Abstract
The ore quality at mining faces in the KGHM underground copper ore mines can be determined based on channel samples and block models built in the Datamine system. Unfortunately, even very accurate information regarding the quality of deposits at mining faces does not translate into the possibility of predicting the composition of feed to enrichment plants. The mixed ore from mining faces is cyclically loaded by trucks onto belt conveyors, which in turn convey it to shafts. When transported on the conveyors, mixed ore portions from many loading points form a divisional stream, which then goes to the main haulage conveyors where ore streams from various divisions are combined. The way of filling the bunkers, as well as ore flow temporary stoppages, changes the sequence of ore mixing and its arrival, which hinders the ability to track its quality. In the current study, radio-frequency identification (RFID) was proposed for tracking ore composition. A complementary method of ore quality prediction comes from simulating the tagged ore flow within the FlexSim software package. The discrete element method (DEM) of simulations, verified by experiments with RFID tags, can determine the ore flow through bunkers. Forecasts of ore feed composition for the next shift can be prepared with actual plans of mining division operations, the filling level of bunkers and the work plan of the transport system.
Highlights
The activities of the Poland-based mining enterprise KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. cover the full value creation chain
The model was parameterized with the mined orebody data, mining schedules, the operational time of vehicles supplying the ore from mining fields, the velocities of the systemÕs parts, and discretized flow times of ore batches and radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags in the shaft ore bunker
After focusing on building the geologically proper structural orebody model and validated grade interpolation, more sophisticated orebody parameters were successfully modeled. All of these models relate to the in situ material, while investigations of raw material processing deal with the parameters of ore batches supplied to an ore enrichment plant
Summary
The activities of the Poland-based mining enterprise KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. cover the full value creation chain. In the first half of 2018, it produced 205 thousand Mg of copper in concentrate, 640 Mg of silver in concentrate, 478 Mg of metallic silver, as Nowadays, the management staff of the KGHM bases their control over the ore production on different unconnected sources. Data regarding lithology and ore grade at each mining block were stored in an online database called MOPRONA. Due to the dynamic situation in the mine, which involves the introduction of ore from sources with different lithologies, as well as its mixing in the pass-through bunkers and during its transport on the conveyors, qualitative information on the product is
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