How to cut the cost of open-cast mining

The statistics surrounding open-cast mining are astounding, in terms of both production and costs. Due to the nature of the vehicles that are used, a small saving in wear and tear or fuel can equate to a large amount of money.

The main costs in open-cast mining

From the experiences of Racelogic customers involved in the mining industry, the most important savings to be made are fuel economy and the extension of tyre life.

Getting the most out of mining truck tyres

Tyres often cost tens of thousands of dollars each, and are in short supply. It is therefore vital that a mine operator gets the most use out of every tyre. The difficulty is how to stop excessive wear from occurring in the first place. Factors leading to increased tyre wear can be:

• Road inclination
• Road camber
• Load and load distribution
• Driver discipline (speed of the truck)
• Tyre pressures
• Ambient temperature

VBOX data has been collected from various open cast mines in South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa, which has shown that many roads upon which the trucks have to haul their enormous loads have been constructed in a way that is detrimental to tyre life.

Road camber, inclination and radius of turn can make a huge difference in the way that a tyre goes through heat cycles. If the truck is being forced to turn too tightly or drive up too steep an incline, the TKPH (Ton-Kilometre per Hour) values will be exceeded, resulting in overheating. This reduces the life of the tyre.

Cutting fuel costs

Given the vast amounts of fuel required in mining operations any savings are desirable. Accurate measurements of consumption and flow rates are vital in determining how efficiently the vehicle is operating, and how it is being driven. Factors that adversely affect tyre life can be the same when it comes to fuel usage. Therefore making positive changes in one area can often help in another.

The Racelogic Mining Solution

Standard VBOX equipment can be used to accurately measure a site’s road gradients and turns. Armed with this data, an operator can make changes that give their machines an easier life. However as a solution, this can only go so far if the trucks are still being driven too hard, so additional parameters (such as throttle position and g-forces) can be measured to determine whether driver discipline is an issue.

In consultation with various mining operators and tyre companies, Racelogic has designed Speed and Route Profiler which enables a manager or trusted driver to drive the route to and from the mine, determining the exact speed for every part of the route. Any driver that then follows this route in future will be presented with a display showing exactly the speed that they should be driving now and a profile of the speed for the next few seconds. After the route has been driven a manager can then review the speed for every driver and compare it with that of the reference driver. If the truck is driven at the right speed all the time, then tyre life and fuel consumption will both be improved.

Racelogic are also able to supply systems that can directly measure TKPH and fuel flow. The addition of an inertial measurement unit can assist with detecting uneven loads, which can cause premature suspension failure.

If you wish to discuss your needs with us please contact us so that one of our sales team can help to determine your exact requirements.