Professional Documents
Culture Documents
surface
excavation machine (SEM), and shows their impact.
A detailed parameter study has been conducted into the feasibility of incorporating a built-in
loader in the T1255 Terrain Leveler
surface
excavation machines (SEM) and four portable crushers. Material from the crushers was
stockpiled using CAT 988 wheel loaders. This increase in mine production was all put in place
within months from the time the equipment order was placed.
Increase available ore
The safety zone for mines which use drilling and blasting mining methods can vary from 100 to
300 meters. In addition, existing conveyors, mine buildings and crushing equipment all can 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 non-issue.
Blasting operations can cause a fracture zone on the mine floor that extends well below the
surface. In many mines, the amount of material that can be mined from the floor is limited by
the location of the surrounding water table. Because of the negative consequences of punching
through the mine floor to the water table, often times four to six meters of mineable material is
left at the end of the drilling and blasting operations. The T1255 Terrain Leveler
SEM
operating in a limestone mine in Puerto Rico
Other applications 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 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
SEM
A photograph of the Vermeer T1255 Terrain
Leveler
SEM, which originally cut up (similar to the rock trenchers that Vermeer has been
manufacturing for over 40 years). Changing from bottom-up to top-down cutting improved the
production rate of the machine by up to 50%.
Realistic mining cost calculations
In order for precision mining to become a viable player
in the surface mining environment, precise calculations
of mining production and cost per ton must be available
for various types of rock with variable rock properties
and abrasiveness.
Vermeer rock mechanics lab
In an effort to obtain pertinent rock property
information, in early 2006 Vermeer established a state-
of-the-art rock mechanics laboratory at its factory in
Pella, Iowa, USA (Figure 7). Using computer
controlled equipment provided by Geotechnical
Consulting & Testing Services, Vermeer has tested rock
from all over the world to build up a database of rock
properties such as unconfined 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.
Field 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
Figure 7. Rock mechanics laboratory
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 8
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
rates and pick wear were exactly determined. This has enabled correlation of rock properties
with production rates and abrasivity costs.
Solutions calculator
A computer program has been developed called the Track solutions calculator. The calculator
section of the program (Figure 8) presents results in US and metric units, various world
currencies, and eight different languages.
Data from the rock lab and field demonstrations of capability have been built into this program
so that production rates and abrasivity can be estimated for various rock types. The program
recognizes six different rock hardness categories from <MOSTLY DIRT>to <VERY HARD
ROCK>and nine abrasivity categories from <NOT ABRASIVE>to <EXTREMELY
ABRASIVE>.
The program allows calculation of the total fixed and variable costs per hour of all Vermeer track
machines. These costs include ownership, maintenance and operating costs. As can be seen in
Figure 9, ownership costs are amortized over 30,000 hours. Maintenance costs include engine
rebuilds every 10,000 hours, hydrostatic system rebuilds every 5,000 hours, and wear item costs
per hour (chain, sprockets, gussets). Operating costs include tooth (pick) costs, fuel costs,
machine operator wages, and oil and filter costs per hour. These costs are maintained by the
Vermeer track service department, and correspond as closely as possible to actual costs,
TierIII
ns_
TRUE
11/09/2009
DEPTH OF CUT WIDTH OF CUT TRACTOR SPEED
(cm) (meters) (mtr/min) meters3/hr
(metric
tons/hr)
($/meters3) ($/metric ton)
30 3.7 2.8 190.3 495 $2.58 $0.99
30 3.7 4.1 271.8 707 $1.80 $0.69
30 3.7 4.9 326.2 848 $1.50 $0.58
$ 1,870,015 20,000 $93.50 /hr
MAINTENANCE COSTS
$ 41,280 10,000 $4.13 /hr
$ 178,560 5,300 $33.69 /hr
$135.25 /hr $135.25 /hr
$173.06 /hr
$100.00 /hr $0.14 ($/metric ton) $100.00 /hr
$0.66 120.0 $79.26 /hr
$35.00 /hr $35.00 /hr
$9.45 /hr $9.45 /hr
$223.71 /hr
ONE (1) USD = 1.0000 ($) ENGLISH
LIMESTONE
MOSTLY MEDIUM ROCK
(40-80 MPa)
U
S
A
,
D
O
L
L
A
R
S
TOTAL MAINTENANCE COST
1.0 to 2.0 -ABRASIVE
OPERATING COST
HYDROSTATIC SYSTEM REBUILD REBUILD HOURS
PERCENT
AVAILABILITY
100.0%
2600
DENSITY (kg/m3)
2.60
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
WEAR ITEMS (NO TEETH)
TOOTH COSTS
< INPUT CUSTOMER NAME >
CURRENCY CONVERSION
TOTAL OPERATING COST
USA, DOLLARS
OIL & FILTERS
FUEL COST PER LITER
MACHINE OPERATOR
FUEL USAGE (liters/hr)
OWNERSHIP COST:
HOURS
TRACK SOLUTIONS CALCULATOR
VERSION: 06012009
T1255 TERRAIN LEVELER SEM
ENGINE REBUILD REBUILD HOURS
PRODUCTION
PURCHASE PRICE
$ 490
Note: The costs and
production rates as
calculated by this solutions
calculator are only
estimates. The actual
amounts will vary based
upon your conditions,
maintenance, operator
experience, site preparation
and many other factors.
This is onl y a tool for
estimati ng. The actual
production rates and costs
will vary.
METRIC UNITS
PURCHASE
EXPLANATION OF
TERMS
CURRENCY
MAINTENANCE
ROCK TYPE
MACHINES
RETURN
MATERIAL
ABRASIVITY
LANGUAGE SAVE SCREEN
PRODUCTION COST
COMPARISONS
FINANCING COSTS
START HERE
Figure 8. Calculator section of Track solutions calculator
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 9
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
quantities, and replacement hours. All of the cells colored in yellow can be modified by the user
so that actual values currently in effect can be input. In this way the sensitivity of various
parameters on cost per ton can be investigated.
When a material type is chosen, the program calculates a range in possible production rates per
hour. Once this value is calculated, then cost per cubic meter or yard and cost per ton are
calculated using the total fixed and variable costs as described above. Because the range in rock
properties is quite broad, three different production rates are presented. The first and third values
bracket the low and high production rates, and the second value presents what can be expected
on average for that type of rock.
Choosing the abrasivity category will cause the tooth and abrasivity values to be calculated.
It is important to understand that the production and abrasivity values are estimates based upon
laboratory and field demonstrations of capability. The actual values will be different from those
predicted based upon site conditions, maintenance, operator efficiency and many other factors.
The program is only a tool for estimating.
If the cost per ton predictions as presented for one machine by the Solutions Calculator are
competitive with other mining methods, then multiple machines can produce desired production
rates at the same cost per ton.
Loading considerations
In order for continuous surface mining to be a viable mining alternative, the integration of the
new mining method into the total mining, loading, and hauling process also needs to be
investigated. Of particular interest is how the cut product should be loaded onto the hauling
trucks for transport to stockpile locations.
Because of the number of variables involved, a loading comparisons computer program was
developed. The program uses surface miner production and cost information from the track
solutions calculator program, and computes the number of surface miners, loaders and haulers
needed, the total annual costs, and cost per ton for each operation. Input variables include annual
production requirements, surface miner production rate, truck size, loader size and type, haul
distance, shifts, hours, days and weeks of operation, operator labor rate and machine availability
percentages. The total fixed and variable costs for each of the loading and hauling machines
include the cost of ownership, maintenance, and operation in the same manner as for the surface
miner. Idle time and costs are taken into account.
This section uses input from the calculator section of the program for the mining production rates
and costs per ton. The program has an optimization feature which varies the mining hours to
minimize the idle time of the surface miner, and the loading and hauling hours to reduce the
loading and hauling costs to the minimum combined values.
Four different loading techniques are investigated for the Vermeer Terrain Leveler
SEM: 1)
Surface miner with a built-in loader; 2) Surface miner with a separate wheel loader; 3) Surface
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 10
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
miner with a separate scraper loader; and 4) Surface miner with a separate Vermeer concept
loader. The output summary screen is shown in Figure 9.
An important fact to realize is that the mining/loading/hauling times are equal for the surface
miner with a built-in loader. When you are not mining, you are not loading or hauling, and vice
versa. An immediately apparent effect of this coupling is that the mining efficiency of a miner
with a built-in loader is dependent upon the amount of time necessary to change trucks. The
miner has to stop mining when a truck is fully loaded. The fully loaded truck needs to be
replaced with an empty truck, and then the miner has to start mining again. This time delay can
be anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes depending upon the availability of an empty
truck. The overall consequence of this coupling over the course of a day is to reduce the
effective mining production rate of the miner by a factor of the time delay times the number of
truck loads per day.
In addition to the truck-changing delay, mining with a built-in loader limits the loading rate to
that of the effective mining rate. In mostly medium rock, the wheel loader can load a truck much
faster than the miner with a built-in loader can mine and load. This means that a truck is tied up
longer getting loaded with a built-in loader than in the case for a separate loader. A longer
loading time will either cause an increase in the number of trucks necessary, or an increase in the
mining/loading time. This results in an increase in the loading/hauling costs per ton.
Figure 9. Loading comparisons computer program
Loader 2500
TRUE
/hr
13-METER
(CAT 992)
LOADER
2500
16 METER
17 2 $1.68 $ 8,382,102 14 2 $1.25 $ 6,260,154 14 2 $1.25 $ 6,260,154 14 2 $1.25 $ 6,260,154
COSTS INCLUDED WITH MINING 20 1 $0.22 $ 1,123,656 19 1 $0.19 $ 952,520 COSTS INCLUDED WITH HAULING
17 6 $1.09 $ 5,425,863 20 3 $0.76 $ 3,785,038 19 3 $0.75 $ 3,737,245 17 6 $1.44 $ 7,224,682
8 $2.76 $ 13,807,965 6 $2.23 $ 11,168,847 6 $2.19 $ 10,949,919 8 $2.70 $ 13,484,835
$0.53 $ 2,639,117 $0.57 $ 2,858,046 $0.06 $ 323,129
24% 24% 26% 26% 2% 2%
Note: The costs and production rates, as calculated by this solutions calculator, are only estimates. The actual amounts will vary based upon your
conditions, maintenance, operator experience, site preparation and many other factors. This is only a tool for estimating. The actual production rates and
costs will vary.
T1255 TERRAIN
LEVELER SEM with
BUILT-IN LOADER
YEARLY
COSTS
HRS/
DAY
#
MACH
COST
PER TON
#
MACH
HRS/
DAY
VERMEER LOADER
YEARLY
PRODUCTION
(metric
tons/hr)
(metric
tons)
5,000,000
690
(2) COMPARISON
TOTALS
YEARLY
COSTS
COST
PER TON
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 2.6
COST
PER TON
HRS/
DAY
YEARLY
COSTS
COST
PER TON
WHEEL LOADER
#
MACH
REGULAR HOURS
LABOR RATE
(2)
1.0 to 2.0 -ABRASIVE MOSTLY MEDIUM ROCK (40-80 MPa)
SCRAPER
YEARLY
COSTS
HRS/
DAY
#
MACH
NUMBER SHIFTS
LIMESTONE MINE
100 TON
10
DAYS/WEEK
WEEKS/YEAR
7
52
$35.00
OPERATORS
WORKING
INSTANTANEOUS
PRODUCTION RATE
LOADING COMPARISONS - MINING
HAUL
DISTANCE
(km)
2
4.00
AUSTRALIA, DOLLARS - METRIC UNITS
LABOR
DISTRIBUTION
ADJUSTMENTS
MINING
LOADING
HAULING
SAVE SCREEN
EXPLANATION OF
TERMS
RETURN
OPTIMIZE ON
OPERATORS
CHOOSE
LOAD DIRECT TO TRUCK
CHOOSE CHOOSE
TRUCK SIZE
WHOLE SHIFT
MACHINE
AVAILABILITY
BREAKEVEN DISTANCE
MINING PLAN
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 11
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
With a separate loader, the mining time is independent of the loading and hauling time, so both
can be optimized separately.
Finally, it takes a certain amount of the available horsepower to gather and load the cut material
for a miner with a built-in loader. For purposes of the parameter study below, this was set to 40
percent.
Efficient material handling procedures
A parameter study capability was built into the loading comparisons program so that the effect of
variables such as haul distances and miner production rates could be studied. Of particular
interest to Vermeer was to determine the most cost effective method of loading and hauling the
cut material to the final processing location.
Haul distance
The effect of varying hauling distance from the mine face to the stockpile of a limestone mine
Figure 10. Haul distance parameter study results
TRUE TRUE TRUE FALSE
SHIFTS
HOURS/
DAY
DAYS/
WEEK
WEEKS/
YEAR
2 10 7 50
MINER TRUCK
WHEEL
LOADER
SCRAPER
80% 90% 85% 80%
10.00%
1.0000 America,
WHEEL LOADER
LOADING POWER
One (1) USD =
SCRAPER
LABOR RATE ?35.00
9-METER (CAT 988)
MACHINE AVAILABILITY
SPECIFIC GRAVITY:
100 TON
2.4 LIMESTONE
VARIABLE
24 METER
MOSTLY MEDIUM ROCK (40-80 MPa)
PLOT PARAMETERS
ANNUAL MINE
PRODUCTION (tons)
4,000,000
TRUCK SIZE
PRODUCTION RATE (tph)
HAUL DISTANCE (km)
800
EFFECT OF HAUL DISTANCE ON TOTAL COST PER TON
$0.00
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
0 1 1 2 3 4 5
HAULDISTANCE(km)
C
O
S
T
P
E
R
T
O
N
MINER WITH BUILT-IN
LOADER
MINER WITH WHEEL
LOADER
MINER WITH
SCRAPER LOADER
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 12
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
from 0.25 to 5km is shown in Figure 10. The set of bar graphs shows the cost per ton variation
for the different loader types.
From the bar graphs, it can be seen that the cost per ton for all loading/hauling methods increases
with increasing haul distance. In addition, it can be seen that the cost per ton for both of the
miners with separate loaders is well below that of the miner with a built-in loader for all haul
distances shown.
In comparing the performance of the wheel loader vs. the scraper loader, it can be seen that the
scraper loader becomes less efficient as the haul distance increases. This relationship is the
result of the increasing number of scrapers necessary for loading and hauling as haul distance is
increased much beyond a kilometer. When this increase in cost per ton is combined with the
necessity of the scraper to run over the cut material during the loading process, it would appear
as though loading with a scraper loader is only viable for a limited number of cases. For this
reason only the miner with a built-in loader and the miner with a wheel loader are studied further
in this paper.
The parameter study has been carried out for all sizes of trucks, wheel loaders, scrapers, and haul
distances with similar conclusions.
Size of mine
Figure 11 shows the results of increasing mine production from 2 to 14 million tons per year.
Since the total cost of all equipment (ownership, maintenance, and operating costs) is used to
determine the cost per ton, increasing mine production does not result in a dramatic change in
the cost per ton.
The top graph shows a slight increase in cost per ton of the miner with a built-in loader as the
mine production increases. This is caused by the coupling effect between mining, hauling and
loading which prevents individual optimization of the process. This coupling effect is more
dramatically revealed when looking at the bottom set of graphs. For each case, the number of
continuous miners with built-in loaders is considerably greater than that when a separate loader
is used, or the loading hours per day is considerably greater or both.
The trend in cost per ton for a miner using a wheel loader decreases slightly as the mine size
increases. The reason for this is included in the bottom set of bar graphs and curves showing the
effect of mine production on number of miners. The loading hours per day (right hand scale) is
shown to be fairly independent of mine production, even though the number of miners is
increasing.
One important conclusion that can be reached from this parameter study is that the solution to
increasing mine production is increasing the number of surface miners. When the mining is
decoupled from the loading, the cost per ton actually decreases with larger mines. Using
multiple numbers of smaller continuous surface miners provides great flexibility in mine
planning, and also improves overall mine output through increased redundancy of equipment.
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 13
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Production rate
One of the coupling
factors for a miner
with a built-in
loader is that the
loading rate is the
same as the
production rate. It
would seem as
though there would
be a point where
increasing
continuous surface
miner production
rates could
overcome the
coupling effect. If
so, this point could
be where the surface
miner production
capacity reached or
exceeded that of a
wheel loader. In
practice, this could
be the case from
mining in soft
material such as
coal compared to
mining in harder
and harder
limestone. The
results of a
parameter study
where the
continuous surface
miner production rate varies from 800 to 1800 tons per hour is shown in Figure 12.
The total cost per ton for both loading cases generally decreases with increasing mine
production. In addition, the difference between the cost per ton for each loading configuration
decreases as the miner production increases. But 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.
Figure 11. Mine size parameter study results
Parameter FALSE TRUE FALSE FALSE
TRUE TRUE TRUE FALSE
SHIFTS
HOURS/
DAY
DAYS/
WEEK
WEEKS/
YEAR
2 10 7 50
MINER TRUCK
WHEEL
LOADER
SCRAPER
85% 95% 90% 85%
40.00%
1.0000
WHEEL LOADER
LOADING POWER
One (1) USD =
SCRAPER
LABOR RATE $35.00
9-METER (CAT 988)
MACHINE AVAILABILITY
SPECIFIC GRAVITY:
100 TON
2.4 LIMESTONE
America, Dollars
2.00
24 METER
MOSTLY MEDIUM ROCK (40-80 MPa)
PLOT PARAMETERS
ANNUAL MINE
PRODUCTION (tons)
VARIABLE
TRUCK SIZE
PRODUCTION RATE (tph)
HAUL DISTANCE (km)
800
EFFECT OF MINE PRODUCTION ON TOTAL COST PER TON
$0.00
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
ANNUALPRODUCTION(millionsoftone)
C
O
S
T
P
E
R
T
O
N
MINER WITH BUILT-IN
LOADER
MINER WITH WHEEL
LOADER
EFFECT OF MINE PRODUCTION ON NUMBER OF MINERS
0
2
4
6
8
2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0
ANNUAL PRODUCTION (millions of tons)
N
U
M
B
E
R
O
F
M
I
N
E
R
S
0
5
10
15
20
25
L
O
A
D
I
N
G
H
O
U
R
S
P
E
R
D
A
Y
MINER WITH BUILT-IN LOADER MINER WITH WHEEL LOADER
MINER WITH BUILT-IN LOADER MINER WITH WHEEL LOADER
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 14
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
The reason for this is the second coupling effect of mining with a built-in loader - which is 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
investigated.
Efficient mining methodology
This paper has addressed the concept of decoupling the mining from the loading and hauling
processes. The next step is to address how the mining, loading, and hauling should be interfaced.
Two different configurations are presented below:
Mining, loading, and hauling in three sections
This scenario would set up three different sections, one for mining, one for loading and hauling,
and one for sampling. The area of each section would be defined as that area able to be mined in
one shift or work day by the surface miner. This configuration would minimize interference of
the mining and loading/hauling processes. The methodology can use one or more surface miners
per pit depending upon the area available. The copper mine in Africa shown in Figure 2 utilizes
this configuration. Figure 13 shows a possible layout of three section mining with one wheel
loader servicing two continuous miners.
Mining, loading and hauling in two sections
Where sampling of the cut material is not required, then only mining and loading/hauling
sections need to be established. The area of each section is defined above as that area able to be
mined in one shift or work day by the surface miner. This mine setup is one used in an iron ore
mine in Western Australia. Figure 14 shows a possible two-section mining configuration with
one loader servicing one continuous miner.
Figure 12. Production rate parameter study results
EFFECT OF PRODUCTION RATE ON TOTAL COST PER TON
$0.00
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
800 900 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
MINERPRODUCTIONRATE(tph)
C
O
S
T
P
E
R
T
O
N
MINER WITH BUILT-IN
LOADER
MINER WITH WHEEL
LOADER
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 15
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Mining, loading and hauling in the same section
This configuration shown in Figure 15 can be used in situations where the cut material would
permanently coalesce in the presence of moisture. The continuous surface miner would always
be two rows ahead of the loading and hauling operations. So in the event of a downpour, the
amount of cut ore adversely effected by the moisture would be limited to acceptable quantities.
This method would allow decoupling of the mining and loading/hauling operations in that the
Figure 13. Two miners and one loader in three sections in same pit
Figure 14. One miner and one loader in two sections in same pit
CONTINUOUS SURFACE MINING THE CRUSHING ALTERNATIVE
Page 16
2009 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
mining could continue without the loading and hauling operations, but stoppage of the mining
operations would eventually stop loading and hauling in the long run. The gypsum mine shown
in Figure 1 uses this configuration.
Laser/GPS control
The T1255 Terrain Leveler