A new mine planning and scheduling software system has been
implemented at Iscor’s Sishen iron-ore mine.
The XPac Autoscheduler has been developed by Runge Mining, in
Australia, and is used at most of the Iscor collieries as well as
at its zinc-mining operations.
The implementation at Sishen is being driven by the mine’s medium-
and long-term planning technician, Wayne Louw.
„Over the years, we have looked at several mine-planning systems
with a view to obtaining one system capable of providing us with a
total solution as far as grade control, production planning, costs
and scheduling goes,“ he explains.
„So far, XPac is the only system which has provided that solution,
and we no longer nhow to process limoniteeed to transfer data through several software
systems, as the system caters for all these requirements in one
software package,“ he says.
Situated in the Northern Cape, Sishen is the flagship of Iscor’s
mining division.
The mine accounts for 78% of South Africa’s iron-ore and 4% of the
global seaborne iron-ore trade.
Moreover, it is the third-largest iron-ore mine in the world,
producing 27-million tons mobile concrete crushing denverof ore a year.
The database functionality of the new mine-planning system provides
a user-friendly interface to the mine design system used at the
mine. On-site data pertaining to grade and tonnage is imported into
the system.
The data is then analysed to indicate preferred areas within the
mine which may be combined to provide an optimal blend when
scheduling is performed. A record in the database represenportable concrete crusher calgaryts each
mining block, and these records contain information relevant to the
mining block. To optimise the scheduling process, mining costs are
also included for mining blocks.
During scheduling, the combination of material from each pit is
controlled to achieve the best blend. The system can generate
life-of-mine schedules in a relatively short time. Several
alternatives are easily achieved in a single day.
german professional impact crusherDependency rules are defined, which ensure mining logic and
integrity are maintained.
Undermining is therefore eliminated.
The export requirements for the ore delivered to Saldanha are
precise.
The quality of the blend of material derived from several pits must
fall within stringent specifications.
These targets apply to iron content as well as impurities like
phosphorus and potasfruit presses and crusherssium.
The system produces mining schedules, which satisfy these criteria,
while restrictions pertaining to material derived from the various
pits are also adhered to.
Production targets are stored in a comprehensive calendar database,
which allows for day-to-day scheduling as well as annual scheduling
scenarios.
The haul-road networks within the mine have been imported into the
system.
It is therefore possible to predict hauling distances to large
network nodes, such as primary crushers, stockpiles and waste
dumps.
The mine makes use of a Pantograph trolley-assist system, which
dramatically reduces hauling costs.
This system has been successfully modelled within the XPac system,
and detailed haul route profiles can now be simulated to predict
the best route to use when transporting material out of the
pit.
In addition, the system is capable of predicting cycle times, truck
hours and the number of trucks required on the haul route.
With this information available, the engineer is able to make
accurate assessments of the expenses associated with mining
operations.
In particular, diesel costs can be predicted.
Another requirement at the mine is dump-creation scheduling.
Each dump position is accurately recorded in the new mine-planning
system.
The Runge Mining software suite is also used extensively in
Southern Africa by Sasol, while De Beers uses the systems at its
underground mining operations.
MRM Mining Services represents the company’s interests in South
Africa.