New Developments On Mine Planning And Grade Control At Sishen Iron Ore Mine

Sishen Iron Ore Mine is situated 280 km north-west of Kimberley within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The mine produces and sells high quality iron ore of various specifications to numerous national and worldwide purchasers. The saleable product is derived from the blending and mechanical steel beneficiation of different types and qualities of hematite iron ore. This paper paperwork the brand new developments which had been implemented (or are within the means of being implemented) on the mine within the lengthy-time period planning, medium-term planning, grade management and materials monitoring within the beneficiation plant with particular consideration being paid to the standard of the ultimate, saleable product. If you have any kind of questions concerning where and the best ways to utilize tool steel (www.openlearning.com), mechanical steel pipe you could contact us at our webpage. The process starts with the long-term planning the place the pit shell and pit optimization is set by Whittle 4X. New developments embody the introduction of a linear programming primarily based scheduling system to reinforce the lengthy-term schedule generated by Whittle 4X. The LP route was selected as a way to take into consideration all of the constraining elements of the ultimate product that could not be configured in Whittle. To complement this the XPAC Auto Scheduler scheduling bundle was introduced to do the medium-time period mine scheduling. This 18- month rolling plan contains price parameters to enable the planner to extract an in depth operational finances from the scheduling whereas ensuring that production requirements are maintained and grade constraints are met. The prevailing grade management system was enhanced with GPS capabilities and a computer system to do material monitoring. The excessive precision GPS system launched on the shovels permits for the accurate control of the loading procedures at the mining face. Because of the sophisticated geology and grade composition of blasting blocks it is imperative to accurately differentiate between completely different materials in the same blasting block and having the ability to excavate that with the loading tools. The GPS system on the trucks permits for correct location monitoring of dumping so as to keep monitor of particular materials varieties. The state-of-the-art materials monitoring system developed for Sishen will enable the grade control officer to keep track and record varied parameters of the fabric from its in situ place in the blasting blocks, by the crusher and onto different stockpiles, in various stages of the beneficiation process and onto the blending beds, into the dispatching trains and ultimately into the ships for international distribution. These developments elevate the Sishen planning and grade management systems to a brand new level of service excellence from which management can get hold of correct and timely data on product status. It also allows Sishen to maximize resource utilization whereas still complying with the powerful market constraints.