Abstract
Productivity is improved by increasing the ratio of output to input. In an operating open-pit mine, improving the productivity of heavy mining equipment (HME) enables the unit cost of production to be reduced. To optimize HME productivity, the Kolomela open-pit iron ore mine transitioned to an enhanced short-term mine planning (STMP) process that supports the application of a manufacturing-type operating model. At the core of the enhanced STMP process is a focus on integration across the open-pit mining value chain. The interdependencies between mining activities are highlighted and emphasized, thus ensuring that mining activities are synchronized. The improvements related to HME productivity were monitored from 2019 to 2020. The utilization of mining area in the Leeuwfontein pit improved from 71% to 90%, and the blasting frequency reduced by 14% while the average blast size increased by 17%. The distance travelled during shovel relocations between mining phases reduced by 16%, and the lost time associated with drills relocating reduced by 53%. These productivity improvements resulted in an 11% increase in the loading rate of the main waste shovel at Kolomela from 0.9 Mt/month in 2019 to 1.0 Mt/month in 2020. The enhanced STMP process can be adapted to other open-pit mining operations.
Highlights
One of the major objectives of mining companies is to minimize the unit cost of production at their operations. Lumley and McKee (2014) indicated that mining companies adopt one of two operational strategies to achieve this goal
This paper explores how a well-developed short-term mine planning (STMP) process supports the implementation of operational excellence programmes at open-pit mines
Mining companies implementing cost reduction strategies have found that improving heavy mining equipment (HME) productivity leads to a reduction in the unit cost of open-pit mining operations
Summary
One of the major objectives of mining companies is to minimize the unit cost of production at their operations. Lumley and McKee (2014) indicated that mining companies adopt one of two operational strategies to achieve this goal. One of the major objectives of mining companies is to minimize the unit cost of production at their operations. Lumley and McKee (2014) indicated that mining companies adopt one of two operational strategies to achieve this goal. In this paper the productivity indicator adopted is the output per unit capital equipment, i.e., heavy mining equipment (HME) productivity. For the management of an operating open-pit mine, improving the productivity of the mining equipment is a major enabler for executing a cost reduction strategy. Lumley and McKee (2014) argued that for productivity improvements to be realized, open-pit mining operations need to pay attention to the efficiency of their HME fleets. The HME fleets represent a major capital investment and typically consist of rope and/or hydraulic shovels, front end loaders, haul trucks, blast-hole drills, and ancillary equipment. The aim of productivity improvements at many open-pit mining operations is to maximize the tons mined by the existing mining equipment fleet over a certain period in a safe and sustainable manner, while effectively executing the underlying mine plan. ’This means digging and hauling more dirt with each shovel and truck’ (Lala et al, 2016, p. 7)
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