Ledcap Pty Ltd has developed two software tools for assisting in the determination of life-of-mine (LOM) trucking requirements. The first tool generates haul paths and the second calculates truck travel time over these paths. The two step approach allows the paths to be viewed and if required edited, to better represent the actual site haul routes. The first tool automatically creates haul paths between the mine bench and the dump. To do this the user supplies a master haul route and a scheduled block model. The master haul path and the block model are interacted to create multiple haul routes, one for each pit/dump bench pair in each scheduling period. Each path carries with it a record of the scheduling period it represents and the dry tonnage hauled over the path in that period. The second tool calculates truck travel time over the path. Data from the manufacturer's rimpull and retarder curves are used to calculate accelerations and speed over each segment of the haul path. As the paths are derived from digitised representations of mine haul routes the path f les often have over a hundred segments. This detailed representation of the haul route allows the software to automatically adjust speed for different radius corners and accurately simulates the changing accelerations over the gradient changes that occur in real life mine ramps. Rolling resistance can be specified at a global level, at a segment level and at a period level. This allows rolling resistance to be changed seasonally as well as spatially. Life-of-mine trucking studies attempt to calculate an accurate answer from extremely variable inputs._x000D_
This paper will detail the features of the two software tools and how the tools provided in the software can assist the mine planner to have greater confidence in their life-of-mine trucking requirements and the subsequent production capacity inputs to their scheduling calculations._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Law, S, 2010. Software tools for open pit trucking studies, in Proceedings Mine Planning and Equipment Selection (MPES) 2010, pp 355-364 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).