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Consumption of fossil fuels due to their non-renewability has always been one of the fundamental problems among energy-related issues. Major dependence of mining equipment and activities on energy, fuel and adequate fuel allocation has become of great importance in fuel consumption of mines. Therefore, this study aims to propose a model for optimal fuel allocation for mining industry.

In this study, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), as one of the well-known statistical methods, is used to model and analyze fuel consumption pattern in mine industry.

To show the applicability of the proposed model, the study investigates the model for a real mine in Iran. In this regard, real data of important factors affecting mine fuel consumption are collected. Results of statistical models construct a general formula to calculate the fuel consumption based on three main variables.

Policymaking is one of the important tasks in energy-related organizations. One of the main sectors that uses noticeable amount of fossil fuels is mining industry. Despite the government subsidy for mining in Iran, there is a significant price difference between the price of allocated fuel for mine and the price of the same fuel in the open market. Therefore, this study implements PLS-SEM approach to formulate the fuel consumption pattern under all possible fuel consumption indicators to enable policymakers to make reliable decision for future purposes.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a numerical model used for calculating the nonlinearities of large-scale hydro-pneumatic suspension (HPS) and investigating the effects of variations in flow path and operational parameter on suspension damping response.

To parameterization nonlinearities of the suspension, the author developed a two-phase flow model of a large-scale HPS based on computational fluid dynamics and volume of fluid method. Considerable effort was made to verify the nonlinearities by field measurements carried out on an off-highway mining dump truck. The investigation of effects of variations in flow path and operational parameter on damping characteristics highlights the necessity of the numerical simulation.

The two-phase flow model can represent the gas-oil interaction and simulate the suspension operational movement conveniently. Transient numerical simulation results can be used to model the nonlinearities of large-scale HPS accurately. A new phenomenon was discovered that the pressure in rebound chamber presents reduction trend during compression stroke in special cases. It has never been reported before.

Developed a two-phase flow model of a large-scale HPS, which can manage the gas-oil interaction and capture the complex flow field structure in it. The paper is the first study to model the nonlinearities of a large-scale HPS used in off-highway mining dump truck through transient numerical simulation. Compared with previous researches, such a research not only gives new insight and thorough understanding into the suspension internal fluid structure but also can give good guiding opinions to the optimal design of HPS.

The purpose of this paper is to explore operation influencing factors of mining. To collect gaps of study and to form a thematic representation of principal influencing factors and their unique influencing factors.

Articles were collected from different sources from 1974 to 2019 consisting of research articles, technical papers, expert blogs, working papers and conference papers covering various disciplines from psychology, human resource, finance and economics to mining engineering. Mining operation influencing factors were noted down. Four massively deposed mines were visited to observe the sequence of mining process. The field experts were also consulted to identify factors influencing their respected industry. Gaps were observed while comparing with the reviewed articles and opinions of field experts. Finally, senior experts were consulted to identify unique factors from the final list prepared and a framework of seven thematic categories consisting of unique factors was formulated.

A total of 197 sub-factors were collected from literature review and 2 sub-factors from Indian Mining experts during field study. These 199 sub-factors were initially categorised as 48 factors and one more factor was collected from Indian field experts. Finally, these 49 factors were thematically represented as principal factors and termed as operation, marketing and management, human resource, finance, resource and utility, corporate affairs and corporate social responsibility and environment.

This study can be very helpful in the direction of different qualitative and quantitative studies, as the factors and sub-factors groups are identified.

The paper fulfils an identified need to provide a holistic review for understanding and documenting principal factors, unique factors and sub-factors those influence mining operation, profitability or sustainability issues of mines.

Forklift trucks are generally operated with frequent accelerations and stops, reverse and operations of load handling. This way of operation increases the energy losses and consequently the need for reduction of fuel consumption from forklift customers. This study aims to build a model to replicate the performance of forklifts during real operations and estimate fuel consumption without building a real prototype.

AVL Cruise has been used to simulate forklift powertrain and hydraulic circuit. The driving cycles used for this study were in accordance with the standard VDI 2198. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), trained by the results of AVL Cruise simulations, have been used to forecast the fuel consumption for a large set of possible driving cycles.

The comparison between simulated and experimental data verified that AVL Cruise model was able to simulate the performance of real forklifts, but the results were only valid for the specified driving cycle. The ANNs, trained by the results of AVL Cruise for a certain number of driving cycles, have been found effective to forecast the fuel consumption of a larger number of driving cycles following the prescriptions of the standard VDI 2198.

A new method based on ANN, trained by AVL Cruise simulation results, has been introduced to forecast the forklift fuel consumption, reducing the computational time and the cost of experimental tests.

The chapter analyses the international economic specialization of the Republic of Belarus based on the balance of payments and national statistics data by type of economic activity. It also demonstrates application of the customized Trade in Value Added methodology for analysis of the international economic specialization of Belarus. The methodology has been developed for the calculation of selected key figures for 2011–2016. Using of “Input–Output” tables to measure intersectoral relationships enabled assessment of the international trade not only in terms of prices of goods and services, but in terms of value added of each product. The analysis shows that the most important industries of the international economic specialization of Belarus are oil products, chemical products, food stuffs, equipment and vehicles, transport services, computer services. Domestic value added share of exports is about 60%, which corresponds to the level of such countries of Central and Eastern Europe as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Poland. Consequently, import intensity of exports accounts for about 40%. The results of the study have allowed to assess the interrelation between production, exports, and economic growth and to provide recommendations ensuring a deficit-free balance of payments.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe how calculations are used in the early phase of strategic capital investment projects (SCIPs) in the mining context and thereby create an understanding of what calculations do in these situations.

The authors conducted a case study based on interviews with project managers, controllers and top-level managers, as well as documents and observations.

The empirical evidence provides key insights into the different uses of calculations in the early phase of SCIPs in the mining industry. The authors found evidence that calculations in the early phase of SCIPs are used to generate ideas, support learning and discussions, evaluate decisions and act as a mediating device.

The paper is based on a single organization, and therefore, the findings of the paper are limited to theoretical generalization.

The study has practical implications directed toward top management, controllers and project managers working with SCIPs. This study suggests that calculations in the early phase are used to unite and create a shared view in the early phase rather than to present rational answers to different investment decision. Calculations can also be used to direct attention toward important areas, sort out and prioritize among ideas, communicate a shared view and function as a template. Thus, calculations are essential in the early phase as they help to transform activities into actions.

This paper contributes to the accounting literature in which it has been emphasized that we still know little of strategic capital budgeting processes, with insights into the multiple uses of calculations in the early phase of SCIPs. We also argue that calculations act as mediating devices in the early phase of SCIPs as they provide a common frame of reference and a basis for action.

The purpose of this study is to provide some references about applying the semi-active particle damper to enhance the stability of the pipe structure.

This paper establishes the dynamical models of semi-active particle damper based on traditional dynamical theory and fractional-order theory, respectively. The semi-active particle damping vibration isolation system applied in a pipe structure is proposed, and its analytical solution compared with G-L numerical solution is solved by the averaging method. The quantitative relationships of fractional-order parameters (a and kp) are confirmed and their influences on the amplitude-frequency response of the vibration isolation system are analyzed. A fixed point can be obtained from the amplitude-frequency response curve, and the optimal parameter used for improving the vibration reduction effect of semi-active particle damper can be calculated based on this point. The nonlinear phenomenon caused by nonlinear oscillators is also investigated.

The results show that the nonlinear stiffness parameter p will cause the jump phenomenon while p is close to 87; with the variation of nonlinear damping parameter μ, the pitchfork bifurcation phenomenon will occur with an unstable branch after the transient response; with the change of fractional-order coefficient k_p, a segmented bifurcation phenomenon will happen, where an interval that k_p between 18.5 and 21.5 has no bifurcation phenomenon.

This study establishes a mathematical model of the typical semi-active particle damping vibration isolation system according to fractional-order theory and researches its nonlinear characteristics.

The dispatching of trucks in earthmoving and like operations is worthy of examination because of potential emission reductions and savings through the appropriate allocation of trucks to excavators and dump sites. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Truck dispatching is performed through linear programming (LP) and the effect of truck allocation on unit emissions and unit costs established. Number of trucks, unit cost and unit emissions are all considered as objective functions. A cut and fill operation on a road project provides a numerical case study.

It is demonstrated analytically that the minimum unit emissions solution is the same as that for minimum unit cost. Numerical results from the case study, including sensitivity analyses on the underlying parameters, support this conclusion.

The LP dispatching solution, based on minimizing truck numbers and unit costs, accordingly impacts the environment the least in terms of emissions. The paper's results will be of interest to those designing and managing earthmoving and like operations for production, cost and emissions.

While LP has been used by others to examine optimum unit cost dispatching, this paper is original in examining the dispatching or truck allocation based on both unit cost and unit emissions, and showing the relationship between the optima for both.

In the mining industry, a run-of-mine (ROM) stockpile is a temporary storage unit, but it is also widely accepted as an effective method to reduce the short-term variations of ore grade. However, tracing ore grade at ROM stockpiles accurately using most current fleet management systems is challenging, due to insufficient information available in real time. This study aims to build a three-dimensional (3D) model for ROM stockpiles continuously based on fine-grained grade information through integrating data from a number of ore grade tracking sources.

Following a literature review, a framework for a new stockpile management system is proposed. In this system, near real-time high-resolution 3D ROM stockpile models are created based on dump/load locations measured from global positioning system sensors. Each stockpile model contains a group of layers which are separated by different qualities.

Acquiring the geometric shapes of all the layers in a stockpile and cuts made by front wheel loaders provides a better understanding about the quality and quality distribution within a stockpile when it is stacked/reclaimed. Such a ROM stockpile model can provide information on predicating ore blend quality with high accuracy and high efficiency. Furthermore, a 3D stockyard model created based on such ROM stockpile models can help organisations optimise material flow and reduce the cost.

The modelling algorithm is evaluated using a laboratory scaled stockpile at this stage. The authors expect to scan a real stockpile and create a reference model from it. Meanwhile, the geometric model cannot represent slump or collapse during reclaiming faithfully. Therefore, the model is expected to be reconcile monthly using laser scanning data.

The proposed model is currently translated to the operations at OZ Minerals. The use of such model will reduce the handling costs and improve the efficiency of existing grade management systems in the mining industry.

This study provides a solution to build a near real-time high-resolution multi-layered 3D stockpile model through using currently available information and resources. Such novel and low-cost stockpile model will improve the production rates with good output product quality control.