Optimizing underground mining transport in Sweden with three vehicles capacity alternatives: A discrete-event simulation based approach
Mathieu Gosselin, Gosselin Mining
An underground mining operation can be interpreted as a hauling system where material is moved ahead from one activity to another. The primary activities consist of: loading the materials from one or multiple sources (mining production areas), hauling the materials to one or multiple destinations (waste dumps, stockpiles or crusher) using one or multiple transportation systems interconnected by various materials handling methods. The size of the mining mobile equipment is a crucial factor to consider when analyzing the most suitable haulage system. This paper presents the haulage system of an underground mining project in Sweden which assumed a fleet of Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) scooptram equipment’s and three vehicles capacity alternatives used to haul fragmented rock material. The following three truck alternatives were examined using ExtendSim simulation software: (i) Base Case: Scania 40 tonne vehicle; (ii) Alternative A: Scania 50 t vehicle; and (iii) Alternative B: Sandvik 60 t underground vehicle.
Mots Clés:
Underground mining transport alternatives, Underground transport vehicles fleet, Mine vehicles capacity alternatives, Discrete-event simulations, Optimizing mine transport
