Mining Haul Roads

Mining haul roads are a critical component of surface mining infrastructure and the performance of these roads has a direct impact on operational efficiency, costs and safety. A significant proportion of a mine’s cost is associated with material haulage and well-designed and managed roads contribute directly to reductions in cycle times, fuel burn, tyre costs and overall cost per tonne hauled and critically, underpin a safe transport system. The first comprehensive treatise on mining haul road design, construction, operation and management, Mining Haul Roads – Theory and Practice presents an authoritative compendium of worldwide experience and state-of-the-art practices developed and applied over the last 25 years by the three authors, over three continents and many of the world’s leading surface mining operations. In this book, the authors: Introduce the four design components of an integrated design methodology for mining haul roads – geometric (including drainage), structural, functional and maintenance management Illustrate how mine planning constraints inform road design requirements Develop the analytical framework for each of the design components from their theoretical basis, and using typical mine-site applications, illustrate how site-specific design guidelines are developed, together with their practical implementation Summarise the key road safety and geometric design considerations specific to mining haul roads Specify the mechanistic structural design approach unique to ultra-heavy wheel loading associated with OTR mine trucks Describe the selection, application and management of the road wearing course material, together with its rehabilitation, including the use of palliatives Develop road and operating cost models for estimating total road-user costs, based on road rolling resistance measurement and modelling techniques Illustrate the approach of costing a mining road construction project based on the design methodologies previously introduced List and describe future trends in mine haulage system development, how mining haul road design will evolve to meet these new system challenges and how the increasing availability of data is used to manage road performance and ultimately provide 24x7 trafficability. Mining Haul Roads – Theory and Practice is a complete practical reference for mining operations, contractors and mine planners alike, as well as civil engineering practitioners and consulting engineers. It will also be invaluable in other fields of transportation infrastructure provision and for those seeking to learn and apply the state-of-the-art in mining haul roads. “This book is the most definitive treatise on mining haul roads ever written [...] There has never been a text that addresses the many facets of mining haul roads on such a scope [...]” From the Foreword by Jim Humphrey, Professional Engineer, Autonomous haulage systems developer and Distinguished Member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.

This Bureau of Mines manual for design of surface mine haulage roads covers such aspects of haulage road design as road alignment (both vertical and horizontal), construction materials, cross slope, and drainage provisions. Traffic control and design of proper lane widths to promote safe vehicle movement are included, as are suggested criteria for road and vehicle maintenance and for runaway vehicle safety provisions. The aim of this publication is to provide those involved with surface mine haulage road design with a complete manual of recommended practices that, if implemented, will promote safer, more efficient haulage routes.

This third edition of the SME Mining Engineering Handbook reaffirms its international reputation as "the handbook of choice" for today's practicing mining engineer. It distills the body of knowledge that characterizes mining engineering as a disciplinary field and has subsequently helped to inspire and inform generations of mining professionals.Virtually all of the information is original content, representing the latest information from more than 250 internationally recognized mining industry experts. Within the handbook's 115 thought-provoking chapters are current topics relevant to today's mining professional: Analyzing how the mining and minerals industry will develop over the medium and long term--why such changes are inevitable, what this will mean in terms of challenges, and how they could be managed Explaining the mechanics associated with the multifaceted world of mine and mineral economics, from the decisions associated with how best to finance a single piece of high-value equipment to the long-term cash-flow issues associated with mine planning at a mature operation Describing the recent and ongoing technical initiatives and engineering developments in relation to robotics, automation, acid rock drainage, block caving optimization, or process dewatering methods Examining in detail the methods and equipment available to achieve efficient, predictable, and safe rock breaking, whether employing a tunnel boring machine for development work, mineral extraction using a mobile miner, or cast blasting at a surface coal operation Identifying the salient points that dictate which is the safest, most efficient, and most versatile extraction method to employ, as well as describing in detail how each alternative is engineered Discussing the impacts that social and environmental issues have on mining from the pre-exploration phase to end-of-mine issues and beyond, and how to manage these two increasingly important factors to the benefit of both the mining companies and other stakeholders

Haul road pavement condition has long been considered as having a significant influence on the efficiency of haulage in surface mining. However limited literature exists relating wearing course condition with performance, resulting in mine operators not maximising the potential value of their haul road assets. This project focuses on defining current issues associated with the functional performance of haul roads, through a case study involving three iron ore mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Consequently attempts are then made to relate material properties to performance so that existing criteria can be verified or refined. Cementitious stabilisation and naturally occurring gravels found adjacent to the mines involved in the case study are then trialled via laboratory testing, show promise and lead to a recommendation of subsequent field trials. Pavement lifetime costing is finally completed with the Pilbara environment as the basis, utilising the most appropriate models currently available for pavement condition and vehicle operating and maintenance costs. This resulted in a lack of variability due to material properties, with maintenance variables having a greater effect. Lastly it is found that potential production loss values (net reduction in ore hauled) outweigh expenditure on improved maintenance practice or even material treatments.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Conference on Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, AIS 2011, held in Burnaby, BC, Canada, in June 2011, colocated with the International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition, IACIAR 2011. The 40 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on autonomous and intelligent systems, intelligent and advanced control systems, intelligent sensing and data analysis, human-machine interaction, and intelligent circuit analysis and signal processing.

The conferences on ‘Applications for Computers and Operations Research in the Minerals Industry’ (APCOM) initially focused on the optimization of geostatistics and resource estimation. Several standard methods used in these fields were presented in the early days of APCOM. While geostatistics remains an important part, information technology has emerged, and nowadays APCOM not only focuses on geostatistics and resource estimation, but has broadened its horizon to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the mineral industry. Mining Goes Digital is a collection of 90 high quality, peer reviewed papers covering recent ICT-related developments in: - Geostatistics and Resource Estimation - Mine Planning - Scheduling and Dispatch - Mine Safety and Mine Operation - Internet of Things, Robotics - Emerging Technologies - Synergies from other industries - General aspects of Digital Transformation in Mining Mining Goes Digital will be of interest to professionals and academics involved or interested in the above-mentioned areas.