Rock excavation by continuous surface miner in limestone quarry

Abstract

This recent study reports an investigation on the effectiveness of the cutting performance models applied to the Surface Miner Wirtgen 2200-SM operation in a limestone quarry, Palimanan, Cirebon, Indonesia. The cutting models applied in this investigation are those proposed by [Gehring, K. H. 1989. Bestimmung von Schneidleistung und Meibelverbauch. Working paper of the Voest Alpine Ges.m.b.H.Zeltweg, Austria and Gehring, K. H. 1992. Evaluation of cutting performance for Voest Alpine Surface Miner (Voest Alpine Internal Report BBV, 1992-08-04)], [Kramadibrata, S. 1996. The influence of rock mass and intact rock properties on the design of surface mines with particular reference to the excavatability of rock (PhD thesis), Curtin University of Technology School of Civil Engineering] and [Dey, K., & Ghose, A. K. (2008). Predicting “cuttability” with surface miners – A rockmass classification approach. Journal of Mines, Metals and Fuels, 56]. The prediction results from Gehring's model are always found higher than that of data observed, with deviation ranges from 0 to 30%. The prediction results from Kramadibrata's model are always found lower than that of data observed, with deviation ranges from − 2% to − 23%. The prediction result from Dey & Ghose for each block in Palimanan varies from lower to higher than that of data observed, with deviation ranges from − 9% to 21%. The recent study indicates that Gehring and Kramadibrata models reveal the same trend for all blocks. The application of Dey & Ghose model requires quite accurate measured parameters.