Mineral Haulage Equipment for Cleveland Potash Limited Evaluation of Options - Thesis Proposal Example

Mineral Haulage Equipment for Cleveland Potash Limited – Evaluation of Options Introduction Cleveland Potash Limited (CPL), Boulby, England is one ofthe leading mining companies in the world for the production of potash and has been in operation for over 35 years. In the course of its history, CPL had successively deployed a variety of mining and haulage machinery, with each generation of equipment more advanced than the previous ones in terms of technological improvements and operational efficiency. The decisive factors in these changes have been the ability to move the mined materials in a continuous manner, reliability, and the operating costs per tonne of material removed. Currently CPL is using JOY brand Shuttle Cars and Flexible Conveyor Train (FCT) in association with Heliminers in its mining operations. The FCT option has been in service since 2005 and the new generation Shuttle Cars were introduced in April, 2009. This dissertation work proposes to make a comparative evaluation of the performance between the FCT continuous haulage system and the new 20 tonne capacity Shuttle Car system within the potash mining horizon at Cleveland Potash Limited. Objectives of the study CPL’s corporate plans call for enhanced production with a significant improvement in the economies of operation. Thus two main goals of the company can be noted as tonnage of material removed from the mines and the cost per tonne of material mined, keeping in mind the current operations and the proposed expansions. Introduction of the new generation Shuttle Cars and their operation during the past 8 months provides an opportunity for an objective analysis of the relative merits of the new haulage systems vis-à-vis the earlier FCT system. Thus the objectives of this study can be listed as: To evaluate the capacity utilisation factor for each system. To evaluate the operational reliability and hence productivity of each system. To evaluate the costs of operation and maintenance of each system. To evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages of each system in terms of suitability for i) room and pillar mining ii) long wall mining, and hence to recommend appropriate choices for future needs, based on the reserves plan, panel length, layout and potential. Scope of study The proposed study will be substantially based on the operational experience at CPL and as such limited to the recorded data, having a bearing on the objectives identified above. At the core of this study is the comparative evaluation of the two types of haulage systems in use at CPL. On the technical side, the study will be limited to general observations on the design, operation and maintenance of the two systems. On the financial side, the study will be limited to the investment costs, and operation and maintenance costs with a view to estimate the data on cost per tonne of mining. Background Boulby mine of CPL is situated in the northeast of England within the North York Moors National Park and is the only potash producing mine in the U.K. CPL was a pioneer in potash mining, using state-of-the-art machinery from time to time to emerge as an important producer of potash in the world. Production started in the early 1970’s with room and pillar mining as the preferred method of extraction and the ore was liberated by drilling and blasting. The mineral haulage system adopted in the early days was batch or non-continuous haulage, utilizing Eimco 915 load haul dumpers (LHD). These machines collected the ore and delivered it to the conveyor system via a delivery point or ore pass. The capacity of each LHD was approximately 6 tonnes. Rising costs of production on several accounts like the cost of new machinery, repair and maintenance costs, down time costs, etc. obliged the company to increase production in order to improve productivity and hence reduce cost per tonne. With exploratory drilling proving new reserves, mining layouts had to be constantly changed to exploit them and also to accommodate introduction of new machinery. Production was also being enhanced to meet market demand. Drilling and blasting as an earlier mining method, gave way to the deployment of the more modern Jeffrey Dresser hard rock drums, called Heliminers in the mid 1970s. Shuttle Cars were also introduced at the same time in place of LHDs. Heliminers cut and discharged ore on to the Shuttle Car directly, thus improving productivity. The electrically driven Shuttle Cars with a higher capacity of 10 t as against 6 t for the LHDs made significant difference to the operations, in terms of reliability, emission norms, ergonomics and efficiency. LHDs’ reliability was poor because of frequent breakdowns. Shuttle Cars are the interface between the Heliminers and the conveyor system for material haulage, collecting materials from the former and discharging it to the latter. At CPL Shuttle Cars are still the main haulage link between the advancing face and the conveyor system. Their designs have evolved with both CPL’s in-house contribution and the innovations introduced by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Shuttle Cars are now considered high performance, high reliability units, although the system of Heliminers and Shuttle Cars is by no means a continuous haulage system. The first truly continuous haulage system, the Flexible Conveyor Train (FCT) was introduced into CPL in 2005 having been substantially adapted from the original design, widely used in North America. The FCT operates as an articulating conveyor which overlaps the district conveyor and is mounted above it on a dynamic move-up unit (DMU), which serves to captivate the FCT and enable it to discharge the mineral on to the district conveyor whilst the inby hopper section follows the continuous Heliminer. In April 2009 CPL took delivery of a new generation of Shuttle Cars, the Joy 10SC32 Shuttle Car. These machines have a capacity of 20 tonnes each and have been modified to suit CPL’s application and work in conjunction with the Heliminers. It is the introduction of these new design Shuttle Cars that provides the opportunity to make a comparative evaluation of their performance with respect to the FCTs which are also simultaneously in operation. Design of the study / Methodology This dissertation work will cover both literature review and qualitative / quantitative data gathering methodology. Literature review will be based on a general study of published literature relevant to room & pillar and long wall mining operations, with particular bias towards the use of shuttle cars and flexible conveyor trains in them. Further, the design and operational features of the two systems will be evaluated based on catalogues and drawings from the manufacturers. The substantial part of the study will be based on the operational data to be collected over a period of 6 months by interacting with the staff and managers of CPL. This data will be analysed and presented in a meaningful way to meet the objectives of the study. Based on the data gathered, recommendations will be made on the choice of machinery for future expansion plans at CPL. Terms of Reference This project will be undertaken for Cleveland Potash limited, at Boulby Mine on a part- time basis over the forthcoming 6 months, under the supervision of Prof. John Coggan of CSM and Mr. Brady, Chief Mechanical Engineer, and Mr.Denis Allchurch Deputy Mines Manager, both of CPL. Being a study on the operational aspects of a running company, it is recognised that there may be constraints on the information to be collected and in such cases appropriate qualitative views can be presented in place of quantitative data. Conclusion The proposed dissertation work at CPL is an ideal opportunity to carry out credible research into an operational aspect. Association of the senior level managers of the company would enhance the quality of data collected and its usefulness for CPL. Read More