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1 – 10 of 274Dilip Sembakutti, Aldin Ardian, Mustafa Kumral and Agus Pulung Sasmito
The purpose of this paper is twofold: an approach is proposed to determine the optimum replacement time for shovel teeth; and a risk-quantification approached is developed to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: an approach is proposed to determine the optimum replacement time for shovel teeth; and a risk-quantification approached is developed to derive a confidence interval for replacement time.
Design/methodology/approach
The risk-quantification approach is based on a combination of Monte Carlo simulation and Markov chain. Monte Carlo simulation whereby the wear of shovel teeth is probabilistically monitored over time is used.
Findings
Results show that a proper replacement strategy has potential to increase operation efficiency and the uncertainties associated with this strategy can be managed.
Research limitations/implications
The failure time distribution of a tooth is assumed to remain “identically distributed and independent.” Planned tooth replacements are always done when the shovel is not in operation (e.g. between a shift change).
Practical implications
The proposed approach can be effectively used to determine a replacement strategy, along with the level of confidence level, for preventive maintenance planning.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper rests on developing a novel approach to monitor wear on mining shovels probabilistically. Uncertainty associated with production targets is quantified.
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Patarawan Chaowasakoo, Heikki Seppälä and Heikki Koivo
The most costly part in an open-pit mine is the transportation of material out of the mine. The efficiency of the truck-and-shovel fleet plays a major role in cost control. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The most costly part in an open-pit mine is the transportation of material out of the mine. The efficiency of the truck-and-shovel fleet plays a major role in cost control. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The truck dispatching simulation model with consideration of age-based maintenance is proposed.
Findings
This paper underlines an impact of truck dispatching decisions and reveals remarkable differences in the total production under different approaches of operational availability. Additionally, the simulated results introduce an effective scheduled maintenance for different truck age levels.
Originality/value
The approach is based on a case study taking into account the stochastic equipment behavior and environment in a real open-pit mine. This approach can be used more generally in situations in which truck fleets are used to transport material.
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Nana Amma Anokye, John Victor Mensah, Harriet Muriel Dzifa Potakey, Janet Serwah Boateng, David Wellington Essaw and Emmanuel Yamoah Tenkorang
Globally, rapid urbanisation characterised by increasing demand for housing and infrastructure needs has resulted in sand mining. In Ghana, sand mining can create or destroy the…
Abstract
Purpose
Globally, rapid urbanisation characterised by increasing demand for housing and infrastructure needs has resulted in sand mining. In Ghana, sand mining can create or destroy the livelihoods of people in urban and rural areas. This paper examines the interaction between sand mining and land-based livelihood security in Awutu Senya District (ASD) and Awutu Senya East Municipality (ASEM).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on pragmatism philosophy, the study used a mixed methods approach to collect quantitative data and qualitative data from 431 household heads, ten core staff of the Assemblies, five traditional leaders, two tipper truck drivers' associations and ten farmer groups. Statistical Product and Service Solutions, version 21 and NVivo 12 facilitated quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis, respectively.
Findings
The study revealed that sand mining had different consequences on land-based livelihood security. Some block makers and truck drivers acknowledged positive effects of sand mining on their livelihoods while the majority of the household respondents and other key informants claimed that sand mining had negative effects on their livelihoods.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focuses on two selected local government areas in Ghana. Therefore, the results may be generalised on the country with caution because local government areas have different characteristics. Further research is needed to contact the customers of sand in Accra.
Originality/value
This study provides new insight into the connections between sand mining and people's livelihood security in two local government areas. It also introduces a novel idea of collaboration among stakeholders to address negative effects associated with unsustainable sand mining.
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The National Coal Board has always recognized the vital part that properly used teaching aids can play in any training programme. In many respects coal mining Is a unique…
Abstract
The National Coal Board has always recognized the vital part that properly used teaching aids can play in any training programme. In many respects coal mining Is a unique Industry, and techniques and methods learned by operatives elsewhere are rarely applicable to coalgetting. There is thus a basic need to train from scratch all new entrants to the industry and, coupled with this, a need to arrange refresher and retraining courses to keep employees up to date on all aspects of their work.
Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya and Yash Shah
Emerging technologies have been transforming most industries. A wide range of emerging technologies such as blockchain, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI)…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging technologies have been transforming most industries. A wide range of emerging technologies such as blockchain, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotics and many others have changed the way in which firm value chain activities or processes were executed traditionally. The mining industry has also witnessed the introduction of these emerging technologies in various processes from the exploration stage to the final processing of ores. The purpose of this paper is to understand the pace of adoption of emerging technologies in the Indian mining industry and identify the challenges that managers confront while adopting emerging technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors undertook qualitative research. Data collection was done in two stages. Secondary research was conducted to arrive at a repository of use cases of the adoption of emerging technologies in the global mining industry. Primary data collection was also done. The insights on emerging technology adoption and challenges faced in the Indian mining industry were captured by in-depth interviewing of subject matter experts. The authors interviewed 21 mining subject matter experts with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire. The responses were content analyzed by thematic content analysis. Technological-organizational-environmental (TOE) and diffusion of innovation (DOI) frameworks were applied to segregate different factors affecting the adoption of emerging technologies in the Indian mining industry.
Findings
Emerging technologies such as blockchain, IoT, AI, ML, robotics has been applied across various mining engineering value chain activities such as in drilling, blasting, excavation and ore hauling. However, emerging technologies adoption was hindered because of a lack of managerial awareness, cultural inertia, substantive upfront investments and the nature of intangible benefits in the short run.
Research limitations/implications
The research applied technology adoption frameworks in the mining industry. The authors used TOE and DOI frameworks to understand the challenges faced by Indian mining firms. The research findings, thus added to the conversation of TOE and DOI frameworks in the context of the Indian mining industry.
Practical implications
The research finding would help mining firm managers to anticipate the challenges with respect to technology adoption. This would allow mining executives to create a proper technology adoption plan and intervene proactively. The research would also provide information about the steps taken by competing firms with respect to emerging technologies adoption. The research would help managers to decide technology implementation steps in drilling, blasting, excavation and ore hauling to be undertaken for successful adoption of emerging technologies. Technology firms could gain insights into the issues faced by mining firms in adopting emerging technologies. This research would help managers to influence organizational technology policy and endorse the addition of pro-technology policies in mining activities. Policymakers involved in the mining sector could also incorporate industry-level policy decisions so as to facilitate the adoption of emerging technologies among mining firms and remove the barriers to the adoption of emerging technologies. This would create an opportunity for technology providers to redesign product offerings, which could be a good fit for Indian mining firms.
Originality/value
Indian mining industry contributed significantly to the Indian economy. Despite this, limited focus has been put regarding the adoption of emerging technologies in the mining industry. Mining managers did not have any framework to understand the challenges faced in the adoption of technologies across the mining value chain that is in drilling, blasting, excavation and ore hauling. This study focused on identifying those challenges through the use of technology adoption frameworks. This research was one of the first studies to gain insights on emerging technologies adoption in the context of the mining industry through the theoretical lens of TOE and DOI frameworks.
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James Reveley and John Singleton
By juxtaposing fatal colliery explosions in early twentieth-century Britain and in 2010 at Pike River, New Zealand, this paper aims to investigate the generalizability of the mock…
Abstract
Purpose
By juxtaposing fatal colliery explosions in early twentieth-century Britain and in 2010 at Pike River, New Zealand, this paper aims to investigate the generalizability of the mock bureaucracy concept to underground coal mining disasters.
Design/methodology/approach
The main source is published official accident inquiries; a methodological reflection justifies the use of these materials.
Findings
Mock bureaucracies existed in the British underground coal mining milieu from the time when safety rules were first formulated in that industry context. As for Pike River, it is an exemplary case. The development in 1970s Britain of a new approach to safety management (the Robens system), and its subsequent export to New Zealand, means that a contemporary coal mine under financial duress, such as Pike River, is a prime site for mock bureaucracy to flourish.
Originality/value
Although the concept of mock bureaucracy has been applied to an explosion in an underground coal mine before, this is the first paper to explore the concept’s historical usage and generalizability in explaining the environing context of such explosions.
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This article was originally written for the former Careers Bulletin which has now been superseded by a new‐style publication.
Nicolas La Roche-Carrier, Guyh Dituba Ngoma, Yasar Kocaefe and Fouad Erchiqui
Reliability plays an important role in the execution of the maintenance improvement and the understanding of its concepts is essential to predict the type of maintenance according…
Abstract
Purpose
Reliability plays an important role in the execution of the maintenance improvement and the understanding of its concepts is essential to predict the type of maintenance according to the equipment state. Thereby, a computational tool was developed and programming with VBA in Excel® for reliability and failure analysis in a mining context. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The developed approach use the modeling of stochastic processes, such as the renewal process, the non-homogeneous Poisson process and less conventional method as the Bayesian approach, by considering Jeffreys non-informative prior. The resolution gives the best associated model, the parameters estimation, the mean time between failure and the reliability estimate. This approach is validated with the reliability analysis of inter-failure times from underground rock bolters subsystems, over a two-year period.
Findings
Results show that Weibull and lognormal probability distribution fit to the most subsystems inter-failure times. The study revealed that the bolting head, the rock drill, the screen handler, the electric/electronic system, the hydraulic system, the drilling feeder and the structural consume the most repair frequency. The hydraulic and electric/electronic subsystems represent the lowest reliability after 50 operation hours.
Originality/value
For the first time, this case study defines practical failures and reliability information for rock bolter subsystems based on real operation data. This paper is useful to the comparative evaluation of rock bolter by detecting the weakest elements and understanding failure patterns in the individual observation subsystems on the overall machine performance.
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A.K.S. Jardine, D. Banjevic, M. Wiseman, S. Buck and T. Joseph
Discusses work completed at Cardinal River Coals in Canada to improve the existing oil analysis condition monitoring program being undertaken for wheel motors. Oil analysis…
Abstract
Discusses work completed at Cardinal River Coals in Canada to improve the existing oil analysis condition monitoring program being undertaken for wheel motors. Oil analysis results from a fleet of 55 haul truck wheel motors were analyzed along with their respective failures and repairs over a nine‐year period. Detailed data cleaning procedures were applied to prepare data for modeling. In addition, definitions of failure and suspension were clarified depending on equipment condition at replacement. Using the proportional hazards model approach, the key condition variables relating to failures were found from among the 19 elements monitored, plus sediment and viscosity. Those key variables were then incorporated into a decision model that provided an unambiguous and optimal recommendation on whether to continue operating a wheel motor or to remove it for overhaul on the basis of data obtained from an oil sample. Wheel motor failure implied extensive planetary gear or sun gear damage necessitating the replacement of one or more major internal components in a general overhaul. The decision model, when triggered by incoming data, provided both a recommendation based on an optimal decision policy as well as an estimate of the unit’s remaining useful life. By optimizing the times of repair as a function both of age and condition data a 20‐30 percent potential savings in overhaul costs over existing practice was identified.
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During operation, mines experience safety, reliability, environmental and financial problems. In order to avoid these problems or idle capacities, mining operations should be…
Abstract
Purpose
During operation, mines experience safety, reliability, environmental and financial problems. In order to avoid these problems or idle capacities, mining operations should be performed within the specified reliability level of the system. Therefore, mining sub‐systems such as drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, ventilation, hoisting and supporting should be designed and maintained carefully. In this context, maintenance time causes a critical optimization problem in mines. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The problem is formulated as a non‐linear optimization problem and solved by genetic algorithms. A case study is conducted to demonstrate to the performance of approach for an underground operation.
Findings
The results show that the approach can be used to determine the best action time.
Practical implications
The approach can be applicable to different mining methods in more sophisticated sub‐systems.
Originality/value
The paper recommends a genetic algorithmic approach to make a decision on optimal timing of maintenance of a mine.
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