Abstract:
Truck-shovel haulage system (TSHS) is the commonly used haulage system in open pit mines due to its flexibility and economy. In-pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) haulage system has advanced and is an alternative to TSHS in deep open pit mines. The objectives of this research are to evaluate the use of the TSHS and IPCC in materials handling, conduct economic analysis of the TSHS and IPCC systems for deep open pit mines and suggest optimal ways of handling materials from them.
The unit haulage costs, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), discounted payback period (DPP) were calculated while sensitivity and risk analyses was conducted on the two materials handling options. The results show that the IPCC system has lower unit costs than TSHS; the NPV of IPCC system is BWP 282.25 billion while that of the TSHS is BWP 278.83 billion; the DPP of the TSHS and IPCC systems in ore and waste are 2.94 months and 2.13 months respectively while the IRR of the TSHS and IPCC systems in ore and waste are 147% and 185% respectively. As the NPVs of both systems are positive, with very short DPPs and high IRRs, the systems are considered to be economically viable. However, the IPCC is considered more economically viable than TSHS. The NPV of IPCC is less sensitive to variations in the input variables compared to TSHS. It is recommended that mine planners should consider using IPCC haulage system in deep open pits.
