OPTIMIZATION OF SURFACE MINING SYSTEMS UTILIZING INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SOFTWARE.

The economic conditions of most of the mining industry in the recent years has resulted in increasing competition in the market-place among coal producers. To remain competitive in the current market, there is an urgent need for increased efficiency in these operations. To investigate the influence and the interdependence of the many variables that affect a surface mine operation, the MINEPACK model, developed by Mathtech, Inc. , was utilized. This interactive model is capable of analyzing several surface operations such as truck haulage, front-end-loader or shovel operation, drilling and blasting, and overburden removal using dozers, scrapers, or draglines. The Mathtech model was utilized to investigate several surface mining operations in the Appalachian coalfield. Input data was collected from an on-site investigation of each operation and analyzed with this model. To minimize any discrepancies between the model output and the actual field conditions, the input data was slightly adjusted. With the model and the actual operation in close agreement, selective changes were then made to the input data. By carefully examining the output information, the cause-effect relationship of certain changes was determined.