Knowing which parts of the haulage network require attention, miners can dispatch maintenance resources more effectively
By Dr. Roger J. Thompson
Mining companies today are collecting vast amounts of data from equipment to monitor and optimize fleet performance. These same techniques could be used to determine how haul roads perform and how they hold up at the mine site. That knowledge could be integrated with day-to-day haul road management to improve the entire network by focusing maintenance resources where they are needed to make the biggest impact on the bottom line.
Haulage represents one of the largest cost elements, especially for deep, large open-pit operations. Today, more than 50% of mining costs are associated with loading and hauling material out of such pits. That translates into a significant opportunity to realize cost savings through improved haul road performance.
