General approach to distribute waste rocks between dump sites in open cast mines

Professor Kazem Oraee

a*
and Arash Goodarzi
b

Abstract
In most surface mining operations, waste rocks are removed from the pit and deposited on
adjacent areas. Mine optimization is a key step in the viability of a surface mining project.
Definition of approaches for selection of haulage tracks and waste distribution to dumps on the
basis of minimizing the haulage cost is one of the main parameters in optimization. Cost
estimation, linear programming and decision-making tools are applied in optimization. Cost
estimation is performed to obtain the primary information for the linear programming process. In
order to ensure high operating efficiency, linear programming has focused on haulage
optimization. The waste distribution program is a complex engineering decision of enormous
economic significance. This paper presents an approach to minimize transportation costs of waste
rocks. Finally, a real mining operation is demonstrated that highlights the advantages of such
approach.

Keywords: Cost estimation; Linear programming; Dump site; Waste distribution















a
s.k.oraee-mirzamani@stir.ac.uk.
b
arash_good@yahoo.com
1
Introduction
The mining industry is characterized by a need for large up-front investment, with low
success rates, and long lead times on new projects. It also faces significant back-end
costs, when mines are eventually closed, in decommissioning the processing facilities,
rehabilitating the sites, dealing with residual environmental issues, and managing
obligations to the workforce and local communities. In addition, there are many activities
in mining which result in saleable production and also contribute towards the
development of the mine, and hence deliver longer term benefits as well.
On the other hand, the mining industry is currently subject to unprecedented demand
for its products. Worldwide, the economics of mining is in a state of great change. Sales
opportunities and prices are continuing upwards for most commodities. Profits are at
levels not seen in decades. Capital is pouring into exploration, development and
expansion of resources. Both operational and economic efficiency are needed to make the
most out of the opportunities in these frantic times. In order to ensure appropriate capital
and production decisions, accurate understanding and forecasting of the cost and revenue
structures of operation are crucial.
The success of a mining venture in a competitive market depends on many factors.
Combining technical design with economic parameters in a way that will best satisfy the
interests of the various stakeholders is the most important problem that a mining
company faces in the launch of any project.
Today, mining industry faces an increasing pressure set by stockholders to reduce
production expenditures. Mining operations involve the management of waste rock and
tailings that must be disposed of in a way that minimizes cost. Companies often have to
demonstrate in advance of exploitation both their ability to respect rules during operation
and their liability to engineering decision-making based on costs.
The main objective in any commercial mining operation is the exploitation of the
mineral deposit at the lowest possible cost with a view of maximizing profits.
Open-pit mining and strip mining are the two preponderant categories of surface
mining which account for more than 90% worldwide surface mining production.
Production method is the conventional cycle of drilling-blasting-loading-transport.
Drilling, loading and transport are day-to-day operations, blasting is done when it is need.
These operations are designed in advance and follow the relevant plans, so for every
cycle that the new blasting operation yields a face of ore or waste the loading spots and
the volume of rocks to be loaded and transported to stockpile and dump are
predetermined.
Cost estimation
Optimizing mining projects is a challenging task, as the best answers are rarely known
exactly, and are thus based largely on estimates derived from sample data.
Cost estimation, mine planning, measurement of mine performance and the
reconciliation of production results with original expectations are continuous processes
during the operation of a mine. These activities involve members of several disciplines
over an extended period. Although operating conditions, policies and personnel may
change, estimating and reporting practices must be applied consistently to achieve
accuracy in periodic evaluations and reconciliation.
2
3
Mining and mineral processing have the potential to be important sources of income
and driving forces behind broader economic development. But this potential is not always
realized.
Surface mining normally involves the haulage of moderate to large amounts of waste
and ore out of the pit for relatively long distances at steep grades. Large-scale surface
mining operations are increasingly employing large-capacity equipment for achieving
economic bulk production.
Haulage in open-pit and strip mines is most generally achieved by dump trucks. The
role of haul trucks in many surface mines is restricted to cycling between the loading
zone and the transfer point such as the dumping station. Haul trucks are favoured based
on their flexibility of operation, which were the preferred haulage method until the 1960s.
However, the cost of transporting materials in surface metal and non-metal pits is
generally greater than 50% of the total operating cost of the mine.
Now that the ownership and operating costs associated with haulage equipment are
high, thus, concrete efforts must be made to achieve reasonable reduces on investors'
capital.
Table 1 provides a comprehensive list of the capital and hourly costs associated with
owning and operating equipment typically used in haulage operations by trucks.
The cost of equipment consists of two parts: capital and operation. The exact ownership
cost is hard to estimate, as purchase price varies with sales volumes, equipment life is
hard to quantify and salvage or re-sale value is unknown. Operating costs contribute
thirties of total cost for trucks. Table.1 shows the ownership and operating cost versus the
size evaluation based on the manufacturers data for a single truck on an hourly basis.
Tire consumption has an enormous impact on overall truck operating cost. Tire cost for a
haulage truck is equal to its capital cost during its operating life.
Maintenance and overhaul accounts for a large portion of total operating cost in an
open pit mine. The maintenance cost to operating cost ratio in open pit mines is about
45%. Increasing truck size requires bigger bays and special tools. Due to the size and
complexity of truck, down-time for regular maintenance and repair may be longer, and, in
the case of unscheduled repairs, the time consumed for troubleshooting may be longer. In
the case of an in-pit break-down, equipment may have to be brought to the maintenance
shop when specialized tools and equipment are required to complete repairs.

4
Table 1: The capital and hourly costs for rigid-frame and articulated trucks
OVERHAUL MAINTENANCE
CAPACITY
CAPITAL
COST
LIFE
CAPITAL
RECOVERY
OVER
HEAD PARTS LABOR PARTS LABOR
FUEL LUBE TIRES
TYPE
Ton $
hr
$/hr $/hr $/hr hour $/hr hour Lit/hr Lit/hr $/hr
Rigid-Frame
34 331,820 37,500 8.8 0.31 1.05 0.042 1.96 0.078 1.8 0.14 0.45
Rigid-Frame
40 565,000 37,500 15.1 0.53 1.79 0.072 3.33 0.133 2.3 0.22 0.35
Rigid-Frame
55 532,600 37,500 14.2 0.5 1.69 0.068 3.14 0.126 3.3 0.23 0.59
Rigid-Frame
70 603,800 37,500 16.1 0.56 1.92 0.077 3.56 0.142 3.4 0.25 0.56
Rigid-Frame
85 1,032,900 37,500 27.5 0.96 3.28 0.131 6.09 0.244 4.3 0.41 0.44
Rigid-Frame
100 1,110,000 37,500 29.6 1.04 3.52 0.141 6.55 0.262 4.4 0.44 0.41
Rigid-Frame
150 1,571,000 37,500 41.9 1.47 4.99 0.150 9.26 0.278 6.8 0.63 0.53
Rigid-Frame
170 1,591,200 37,500 42.4 1.49 5.05 0.152 9.38 0.281 6.1 0.62 0.51
Rigid-Frame
220 1,945,000 37,500 51.9 1.82 6.18 0.185 11.47 0.344 9.0 0.79 0.99
Rigid-Frame
260 2,285,000 37,500 60.9 2.13 7.26 0.218 13.48 0.404 10.9 0.93 0.99
Rigid-Frame
360 3,470,000 37,500 92.5 3.24 11.02 0.331 20.46 0.614 17.2 1.42 0.56

Articulated

20
240,000 37,500 6.40 0.22 0.85 0.038 1.57 0.071 0.806 0.094 2.37
Articulated

25
264,059 37,500 7.04 0.25 0.93 0.042 1.73 0.078 1.166 0.108 2.79
Articulated

27
295,000 37,500 7.87 0.28 1.04 0.047 1.93 0.087 1.276 0.120 4.21
Articulated

30
339,999 37,500 9.07 0.32 1.2 0.054 2.23 0.100 1.276 0.135 3.55
Articulated

35
486,265 37,500 12.97 0.45 1.72 0.077 3.19 0.144 1.276 0.184 3.55
Articulated

40
545,261 37,500 14.54 0.51 1.92 0.087 3.57 0.161 1.725 0.211 6.32


Decision analysis
Technological development has enabled the mining industry to deploy more complex
and capital intensive equipment to increase productivity, but misfit selection and
inefficient operation often prevent utilization of its full capacity.
There is an increasing requirement for mines to compare investment alternatives that
require different capital and result in different production. An economic criterion
involves engineering decision-making based on costs.
The decision-making process may be qualitative, quantitative or a combination of the
two. The problem structuring and analysis process is conceptualized in Figure 1.
Qualitative analysis is based primarily on the judgment, knowledge and experience of
an expert or team of experts. When experience and expertise is strong within an
analytical team, then an emphasis can often be placed upon a qualitative analysis.
However, in cases where there is limited experience or high complexity, then a
quantitative analysis may be more appropriate. In a quantitative analysis, the focus is on
facts and data associated with a problem and a mathematical formulation that
encompasses the objectives, variables and constraints of the particular problem.
Quantitative analysis has traditionally been the subject of operations research and
management science.
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
PROBLEM STRUCTURING

Figure 1: Problem structuring and problem analysis in making decision
This paper focuses on quantitative decision making analysis in mining haulage
operations.
Decision analysis can be used to develop an optimal strategy when a decision maker is
faced with several decision alternatives.
For example, in the haulage system for a surface mine, the location of the mine facilities
(such as dumps), cannot be varied. However, there is considerable flexibility in the
distribution of the waste rocks between the dump sites. The objective of decision-making,
in the systems analysis framework, is to select from the entire set of controllable and no
controllable factors, those combinations of controllable factors which contribute most to
the overall growth of the company.
Estimation of discounted average cost for key elements of any cost effective mining
scheme and using this method as a mechanism to compare several alternative decisions
with a differing mix of capital and operating costs are essential for the effect of increased
revenue from product sales biasing or enhancing the evaluation in favor of one
alternative.
DEFINE
THE
PROBLEM
IDENTIFY
THE
PROBLEM
DETERMINE
THE
CRITERIA
QUALATIVE
ANALYSIS
QUANTITIVE
ANALYSIS
E
V
A
L
U
A
T
I
O
N

MAKE
THE
DESICION
Linear
Programming
Distribution
waste rocks
between dumps
Cost
decrease
Haulage
Costs
Cost
estimation
5
Waste dump sites
A waste dump is an area in which a surface mining operation can dispose of low grade
and barren material that has to be removed from the pit to expose higher grade material.
The area required for waste disposal is usually equal to or greater than the pit area
because the disturbed waste material has a greater volume than in situ
By its nature mining exposes largely innocuous, stable materials, breaks them down
and stores them as close to the mining operations as possible but at surface. Waste rock
has been trammed up the open pit ramps directly onto the dump.
By weight, volume or height, waste dumps are the largest structures built by man.
Facilities may be most appropriate as the dump to fill are: valley, side hill, ridge crest,
heap and other fills such as backfilled pit or in-pit fill, road fill or dual terms.
During the last decade, many mines have researched planning and operating activities
designed to minimize costs, improve transport and disposal of waste.
Construction of a waste rock is considered to entail the preparation of the site to receive
the waste rock as part of the overall mining process. A contractor may be employed to
construct access roads, strip the site, prepare foundations, place under drains and install
surface water management facilities.
Operation of the waste rock dump, generally done by the mining employees, involves
these activities:
Waste transports from the mine to the dump.
Off-loading of the waste at the dump in accordance with the planned dump
development and operating plans, including lift height and location.
Access road construction and maintenance.
Clearing of new areas for dumping, foundation preparation and drain construction
as required in new areas.
Maintenance, upgrade and expansion of surface water management facilities.
Environmental monitoring of conditions at the dump including seepage water,
surface water, groundwater quantities and quality.
Dump performance monitoring and documentation including stability, erosion,
consolidation and creep.
Transport in these items causes a considerable expense typically and beside its other
shares seems small, therefore the decision maker must provide a clear, transparent and
defensible evaluation tool for alternatives assessments and attempts to reach consensus in
ranking of alternatives based on cost.
The dump sites are not permanent mining facilities and their location may change
several times in the mine life then it is important of all that the presented procedure can
be carried out for each different mine layout.
Linear programming
Linear programming can be viewed as a part of the great revolutionary development
which has given mankind the ability to state general goals and to lay out a path of
detailed decisions to take in order to best achieve its goals when faced with practical
situations of great complexity.
6
Linear programming is the optimization technique most frequently applied in real-
world problems and therefore it is very important to introduce new tools in the approach
that allow the model to fit into the real world as much as possible.
Tools for doing this are ways to formulate real-world problems in detailed
mathematical terms (models), techniques for solving the models (algorithms) and engines
for executing the steps of algorithms (computers and software).
Obviously, by doing so companies are moving into a more efficient production
scenario, based on sound mathematical principals and for which benefits have been
clearly stated. Since the problem of linear programming was first developed and applied
in 1947 by George B. Danzig, Marshall Wood and others in the US and UK military,
applications have been extended in virtually all areas of the economy, including many
areas in the mining industry.
The optimization of a linear function subject to linear constraints is simple in
mathematical structure but powerful in its adaptability to a wide range of applications.
The mathematical technique of linear Programming is a search routine where the utility
to be optimized is expressed as a linear equation and the domain in which the search
takes place, is confined by boundary or constraint linear equations.
Linear programming can produce an accurate model of haulage operations to dumping
sites and can be used to predict the operational performance that will result from changes
to the mine layout or system upgrades.
In the case presented modeling of a haulage operation has enabled alternative designs to
be evaluated and compared at an early stage and the impression of a wide range of
parameters, such as truck numbers, dump capacities, haulage times, to be investigated.
A mining scenario
One of the aims involved in the economic analysis consists in establishing a link
between the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the field on the basis of approaches
that are inevitably simplifying.
A methodology for quantitative decision-making in economic evaluation using the cost
estimation and the linear programming is presented herein.
The following mining decision-making scenario was considered in order to distribute
load among the waste dump sites. A description of the goal and choosing the best
alternative used in analysis that is presented.
The first method is transporting materials by trucks, specifically in a mining operation.
In a mining open pit, excavators load materials from faces into dump trucks and trucks
transport material to destinations. They transport ore to mineral processing factory to be
processed and prepared for the sale and transport waste rocks to waste dumps. This
method requires a model to dispatch trucks in an efficient way, minimizing the cost and
making sure the system will achieve the transport goals based on available facilities.
Figure 2 illustrates a typical open pit section with five active loading points.
Locations of dumps are not permanent places and these points have to be removed
several times in a mine life.

7

Figure 2: The section of mining scenario
Let us assume that, three excavators (W
1
, W
2
, and W
3
) are working within the waste
zone and two others are excavating within the ore zone. There are four waste dumps
where are located at the North West (D
1
), the north east (D
2
), the south east (D
3
), and the
south west (D
4
) of pit (figure 3).

D
1

D
2

Figure 3: The plan of mining scenario (The site plan)
The distances between the faces and the dumps are given in table 2. Although distance
is the main factor in the cost of transportation per ton but the overall cost of
transportation depends heavily on haulage time and hourly operating costs for fleet. The
haulage time is concerned with the roads condition and performance of trucks.
Table 2: The distances between the faces and the dumps
D
1
D
2
D
3
D
4
Dump
Face
km km km km
W
1
4 5 8 6
W
2
6 5 4 3
W
3
4 2 5 7

D
3

W
1

D
4
W
2

W
3

P
1

P
2

8
Loaded speed in the order of 20 km/h and unloaded speed of 40 km/h are assumed in
this scenario. The forecast of round trip times is based on table 3.
Table 3: The forecast of round trip times for trucks
D
1
D
2
D
3
D
4
Haulage time (hour) Haulage time (hour) Haulage time (hour) Haulage time (hour)
Dump

Face Fill
truck
Empty
truck
Total
time
Fill
truck
Empty
truck
Total
time
Fill
truck
Empty
truck
Total
time
Fill
truck
Empty
truck
Total
time
W
1
0.2 0.1 0.3 0.25 0.125 0.375 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.3 0.15 0.45
W
2
0.3 0.15 0.45 0.25 0.125 0.375 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.15 0.075 0.225
W3 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.05 0.15 0.25 0.125 0.375 0.35 0.175 0.525

If trucks capacity are used in the mine equals 85 ton, the operation and recovery costs
are extracted from table 1. The performance of cost estimation presupposes the average
wage of a mechanic laborer is $10 per hour; the fuel is $ 0.1 per liter and the lubricant is
$ 1 per liter. Capital recovery, overhead and hourly operating costs for rigid frame truck
with a capacity of 85 tons are presented in table 4.
Table 4: The costs for rigid frame truck with a capacity of 85 tons
Items Costs per hour
Capital-recovery 27.5 $
Overhead 0.96 $
Overhaul-parts 3.28 $
Overhaul-labor 0.131 10 = 1.31 $
Maintenance-parts 6.09 $
Maintenance- Labor 0.244 10 = 2.44 $
Fuel 4.3 0.1 = 0.43 $
Lubricant 0.41 1 = 0.41 $
Tire 0.44 $
Sum
42.86
hr
$


The information thus calculated is used in definition of haulage cost for each path from
the faces to the dumps (Table 5). This table shows the coefficients matrix.
Table 5: The haulage costs for each path per a round trip
D
1
D
2
D
3
D
4
Dump
Face
$ $ $ $
W
1
12.86 16.07 25.72 19.29
W
2
19.29 16.07 12.86 9.64
W
3
12.86 6.43 16.07 22.50

The linear programming scheme allows constraints to be set in terms of a minimum and
maximum limit on any output. Setting these upper and lower bound requirements needs
careful attention and should be subject to properly designed procedures, audited by
consultants from the relevant disciplines.
The scenario is a minimization of haulage cost under the constraints associated with the
dumps capacities and the waste production.
Conditions for a hypothetical mine are presented:
9
0000 , 12
4
1
=

= i
i
D
day
ton
, D
1
=1,000
day
ton
, D
2
=2,000
day
ton
, D
3
=5,000
day
ton
, D
4
=4,000
day
ton

0000 , 12
3
1
=

= j
j
W
day
ton
, W
1
=6,000
day
ton
, W
2
=4,000
day
ton
, W
3
=2,000
day
ton

Finally, the scenario must formulate to linear programming problem from contextual
problem. There is one objective function in the above model that made from table 5:
X
ij
equals daily tonnage that must remove from the excavator (W
i
) to the dump (D
j
).
Objective function:
Min Z = 12.86X
11
+ 16.07X
12
+ 25.72X
13
+ 19.29X
14
+ 19.29X
21
+ 16.07X
22
+ 12.86X
23

+ 9.64X
24
+ 12.86X
31
+ 6.43X
32
+ 16.07X
33
+ 22.50X
34
, X
ij
0
Subject to:
X
11
+ X
12
+ X
13
+ X
14
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 6,000
0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + X
21
+ X
22
+ X
23
+ X
24
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 4,000
0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + X
31
+ X
32
+ X
33
+ X
34
= 2,000
X
11
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
21
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
31
+ 0 + 0 + 0 = 1,000
0

+ X
12
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
22
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
32
+ 0 + 0 = 2,000
0

+ 0 + X
13
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
23
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
33
+ 0 = 5,000
0

+ 0 + 0 + X
14
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
24
+ 0 + 0 + 0 + X
34
= 4,000

A decision maker could not actually solve the problem yet, but it is formulated as linear
programming problem that the objective is to minimize costs. Linear programming
problems have to be solved by computer usually. We can solve them using Mathematica
software.
Mathematica is a general computing environment, organizing many algorithmic,
visualization, and user interface capabilities within a document-like user interface
paradigm. Besides addressing nearly every field of classical mathematics, it provides
cross-platform support for a wide range of tasks such as numerical computation and
operations research. The Mathematica attempts to uniformly capture all aspects of
mathematics and computation, rather than just specialized areas.
The linear programming problem should be formatted as the input of information into
the Mathematica package.
The mining scenario is summarized as a Mathematica form below:

Clear[x, A, b, c, Xvec]
Xvec = Table[x[i, j], {i, 1, 3}, {j, 1, 4}];
c = {12.86, 16.07, 25.72, 19.29, 19.29, 16.07, 12.86, 9.64, 12.86, 6.43, 16.07, 22.50};
b = {6000, 4000, 2000, 1000, 2000, 5000, 4000};
A = {{1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}, {0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0,0}, {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
0,0,1, 1, 1, 1}, {1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0}, {0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0}, {0, 0, 1,
0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0}, {0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1}};
Xvec = LinearProgramming[c, A, b]

c is a goal vector, b is a constraint vector, and A is a coefficients matrix. The
decision vector is earned after running program.
10
The decision vector is {1000, 1000, 0, 4000, 0, 0, 4000, 0, 0, 1000, 1000, 0}.
The decision vector allocates a quantity of waste to each of the dump site. The results
of this study are given in table 6.
Table 6: The waste allocation table to the dumps
D
1
D
2
D
3
D
4
Dump
Face
day
ton

day
ton

day
ton

day
ton

Sum
W
1
1,000 1,000 0 4,000 6,000
W
2
0 0 4,000 0 4,000
W
3
0 1,000 1,000 0 2,000
Sum 1,000 2,000 5,000 4000 12,000
There are three breasts the interior of waste (W
1
, W
2
, and W
3
) in this scenario. The
daily product rate is 6,000 ton from W
1
. This amount must share among the dumps based
on results (table 6). One thousand tons of waste rocks are consigned to the D
1
and another
one thousand tons of waste rocks are also consigned to the D
2
. Finally, four thousand tons
of waste rocks that were excavated from W
1
, were sent to D
4
. This producer can be
generalized to other dumps.
Conclusion
Since most activities generally involve processing a relatively large quantity of rock to
recover a relatively small amount of valuable product, large quantities of waste are
produced as a by-product. By-products must haulage to the dumps based on intake
capacities and available facilities in the dump sites, such as the bulldozers to level the
ground and distributing the waste evenly over the land. It is very important that the
transport cost must be reduced to a minimum.
Limitations of conventional approaches have necessitated the development of new
approach specifically for large haulage equipment.
Cost estimation and linear programming can produce an accurate model of haulage
operations in surface mining and can be used to predict the operational performance that
will result from changes to the mine layout or system upgrades.
This method provides a flexible platform for the development of such computer
simulations. In the case presented modeling of a haulage operation has enabled
alternative designs to be evaluated and compared at an early stage and the influence of a
wide range of parameters, such as truck numbers, truck capacity, haulage times and
passing bay spacing, to be investigated.
References
[1] Hartman Howard, Introductory mining engineering, John Wily&Sons, Canada, 2002.
[2] Oraee Kazem, Analysis of productivity, Ketab Marv, Iran, 1998.
[3]Oraee Kazem, Engineering economy, Hormozgan University, Iran, 2001.
[4]Azar Adel, Concepts and linear programming applications, Nashr Elm, Iran, 2000
[5]Razavi Mehdi, Introduction to: operations Research, I.R.T.C.I., Iran, 2006.


11