Development of a Holistic Diesel Management System to Reduce Wastage in Open-Cast Gold Mining

Abstract

Fuel prices in South Africa are variable and steadily rising. Diesel accounts for a large portion of operational expenditures in open-cast mining, placing pressure on fleet managers to address fuel theft and wastage. Raw data is often obtained in a variety of formats (handwritten or digital) in this environment. A need therefore exists to capture, interpret, and utilise raw diesel data to gain insights for decision-making. It is critical to develop a diesel management system that can monitor and track fuel usage to increase performance, lower operational and maintenance costs, and eliminate misappropriation. Mining companies could benefit from a comprehensive diesel management system that enabled them to control, report, and track usage. The ‘data-information-knowledge-wisdom’ hierarchy is used in this study to capture and utilise raw diesel data for wastage reduction, business intelligence insights, and data visualisation to assist with faster decision-making. Keywords open-cast mining; diesel management; business intelligence; DIKW; diesel management dashboard; decision making

A Data-driven Framework to Reduce Diesel Spillages in Underground Mines

“…In a previous work [15], the application of DIKW was divided into two domains: the data domain and the analysis domain. This study follows the same principle but integrates Six Sigma's DMAIC tool, adding components that do not form part of DIKW, namely RCA, improvement, and control.…”

“…Several methodologies have been developed to manage diesel in open-cast mines due to their high diesel demand and increasing diesel prices. Previously [15], it was shown that the DIKW hierarchy can be applied to identify diesel wastage and theft in an open-cast mining environment. The work established DIKW as an effective diagnostic solution to assist mining companies with decision-making.…”

“…No methodologies have been proposed for the management and reduction of diesel usage in underground mines. Previous work [15] implemented the Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy to assist with meaningful decision-making to manage diesel in open-cast mining.…”