A Mine-to-Crusher Model to Minimize Costs at a Truckless Open-Pit Iron Mine in Brazil

Abstract

Innovation has an important role in improving the productivity, safety and sustainability of mining operations. Historically, ore transport was done by diesel trucks, but with the commitment to reduce CO2 emissions and increase mine safety, mining companies have invested in innovative, more sustainable ore transport technologies. The innovative truckless system, with the intensive use of belt conveyors to transport the ore from the mine to the processing plant, represents a huge project and capital investment. However, operation costs are lower when considering the decrease of fuel use and also maintenance expenses. This paper presents an economic analysis of a mine-to-crusher model to estimate and minimize the operating expenses of an open-pit iron mine located in northern Brazil. The activities at this truckless mine consist of drilling and blasting, loading and primary crushing. In this study, the calibration of the mine-to-crusher model was based on rock fragmentation from the blasting phase. The costs of each mine operation phase were estimated for an optimum 80% passing size (P80). The calibration was conducted with the values of technical and economic parameters in 2019. By considering the structural lithologies of canga and jaspillites, we concluded that the P80 value that minimizes costs might be in the range from 0.31 to 0.34 m.

Restoration of the Impact Crusher Rotor Using FCAW with High-Manganese Steel Reinforced by Complex Carbides

“…Moreover, the curves have interesting local and asymptotic properties as functions having bounded index in direction [36,37]. Therefore, it is advisable to equip crushers with modern anti-vibration devices and dampers of various designs to minimize the harmful effects of dynamic loads on their parts and assemblies [42,43,44]. No less important are also preventive measures, i.e.…”

Blasting Fragmentation Study Using 3D Image Analysis of a Hard Rock Mine

“…The mine-to-crusher methodology was used to increase productivity and reduce operating costs from the mine to the primary crusher or crusher [1,3,[28][29][30], based on the blast fragmentation parameter X 80 . In this study, the equations presented in Navarro Torres et al [3], which were adapted for the present case study (Table 4), were used to estimate the productivity of each phase of mine operation. Table 4.…”

“…Therefore, the optimization of drilling and blasting is essential for controlling ore fragmentation and, consequently, the productivity and operating cost levels of the subsequent stages. On the one hand, increasing fragmentation quality increases drilling and blasting costs; on the other hand, it reduces the costs of loading and hauling [1,3]. Therefore, the qualities of drilling and blasting activities are essential for generating adequate and uniform fragmentation for mining operational processes.…”

“…To contribute to fragmentation optimization, in blast planning, some parameters can be modified, such as the hole diameter, spacing, explosive amount, explosive type, stemming material size, and type [3,9].…”