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Abstract
The open pit mining load and haul system has been a mainstay of the mining industry for many years. While machines have increased in size and scale and automation has become an important development, there have been few innovations to the actual load and haul process itself in recent times. This research highlights some of the potential productivity and safety benefits that the incorporation of a surge loader may bring to the load and haul system through an analysis of the system, discussion of component characteristics, and mine planning aspects. The incorporation of the surge loader into open pit loading and haulage operations also enables improved safety. This is a result of a reduction in shovel–truck interactions and the reduced likelihood of truck overfilling and uneven loading. This paper details the number of mine worker deaths that a surge loader may have prevented within the Peruvian and Chilean mining industries.
Highlights
The open pit mining value chain is comprised of initial prospecting and exploration, resource modelling and mine planning, mine production including drilling and blasting followed by loading and hauling, comminution to liberate and separate the valuable mineral, followed by further refining, and transportation to market [5]
To accompany the shovel under normal bench operating conditions [21]. This is a great advantage when compared to other loading and transport systems used in open pit mining with limited mobility and autonomy, such as In-pit Crusher and Conveyor (IPCC) systems [24]
The main aspect of the surge loader that would avoid most of these accidents is its feeding system. This prevents the overfilling of trucks, which, as can be seen from the data recorded in Peru and Chile, is one of the leading reasons for fatal accidents in the loading and haulage stage. Adding equipment such as the surge loader to the Shovel-Truck system allows for significant improvement in the production cycle of the loading and hauling stage in open pit mines
Summary
The minerals industry is required to process increasingly lower grade ores [1] in order to meet an insatiable demand for raw materials that is being driven by the general advancement of humanity, and in particular, the global transition toward cleaner forms of energy and its respective storage and transmission. The current Shovel-Truck (ST) system presents numerous advantages, over inflexible conveyor-based continuous mining systems, it is costly and becomes more cost as the operation matures. For this reason, it is vital for the future of open pit operations to find ways to improve the Shovel-Truck system. This paper presents a detailed discussion into the potential productivity and safety benefits that the introduction of a surge loader into the open pit loading and haulage system may present. This is the first of a series of papers that the authors envisage will delve in-depth into the technical aspects of the use of a surge loader
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