Optimization of the Haulage Cycle Model for Open Pit Mining Using a Discrete-Event Simulator and a Context-Based Alert System

Abstract

The loading cycle in an Open Pit mine is a critical stage in the production process that needs to be controlled in detail for performance optimization. A comprehensive Alert System designed to notify supervisors of cycle times that are below the required performance standards is proposed. The system gives an alert message when one or several trucks are idle or the time of completing production tasks are over a predefined value. This alert is identified by the system and compared with pre-established Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in order to determine corrective actions. The goal is to determine the strategies that help the production supervisor to optimize the haulage cycle model. A discrete-event simulator has been built in order to analyze different scenarios for route design and queue analysis. A methodology that utilizes different algorithms has been developed in order to identify the least productive times of the fleet. These results are displayed every time the simulation has finished. This research focuses on the optimization of haulage. However, the system is intended for implementation in subsequent stages of the production process, and the resulting improvement could impact mine planning and management as well. Topographic and drilling exploration data from a mine located hypothetically in the state of Arizona, were used to build a block model and to design an open pit; an Arena-based simulation was used to generate operating cycles that represent actual operations (As-Is model). Once the Alert System is implemented, adjustments were applied, and a new simulation was performed taking into consideration these adjustments (To-Be model), including comparative analysis and statistical results.