OPEN PIT DESIGN AND SCHEDULING I.

T SOLUTION FOR LONGTERM MINE PLANNING

D.L.R. Prasad , P. Srinivas , B. Sambasivarao , *D. Gopinath
1 2 3 4

INTRODUCTION Information Technology has changed the way we live. Mining is no exception. Mining information systems have emerged encompassing all aspects of mine planning. Real time analysis of data is now possible that helps the mine administration to function effectively. Software is now available that covers the entire gamut of mine functions. The Singareni Collieries is now ahead in utilizing the computerized mine planning and completed design & scheduling of an opencast project on long term planning module Apollo of Minex software.

FEATURES: Minex is an integrated modular software including Survey, deposit evaluation, mine planning and design, production scheduling and equipment simulation. The user has the flexibility to select modules as per requirement. Generation of Borehole database Generation of reliable Geomodel 3D visualization of seam horizons/faults Generation of Reserves Database Pit Optimisation Open Pit Design and Scheduling Design of Haul roads, Earth works and Spoil dumps Underground mine planning and scheduling Generation of Mine Reserves Database Production Scheduling by target or equipment Generation of Plans, Sections and reports
1. Chief General Manager, 2. Dy. Supdtg. Er, 3. Sr. Survey Officer, The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (A government Company), Kothagudem, Andhra Pradesh., INDIA * 4. Under Manager Now working at Surpac Minex, Hyderabad, INDIA

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A project is taken up at Singareni Collieries to design a pit, spoil dump and production scheduling using Apollo & Orion modules of MINEX software, to get the desired pit design and stage wise plans for preparation of feasibility report.

PROJECT DETAILS

The Pit - A is designed upto 150 m depth of Bottom Seam. There are two down throw and one up throw faults in the property.

SUMMARISED DATA Sl. No 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.0 3.1 INSITU RESERVES MINEABLE RESERVES TOTAL OVERBURDEN AVG.STIPPING RATIO BOREHOLE DENSITY MAXIMUM SURFACE 3.2 4.1 MAXIMUM STRIKE LENGTH ALONG FLOOR MAXIMUM WIDTH OF THE QUARRY ALONG SURFACE 4.2 MAXIMUM WIDTH OF THE QUARRY ALONG FLOOR 5.1 5.2 6.1 6.2 7.0 MINIMUM DEPTH OF THE QUARRY MAXIMUM DEPTH OF THE QUARRY FLOOR AREA OF QUARRY AREA OF EXCAVATION ON SURFACE AVERAGE GRADIENT OF THE SEAM Meters Meters Ha. Ha. 28.00 150.0 21.45 45.15 1 in 3.5 Meters 420 Meters Meters 718 621 STRIKE LENGTH ALONG M.T M.T M.Cu.m Cu.m/T No./Sq.Km Meters 3.497 ----28.872 8.3 35.58 933 Description

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8.0 DETAILS OF WORKABLE SECTIONS SECTION MINIMUM - MIDDLE SEAM PARTING - BOTTOM SEAM 4.65 14.63 3.18 PIT-A MAXIMUM 8.53 17.65 4.41

9.0 QUALITY UHV(Kcal/kg) PIT A 4758 Grade D

10.0 TECHNOLOGY SELECTED 11.0 INSTALLED CAPACITY 12.0 LIFE OF THE PROJECT

: SHOVEL-DUMPER COMBINATION : 0.60 M.T per annum : 6 YEARS

OPENPIT DESIGN

PIT BOUNDARY Quarry surface limit is defined on the basis of quarry floor limits by considering the final slope of 45 degrees from incrop and 150m depth of Bottom seam at highwall side. By considering the geological model of Pit-A, the bottom seam and middle seam model grids are merged with BOW (Base Of Weathering) surface at incrop side to generate benches upto the pit boundary/surface quarry limit.

BENCH DESIGN The bench design is followed as per bench elevation at 10m interval with 70 slope and 6.4m berm. To generate the bench crest and toe at every 10m elevation, SQL (Structured

Query Language) programme is used. The bench grids formed in the pit are restricted upto topography / floor of the bottom seam as per the requirement.

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FIG.1

FIG.2

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Final pit benches are restricted to the Bottom Seam floor and topography as shown below:

FIG.3 STRIP DESIGN 13 no. of strips with crest and toe in strike direction at 40m interval with 70 degrees of slope and strip berm of 6.4 mtrs are projected on each bench grid.

FIG.4

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BLOCKS FORMATION The pit is divided into number of blocks using layout lines across the strips at 40m interval. Each block is assigned a number to report the reserves.

FIG.5 BLOCK DESIGN

FIG.6

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FIG.7 SECTION SHOWING THE BENCHES, STRIPS AND BLOCKS

MINE RESERVES Mine Reserves database is created with Codes and Layers validated and loaded. Merge model is created for the Pit - A for the selected layers. Layer wise mine reserves of the pit can be obtained as desired.

FIG.8

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FIG.9 TYPICAL MERGED MODEL

FIG.10 Detailed Pit Reserves generated for Pit/Bench/Strip/Block is given at Annexure-1. Also generated the status report along with stripping ratios is shown at Annexure-2. By studying the detailed report of Pit reserves block wise, it is easy to identify the blocks in the designed pit for scheduling.

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PRODUCTION SCHEDULING Scheduling is primarily aimed at sequencing mining operations in a pit/ multi strip/multi bench for coal or other layers. Target scheduling option is selected for the purpose.

TARGET SCHEDULING: This is the suitable method of scheduling to obtain a particular coal target over a time period and to generate stage plans. This macro scheduler finds applications in feasibility studies and production of long-range mine plans. Details of Target Scheduling: The project is proposed to extract coal with 0.60M.T per annum as installed capacity. Accordingly a suitable calendar is prepared for the project. For each scheduled block, reserves are reported and extraction of the quarry is planned for each coal seam/waste at every stage. Exposed blocks at the end of 1st year, 3rd year, 5th and final years of Pit-A are converted as exposed grids. In a grid format the pit status can be used for dump design and/or back fill planning.

FIG.11 STAGE - AT THE END OF 1 YEAR

Reports are generated for the quantity of coal extracted and waste removed at each stage {at the end of 1st year, 3rd year, 5th year and 6th(final) year}. Eg: Annexures-3.

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DETAILS OF COAL PRODUCTION & OVERBURDEN REMOVAL IN PIT- A

Cumulating End of the Year 1 3 5 6(Final) 0.30 1.50 2.70 3.497 6.233 18.621 26.995 28.872 20.77 12.41 10.00 8.30 Coal (MT) OB (M.cu.m) Str. Ratio

HAUL ROAD DESIGN

Haul roads are designed at 6.25% gradient with a width of 20m on exposed grids/triangles keeping batter slopes at 57 degrees cut and 36 degrees fill.

FIG.12 HAUL ROAD DESIGN

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SPOIL DUMP DESIGN Proposed area of overburden dumping is digitized. Dump design is made for every stage of the project keeping the dump deck height as 30m, dump slopes at 28 degrees and berm width as 30 mtrs for allowing safe transport.

FIG.13 FINAL EXTERNAL DUMP OF PIT-A TRUCK SIMULATION Truck and Shovel simulation system simulates the movements of a vehicle through a network of roads and ramps and estimates traveling time and truck fleet requirement. It can calculate the truck productivity (bank volume per truck hour). The input to the program is divided into data sets that define the characteristics of segments of routes, vehicle acceleration and deceleration potential at various velocities, and shovel operating parameters (Annexure - 4). The following parameters are considered for truck simulation at a particular stage of excavation. Shovel bucket cubic capacity Truck load by weight Swell factor Insitu density 2.80 25.00 1.20 2.20 14.98 3.94 (say 4) 46

Results are: i) Truck cycle time (minutes) ii) Est. Min truck fleet required iii) Bank volume per truck hour

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FIG.14 2D PLANS OUTPUT

The scheduling output of a stage on 2D plan is visible as blocks as shown below.

FIG.15

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It is felt very difficult to get the 2D plans output as desired in the form of crest and toe lines shown below.

FIG.16 STAGE PLAN END THE END OF 1st YEAR

D IP

DE-COALED AREA

INCROP

FIG.17 STAGE PLAN END THE END OF 3rd YEAR

How ever, to overcome the problem, the scheduling output at a particular stage is digitized using Vista functions.

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CONCLUSION Mine planning, designing and scheduling of an open pit are now made the mining system easy. Saves time in preparing number of alternative pit designs and production schedules with different design and schedule parameters. A best suitable pit design and production schedule can be selected. Quick reporting of reserves of each layer / bench / strip / block is possible. Year/month/day wise reports can be generated for the extracted volume of OB and Coal at the end of each schedule. The authors felt the necessity of 2D plans output to be customized rather than the tedious process of digitizing the position of quarry at every end of the schedule.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Authors are thankful to the Singareni Collieries management for providing the necessary software, hardware and encouragement in achieving the desired outputs through Minex Software at SCCL.

REFERENCES Getting Started with Apollo Mine Design & Reserves, ECS International Pty Ltd, Surpac Minex Group, Australia. Mark Kelly, Peter Alexander, Surpac Minex Group, Australia, Training programmes on Apollo and Orion modules of Minex Software at Singareni Collieries.

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ANNEXURE - 1 DETAILED REPORT OF MINE RESERVES DATABASE (PIT/BENCH/STRIP/BLOCK/LAYER WISE)

Seam Bench Volume Volume Tonnes Waste Coal Coal --------------------------------(Cu.m)----(Cu.m)----------------Pit A ------WEATH 2 32343 WEATH 3 339153 WEATH 4 1281332 WEATH 5 2889683 MS 5 38842 4199 6508 BS 5 10154 1479 2293 WEATH 6 3316494 MS 6 464363 21350 33093 BS 6 54944 11827 18331 WEATH 7 1917337 MS 7 1418174 58957 91383 BS 7 168046 32860 50933 WEATH 8 278993 MS 8 2574173 98257 152299 BS 8 281292 54761 84880 MS 9 2480027 110828 171783 BS 9 295613 70419 109149 MS 10 2124540 132633 205581 BS 10 281074 69416 107595 MS 11 1787487 147243 228227 BS 11 277216 63373 98229 MS 12 1464424 160777 249205 BS 12 283244 61701 95637 MS 13 1156298 155777 241454 BS 13 294825 64532 100025 MS 14 877736 141768 219740 BS 14 282969 68224 105747 MS 15 614988 137683 213408 BS 15 261715 63863 98987 MS 16 369829 134534 208527 BS 16 243592 58933 91346 MS 17 160637 110064 170600 BS 17 226981 62352 96645 MS 18 40438 43235 67014 BS 18 190281 57734 89488 MS 19 8387 1972 3056 BS 19 77560 43474 67385 BS 20 6878 11825 18329 --------- --------- --------TOTAL 28872068 2256047 3496877 ----------------------------SUMMARY Volume Volume Tonnes Waste Coal Coal Pit A ------WEATH 10055337 MS 15580355 1459275 2261877 BS 3236385 796773 1234999 --------- --------- --------28872068 2256047 3496877

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ANNEXURE - 2 STATUS REPORT OF MINE RESERVES DATABASE (PIT/BENCH/STRIP/BLOCK/LAYER WISE)

Pit Ben Str Blk Layer % % % % %UWed%LWed %Reh Volume No. No. No. No. ID. Expo Surf Prem Mine*%R.D.*%Ash*EffS/R* Tonnage*Thick --- --- --- --- -------- ---- ---- ---- ----- ---- ---------100 2 1 1 WEATH 100 0 0 0 439 4.4 100 2 1 2 WEATH 100 0 0 0 5765 3.0 100 2 1 3 WEATH 100 0 0 0 3830 1.8 100 2 1 4 WEATH 100 0 0 0 19 0.1 100 2 2 1 WEATH 100 0 0 0 8598 3.4 CONTD -----------------------------------------------------------------------INTENTIONALLY LEFT THE BLANK SPACE -----------------------------------------------------------------------100 19 12 10*MSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.4* 667* 1.1 100 19 12 10 BSIB 0 0 0 0 2184 3.6 100 19 12 10*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.4* 2291* 1.6 100 19 13 3*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.4* 118* 0.4 100 19 13 4 BSIB 0 0 0 0 663 1.7 100 19 13 4*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 6097* 2.8 100 19 13 5 BSIB 0 0 0 0 988 2.0 100 19 13 5*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 6311* 3.7 100 19 13 6 BSIB 0 0 0 0 2353 3.3 100 19 13 6*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 5978* 3.6 100 19 13 7 BSIB 0 0 0 0 6651 6.5 100 19 13 7*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 4127* 2.3 100 19 13 8 BSIB 0 0 0 0 3559 6.9 100 19 13 8*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 1904* 2.5 100 19 13 9 MSOB 0 0 0 0 1626 9.4 100 19 13 9*MSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 866* 2.1 100 19 13 9 BSIB 0 0 0 0 1498 4.6 100 19 13 9*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 1582* 3.0 100 20 9 14 BSIB 0 0 0 0 180 1.8 100 20 9 14*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 1949* 2.1 100 20 9 15 BSIB 0 0 0 0 2175 4.4 100 20 9 15*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 3455* 1.7 100 20 10 12 BSIB 0 0 0 0 1745 3.0 100 20 10 12*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 2734* 1.3 100 20 10 13 BSIB 0 0 0 0 408 1.4 100 20 10 13*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 3693* 2.3 100 20 10 14 BSIB 0 0 0 0 1432 3.6 100 20 10 14*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 2543* 3.6 100 20 10 15 BSIB 0 0 0 0 359 8.2 100 20 10 15*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 69* 1.1 100 20 11 11 BSIB 0 0 0 0 223 2.2 100 20 11 11*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 750* 1.0 100 20 12 9*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 50* 0.3 100 20 12 10 BSIB 0 0 0 0 343 3.1 100 20 12 10*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 1510* 1.4 100 20 13 4*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 8* 0.1 100 20 13 6*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 31* 0.1 100 20 13 7*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 252* 0.4 100 20 13 8*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 448* 1.4 100 20 13 9 BSIB 0 0 0 0 11 0.1 100 20 13 9*BSC 0 0 0 0* 1.55* * 8.3* 835* 2.7 Total WASTE Volume(Cu.m) 28872066 Tonnage 63518572 Total COAL Volume(Cu.m) 2256046 Tonnage 3496875

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Annexure - 3 SCHEDULE REPORT OF OPENPIT-100 AT THE END OF 1st YEAR

Schedule 20 runs to SAT 31-DEC-05 18:03 ============================================================== Schedule 20 Accumulation values. Waste Coal/Ore Waste Coal/Ore Volume+ Tonnage Volume+ Tonnage (Rehandle) (ROM)(Rehandle) (ROM) ============================================================== SAT 01-JAN-05 WEATH 546200 546200 TOTALS 546200 546200 TUE 01-FEB-05 WEATH 493336 1039536 TOTALS 493336 1039536 TUE 01-MAR-05 WEATH 539663 1579199 MSOB 98 98 MSC 717 717 BSIB 4623 4623 BSC 2097 2097 TOTALS 544383 2815 1583920 2815 FRI 01-APR-05 WEATH 528578 2107777 TOTALS 528578 2112497 2815 SUN 01-MAY-05 WEATH 533340 2641117 MSC 186 903 BSIB 8716 13339 BSC 6249 8346 TOTALS 542056 6435 2654553 9250 WED 01-JUN-05 WEATH 488812 3129929 MSOB 20260 20358 MSC 8419 9322 BSIB 11986 25325 BSC 3232 11578 TOTALS 521058 11651 3175611 20901 FRI 01-JUL-05 WEATH 504615 3634543 MSOB 27851 48209 BSIB 7470 32795 BSC 9709 21287 TOTALS 539937 9709 3715547 30610 MON 01-AUG-05 WEATH 179353 3813896 MSOB 252589 300798 MSC 32176 41499 BSIB 80009 112804 BSC 20905 42192 TOTALS 511951 53081 4227498 83691 THU 01-SEP-05 WEATH 158188 3972084 MSOB 177557 478356 MSC 41519 83017 BSIB 137889 250693 BSC 43639 85831 TOTALS 473634 85157 4701133 168849 SAT 01-OCT-05 WEATH 510335 4482420 MSOB 7549 485905 MSC 10134 93152 BSIB 19993 270687 BSC 2772 88604 TOTALS 537878 12907 5239011 181755 TUE 01-NOV-05 WEATH 295805 4778225 MSOB 131534 617439 MSC 33785 126936 BSIB 64581 335268 BSC 23038 111642 TOTALS 491921 56823 5730931 238578 THU 01-DEC-05 WEATH 352281 5130505 MSOB 60312 677751 MSC 25924 152860 BSIB 89739 425007 BSC 35294 146936 TOTALS 502332 61218 6233263 299796

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Annexure - 4 TRUCK FLEET REQUIREMENT ------------------------------------------MATERIAL PARAMETERS ------------------SWELL FACTOR 1.20 INSITU DENSITY 2.200 SHOVEL PARAMETERS ----------------BUCKET CUBIC CAPACITY BUCKET FILL FACTOR BUCKET LOADS PER TRUCK SAY SPOT TIME SHOVEL CYCLE TIME TRUCK LOAD TIME SHOVEL AVAILABILITY % SHOVEL HOURS PER DAY

2.80 1.00 4.87 5.0 0.50 0.67 3.80 100.0 24.0

TRUCK PARAMETERS ---------------TRUCK LOAD BY WEIGHT 25.0 TRUCK CUBIC LOAD 13.64 TRUCK LOAD TIME 3.80 TRUCK DUMP TIME 0.50 TRUCK HAUL AND RETURN TIME 10.68 TRUCK CYCLE TIME (MINUTES) 14.98 TRUCK AVAILABILITY % 100.0 EST. MIN TRUCK FLEET REQUIRED 3.94 SAY 4 BANK VOLUME PER TRUCK HOUR 46 -------------------------------------------

TRUCK PRODUCTIVITY ------------------------------------------TRUCKS PRODUCTION PRODUCTION (BANK VOL/HR) (BANK VOL/DAY) ------------------------------------------1 46 1093 2 91 2185 3 137 3278 4 179 4306 -------------------------------------------

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