In the early stage of front-end studies of a Mining Project, the global availability (i.e. number of hours a plant is available for production) and production (number of hours a plant is actually operated with material) time of the process plant are normally assumed based on the experience of the study team. Understanding and defining the availability hours at the early stages of the project are important for the future stages of the project, as drastic changes in work hours will impact the economics of the project at that stage. An innovative high-level dynamic modeling approach has been developed to assist in the rapid evaluation of assumptions made by the study team. This model incorporates systems or equipment that are commonly used in mining projects from mine to product stockyard discharge after the processing plant. It includes subsystems that will simulate all the component handling, and major process plant systems required for a mining project. The output data provided by this high-level dynamic simulation approach will enhance the confidence level of engineering carried out during the early stage of the project. This study discusses the capabilities of the approach, and a test case compared with standard techniques used in mining project front-end studies.
This work adds the Activity-Based Costing Approach in mining operations with a product mix. After analyzing and collecting data from an aggregate mine located in Brazil, a cost model was built, and from that, a cost management and analysis methodology of a mine in operation is created. This work has the innovation advantages of using ABC as a tool for planning the operation of the mine, identifying the more profitable products. At the end, it is concluded that the creation of a cost model to be used in the operation of mining is a rewarding investment as it shows the profitable and unprofitable products.
The use of dynamic simulation is technically advantageous for the project as shown by various authors. However, is it economically advantageous in the early stages of the project (FEL1 and FEL2)? The methodology to economically evaluate the use of dynamic simulation considers the time and development cost compared with the time and cost spent to change the project in the next phase, considering changes that could be avoided with the use of dynamic simulation. Five process plant projects were evaluated, each one with an estimated CAPEX of US$ 300 million. The saved average is US$ 44,200.00 and US$ 182,400.00 for FEL 1 and FEL 2 respectively. The percentage cost savings for FEL2 (2.0%) and FEL3 (3.1%) are significant. The estimated delay avoided for FEL2 (3 weeks) and FEL3 (8 weeks) is directly related to the implementation delay, whose cost is expressively greater than the savings shown. The study concludes that the use of dynamic simulation is economically advantageous for the project.
Small and medium-sized mining represent an important part of a country's mineral economy. These companies, although substantial and numerous, have low investment potential in their development through new technologies. One of the problems small and medium mining companies face is the ore hauling production monitoring. This operation alone can constitute as much as 60% of the mining operating cost, due to intense fuel and tires consumption, and represents more than a half of the greenhouse gas emission in a quarry. Aiming at this problem, this article purposes to answer the following question: Is it possible to monitor the production of the ore hauling in small mining with a low-cost system? The results showed that yes, it is possible, using off-the-shelf solutions, regular office software and low use of labor. The results were validated in a quarry located in the State of São Paulo, where a US$ 490 system presented consistent results, improvements in fuel consumption and benefits to the environment.
This work presents two innovative ways to evaluate mining projects. The first is the Activity-Based Costing Approach in mining operations with a product mix. After analyzing and collecting data from an aggregate mine located in Brazil, a cost model was built, and from that, a cost management and analysis methodology of a mine is created. This work has the innovation advantages of using ABC as a tool for planning the operation of the mine, identifying the more profitable products. The second is the use of dynamic simulation in the early stage of Front End Loading (FEL) studies of a Mining Project. In the early stages the global availability (Number of hours a plant is available for production) and production (Number of hours a plant is actually operated with material) time of the process plant are normally assumed based on the experience of the study team. Understanding and defining the hours available at the early stages of the project are important for the future stages of the project, as drastic changes in work hours will impact the economics of the project at that stage. An innovative high-level dynamic modeling approach has been developed to assist in a fast evaluation of assumptions made by the study team. This model incorporates systems or equipment commonly used in mining projects from mine to product stockyard discharge after the process plant. This model includes subsystems that will simulate all the handling components, major processing plant systems required for a mining project. The output data provided by this high-level dynamic simulation approach will enhance the confidence level of engineering carried out during the early stage of the project. This work discusses the technical and economic advantages in using this approach and five test cases comparing with the standard techniques used in mining project FEL studies. At the end, it is concluded that the creation of a cost model to be applied in mining operations is a rewarding investment as it shows the profitable and unprofitable products, and that the use of dynamic simulation in the early stages is technically and economically advantageous.
In the early stage of front end studies of an Iron Ore Project, the sizing of surge capacities and stockpiles are normally assumed based on the experience of the study team. Understanding and sizing of these capacities at the early stages of the project are important for future stages of the project as drastic changes in sizes will impact the economics of the project at that stage. An innovative user configurable high level dynamic modeling tool has been developed to assist in speedy evaluation of assumptions made by the study team. This model incorporates systems or facilities that are commonly used iron ore project from mine to port. This model includes subsystems that will simulate all the logistical components, major process plant systems required for an Iron ore project. The output data provided by this high level dynamic simulation tool will enhance the confidence level of engineering carried out during the early stage of the project. This paper discusses the innovative tool capabilities and a test case comparing various techniques used in iron ore project front end studies.
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