Advanced Technology for Progressing India's Underground Coal Mining

Lisa Duncan

August 2014

We are:

The largest publicly traded independent

group of mining technical experts in the world.

• 18 Office Globally• 45+ Years Experience• 118 Countries• 5000 software installs• 14,000 Studies• $Billions value added

Solution Offering

We are:.

The clear market leader in production simulation, scheduling and costing solutions to resource companies globally

Production Simulation

Production Scheduling

Project Costing & Budgeting

Software Solutions

BLASTING SOLUTIONS BY DFPCL

Mine Planning Scheduling Horizons

BLASTING SOLUTIONS BY DFPCL

Agenda

• The Story Today

• Introducing Coal Solutions

• Case Study

• Simulation

• Summary

7

The Story Today

Todays Mining Landscape• High demand on local coal

• Focus on increasing production

• Land access issues

• Resources remain static

• Mining methods constant

• An interest in innovation

Why Is It Challenging?

• Resources are getting deeper

• Resources are complex

• Demand is increasing

• Planning considered difficult

Urgent Planning Issues

Common urgent issues include:

• Smaller properties

• Overlying constraints

• Open cast and underground mines in same vertical plane

• Geological disturbances

• Land and rehabilitation

• Skilled manpower

Why is Good Planning Currently a Challenge?• Complexities such as

• Multiple seams• Fire• Water• Gas

• Surface constraints

• Old mine workings

• Planning is often done while mining progresses

• Mines may not be optimised

• Geological and geotechnical data is complex and sometimes inaccurate

Technology?

• Software available, but often not used

• Medium and short term schedules not created to optimise the operation

• Testing of how the operation works prior to production not possible

• Software must be easy to use

13

Introducing Coal Solutions

Application of Technology

This conference will give you:

• Many good ideas• An awareness of what is new• What other mining operations are trying

This presentation will help you consider:

• How to combine new ideas and technologies

• How things can be improved at your mining operation

• The benefits effective use of software will bring

We are:

The largest publicly traded independent

group of mining technical experts in the world.

• 18 Office Globally• 45+ Years Experience• 118 Countries• 5000 software installs• 14,000 Studies• $Billions value added

Effective Mine Planning

New software concept – Coal Solutions• Advanced, robust, interactive

scheduling tools• Designed to be easy to learn• Designed to be easy to use• Commodity specific• Mining method specific• Process driven• Intuitive• Fast• Accurate

Understand what your mine is capable of.

Sophistication Without Complexity

• Integration of all schedule components: • Mining • Haulage• Processing • Dump construction

• Components “aware” of each other with continual, seamless data flow

• Easy to rapidly incorporate changes to underlying data

• Scheduling that is interactive - change something, see the impact immediately

More advanced and accurate models• Engineers can analyse many scenarios

quickly

• Scenarios run so quickly, scheduling becomes interactive

• Users will:• Retain focus• Concentrate longer• Absorb and remember changes• Understand deeply

• Engineers will learn what the mine is capable of

Training Fast and Easy

• Engineers require minimal training time

• New staff up to speed quickly

• Learning curve very fast

• High and fast user effectiveness

• Skills easily transferred

• Models quickly understood

Case Study

Case Study – Planning OptionsThis planning exercised considered:

• Production• Resource recovery• Tonnes per development metre• Principle stress direction• Depth• Surface constraints• Access• Spontaneous combustion• Gas• Ventilation• Many more

Option 1Results of the long term plan:Y20:• 4,268,825t • 4,630m• 921.99 t/m

Based on tonnes per metre, this seems the better result

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10 Y11 Y12 Y13 Y14 Y15 Y16 Y17 Y18 Y19 Y20

t 357,481 355,286 3,252,989 3,043,214 4,768,960 4,674,854 5,168,491 4,225,434 3,920,444 4,241,888 4,399,216 3,660,464 3,664,215 3,081,912 4,709,076 4,826,273 4,719,843 5,214,277 4,427,146 4,268,825

m 12,705 12,502 13,382 12,516 12,327 5,666 6,538 6,203 6,414 9,301 13,121 12,717 12,394 13,396 11,881 6,407 6,446 6,268 6,853 4,630

Option 2Y20:• 5,578,814t• 11,549m• 483.06 t/m

However, considering all constraints this option is:• Safer• Has better product quality• Geotechnically achievable• Less likely to have gas issues

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10 Y11 Y12 Y13 Y14 Y15 Y16 Y17 Y18 Y19 Y20

t 348,599 1,665,714 2,822,213 3,524,013 3,588,261 4,641,357 4,290,687 4,219,578 4,078,608 2,040,981 1,847,042 3,739,506 3,766,801 3,813,387 4,299,845 5,307,393 4,073,231 4,161,575 5,565,775 5,578,814

m 12,352 13,621 13,906 12,779 12,483 11,356 7,844 6,969 6,641 8,216 3,910 5,842 5,531 6,029 11,892 11,061 11,099 5,542 9,731 11,549

24

Simulation

Common Modelling Issues

Equipment / fleet• Productivity improvements• Cycle times• Justification of new equipment• Delays

Mining constraints• Congestion• Changing variables • Changed mine design

Discrete Event Simulation• With the dynamic nature of mining,

simulation is required

• True – “discrete event simulation” requires a link to both planning and execution:• Evaluate plans and enable scenarios and

capital configuration to be tested prior to production

• Real time data from the operation feeds assumptions in the simulation model.

• The simulation model is always ‘learning’ from actual production data

• These learnings are then feed back into the plans – ongoing better planning

Plans will continuously be more accurate and achievable.

Targets are more likely to be met.

What simulation is possible?HAULSIM is a powerful tool to model, analyse, visualise and optimise your haulage network• Accurately model mine haulage• Visualise impact of changes• Quantify design improvements• Validate assumptions• Make informed decisions

TALPAC is a simulation tool for evaluating the efficiency, productivity and economics of the mine• work out the size of fleet• which equipment is the most compatible• investigate and compare time-period

productivity

New Mine Layout

Problem We are regularly not meeting production goals. Will changing the longwall design help to increase production? Questions• Will the change help improve production?• How will the change impact the surface

fleet?• Will the capacity of my conveyor network

keep up with the production change?• Will there be bottlenecks?

The answers to these questions can now be easily found and communicated and the right decisions made by doing a simulation

A 3D simulation solution for analysis of entire mining systems so users can accurately determine and test key system measurers.

• Improve equipment system efficiency

• Accurately test safety and/or production gain initiatives

• Quickly build simulation models and run scenarios

• Determine whether capital expenditure is required

• Dynamic dashboard reporting for instantaneous results

• Integration with RPM applications to simulate an entire mine plan including higher level costings

Summary

RPM’s XPAC Solutions

• Process driven, rules based schedules

• Models updated automatically as the mine evolves

• The best, most sophisticated tool set to build your model, making it fast and easy to get results

Solutions have taken away the “good model” vs “bad model” problem.

Now, they are all good.

HAULSIM value

• Visualise ‘what if’ scenarios• Test haulage options prior to production• Explore multiple scenarios• Visualise the impact of changes in

minutes

Incorporating HAULSIM into your software suite will help you to:

• Justify new equipment expenditure• Reduce 3rd party consulting expense• Use past data to improve future

production• Operate more efficiently• Maximise production

Can you imagine?

Now that you know about coal solutions, and also the value of simulation. Imagine if you could combine the two?!

• Share parameters from the schedule into the simulation

• Make a change in the schedule, and immediately test the impact it will have

• Determine if your schedules are realistic

• Understand how likely your targets are to be achieved

Advanced Technology for Progressing India's Underground Coal Mining

Lisa Duncanlduncan@rpmglobal.com