Resumo

OTTO, T.J.  e  LINDEQUE, G.C.. Improving productivity at an open-pit mine through enhanced short-term mine planning. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. [online]. 2021, vol.121, n.11, pp.589-598. ISSN 2411-9717.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2411-9717/1710/2021.

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.

Palavras-chave : open-pit mining; productivity; heavy mining equipment; short-term mine planning.

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