion
BEP Incom IRR RECC PCRE Cost PIA
MPI IIL IGI OPC CAC MMC

FIG 8 - Schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of economical criterion.
Social criterion
Social criterion includes several attributes and subattributes as following
x regional safety condition,
x regional political condition,
x positive changes in livelihood quality,

x cultural,
x increase in regional public skills and technical knowledge,
x consistency with local requirements,
x land ownership,
x tourist attraction,
x ecological acceptability,
x geographical,
x frequency of passing through mine site,
x serving the public education,
x employment opportunity,
x legal, and
x effects on immigration to the area.
The cultural attribute includes seven subattributes as follows
1. regional common economical activities,
2. regional social activities,
3. regional morals customs,
4. regional opponents,
5. regional ethnic customs specications,
6. social, and
7. cultural condition of adjacent areas.
Also the geographical attribute includes ve subattributes as follows
1. easy accessibility in cold seasons,
2. facilities accessibility,
3. accessibility or road condition,
4. location towards nearest town, and
5. proximity of mine site to population centres.
The legal criterion also includes three subattributes as follows
1. zoning by-laws,
2. government policy, and
3. mining company policy.
The schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of social criterion has been presented
in Figure 9.
Social Criterion
PCLQ
Geog.
Legal
IRPT
Cult.
CLR
RSC
RPC
FPT
SPE
EIA
LO
TA
EA
EO
RCEA
EACS
RECS
RMC
MCP
ARC
PMP
RSA
SCA
LNT
RO
FA
ZB
GP

FIG 9 - Schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of social criterion.
USE OF FUZZY MULTI-ATTRIBUTE DECISION MAKING TO OBTAIN THE MODEL TO ATTAIN

OPTIMAL POST MINING LAND USE FOR THE PIT AREA
Analytical Hierarchy Processing (AHP) method facilitates judgments and calculation preferences
using pair-wise comparisons. It also is the best procedure to carry out pair-wise judgment
comparisons (Saaty, 1977) but commonly human judgments are imprecise hence the priorities
are not determined by precise numeric amount (Herrera and Herrera, 2000). Fuzzy theory was
A H BANGIAN et al
developed by adeh (1965) to overcome imprecise judgments and preferences. Whereas many of the
weighting methods of attributes and alternatives are intellectually carried out by qualitative scales
thus logical determination of the priorities is difcult for decision makers (Warren, 2004). Therefore
to carry out precise pair-wise judgment comparisons and decision making, fuzzy sets theory and
AHP method were combined by Buckley (Buckley, 1985). Afterwards other methods were presented
through combining these two approaches (Cheng, 1996). Since fuzziness and vagueness are common
characteristics in many decision-making problems, a fuzzy AHP (FAHP) method should be able to
tolerate vagueness or ambiguity (Mikhailov and Tsvetinov, 2004). In other word FAHP is capable
of capturing a humans appraisal of ambiguity when complex multi-attribute decision making
problems are considered (Erensal, Oncan and Demircan, 2006). Accordingly, FAHP was applied
in many sciences through different applications. Fuzzy sets theory provides a more widely frame
than classic sets theory, and has been contributing to capability of reecting real world (Ertugrul
and Karakasoglu, 2009). Fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic are powerful mathematical tools for modelling.
Their role is signicant when applied to complex phenomena is not easily described by traditional
mathematical methods, especially when the goal is to nd a good approximate solution (Bojadziev
and Bojadziev, 1998).
In this project, using FAHP which is in fact one of fuzzy MADMs, OPMLU for pit area is recognised.
Firstly, pair-wise judgment comparison matrixes are formed using AHP. Then through taking
pair-wise judgment comparison matrixes to fuzzy mode, the entering data for FAHP is prepared.
Consequently, by above mentioned procedure, relative importance coefcients of the alternatives
are obtained and their priorities are determined. Finally, the alternative with the highest priority is
introduced as the OPMLU.
Basic principals of fuzzy thought
Fuzzy set is the principal concept of fuzzy thought. Fuzzy sets consist of a membership function. Each
subset A from universal set is related to the set includes two members 0, 1 as shown in Equation 1.
X A ^ x h )1, x e A (1)
0, x Y
eA
where
XA (x) is a universal set
A is a subset of universal set and
x is a member of set A
In fact, if an element is a member of set A, 1 belongs to it, otherwise 0. If the dual member set 0,1
is developed to interval 0.1 , there is a function that gives a number of interval 0.1 to each member
x from set X. The above mentioned function is the membership function which is shown by A(x).
Therefore the grade of membership of a function is either 0 or 1. Equation 2 shows the fuzzy set.
A A(x1)/x1, A(x2)/x2, ,A(xn)/xn (2)
where
A is a fuzzy set
xn is a member of the set A
A(xn) is its grade of membership
The most applicable fuzzy numbers are triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs) which are shown by
M l, m, n . Figure 10 shows the situation of TFNs.

FIG 10 - The situation of a TFN; M, m is the maximum amount of a fuzzy number, i and u are its lower and upper limits respectively.
A TFN is shown as Equation 3.

Z
]0, x l,
]^ x - l h ^m - l h,l # x # m,
n A ^ x ; Mh [
(3)
]û - x h û - mh,m # x # u,
]
\0, x u,
where
x is a member of fuzzy set A
m is the maximum amount of a fuzzy number
l and u are its lower and upper limits respectively
Analysis by fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Processing method

With reference to fuzzy thought, analysis the structure of the model to attain OPMLU, is carried out
using FAHP. Fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix is the entering data to FAHP algorithm. To produce
the fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix, the pair-wise comparison matrix is made according to AHP
algorithm. In this algorithm, rstly the hierarchy tree is established and then decision making matrix
is generated based on Saatys (1990) nine points scale.
At the next step, pair-wise comparisons are executed amongst the members of the decision making
matrix. Pair-wise comparisons are carried out to determine relative preferences of attributes with
reference to each other. The structure of a pair-wise comparison matrix for comparison amongst n
attributes is as shown in Equation 4.
Ra11 a12 g a1n V
S W
A Sa21 a22 g a2n W, aij 1/a ji, aii 1, i, j 1, 2,..., n
S W (4)
S h h h h W
S
Tan1 an2 g ann WX
where
aij is the preference of element i to element j and vice versa for aji
i, j vary at natural numbers set
Saaty (1980) showed that the largest eigen value , of a reciprocal matrix A is always greater than or
equal to n. If pair-wise comparisons do not contain any inconsistencies, so A equals n. Comparisons
comprise of more consistent judgments, have closer values of to n. Consistency index (CI) measures
the inconsistencies of pair-wise comparisons according to Equation 5.
CI (max - n)/(n - 1) (5)
where
is an eigenvalue of matrix A
A consistency ratio (CR) is calculated by Equation 6.
CR 100 CI RI (6)
where
CR is consistency ratio
CI is consistency index
RI is random index
n is number of columns
If CI RI 0 10, the degree of consistency is satisfactory. If CI RI 0 10, the degree of consistency
is not satisfactory, consequently, the AHP comparisons may not have reliable results (Liang, 2003).
If CI and CR are satisfactory, then the preferences are calculated based on normalised values,
otherwise the procedure is repeated until the results will be lain in the desired range. Also, if two
or more decision makers are involved in measuring the priorities of alternatives and/or attributes,
A H BANGIAN et al
grouped AHP is applied. In grouped AHP, numeral average is calculated for different preferences of
the experts as x ij in Equation 7.
1
k
x ij , f % xijl p i, j 1, 2,..., n i ! j l 1, , , k
k
(7)
l 1
where
l is the index of each decision maker
k is the total number of all decision makers
i, j are the indexes of the alternative and the attribute which are compared to each other
The important point in this regard is to prevent creating a high inconsistency ratio. Therefore the
issued preferences from the decision-makers have to be relatively consistent with each other.
Steps of fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Processing algorithm
First step comprises creating of fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix. In this step, pair-wise comparison
matrixes are established through fuzzy thought and FTN using AHP method.
Second step consists of calculation the amount of Sk. In this step, Sk amount which is a TFN and is
calculated for each row of pair-wise comparison matrix according to Equation 8.
n m n -1
Sk / Mkl # > / / Mij H i 1, 2,..., m j 1, 2, , n (8)
j 1 i 1j 1
where
k is the number of each row
i, j are the indexes of the alternative and attribute respectively
Third step contains computation of the degree of possibility. In this step, degree of possibility
of different Sk is calculated. If Mi and Mj are two FTNs, degree of possibility of Mi to Mj is shown
according to Equation 9.
Z
]1, mi $ m j
] ui - l j
V^ Mi $ M j h [ l j # ui, i j 1,2, ,n j ! i (9)
] ûi - l j h + ^m j - mih
]0, other ise
\
where
Mi (li, mi, ni)
Mj (lj, mj, nj)
V Mi Mj degree of possibility of Mi to Mj
Figure 11 illustrates the degree of possibility.

FIG 11 - The degree of possibility of V (Mi Mj).
Degree of possibility of a FTN from another k FTNs is calculated according to Equation 10.
V(M1 M , , Mk) V(M1 M ), , V(M1 Mk) (10)
where
k is the index of the last FTN
Fourth step includes calculation of the weights. Weights are calculated as shown in Equation 11.
xi Min V Si Sk i 1, , , k k 1, , , n k i (11)
where
xi is the desired weight
The vector of the weight is achieved according to Equation 12.
T
c1 , c , , cn (12)
where
is the vector of the weight of the attributes
Fifth step is comprised of to obtain the vector of the weight of normalised attributes. The vector of
the weight of normalised attributes is made when Equation 13 is applied.
n
i i/ / j, i, j 1, 2, , n
(13)
j 1
where
i is the index of each attribute
n is the number of all attributes
Sixth step contains calculation of the relative importance coefcients of the Alternatives and ranking
of those. At six and the last step relative importance coefcients is produced using to multiply the
weights of the attributes by achieved weights of the alternatives with respect to each attribute. In this
step it is concluded that an alternative which has a bigger relative importance coefcient, is more
appropriate for implementing on the pit area.
Implementation the model in a case study
As a case study the model was implemented on a hypothetical copper mine in northwest of Iran.
Firstly, pair-wise comparison matrix for selection of the PMLUs of the pit area was made using AHP
method. The entry is then prepared for FAHP algorithm through changing the pair-wise comparison
matrix to fuzzy condition.
In this step, Sk amount for each row of a pair-wise comparison matrix is calculated. To calculate Sk,
the TFNs of each row rstly are added with each other then the achieved result is multiplied to the
invert amount of the sum of all TFNs of the matrix, nal result of this step is also a TFN. Calculation
of weights of the alternatives is presented in Tables 2 and 3 with respect to (walls stability) WS
attribute. Consequently all TFNs of the alternatives are added to each other based on each row and
m n -1
the result is obtained as a TFN. Finally, by multiplying inverted TFNs from Table 2, > / / Mij H
i 1j 1
n
to each obtained fuzzy from each alternative / Mkl , the amount of Sk for each alternative is
j 1
calculated. The amounts of Sk s are presented as shown in Table 3.
In the next step as the third step, degrees of possibility of the Sk s are calculated with respect to each
other. Table 4 shows the achieved amounts of Sk s using Equation 9.
After that as the fourth step, degree of possibility for each Sk is calculated by Equation 10. The
achieved degrees of possibility are as the scaled weights of each alternative with regard to WS
attribute. In the next step as the fth step, weights and normalised weights of the alternatives with
regard to WS attribute are calculated using Equations 11 and 13. The achieved normalised weights of
the mentioned step are shown in Table 5.
The weights of the alternatives with regard to each attribute and also the weights of the attributes
with regard to each other are achieved by the end of FAHP calculation. Lastly, to obtain relative
importance coefcient for each alternative, normalised weights of the attributes are calculated. Then
A H BANGIAN et al
TABLE 2
Sum of the triangular fuzzy numbers of each row of the fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix with regards to walls stability attribute to obtain the Sk.
n
Row number / Mkl
j 1
1 (14.10, 23.50, 32.90)
2 (14.10, 23.50, 32.90)
3 (17.00, 33.00, 49.00)
4 (14.10, 14.50, 14.90)
5 (33.40, 48.50, 63.60)
6 (25.80, 40.00, 54.20)
7 (22.20, 35.50, 48.80)
8 (11.62, 13.42, 15.22)
9 (12.20, 13.00, 13.80)
10 (12.20, 13.00, 13.80)
11 (11.60, 12.50, 13.40)
12 (11.62, 12.42, 13.22)
13 (11.78, 12.58, 13.38)
14 (14.02, 22.42, 30.82)
15 (11.78, 12.58, 13.38)
16 (12.82, 21.42, 30.02)
17 (11.78, 12.58, 13.38)
m n
/ / Mij (262.11, 364.41, 466.71)
i 1j 1
m n -1
>/ / Mij H (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038)
i 1j 1
TABLE 3
The achieved triangular fuzzy numbers of Sk s for each row with respect to walls stability attribute.
n m n -1
Row number / Mkl # > / / Mij H Sk
j 1 i 1j 1
1 (14.10, 23.50, 32.90) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.030, 0.064, 0.126)
2 (14.10, 23.50, 32.90) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.030, 0.064, 0.126)
3 (17.00, 33.00, 49.00) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.036, 0.091, 0.187)
4 (14.10, 14.50, 14.90) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.030, 0.040, 0.057)
5 (33.40, 48.50, 63.60) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.072, 0.133, 0.243)
6 (25.80, 40.00, 54.20) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.055, 0.110, 0.207)
7 (22.20, 35.50, 48.80) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.048, 0.097, 0.186)
8 (11.62, 13.42, 15.22) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.025, 0.037, 0.058)
9 (12.20, 13.00, 13.80) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.026, 0.036, 0.053)
10 (12.20, 13.00, 13.80) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.026, 0.036, 0.053)
11 (11.60, 12.50, 13.40) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.025, 0.034, 0.051)
12 (11.62, 12.42, 13.22) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.025, 0.034, 0.050)
13 (11.78, 12.58, 13.38) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.025, 0.035, 0.051)
14 (14.02, 22.42, 30.82) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.030, 0.062, 0.118)
15 (11.78, 12.58, 13.38) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.025, 0.035, 0.051)
16 (12.82, 21.42, 30.02) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.027, 0.059, 0.115)
17 (11.78, 12.58, 13.38) (0.0021, 0.0027, 0.0038) (0.025, 0.035, 0.051)
TABLE 4
The achieved amounts of Sk s using Equation 9 are presented in this table based on to show the degrees of possibility among two Sk s by the index of a
row to the index of a column.
V(M1 M2) S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17
" S1 1.00 0.77 1.00 0.44 0.61 0.70 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S2 1.00 0.77 1.00 0.44 0.61 0.70 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S3 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.73 0.87 0.95 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S4 0.52 0.52 0.29 0.00 0.02 0.14 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.55 1.00 0.61 1.00
" S5 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S6 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.85 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S7 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.76 0.91 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S8 0.50 0.50 0.29 0.90 0.00 0.04 0.15 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.53 1.00 0.58 1.00
" S9 0.44 0.44 0.23 0.85 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.96 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.47 1.00 0.52 1.00
" S10 0.44 0.44 0.23 0.85 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.96 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.47 1.00 0.52 1.00
" S11 0.41 0.41 0.21 0.79 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.91 0.95 0.95 1.00 0.99 0.44 0.99 0.49 0.99
" S12 0.40 0.40 0.20 0.78 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.90 0.94 0.94 0.99 0.98 0.43 0.98 0.48 0.98
" S13 0.41 0.41 0.21 0.80 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.92 0.96 0.96 1.00 1.00 0.44 1.00 0.49 1.00
" S14 0.97 0.97 0.74 1.00 0.39 0.56 0.66 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
" S15 0.41 0.41 0.21 0.80 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.92 0.96 0.96 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.44 0.49 1.00
" S16 0.94 0.94 0.71 1.00 0.37 0.54 0.63 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.97 1.00 1.00
" S17 0.41 0.41 0.21 0.80 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.92 0.96 0.96 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.44 1.00 0.49
TABLE 5
Normalised weights of the alternatives with regard to walls stability attribute.
V (Mi Mj ,..., Mk) W (xi ) wi

V(S1 S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, S11, S12, S13, S14, S15, S16, S17) 0.44 0.088
V(S4 S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, S11, S12, S13, S14, S15, S16, S17) 0 0
A H BANGIAN et al
the weights of each alternative are dened with respect to the different attributes. By the above
mentioned algorithm normalised weights of attributes and alternatives for the pit area are achieved.
Some of these weights are as shown in Table 6.
Finally, relative importance coefcients of the alternatives are calculated by multiplication of the
weights of the attributes by achieved weights from the alternatives as shown in Table 7.
With reference to Table 7, it is concluded that lumber production has the highest rate of the
relative importance coefcient amongst the different alternatives. It therefore is selected as the most
appropriate alternative for PMLU of the pit area. Table 8 shows the obtained priorities of the PMLUs
based on the achieved relative importance coefcients of the alternatives.
TABLE 6
Some of the normalised weights of attributes and normalised weights of alternatives for the pit.
Weight A1 A2 A3 A14 A15 A16 A17

MMC 0.127 0.367 0.391 0.092 0.268 0 0.136 0
CAC 0.114 0.336 0.347 0 0.462 0 0.351 0
OPC 0.111 0 0 0.197 0.026 0.047 0.040 0.009

BW 0 3.786 2.628 4.362 1.243 0 1.046 0
BH 0.039 0.102 0.102 0.230 0.086 0 0.080 0.165
WS 0.097 0.155 0.155 0.258 0.138 0 0.129 0
TABLE 7
Relative importance coefficients of the alternatives.
Relative importance coefficients Alternatives

A1 0.732
A2 0.769
A3 2.479
A4 0
A5 3.019
A6 2.998
A7 2.653
A8 0
A9 0
A10 0
A11 0
A12 0
A13 0
A14 0
A15 0
A16 0
A17 0
TABLE 8
Priorities of the post mining land uses based on the achieved relative importance coefficients of the alternatives.
Alternatives A1 A2 A3 A5 A6 A7
Priorities 6 5 4 1 2 3
Figure 12 shows the diagram of declining relative importance coefcients of the alternatives for
the pit area. According to this diagram, forestry-lumber production (A5) has the biggest relative
importance coefcient (3.019). Forestry-woodland (A6) is the second alternative with the second
relative importance coefcient (2.998) and forestry-shrubs and native forestation (A7) is the third
one with 2.653. Therefore as it is obtained from the diagram, forestry as overall PMLU has the
highest priority for pit area in this mine. Amongst three detailed PMLUs of forestry, A5 has the
highest priority therefore it is the optimal post mining land use. A6 and A7 have the second and third
priority respectively therefore they are as the second and third choices for pit area in this mine. It
therefore can be concluded that according to the recognised optimal post mining land use for pit area
in this mine, reclamation costs can be claried. For clarication of the reclamation costs, costs will be
estimated based on forestry-lumber production as the post mining land use and the specications of
the mine, which is as the outline for the future research. Dening OPMLU for other sections of mined
land in open pit mining method will also be carried out in future studies.
3.5
2.5
1.5
0.5
0
A1 A2 A3 A5 A6 A7
FIG 12 - Diagram of relative importance coefficients of the alternatives for the pit area.
CONCLUSION
As a result of various environmental impacts due to open pit mining, land reclamation and
rehabilitation become necessary. Reclamation of different sections of mined land in open pit mining
comprises of control and possible treatment of all environmental inuences during the operation, in
each section of the mined land. It also includes mine closure phase and further, implementation of
a permanent PMLU for different sections of mined land. It therefore is obvious that the quality and
description of the reclamation plan and also its costs depend on the type of PMLU which is selected
for implementation in mind land after mine closure. Reclamation cost is strongly dependent to the
type of the chosen PMLU for implementation after mine closure. Therefore to estimate total cost of a
project so as to attain NPV of the project in the planning phase, reclamation costs as the costs of the
last stage of an open pit mining project should essentially be determined. It therefore is concluded that
to dene OPMLU for each section of mined land in open pit mining, applicable alternatives, effective
criteria and attributes should denitely be recognised based on the relevant standards, guidelines,
regulations and specically local information. As the nature of the effective parameters for dening
OPMLU is the same as the fuzzy numbers and includes incremental changes without denite limits,
thus the use of fuzzy MADM modelling can noticeably produce more reliable results than the other
techniques. Therefore the approach used in this project was developed based on the use of fuzzy
MADM modelling through 17 applicable PMLU alternatives, ve relevant effective criteria and 96
attributes for pit area amongst different sections of mined land in open pit mining. The developed
model was implemented as a case study on a hypothetical copper mine in northwest of Iran. Lumber
production was dened as the OPMLU for the pit area in the case study. The results show forestry-
lumber production (A5) has the biggest relative importance coefcient (3.019). Forestry-woodland
(A6) is the second alternative with the second relative importance coefcient (2.998) and forestry-
shrubs and native forestation (A7) is the third one with 2.653. Therefore forestry has the highest
priority as the overall PMLU for pit area. Also amongst three detailed PMLUs of forestry, F-LP has
the highest priority therefore it is the optimum post mining land use.
A H BANGIAN et al
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The Effect of the Australian Carbon Trading Scheme
on a Large Scale Open Pit Mining Operation
E K Chanda1, F Ball2, J Dunstan3, H Maier4, P Mumford5 and C Shaw6
ABSTRACT
The mining industry continues to be a major driver of the Australian economy generating over
A$130 billion in export earnings in 2008/2009. However, the industry has been cited as a signicant
contributor to green house gas emissions. Australias proposed carbon trading scheme, the Carbon
Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) will nancially impact on mining operations; this calls for a
holistic planning approach for mining operations taking into account the impact of the emissions
trading scheme. Since carbon trading is a new area of study, particularly within Australia, the
quantitative effect of the CPRS on the mining industry is uncertain and current mine planning
practices do not directly consider emissions. This paper presents results of the study into the impact
of the CPRS on a hypothetical large scale open pit operation, using a spreadsheet model based on
linear programming and simulation. By varying the production rates, life of mine (LOM), carbon price
and ore grades among other variables several scenarios were simulated to determine the impact of
emissions trading scheme on the net present value of the project. This study found that the adoption
of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme could impact mining operations in Australia
by a three per cent to six per cent reduction in net present value, for carbon credit costs of $25/t
to $50/t respectively. While the six per cent reduction in net present value for a mining operation
is signicant, rising fuel prices have had a similar effect in recent years. The most energy-intensive
processes are the milling circuit and the otation concentrator circuit. These processes are jointly
responsible for up to 60 per cent of the total emissions, depending on the production rate and the
level of offshore processing conducted. Clearly, the introduction of the CPRS makes it is imperative
for mining companies to assess the impact of carbon emissions on a mining project during mine
planning.
INTRODUCTION
Australias proposed carbon trading scheme, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) will
have an impact on the economics of mining operations (Lund, 2009). Though the scheme has
been shelled for now, sooner or later it will be implemented in one form or another. The schemes
introduction will generate a complete trading market for CO2e, for the 1000 companies that are
obligated to comply under the scheme. The current literature on the effect of carbon trading schemes
on mining operations focuses largely on the coal mining industry (Bibler, Marshall and Pilcher,
1998; Black and Aziz, 2008). This is because emissions abatement in the coal industry is quite easy
to achieve, and it is cost effective. For example, signicant reductions can be achieved simply by
aring coal-bed methane. Ideally, the coal-bed methane would be captured and used as a fuel (Black
and Aziz, 2008). Nevertheless, CPRS has introduced a new set of risks for the minerals industry and
the pressure for companies to respond is growing all the time. Companies need to proactively assess
and understand their risks, and develop a strategy to move forward. As the cost of the CPRS comes to
1. MAusIMM, Associate Professor and Program Leader Mining Engineering, North Terrace Campus, School of Civil Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide,
SA 5001. Email: echanda@civeng.adelaide.edu.au
2. Honours Student, North Terrace Campus, School of Civil Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5001. Email: finlay.@student.adelaide.edu.au
3. Honours Student, North Terrace Campus, School of Civil Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5001. Email: joseph.dunstan.@student.adelaide.edu.au
4. Professor, North Terrace Campus, School of Civil Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5005. Email: hmaier@civeng.adelaide.edu.au
5. Honours Student, North Terrace Campus, School of Civil Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5001. Email: pelle.mumford.@student.adelaide.edu.au
6. Honours Student, North Terrace Campus, School of Civil Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5001. Email: christpher.shaw@student.adelaide.edu.au
E K CHANDA et al
pass, it will be important for mining companies to assess its impact as early in the planning/mining
process as possible. Lund (2009) suggests the following actions by mining companies in the short-
term:
x planning so major risks and opportunities are understood, and developing a clear climate change
response strategy and implementation plan;
x measuring both direct and indirect emissions to identify the direct costs of the scheme and the
likely pass-through costs in carbon intensive business inputs;
x optimising operations to reduce emissions from an energy efciency perspective;
x implementing carbon reduction and energy efciency initiatives; and
x accessing a cost effective portfolio of permit sources such as those generated under the Clean
Development Mechanism or the forest sector in Australia.
Carbon trading is a new area of study, particularly for the mining industry in Australia, so that
the quantitative effect of the CPRS on industry is still uncertain. Mining and processing are energy-
intensive operations and so the industry will be signicantly exposed under the CPRS (government
subsidies not withstanding). Financial accountability aside, the mining industry is the subject of
much public scrutiny, and needs to keep pace with green technology improvements to maintain
a social license to operate (Joyce, 2000; MMSD, 2002). Few published papers have considered
the impact of carbon trading on the mining industry, and those that do have been conned to the
European Union. There is a lack of knowledge regarding the effect of carbon trading schemes on
mining, and a distinct lack of information on carbon trading within Australia.
The aim of this project is to investigate the impact of the Australian proposed CPRS on the life of the
mine plan, in terms of the emissions, carbon price and the net present value. However, the emissions
offsets available by the two Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, namely, Joint Implementation and the
Clean Development Mechanism were not considered. Also not considered is Australian Government
trade-exposed industry subsidies. Implementation of the provisions of this mechanism in Australia
is uncertain at this point. In order to achieve the objective of the study, a model of the mine plan was
developed in Excel based on linear programming (Roman, 1971; Chanda, 2004). Several simulations
were run to evaluate the impact of various parameters on the NPV, within the CPRS regime. A
hypothetical large scale open pit mine with geological and techno-economic data typical in South
Australia was modelled in this study.
OPEN PIT MINE PLANNING AND EVALUATION

Mine planning and the economic environment
Any resource being considered for development is affected by many environments. The physical
environment of the resource, including the nature of the resource and its location relative both to
the land surface and to infrastructure, ports and markets, is the most important. This will have a
controlling inuence on the choice of salable product or products, mining method, mining scale,
and the extent of value adding on site. Topography, vegetation and host rocks, all aspects of the
physical environment, will also inuence the mine planning process, as will the natural environment,
particularly the need to protect and conserve that natural environment. The next most important
is the economic environment which plays a critical role in deciding whether or not the specic
resource should be developed. The economic environment interacts with the other environmental
inuences on the resource being considered for development in ways that determine whether or
not such development would be viable. Social and political environments invariably impact on any
project development and, in some cases, can be the decisive inuences on whether or not a project
is developed. No mine development should proceed unless there is a well justied presumption that
the project, after paying for all internal costs and externalities, will recover the capital invested, will
service that capital at an appropriate cost of capital for as long as it is invested in the project and will
generate at least some quantity of new wealth. Resources do not deteriorate in the ground. If they
cannot be mined protably now, they should be left in the ground until they can be mined protably
in the future. The forecast economic environment controls the evaluation needed to establish the
well justied presumption that the project is viable or to establish that it is probably not viable.
THE EFFECT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CARBON TRADING SCHEME ON A LARGE SCALE OPEN PIT MINING OPERATION
The traditional approach to mine planning involves consideration of technical and economic data
as inputs to the process (Hustrulid and Kuchta, 2006). Both sets of data are subject to uncertainty
which makes the planning of mines especially challenging. Among the economic data used in open
pit planning and design are commodity prices (revenue), and costs. Maximisation of the net present
value (NPV) is the standard method of ranking projects or justifying capital. Other criteria (not
mutually exclusive) may be: mine life, nancial requirements, environmental/community, mining
costs per tonne of rock, cut-off grade, or resource utilisation (Chanda and Spencer, 1999). Although
environmental requirements have been taken into account when planning mining projects, this is
often done to satisfy the regulators and/or community expectations. The proposed introduction of
an emissions trading scheme puts a price on carbon emissions (about A$25/t) and therefore, there
is need for a more rigorous assessment of the nancial and environmental implication of this policy
on mining operations.
Consideration of carbon trading schemes
Environmental and social issues relating to mining projects are far more important than they once
were (or are seen so by the public, and hence governments). This has led to the introduction of
regulatory requirements regarding allowable environmental impact of mining operations. A number
of studies have been conducted to highlight the impact of mining on the environmental (Azapagic,
2004; Mudd and Diesendorf, 2008; Ellerman and Buchner, 2007, 2008; Wang et al (2008).
Only, Wang et al (2008) included the impact of carbon trading on the European Union steel mill
operations. It is evident that theres a lack of quantitative information regarding the effects of the
Australian CPRS on mining projects. The report by Lund et al (2008) asserts that the minerals
industry in Australia faces a signicant challenge in responding to the greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG) situation. It may prove difcult for the industry to continue to grow, maintain economic
performance and move to processing more energy-intensive lower grade ores while meeting GHG
targets. The implementation of CPRS (whenever that occurs) brings additional parameters to the
mine planning spectrum. With the likelihood of a signicant increase in the cost of carbon after
the rst few years of scheme operation it is important that mine operators prepare and implement
appropriate strategies to reduce emissions and exposure to pass-through costs. Such strategies include
optimising operations to reduce emissions from an energy efciency perspective; and implementing
carbon reduction and energy efciency initiatives (Lund, 2009). Mine planners now have to take
into account the provisions of the CPRS when modelling mining projects. The optimisation criteria
for mining projects may now include minimisation of emissions or energy usage. The CPRS could
impact on mining and processing rates, cut-off grades, water usage, employment, power source and
consumption, and fuel usage. The approach to mine planning and evaluation presented in this paper
takes these factors into account using a hypothetical large scale open pit copper mine.
MODELLING APPROACH
Mine planning factors
Production rate
The mine life/production rate relationship was determined, based on a known ultimate (nal) pit
reserves and sales contract for copper and by-products produced by the mine. Variations in mine life
and production rates were simulated to evaluate the impact on emissions and nancial outcomes.
Copper by-product relationship
The ore deposit modelled contains copper, uranium, gold and silver in recoverable quantities. If
a relationship between these co-products can be developed, it becomes possible to incorporate a
copper equivalent grade. An equivalent grade can only be applied if the co-product grades are related
to each other, which is the case for the data used. The gold and silver are present in minute quantities
and they add only a very small percentage to the overall revenue stream. They are only removed as
electrowinning (rening) by-product, and as the quantity produced is so small, it is considered to be
directly proportional to the quantity of copper produced. The proportionality constants were derived
based on the average copper grade and the silver and gold recovery cost/kilogram of product. Because
the uranium product undergoes an expensive extraction process, accurate co-product modelling
requires the added cost to be incorporated.
E K CHANDA et al
Haul routes
The haul route distances and slopes were based on the pit geometry of a large-scale open pit mine.
Material is separated into processing, stockpile and waste streams, depending on the grade. The
difference in waste pile size between beginning and end of mine life are signicant, so for this model,
the haul routes are calculated based on both the pit exit roads and the waste pile size. Thus, the
average cost of hauling ore increases slightly as the mine expands.
Costs
The plant equipment capital and running costs, truck and machinery capital cost, fuel use, electricity
use and maintenance costs, and ancillary costs are taken, wherever possible, directly from the
manufacturers. Where the manufacturer does not provide running or maintenance costs, they are
based on values found in costing guides such as Rudenno (2006). The costs presented by Rudenno
(2006) are typical of Australian mining operations and are derived from cost curves based on actual
data from mines around Australia. Some costs for this study were generated from rst principles.
The purchase and sale of production equipment was modelled as occurring every ve years, with
varying equipment life spans of ve to 15 years. End-of life resale recoups an assumed 20 per cent of
purchase price.
Emission sources
The sources of emissions were found using the fuel and electricity use of vehicles and plant machinery.
The quantity of carbon dioxide resulting from electricity use was based on the combination of
power stations found in South Australia. Note that even if the mining companies themselves are not
generating the electricity, they will still be paying for the emissions generated by the process (the cost
of the CPRS is passed on to the end user).
Model development
In order to evaluate the impact of the proposed emissions trading scheme on a typical large scale
open pit copper operation in Australia, a mathematical model was created in an excel spreadsheet.
The model was used to simulate the nancial and environmental performance of the open pit mine.
The model incorporates elements of linear programming methods used by Hoerger et al (1999) and
Chanda (2004). Instead of generating a single optimum solution, the model is used to simulate various
scenarios in relation to the open pit copper project. This allows derivation of the trade-offs between
cost and production rate and hence, the resulting NPV. The sources and price of carbon emissions
are included as part of the input data into the model. It is not necessary to develop optimal fronts
to generate trade-off curves; therefore the solutions obtained are not necessarily to be optimised
but represent the best outcomes under the prevailing economic and technical circumstances. The
operation of the mine over its entire life was simulated in relation to the impact of the CPRS on
nancial outcomes. The three decision variables within the model are the mine life, carbon credit
price and average ore grade (which is derived from the cut off grade). Instead of optimising solutions,
the model uses an exhaustive strategy to nd the complete solution set. This was viable due to the
relatively low numbers of solution present. Additionally, the model assumes a level of overseas
smelting and rening. To simulate this in the model, the onsite smelter size was restricted to 0.8 Mt
per annum throughput, with the additional smelting and rening taking place offshore. The rationale
for this is the fact that it is becoming common practice for Australian mining companies to conduct
processing offshore due to cheaper labour, energy and environmental costs, even after accounting
for the transport involved. This practice will become more widespread with the introduction of the
CPRS, due to the increase in environmental costs within Australia. Until carbon costs are accounted
for worldwide, Annex-I countries (those without Kyoto Protocol commitments) will have a slight
competitive advantage.
Assumptions
The complexity of the model requires that a number of assumptions be made; typical of the Australian
mining industry. Table 1 presents a summary of assumptions followed by an explanation of their use.
The proposed emissions trading scheme will place a monetary value in A$/tonne of green house
gasses emitted; the price for the each tonne of carbon polluted will be driven by market forces, but
TABLE 1
Summary of assumptions.
Parameter Units Assumed value

Inflation rate % 3
Depreciation capital loss % 20
Corporate tax rate % 30
Discount rate % 10
Labour cost $/hour/person 60
Electricity cost A$/KW.hour 0.06
CO2 emissions per litre of diesel grams/litre 2,626
CO2 emissions per MW.hr kg/MW.hour 900
Carbon price (CPRS) A$/tonne emitted 25
Diesel cost A$/litre 0.70
Refining cost A$/tonne 100
Gold price US$/ounce 900
Silver price US$/ounce 14
Uranium price US$/kg 176
Copper price US$/tonne 3,500
Exchange rate US$/A$ 0.75
Mill recovery % 90
Concentrate grade % 22
Flash Smelter recovery % 95
Refining recovery % 98
Flash smelting cost A$/tonne 500
Mine and mill operation Hours/day 24
Truck operation Hours/day 21
3
Ore density m /kg 2.65
Swell % 30
is expected to be somewhere in the vicinity of A$20 - $30/t. CO2 emissions/MW/h is the amount
of carbon dioxide produced per average mega watt hour of electricity consumed; this factor is used
when the model calculates the green house gasses emitted from the electricity used in processing and
electric excavators.
Modelling in Excel
The model calculates most outputs in real time, this includes nancial analysis such as NPV, but
this is done only for the life of mine input into the model. For analysis and comparison a Visual
Basic macro is used and efciently checks and compares different life of mine (LOM)s. When the
macro is run it evaluates the life of mine, from which the outputs are printed for further analysis.
The macro also changes the ore cut off grade with a constant LOM, these results are also printed
out in a spreadsheet. The LOM and ore grade are used to nd an optimal solution for the example
while the amount of overburden changed to investigate the impact this has on mine planning. The
aim is to nd an optimal solution and the small number of possible combinations means a complete
numerical analysis can be performed. A combination of LOM and ore grade to processing is input
into the model; the simulation is run and the outputs are read and saved for comparison and analysis.
To do this, a macro was written to cycle through the decision variables, read the output and save it to
a nal spreadsheet. Because this study focuses on environmental sustainability as well as economic
performance, the sustainability indicators chosen are also printed to the output.
E K CHANDA et al
To ensure every combination is analysed, a minimum LOM is input and the grade to processing is
changed through the range of the study. The LOM is increased by one year, the grade reset before
cycling again for the next LOM. This is repeated for every LOM-ore grade combination. The model
is run through every simulation twice: once with a carbon price and once without a carbon price.
This means that for every combination, the impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme can
be directly determined. Once these two decision variables have been checked and analysed, the
overburden is then changed. This is not run through every combination but rather just the feasible
combinations. To do this, the break even strip ratio is found for the LOM and the overburden is
changed only at ore grades above this break even strip ratio. The break even strip ratio corresponds
to the grade where it becomes uneconomical to mine the ore, because the costs to recover one tonne
of ore and the associated waste are not covered by the revenue produced by the ore. Figure 1 shows
the evaluation owchart.
InputDecisionVariables
LifeofMine OreGradetoProcessing
RunSimulation
SaveOutput
NetPresent BreakEven
WaterUse TotalEmissions ElectricityUse Employment
Value StripRatio
Repeat

FIG 1 - Simulation process.
RESULTS
Analysis of results
Figure 2 shows the percentage cost increase between two scenarios. The rst includes the CPRS and
the second does not. To do this, the mine simulation was run twice, once with a carbon credit price of
$25 and once with a carbon credit price of $0. The result indicates that a carbon credit price of $25
will increase costs by a minimum of three per cent. Furthermore, the impact of the CPRS is reduced
with an increasing LOM. There is no point of minimum impact at any feasible life of mine.
IncreaseinCostsduetoCPRS
3.80%
PercentageIncreaseinCosts
3.60%
3.40%
3.20%
3.00%
2.80%
2.60%
2.40%
2.20%
2.00%
25 30 35 40 45 50
LifeofMine(years)

FIG 2 - Percentage variation in costs against life of mine (years).
To investigate how the introduction of the CPRS and the changing costs of a mine impact the net
present value of a mine, the net present value of the mine was calculated both with and without a
trading scheme as shown in Figure 2.
It can be seen that the net present value of the simulation including the CPRS has the same shape
as the net present value without the CPRS. Figure 3 shows that in this hypothetical example, the
difference is $2 billion. This shows that introducing the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), will not
necessarily impact on the optimum life of the mine.

FIG 3 - Net present value with and without ETS.
Figure 4 show that different carbon credit prices would not change the optimum life of mine. The
optimal mine life remains the same for all considered carbon credit prices. The maximum net present
value occurs at a 25-year mine life, which is consistent with the scenario modelled. The saw-toothed
prole is due to the practice of buying and selling equipment in 5-year blocks.
FIG 4 - Reduction in net present value against mine life.
E K CHANDA et al
It can be observed that at very short mine lives (and consequently high rates of production), the net
present value is a minimum. Because of this, further analysis was only carried out for lives of mine
between 25 and 50 years. The benets-cost ratio is an indicator that will give an indication of the risk
of the project.
Generally speaking, mining ventures are high risk, so this is an important factor for consideration.
Figure 5 shows the greatest benets cost ratio (lowest risk) is at 30 to 31 years.
B/C B/C(NoETS)
2.4
2.2
1.8
B/Cratio
1.6
1.4
1.2
0.8
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
LOM(years)

FIG 5 - Present value of emission per tpa mined ($/t) against life of mine (years).
An indication of the impact of emissions trading scheme is the increase in cost due to the CPRS,
as is shown in Figure 6. This Figure shows the direct impact of the emissions trading scheme on the
viability and economic sustainability of a mining project, as a reduction in net present value of a
simulation including the ETS against a simulation which doesnt.
7.0%
DifferenceBetweenNPV(NoETS)&
6.0%
5.0%
NPV(ETS)
4.0%
3.0%
2.0%
1.0%
0.0%
2526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950
LOM(years)

FIG 6 - difference between net present value (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme) and net present value (No Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme)
against LOM (life of mine).
As can be seen, the impact of a constant carbon price of $25 on the simulation model is three to four
per cent of the total net present value of the operation.
Figure 7 shows the relationship between the net present value with and without an emission trading
scheme.
While the relative difference between the simulations remains fairly constant, between 2.5 and
3.5 per cent difference, the actual net present value drops by approximately half between the peak
NPV NPV(NoETS) %DifferencebetweenNPV(NoETS)&NPV(ETS)
$50 3.5%
DifferenceBetweenNPV(NoETS)&NPV(ETS)
$45
3.0%
$40
$35 2.5%
$30
NPV(Billion$)
2.0%
$25
1.5%
$20
$15 1.0%
$10
0.5%
$5
$ 0.0%
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
LOM(years)

FIG 7 - Net present value (Emissions Trading Scheme) and net present value (no Emissions Trading Scheme) against life of mine (years).
at 29 years and the minimum at 50 year LOM. This shows that the introduction of a CPRS will
not impact mine planning to the extent that the LOM must be changed. This resultant difference
generally increases with LOM. The percentage change is proportional to carbon credit cost. Thus, a
$50 carbon credit price wills double the change to between ve and seven per cent.
A peak in the NPV can be seen in Figure 7 at 29 year LOM before descending as LOM is extended
and production rate slows. Interestingly, 29 year LOM is also the point of minimum difference
between NPV with and without an emission trading scheme. This means the point where the mine is
making the most prot is also the point where the scheme has the least impact on the mine project.
It can be seen that as the NPV decreases, the difference between the two simulations increases. This
shows that as the NPV decreases, the impact of emissions subsequently increases.
Another method for representing the emission trading schemes impact with changing LOM of a
project is a present value of emissions scale as shown in Figure 8.
It can be seen that the PV of emissions in the example changes from $1 billion at a 25 year LOM to
$400 million at a 50 year LOM. This implies that the smaller the actual value of emissions in todays
dollars the longer the life of the mine. The linear nature of the gure shows this can be expected for
both longer and shorter lives of mine than examined.
1.2
1
PVofEmissions(billion$)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
LOM(years)

FIG 8 - Present value of emissions (billion $) against life of mine (years).
E K CHANDA et al
Another representation of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Schemes impact is the emissions costing
per tonne mined. Figure 9 gives an indication of whether a changing rate of production impacts the
carbon-efciency of mining one tonne of ore. It will also show whether there is a point of highest
efciency or a relationship between rate of production and the relative cost.
Figure 9 shows that as production rate slows, the present value of the cost of emissions reduces per
tonne mined. This is because less number of trucks are required to remove the same amount of rock
from the mine.
2.5
PV(emissions)/tpa($/t)
1.5
0.5
0
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
LOM(years)

FIG 9 - Present value of emission per tpa mined ($/t) against life of mine (years).
Figure 10 shows how these proportions change according to the LOM. As the LOM increases, the
relative emissions from the otation concentrator decrease as the relative emissions from the eet
machinery increases. The proportion increase in emissions generated by Fleet Machinery at a 50
year LOM is about six per cent over the 25-year LOM simulation.
45%
40% FleetMachinery
35%
CrushingMill
%ofemissions
30%
25%
FlotationConcentrator
20%
15% SmeltingPlant
10%
5% HydroMetalurgical
0% Plant
25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 Electrorefining(Gold,
Silver,Uranium)
LOM(years)

FIG 10 - Breakdown of emission with varying life of mine (years).
Figure 10 shows that if the LOM is increased, the equipment eet used in the mine generates
proportionately more greenhouse gasses, but for a short LOM, the otation concentrator contributes
the highest amount. This crosses over between 35 and 37 years. This is a realistic representation
due to the fact that there would actually be a higher number of trucks employed over the 50 year
LOM due to the fact that truck numbers must satisfy a maximum production capacity of a ve
year block. Therefore, the remaining four year block of truck utilisation will be below 100 per cent.
Therefore, a longer LOM will determine a greater number of time periods where there isnt 100
per cent utilisation although the ratio theoretically remains the same. Processing emission present
values would be constant for each LOM, but do marginally decrease (with increased LOM) as they
are inversely proportional to eet machinery emissions.
The distribution of emissions released by the mine over a 31 year LOM is shown in Figure 11.
Improvements in the carbon-efciency of the otation concentrator and the diesel engines used in
the eet will contribute the most improvement to the total emissions of the mine.
DistributionofEmissionsoverLOM
(31years)
FleetMachinery
2%
0%
8% CrushingMill
35%
FlotationConcentrator
38%
SmeltingPlant
18%
HydroMetalurgicalPlant
Electrorefining(Gold,
Silver,Uranium)

FIG 11 - Distribution of emission sources for 31 year life of mine.
These emission sources can be further broken down into those which use electricity for power and
those which use diesel.
Electricity (65 per cent):
x crushing mill,
x otation concentrator,
x smelting plant,
x hydro-metallurgical plant, and
x electro-rening.
Diesel (35 per cent):
x equipment eet.
Since all processing is powered by electricity and only the eet machinery is powered by diesel, the
largest improvement from improving greenhouse gas emissions from the mine in this simulation
occurs by decreasing the emissions caused by electricity generation. A reduction in emissions will
have a direct impact on the net present value of the mine because the number of carbon credits
required decreases. Figure 12 shows the sensitivity of NPV to improved efciency of diesel engines
and electricity generation. It is important to make this distinction as emissions created from diesel
engines are less likely to be rapidly improved although advances are made every few years. For
example the US Tier Three Standards will soon be essential for all Caterpillar equipment. However,
carbon emissions emitted from electricity generation, stand to markedly decrease as alternative
technologies are introduced. For example, results at the zero percentile are based on 900 kg/MW/h
from a coal red power station but a natural gas powered power station produces only 610 kg/MW/h;
roughly a 30 per cent reduction. The 900 kg/MW/h was assumed for simulation because South
Australia has a mixture of coal and gas generators; this is the worst-case scenario.
Table 2 summarises the ndings from each impact (measures) and gives the optimal life of mine for
this measure. The optimal life of mine changes depending on the method used, which shows that all
measures do not draw the same conclusions. While NPV/PV emissions have an optimal point at 36
years, the NPV has an optimal solution of 25 year life of mine. Further investigation shows that the
E K CHANDA et al
co2emissions/Ldiesel(2.6kg/L) co2emissions/kW.hour(900kg/MW.hr)
100.6%
100.4%
100.2%
VariationofNPV
100.0%
99.8%
99.6%
99.4%
99.2%
99.0%
VariationfromAssumedValues

FIG 12 - Percentage variation of net present value against percentage variations of emission rates from diesel engines and electricity generation.
TABLE 2
Impact measure summary.
Impact measure Result Trend with increasing LOM Life of mine (yrs)
Net present value Maximum Peak 25 or 29
B/C Maximum Peak 29
NPV decrease Maximum Minimum point then increasing 29
PV of emissions/tonne mined Maximum Slowly declining 27
NPV/PV emissions Maximum Peak 36
NPV/PV for emissions is minimum at 25 year LOM, while the NPV at 36 years is not the minimum.
Therefore, using a combination of these indicators, 36 year LOM could be more benecial than 25.
Depending on the interests of the mine operator, the carbon trading scheme will have different
implications on mine planning. If the company wishes to minimise the impact of the CPRS as a
proportion of prots, the optimal LOM is longer than a company who simply wishes to generate
the most prot. Although it would appear that any company would prefer larger prots, increasing
the carbon credit price would have a larger impact if the mine life is shorter, while the LOM with
minimum impact will see prots reduced by a smaller margin. These models show only the effect of
a $25 carbon price throughout the mine life. This was chosen because the current carbon price in
the European Union carbon exchange is 25AUD (as of 18 September 2009). However, because of the
nature of the carbon auction and exchange, the carbon price is unknown and volatile. Therefore, it is
important to investigate the effects of changing carbon prices on the example mine.
Sensitivity analysis
In order to counter the effect of some of the volatile assumptions, a sensitivity analysis was carried
out. The assumptions which were investigated are shown in Table 1. These parameters were chosen
because it is conceivable that they will rise or drop over time, especially variables which are dictated
by a spot price market, such as diesel price or copper price. The sensitivity analysis was conducted
by using the optimal LOM and a copper grade above the break even grade. All assumptions were set
to the assumed level except one which was reduced by 20 per cent. The simulation was run and the
results saved. The assumption in question was then changed to 19 per cent below the assumed value,
the simulation run and results saved again. This was repeated for all variations of the assumption up
to 20 per cent above the assumed value before resetting and testing the next variable. The sensitivity
of the model on the variable in question was tested by checking the net present value of the mine with
the changing variable. The basic model mechanics can be seen in Figure 13.

T E M P O R A L
A N A L Y S IS L if e o f M in e
M O D E L M E C H A N IC S
P r o d u c t io n R a t e
P r o c e s s in g M a c h in e r y F l e e t
E q u ip m e n t S iz e
E le c t r ic it y D ie s e l
E m p lo y m e n t
W a te r
G r e e n H o u s e G a s E m is s io n s
ETS
F in a n c ia l A n a ly s is
E T S Im pa c t
S E N S IT IV IT Y & T R A D E O F F
A N A L Y S IS
S e n s it iv it y A n a ly s is
In te re s t R a te C a rb o n P ric e E T S S t r i p R a t io L if e o f m in e
D ie s e l P ric e R e fin in g C o s t
E m p lo y m e n t M illi n g C o s t
A d m in is t r a t io n E le c t r ic it y C o s t A u s t r a li a n D o l la r W a t e r P r ic e
C o 2 E m is s io n s / L C O 2 E m is s io n s /
D ie s e l K W h E le c t r ic it y
A p p r a is a l, A n a ly s is &
D is c u s s i o n o f R e s u lt s
D e v e lo p g e n e r a l t r a d e - o f f r u le s I n v e s t ig a t e e f f e c t s o f A u s t r a lia s C a r -
a p p lic a b le t o o p e n p it m i n e s in - b o n T r a d i n g S c h e m e o n in d u s t r y
c o r p o r a t in g E T S
FIG 13 - Evaluation process flowchart.
A sensitivity analysis of some model parameters was undertaken in order to understand their
inuence on NPV. A list of these values can be found in the assumptions section. This variable
analysis was performed by having all constraints constant but varying an individual constraint by
percentage intervals from a 20 per cent decrease to a 20 per cent increase. Copper price and interest
rate were expected to be the most sensitive variables analysed by sensitivity. For ease of presentation
these were graphed and analysed separately.
Figure 14 shows that the model is most sensitive to a change in diesel price from these variables.
An increase in the diesel price of 20 per cent results in a billion-dollar prot change over the LOM
for this model. Carbon price ranks as the third most sensitive variable and could impact the NPV by
half a billion dollars. This reinforces the validity of this study. Figure 15 shows the sensitivity of these
variables against a relative scale.
In order of sensitivity the variables are:
x diesel price,
x milling cost,
x carbon price,
x electricity price,
x employment wages, and
x water price.
The Australian dollar is the only variable where a 20 per cent increase will cause an increase in
prot of around 1.5 per cent, and it is interesting to observe that this isnt a linear trend as the other
variables are.
E K CHANDA et al
SensitivityAnalysis
DieselPrice($0.7/L) CarbonPrice($25/t) AustralianDollar($0.75US)
Employment($60/hr) ElectricityCost($0.06/kW.hr) WaterPrice($0.1/kL)
MillingCost($2.66/t) RefiningCost($100/t) AdministrationCost($6*10^6/year)
$42
$42
$41
$41
NPV(Billion $)
$41
$41
$41
$40
$40
$40
$40
10%
11%
12%
13%
14%
15%
16%
17%
18%
19%
20%
20%
19%
18%
17%
16%
15%
14%
13%
12%
11%
10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
VariationfromAssumedvalue

FIG 14 - Net present value (billion $) against percentage variation from assumed values for parameter variables affecting net present value.
SensitivityAnalysis
DieselPrice($0.7/L) CarbonPrice($25/t) AustralianDollar($0.75US)
Employment($60/hr) ElectricityCost($0.06/kW.hr) WaterPrice($0.1/kL)
MillingCost($2.66/t) RefiningCost($100/t) AdministrationCost($6*10^6/year)

102%
101%
101%
100%
VariationofNPV
100%
99%
99%
98%
98%
97%
97%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
10%
11%
12%
13%
14%
15%
16%
17%
18%
19%
20%
20%
19%
18%
17%
16%
15%
14%
13%
12%
11%
10%
VariationfromAssumedValue

FIG 15 - Variation in net present value against percentage variation from assumed values for various parameters.
CONCLUSIONS
This study found that the adoption of an Emissions Trading Scheme the proposed Carbon Pollution
Reduction Scheme could impact mining operations in Australia by a three per cent to six per cent
reduction in net present value, for carbon credit costs of $25/t to $50/t respectively. The six per
cent reduction in net present value observed with a $50 carbon credit price shows the scale of the
nancial impact that the CPRS could have. While the six per cent reduction in net present value for a
mining operation is signicant, rising fuel prices have had a similar effect in recent years. The highly
volatile commodity markets can give rise to enormous prot uctuations. The actual nancial cost
of the CPRS is likely to be modest when compared to other prices. The enormous contribution of
electricity to the cost of the CPRS shows that changing to low-emissions fuels or renewable energy
will signicantly reduce costs.
The introduction of the CPRS means carbon emissions of a mining project should be considered
from the initial stages of mine planning. Although the carbon credit price is only the sixth most
sensitive variable (when modelled with an expected $25/t price), public perception adds to its
importance.
Introducing a CPRS will not change the optimum LOM of an operation; it will however change
the break even strip ratio and net present value. A $25 carbon credit price will increase the present
value costs of the mine by at least three per cent, meaning mines operating at close to break-even
will be greatly impacted. The point of lowest impact from a CRPS is not the point of maximum net
present value. This means mine operators must judge whether they perceive the carbon exchange
to be volatile enough to justify using a LOM with a lower expected prot, but which an increase in
carbon prices over the LOM will not greatly impact.
The viability of overseas processing of ore should be considered. Until the advent of cheap, clean
power, it will generally be cheaper to conduct processing overseas. Transport costs are the only
serious consideration here.
Alternative fuels should continue to be investigated, as should alternative electricity sources. Even
if there is no signicant benet in switching to onsite gas-red power generation (for example), the
public relations and social license improvement may make such an effort worthwhile. The same logic
applies to recycling technologies, such as smelting plant waste heat power generation.
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Energy Conservation in the Indian Mining Industry
An Overview
G K Pradhan1
ABSTRACT
The last one decade in India had witnessed phenomenal growth in the coal, lignite, iron ore, limestone
and many other minerals. To meet the production of minerals, the energy requirement is also very
high both in terms of petroleum products and electrical energy. Because of spiralling prices of crude
oil and also of the electrical energy, attempts have been made by various mining companies to select
energy efcient mining machineries (in underground and surface) mines, together with energy
efcient mining and mineral processing operations. Mineral sector of India is working seriously in
tune with the Planning Commission stipulations to conserve energy.
Apart from energy use (both electrical and fossil fuels) in mining, it is also signicantly contributing
to the cost of mineral processing depending on the quality of ore/rock being processed. Over the
years a number of studies have been initiated and implemented to reduce cost of energy bill. An
attempt has been made to present the various aspects of energy conservation, Impact of Energy
Conservation Act 2001, Relevance of energy audit, areas of energy consumption and conservation
efforts, etc in this paper. The paper also deals with some of the case studies to show how energy
conservation programs has been implemented in the Indian mineral sector.
INTRODUCTION
Mining operations are energy intensive and every mining enterprise have rmed up their energy
management plans so as to continuously monitor and control the energy consumed in various
mining operations. While most mines have drawn up their Specic Consumption of electrical and
thermal energy used to produce the nal product theoretically, efforts have been made to identify
areas of energy saving through addition and modication of improved techniques and gadgets. The
present paper broadly highlights some of the energy saving measures adopted in some of the Indian
mines.
In the areas of energy efciency and conservations government bodies, equipment/mining machinery
manufacturers and research institutions are very much active. In this context the emphasis as has
been laid down in the I Plan Document of Planning Commission (Planning Commission, 2008) is
worth noting. It had also laid much emphasis on the energy savings which had stipulated a target
of 5 per cent of the anticipated energy consumption level in the beginning of the Eleventh Plan as
energy savings to be achieved at the end of the Eleventh Plan. Much before the enactment of Energy
Conservation Act, 2001 the importance of energy conservation has been laid under Companys
Act, wherein every company has to incorporate their energy conservation initiatives in the annual
report. Very recently, the Indian Boilers Act also had made specic provisions in respect of energy
conservation.
Another welcome step in the areas of energy conservation has been to go in for generation and use
of non-conventional sources of energy. In this regard, NMDC Ltd, MOIL, Nalco, GMDC, SCCL, etc
have drawn plans to establish wind energy and solar energy farms in the country.
Non-coal minerals in India
The growth as has been projected in steel, cement, aluminium and other sectors consuming minerals/
ores, show signicant growth in our production capacity. The jump in mineral production in the
1980s till date is because of new capacity addition in cement, steel, aluminium and thermal power
1. Joint Director, Petroleum Conservation Research Association, Kolkata, India. Email: pradhangk@pcra.org
G K PRADHAN
ventures. In addition, there has been rise in exports during the last few years for iron ore. Since
the late 1970s, the thrust is also for surface mining which account for over 90 per cent of our total
non-coal mineral production. The list includes Kudremukh Iron Ore Mine with technology from
MetChem of Canada, Malanjkhand Copper Mine of Hindustan Copper Ltd, Bailadila Deposit V/
Mines of NMDC, Meghahatuburu Iron Ore Mine of SAIL, captive limestone mines, Rampura-Agucha
Pb- inc Mine of H L, Banduhurang Mine(of UCIL), etc. These mines have adopted state-of-the-art
techniques in mine planning, equipment and material handling system, etc.
Coal resources sector
Coal continues to be the prime source of energy of our country. Majority of Indian coal resources
spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharastra, Meghalaya, Orissa and West Bengal and few other states, they account for a total reserve
of 257.38 billion tones (as on 1 April 2008). Coal production projections in I Plan Period, shows
CIL to produce 520.50 Mt and 160 Mt by other producers. CIL targets have been revised to 600 Mt
for 11th Plan and set a new high of 800 Mt target for the 12th Plan.
In the process of exploration, mine development, extraction, beneciation, handling, etc enormous
amount of energy is used in the form of both electrical and thermal energy (liquid fuel, lubricants
and coal for boiler operation, etc). Coal industry in India also account for employing the largest work
force in its operations. The energy consumed by the employees in coal sector alone will run to few
hundred MW (As per the coal industry norms, free supply of 30 kWh (units) per house per month is
to be provided), since over 4 lakh quarters in colonies, are to be provided air, water and electricity.
Energy Conservation Act 2001 (EC Act)
Energy is scarce and available energy is becoming very precious. India is a large and populace
country. Its economy is progressive and industries are highly energy intensive, hence savings
potential is huge. In order to obtain the benets of potential saving, bridging the gap between supply
and demand and reducing the environmental emission through energy savings, Government of
India has enacted Energy Conservation Act 2001, to provide much-needed legal framework and
institutional arrangement for embarking on an energy efciency drive. Under the provisions of the
Act, Bureau of Energy Efciency (BEE) has been established with effect from 1 March 2001. The
bureau is responsible for implementation of policy programs and coordination for implementation
of energy conservation activities.
The important features of Energy Conservation Act
Standard and labelling has been identied as key activity for improvement of energy efciency.
Standard and labelling program when in place would ensure that only energy efcient equipment
and appliances would be made available to the consumers.
The provisions of Energy Conservation Act on standard and labelling are
x evolve minimum energy consumption and performance standard for notied equipment and
appliances
x prohibit manufacture, import and sale of such equipment that does not conform to the standards
x introduce a mandatory labelling scheme for notied equipment and appliances to enable the
consumers to make informed choice and
x disseminate information on the benets to consumers.
Designated consumers
The provision of the EC Act on designated consumers include steel, aluminium, power sectors,
where mining is one of the key areas. Each designated consumer will get the energy audit done by
an accredited energy auditor. Each designated consumer will appoint or designate a qualied energy
manager. Designated consumers would comply with norms and standards of energy consumption as
prescribed by the central government.
Role of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA)
PCRA under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been promoting research, development
and deployment efforts aimed at petroleum conservation and environment protection and facilitating
efforts for adoption and dissemination of fuel efcient technologies. Establishing synergistic
ENERGY CONSERVATION IN THE INDIAN MINING INDUSTRY AN OVERVIEW
institutional linkages at the national and international levels, has been coupled with substitution of
petroleum products with alternate fuels and renewal sources. In addition, in the areas of electrical
energy also it is very active in undertaking energy audits for all types of industries and buildings.
PCRA, has also taken up with corporate bodies to hold energy conservation related training
programs for all executives drawn from all disciplines. In this regard, it had held training programs
for all executives (below the rank of deputy general managers) of ONGC Ltd, all executives of GMDC
Ltd and Indian rare Earths Ltd, spread all over the country.
Energy audit
PCRA has inherent strength of making the energy audit impact due to one to one interaction with
personnel from grass root to top management and making them understand the areas which need
attention. The need for cost control also nd importance in all such studies. For example, in dumpers
the fuel bill runs to Rs.1000/- per hour where it consumes 30 L/hr in addition to lubricants, etc.
PCRA through energy audit lays emphasis on customisation of activities/modules while conducting
followed by onsite training programs. Apart from catering to most energy consuming sectors including
domestic and agriculture, PCRA had also ventured into conducting energy audit for electrical and
thermal (HSD, lubricants, etc) installations/machineries. After success achieved in energy audit
for mines, smelter and other facilities of Hindustan Copper Ltd (Pradhan and Jayanthu, 2008),
very recently completed energy audit for HEMMs of Nalcos Bauxite Mines at Damanjodi (Pradhan
and Bandopadhyay, 2008). Efforts are also made to keep customers abreast of the bench mark.
Experience re eals that the energy audit yields 10 - 1 per cent reduction in energy consumption
E en one per cent sa ings in this coal company, means sa ings to the tune off Rs 0 crores.
There are a number of organisations in government and private sector, who undertake energy
audit in mines. CMPDIL, CIMFR (its fuel research wing), TERI, National Productivity Council are
the few to name.
COAL SECTOR
Technology an aid to energy conservation coal sector
Coal mining for many years was labour intensive and with lowest productivity level. The considerable
progress in this area was made only after NCDC came into existence followed by the total coal
mine nationalisation in 1975. Depending on the geo-mining condition and grade of coal, extraction
technology under gone considerable change keeping in view OMS, safety and specic energy
consumption, etc. In underground coal mining, the conventional bord-and-pillar method was
replaced by semi-mechanised to mechanised means of coal production improved roof management
system, introduction of long wall mining, sublevel caving, blasting gallery method, etc. Similarly,
in opencast mining, shift towards new technology had resulted in opening up large capacity mines,
deployment of energy efcient large capacity excavating system, eco-friendly safe techniques, etc. All
this had led to low specic energy consumption, in addition to improved coal recovery, etc. After the
success of introduction of Surface Miners at Lakhanpur Mine of Mahanadi Coalelds, today more
and more mines have switched over to coal extraction through this method. Surface miners, not
only resulted in conservation of coal through mining of thin coal bands, improvement in coal quality
leading to higher realisation of cost per ton, etc but also reduction in cycle time of extraction and
elimination of drilling and blasting, sizing, etc.
Underground coal mines
In any underground coal mining operation the major areas of energy use (Mahto, 2009) are
x winding/transportation of men and material (shaft or incline with rope haulages, conveyor, etc)
x pumping/dewatering
x use of LHDs/SDLs, coal drills, etc
x illumination and
x ventilation system.
Chakrabarti and Shrivastava (1992) while studying the energy consumption pattern of mechanised
mines of Coal India mines with special reference to underground coal mining, had further revealed,
the breakdown of energy consumption (Table 1).
G K PRADHAN
TABLE 1
Energy share in total power (percentage).
Consumption purpose Average Range

Mine dewatering 35 20 - 50
Ventilation 20 15 - 35
Winding (men and material) 10 5 - 20
Horizontal transport (rope haulages/conveyors) 15 10 - 30
Coal face (SDL/LHD, coal drill) 10 2 - 15
Others 10 5 - 15
Mine dewatering
The methodology adopted to install pumps in old underground mines resulted into improper
pumping load distribution. By having a proper planning, a huge amount of electricity can be saved,
including reduction in maximum demand at the mine. This opens wide scope for reorganisation of
the total system especially in old mines.
x Proper assessment of make of water at the mine.
x Lack of standardisation (ie head and discharge and type of water to be handled).
x Inadequate sump capacity or gradual decrease of sump capacity due to silting, etc.
x Poor sump layout.
x Using higher capacity pumps at suitable locations and reducing, too many intermediate pumps,
leading to multi-stage operation. This will reduce the peak demand and energy consumption.
x Staggering the operation timing of pumps, to reduce the peak demand.
x Wrong selection of pumps.
x Pump foundation reduction of vibration in the pump can help in having better life of bearings.
This will help prevent overloading of motor and increasing the energy consumption.
x Foot valve position care is to be taken to stop sucking of slush and other unwanted materials
inside the suction pipe, choking the impellers and reducing the discharge of water.
x Maintenance of pumps and pipe line network (below and above ground).
x Controlling leakages in delivery lines for reducing working hours of pump.
x Proper selection of size of suction and delivery pipes, avoiding sharp bends, Non-return valve on
delivery lines, etc.
x Using microprocessor based soft starters for machinery to reduce energy losses during starting
and operation of the electric motors.
Ventilation system
x Incorrect choice of main fan for a given mining condition,
x faulty calculation of pressure and quantity of air, and
x large variations in the actual performance curve from the theoretical curve stipulated by the
manufacturer
Winding system
As of 1992, the total number of winding engines in Coal India Ltd was 268, distributed over 123
mines and having total power connected to the tune of 33 MW
x Speed control.
x Selection of motors vis- -vis motor rating.
x Switching over from ac to dc system.
x Use of thyristor drives, ltering system.
x Reducing peak load through friction system of winding over the drum system.
x Reduction of dead weight by proper design of skips/cage, etc reduction in the rope size, etc.
x Pit bottom bunkers to help in the reduction of overloading factor of loaded skip or tubs to a
minimum. This will reduce the drive size in the same proportions. Also can improve the winder
utilisation factor considerably.
Transport system
x Replacing mine tubs by mine cars, can improve in the haulage capacity and improve the rolling
resistance from 25 kg/ton to 10 kg/ton
x proper laying and maintenance of the tracks
x lubrication of the friction pulleys
x proper rope guides and
x proper layout/alignment of the conveyors, idlers, quality of bearings, housekeeping, etc.
Research and development in energy conservation in underground mining Petroleum
Conservation Research Association initiatives
PCRA has been assisting various industries and R D institutions to evolve strategies to conserve
energy through technological innovations and transfer of technology from laboratory scale to actual
place of use. In this regard, PCRA had very recently joined hands with the mining engineering
department of Indian School of Mines University (Panigrahi and Misra, 2008 Panigrahi et al, 2009),
for selection of proper ventilation fan blades for conserving electrical energy without compromising
with safety standards, etc.
CASE STUDY OF A LARGE MECHANISED IRON ORE MINE HAVING A MODERN

BENEFICIATION SYSTEM
Iron ore mine having an annual installed run of mine (ROM) capacity of 6.2 Mt, produces lumps
(31.5 mm +6.3 mm) and nes (10 mm) in the ratio of 1 2 and releases 12 per cent of the ROM
quantity as slime to the tailings dam. Figure 1 presents as a part of the study to nd various electrical
energy consumption areas, for operations like pumping, crushing, screening, mining, loading, etc.
45
40
35
30
25
Series1
20
15
10
5
0
t
ng
t
g
s
t
an
an
an
in
er
pi
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in
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Pl
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in
hi
ad
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FIG 1 - Showing electrical energy consumption in a mechanised iron ore mine.
Pumping is the single largest power consuming area. Out of the total water required 41 per cent of
the total water is consumed in the screening plant alone, for the wet circuit. Because of the role of
pumping, specic water consumption for any beneciation plant is very important. Over the years,
the specic water consumption for this mine varied from 0.53 to 0.75 cubic metre. One of the main
reasons being leakages and increased thrust in quality of the nal product.
Based on detailed water and energy management study, following are the important areas which
need to be attended for achieving energy efciency in any beneciation plant (coal or minerals)
x To maintain optimum/maximum ore feed rate in the screening plant.
x ROM handled by the beneciation plant should be as per the designed lump nes ratio since
most beneciation plants are designed according to this ratio. Any minor variation not only upset
the nal product availability but also increases cost of energy.
G K PRADHAN
x At no ore condition plant should be stopped.

x Main valve closing in appropriate time.
x Washing of the return belt and chutes help in avoiding jamming.
x Reducing spillages in the plant.
x Tailings dam maintenance vis- -vis de silting, avoiding chocking of the pipes, etc.
x Improving the efciency of thickeners, hydro-cyclones and classiers restrict overow.
x Emphasis on water recirculation.
x Any damage to material handling system need to be attended urgently.
x Selection of occulants and other reagents for ensuring better water recovery and reduction in
water consumption, etc.
Every unit should have a strict maintenance practice to be handled by qualied engineers/
supervisors, on daily basis and also on the basis of the recommendations of the OEMs. This single
most operation will help in reducing energy bill to a great extent.
Evaluation parameters
Electrical
x Power factor,
x specic power consumption for coal production in terms of kWh/t, and
x peak demand versus contract demand assessment can save huge penalty burden.
Fossil fuel
x HSD specic fuel consumption for coal/ob production, k/t or k/CuM and
x Lubes specic fuel consumption for coal/ob production, k/t or k/CuM.
To begin with, every mine should specify the above norms and try to implement various energy
saving measures to bring it down, or maintain.
Factors inuencing the specic energy consumption are
x life of the machinery
x utilisation (idle running, waiting/queuing, etc)
x per cent of actual loading or hauling capacity and
x uniformity in blasting.
Case study of energy conservation of a coal company Singareni Collieries Co Ltd (SCCL)
The following measures are being implemented in this organisation for reducing energy consumption
x specic power consumption for coal production reduced from 25.00 kWh/t in 1998-99 to 14.60
kWh/t in 2008-09, and
x conversion to HVDS with 10 KVA PMTs 3644 Nos commissioned at a cost of Rs 63.8 million.
Lighting
x 16 896 811 W CFLs on easy installments issued to workmen with a cost of Rs 33.9 million,
x introduction of 36 W FTLs with electronic chokes at subsidised price 75 228 issued with a cost
of Rs 41.10 million,
x installation of automatic control switches for stock yard lights and quarry lighting systems,
x 120 automatic electrical load monitoring devices were installed,
x 336 old air conditioners were replaced with energy efcient models,
x 400 automatic electronic control switches were tted to street lights, and
x cluster LEDs were installed in street lights to replace 250 W sodium vapour lamps.
Fittings
x Replacement of old high wattage ceiling fans (80 - 120 W) with energy efcient 50 W fans and
electronic regulators 1823 issued with a cost of Rs 1.10 million
x LP gas-based geysers to replace electric storage water heaters, 20 issued on trial basis
x installation of automatic control switches for streetlights in colonies and
x installation of energy efcient bore hole pumps and re-organisation of pumping and haulage
layouts in mines.
Pumping
x High efciency squirrel cage induction motors introduced in place of slip ring induction motors
for high capacity pumps.
Non-conventional sources of energy
x Installation of solar water heaters in mines and hospitals as a part of usage of non-conventional
energy. In future also it is planned to further increase the usage of solar power in a big way.
Underground operation (including ventilation)
x Improvement of ventilation circuits to reduce mine resistance/change of blade angle
x conversion of existing 440 V system to 550 V
x idle running of equipment, man riding systems, trunk conveyor belts, etc
x old electrical machinery is replaced with energy efcient machinery in phased manner
x the decision has been taken not to use the motors of rewound more than ve times and
x total Rs 18.83 Crores were spent towards energy conservation measures.
Waste recycling and reuse
Waste generated from use of material in various mining operations is collected and disposed of
through auction to APPCB authorised agencies. The waste products are mostly HEMM/vehicle tyres,
ropes, old batteries, barrels, drained/used transformer/lubricant oils, drill bits/rods, mine tub and
electrical motor scrap, scrapped vehicles/HEMM, mild steel/cast iron scrap, etc. Some of the above
items such as drill rods are used for fencing. Used haulage ropes are re-used for roof stitching as
support.
Drained/used lubricant oils are re-used for lubricating mine tub axles. Oil collected from oil and
grease traps in workshops is reused for mine tub lubrication a waste having high potential for
damage of aquatic environment. Old conveyor belts are re-used as temporary ventilation stoppings,
wipers at unloading points along the coal conveyors. Compost pits are constructed in mines and
ofce complexes. Water treated in ETPs at all the workshop facilities is reused 100 per cent for
plantation within the premises.
Singareni Collieries Co Ltd has taken initiative for flyash utilisation
In collaboration with the Central Mining and Fuel Research Institute (CMFRI), Dhanbad, a study for
stowing yash in one of the underground mines in Ramagundam was taken up during 1994 - 1996.
SCCL and HWP, DoAE has jointly taken up pilot project under guidance of Flyash Mission, CMFRI
and DGMS for stowing of pond ash in the underground mines. About 8000 to 10 000 Cu M of pond
ash was successfully lled in a depillaring district.
Traditional clay bricks were replaced with yash bricks in all construction works since 2001. From
2003 - 2004 yashes is being used 100 per cent in all construction works. SCCL got the National
Flyash utilisation Award 2005. In place of clay bricks and cement bricks, yash bricks utilised as
below in Singareni as an environmental protection measure.
Measures to reduce consumption of HSD oil and lubricants in open cast mines
The annual consumption of HSD oil in SCCL is over 70 000 kiloliters costing around Rs 250 Crores. Of
this, about 68 000 kilolitres (97 per cent of total consumption costing Rs 2400 million is consumed
in the open cast mines).
In order to reduce the overall consumption of HSD oil and lubricants in open cast mines, various
measures are being taken up/planned which include
x intensive training for operators and maintenance crew for efcient working of the HEMM
x elimination of spillage and leakage of oils and lubricants and controlling pilferage
x rewarding operators delivering best kilometre per litre (lowest HSD consumption)
x avoiding wasteful trips of HEMM by
x adopting hot seat exchange
x adopting global positioning system (GPS), operator independent truck dispatch system
(OITDS) is under trials at RG OC-III
x daily maintenance checks in the quarry
G K PRADHAN
x effective use of mobile HSD lling units (diesel bozers) for relling HEMM inside the quarry
x topping up of radiator coolant and tyre ination arrangements inside the quarry
x installing stationary water sprinklers along permanent haul roads to minimise use of diesel
operated water sprinklers and
x convenient parking in the quarry
x improvement of haul road conditions
x maintaining correct tyre ination pressures
x better engine management by regular and timely diagnostic checks of engine cooling system,
fuel injection system, quality of HSD and lubricants, etc
x use of additives to improve fuel and lubricant efciency
x ensuring quality spares like high pressure hoses, lters, etc
x educating all employees on importance of conserving petroleum products and
x observation of Oil Conservation Week regularly, to inculcate the habit of saving oils and
lubricants, to join hands with oil companies to celebrate oil and gas conservation fortnight
(OGCF).
CASE STUDY OF PANCHPATMALI BAUXITE MINE OF NALCO

Panchpatmali bauxite is one of the most modern and efcient mine in the world. Their mines had
been planned to have most productive and efcient mining systems vis- -vis HEMM, crushing and
conveying, etc. As a rst step, the geo-mining conditions, bauxite quality considerations and overall
safety of the mine had resulted in the elimination of, the use of electrical energy based HEMM in
the entire mining cycle of production. Use of electrical energy within the mine area is limited to
illumination, water sprinkling network on main haul road only. In the areas of energy conservation,
considerable work has been done by the mining team, through their energy management cell.
Figures 1 and 2 present the specic consumption of electrical and diesel and explosives and lubricants
(A)
(B)
FIG 2 - (A) Specific energy consumption for HSD at this mine; (b) presents the specific energy consumption for lubes at this mine.
since inception of the mine. Table 2, presents the specic consumption of diesel, lubricants and
electrical energy since inception. The data indicates saving shown in these major areas in 2007 - 2008
over the previous year. Figures 2a and 2b, and Figure 3 present the specic energy consumption.
TABLE 2
Presents the specific consumption of diesel, explosives, lubricants and electrical energy in 2006 - 2007 and 2007 - 2008.
Raw materials 2007 - 2008 2006 - 2007 Percentage increase

Diesel (L/t of excavation) 0.56 0.54 +3.70
Explosive (g/t of excavation) 179 182 -1.65
Lubricant (ml/t of excavation) 24 25 -4.00
Power (KWH/t of transportation) 1.29 1.4 -7.86
FIG 3 - Specific energy consumption for electrical energy at this mine.
Diesel account for over 90 per cent of the power cost of the mine and seven per cent of the total
mining cost and the management had initiated lot of action in this area. PCRA has been entrusted
with the energy audit for the HEMMs deployed at this mine. Some of the recommendations of PCRAs
energy audit study are as stated below
x Recycling of hydraulic and transmission oil, shall contribute an annual saving of Rs 4.2 million, It
has been proposed to adopt electrostatic liquid cleaner in series with vaccum dehydration machine
with a meager investment of Rs 0.4 million. Annual consumption at the present production level
is 35 KL of hydraulic oil and 50 KL of transmission oil.
x Recycling of engine oil The total annual consumption level is to the tune of 3000 KL. By recycling,
Rs 1.4 million can be saved, in addition to improving upon the engine efciency.
x Use of mineral water in radiators an amount of Rs 0.57 million can be saved annually by replacing
the present system of using industrial water in radiators along with high value coolants.
x Installing load cell in each dumper by installing load cells the percentage productivity of the
dumpers when loaded by loaders can be improved and quantied. It has been observed that
there has been wide variation at times in the percentage loading into the dumpers. By installing
load cells in 14 50 T dumpers, a total saving of Rs.0.342 million can be achieved. Investment in
installing load cells will be about Rs 1.2 million, payback in a three-year period. Similar system
is already there in dumpers of 85 t range of BEML and Komatsu make, where the operator in his
seat can see the exact quantity loaded. This helps in better fuel consumption.
x Introduction of aluminium dump body Rs 41.04 can be saved by having aluminium dump body
in place of present iron dump bodies in dumpers.
x Construction of RCC road in permanent haul roads This can generate a saving of Rs 1.71 million, with
an investment of about Rs 14 million, due to improvement in engine life, fuel saving, better tire life, etc.
x Additive dosing in HSD A total saving of Rs 0.57 million can be achieved through improvement
in efciency of diesel operated HEMMs like dumpers, dozers, drills, loaders, etc.
G K PRADHAN
x Performance improvement in blasting Less generation of oversize boulders, result in better

productivity of loading and dumping machineries. This also improves productivity of the crusher
due to less jamming, uniform feeding resulting in better electrical motor life, etc.
Some of the recent energy conservation initiatives undertaken by the NALCO management are
given below
x variable frequency drive in crusher and conveying system,
x trial use of surface miners so as to completely replacing drilling and blasting in the post-trial
period, and
x semi-mobile crusher conveyor system.
CASE STUDY OF A LIMESTONE MINE RAJASHREE CEMENT

Rajashree Cement Limestone Mine located at Adityanagar in Gulbarga District of North Karnataka,
is one of the largest single location captive limestone mines in the country, producing around 6 Mt
of limestone and 0.50 Mt of overburden per year (Jayvelu and Balsubramaniam, 2009). It is a well
planned opencast mine using latest state of art technology in its working. Limestone deposit belongs
to middle Bhima series and is free from any metamorphism. Area of mining lease is 1813.28 acres,
having reserves which are sufcient for 25 years at the existing rate of consumption. Average quality
of stone is 45 - 48 per cent lime (CaO) and 11 - 14 per cent Silica (SiO2) and is acclaimed as rich
limestone deposit. The mine is working at 60 m deep with in-pit crusher over 1200 t/h capacity and
with hydraulic shovel-dumper combination.
A fully mechanised quarry employing 6 m3 bucket capacity excavators, 60 t dumpers and 150 mm
diameter drills, has been developed by opencast method having a overburden bench of 1 - 2 m and
6 m limestone benches each of 9 - 10 m height. The ROM from different benches with predetermined
blending ratio is fed to two in-pit crushers having 1200 t/h capacity. With continuous improvements
in its working, optimisation of fuel and spares consumption, etc the present mines operating cost
is around Rs 69 per ton (including government levies of Rs 46 per ton), which is competitive in the
mining industry (Figure 4).
FIG 4 - Showing the in-pit crusher at 30 m level of the mine.
Water management
This mine had a water storage reservoirs of 3.0 million m3, and this meets the entire water requirement
for plant, power plant and colony in the peak summer period. This also benets the local inhabitants
to have increase in the water table height.
Energy conservation measures
Some of the energy conservation measures vis- -vis use of electrical energy
x Use of capacitor bank at each motor end to improve the power factor and save energy.
x Illumination switch over to Solar and CFL where ever possible at domestic as well as commercial
applications.
x Introduction of online energy management system.

x Replacement of two 400 watt HPSV lights by one 400 watt metal halide lights in mines tower
lights provided for general illumination.
x Downsizing of dust suppression pump motors from 55 kW to 26 kW.
x Reducing of belt conveyor length where ever possible and reduce the load on motors.
x Control switch provided in lighting timer circuit for use of lights on need base.
x Maintaining unity power factor at main receiving station.
x Relocation of the primary crushing system the crusher was installed at plant (3 km one way) initially.
Later in 1987, the rst in-pit crusher (850 t/h) was introduced at (-) 4.00 m level, then at (-) 14 m level
in the year 1993 (1200 t/h) to maintain the haul distance at optimum and the mining cost. In 2004,
the crusher was relocated at (-) 30 m level there by the lead and lift has reduced. Data for three years
period indicate substantial saving in electrical energy, from 1.53 units/ton of limestone production in
rst year to 1.48 units/ton in second year and 1.45 units/ton in the third year. In the areas of HSD, the
saving per ton has been 46 L/h (before 300 L/h and after 254 L/h).
x Fuel oil and lube oil conservation Relocation of the crusher together with strict compliance of OEM
recommendations for dumpers and excavators had substantially reduced fuel oil consumption
(Figure 5). The mine management adopted cleaning of the used lube oil through centrifuging
thereby reducing lube oil consumption at the mine (Figure 6).
0.34 0.33
0.33
0.32 0.31
0.31
0.3
0.29
0.29
0.28 0.28
0.27
0.26
0.25
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
FIG 5 - Showing trend of fuel consumption (litres per ton).
0.018
0.017
0.016
0.014
0.012 0.011
0.010
0.01 0.009
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
FIG 6 - Presents lubricant consumption trend in the last four years (litres per ton).
x Other measures are

x introduction of engine and hydraulic oil centrifuge system
x reuse of used oil for drill hammers
x construction of water-oil separator for collection of oil and to avoid ground contamination
x re-use of oil collected from water oil separator tank for open gears and kiln ring
G K PRADHAN
x engine condition monitoring

x conversion of diesel welding generator set to motorised
x installation of auto idling system in excavator
x increase of oil change period through oil monitoring
x daily ination checks and switch over to nitrogen ination
x introduction of centralised lubrication system in excavator and dumpers
x daily maintenance of dumpers at crusher point to avoid unnecessary movements
x improvement in road gradients and maintenance, using soft red soil to top the haul roads to
reduce wear and tear of the tyres and under carriage of dumpers, etc
x improvement in crusher running above 6.00 h/shift from 40 per cent to 60 per cent
x parking of spare dumpers near crusher hopper to reduce the changeover time and
x maintenance shed at fourth bench for track mounted equipment (Figure 7).
FIG 7 - Showing air filling, lubrication and water filling near in-pit crusher to avoid unproductive movement of HEMMs for routine maintenance.
Efforts for explosive energy optimisation

ears of experience in blasting had indicated the need for use of low energy explosive. As a good
beginning, prilled Ammonium Nitrate were used in non-watery holes. After monitoring fragmentation
quality and other blasting parameters, it was felt to further reduce the density of the ANFO. As a
part this exercise, ANFO with varied percentage of saw dust was used and the blasts were closely
monitored.
To further, mechanise the explosive loading and usage, in consultation with M/s IBP, SMS support
plant was also commissioned to evaluate the use of low density SMS explosives in the mine. The
results were quite encouraging. However, after discontinuation of SMS, high energy bulk site mixed
emulsion (SME) explosive was used on trial basis. In case of SME, indirect method of explosive
density control in the blast hole was adopted by inserting an air-gap in the explosive column. The
results were quite satisfactory and due to placing air-gap the cost-effectiveness vis- -vis ANFO
saw dust mix could be ensured (Pradhan and Thote, 2008). All these studies were done without
disturbing the blast quality and cost.
CASE STUDY MALANJKHAND COPPER MINE

Description of the mine
Malanjkhand Copper Project of Hindustan Copper Ltd, is the deepest mine in the country. The deposit
belongs to the Central Indian preCambrian shield comprising of granitoid basement, basic dykes and
metamorphosed rock of Chilpi Ghat series. The copper mineralisation is predominantly conned to
accurate shaped, 2600 m long, 60 m wide and 600 m thick down quartz reef. The mineralised quartz
reef strikes in NW-SE direction with a dip of 80 towards northeast. The hardness of granites in HW
and FW of the ore zones ranges from 13 to 25 according to Protodyonokov strength index, being
22 on an average for HW and 17 for FW granites. oungs modulus for the entire mine benches is
16.96 10 5 kg/cm2. The mineralised vein quartz is also very hard ranging from 15 to 23 being 17 on
an average. The ultimate pit design for this opencast mine was carried out by RT Corporation in the
Detailed Project Report during 1978. At present the workings are extending up to 448 mRL and the
mine is having over 17 benches.
The mine management had taken the help of PCRA to have the detailed energy audit.
Energy conservation areas

PCRAs energy audit broadly laid emphasis on the following
x study of the contract demand vis- -vis actual production trend
x power factor management/optimisation
x by use of capacitor bank at each load end, we can go for power factor improvement and thus
saving energy
x energy saving in lighting
x energy saving in switchgears
x energy saving by using of variable frequency drive (VFD)
x we can save energy by selection of proper size and high efcient motors and
x energy recording and saving by online energy management system.
In addition, M/s IBP Co Ltd, had also took up several studies to optimise bench blasting so that
there is effective use of explosive energy followed by savings in electrical energy in electric shovels,
diesel excavators, dumpers, crushing and screening operations, etc.
The blasted material is processed at the Beneciation plant, from where copper ore is extracted
through concentration. The plant rated capacity of concentrator is 2 Mt/a.
Malanjkhand gets electricity from Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPSEB) through
132 kV feeders. The incoming 132 KV is stepped down to the working level 3.3 kV and 415 V through
various transformers. The total contract demand of this project is 10 mVA. The approximate energy
consumption for the plant is 80 per cent and for the mines is 20 per cent. Our average monthly
electricity consumption is 0.50 million kWh and electricity bill is Rs 25 million. The overall power
consumption in MPU is 74.31 per cent, in mines 7.25 per cent, WTP 4.84 per cent, I/Well 4.79 per
cent, T/Ship 6.12 per cent and in others is 1.69 per cent.
Some areas that have been identied and notable savings have been achieved are detailed below.
Reduction of contract demand

Initially the contract demand was 11.5 mVA, which was reduced to 10 mVA since November 2006,
leading to substantial saving in the energy bill. This has resulted in additional saving in power bill to
the tune of about Rs 0.45 million in 2006 - 2007. This saving is through saving on xed charge and
substantial incentive on load factor. The load factor incentive is to the tune of Rs 0.11 to 0.12 million
per month.
Maintaining unity power factor

Installing capacitors banks at main receiving station (MRS) (on the secondary side of 132/11 kV
transformer) for the past several years we are maintaining continuously unity power factor. Thus
the incentive on this account runs to Rs 0.8 to 0.9 million per month.
Capacitor banks
Capacitor banks have been installed at different motors such as in ball mills, crushers, etc. This
has beneted to maintain good power quality and having longer durability in electrical distribution
G K PRADHAN
system. Use of capacitor banks at different load end result in reduction in line loss and voltage drop,
followed by increase in life of the system and savings to the tune of Rs 51 389/- per annum.
Illumination
For any opencast mine and a mine like Malanjkhand having deeper benches, lighting constitutes
an important requirement for better safety of men and machinery and also productivity. Due to low
investment, in every mine, lighting modications get higher priority to contribute effective energy
saving potential without compromising the DGMS standards.
Some of the widely used lighting systems are
x switch over to HPSV lamp/MH from HPMV for street lighting and industrial application,
x use of CFL lamps in place of incandescent lamps for domestic and commercial application, and
x replace conventional electromagnetic ballast by low-loss electronic ballast (Table 3).
TABLE 3
Presents the savings in different types of lighting.
Based system to new system Saving in watt (%)

Incandescent to CFL 85
HPMV to MH 50
HPMV to HPSV 60
Ordinary FTL to energy efficient FTL 30
The mine management had reported a possible saving of 73728 kWh energy which leads to saving
of Rs 0.368 million per annum by replacing all uorescent tube light (40 W) to energy efcient TFL
(28 W) with electronic choke.
Energy savings in switch gears

Energy saving in switch gear is possible by reducing the losses in the power and control circuit.
x Due to presence of internal impedance of the device watt loss (I2R loss) will be there. This causes
loss of energy, which is undesirable. Modern circuit breakers make use of the new technique to
achieve lower contact resistance or impedance.
x Use of soft starters.
x Use of microprocessor based devices.
x Use of LED lights.
Only by replacing all conventional indication lamps to LED lights we can save Rs 0.15 million per
annum.
Using energy saver

Energy saver is an effective micro-controller electronics circuit. It supplies voltage and required
current proportional to required torque for any motor. Soft start facility reduces the maximum
demand with smooth step less acceleration minimising stress on mechanical transmission system.
Energy saver can be used with refrigerators, air conditioner and other domestic appliances. It senses
the exact power required by motor under different loadings and adjust the power level to the motor
requirement.
Advantages
x reduces losses and increases efciency (of motor, tube lights, fans, etc) this reduces heating in
motor winding, tube light chokes, etc
x it has soft start (for motor), the average inrush current also reduces
x energy saver saves 3 to 7 kW per day, based on electrical consumption of 30 kW per day
x it stabilises and regulates voltages, reduces current and extends the life of your appliances and
x it has normally more than 80 000 hours life span.
Selection and higher efficient motors

In most mines and industries, right selection of motors are not done. This lead to running at under
load resulting in heavy energy losses. Due to variable production planning of the mine, many a
times, the motors are bound to operate at under load condition. One study indicate that mines
having beneciation system and a uctuating production plan give rise to 95 per cent of their motors
to operate at under loading condition. The average running is within 55 - 60 per cent load. This
can be rectied by proper selection of size and energy efcient motors. When there is substantial
cut in production, it is advisable to install a low capacity motor to effect energy saving. To better
understand the situation, when a 15 HP motor is put on 10 HP load, the net outgo is Rs 137 750.
In recent years, energy efcient motors are available in all sizes and thus in case of any replacement
this new generations motors need to be installed. Except for emergencies, at no other time the user
should go for multiple winding no. of the motors, since every winding inherits certain losses.
Energy efcient motors additionally contribute to
x higher efciency at operating level and consequently reduction in electricity bill,
x can take care of wider supply variation and higher ambient, and
x lower slip which enhances output of the end product.
Speed control through variable frequency drives (VFD) installation
Increase in the depth of the mine, warrants a well designed pumping layout where the consumption
of electrical energy is quite substantial. Because of the increase in depth the mine faces considerable
challenges in maintaining the working benches free from inundation. This is also true for the process
plant where concentrate and ore extraction also involve complex pumping lay out. Using VFDs
Malanjkhand had proposed to save up to 112 000 kWh per annum generating saving of Rs 560 000.
Online energy management system
Online energy management system is a specic energy management system application that support
strategic energy management include bench marking, energy use, cost analysis, etc these analysis can
be combined to form powerful information tool that allows the management to have an understanding
of current energy performance, plan and scope for cost effective energy conservation measures with
payback period. Further it assists in stage wise improvements, replacement/modication.
It also helps in
x devising in energy audit and accounting systems
x loss assessment
x verifying the performance of energy conservation measures
x system management
x analyses
x system planning
x electricity billing and
x power quality issues, etc.
Applications
x Remote access to reports for authorised users over LAN or over web
x single point monitoring of multiple facilities spread across the globe
x advance online alarm if the set maximum demand limit is about to be exceeded, thus avoiding
heavy excess demand penalties
x non-electrical parameters such as ow, pressure, temp, etc can also be incorporated
x measurement of power distribution loss
x computing run hour and off hours of the plant equipment based on load
x detection of idle running of mill, conveyors, etc
x condition monitoring of high value equipment like main mill motors, main auxiliaries and
x increased production, better protability.
Energy saving opportunities in HEMM
HEMM deployed at mines, are the single largest consumer of HSD and lubricants. Through
various energy audits, it has been observed that by complying to OEM recommendations, the
G K PRADHAN
specific energy consumption can be effectively controlled. However, the rough terrain, dustiness
in the mining benches, aging of the operators and the equipment cost of the energy bill gets
inflated. Based on the study at other mines, some of the areas which can contribute to better
energy consumption are
x Radiator water quality check.
x Lube oil quality.
x Using used-lube oil after ltration.
x Use of additives with HSD for better engine performance.
x Maintenance of tyres.
x Maintenance of haul roads.
x Face cleaning.
x Controlling the generation of oversize boulders.
x Ensuring proper lling factor of bucket and dumper. Normally well fragmentation muck pile can
effectively ensure better lling factor.
x Regular training of the operators for their skill improvements, etc.
Energy saving in explosive energy utilisation in mines
Use of high energy cartridged explosive of IBP
IBP was associated with HCL to evolve smooth blasting systems by manufacturing and using high
energy cartridged explosives. IBP supplied site specic high energy cartridged explosives to MCP so
as to have better fragmentation, control on generation of boulders, etc. For many years IBP supplied
Indogel 270 and Indoboost(HE) MCP for blasting in their mine. IBP developed new explosive type
based on energy factor of the mine benches. Kate, Sarma and Anireddy (1992) reported the pattern
expansion at Malanjkhand with the use of Indoboost (HE) and Indogel 270 from 15.75 cm2 to
20.90 m2 showing 39 per cent increase, thereby saving on drilling meterage, without compromising
on the fragmentation quality.
As a step forward, to make the explosive loading mechanised, IBP had recommended for the
adoption of site mixed slurry explosives (SMS) system. At Malanjkhand, because of the technological
superiority of SMS explosives over Site mixed emulsion (SME) explosives, SMS was used after the
commissioning of the support plant facilities. Site mixed slurry explosives, in view of these distinct
properties are being used due to
x variable density of the explosives,
x variable energy level of the explosive,
x charging three different types of explosives into the holes, and
x excellent water resistance.
The mining system comprises of
x drilling diameter of drills 165 mm, Schramm drills (departmental operations), tyre-mounted
water well drills are engaged by the excavation contractors and
x loading 10 m3 P and H shovels, three in departmental workings, 4.6 m3 rope shovels and hydraulic
excavators in contractual working section.
Bench blasting parameters
x bench height 12 m (av)
x depth of holes 14 m (including ve to 15 per cent subgrade drilling, ve per cent in weathered
capping, ten per cent in vein-quartz and 15 per cent in quartz)
x uantity of explosi e per hole 175 kg of SMS
x cup density of SMS explosi es 0.9 to 1.0 gm/cc
x max number of holes per blast 10 to 12 and
x initiation by shock tubes.
Energy factor based explosive selection
Stage I A large number of combination of cartridge explosives were tried. This did not solve the
problem of generation of oversize boulders, toe, etc. Thus the concept of energy factor based explosive
selection was adopted and tried. In the rst stage high energy he booster (HEB) and high energy
column (HEC) in 40 60 per cent ratio, was tried. Pradhan and Jayanthu (2009) reported the details.
Stage II A wide range of slurry and emulsion based bulk explosives are being used in Indian mines.
Some of the mines also use ANFO. The important properties of explosive which play a vital role in
their selection are
x VOD and density of explosive Variable density explosive is most suitable. In case of bulk explosives
SMS is most suitable because of its exibility to have variable density and three different types of
explosives getting pumped into the same hole, at varying proportion. Similarly VOD levels.
x Weight strength and bulk strength of explosives.
x Energy level of explosives plays a vital role in deep benches, since explosives of different strength
and energy level is required to be pumped so as to have uniform fragmentation, total elimination
of secondary blasting, etc.
x Post-detonation fume characteristics oxygen balance explosive is only to be used. This is because
any imbalance in oxygen will lead to excessive generation of toxic fumes, which will make the
working place inaccessible within specied time interval. ANFO is not the right type for these mines
since any variation in AN or FO quality, proportion of mixing, exposure to water will lead to large
volumes of fumes generation coupled with blast failures. Maximum charge per delay this is the
only parameter which effects the generation of blast induced ground vibration level in any blast.
Normally, after the maximum charge per delay is established based on the recommended maximum
peak particle velocity, the quantity of explosive in any hole is distributed into two decks. In case of
cartridge explosives, owing to the constraint of xed density of the explosive and xed energy level
the length of the deck to be xed is done purely on eld trials basis. However, in case of bulk SMS
the length of the deck can be xed based on the energy factor of the rock, ie kcal/m3. In practice
decking becomes quite difcult in the predominantly watery holes having water at pressure and
in muddy/semi-uid state. In such situations after ascertaining the energy factor of the rock
the energy content of the explosive charge is xed and density is varied so as to maintain the
maximum charge per delay.
x Distribution of variable energy charge in the same bench blasting block keeping in view of the
stability of the rock in the last row of holes. This system of charging immensely help in ensuring
controlled fragmentation of the stemming area, leading to stable pit conditions, control in the
generation of loose over-hangs, etc.
Bulk site mixed slurry explosives
Based on the energy level optimised with use of cartridged explosives at 1100 kcal/CuM, efforts
were made to design a product formulation with SMS explosives having maximum 1000 kcal/m3.
The total coupling with bulk explosives has given a scope for reducing the energy level by at least
15 - 20 per cent.
The eld recordings and evaluation of each blasts were made so as to identify right energy level
of explosive, density level, quantity per metre, etc on a continuous basis. In benches where there is
scope for expanding the pattern, pattern expansion vis- -vis energy factor was adopted. However,
with maximum 950 kcal/m3 energy factor blasts have been conducted. All other considerations like
geological disturbances, etc were not taken into account. Till date the entire blasting is with SMS
explosives and the mine had reported substantial improvement in fragmentation. Fragmentation
improvement in turn benet in energy savings in all other subsequent operations in Mining and
beneciation.
CONCLUSION
The efforts made by most major mines and mining organisations, is laudable and opened much
more scope for future, when new techniques and modications in the energy usage can save energy
thereby leading to savings in production cost.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The views expressed are those of the author and not of the organisation.
G K PRADHAN
REFERENCES
nnual eports of Coal ndia Ltd and its subsidiary ompanies, Singareni Collieries Co Ltd, and
Ministry of Coal, Bureau of Energy Efciency (BEE), Government of India in respective web sites, etc.
Chad i k, J, 2008. Surface mining pit progress, International Mining, September, pp 44-60.
Chakrabarti, P K and Shrivastava, K K, 1992. Energy management in mechanised mines in India, in
Proceedings of Management of Mine Machanisation, pp 1.2(1-16).
Chattora , P, Pradhan, G K and Sinha, S K, 2009. Energy audit A case study of a coal mine, Journal of
Mines Metals and Fuel, March - April, pp 109-115.
Dikshit, M P and Singh, O P, 2009. Surface miner operation A cost effective, eco-friendly coal mining for
mass production in opencast coal mines in India, in Proceedings ational Conference on Producti ity
Impro ement in Surface Mines and uarries Role of e Technology and Ancilliary E uipment,
3 - 4 January, Kolkata, organised by JMMF.
ayavelu, G and Balasubramaniam, G, 2009. Energy conservation in mines Case study of Rajashree
Limestone Mine, Journal of Mines Metals and Fuel, March - April, pp 116-118.
ate, S R, Sarma, P V S and Anireddy, H R, 1992. Development and use of high energy slurry explosives A
case study of Malanjkhand Copper Project, in Proceedings Fourth ational Seminar on Surface Mining
(ed B K Mozumdar) (IME Publications Kolkata).
Mahto, T, 2009. Energy management in underground mines A case study, Coal Mining Technology and
Management, January - March, pp 23-32.
Mathur, S P, 2008. Coal mining in India (revised and updated edition), 426 p (Sahayog Prakashan Bilaspur).
al, D K, Sikdar, S and Agarwal, G, 2007. Energy conservation progress at Malanjkhand Copper Project, in
Proceedings Seminar at Malanjkhand, November.
anigrahi, D C and Misra, D P, 2008. Innovative concept of energy saving by using FRP blades in axial ow
fans A joint study of ISMU, Tatasteel and Encon, in Proceedings POSTALE 00 , Dhanbad, pp 55-59.
anigrahi, D C, Mishra, D P, et al, 2009. Application of breglass reinforced plastic blades in main mine
ventilation fans An innovative concept of energy saving, in Proceedings XIV International Mine Ventilation
Congress (ed D C Panigrahi), vol 2, pp 709-716 (Oxford and IBH).
etroleum Conservation esear h sso iation C , 2007. Energy audit internal report, New
Delhi.
lanning Commission, 2008. Ele enth Fi e Year Plan 00 - 01 Agriculture, Rural De elopment,
Industry, Ser ices and Physical Infrastructure, volume III, 383 p (Planning Commission, Government of
India).
radhan, G K and Bandopadhyay, M, 2008. Capacity utilization of HEMM A case study of a bauxite mine, in
Proceedings Seminar on Energy Conser ation in Industries and Mines, 14 December, pp 17-25 (NALCO
Damanjodi).
radhan, G K and Chattoraj, P, 2009. Energy conservation in Indian mining industry, in Proceedings
International Conference on Ad anced Technology in Exploration and Exploitation of Minerals,
14 - 16 February, Jodhpur, pp 353-361.
radhan, G K and Jayanthu, S, 2008. Energy conservation in mines Case study of Malanjkhand Copper
Project, in Proceedings POSTALE 00 , Dhanbad, pp 68-78.
radhan, G K and Thote, N R, 2008. Use of variable density explosives in surface mines, in Proceedings
Conference on Emerging Trends in Mining and Allied Industries, pp 121-136, organised by NIT, Rourkela.
Satyanandam, P V and Ayyangar, G S G, 2002. Energy conservation activities in Singareni Collieries Co Ltd,
Journal of Mines, Metals and Fuels, 50(4) 145-152.
System Optimisation of Design and Scheduling of
Open Mining Operations
B Bekmurzayev1, D Bukeikhanov2 and Y Zulkarnayev3
ABSTRACT
The paper presents the development of an integrated computer aided design and planning of open
cast mining, with the use of object-oriented modelling and geoinformation technologies, on the
example of interaction of the subsystems on planning optimisation and freight trafcs.
INTRODUCTION
System for design and scheduling of opencast mining refers to a large compound dynamic complex
consisting of a set of interconnected subsystems on strategic, perspective, annual, quarterly, monthly
and weekly-daily operational plans of mining and transportation activities, subsystems and objects
of which are at different hierarchical levels of system.
An important factor in the development of the scheduling problem is the creation of geo-information
provision, which allows to explore, describe, organise, identify, transform, simulate and synthesise
data, and knowledge relating to the subject area of planning objects of mining and transporting
works and the information ows formed meanwhile.
ARCHITECTURE OF SYSTEM
As a result of an analysis of the different variants of structures and functions of the system and its
elements the model of computer-aided design and planning was constructed, which most closely
corresponds to the conditions of implementation of automated technology decision-making problems
in open cast mining. The model is a two-tiered system, on the upper level of which is a subsystem
coordinator, providing strategy, collaboration and process management with a priority of the
decision-making, and at a lower level of which are the design and planning subsystems, including
subsystems contour, development of mountain works, schedule, cargo trafc, mining system
and economy (Bukeikhanov et al, 2004).
Projecting subsystems interact with providing subsystems mathematical simulation of a deposit
and open cast, databases of the information, inuence of mining operations on the environment,
graphics. The structure provides a system-relations through the interfaces between subsystems,
their components and the external environment, sustainable and repeatable implementation of
technology-aided design and identication of sustainable design solutions for the construction of
the open cast and its operation.
Hierarchical subsystem of open mining operations planning
In the current transition to a free market economy, the increased volume of production in mine
metallurgical sector of a national economy, high rates of scientic technological progress a powerful
economic potential, which largely determines the present and the future development of the country,
is being created. Therefore, the interests of economic development require intensive work to further
1. Director, Laboratory of Bowels Development Design, National Centre of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials RSE, Dzandosov St 67, Almaty,
Kazakhstan. Email: lpon_2008@mail.ru
2. Head of Geotechnology, Mining Systemology and Mineral Resource Studies Department, National Centre of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials
RSE, Dzandosov St 67, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Email: D.Bukeikhanov@mail.ru
3. Director of Open Mining of Mineral Resources Laboratory at National Centre of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials RSE, Dzandosov St 67,
Almaty, Kazakhstan. Email: lorn2004@mail.ru
B BEKMURZAYEV, D BUKEIKHANOV AND Y ZULKARNAYEV
improve planning methods in the mining and processing complex of the country, raising its level of
scientic soundness, strengthen the integrated systems to the optimum decisions.
When developing an object-oriented system for scheduling of the open mining works in laboratories
RSE National Centre of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials
applies simultaneously three models of open pit mining (Mukanov and Bekmurzayev, 2005).
The rst, three-dimensional uniform block model, is used at strategic and long term planning stage
when the locations of cutting tranches and sectors of mine development works on each horizon are
not yet known. At this moment the integrated economic, technical and technological parameters,
such as the price for a product, the cost, productivity of open pit on the ore, admissible volumes of
overburden are known. There is a deposit model, built on the basis of information from exploration
wells.
The software module that implements the selection of the main parameters of open pit, mine
development trend and search for the optimal plan of mining operations on three-dimensional
graphs of block model, uses conventional method of oating cone and method of Lerch Grossman.
The program cuts given parallelepiped simulation blocks, lls in each block with data on minerals,
overburden, and economic indicators. Then the designer reaches the optimum approached decision
of planning problem by choosing one of the three methods of optimum selection. The nal decision
should always be chosen by specialist, who knows the optimisation methods and has sufcient
experience in planning.
While annual and quarterly planning the open cast model with sectors is applied (Figure 1),
which uses information from the rst stage (long-term planning) on the initial and nal position
of mining operations for the ve years, on mine development trend and opening scheme, as well as
on the main economic, technical and technological terms. Requirements on quality of minerals and
restrictions on freight trafcs, etc are set additionally. The system of sectors for model is constructed
by expert designer. The sector model more adequately reects the detailed information of mining
and technological constraints on the blocks than the regular block model used in the rst stage.
FIG 1 - Model of open pit and deposits with use of sectors.
The sector mathematical model of scheduling is formulated as follows.

To nd an optimum of function (as the decision of a problem cannot inuence on the price of a
product, usually the expenses are optimised):
Nsek.rp Nust.kp Nbl.sek
/ / / Cnsek nust nbl Qnsek nust nbl
gm
opt F = min
nsek nust nbl
with restrictions on ore types and grades:

/ / /
bz.p
Ibz.p - D # Insek nust nbl # Ibz.p + D, p = 1, P;
nsek nust nbl
and on overburden based on types:
SYSTEM OPTIMISATION OF DESIGN AND SCHEDULING OF OPEN MINING OPERATIONS

Qr.vs. - D # / / / Qnsek nust nbl # Qr.vs + D,
r.vs
r = 1, R;
nsek nust nbl
and with technological restrictions on radius of front of works and advances of upper horizons.
Program sektF is intended to select the optimal schedules of mining on the basis of 3D sector
block model of the deposit and open pit, taking into account the chosen direction of development
of mining operations. It also provides for active participation of the designer in the process of
solving the problem. As a result, the designer gets the contours of mining operations for years,
and the appropriate volume of overburden and ore differentiated by quality attributes (Figure 2).
Optimisation was performed using the software system MATLAB in open pits.
The input data for the cutting of sector blocks are horizon, sector the band in which the block is cut.
Their input is made in the respective unfolding windows on the form. The information on a basic
contour are in the base Kk.db contours, the information on ore is in a database on ore.
The output data, consisting of the information on the cut block, is recorded to Sektor database:
volume of rock, ore, and the mass of ore grades. Meanwhile the process of building sector, the contour
of the open cast and orebodies of the selected varieties are displayed on the form.
On the basis of block-sector model and mathematical model of annual planning the decision of a
problem of annual planning (Figure 2) turns out.

FIG 2 - Result of work of the program of optimisation of annual planned schedules on sector blocks in three-dimensional format.
At monthly and weekly-daily planning mining works the most detailed model of development of
mining works imitating (Figure 3) is used. Thus from the previous stages of planning the information
about excavator blocks is transferred; requirements on quality and quantity of minerals; to type and
quantity of the loading, transport and unloading equipment; to quantity, a kind and the location of
reloading warehouses, etc.

FIG 3 - Program of imitation of excavator-automobile blocks with warehouses.
B BEKMURZAYEV, D BUKEIKHANOV AND Y ZULKARNAYEV
Geoinformation subsystem of optimisation of freight traffic

Optimisation of freight trafc and schemes of the opening-up of open cast consists in searching such
transport system of open cast from all possible variant, which at minimum of expenses provided
planned volume of rock mass transportation.
In formalised form opening workings and transport network may be presented in a form of
oriented graph G(NL), where L set of arcs and N set of nodes. Nodes of graph are images of real
points of loading, discharging and crossing of transport lines, which are boundaries of two or more
adjacent parts of network. Numbers rij, which are transport capacity of arcs, and function of cost
F, which characterises costs of driving and maintenance of a district ij and also costs of rock mass
transportation, made correspond to every arc ij of graph. Economic-mathematical model provides
for joint optimisation of open casts opening and open casts freight trafcs, systems of limitation of
goal function, ascertaining by analogy with equations of the rst and the second Kirchhoffs laws for
electric network, balance condition, when volume of production in points of loading during t time
must be not more than transport capacity of arcs and be equal to intake capacity of points of rock
mass receipt. Offered model ensured correct solving of given problems in conditions of concrete
open cast when design and planning of mining operations (Bukeikhanov et al, 2004).
The algorithm of a solution of a problem represents construction of an allowable initial stream
and consequent iterative process of sequential redistribution freight stream, reducing signicance of
criterion function. The redistribution of a stream is carried out in elementary cycle constructed on
arcs of a tree by adding of one arc of communication, and is nished, if the survey of all cycle has not
revealed a possibility of a diminution of criterion function in one from a cycle.
The complex of the developed programs allows to make input, survey and adjustment of a data base
the geoinformation graph of G(NL). On the graph it is possible to build the shortest paths, trees and to
decide problems of optimisation of freight trafc and schemes of the opening-up of open cast (Figure 4).
FIG 4 - Model of open pit and deposits with use of sectors.
Integration of subsystems of scheduling of open mining operations and optimisation of

freight traffic
The subsystem on optimisation of open mining operations and freight trafc includes the formation
of freight transport communications in the open pit and on the surface, ensuring supply of ore to
the mining plant in a given quantity and overburden at the dump. It is known that the number
and productivity of mines, their location, options for transport schemes and transport equipment
is received from other subsystems, including planning subsystem. Lets consider how it affects back
on the planning subsystem. In our CAD system geo-information model graph superimposed on the
freight sector model of planning, so that designer can clearly see in what sectors it is not desirable to
mine. Jotting the sign of comprehensive ban in these sectors in the database (coordination by using
method of modifying the domain of denition), or assigning a penalty amount for the inclusion of
this block in the solution (coordination by changing the objective function), the designer should
re-apply to the planning subsystem.
SYSTEM OPTIMISATION OF DESIGN AND SCHEDULING OF OPEN MINING OPERATIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The object-oriented models and interfaces of subsystems of designing and planning system of mining
transportation works, are realised at comprehensive planning mining works of iron ore open pits
of Kazakhstan: Sarbaisky, Sokolovsky, Kacharsky and Kurzhunkul for the years 2000 - 2005 and
2006 - 2010.
REFERENCES
Bukeikhanov, D, Zhanasov, M, Bekmurzayev, B and Syedin, V, 2004. Optimisation of freight trafc and
schemes of the opening-up in CAD system of open cast, in Proceedings 13th International Symposium on
Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, pp 537-542 (Wroclaw).
Mukanov, D and Bekmurzayev, B, 2005. Geoinformation technologies in designing and planning at open
casts, in Proceedings 14th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection,
pp 892-903 (Banff).
Mining Environmental Impacts Evaluation in a Karstic
Zone using Geographical Information Systems
A Curi1 and V C Garcia2
ABSTRACT
Analysis of different environmental scenarios and to represent, spatially, of impacted areas is
possible by the use of geoprocessing techniques, specically Systems of Geographical Information
(SIG). Through these systems it is possible to create dynamic mathematical models, constituting
of a georeferenced digital database and employing the integrated data originated from several
sources. In this context, the general goal of this paper is to apply this tool in an environmental
analysis of a specic karstic area impacted by mining activities. In order to preserve a limestone
site, internationally recognised by its archaeological features, including caverns, lakes and evidences
of prehistoric ages, the Brazilian government has created the Lagoa Santa Environment Protection
Area. This place is located in the proximity of the Belo Horizonte international airport. In the past
two decades exploitations of dimension stones have increased in this area. These exploitations have
been done without a mine plan promoting several environmental impacts. The objective of this paper
is to analyse these activities using SIG as a basic tool to locate the main mining related impacts and
propose mitigation measures including waste and tailings disposal and reshaping of the landscape
and introducing a drainage system for the considered zone.
INTRODUCTION
The Lagoa Santa Environmental Protection Area (EPA) was created by the Brazilian Federal
Government on 25 January 1990, through the statute 98.881, based in the Act 6.902 of 27 April
1981 and Act 6.938 of 31 August 1981 and in the Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA)
Resolution number 10 of 14 December 1988. Lagoa Santa EPA is located in the metropolitan area
of Belo Horizonte in the State of Minas Gerais, in the eastern border of the Das Velhas River. The
mining of Lagoa Santa dimension stone for use as construction material is concentrated, mainly,
inside of the limits of the Protection one of the Cultural Patrimony (P CP), making it conicting to
this zone (Curi et al, 2001).
The use of Systems of Geographical Information for environmental analysis improved substantially
in recent years, minimising the manual tasks relating to the delimitation of areas, making maps,
calculations of areas, comparison of spatial information, among others. Furthermore, it becomes
possible to incorporate information from different sources, contributing to reviews and procedures
that allow detailed investigation of the relationships between several entities within an environment.
For an environmental impact analysis it is essential to form a basis of data showing the reality
of the environment. In the case of karstic areas, this concern should be even greater, since the
environment has its own peculiar dynamics and certain activities must be avoided. In this sense,
an environmental analysis of the impacts contained in this area is needed, in order for the local
environment management.
Thus, this paper seeks to analyse the environmental impacts that affect the population of the district
of Fidalgo considering the beneciation of the Lagoa Santa dimension stones. A georeferenced
database of the area supported by GIS was used. This research also investigated the relationship
of the population of the district, the effects of the ecological diversity and the cultural and heritage
patrimony of the area of natural conservation (Lagoa Santa Karst).
1. Associate Professor, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Escola de Minas, Demin Campus Universitrio, Ouro Preto MG 35400-000, Brazil. Email: adilsoncuri@yahoo.com.br
2. Masters Degree Student, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Fapemig, Fundao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, Escola de Minas, Demin Campus
Universitrio, Ouro Preto MG 35400-000, Brazil. Email: val_ambiental@yahoo.com.br
A CURI AND V C GARCIA
LITERATURE REVIEW
Geoprocessing
The GIS can be defined as the result of the integration of computer technologies, mapping
and remote sensing. The Geographic Information Systems has the following characteristics
a powerful set of tools to collect, store, retrieve, process and visualise spatial data set in a
world that is real. Any manual or computerised procedures used to store and manipulate
geographically referenced data is a system of support to decision. The final decision involves
the integration of spatially referenced data in the context of the specific problem to be solved
(Ribeiro, 2007).
Karst
The large karst plains are the consequence of overthrusts, mechanical transport of disintegrated rock
material and corrosion (Moores, 1997). Karst is the general name given to the specic phenomena
that occur in limestone, such as dolines, Polje, underground rivers, Uvala, caves and caverns,
stalactites, stalagmites, etc. The name was taken from the limestone region of the Dinaric Ridge in
the Alps ( ugoslavia) close to the Adriatic sea. The karst is dened by its specic forms and also
by the underground movement of the waters in the subsoil. The lithologic factor is the initial and
fundamental factor (Guerra, 1993).
General aspects of the case study

Lagoa Santa Environment Protection Area is located in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, the
capital of the State of Minas Gerais, in the eastern margin of the Das Velhas river (Figure 1). It could
be reached by the state highway MG-424, in the direction the capital of the state, Belo Horizonte.
Alternatively, it can be reached by the state highway MG-010, in the direction Belo Horizonte-
Conns International Airport. This Environment Protection Area, with an area of 35.600 hectares
incorporates the municipal districts of Lagoa Santa, Pedro Leopoldo, Matozinhos, Funilandia and
Conns (Cabral, 1998). The mining of Lagoa Santa dimension stone for use as construction material
is concentrated, mainly, inside of the limits of the Cultural Patrimony Protection one (CPP )
making a zonal conict.
FIG 1 - Lagoa Santa environment protection area is located in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
MINING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS EVALUATION IN A KARSTIC ZONE USING GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The district of Fidalgo represents most of Pedro Leopoldo municipal territory and has the
prevalence of activities relating to farming. However, the activity that characterises the district
is the presence of small industries for production of the Lagoa Santa dimension stones surround
Lake of Sumidouro, linked to the irregular extractions, which absorb practically more than
90 per cent of the local population. The Fidalgo district is well known for the quality of the
material extracted there. Fidalgo is located about 16 km from municipality Pedro Leopoldo.
The mines are located approximately 3 km from the town of Fidalgo. The current population of
Fidalgo, which is the area of direct influence of the mines, is approximately 5000 inhabitants.
As mentioned before, about 90 per cent of the active population works in the production of
dimension stones for civil construction. The remaining population works in the cattle farming.
This per cent age of the local population that works in the production of dimension stones
includes children starting from 15 years of age. The average workers salary is US 300.00 a
month.
The area is considered rural, being largely destined to recreation and tourism. Thus, in the
Sumidouro district the ranches and small farms in the lake area are common. The cultivation of
agricultural products is only made for subsistence, because the main economic activity of the area is
the small mining. Seventy small sawmills were registered in the district off Fidalgo. All are included
within the urban area of the district in question, many of them located in the backyards of residences.
The urban area of the district is bordered by a lake that captures all the water courses of the sub-basin.
This lake is located on carbonate rocks and is of great importance to local residents. It occupies an
area of about 253 ha in the ood season and has a perimeter off 12 072 m. This lake has a seasonally
ooded lowland basin (polje). At its base has a natural cavity that allows the passage of water to
underground.
ENVIRONMENTAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE STUDY AREA

The hydrograph of the study area can be characterised as a mixed system constituted of canals or
small water courses (surface) and karsts (underground). The hydrographic sub-basin is dened by
the Samambaia water course and Bucha water course, that receive the pluvial waters captured by
several dolines, poljes and others geologic formation in the area (CPRM, 1998). The boundaries of
these hydrologic basins are not yet fully recognised, because many routes of groundwater ow are
still unknown. All the water courses off the sub-basin have as nal destinations or discharge at the Rio
das Velhas river, the regional hydrological base level (Pilo, 1999 Patrus,1996). In relation to the local
geology, there is a sequence of limestones associated to the upper Proterozoic, belonging to Group
Bambu , Sete Lagoas Formation (Viana, Tavares and Kohler 1998 Tuller, Ribeiro and Danderfer,
1991). This geologic sequence in the geotechnical investigation was called Complex Limestone
St Helena (Darden, 1979).
Considering the local topography and geomorphology, two major physiographic compartments are
described as the main areas of the karstic morphogenesis according to AULER (1994) in the south-
centre portion of the area Karstics Plateaus and Mocambeiro Depression. KOHLER (1989) recognises
vestiges of the South American Surface in the crests top off the residual plateaus, manifested by
elongated and curved mountains at elevations higher than 800 m.
METHODOLOGY
Initially, a literature review related to the proposed topic was done. At this stage data were collected
for the district of Fidalgo including the aspects related to hydrology, geology, geomorphology and
others, in order to create the theoretical basis for the development of the study. The second phase
was the on site visits or eld visits in order to recognise and make in eld diagnosis of the physical
environment. Also in this stage the main environmental impacts that affect the district of Fidalgo
were edentied. The environmental impacts were identied in situ, by understanding the whole
process of beneciation of the dolomitic rock, as it is made currently. All sawmills use a similar
method of beneciation of the dimension stone rock, which produces dimension stones of varying
size and thickness. Basically the processing steps are
x The boards off the dimension stone rock are cut by a chainsaw in small blocks, with the same
thickness and different sizes (15 30, 15 15, 20 10 and 15 10 in centimetres). The larger the
block, the greater the value off the piece. The blocks considered too small and then discarded as
waste.
x The usable blocks are then used for the manufacture of tiles. With hammer and chisel, the blocks
are cut manually to smaller.
x After splitting the stone, it is selected according to the average thickness, aspect of face of the stone,
smooth, rough and colouration. After that, the dimension stones are ready for commercialisation.
The recovery of the beneciation process is low and part of the material is rejected.
The sawmills are located in the urban areas and deposition of waste generated during the sawing
of the rocks is made, temporarily, on public roads, producing visual pollution and, in some cases,
obstructing the trafc of vehicles and persons nearby. Moreover, through the rain periods, tailings
are carried to the streets, making them dirty.
Besides the inadequate provision in the urban area of Fidalgo, there was dumping of waste and
tailings in the lake. The waste was used to construct a dam and a road to achieve the opposite side
of the lake. This dam was built without an environmental studies or permission of environment
authorities and is badly built. There are several expected impacts of this dam, since the lagoon is a
local off environmental protection, with great environmental biodiversity. Furthermore, this lagoon
has a direct connection with the regional water table and dispersion of contaminants could happen
quickly.
The ne powder generated in the beneciation of the dimension stone rock, mixed with water, is
discharged into the water courses. There are also noisy causing discomfort to the community. The
environmental effects are associated with the cutting phase of the rock and the use of hammers for
breaking the rocks.
Concurrent with the environmental assessment of the physical aspects conducted in situ, a
georeferenced database was set up. The making of this bank was based on images of the Quick Bird
satellite and on topographical, geological, geomorphological and hydrographic maps available by
the GATE Program - Information for Management and Territorial Administration, executed by the
CPRM Geological Survey of Brazil, through the Project of Environmental oning off the APA Karst
Lagoa Santa MG. These les were scanned and exported to the format shape to work with the
software ArcGIS 9.2, ArcInfo license and extension 3D analyst and later edited and adapted to the
maps (Schimith, Faria and Schimit, 2008).
Through this georeferenced database and tools contained in the ARCGIS, the limit of the sub-basin
and denition of the local water system was established (Figure 2). The limits of the district urban
area was dened (Figure 2). A digital model of the terrain (dtm) was created (Figure 3) and a slope
map of the region (Figure 4) was generated.
Finally, through this georeferenced database and environmental assessment in situ, the conditions
are set to make a concise environmental analysis of the study area. Now it is possible to understand
the route of the ow of the surface water courses and to determine the base of the watertable. It is
possible to dene the permanent protection areas (with slopes above 45 ). Moreover, through the use
off a GPS it is possible to locate the coordinates of the main sawmills to estimate the sound impacts
and other aspects. The points of location of the main sawmills are the yellow points in the Figure 5.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

It should be noted that the results were obtained in accordance with the main objective, that is to
examine the main impacts that affect the urban area of the district of Fidalgo.
Thus, the environmental analysis performed by using these tools and maps may be many and will
depend on what one want to investigate.
Using the tools in the programs, we could obtain a concise environmental analysis and therefore a real
dimension of the environmental impacts. The main expected results in the sequence of the study are
x denition of the ideal areas to dispose the wastes and tailings generated by the mining of the
dimension stones,
x denition of the radius of inuence in terms of the noises generated by each saw,
x evaluation of the tailings generated and characteristics of the efuents, and
x analysis of the landscape.
Although the dimension stone mining of limestone is only a small industry of the land surface,
it causes serious environmental impact associated with overburden, hauling roads, unvegetated
FIG 2 - The limit of the sub-basin (dot lines), the water system and the delimitation of the area of urban district (in yellow).
FIG 3 - The digital model of the terrain including the limit of the subbasin (yellow line), the water system and the delimitation of the area of urban district
in pink colour.
surfaces, coarse rejects, ne-grained tailings, topsoil and stockpiles. The quality of the air, water and
land is affected. Dust adversely affects air quality. The physical quality and quantity of surface water
and groundwater can be affected if reclamation is not practiced. Watercourses may be disturbed
and ow rates altered. Erosion may be excessive and the surface and ground water may become
mineralised. The topography, drainage, vegetation, appearance and surface texture of the mine site
may all be seriously impacted. The gradients of sidecasts spoil may make the topography unsuitable
FIG 4 - Slope map of the region (in degree).
FIG 5 - The location of the main sawmills are highlighted by yellow dots on the map.
for the planned post-mining land uses (Williams, Wu and Morris, 1993). The impacts of mining
also include the destruction of the landscape, degradation of the visual environment, destruction of
agricultural and forest lands and degradation of recreational lands.
Concluding, the mining of Lagoa Santas dimension stone is developed out of the technical,
environmental parameters and in disagreement with the legislation. For the economic use of that
ore considering the sustained development, changes in the productive process are necessary. In
this article measures to improve the environmental quality in this area of environmental protection
through the use of methodologies adapted to the closure of small mines are suggested. EPA can be
implanted in lands of public domain or of private domain, previously inhabited.
These areas of environmental protection are destined to maintain the well being of the urban
populations and to conserve or to improve the local ecological conditions. In those areas, of private
or public domain, the government organisations will establish norms, limiting or prohibiting some
activities with objectives of protecting local interest for its specic environmental characteristics
(Act 6.902/81). The CONAMA (1988) Resolution number 10 establishes the economic and ecological
exploration norms, not allowing activities of earth movement, mining and excavations that cause
damages to the environment and represent danger to people or to the biosphere, making restrictions
to the those activities in areas close to caves, waterfalls and natural monuments. All those activities
will depend on special licensing.
The mining is considered an activity that degrades the environment, in agreement with the
CONAMA Resolution number 1 of January 23, 1986, what implies certain restrictions and even
prohibition, for its exercise in certain areas dened as untouchable as, for example, conservation
areas and indigenous areas, where it can only be exercised with authorisation of the National
Congress. This characteristic of degradation of the mineral activity doesnt imply that its
exercise is prohibited in certain Units of Conservation. However, the previous authorisation of
the responsible government environmental organisations is demanded by the administration
of the Unit of Conservation (Act 7805/89). The environmental fragility of that EPA, for being a
limestones area, is enough reason to call the attention of everybody involved directly or indirectly,
in the sense of trying to divide responsibility of its rational use, being still considered the inherent
important aspects to its biological, cultural nature, landscape, as well as its social and economic
characteristics (Barreto and Sirotheu, 1992).
In this context, the mining and the treatment of Lagoa Santa dimension stone for industrial use
is conicting. These mining activities of small size should receive mechanisms of environmental
control and orderly expansion and technical and operational attendance to its handling.
The GIS has proved to be a very useful tool in terms of environmental impacts analysis generated
by mining in the karstic district of Fidalgo. The ability of the Geographic Information Systems to
integrate the data offers a better understanding of the components of the physical site, providing
specialised data, easy to analyse and may be updated and worked together with information from
different sources. The GIS provides a subsidy for understanding the dynamics and dispersion
of impacts and can be used as a support tool for analysis of environmental impacts and rational
organisation of the space. The Geographic Information Systems consists of a powerful set of tools to
collect, store, retrieve, process and display spatial data in the real world, being a support for decision-
making involving the integration of data referenced in a context of possible resolutions of problems.
Interestingly, the use of GIS alone is not enough for environmental analysis in this case and further
work in the eld are needed to check the references used to generate the database, with data obtained
in situ.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thanks the Fapemig - Funda o de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Minas
Gerais and the CNPQ Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient co e T cnol gico for the
nancial support to prepare and to present this work.
REFERENCES
uler, A S, 1994. Hydrogeological and hydrochemical characterization of the Matozinhos Pedro Leopoldo
Karst, Brazil, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, 110 p.
Barreto, M L and Sirotheu, G J, 1992. Minera o em Areas Ambientalmente Sensiveis Um Estudo
Comparativo, in Proceedings Simp sio Brasil Canad Minera o e Desen ol imento sustent el, Ouro
Preto MG (ed CETEM CNPq), pp 18-36.
Cabral, J A, 1998. oneamento Ambiental da APA Carste de Lagoa Santa (ed IBAMA, CPRM) Brasilia.
Conselho Na ional do Meio mbiente C N M , 1988. Resolution number 10, Fundamentals of
the establishment of the Lagoa Santa Environmental Protection Area EPA Brazilian ofcial diary, 14 dez.
Companhia de es uisas de e ursos Minerais C M , 1998. Mapa hidrol gico da APA Carste de
Lagoa Santa. Projeto oneamento Ambiental da APA Carste de Lagoa Santa (ed CPRM, IBAMA), Brasil.
Curi, A, Carmo, F A R, Morais, J L, Lima, J G and Reis, R C, 2001. Waste disposal of dimension stones in the
Lagoa Santa EPA, in Tailings and Mine aste 01, pp 357-364 Colorado (Balkema Rotterdam).
Dardane, M A and Walde, H H G, 1979. A estratigraa dos Grupos Bambui e Maca bas no Brasil Central,
Simp sio de Geologia de Minas Gerais, pp 43-54, Diamantina (ed SBG Belo Horizonte).
Guerra, A T, 1993. Dicion rio geol gico Geomorfol gico, 446 p (ed IBGE Rio de Janeiro).
ohler, H C, 1989. Geomorfologia c rstica na regi o de Lagoa Santa/MG, Tese de Doutorado, Departamento
de Geograa da Universidade de S o Paulo.
Moores, E M and Fairbridge, R W, 1997. Encyclopedia of European and Asian Regional Geology
(ed Chapman and Hall London).
atrus, M L R A, 1996. Hidrologia e qualidade de guas de superf cie do munic pio de Sete Lagoas, Projeto
VIDA, Programa Gest o e Administra o Territorial (ed CPRM, Belo Horizonte).
ilo, L B, 1999. Morfologia c rstica e materiais constituintes Din mica e evolu o da Depress o Poligonal
Macacos-Ba Carste de Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Tese de Doutorado, Departamento de Geograa da
faculdade de Filosoa, Letras e Ci ncias Humanas, Universidade de S o Paulo.
ibeiro, C A S S, 2007. ENF 612 - Introdu o aos Sistemas de Informa es Geogr cas Apostila te rica da
disciplina (ed DEF. Engenharia Florestal UFV, Universidade Federal de Vi osa).
S himith, R S, Faria, A L L and Schimith, D S B, 2008. Uso do Geoprocessamento na an lise ambiental
da APA Carste de Lagoa Santa MG, in Congresso Brasileiro de Espeleologia, Anais do I Congresso
Brasileiro de Espeleologia, pp 263-270, Ouro Preto.
iana, H S, Tavares, V P and Koehler, H C, 1998. S ntese da geologia, recursos minerais e geomorfologia, APA
Carste de Lagoa Santa Meio f sico (ed CPRM, Belo Horizonte).
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(MG), Belo Horizonte, CPRM (Projeto Vida - Programa Gest o e Administra o Territorial).
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Proceedings Fourth International Conference on Tailings and Mine aste, Fort Collins, Colorado
(A A Balkema Rotterdam).
Defining Optimal Post-Mining Land use for Different
Sections of Mined Land Through Different
Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Techniques in
Open Pit Mining
A Gholinejad1 and A H Bangian2
ABSTRACT
During the lifetime of an open pit mining project, each stage from exploration activities to exploitation
and mine closure produces disturbances on the mining region. Mined land reclamation plans establish
constructive solutions to rehabilitate the disturbed areas. Open pit mining as an effective method for
exploitation of a wide range of orebodies especially for massive reserves of shallow metallic substances
has exhaustive and harmful environmental effects on the mining project region. Nowadays, closure and
reclamation stage in a mining project is emphatically enforced by the relevant environmental protection
regulations in many countries. It is therefore obvious that closure and reclamation costs of an open pit
mining project, as costs of other stages of project, must be estimated to enter the planning and design
processes in open pit mining. Post-mining land use is the most important factor to recognise closure
and reclamation costs. Thus, using a model to dene optimal land use in planning phase of an open
pit mining project is necessary in this regard. In this project a model was developed to dene optimal
land use regarding different sections of open pit mines such as pit(s), waste dump(s), tailing pond(s),
roads, areas for onsite facilities and free land zones which are not mined. TOPSIS and PROMETHE
techniques were applied to create the developed model. Lumber production was recognised as the
optimal post-mining land use for the pit area of the case study in this project.
INTRODUCTION
In recent decades due to an acute worldwide attention to environmental impacts assessment of
surface mining activities, mined land reclamation has been emphatically debated and many projects
and researches have been carried out. However, almost all of these have involved abandoned mined
land reclamation, with the beginnings of the reclamation processes being established after mine
closure. This paper proposes the approach that an exhaustive and successful mine reclamation plan
must start from the beginning of the preliminary exploration steps. It should be included within
and continue alongside of all mining activities until mine closure and beyond. Thus, the only part of
a mining project which continues and remains active after mine closure is rehabilitation of mined
areas and ancillary land used in conjunction with mining activities.
Open pit mining is an effective method for exploitation of a wide range of orebodies especially
for massive reserves of shallow metallic substances. On the other hand open pit mining has
exhaustive and harmful environmental effects on the adjacent environment of the mining project
region. Post-mining land use (PMLU) is the most effective indicator which denes rehabilitation
costs in a closure and reclamation plan. Therefore, amongst different PMLUs the execution of
which is possible on mined land identication of optimal post-mining land use (OPMLU) is a key
point for accurate determination of closure and reclamation costs. During the last two decades,
several researchers have presented different approaches to recognise OPMLU. Cairns (1972),
Bandopadhyay and Chattopadhyay (1986) using Fussy methods, Alexander (1998), Chen, Zheng
and Zhu (1999), Joerin, Theriault and Musy (2001), Mchaina (2001), Uberman and Ostrga (2005)
using analytical hierarch processing (AHP), Osanloo, Akbari and Hamidian (2006) using AHP,
1. MSc, Mining Engineer, Department of Mining, Technical Faculty, Supplementary Education Center, Tehran South Branch, I Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.
Email: a.gholinejad@gmail.com
2. Academic Member and PhD Candidate, Department of Mining, Technical Faculty, Supplementary Education Center, Tehran South Branch, I Azad University, South Tehran Branch,
Tehran, Iran. Email: ah.bangian@gmail.com
A GHOLINEJAD AND A H BANGIAN
Mu (2006), Bascetin (2007) using AHP, Cao (2007), Soltanmohammadi et al (2008, 2009) using
different multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) methods presented different approaches to
recognise OPMLU. Nevertheless, all of these approaches were developed for mined land in strip
mining methods or in any situation without any description of different sections of open pit mines.
Due to the fact that different sections of open pit mines such as pit(s), waste dump(s), tailing
pond(s), roads, areas for onsite facilities and free land zones which are not mined have different
specications, none of the past researches have dened OPMLU for each section of mined land
in open pit mines. The other major difference in recognition of OPMLU for mined land in strip
mining methods and in open pit mining method, is continuous reclamation at the end part of
each cycle in strip mining methods and permanent reclamation after mine closure in open pit
mining method. Therefore the approach for recognising OPMLU for mined land of open pit mines
should be different from strip mining methods or any situation of mined land without specication
of mined land of the different sections of open pit mines. Thus the approach in this project is
developed on the basis of the above mentioned approach is applied for judgements and measuring
the priorities amongst applicable PMLU alternatives for pit(s) area(s). Developed procedure of the
approach in this project is based on the application of different MADM methods as TOPSIS and
RPOMETHEE to recognise OPMLU with 17 applicable PMLU alternatives, ve relevant effective
criteria and 96 attributes for the pit area. Obtained OPMLU from the procedure for a hypothesis
copper open pit mine is presented which shows the detailed steps of nding the OPMLU.
RELEVANT ALTERNATIVES AND CRITERIA TO ATTAIN OPTIMAL POST-MINING LAND USE

Open pit mines cover large areas and comprise of a number of sections of mined land. The different
sections of mined land in this method include pit(s), waste dump(s), tailing pond(s), roads, areas
for onsite facilities and free land zones which are not mined. Amongst these sections, pit area has
completely different condition from others. Pit(s) is/are mostly the deepest area in an open pit mine.
This is generally the place where pollutants which have been generated through the mining activities
and underground water come into contact. Pits also commonly cover an area which is larger than
other sections of mined land. The most severe affects of open pit mining on landscape quality and
topography of the mined region is created through pit excavation. Thus it is concluded that pit
reclamation principal and its PMLU alternatives and criteria should not be similar to other sections
of an open pit mine. A further point of importance is the effects of OPMLU of pit area on dening
OPMLU for other sections of a mine. For example when OPMLU of pit is water reservoir, PMLU for
other sections can be arable farmland which is a very appropriate PMLU. Nonetheless some types
of PMLU cannot be a good alternative. As another example when garbage burying is the OPMLU
for a pit area, residency facilities are not an appropriate choice for the other sections of mined land.
Therefore, it is concluded that OPMLU for the pit area is a principal criterion to create required
uniformity of reclamation with the OPMLU of other sections.
Planning of reclamation of mined land is carried out by creation of uniformity in the landscape
quality, remediation of polluted soil, water, air, etc. Thus OPMLU for each section of a mined
land should be dened based on the specications of that section and it also distinctly affects the
implementation of reclamation procedure and its costs.
Relevant alternatives
Five categories of PMLU including 17 alternatives for pit area have been presented in Table 1. The
alternatives have been presented based on their practicable execution within the pit area.
Relevant criteria
Dening of OPMLU is carried out based on the relevant criteria. Several specialists have previously
presented some criteria as the most effective criteria such as; population, air and water condition
(Burger, 2004; Isabel, 2004), soil condition (Knabe, 1964; Song and Yang, 2006), cultural, social
and economical criterion of the region (Ramani et al, 1983; Hill, 2003; Mu, 2006). Osanloo (2006,
2001) has categorised the relevant inuential criteria in two groups including natural factors and
cultural factors which contain several subfactors.
In this paper, the inuential criteria to dene OPMLU for pit area have been presented in ve
categories including 96 attributes. The mentioned criteria and attributes are presented specically
for pit area and are more extensive than the previous approaches. These criteria, attributes and 17
relevant alternatives of PMLU for pit area create the structure of the MADM model.
DEFINING OPTIMAL POST-MINING LAND USE FOR DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF MINED LAND
TABLE 1
Alternatives for reclamation of pits in open pit mining method.
Number Overall PMLU Detailed PMLU Symbol

Arable farmland A-AF
Garden A-G
1 Agriculture
Pasture A-P
Nursery A-N
2 Lumber production F-LP
Forestry Woodland F-W
Shrubs and native forestation F-SNF
3 Lagoon L-L
Lake Aquaculture L-A
Aquatic sports L-AS
4 Water reservoir PB-WR
Pit Backfilling Garbage burying PB-GB
Landfill PB-L
5 Park M-P
Blasting techniques training M-BTT
Miscellaneous
Ski and rock artificial climbing M-SRAC
Military activities training M-MAT
Technical criterion
Technical criterion is the rst category and includes several attributes as follows:
x drainage (Drain),
x high rate earthquake statistics (HRES),
x regional ood potential (RFP),
x landscape quality (LQ),
x re-using potential of mine facilities (RPMF),
x extreme events potential (EEP),
x environmental contaminations (EC),
x outlook of future businesses (OFB),
x distance from special services (DSS),
x structural geology (SG),
x prosperity in the mine area (PMA),
x current land use in surrounding area (CLUS),
x market availability (MA),
x proximity to water supply (PWS), and
x shape and size of mined land (SSML).
The schematic structure of the attributes of technical criterion has been presented in Figure 1.
Executive criterion
Executive criterion also includes several attributes as follows:
x authority of reclamation project execution (ARPE),
x executive managing experiences availability (EMEA),
x reclamation techniques availability (RTA),
x required machines and equipments availability (RMEA),
x need to specialist workforces (NSW),
x budget providing potential (BPP), and
x regional potential for implementation the new land use (RPI).
The schematic structure of the attributes of economical criterion has been presented in Figure 2.
FIG 1 - Schematic structure of the attributes of technical criterion.
FIG 2 - Schematic structure of the attributes of executive criterion.
Mine site criterion

Mine site criterion comprises the following four attributes; soil, climate, topography and pit geometry
which consist of several subattributes. Figure 3, shows the schematic structure of mine site criterion.
As the gure shows, the subattributes of soil are categorised in two physical and chemical groups.
FIG 3 - Schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of mine site criterion.
x Physical subattributes of soil (PSoil) are:

x soil stability rate (SSR),
x general soil colour (GSC),
x erosion rate (ER),
x porosity (Pors),
x permeability (Perm),
x water conduction ability (WCA), and
x petrologic type of bedrock (PTB).
x Chemical subattributes of soil contain: salinity rate (Salin.), organic material and nutrient elements
(OMNE), contamination rate (CR), acid generation potential (AGP) and pH (pH). Figure 4 shows
the schematic structure of the subattributes of soil in two physical and chemical groups.
FIG 4 - Schematic structure of the subattributes of soil in two physical and chemical groups.
x Climate consists of several subattributes: regional ora and fauna (RFF), very cold days (VCD),
very hot days (VHD), geographical situation (GS), vegetative coverage (VC), hydrology of surface
and groundwater (HSG), regional average temperature (Temp), air moisture (AM), wind velocity
(WV), precipitation (Prec), frost free days (FFD) and surface evaporation rate (SER). Figure 5
shows the schematic structure of the subattributes of climate.
FIG 5 - Schematic structure of the attributes of climate.
x Topography comprises several attributes as follows: regional pezometeric Level (RPL), regional
exposure to sunrise (RES), overall regional elevation (Elev), overall regional slope (Slop) and
surface relief (SR). Figure 6 shows the schematic structure of the subattributes of topography.
FIG 6 - Schematic structure of the attributes of topography.
x Pit geometry consists of the several following subattributes: walls stability (WS), benches height
(BH), benches width (BW), benches slope (BSlop.), pit slope (PSlop), pit volume (Vol), pit area
(Area) and pit depth (Depth). Figure 7 shows the schematic structure of the subattributes of pit
geometry (see Figure 7).
FIG 7 - Schematic structure of the attributes of pit geometry.
Economical criterion
Economical criterion includes several attributes and subattributes as follows:
x break even point (BEP),
x income (Incom),
x internal rate of return (IRR),
x regional economical condition coordination (RECC),
x positive changes in real estate value (PCRE),
x cost (Cost), and
x potential of investment absorption (PIA).
The income attribute includes three subattributes as follows: mining project income (MPI),
increase in income of local community (IIL) and increase in governmental incomes (IGI).
Also, the cost attribute includes three subattributes as follows:
1. operational costs (OPC),
2. capital costs (CAC), and
3. maintenance and monitoring costs (MMC).
The schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of economical criterion has been
presented in Figure 8.
FIG 8 - Schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of economical criterion.
Social criterion
Social criterion includes several attributes and subattributes as follows:
x regional safety condition (RSC),
x regional political condition (RPC),
x positive changes in livelihood quality (PCLQ),
x cultural (Cult),
x increase in regional public skills and technical knowledge (IRPT),
x consistency with local requirements (CLR),
x land ownership (LO),
x tourist attraction (TA),
x ecological acceptability (EA),
x geographical (Geog),
x frequency of passing through mine site (FPT),
x serving the public education (SPE),
x employment opportunity (EO),
x legal (Legal), and
x effects on immigration to the area (EIA).
The cultural attribute includes six subattributes as follows:
1. regional common economical activities (RCEA),
2. regional social activities (RSA),
3. regional morals customs (RMC),
4. regional opponents (RO),
5. regional ethnic customs specications (RECS), and
6. social and cultural condition of adjacent areas (SCA).
Also the geographical attribute includes ve subattributes as follows:
1. easy accessibility in cold seasons (EACS),
2. facilities accessibility (FA),
3. accessibility or road condition (ARC),
4. location towards nearest town (LNT), and
5. proximity of mine site to population centres (PMP).
The legal criterion also includes three subattributes as follows: zoning by-laws (ZB), government
policy (GP) and mining company policy (MCP). The schematic structure of the attributes and
subattributes of social criterion has been presented in Figure 9.
FIG 9 - Schematic structure of the attributes and subattributes of social criterion.
ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESSING MODELLING PROCEDURE

Analytical hierarchy processing (AHP) is a multi-criteria decision-making method developed by
Saaty (1977, 1980). This process is a powerful and comprehensive methodology designed to facilitate
decision-making using empirical and subjective data and oral judgements of the experts and
decision-makers. AHP assists with the decision-making process by providing the decision-makers
with a structure to organise and evaluate the importance of various attributes and the preferences of
alternative solutions to a decision. The following are the steps including the AHP model related to
decision-making of plant species selection for mined land reclamation plans:
1. To state the decision problem and overall objective/goal. Firstly a hierarchy structure is developed
resembling a tree. The goal is on the trunk and attributes are on the branches of the tree.
2. To structure the hierarchy from the top through the intermediate to the lowest level which usually
contains a list of alternatives.
3. To construct of matrixes of pairwise comparisons. In this step, all alternatives are paired and
compared on the basis of each attribute separately. The comparisons are carried out through
experts judgements and oral group decision-making. Comparisons are assigned quantitative
equivalents to reect the qualitative preferences as Saaty has proposed a comparison scale of nine
levels in Table 2. In this model selected post-mining land use alternatives are demonstrated on
the based on to adapt with the reclamation program specications as: X1,X2,Xj; j = 1,2,,n. Also
the attributes are demonstrated as: Yq, q = 1, 2,..., 96.
TABLE 2
Preference values for the pairwise comparisons, qualitative preferences are in the left column and the quantitative equivalents are in the right column
(Saaty, 1980).
Preference values (pral judgements) Numerical value

Extremely preferred 9
Very strongly preferred 7
Strongly preferred 5
Moderately preferred 3
Equally preferred 1
Intermediate values 2, 4, 6, 8
4. Pairwise comparison between alternatives based on each attribute. Pairwise comparisons among
n elements in each level lead to an approximation of each Sij/Sji, which is the ratio of the weight of
element i to element j. Scores include: Sij, i, j = 1,2,..., n.
5. Normalisation of the scores and to average each row.
6. Pairwise comparison among the attributes is carried out based on the preferences of each of them
derived by the oral judgements and group consensus.
7. Normalisation of the scores and to average each row.
8. Check the consistency ratio after the pairwise comparison.
In all pairwise comparisons, an inconsistency ratio is calculated. Inconsistency ratio measures the
logical inconsistency of the judgements. In general, the inconsistency ratio should be less than 0.1 to
be considered reasonably consistent. As a result in the rst stage of all pairwise comparisons, each
alternative and each attribute obtains a local priority. Finally, in the next step of the method an overall
priority for each alternative is generated by synthesising of local priorities of the all alternatives with
all attributes.
Saaty (1980) has shown that the largest eigenvalue, , of a reciprocal matrix A is always greater
than or equal to n. If the pairwise comparisons do not include any inconsistencies, = n. The more
consistent the maximum comparisons are, the closer the value of computed to n. A consistency
index CI, which measures the inconsistencies of pairwise comparisons, is given as:
CI = m - n (1)
n-1
where:
is an eigenvalue of matrix A
A consistency ratio CR is given by:
CR = 100^CI/RI h (2)
where:
CI is consistency index
RI equals random index and n is number of columns
If CI is sufciently small, the decision-makers comparisons are probably consistent enough to give
useful estimates of the weights for the objective function. If CI/RI < 0.10, the degree of consistency
is satisfactory, but if CI/RI > 0.10, serious inconsistencies may exist and the AHP may not yield
meaningful results (Liang, 2003). If the CI and CR are satisfactory, then the decision is taken based
on the normalised values; else the procedure is repeated till these values lie in the desired range.
Grouped AHP is applied when two or more than two judgements of the decision-makers are involved
in evaluation process. Equation 3 illustrates numeral average for different experts judgements xij:
l/k
x'ij = `Plk= 1xijlj ; i, j = 1,2,..., n;i ! j;l = 1,2,..., k (3)
where:
l is the index of a decision-maker
k is the number of the decision-makers
i, j are the index of the alternatives and/or attributes
In this case, if the judgements of the different experts are not close to each other, inconsistency
ratio goes to more than the acceptable limit.
ANALYSIS THROUGH TOPSIS METHOD

Technique for order preference by similarity to an idea solution (TOPSIS) method is presented
according to Chen and Hwang (1992), with reference to Hwang and Yoon (1981). The basic principle
is that the chosen alternative should have the shortest distance from the ideal (the best) solution and
the farthest distance from the negative-ideal (the worst) solution. The TOPSIS procedure consists of
the following steps:
1. Calculation of the normalised value decision matrix. The normalised value matrix rij is calculated
as Equation 4:
fij
rij = ; i = 1,2,..., n;j = 1,2,..., J (4)
/ J
j=1 f ij2
2. Calculation of the weighted normalised decision matrix ij. The weighted normalised value ij is
calculated as Equation 5:
Rr11w g r1jw V
S 1 nW
yij = rij # wi = S h j h W, i = 1,2,..., n;j = 1,2,..., J (5)
SS WW
ri1w1 rijwn
T X
where:
n
wi is the diametrical matrix of the overall weights of the attributes and / wi = 1
i=1
Table 3 demonstrates a part of the normalised matrix of the alternatives of post-mining land use
of the pit area of the case study.
3. Determination of the ideal solution A* through Equation 6 and negative-ideal A- solution through
Equation 7:
A* = "y1),..., y)n, = "^max j yij ; ieI' h, ^min j yij ; ieI'' h, (6)
A- = "y1-,..., y-n, = "^min j yij ; ieI' h, ^max j yij ; ieI'' h, (7)
TABLE 3
A part of the normalised matrix of the alternatives of post-mining land use of the pit area of the case study.
A-AF A-G A-P A-N - - M-P M-BTT M-SRAC M-MAT Weight

MMC 0.119 0.126 0.045 0.103 - - 0.082 0.020 0.049 0.025 0.025
CAC 0.076 0.078 0.029 0.050 - - 0.129 0.018 0.105 0.029 0.023
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BH 0.053 0.053 0.142 0.038 - - 0.048 0.031 0.045 0.071 0.012
WS 0.059 0.059 0.107 0.040 - - 0.056 0.034 0.052 0.034 0.019
where:
I is associated with benet criteria
I is associated with cost criteria
Table 4 shows a part of the weighted normalised value matrix of the alternatives of post-mining
land use of the pit area of the case study and ideal and negative-ideal solutions of the attributes.
TABLE 4
A part of the weighted normalised value matrix of the alternatives of post-mining land use of the pit area of the case study and ideal and negative-ideal
solutions of the attributes.
A-AF A-G A-P A-N - - M-P M-BTT M-SRAC M-MAT A* A-

MMC 0.00297 0.00315 0.00112 0.00257 - - 0.00205 0.00051 0.00122 0.00062 0.00317 0.00035
CAC 0.00174 0.00179 0.00066 0.00115 - - 0.00296 0.00041 0.00241 0.00066 0.00335 0.00036
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
BH 0.00063 0.00063 0.00171 0.00045 - - 0.00057 0.00037 0.00054 0.00085 0.00171 0.00034
WS 0.00112 0.00113 0.00202 0.00076 - - 0.00106 0.00064 0.00098 0.00064 0.00262 0.00062
4. Calculation of the separation measures, using the n-dimensional Euclidean distance. The
separation of each alternative from the ideal solution is given as Equation 8:
n
/` vij - v*i j ; j = 1,2,...,
2
D*j = J (8)
i=1
Similarly, the separation from the negative-ideal solution is given as Equation 9:

n
/^yij - yi h2 ; j = 1,2,..., J
-
Dj = -
(9)
i=1
5. Calculation of the relative closeness to the ideal solution. The relative closeness of the alternative
aj with respect to A* is dened as Equation 10:
D-j
C*j = *
; j = 1,2,..., J (10)
`D j + D-
jj
6. Ranking of the preference order. Table 5 presents Ideal solutions, negative-ideal solutions, relative
closeness to the ideal solutions and the preferences of the alternatives of post-mining land use of
the pit area of the case study.
Equation 10 represents the basic principle in the TOPSIS method (Chen and Hwang, 1992). In
step 5, the sentences Calculate the relative closeness to the ideal solution. The relative closeness
of alternative aj with respect to A* is dened (Chen and Hwang, 1992), although simplied seems
incorrect. Triantaphyllou (Triantaphyllou, 2000) states that The best (optimal) alternative can now
be decided according to the preference rank order of C*j.
TABLE 5
Ideal solutions, negative-ideal solutions, relative closeness to the ideal solutions and the preferences of the alternatives of post-mining land use of the pit area
of the case study.
Alternatives D*j D j C *j Preferences

A-AF 0.00937914 0.00797978 0.45969341 2
A-G 0.00939505 0.00760811 0.44745280 3
A-P 0.01011231 0.00710567 0.41268910 4
A-N 0.01189475 0.00532542 0.30925480 9
F-LP 0.00523055 0.01305508 0.71395315 1
F-W 0.01298404 0.00516094 0.28442795 10
F-SNF 0.01226215 0.00612815 0.33322745 7
L-L 0.01438735 0.00216695 0.13089947 17
L-A 0.01048913 0.00623991 0.37299854 5
L-AS 0.01085748 0.00644722 0.37257056 6
PB-WR 0.01419993 0.00387178 0.21424529 12
PB-GB 0.01461997 0.00321704 0.18035769 14
PB-L 0.01465598 0.00262611 0.15195569 16
M-P 0.01353571 0.00510681 0.27393352 11
M-BTT 0.01437860 0.00341447 0.19189905 13
M-SRAC 0.01129202 0.00530945 0.31981800 8
M-MAT 0.01423232 0.00293225 0.17083162 15
ANALYSIS THROUGH PROMETHEE METHOD

The PROMETHEE I and II (partial and complete) rankings were developed by Brans, Mareschal
and Vincke presented for the rst time in 1982 (Vincke, 1982; 1984; 1985; 1986). The same year
several applications using this methodology were already treated by Davignon (1989) in the eld of
heath care. A few years later Brans and Mareschal developed PROMETHEE III (ranking based on
intervals) and PROMETHEE IV (continuous case). In 1992 and 1994, Brans and Mareschal (1992;
1994; 1995) further suggested two nice extensions:
1. PROMETHEE V (MCDA including segmentation constraints), and
2. PROMETHEE VI (representation of the human brain).
The procedure is followed as given below steps:
1. Creation of the amplitude of the deviations matrix between the evaluations of the alternatives
within each attribute according to Equation 11:
d j ^k,lh = rki - rli ; k,l = 1,2,..., J;i = 1,2,..., n (11)
The amplitude of the deviations matrix is created by the amplitude of deviations of an alternative
j with regards to all attributes as Equation 12:
R V
Sd1^ j, 1h d2 ^ j, 1h g dn ^ j, 1h W
S W
D j = Sd1^ j, 2h d2 ^ j, 2h g dn ^ j, 2h
W, j = 1,2,..., J (12)
S h h j h W
S
T
d1^ j, J h d2 ^ j, J h g dn ^ j, J hWX
Table 6 shows a part of the amplitude of the deviations matrix of A-AF alternative with regards
to the other alternatives.
2. Preference function
Branze recommended six preference functions Pi(d) for each attribute i (Brans and Mareschal,
1995). Amongst these six recommended main functions, Gaussian function was chosen as the
most proper function according to Equation 13 and Figure 10.
TABLE 6
A part of the amplitude of the deviations matrix of A-AF alternative with regards to the other alternatives.
A-AF, A-G A-AF, A-P A-AF, A-N A-AF, F-LP A-AF, M-P A-AF, M-BBT A-AF, M-SRAC A-AF, M-MAT
MMC -0.007 0.074 0.016 0.030 0.037 0.099 0.070 0.094
CAC -0.002 0.047 0.026 -0.018 -0.053 0.058 -0.029 0.047
OPC -0.006 0.035 -0.004 0.008 -0.072 0.045 -0.044 -0.017
PIA 0.000 0.022 0.037 -0.127 0.068 0.073 0.009 0.073
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
BSLOP 0.006 -0.104 0.030 -0.030 ... -0.001 0.033 0.012 0.033
BW 0.036 -0.009 0.093 0.068 0.076 0.102 0.083 0.102
BH 0.000 -0.089 0.015 -0.078 0.005 0.022 0.008 -0.018
WS 0.000 -0.048 0.019 -0.078 0.003 0.025 0.007 0.025
FIG 10 - Gaussian preference function.

2
Pi ^dh = 1 - exp )- di 2 3, v (13)
2v
The distance between coordinates point and inection point of the Gaussian curve Pi(d) is
illustrated by . Therefore, the preference function Pi(kl) for each attribute i and alternatives k
and l demonstrates preference value of the alternative Ak to alternative Al according to Equation 9.
ifrki # rli & diek,l o # 0 " pi k,l = 0
f p
Pj ^k,lh = * 2 (14)
ifrki 2 rli & diek,l o 2 0 " pi k,l = 1 - exp )- di 2 3
f p
2v
If the alternative k with respect to the attribute i operates similar or worse, value of the preference
function equals zero. If the alternative k with regards to the attribute i operates better than the
attributes l the value of the preference function equals a number between zero and one. If the
value of the preference function is close to one, the decision-maker has arranged a longer distance
between the normalised values of rkl and rli. Thus the part of the preference function that has
negative value in the amplitude of deviations is removed. Accordingly, through selecting Gaussian
preference function to dene inection point of the curve, Equation 15 is applied to calculate the
threshold of strict preference .
k,l = J
vi = /; di ^k,l h/J^ J - 1h,i = 1,2,..., n;k,l = 1,2,..., J (15)
k,l = 1
Table 7 shows a part of the threshold limits of the alternatives.

3. Creating preference index matrix
When all attributes are simultaneously considered preference index (k,l) demonstrates
preference value of the alternative Ak to the alternative A1 based on the view of the decision-maker
according to Equation 16.
r^k,lh = / wi : Pi ^k,lh; k,l e J

n
(16)
i=1
TABLE 7
A part of the threshold limits of the alternatives.
Alternative Alternative
MMC 0.047353 ... ...
CAC 0.048324 RPC 0.041603
OPC 0.045118 COL 0.029985
PIA 0.050529 BSLOP 0.035485
IGI 0.050544 BW 0.035779
IIL 0.034118 BH 0.039985
... ... WS 0.034368
In this case preference index matrix is created through preference indexes according to
Equation 17.
R 0
S r^1,2 h g r^1, J h VW
S
r = Sr^2,1 h 0 g r^2, J hW,i,j = 1,2,..., J
W
S h h j h W (17)
S ^ W
r J,1 h r^ J,2 h g 0
T X
At the end of this step, comparing preference indexes of the alternatives shows a numeral
demonstration of non-ranked terms of the alternatives. Table 8 illustrates a part of the preference
function matrix of alternative A-AF to other alternatives.
TABLE 8
A part of the preference function matrix of alternative A-AF to other alternatives.
Alternative A-G A-P A-N F-LP M-P M-BBT M-SRAC M-MAT

MMC 0.00000 0.70508 0.05549 0.18183 ... 0.26307 0.88758 0.66467 0.86058
CAC 0.00000 0.37686 0.13476 0.00000 ... 0.00000 0.51339 0.00000 0.37686
OPC 0.00000 0.25984 0.00000 0.01560 ... 0.00000 0.39189 0.00000 0.00000
PIA 0.00000 0.09043 0.23516 0.00000 ... 0.59567 0.64781 0.01574 0.64781
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
BSLOP 0.01419 0.0000 0.30048 0.00000 ... 0.00000 0.35106 0.05557 0.35106
BW 0.39721 0.0000 0.96589 0.83569 ... 0.89523 0.98281 0.93216 0.98281
BH 0.00000 0.0000 0.06795 0.00000 ... 0.00779 0.14046 0.01982 0.00000
WS 0.00000 0.0000 0.14172 0.00000 ... 0.00380 0.23247 0.02053 0.23247
Table 9 illustrates a part of the preference index matrix the alternatives.

4. Output ows
An output ow equals the average of preference index which leaves j node. The value of an output
ow illustrates the power rate of the alternative j to push other alternatives out from the preference
list. Equation 18 demonstrates output ow +j which shows the power of alternative j.
J
{+j = 1 / r^ j,k h; j,k = 1,2,..., J (18)
J - 1 K=1
K!j
TABLE 9
A part of the preference index matrix the alternatives.
Alternative A-AF A-G A-P A-N F-LP PB-L M-P M-BTT M-SRAC M-MAT
A-AF 0.0000 0.0296 0.1444 0.3013 0.0786 0.5143 0.4439 0.4657 0.3505 0.4738
A-G 0.0007 0.0000 0.1117 0.2760 0.0436 0.5023 0.4293 0.4533 0.3358 0.4606
A-P 0.1659 0.1721 0.0000 0.3347 0.0489 0.5136 0.4763 0.4319 0.4025 0.4622
A-N 0.0260 0.0259 0.0588 0.0000 0.0453 0.2013 0.1300 0.1919 0.1055 0.1931
F-LP 0.3967 0.4003 0.3431 0.6190 0.0000 0.7355 0.6825 0.6536 0.6252 0.6784

PB-GB 0.0557 0.0556 0.0529 0.0552 0.0395 0.0155 0.0655 0.0635 0.0394 0.0784
PB-L 0.0408 0.0406 0.0379 0.0402 0.0245 0.0000 0.0505 0.0488 0.0245 0.0652
M-P 0.0551 0.0534 0.0726 0.0611 0.0639 0.1331 0.0000 0.1281 0.0325 0.1303
M-BTT 0.0704 0.0699 0.0386 0.1126 0.0330 0.1313 0.1327 0.0000 0.1048 0.0862
M-SRAC 0.0856 0.0832 0.1034 0.1183 0.0527 0.2179 0.1555 0.2049 0.0000 0.2038
M-MAT 0.0568 0.0551 0.0414 0.0884 0.0283 0.1236 0.1023 0.0443 0.0681 0.0000
5. Input ows
Input ows are applied to evaluate depletion rate of alternative j. In this case the main criterion is
the power which pushes alternative j out from the preference list. Equation 19 demonstrates input
ows -j.
J
{-j = 1 / r^k,j h; j,k = 1,2,..., J (19)
J - 1 K=1
K!j
6. Final ranking of PROMETHEE

Finally nal ranking of the alternatives is carried out through the difference of the out ows and
input ows of alternative j. Equation 20 demonstrates net ows of netj.
{net + -
j = {j - {j (20)
7. Net ow analysing
More net ow value nally shows better rank for each alternative in the nal ranking. Table 10
illustrates nal ranking of the alternatives of the case study.
CONCLUSIONS
Dening of optimal post-mining land use based on the specications of a mine and its regional
environment has the most important effect on the results of the reclamation plan and also on the
planning and design processes in open pit mining. Relevant alternatives for pit area as one of the
different sections of mined land area in open pit mining were described. Relevant criteria and also
their attributes were described in nest step. The model to attain optimal post-mining land use was
developed through TOPSIS and PROMETHEE techniques. The developed model was applied in a
hypothetical copper mine in North West of Iran. The result of the post-mining land use in the case
study was similar as lumber production by the two applied MADM techniques. As the two applied
MADM techniques both dened lumber production as the post-mining land use in the case study
it is absolutely the optimal post-mining land use. As Figure 11 shows TOPSIS and PROMETHEE
techniques have a close trend which gives a reliable result as optimal post-mining land use for a
reclamations plan.
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TABLE 10
Final ranking of the alternatives of the case study.
Alternatives +j j netj Preferences

A-AF 0.33226 0.09724 0.23502 3
A-G 0.31149 0.09931 0.21218 4
A-P 0.34503 0.09376 0.25127 2
A-N 0.11556 0.18960 -0.07403 10
F-LP 0.56825 0.04286 0.52539 1
F-W 0.23222 0.15134 0.08088 6
F-SNF 0.29826 0.11860 0.17966 5
L-L 0.2227 0.26912 -0.24685 16
L-A 0.19629 0.14807 0.04822 7
L-AS 0.18726 0.17602 0.01124 8
PB-WR 0.10751 0.23957 -0.13205 11
PB-GB 0.04742 0.29070 -0.24328 15
PB-L 0.03276 0.28958 -0.25682 17
M-P 0.08360 0.25377 -0.17018 13
M-BTT 0.08963 0.25750 -0.16788 12
M-SRAC 0.14287 0.19682 -0.05396 9
M-MAT 0.07411 0.27293 -0.19882 14
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
TOPSIS
0.00
PROMETHEE
-0.20
-0.40
-0.60
-0.80
FIG 11 - The trend of the results of TOPSIS and PROMETHEE techniques in the case study.
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PROMETHEE and GAIA methods, Mathematical and Computer Modeling, 12(10-11):1393-1400.
Hwang, C L and Yoon, K, 1981. Multiple attribute decision-making, Lecture Notes in Economics and
Mathematical Systems 186 (Springer-Verlag: Berlin).
Joerin, F, Theriault, M and Musy, A, 2001. Using GIS and outranking multicriteria analysis for land-use
suitability assessment, International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 15(2):153-174.
Liang, W Y, 2003. The analytic hierarchy process in project evaluation: An R&D case study in Taiwan,
Benchmarking: An International Journal, 10(5):445-456.
Mchaina, D M, 2001. Environmental planning considerations for the decommissioning, closure and
reclamation of a mine site, International Journal of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Environment,
15:163-176.
Mu, Y, 2006. Developing a suitability index for residential land use: A case study in Dianchi drainage area,
thesis, Ontario.
Osanloo, M, Akbari, A D and Hamidian, H, 2006. Selecting post mining land use through analytical hierarchy
processing method: Case study in Sungun copper open pit mine of Iran, in Proceedings 15th international
Symposium of MPES, pp 1-12.
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Saaty, T L, 1980. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (Mac Gray-Hill: New York).
Soltanmohammadi, H, Osanloo, M and Aghajani, A, 2009. Deriving preference order of post-mining
land-uses through MLSA framework: Application of an outranking technique, Environmental Geology,
58:877-888.
Soltanmohammadi, H, Osanloo, M, Rezaee, B and Aghajani, A, 2008. Achieving to some outranking
relationships between post-mining land uses through mined land suitability analysis, International Journal
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Triantaphyllou, E, 2000. Multi-Criteria Decision-making Methods: A Comparative Study (Kluwer
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Mining Regions (ISAHP: Honolulu).
Application of Multi-Slicing Highwall Mining System
with Stowing at Surface Coal Mine in Thailand
A Hamanaka1, T Sasaoka2, H Shimada3, K Matsui4, H Takamoto5,
P Meechumna6 and P Laowattanabandit7
ABSTRACT
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) Mae Moh coal mine is an open-cut coal
mine in Thailand that produces about 16 Mt of lignite annually to generate 2400 MW of electricity.
The surface mine pit covers is 4 km by 7 km with mining depths ranging up to 260 m. A large pit slope
is formed with the progression of the mining operation. However, massive slides in the pit slope
occur often due to the existence weak planes such as faults and bedding, and the weak mechanical
properties of the rocks. Hence, 200 m to 300 m boundaries of rock block including coal seams are left
in front of faults in order to prevent slides and maintain the stability of the pit slope. As a result, there
are signicant coal reserves beneath the abandoned area along the pit slope. Moreover, the mined
coal seams are very thick and their thickness range from 15 to 30 m.
This paper discusses the application of multi-slicing highwall mining system with stowing to this
very thick coal seam left around large pit slopes by means of numerical analysis.
INTRODUCTION
The EGAT Mae Moh Mine is located about 630 km north of Bangkok, Thailand (see Figure 1).
It is the largest coal mine in Thailand. It produces about 16 Mt of lignite annually from open-
cut mining (70 per cent of the total coal produced in Thailand). The coal is used to generate
2400 MW of electricity at the Mae Moh power plant, which is situated nearby the mining area. The
mine pit covers an area of 4 km by 7 km at varied depths up to 260 m as shown in Figure 2. As the
mining operation progresses, the pit becomes to be deeper and deeper. In the year of 2035, the
bottom of the pit is expected to reach depths of 500 to 600 m and the open-cut mining operation will
be nished. The possibility of underground mining operation is being investigated.
A large pit slope is formed with the progression of open-cut mining. However, massive slides often
occur in the pit slope along weak planes including faults and bedding planes due to the weak nature
of the rock. As a result, 200 to 300 m boundaries of rock including coal seams are left in place in
front of faults to prevent slides and to maintain the stability of pit slope. Moreover, the dip of the
slope is less than that of the planned design. As a result, their signicant coal reserves abandoned
along the pit slope.
A joint research group of Japanese and Thai researchers and mining engineers was convened in
2009 (Furukawa et al, 2009) to investigate the mining methods for the safe and economic recovery
of coal left along the pit slope. The highwall mining system was suggested as one system for extracting
the coal left along the pit slope. In the highwall mining system, coal is extracted by a continuous miner
or an auger machine from exposed seams at the base of the open cut operation. Highwall stability is
critical to the success of highwall mining. Moreover, as the mined coal seams are very thick and very
1. Master Course Student, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: hamanaka09r@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: sasaoka@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
3. Associate Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: shimada@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
4. Professor, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Email: matsui@mine.kyushu-u.ac.jp
5. General Manager, Mitsui Matsushima International Coal Tech Co Ltd, Level 4, 1-7-7 Hatchobori, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0032, Japan. Email: h-takamoto@mitsui-matsushima.co.jp
6. Associate Professor, Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Email:fmnpmc@eng.chula.ac.th
7. Lecturer, Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Email: pipat_l@chula.ac.th
A HAMANAKA et al
EGAT Mae Moh Mine
Bangkok
FIG 1 - Location of Mae Moh coal mine.
FIG 2 - Mine are of Mae Moh coal mine (2009).
weak, a multi-slicing method with stowing system should be applied in order to increase the recovery
in safely. The applicability of highwall mining system in this mine has already been discussed in the
previous paper (Hamanaka et al, 2010).
This paper discusses the application of multi-slicing highwall mining system with stowing to EGAT
Mae Moh coal mine. And numerical analysis used to determine the proper.
APPLICATION OF MULTI-SLICING HIGHWALL MINING SYSTEM WITH STOWING AT SURFACE COAL MINE IN THAILAND
HIGHWALL MINING SYSTEMS

Many coal seams that are presently uneconomical or technically unsuitable for conventional surface
mining techniques can be recovered using highwall mining. Highwalls of open cut coal mines can
form the starting point for other mining methods, such as highwall or underground mining. In its
basic application, the highwall mining technique is utilised after the economic limit of the open cut
portion of a reserve has been reached, sometimes prior to the introduction of underground mining
(Seib, 1993).
In these mining systems, a continuous miner or an auger machine is used to extract coal from
the highwall. Recently, other systems such as Superior Highwall Miners and American highwall
systems have been introduced in the US (Highwall Systems, 2006). Figure 3 shows the classication
of highwall mining systems.
FIG 3 - Classification of highwall mining system.
The continuous miner system is called a continuous highwall mining (CHM) system and is
categorised into two types: one is an Add-car system and the other is an Archveyor system. The
Add-car consists of a continuous miner, Add-cars (belt conveyor cars), a launch vehicle, a stacker
conveyor and a loader as shown in Figure 4. The latter consists of a continuous miner, archveyor
chain conveyor that conveys coal and trams the machine system, and a loadout vehicle.
FIG 4 - Add-car system.
The CHM system can excavate rectangular openings over 350 m long. The size of the opening
depends on the specications of the continuous miner. Fully automated control of the system is
achieved with the aid of advanced navigation technology, including a roof and oor passive gamma
detector system, inclinometers, a ring laser gyroscope and programmable logic controllers (PLC).
The auger system is very simple and can excavate holes over 100 m long and 0.5 m in diameter
or greater into the coal seams in highwalls, depending on the application. This system is more
manoeuvrable than the CHM system and can be applied when shorter lengths of highwall are present.
A HAMANAKA et al
It is also suited to recovering open cut end walls and major pillars of coal remaining after the CHM
operation (Matsui et al, 2008).
Highwall mining systems have been used extensively in the US and Australia because they are safe
and economical. In Indonesia, only the auger system has been used at a few mines (Matsui et al,
2004).
SITE INVESTIGATION
Geological conditions
Figure 5 shows the generalised stratigraphical column for the Mae Moh mine site. Target coal seams
for mining include the J, K and Q Seams. The K and Q coal seams are very thick and range from 20
to 30 m in thickness. Overburden and interburden consist of red-brown soil, sandstone, siltstone,
claystone, etc. The mechanical properties of overburden and interburden strata are very soft and
weak, they are also very sensitive to water and their mechanical properties deteriorate dramatically
due to weathering. Moreover, many faults and weak planes exist in the mine area as shown in
Figure 6 (Charoenprawat et al, 1995). Under these conditions, as the mining operation progresses
large deep slopes are formed and massive landslides along the bedding planes often occur. The dip
of coal seams/bedding planes varies from 0 to 20 degrees around the current pit slope.
FIG 5 - Generalised stratigraphic column in Mae Moh mine area.
Seam
K
Seam
Unit: (m)
FIG 6 - Geological cross-sections of the open-pit (west-east section).
Stability of pit slope and revised slope design

Figure 7 shows the target area of this research. A massive slide occurred around this area because of
faults and bedding planes (see Figure 8). In order to prevent the movement of rock along the weak
planes and to maintain the stability of pit slope, the design of the pit slope was changed to include a
200 to 300 m width of rock including coal seams left in front of a fault and the dip of pit slope was
changed to be gentler than that of the original design (Figure 9). Though the slope stability can be
improved and the occurrences of massive slides are prevented, as signicant amount of coal is left
beneath the huge pit slope. Hence, the application of a highwall mining system as the method for
recovering coal left along the pit wall safely. Moreover, as both coal seams are very thick and weak,
multi-slicing and stowing system should be applied in order not only to increase the recovery but
also to improve the stability of pit wall.
FIG 7 - Target area in this research.
FIG 8 - Massive slide of pit wall around the target area and its mechanism.
A HAMANAKA et al
300m
FIG 9 - Geological cross-section of the targeted are in this research.
Application of stowing system for thick coal seam

From 2400 MW power plants, about 3.6 Mt of coal ash and 2.1 Mt of gypsum are by-produced
annually. 60 per cent of the coal ash (yash) is used as construction materials. The remaining 40
per cent of the ash (clinker ash) and all the gypsum that is by-product are transported to the ash and
gypsum dumping sites. Approximately 90 - 110 million BCM of overburden is removed annually.
The use of these by-products and the overburden as stowing materials is very important to reduce
the amount of the waste considering the environment on the surface and can also be useful for
supporting underground mining.
If stowing follows right after the coal extraction, it diminishes the movement of strata and improves
the stability of openings, pillars and slopes effectively. However, the cost-effectiveness must be
considered before introducing the stowing system.
The highwall mining system with proper size of pillars is quite effective in surface control, such as
subsidence and caving-in. However, in deeper mining, the size of pillars increases, and the percentage
of extraction of coal diminishes.
The advantages of stowing systems are that they minimise the surface disturbance. Since a mined-
out void is lled up as soon as an excavation made, the main roof does not sag or cause excessive
weighting. In this respect, strata control is the most easily achieved and the most effective.
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
Finite element modelling
Finite element code Phase2 was applied in this research. Figure 10 shows the nite element model
used in this analysis. This model represents multi-slice highwall mining system. The thickness of both
coal seams is 15 m. The dimensions of excavated openings were 3 m wide and 3 m high. The pillar
width between two adjacent openings was 3 m. Overburden depth was 75 m. The Mohr-Coulomb
criterion was employed as a failure criterion. Table 1 shows the mechanical properties in this study
and their properties are obtained from laboratory tests. Components of stowing material were yash,
TABLE 1
Mechanical properties of rocks used in this analysis.
Rock type Density (MN/m3) Youngs modulus Poissons ratio Cohesion (MPa) Internal friction Tensile strength
(MPa) angle (deg)
Clay stone 0.0195 10,000 0.25 1.75 20 1.0
Coal 0.0143 500 0.25 0.5 22 0.5
Fault - - 17 0
Stowing material 0.0217 282 0.30 0.348 23.8 0.348
FIG 10 - Numerical model in this research.
cement and waste rocks. It assumed in this analysis that stowing is done using hydraulic system, and
then after the lling openings are consolidated, is extracted. Stowing material is fully injected into
the opening and assumed to behave in elastic and plastic manner.
Results and discussion
Effect of stowing system in the case of single slice
First of all, the application of a single slice highwall mining system with and without stowing was
investigated. Figure 11a and 11b show the distribution of strength factor and failure zone around the
openings with and without stowing, respectively. Without stowing system, as the strength factor
decreases and the failure zones develop around the openings, the openings show the less stability and
the pillars fail with shear failure severely. On the other hand, with stowing system, the stability of the
openings and pillars is improved dramatically. Hence, the application of stowing system maintains
the stability of openings and pillars. Consequently, the slope stability can be maintained and coal
recovery can be increased.
FIG 11 - Distribution of strength factor around openings.
A HAMANAKA et al
Effect of spacing of each slice and distribution of openings

Next, in order to discuss the applicability of multi-slice highwall mining system, the effect of
spacing of each slice and that of arrangement of openings on the stability of openings and pillars
are investigated under the application of stowing system. Figures 12a - 12c and 13a - 13c show the
strength factor and failure zone around the openings under different spacing of each slice in square
and staggered patterns, respectively. It can be observed that the stability of openings and pillars
increase with increasing the spacing. Moreover, if the spacing between each slice is larger than 2 m,
there is no obvious impact on the different spacing on the stability of openings and pillars. Compared
with Figures 12 and 13, it can also be said that the openings and pillars in a staggered pattern is more
stable than that in a square one.
FIG 12 - Distribution of strength factor around the ground in excavating in a square pattern.
FIG 13 - Distribution of strength factor around the ground in excavating in a staggered pattern.
From these results, it can be concluded that the multi-slice highwall mining system can be applied
and useful to this mine. Besides, in order to increase the stability of openings and pillars, a staggered
pattern should be applied and the appropriate spacing between each slice should be left.
CONCLUSIONS
The applicability of multi-slice highwall mining system was investigated in this study. From the
numerical analyses, it can be concluded that the multi-slice highwall mining system with stowing is
very useful for maintaining the stability of openings and pillars and slope. Moreover, it can increase
the coal recovery under very thick and weak strata condition. However, in order to determine the
appropriate design for the multi-slice highwall mining operation, more detailed studies should be
conducted to determine the type of highwall mining system to be used, adequate pillar width, the size
of the mine opening, and the strength of stowing materials. Moreover, three-dimensional analysis
should be conducted in order to evaluate and verify the mine design.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to extend their gratitude to the managers, engineers and miners of EGAT Mae Moh
Lignite Mine for arranging their mine site visit and for providing information in the presentation
of the paper. All opinions and comments stated in this paper are those of the authors and do not
necessarily represent those of the institutions or the mine.
REFERENCES
Charoenprawat, A, Chuaviroj, S, Hinthong, C and Chonlakmani, C, 1995. Geological map of Thailand,
sheet Lampang (NE47-7), scale 1:250,000, Geological Survey Division, Department of Mineral Resources,
Bangkok, Thailand.
Furukawa, H, Matsui, K, Sasaoka, T, Shimada, H and Ichinose, M, 2009. Applicable underground coal
mining system in very thick seams, in Proceedings Mine Planning and the Equipment Selection 2009,
Banff [CD ROM].
Hamanaka, A, Sasaoka, T, Shimada, H, Matsui, K, Furukawa, H, Takamoto, H, Meechumna, P,
Laowattanabandit, P, 2010. Application of highwall mining system at surface coal mine in Thailand, in
Proceedings Fourth International Workshop and Conference on Earth Resources Technology, Phulet,
Thailand [CD ROM].
Highwall Systems, 2006. Coal Magazine 2006, September/October, pp 7-12.
Itasca Consulting Group, 2002. FLAC3D Version 2.1 manual.
Matsui, K, Sasaoka, T, Shimada, H, Ueda, T, Kramadibrata, S and Sulistianto, B, 2008. Highwall mining
systems at surface coal mines in Indonesia, Coal International, 256(3):28-31.
Matsui, K, Shimada, H, Sasaoka, T, Furukawa, H, Ueda, T, Yabuki, A, Kramadibrata, S and Sulistianto, B,
2004. Highwall stability of due to punch mining at opencut coal mines, International Journal of Surface
Mining, Reclamation and Environment, 18(3):185-204.
Seib, W T, 1993. Highwall operations in Australia, in Australasian Coal Mining Practice, second edition
(eds: A J Hargraves and C H Martin), pp 238-242 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne).
Adaptation of Hydraulic Shovels for Arctic Temperature of
Yakutia Region
R Y Poderni1 and H R Koelsh2
ABSTRACT
Hydraulic mining shovels can be successively used at open-pit mining operation in severe climatic
zone with air temperature interval from -700C to +450C typical for some northern region of the world
particularly of Russia, Canada and Sweden, if they would be equipped by special preheating facilities
for their diesel engine, water, hydraulic oil and lubrication systems.
All shovels manufactured by the Komatsu Mining Germany GmbH for operation at ambient air
temperatures down to -50C have cast and forged structural design elements, bolted connections
made of special steel grades, electric cables with special insulation, exible high-pressure hoses
manufactured by ICE-Champion with connectors made of special steel grades.
Generally at the temperatures below -25C the ordinary machine has to be stopped, the attachment
should be placed in the parking position, the generator should be switched on, or the external
electrical power supply connected, for the preheating equipment.
For rapid start-up in winter after a long shutdown of a hydraulic shovel, there is a procedure for
preheating of the main systems. It is applied for the following systems: engine cooling system, engine
oil, hydraulic oil, pumps and drive motors of the propel gears, electric cabinets, machinery house,
especially near the ventilation inlets and outlets.
Start-up of the main drive engine is permitted at a hydraulic oil temperature of -20C, when it has
a viscosity of 1000 cSt. In this case the rotation speed of the diesel engine crankshaft is lower by two
times than the nominal value and this is the most favourable condition of start-up of the engine and
hydraulic pumps and motors, which work with half of their rated rotation speed until the hydraulic
oil reaches a viscosity from 100 to 10 cSt. After that the hydraulic system and the entire shovel begin
to operate under normal conditions.
There are available two preheating systems: water and electric. The rst one incorporates special
equipment (manufactured by Kim Hot Start) radiator installed in the operator cab which supplies
with the aid of low-capacity pumps preheated coolant to the diesel engine and to the operator cab.
Electric power for this system is provided from a special diesel generator installed, as a rule, outside
of the shovel on a service vehicle. The second system ensures preheating of the following systems
with built-in electric heating elements:
x main hydraulic oil tank,
x main pump distributor gearbox,
x oil tank of the diesel engine,
x coolant tank of the diesel engine,
x the operator cab,
x machinery house at air exchange devices, and
x the batteries.
The general hydraulic system of the shovel must be lled up by a special all-season oil, particularly
by Shell Tellus Arctic 32, having stable viscosity/temperatures characteristics (from 10 to 1000 cSt
at temperature range from -600C to - +850C) within at least of one year of operation.
1. Professor, Moscow State Mining University, 6 Leninsky Avenue, Moscow 119991, Russia. Email: poderni@yandex.ru
2. Komatsu Mining Germany, Buscherhofstrasse, 10, 40599, Dusseldorf, Germany. Email: Heinz.Koelsch@komatsu-mining.de
An Innovative Scaled Model to Simulate the Perimeter
Hole Blasting in Tunnel
H-S Yang1, H-D Jang2, W-B Kim3 and P Rai4
ABSTRACT
The success of smooth blasting essentially depends on geological condition of rock. Also, in the
perimeter hole, borehole pressures with light, well-distributed explosive loads are important to
minimise overbreak. In order to simulate perimeter holes with scaled model test, the borehole
pressure was considered as a factor of scale. Hydraulic oil pressure is applied as borehole pressure
instead of using explosives and detonators in order to remove the undesirable effects of detonators
in an experimental set-up of just two perimeter holes in a tunnel blast. The borehole pressure on
a perimeter hole is nearly reproduced with hydraulic pressure which is generated by non-electric
detonators in the hermetical cylinder.
INTRODUCTION
Explosion scaled modelling
Theoretical studies of scaled model have been carried out by Hobbs (1965). According to Hobbss
theory, an intact model can scale by order of the basic three dimensions proceeding of length (L),
mass (M) and time (T). As an intact model of scaled test, perimeter holes are charged with emulsion
based explosives which designed for use in perimeter control. In order to simplify the experiment,
strength of 100 MPa of a homogeneous rock mass is considered. The borehole pressure which has been
considered as a factor for the scale test is approximately calculated by the Abel-Nobel equation of state:
P = F/((V/L) - ) (1)
where:
P is borehole pressure in kgf/cm2
F is force of explosive in atm/kg
V is volume of perimeter hole in
L is weight of charged explosive and is co-volume in 1.5/(1.33 + 1.26)
is density of explosive in g/cc
The borehole pressure is estimated to 132.83 MPa by Equation 1 and Table 1 shows parameters of
the perimeter hole.
Accuracy of results and convenience of the experiment should be considered before xing the
scaled factor in the laboratory experiment. Comparatively, if scaled factor is low, the experiment is
convenient but the results are quite inaccurate. Thus, in this experiment, 1/6 scaled model is suitable
enough to satisfy those two conditions. Table 2 and Table 3 are shown variations of scaled factors
under the gravity constant circumstance and characterised by 1/6 scaled model.
DESCRIPTION OF EXPLOSION SCALED EXPERIMENT

From Table 2 and Table 3, estimated borehole pressure, 132.83 MPa, calculated 22.18 MPa which
needs to be imparted on the wall of blastholes in the 1/6 scale specimen. Non-electronic detonators
1. Professor, Department of Energy and Resources Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea. Email: hsyang@chonnam.ac.kr
2. Student, Department of Energy and Resources Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea. Email: hdjang75@gmail.com
3. Student, Department of Energy and Resources Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea. Email: janus@jnu.ac.kr
4. Professor, Department of Energy and Resources Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea. Email: piushrai.bhu@gmail.com
H-S YANG et al
TABLE 1
Parameters of perimeter holes.
Explosive diameter 17 mm Hole diameter 45 mm

Length of charge 1795 mm Velocity of explosive 4400 m/sec
Length of stemming 305 mm Space 600 mm
Charge weight per hole 550 g Burden 750 mm
Density of explosive 1.15 g/cc Volume of perimeter hole 2.58
Force of explosive 6300 atm/kg
TABLE 2
Scaled factors with gravity constant circumstance.
Scaled factors 1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10
Mass (M) 1 0.1250 0.0370 0.0156 0.0080 0.0046 0.0029 0.0020 0.0014 0.0010
Length (L) 1 0.500 0.333 0.250 0.200 0.167 0.143 0.125 0.111 0.100
Time (T) 1 0.707 0.577 0.500 0.447 0.408 0.378 0.354 0.333 0.316
Specific energy (ML2/T2) 1 0.0625 0.01235 0.00391 0.00160 0.00077 0.00042 0.00024 0.00015 0.00010
Velocity (L/T) 1 0.707 0.577 0.500 0.447 0.408 0.378 0.354 0.333 0.316
2
Overpressure (M/LT ) 1 0.500 0.333 0.250 0.200 0.167 0.143 0.125 0.111 0.100
TABLE 3
Characteristics of perimeter holes by 1/6 scaled modelling.
Parameters Values Parameters Values

Diameter of blastholes 7.5 mm Burden of perimeter holes 120 mm
Length of charge 299.2 mm Space of perimeter holes 100.0 mm
Lenght of tamping 50.8 mm Strength of rock specimen 12.60 MPa
Borehole pressure on the wall 22.18 MPa
are initiated inside each hermetical cylinder and theoretically 22.18 MPa of hydraulic pressure is
generated by the Abel-Nobel equation when 81.43 per cent volume of cylinder is lled with hydraulic
oil. Specications of cylinder and detonator are given in Table 4. Figure 1 illustrates hydraulic oil
lled in cylinder on the specimen.
TABLE 4
Specifications of cylinder and detonators.
Parameters Values Parameters Values

Weight of base charge in detonator 0.0009 kg Force of explosive of base charge 10998 atm/kg
Volume of cylinder with perimeter hole 0.237 Density of base charge 1.77 g/cc
Volume of empty space in the cylinder 0.044 Amount of hydraulic oil inside the cylinder 0.193
In the previous study of scaled model test, specimens uniaxial compressive strength is changed
by the compound rate of plaster and water (Jong-Woo, 2004). When density of specimen is 1.6,
correlation of compressive strength and plaster-water ratio is as per the Equation 2. When P/W
is 1.9, approximately 12.6 MPa of strength is revealed which is value of rock specimen at 1/6 scale.
Figure 2 shows a relationship between compressive strength and plaster-water ratio when density of
specimen is 1.6 g/cc:
AN INNOVATIVE SCALED MODEL TO SIMULATE THE PERIMETER HOLE BLASTING IN TUNNEL
FIG 1 - Illustration of cylinder and specimen.
FIG 2 - Relation between compressive strength and plaster-water ratio when density is 1.6 g/cc.
Sc = 20.44(P/W)2.8051 (2)
where:
Sc is uniaxial compressive strength in kgf/cm2
P is weight of plaster
W is weight of water
Cylinders, as illustrated in Figure 1, are devised to initiate a detonator inside of it for transferences
of borehole pressures to the hydraulic oil inside the blasthole. For the explosion scaled model test,
simply two blastholes are presented.
MEASUREMENT OF HYDRAULIC PRESSURE

Before the experiment, hydraulic borehole pressure was measured with a pressure transducer,
HKS-375(M), which is designed for pressure blast application and an oscilloscope. Figure 3a illustrates
the transducer setting with cylinder which contained hydraulic oil 81.43 per cent of its volume.
Detonator is also shown to be attached at the top of the cylinder. Figures 3b and 3c are pictures of the
oscilloscope and the HKS-357(M) pressure transducer. After initiated the detonator inside cylinder,
borehole pressure presented with around 4.0V within 20 ms after initiating. Figure 4 shown denition
H-S YANG et al

(B)

(C)
(A)
FIG 3 - Hydraulic borehole pressure measurement sets.

Valtage ( 2.0V Per div)

7LPHPVSHUGLY

FIG 4 - Definition of the charicteristic of hydraulic borehole pressure wave.
of the characteristic of hydraulic borehole pressure wave. The oscilloscope are amplied electric signals
to 50 times and calibrate rate between voltage with pressure is 27.308 mV/KPSI. Therefore 4V is
calculated 20.20 MPa and borehole pressure may be damped by hydraulic oil and narrow entrance of
borehole.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Figure 5 show the results of the experiment. In Figure 5a, the specimen was cut by the hydraulic
borehole pressure which was generated with detonators as schemed perimeter holes cutting line.
Furthermore, Figure 5b shows that the hydraulic pressure is equally affected to the walls of the
blastholes.
Alterations of lling heights of hydraulic oil inside the cylinder can reproduce proper borehole
pressure on the wall of blastholes which may be adequate to simulate blastholes.
AN INNOVATIVE SCALED MODEL TO SIMULATE THE PERIMETER HOLE BLASTING IN TUNNEL
(A) (B)
FIG 5 - The specimen after shooting the detonators.
Since this simulation pertains to the perimeter holes which are very much decoupled, hence the
shock wave effect has been assumed to be negligible.
For future works, the borehole pressure generated by detonator and hydraulic oil should be
measured with more accurate method because shape of the wave form produced by hydraulic
borehole pressure as observed in Figure 4 resembles the realism but the value of pressure calculated
by the calibration of the transducer is not quite clear. Pressure may be damped by hydraulic oil and
narrow entrance of borehole.
REFERENCES
Hobbs, D W, 1965. Scaled model study of strata movement around roadways, Int J Rock Mech Min Sci,
5:237-251.
Jong-woo Kim, 2004. A study on the deformation behaviors around twin tunnels using scaled model tests,
Tunnel & Underground Space, 14(5):381-390.
Systematic Monitoring of Operation of Mining
Companies and Branches
Zharmenov1, S Galiev2, Lisenkov3 and S Zhumabekova4
ABSTRACT
One of the important directions of further increase of quality and efciency of control of mining
companies and branches is the creation of the operation and development monitoring systems of
such facilities. The main purpose of these systems is to provide managers with reliable and timely
information on the current state and typical tendencies of operation of the facilities under control.
However until the present time no scientic and methodical ground for system monitoring of the
mining companies and branches has been created. Therefore, the authors of the report have aimed to
assess the current situation with regard to the researches in this eld and to do analysis of the most
important aspects and ways of solution of the issue under consideration.
INTRODUCTION
In the scientic and technical literature there are already plenty of publications dedicated to the
issue of creation and operation of monitoring systems, which means for use on determine levels
of control governmental, branch, regional, subregional, corporate, local (production). According
to the subject elds there are systems of scientic and technical, production, social and economic,
environmental, nancial, seismic monitoring, labour safety monitoring, etc. According to the nature
of the problems solved, monitoring can be strategic, tactic and operative, according to the scale
macro-, meso- and micromonitoring, according to the frequency one time and repeated, etc. Such
a diversity of types of monitoring proves its versatility and multi-functionality and practicability of
its application in various spheres of human activity.
Especially important is the creation of monitoring systems of mining companies and branches
subject to the impact of multiple multidirectional random factors that signicantly complicate
effective control of these complex dynamic facilities actively interacting with natural and market
environment.
Real need in the creation of effective monitoring systems is especially manifested in the countries,
mining and processing minerals on a large scale. Signicant volumes of investments in the mining
production, its high capital and labour intensity, adverse environmental impacts compels specialists
to search for new opportunities to increase the quality of facilities control. One of such opportunities
is to turn to the system monitoring of these facilities.
NEW RESULTS TO BE DISCUSSED

Among the multitude of denitions of monitoring the shortest and at the same time quite
comprehensive is, in our opinion, the following one.
Monitoring is a specially organised constantly operating system of observation, collection,
accumulation, processing and analysis of information on the current and supposed state of the
controlled facility by means of identication and forecasting of typical tendencies of its development
in time and space.
1. General Director, National Center for Integrated Mineral Recycling of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan.
2. Director, Mining Institute after D A Kunaev, Kazakhstan. Email: igd_director@mail.ru
3. Head of the Chair, Kazakh National Technical University after K I Satpaev, 22 Satpaev Str, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan. Email: lisenkov45@mail.ru
4. Research Officer, Institute of Economy of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan. Email: salta_zh@mail.ru
A ZHARMENOV et al
The most important principles of monitoring are purposefulness, system, responsiveness, continuity,
frequency, representativeness, relevance, reliability, informativity, compatibility.
The ultimate goal of works in the eld of creation of scientic and methodical ground for solution
of the problem under consideration should be the development of the theoretical base of up-building
of the system of multi-level (system) monitoring of mineral resources and processes of minerals use
covering global, intergovernmental, governmental, regional, corporate, local production), project
and process levels of control, such as Galiyev, Lisenkov and humabekova (2009) showed, see Table 1.
Let us consider each of these levels separately.
Global level
For successful implementation of the known concept of sustainable development of humanity it is
necessary to create new planetary form of ownership of such objects of universal use as atmosphere
and minerals, plants and animal life, world ocean, space and achievements of the world science.
Many scientists and specialists reasonably think that only in the framework of this category of
ownership complicated problems of survival and development of human civilisation, can and should
be solved. Therefore, to solve global problems that all humanity faces at the current stage of its
development, it is necessary to create a planetary institutional infrastructure including the world
parliament and world government.
At the global level, the monitoring object must be global mineral resources and processes of its use.
The subject of global monitoring must be agency of global control of planetary mineral resources and
its executive agency centre for global monitoring of minerals.
Intergovernmental level
Unfortunately, the presence of contradictions between national and universal, civilisation interests
create irresistible barriers and makes it impossible to implement the idea of global monitoring
of mineral resources in the near future. Therefore, in current conditions it is more real to realise
the coordinated mutually benecial control of mineral resources at the international level in the
framework of already existing and future unions of countries interested in such control. To realise
such opportunity, the intergovernmental agencies of control of mineral resources of union countries
and international minerals monitoring centres must be created.
Governmental level
Besides, in each country mining mineral resources on a large scale, there should be governmental
systems of monitoring of minerals and processes of minerals use. In these systems, the monitoring
objects are mineral resources of the country and its processes, and the monitoring subject is the
government of a country developing and implementing scientically justied policy in the eld of
minerals use. Executive agency doing constant observation of operation of mining companies and
branches must be the Governmental Center for Minerals Monitoring.
It should be noted that in Kazakhstan, during the post soviet times, created a system of
governmental monitoring of minerals realising the control of its state with the purpose of rational
use of the governmental mineral reserves, timely identication of its changes, assessment, prevention
and elimination of negative processes. Goals and tasks of governmental monitoring of minerals,
content, structure and order of its realisation are determined in the Provision on the Governmental
Monitoring of Minerals of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1997) ratied by the decree of the cabinet
of ministers of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 27 January 1997, no 106. To save and process the
data of the governmental monitoring of minerals, including regular forecasts of minerals state,
the governmental information data bank on the state of minerals and its use and the automated
information system was created.
Since every country in order to ensure the national safety determines the list of branches of strategic
importance, relevant branch Centers of monitoring must be created for effective control of these
branches.
For instance, in Kazakhstan there is already the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 4 November
2003, no 490-II, On the State Monitoring of Property in the Branches of Economy of Strategic
SYSTEMATIC MONITORING OF OPERATION OF MINING COMPANIES AND BRANCHES
Importance (2003). According to the law, such branches include mining and processing of fuel and
energy mineral resources (coal, oil, gas, uranium) and metal ores, engineering, chemical industry,
transport and communication, production and distribution of electric energy as well as the defence
branches.
This list was greatly expanded by the later ratied Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 12.02.2009
(2009) N 131-4 On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On the
State Monitoring of Property (2009). However both laws do not specify which metal ores must be
referred to the strategic category.
The Decree of the Government of Republic of Kazakhstan No 1213 of 13.08.2009 (2009), on
Ratication of the List of Parts of Fields of Strategic Importance, determines that the objects of
strategic importance are not branches as in the laws mentioned above, but parts of elds in the limits
of which certain kinds of mineral resources are concentrated. Such unconformity is explained by
the fact that these, undoubtedly, important documents have been developed independently of each
other, in different time, by different departments and what is more important at the absence of the
uniform theoretical and standard base of the governmental control of objects of strategic importance
which still must be created.
In addition to the governmental monitoring systems of minerals and branches of strategic
importance, in Kazakhstan, in conformity with the Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan
(2007), the Uniform governmental monitoring system of environment and natural resources was
created and functions with the purpose of assessment, forecast and control of changes of its state
under the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors.
Thus, the legislative base and executive agencies have already been established in Kazakhstan that
do governmental monitoring of the countrys mineral resources, branches of strategic importance,
atmospheric air, land, surface and underground water, animal life and plants, climate and ozone
layer of the Earth, ecological systems and factors of environmental impact on the populations
health. In spite of this, it is still too early to talk about the full-scale solution of the problem of system
monitoring of mining companies and branches.
Regional level
System of regional monitoring intend for implementing of analyse and control for mineral resources
of country regions and processes of mineral resources use which take place here. Decision of these
tasks should be entrust to regional centres of monitoring, the aim of creation and functioning which
concluded in timely and full information ensuring of regional governance of mineral resources and
processes of mineral resources using.
Corporate and local (production) levels

The nature and content of indicators controlled with the monitoring system of corporate and local
level are determined by its end use, ie mission which is in continuous observation of the current
state of controlled object, detection and warning managers of signicant changes in its operation
and in the operation of its structural departments. To implement this mission, out of all multitude
of criteria characterising current and future state and results of operation of mining companies and
branches the following, most important, in our opinion, groups of assessment criteria of operation of
these objects have been determined which are the core and the subject of the monitoring
Provision of companies and branches with the mineral reserves
x integration of mineral development
x competitiveness of mining companies and branches
x efciency, innovation and environmental friendliness of operation of controlled objects and
x results of functioning and development of controlled objects.
The monitoring of provision of companies and branches with mineral reserves is needed to control
and regulate the supposed periods of completion of its operation.
The monitoring of integrity of mineral development will allow to assess and effectively control the
completeness and quality of industrial use of mineral elds.
A ZHARMENOV et al
The monitoring of competitiveness will create the basis for purposeful control of competitive
potential of companies and branches which implies the ability of these objects of sustainable
operation and development in the conditions of rigid competition at the markets of investments,
commodities, innovation and environmentally clean technologies, suppliers, etc.
Assessment of competitiveness of mining companies and branches at the world, regional and
domestic markets should be done on the basis of results of bench marketing research by means of
comparison of actual values of controlled indicators with their reference values.
Such reference values can be average world branch indicators, product quality standards, which
are applied as input restraining conditions for entering a certain market or indicators of existing
and (or) potential competitors. Selection of certain reference value depends on the companys policy
representing the branch. This can be either policy of expansion aimed at the market penetration or
the policy of retention and expansion of ones own niche at already mastered market.
One of indicators of current competitiveness of mining companies and branches can be a condition
of non-reduction of their incomes provided the observance of national and in future international
environmental standards. An indicator of their perspective (expected) competitiveness of the objects
under consideration can be their provision with competitive mineral reserves.
The monitoring of efciency, innovation and environmental friendliness of objects activity will
create the opportunity for balanced control of these important and closely interrelated characteristics
of operation of mining companies and branches.
To ensure effective control of these objects in competitive environment there must be subsystems
created of innovation monitoring related with the subsystems of monitoring of operative, nancial,
investment and nature conserving activity of the controlled objects. The purpose of these subsystems
is in the formation and maintenance of actual state of information and analytical databases and
knowledge ensuring the opportunity of acceptance and realisation of scientically justied innovative
solutions in production, environmental, managerial and social spheres.
Environmental factor is one of the main factors characterising the activity of mining industry in the
whole and of each company. Therefore, the obligatory unit of the monitoring systems of these objects
is the subsystems of environmental monitoring of the relevant level. Operation of these subsystems
contributes to the improvement of environmental safety of mining companies and branches and
their sustainable development.
To organise the monitoring, assessment and forecasting of operations results of mining companies
and branches, it is suggested to use the set of indicators characterising their socio-environmental
and economic state. This system includes the following blocks of indicators chosen from the system
of indicators recommended by the Commission of the European Union and Canadian initiative for
branches engaged in mining of minerals and metals production and export of products, price and
quality of products, resource-intensity of production labour productivity environmental safety of
production facilities and products nancial situation of controlled objects.
Project and process levels
At the lower levels of the proposed monitoring systems the objects of monitoring is projects and
processes of mineral resources use here the most detailed information will be formed characterising
the current and future results of operation of companies and branches developing the elds of mineral
resources. Availability of this information will ensure the opportunity of successful realisation of
projects and programs with the use of tools of project management and process control.
CONCLUSION
The countries involved in mining and processing of mineral resources in a large scale are already
creating the governmental and local monitoring system of operation of mining companies and
branches. In spite of this it is possible to say that it is a partial solution of the problem of system
monitoring of these objects.
The basic difference of the system monitoring from the non-system one is the conservation of
horizontal and vertical, direct and inverse connections, dynamic and static between all objects of
SYSTEMATIC MONITORING OF OPERATION OF MINING COMPANIES AND BRANCHES
the monitoring included in the controlled system and the timely provision of relevant, reliable,
information, representative and comparable information that adequately reect the condition of the
controlled objects to the monitoring subjects included in the controlled system. Such interpretation
of the monitoring to great extent complicates the up-building of the monitoring systems however,
it signicantly expands the opportunities of control and sharply increases its quality and efciency.
Unfortunately we have to admit that until now there was no generally accepted methodical base
of system monitoring of operation of mining companies and branches. Therefore it is necessary to
focus efforts of scientists and specialists on its quickest development and practical implementation.
TABLE 1
Multi-level monitoring system of operation of mining companies and branches.
No Levels of control Objects under Subjects of monitoring Executive agencies Goals of monitoring
monitoring
Agency of global control Center for global Data ware for control of
Planetary mineral
of planetary mineral monitoring of minerals global mineral resources
1 Global resources and processes of
resources and processes of and processes of minerals and processes of minerals
minerals use
minerals use use use
Data ware for coordinated
Intergovernmental agency International center for
Minerals of union countries control of mineral
for control of mineral monitoring of minerals
2 Intergovernmental and processes of minerals resources of union
resources and processes of and processes of minerals
use countries and processes of
minerals use use
minerals use
Data ware for
Governmental center for
governmental control of
Minerals of a country and monitoring of minerals
3 Governmental Government of a country mineral resources of union
processes of minerals use and processes of minerals
countries and processes of
use
minerals use
Data ware for
Centers for monitoring of
Branches of economy of governmental control of
-ii- Branch ministries branches of economy of
strategic importance branches of economy of
strategic importance
strategic importance
Atmospheric air, land,
surface and underground
water, animal life and Uniform governmental Data ware for
Ministry of environmental
plants, climate and system of monitoring of environmental control
-ii- protection and its
ozone layer of the Earth, environment and natural of operation of mining
territorial departments
ecological systems, factors resources companies and branches
of environmental impacts
on the populations health
Data ware for regional
control of mineral
Minerals of a country and Regional agencies of Regional monitoring
4 Regional resources of union
processes of minerals use control centers
countries and processes of
minerals use
Data ware for corporate
Corporation, its minerals
Corporations control Center for monitoring of control of corporations
5 Corporate and processes of minerals
agency the corporation activity mineral resources and
use
processes of minerals use
Data ware for local
(production) control
Company, its minerals and Service for monitoring of
6 Local (production) Companys control agency of companys mineral
processes of minerals use the companys activity
resources and processes of
minerals use
Data ware for control of
7 Project Projects of minerals use -ii- Project manager
projects of minerals use
Data ware for control of
8 Process Processes of minerals use -ii- Process manager
processes of minerals use
A ZHARMENOV et al
REFERENCES
De ree of the Government of the epubli of a akhstan No of , 2009. On
ratication of the list of parts of elds of strategic importance, 2 p.
nvironmental Code of the epubli of a akhstan, 2007. Book title 172 p (Almaty urist).
Galiev, S, Lisenkov, A and humabekova, S, 2009. Monitoring of mining companies and branches, in
Proceedings Science and Engineering Education ithout Limits, international forum, V 1, pp 357-359
(Almaty Kaz NTU after K I Satpaev).
rovision on the Governmental Monitoring of Minerals of the epubli of a akhstan, 1997.
Ratied by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 27.01.1997, No 106, 8 p.
The La of the epubli of a akhstan of , 2009. No 131-4 On amendments and additions
to the law of the republic of kazakhstan on the state monitoring of property, 11 p.
The La of the epubli of a akhstan of , 2003. No 490-II on the state monitoring of
property in the branches of economy of strategic importance, 3 p.
Role of Ore Preparation During Chrysotile
Manufacturing
K K Zhusupov1 and S Y Punenkov2
ABSTRACT
Principles of management in ore preparation before process of enrichment of chrysotile ores are
discussed. The formulas, which were tested in industrial conditions, are offered, which may be used
for averaging of chrysotile-asbestos bres by content in ore and grade.
INTRODUCTION
The mineral raw materials basis of JSC Kostanayskiye mineraly is Dzhetygara deposit of chrysotile-
asbestos. Depending on the morphology of veins of chrysotile-asbestos, ve types of asbestos-bearing
are dened:
1. zone of single veins,
2. complex veins,
3. small veins,
4. large and small net, and
5. punching.
All zones except punching have industrial signicance. The richest in the total content of asbestos are
the ores of complex veins, large net, and the average content of asbestos in them is 6.25 per cent and
5.8 per cent respectively. The relatively high sieve content belongs to the ores of the types of large net,
single veins, in a less degree complex veins. With this, the ores of single veins have the uneven and
quite low signicance of the total content of asbestos: from 0.67 per cent to 3.09 per cent. Small veins
and small net are quite poor in the total content of asbestos and especially in the sieve content. These
ores are also usually hard to enrich. Depending on the petrological composition of enclosing rocks, the
type of asbestos-bearing and the length of bre, eight types of ores occur in the deposit. These ores can
be classied into three groups in terms of enrichment difculty:
1. easy to enrich,
2. medium hard to enrich, and
3. hard to enrich.
The content of chrysotile-asbestos in the ore is determined in the laboratory on the rock test
samples taken from the original ore delivered to the concentrating complex. The ore was sieved
with 12.7 mm, 4.8 mm and 1.35 mm screens, and the asbestos content of +12.7 mm, -12.7 + 4.8 mm
and -4.8 + 1.35 mm fractions were determined.
As a result of processing of chrysotile-asbestos ores, depending on the length of bre, the tradable
chrysotile-asbestos of groups three to six is produced. Out of the products collected by dust-cleaning
devices the asbestos of group seven is produced.
The technological process and nal result of chrysotile-asbestos ores concentration depend on
stable and homogeneous qualitative features of ore. The efciency of a process of enrichment depends
on the content of chrysotile bre greater than 0.5 mm in the ore (characterised by general bre),
its fraction combination (two and three sieves of the control apparatus), the degree of enrichment
difculty, type of asbestos-bearing content and the ratio of locked and free bre.
1. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Kostanai Minerals, JSC, Kostanay Region, Zhitikara, Kazakhstan. Email: Zhusupov@km.kz
2. Chief Technologist, Kostanai Minerals, JSC, Kostanay Region, Zhitikara, Kazakhstan. Email: Punenkov@km.kz
K K ZHUSUPOV AND S Y PUNENKOV
During long years of the deposit exploitation, reserves of mineral raw material run thin, their
quality deteriorated. Asbestos ores, which are now involved in the process of enrichment, have low
content of valuable components, and are located in complex mining-and-geological and mining-and-
technical conditions. That is why the search of more effective decisions for mineral raw materials to
enrichment has become more signicant.
RESEARCH METHODS
Until not long ago, ore preparing in asbestos industry was quite simple and consisted in a set of
crushing, drying and classication operations. It did not touch upon the problems connected with
the degradation of raw materials quality, geological and mining-technical conditions. The task was
given to reach the optimal degree of liberation of minerals with the most optimal technological
indexes. This could be improved by the modernisation of equipment and improvement of crushing
circuits (Bastan and Voloshin, 1984; Belov, 1962; Revnivtsev, Azbel and Baranov, 1987). Experience
has shown that it was not enough, because small asbestos preparation plants may work efciently
when they had uniform feeds.
The Dzhetygara asbestos deposit is characterised by signicant variations of total content of
fractions +0.5 mm in ore and also asbestos content in fractions +4.8 mm and -4.8 mm + 1.35 mm.
The processing of asbestos ores with variable quality causes the failure of the enrichment technology,
deterioration of the quality of the nal product, the decreasing of the output and the increasing of
asbestos losses in the tailings. That is why a new system of ore preparation has been introduced at
the concentrating complex of JSC Kostanayskiye mineraly since 17 April 2006.
The offered system of ore preparing provides for a set of processes of primary ore processing with
a purpose of concentration of useful components for reaching maximal protable fullness of their
extraction.
Changing of indexes of ore quality in a process of its moving from bowels of the earth up to
preparation plant may be described as functional relationship, which is based on mineralogical
examination of the ore and geological mapping, and which is realised through a complex quality
control management (Zhusupov, Agubaev and Punenkov, 2005).
The averaging of asbestos ores quality is carried out in two stages:
1. the averaging of shift and daily indexes of ore quality at internal re-loading-averaging opencasts
storehouses; and
2. the averaging of shift indexes of quality of ore, which is transported to the process of ore enrichment
from storehouse of dry ore in a shop of ore preparing.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The instrument of managing ore ows is the regulation of the volumes of excavation from different
blocks of asbestos ores different in quality (types of ores, asbestos content and difculty of enrichment).
The blending of ores is carried out at internal reloading-averaging opencasts storehouses which
have special pit a trench with a length of 25 m and 3.5 m in depth driven on all length of storehouse.
The total height of ore stack is 7 m, the length 60 m. The storehouse is divided into two parts:
1. a part of ore stacking, and
2. blending and a part for ore shipment.
A non-working zone of 20 m is left between these two zones. The ore is dumped in the stacking
and blending zone in layers which is graded by a bulldozer. After forming the dump of the rst layer,
the following ones are dumped until the height of the stack reaches the required size. Once the nal
height is reached, ore loading and transportation can start from this stack while the other stack is
being lled.
The control of the quality of ore averaging is carried out in the process of trucks unloading by
front part of storehouse, which is formed. The operating conditions of ore shipment from excavators
faces to the reloading storehouse is given for every shift depending on the daily schedule of required
volume of averaged ore with due account of the results of ore analyses in the previous shift.
The unloading of dump trucks in the storage is carried out according to the quality of the ore coming
from different blocks (Figure 1).
ROLE OF ORE PREPARATION DURING CHRYSOTILE MANUFACTURING
Ore EKG General 2 Sieve 3
1 8,00 1,50 S 46,00
53 59 59 53 47 1 47 35 3,00 2,00 45,00

59 59 59 53 53 1 1
53 59 59 47 47 1 53 38 2,50 1,80 52,00
35 38 53 47 1 1 1
35 38 47 59 1 1 47 59 1,30 1,20 50,00
53 38 53 59 53 47 53
47 38 47 59 35 47 35 47 1,50 3,00 49,00
53 47 53 59 35 47 35
53 47 35 35 53 35 35 53 9,00 1,50 35,00
47 47 47 47 47 35 35
4,23 1,70 41,54
The Unloading of auto dump trucks BelAZ
FIG 1 - The principal scheme of unloading dump trucks at the formation of averaged ore stack inside mine stacking and blending area.
The averaging of dry ore by the quality of bre and its fractional combination, reaching the
equilibrium moisture in ore is carried out at the concentrating shop (storehouse of dry ore) by the
way of using of two zones of ore storing and calculation by formula, which was worked out at JSC
Kostanayskiye mineraly for chrysotile-asbestos ores averaging at the concentrating complex. The
process of averaging is carried out by the following way. The storehouse is divided into two equal
parts, and then every of these parts is divided into four subparts. After drying dry ore (fractional size
50 mm) has moisture content not more than 1.8 per cent. It comes to the mobile conveyor with the
unloading cart, with the help of which ore is equally unloaded in the storehouse of dry ore. Loading is
carried out at every part step-by-step 1, 2, 3 and 4 subparts and then 1, etc. with a help of a mobile
conveyor. Moving of the conveyor to the next subpart or part is carried out only after taking samples
for laboratory tests of ore quality. Unloading of ore is carried out in the same sequence but with time
lag from loading (Figure 2).
The delivery of ore to the concentrating shop of the concentrating complex is carried out from
different parts of the storehouse in accordance with calculations by worked out formula for reaching
Large ore Large ore

Small ore
FIG 2 - The scheme of unloading ore from the dry ore silo.
K K ZHUSUPOV AND S Y PUNENKOV
planned quantity of bre in ore. This formula has been developed on the basis of scientic research
works concerning averaging the quality of involved ores into concentration (Zhusupov et al, 2005).
During the period from 21 April 2006 to 18 September 2006, JSC Kostanayskiye mineraly carried
out industrial tests on trying the theoretical formula of averaging asbestos bre at the storehouse
of dry ore. The industrial tests showed that using calculations by the offered formula gives positive
results in the operative management of the quality of concentrated ore on the basis of its averaging
in the storehouse of dry ore. It stabilises the work of the concentrating complex, improves its
technological indexes, and increases the assortment and volume of sellable products by 7.8 per cent
(for the period from 21 April 2006 to 18 September 2006).
The total number of observations after introducing the given formula is approximately 130. These
industrial tests showed that offered formula may be used for calculations of planned quantity of the
bre of fractions +4.8 mm for producing of the tradable asbestos of three to four groups and for
averaging of total content of asbestos bre in fractures +0.5 mm and fractures -4.8 + 1.35 for planned
parameters.
The coefcient of correlation when the formula using in industrial conditions is 0.92. The absolute
deviations are not higher than 1.2 per cent, the relative deviations are not more than 1.8 per cent.
These data prove the reliability and minimal error when the formula using in industrial conditions.
The formula for ore batch in the dry ore silo is:
Mhigh = M ( pl base)/high - base; tons (1)
where:
M mass of stack before averaging, in tons
Mhigh mass of high-grade ore, in tons
Mbase mass of base ore, in tons
high, base the content of high-grade and base ore, in percentage
pl the planned content from the plan of working out the trade production, in percentage
With the purpose of even mining of the deposit more and complex using of mineral raw materials
hard for enrichment and bres extraction ores are now mined. In comparison with 2005, year mining
of the long-bre asbestos ores was decreased by 8.2 per cent (from large net and single veins) and
mining of short-bre asbestos ores was increased (from small net, punching). Mining of lizardite
ores (more fragile and with easily extracted bre) from northern part of the deposit was decreased by
18.4 per cent, and mining of southern chrysotile, chrysotile-lizardite with nemalite ores (with more
hard for extraction bre) was increased by 10.7 per cent.
The introduction of new system of ore preparing at JSC Kostanayskiye mineraly in 2006 has
allowed to control in time the process of ore preparing, to improve the technology of ore enrichment
and rationally using of asbestos bre (Zhusupov et al, 2006).
The coefcient of averaging at the ore entrance into the process of enrichment has reached 1.8,
and this signicantly improved the qualitative and economical indexes of the enterprise operating
in 2006.
So, processing of short-bre asbestos ores and ores from complex veins has increased by 7.7 per cent
and (53.3 per cent in total volume of ores mining), and it has allowed to involve into the sphere of
production hard for enrichment ores.
Operating costs per producing of one ton of chrysotile-asbestos of three to six groups has decreased
by 6.1 per cent.
The plan index of the production of asbestos of three to six groups has been fullled at 109.5 per cent.
The decreasing of fuel and energy costs for the producing asbestos of three to six groups has taken
place: specic consumption of energy for working out asbestos three to six groups per one ton of ore
was decreased by 5.7 per cent, the specic consumption of gas by 7.3 per cent.
The degree of bre extraction from ore into nal production has increased by 2.1 per cent.
ROLE OF ORE PREPARATION DURING CHRYSOTILE MANUFACTURING
The ore consuming for producing of one ton of tradable asbestos has decreased up to 15.91 tons in
comparison with planned 17.43 tons (91.3 per cent).
The output of asbestos of three to six groups per one hour of pure operation of the technological
section has increased up to 14.6 tons in comparison with planned 13.8 tons.
The losses of bre in tailings are lower than planned by 0.03 per cent.
Operating costs per one ton of asbestos of three to six groups is $108 in comparison with the
planned $112.
CONCLUSION
After the introduction of the system of ore preparing and the formula of calculation of the quality
of concentrates, which was deduced at JSC Kostanayskiye mineraly, the following results were
received in 2006:
x the production of commercial chrysoitle-asbestos of three to six groups has been increased by
17 682 tons (at the expense of the decreasing of variations of quality of ore, involving in a process
of enrichment);
x in comparison with indexes of 2005 using of easy to enrich ores has been decreased by
366 000 tons (eight per cent) and the quantity of difcult to enrich ores has been increased by
90 000 tons (2.7 per cent) from the southern and central parts of the Dzhetygara deposit;
x the volume of production has been decreased in comparison with 2005 by 134 000 tons; and
x the operation costs for the producing of asbestos of three to six groups at a stage of enrichment
have been decreased by 2.8 per cent.
REFERENCES
Bastan, P P and Voloshin, N N, 1984. The Averaging of Ores at the Mining Concentrating Enterprises
(ed: " Nedra), 280 p.
Belov, " , 1962. The efciency and methods of asbestos ores averaging, in Proceedings VNII Project
Asbestos, issue 2.
Revnivtsev, V I, Azbel, Y I, Baranov, Y G, 1987. The Preparing of Mineral Raw Materials for Enrichmen and
Processing (eds: V I Revnivtsev and " Nedra), 307 p.
Zhusupov, K K, Agubaev, T M, Punenkov, S Y, 2005. Quality management of asbestoses ores when enriching,
Mining Journal , 9(10):38-39.
Zhusupov, K K, Agubayev, # ", Punenkov, S Y and Abdrakhmanova, D K, 2005. #he technology of regulating
the quality of asbestos ores at the stage of ebrichment.
Zhusupov, K K, Agubayev, # ", Punenkov, S Ye, Abdrakhmanove, D K and Kobzhasov, K, 2006.
The economical efciency of the averaging of asbestos ores at the stage of enrichment, Mining journal of
Kazakhstan, 6:8-11 , (Almaty).
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REVIEWERS
We would like to thank the following people for their contribution towards
enhancing the quality of papers included in this volume:
Ernest Baafi Dinty Mather
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Marcus Brazil Rudrajit Mitra
Duncan Chalmers Cuthbert Musingwini
Emmanuel Chanda Micah Nehring
Tarrant Elkington Salih Ramazan
Dincer Erer Hyam Rubinstein
Kelly Fleetwood Jose Saavedra
Ben Groveland Serkan Saydam
Paul Hagan John Sturgul
Bruce Hebblewhite Roger Thompson
Andrew Jarosz Alan Thompson
Mehmet Kizil Erkan Topal
Peter Knights Michael Tuck
Mahinda Kuruppu Ernesto Villaescusa
Bob Leenders Venkata Vutukuri
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Name Tags
AUTHOR INDEX
A F
Adilkhanova, h A 567 Fleetwood, K G 165
Aghajani Bazzazi, A 303 Freeman, R 515
Ak akoca, H 411
G
Askari-Nasab, H 469
Galiev, S 737
Ataee, M 89
Galiyev, S h 481, 567
Ataei, M 637
Garcia, V C 695
B Gholinejad, A 637, 703

Baa, E 373, 525, 561 Gibson, G 525
Badiozamani, M M 469 Grobler, F 43
Ball, F 653 Groeneveld, B 55
Bangian, A H 89, 637, 703 Grossman, P 11
Bearman, R 33 Grosso, B 323
Bedward, D A 373 G le , M M 411
Bekmurzayev, B 689
Besa, B 209 H
Hall, B 333
Boyandinova, A A 481, 567
Hamanaka, A 719
Brazil, M 11
Hargrave, C 275
Bukeikhanov, D 689
Hekmat, A 487
C Hetzel, S 191
Campbell, M 317
Heugh, D 379
Chanda, E K 209, 653
Hillier, N 257
Ciccu, R 323
Hirata, A 591
Curi, A 225, 695
Hutchins, J 341
D
Dagdelen, K 3 J
Jain, S C 179, 581
Dentoni, V 419
Jang, H-D 731
Dunn, M T 275
Je, D K 591
Dunstan, J 653
E K
Eivazy, H 469 Kang, S S 591
Elevli, B 197, 411 Karimi, B 303
Elkington, T 43 Kataoka, M 599
Erarslan, K 197 Keane, S 121
Kim, D 591 O
Kim, W-B 731 Obara, 599
Kizil, M 141 OBrien, M D 533
Knights, P 141 OConnell, T 577
Koelsh, H R 729 Ogata, 453
Koyachi, N 293 O\ul, K 411
Kramadibrata, S 247 Osanloo, M 81, 303, 487
Kubota, S 453 Oya, J 247
Kuruppu, M 209, 599

P
Kusuma, G J 247 Parhizkar, A 89
Peng, S 155
L
Laowattanabandit, P 719 Piras, L 419
Law, S 355 Poderni, R 365, 729
Lee, D 11 Porter, I 561
Leenders, B 55 Pradhan, G K 669
Leinart, J B 69 Punenkov, S 743
Lisenkov, A 737
Q
Quaglio, O 225
M
Maier, H 653
R
Massacci, G 419 Rahmanpour, M 81
Mather, D 427 Rai, P 731
Matsui, K 233, 247, 399, 453, 623, 719 Ralston, J C 275
Mavroudis, F 267 Rao, V S 5
Meechumna, P 719 Rasouli, V 89
Melkoumian, N S 427 Rathore, S S 179, 581
Meyer, L D 499 Reid, D C 275
Milnes, P 427 Rubinstein, H 11
Milnes, T 427 Runge, I C 13
Moarefvand, P 89 Rupprecht, S M 547
Mumford, P 653 Ryde, J 257
Munro, S 33
S
Musingwini, C 129
Saavedra-Rosas, J 95
Sadri, A 81
N
Nehring, M 141 Sakai, 399
Nienhaus, K 191, 267 Sarata, S 293
Nikitin, O 515 Sasaoka, T 233, 247, 399, 453, 623, 719
Sato, 399 V
Sayadi, A 637 Vayenas, N 155
Schumacher, O L 69 Vidale, A L 533
Sergeev, V 365 Villaescusa, E 165
Shaw, C 653 von Horsten, G 369
Shimada, H 233, 247, 399, 453, 623, 719

W
Springbett, G M 533 Wahyudi, S 453
Srikanth, R 533 Warcholik, M 267
Stewart, A 427 Whittle, G 105
Sturgul, J R 577 Whittle, J 25
Sulistianto, B 247 Wormald, N 11
Wu, 155
T
Tabesh, M 469
Y
Takamoto, H 247, 719 ang, H-S 731
Tan, L 427 lmaz, 611
Thomas, D 11 u, Q 623
Thompson, R J 439
Z
Topal, E 55, 141
harmenov, A 737
Topal, 197, 411
humabekova, S 737
Tourek, J 23
huravlev, M 365
husupov, K K 481, 743
U
nl , T 611 ulkarnayev, 689

Topal, E. - Kuruppu, M. (Eds.) - Mine Planning and Equipment Selection - MPES 2010-The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (The AusIMM) (2010)

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Topal, E. - Kuruppu, M. (Eds.) - Mine Planning and Equipment Selection - MPES 2010-The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (The AusIMM) (2010)

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MINE PLANNING AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION

Edited by: E Topal and M Kuruppu

The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

All papers published in this volume were refereed prior to publication.

ISBN 978 1 921522 35 2

Desktop published by:

Compiled on CD ROM by:

Open Pit Production Scheduling Optimisation Why the Mining K Dagdelen 3

Steel and Iron Ore Scenario An Indian Perspective V S Rao 5

Optimisation Challenges in Underground Mine Planning and Design H Rubinstein, M Brazil, 11

Economics of Mine Planning and Equipment Selection I C Runge 13

More than Coal Mining J Tourek 23

The Next Challenge in Optimising Mining Operations J Whittle 25

Advances in Surface Mine Planning Design and Computer Application

Enterprise Optimisation G Whittle 105

Advances in Underground Mine Planning Design and Computer Application

Optimisation Improvements in Whittle Using Stope Optimisation S Keane 121

Drilling Blasting and Excavation Engineering

Role of Physico-Mechanical Properties in Cutting Performance of S C Jain and S S Rathore 179

Environmental Issues in Surface and Underground Mining

Simulation for Dependable Mining Automation N Hillier and J Ryde 257

Advances in Continuous Miner Automation J C Ralston, M T Dunn, 275

Optimum Equipment Management Through Life Cycle Costing B Hall 333

Software Tools for Open Pit Trucking Studies S Law 355

Mine Feasibility Case Studies

BATMIN Business Analysis Tools for Mining D Heugh 379

Mine Health, Safety and Environment

Shell be Right Mate Culture and Safety P Milnes, N S Melkoumian, 427

Operative Expert Estimation of Innovative Policy of Mining Enterprise S Zh Galiyev, 481

A New Effective Labour-Planning Model for Mines L D Meyer 499

Mining Methods and Planning

Mining System Monitoring and Simulation

Information and Methodical Base of Simulation Modelling of S Zh Galiyev, 567

Rock Mechanics, Geotechnical Applications and Mine Environment

Sustainable Development of Mining Resources

Energy Conservation in the Indian Mining Industry An Overview G K Pradhan 669

System Optimisation of Design and Scheduling of Open Mining B Bekmurzayev, 689

Systematic Monitoring of Operation of Mining Companies and Zharmenov, S Galiev, 737

Role of Ore Preparation During Chrysotile Manufacturing K K Zhusupov and 743

Author Index 749

Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010*

* First six months January - June.

Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

State 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009 2009 - 2010(P)

State Lumps Fines Total

Note: Data pertaining to the year 2009 - 2010 is not available.

1. FAusIMM, Founder, Runge Limited, Brisbane, Australia. Email: irunge@runge.com

MARGINAL COST YET AGAIN

Simple marginal cost example

FIG 1 - Average and marginal costs.

DECISIONS ON MINE INVESTMENTS

Two outcomes ow from the marginal revenue effect:

BAD GUYS IN A COMMODITY-CONSTRAINED WORLD

Mineral Reserves (1950) Production (1950 - 1980) Reserves (1980)

WHAT CAN NOW BE DONE

There are other radical changes but, in summary, we have

THE REAL CHALLENGE

IS YOUR CURRENT PLAN OPTIMAL?

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

Greenhouse gas element

DEVELOPMENTS IN IN-PIT CRUSHING AND CONVEYING EQUIPMENT

FIG 3 - Typical mobile sizer station (Sinclair Knight Merz, 2010).