Simulation of an Underground Haulage System, Renström Mine, Boliden Mineral

Abstract: The scope of the simulation project is to simulate different alternatives for the transport of ore and waste rock to the backfilling room and to the crusher in the mine and then determine the transportation cost for respective alternatives and finally choose the best option with the lowest transportation cost.
In Renström mine, the truck fleet consists of 3 highway trucks with an addition of 1 mine truck due to test driving reasons before purchase. Renström mine has a demand for a decrease in transportation costs and the number of break downs of the trucks. By simulating different transportation alternatives and comparing the costs, it is easy and fast to make decisions about the production system.
In order to achieve this goal, a literature study on simulation and the application of simulation on mining industry has been conducted. All the necessary input data were collected in activity studies in Renström mine in September and October period, 2010. With the support and help of ÅF consult, a simulation model of Renström mine was created using AutoMod software. AutoMod is a simulation program which can simulate all the processes not only in the mine but also in other industries. The reason why AutoMod software was selected as a simulation program was because it was used for short term scheduling in Boliden Mineral AB in 1999 - 2000.
Major findings from the model are that the mine truck is 23% more effective than the highway trucks, the usage of only highway trucks are 34% more expensive than the usage of only mine trucks and for combination alternatives, if most of the transportation is done by mine trucks instead of highway trucks, the transportation cost per tonne is decreasing by 10-20%.
In conclusion, after all analyses were done, 3 mine trucks with one reserve truck have been selected as the cheapest feasible alternative for the mine. To sum up, it is possible to build a simulation model of an underground mine for transportation system to determine the most productive and the cheapest option. Moreover, the simulation model of the underground haulage system of Renström mine can also be used to analyse the influence of different transportation strategies on mine production in the future.