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? Haulage & Transport Optimization - Complete Guide

Efficient movement of ore and waste using trucks, conveyors, and auxiliary equipment in surface and underground mines.

15
Knowledge Pages
5
Interactive Tools
5
Case Studies
6
Resources
22
Lessons
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Haulage & Transport Optimization Overview

Getting ore and waste rock from where it’s blasted to where it needs to go β€” as fast, safely, and cheaply as possible β€”...

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Quick Start

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Knowledge Base

15 pages
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Key Concepts

Haulage & Transport
OptimizationHaul Cycle Time
Fundamentals
Conveyor Belt Capacity &
Transfer Point Design
Underground Ramp Design:
Gradient, Radius & Ventilation
Fleet Sizing Methodology:
Queuing & Bottleneck
Truck Dispatch Logic &
Fleet Utilization
Real-Time Telematics
Integration
Payload Optimization vs.
Tire Life Trade-offs
Grade Compensation &
Rolling Resistance

Visual overview of key concepts and their relationships

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Real Projects

5 cases
Chilean Copper Mine: Autonomous Haul Fleet DeploymentDTDigital TwinSFSensor FusionECEdge ComputePCPhased Commissioningd = 187.3 mBraking distanceA = 22.6 dBLiDAR attenuationΟƒ_pos = 0.17 mGNSS-RTK (3D RMS)Extreme EnvironmentAltitude: 3200 m ASL β€’ Temp: βˆ’5Β°C to 42Β°C β€’ Dust: ρ = 1200 ΞΌg/mΒ³ β€’ Steep/winding roads

Chilean Copper Mine: Autonomous Haul Fleet Deployment

A Tier-1 copper mine in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, deployed an autonomous haul fleet across its open-pit operation. The site processes ~450 ktpd of ore and waste, with a 2.8-km average haul distance and 320-m vertical lift. The project involved retrofitting and integrating 42 autonomous 290-tonne CAT 794 AC electric drive haul trucks into existing dispatch and traffic management systems.

Challenge: Achieving safe, reliable, and productive autonomous haulage under extreme enviro...
ROM Pit Crusher & Plant Conveyor (7.3 km) Truck Route BE Throughput: 42.7 Mtpa Crossover Distance: 7.3 km 15-yr NPV Savings: $1.28B Legend Conveyor Truck Route Breakeven Point 7.3 km Challenges

Australian Iron Ore Open Pit: Conveyors vs. Trucking Economic Threshold

A major iron ore mining operation in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, producing 85 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum) of run-of-mine (ROM) material. The open-pit mine features a 1.2 km deep pit with haul distances ranging from 4.5 km to 12.8 km from shovel faces to primary crusher and stockpile destinations. Annual fleet comprises 160 Γ— 360-tonne ultra-class off-highway trucks.

Challenge: Determine the economic breakeven point (tonnes per annum and distance) at which...
Steep Ramp Optimization: Narrow Vein Gold Mine Ramp (L = 1.2 km) Development Drift (Top) Development Drift (Bottom) 35-t Grade: 16.2% R = 12 m e = 8.2% Challenge Zone β€’ 15% grade β†’ brake/tire wear β€’ R = 12 m β†’ lateral instability MineRP + TruckSim Ξ”t = βˆ’97 s/trip Gβ‚˜β‚β‚“ = 16.2% e = 8.2% Drift Optimized Ramp Grade/Curve Challenge

Canadian Gold Mine: Steep Ramp Optimization in Narrow Vein Underground

A high-grade narrow-vein gold mine in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Ontario, Canada. Annual production: 120,000 oz Au; underground operation at depths of 800–1,400 m; ore zones average 0.8–1.2 m wide with dip angles of 75–85Β°. Haulage relies on a single steep-slope ramp system (originally designed at 15% grade) connecting six production levels.

Challenge: Excessive truck cycle times and premature tire/brake wear due to suboptimal ramp...
South African Platinum Mine
Waste Dump Reclaim OptimizationDES Model
(Calibrated)
Telematics
Data Hub
LP Route
Optimizer
Ramp Bottleneck
<12% gradient
Queueing
<8 trucks/km
Fleet Underuse
87.3% util.
Optimized Outcomes:β€’ βˆ’22.6% energy/t-km | β€’ σ² ↓142 sΒ² | β€’ 32β†’24.7 L/t-kmRampAccess

South African Platinum Mine: Waste Dump Reclaim Optimization

A major platinum group metals (PGM) mine in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, North West Province, South Africa. The operation manages ~120 Mt/year of waste rock, with legacy dumps spanning >400 ha and up to 85 m high. Reclamation involves relocating waste from decommissioned dumps to active disposal areas while supporting concurrent mining expansion.

Challenge: Inefficient haulage routing and underutilized fleet capacity during waste dump r...
Loading Zone ACrusher PortalHaul Route (Baseline)Q_local / Q_design = 0.82 β†’ VHDI = 1,942DPM Ο„ = 124 sECT adj. = 1.142CO >125 ppmVOD OverridePareto-Optimal RouteVHDI: 1,942DPM Ο„: 124 sECT adj.: 1.142

Peruvian Silver Mine: Ventilation-Integrated Haul Route Planning

A major underground silver mine in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, operating at elevations between 4,200–4,600 m above sea level. The mine produces ~3.2 million tonnes of ore annually across three primary extraction levels (1,850 m, 1,800 m, and 1,750 m RL), with a network of 42 km of development and production haulage drifts. Ventilation demand exceeds 320 mΒ³/s due to diesel emissions, heat load, and dust control requirements.

Challenge: Traditional haul route planning prioritized shortest distance and gradient, negl...
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Learning Path

22 lessons

Master Haulage & Transport Optimization through a structured learning path β€” from fundamentals to advanced applications.

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