NORMAN B.

KEEVIL INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERING

MINE 350 Modeling and Simulation

Assignment 2
Due November 12, 2015
Data for this assignment are in a file called MINE 350 Assgt 2 2015.xlsx Place your answers in a
spreadsheet file and rename the file something distinctive like
Your Surname MINE 350 Assgt 2 2015.xlsx
All the problems can be solved on individual worksheets in the file. Keep the worksheets
organized and easy to understand. Marks will be deducted as the messiness index of the
spreadsheet increases. Admittedly, this index is subjective, but thats life!
Do not under any circumstances put the problems in separate files this causes nothing but
confusion and it will not be graded.
The Excel queue models can be used to solve these problems. Do not put these models or copies
of these models into your answer file.

MINE 350
Assignment 2

Failing Stopes
15 marks
An underground mine currently has four stopes in operation. Each stope normally produces
about 300 tonnes of ore per day (300 tpd) so that the nominal daily production is 1200 tpd. The
stopes are in weak rock and on average once every 80 days, a particular stope may be sufficiently
damaged that it becomes unsafe and repairs are required to stabilize it. When a stope is damaged
a dedicated crew repairs it using combinations of rockbolts and mesh. On average the repair time
is five days, but there is considerable variability. As a result of the down time, daily production
fluctuates and is often below 1200 tpd, requiring that ore be taken from a stockpile on the
surface. However, ore in the stockpile oxidizes leading to processing difficulties. Because of this
the mine planners are considering constructing more stopes so that production can occur from
five or more stopes and perhaps the use of the stockpile can be minimized.
Proposed expansion of the mill would allow it to process up to 1600 tpd. To ensure such a
production rate will likely require more than one additional stope. One way to determine how
many additional stopes are needed would be to use the average production rate of the current
stopes to determine how many stopes will provide 1600 tpd. However, the planners are also
wondering about the productivity of the additional stopes, the possible increase in stope repair
rates, and whether its worth adding another repair crew. Having taken this course, you realize
that this is a queuing problem and that answers to these questions can be provided in a matter
of minutes. You boldly state this to the chief engineer who is skeptical and asks a lot of questions:
a) [2 marks] Queuing? Isnt that about waiting in line and being served? Who or what is waiting
in this case? Who does the service?
b) [1 mark] Based on the way the stockpile is being used, the mill manager thinks we are only
producing an average of about 1100 tpd. Does your model predict that?
c) [2 marks] Can we get 1200 tpd if we add one stope? How much ore would we have to
stockpile?
d) [3 marks] How many stopes will provide 1600 tpd? If we build that many stopes, how much
ore might we have to stockpile each day, on average? What would be the maximum amount
of ore we would have to stockpile?
e) [1 mark] Right now it seems the four stopes are available about 75% of the time. If we build
enough stopes to provide 1600 tpd, can you tell me what percentage of time these stopes
would be available?
f) [1 mark] More stopes in this weak ground just means more repairs. Currently the crew has to
repair a stope about once every 20 days. If we build enough stopes to provide 1600 tpd, how
often would the crew be repairing stopes?
g) [1 mark] If we build enough stopes to provide 1600 tpd, how many days would a stope be
waiting to be repaired?
h) [4 marks] And finally, if we build enough stopes to provide 1600 tpd, can you give me an
opinion as to whether it would it be worth adding another repair crew?

MINE 350
Assignment 2

Crusher move
10 marks
An open pit operation has a fleet of 12 250 ton haul trucks and one mobile crusher with two
loading ramps. The average time for a truck to dump its load from one of the ramps is 1.5
minutes. Currently the time it takes for one haul truck to travel from the crusher to the shovel,
wait in a queue (maybe), get loaded by the shovel, and return (its backcycle time) is about 30
minutes.
There is an opportunity to move the crusher so that the backcycle time is 20 minutes. A crusher
move would take 5 days. At this mine there are 23 working hours in a day.
a) [2 marks] Assuming an appropriate queue model, make a plot of the production rate (in tons
per hour) versus backcycle time for backcycle times ranging between 20 and 40 minutes.
b) [2 marks] What is the production rate if the backcycle time is 35 minutes? 20 minutes?
c) [1 mark] Assuming the current backcycle time of 30 minutes, approximately how many more
trucks would be needed to achieve the production rate of a 20 minute backcycle time?
d) [1 mark] For the current production rate, what is the lost production (in tons) due to the
crusher move?
e) [4 marks] The benefit of the crusher move is obtaining the higher production rate. The costs
are operating at the lower production rate and the cost of the lost production during the 5
day crusher move. If the benefits and costs are measured in terms of production (in tons),
what is the time (in working days) that balances the benefits and costs? Give an interpretation
in words of this time.