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EXCELLENCE INEXCAVATOR PLANNING

AT DRAYTON MINE

FROM THE DESIGN TO THE IMPLEMENTATION IN THE FIELD

Erik Heiland

Anglo American Metallurgical Coal

Australia

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CONTENTS

• Locality and Background Information

• The Excavator Planning Process

• Conclusion

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LOCALITY AND BACKGROUND

INFORMATION

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LOCALITY

• Hunter Valley/ New South Wales

• One of AAMC’s most challenging operations

• Operation began in 1983

• Scheduled production in 2010: 5Mt of thermal coal

– 4Mt for export market– 1Mt for domestic market (Liddell

and Bayswater power stations)

Map of Region

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MINING EQUIPMENT

• Major Mining Equipment– One BE1370 dragline– Two Hitachi EX5500 excavators – One Hitachi EX3500 excavator – Two front end loaders

(Le Tourneau L1100 and L1400)– 24 Caterpillar 789B and C trucks

• 67% of Drayton’s prime overburden is planned to be moved by Hitachi EX5500 excavators

• Aim: Uncover coal in the safest and most efficient way in accordance with the business plan schedule

BE1370 Dragline

Excavator 305

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COMPLEX GEOLOGY

• Deposit consists of five major seam groups with up to 40 splits

• Major geological features are:– 45 to 60 degree steep dipping coal

seams– Up to 40m faults– 100m thrust plane– Dykes– Intrusions

• Geology creates tough working environment for the machinery

Drayton Mine Seam Split Diagram

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COMPLEX GEOLOGY CONT.

• Thrusting and Faulting create a major challenge for the mining operation• Drayton has a 100m thrust plane running through the deposit

Diagrammatic Representation of Normal Faulting and Thrust Faulting

Balmorals

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• An Example: South Pit East

• Thrust plane, 10 faults, seam splitting, fill, spon com…

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COMPLEX GEOLOGY CONT.

Diagrammatic Representation of Normal Faulting and Thrust Faulting

Representative Cross-Section Through South Pit East, October 2010

Thrust plane

Section

AB

A B

Faults shownin black

Faults

These are the same Grasstrees seams

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BENCHMARK PERFORMANCE

• Drayton’s excavator fleet delivers benchmark performance within AAMC

• EXC306 and 307 are ranked No. 1 and 2 in its category

• Major Key Performance Indicator: Operational Equipment Efficiency

AAMC Operational Efficiency Ranking, Above 500t Excavator Category, August 2010

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THE EXCAVATOR PLANNING

PROCESS

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THE EXCAVATOR PLANNING PROCESS

• Process includes eight process steps• Bullet point 2

• Bullet point 3

• Bullet point 4

• Bullet point 5

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MINE ACTIVITY DESIGN (MAD)

• Compliance with AAMC Operations Management System

• Focus on the long term, medium term and short term planning, actual production and reconciliation

• MAD document focuses on the 18-month planning process The AAMC Mine Planning Process

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16 WEEK SCHEDULE

• Visual representation of equipment path for the Dragline and twoEX5500 Excavators

• Purpose of schedule– Identification equipment interactions– Input data for the 16 week drill and blast schedule– Determination of coal uncovered dates for the coal and partings schedule– Identification of short term truck shortages or excess

The 306 Excavator Path in the 16 Week Schedule

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MONTHLY OPERATING PLAN (MOP) DESIGN REVIEW

• Review of excavator designs for the following month

• Determination of average monthly dig rate per excavator for input in schedule

• Optimisation of dig plans

• Presentation of plans by the excavator engineer

One of Tony’s pics

Visualisation of the EN03 Broughams dig area

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MOP DELIVERY PLAN MEETING

• Identification of critical issues

• Ensure the monthly Key Performance Indicators are achieved

• Assign actions and agree on due dates

Key Performance Indicator: Prime, Monthly Delivery Plan, September 2010

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EXCAVATOR PLAN SIGN OFF PROCESS

• E = Q x A [Effectiveness = Quality x Acceptance]

• Ensure that final design plans contain the most up to date information

• Import of actual drilling data to deliver most accurate coal surface

• Sign off to be completed one week before an excavator enters the work area

Sign off for SPW09-10P and SPW08G dig

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WEEKLY PLAN PROCESS AND PACK

• Weekly Plan Process includes a pre-planning meeting and a planning meeting

• Agree on the weekly equipment path, blast and mining sequence, equipment interaction

• Weekly plan pack is a comprehensive package which is sent via E-mail to all relevant mine personnel

Weekly Plan Excavator Path, Plan commencing 7 October 2010

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DAILY PIT COMMUNICATION

• Pit inspections are conducted a minimum of three times a week

• Communication of the plan to front line personnel

• Inspection of current and future dig and dump areas during the tour

• Supervisor’s light vehicle and four bull dozers are equipped with a GPS

• Video GPS in Supervisors light vehicle – SPW09P12 dig area

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DAILY PIT COMMUNICATION

• Minimum three times a week

• Communication of the plan to front line personnel

• Inspection of Current and future dig and dump areas are inspected during the tour

• Supervisor’s light vehicle and four bull dozers are equipped with a GPS

• Video

NN10 East - Excavator

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Shot to be fired Firedon 26/06

Vol remaining: 735kBCM Trucks: 7Target seam: RL

Dig Sequence1) Continue 4.5m BSL pass from East to West to form Ramp on Northern side2) Come off the Ramp and BSL 4.5m passes uncover unshot material from West to East USE MATERIAL TO COVER FIRES IN SS WHEN TRUCKING AVAILABLEBLOCKY MATERIAL IN THE SOUTH OF THE DIG AREA

GPS FILE: NN10-190

DumpLevel 7-RL295, GPS-File: LV7REH

1

2

Unshot material to be uncovered

70Deg PS wall

45Deg Softwall

Haul route to East

Ramp

Application of 3D Dig Software in the NN Pit

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DIG AREA REVIEWS

• Dig reviews are carried out within one month after completion of the dig

• Reconciliation of planned vs. actual performance

• Key learning outcomes are identified and actions assigned

• Learning outcomes are included into the next MAD document

Excavator Dig Reconciliation

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CONCLUSION

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CONCLUSION

Excavator Planning at Drayton is very comprehensive process

Key reasons for success:– Customer focus and having good

working relationships– Input from experienced Production

personnel in the planning process – Use of direct communication– Accurate tracking of Key Performance

Indicators– Compliance with Operations

Management System

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23QUESTIONS?

“THE WAVE” IN THE NN PIT BW NE Steep dip