This thesis quantifies the operational impact of two interventions at the Flandersbach limestone mine: a tuned heuristic dynamic dispatch strategy and autonomy-related fleet changes. A discrete event simulation digital twin was developed and calibrated using telemetry-derived empirical inputs and site-confirmed operating rules, and scenarios were evaluated over two representative operating weeks. The model is used to compare throughput, waiting and congestion behavior, and target adherence under consistent assumptions.

The results show that the implemented dynamic dispatch policy is not an effective mechanism to increase production volume in its current form. While the compliance metrics indicate that dynamic dispatch can enforce relatively tight adherence to shift-level bench targets under the thesis definition, it does so at a throughput cost. Compared to the fixed-assignment baseline, dynamic dispatch reduces total moved tonnage by about one percent and increases congestion, most notably through substantially higher loader queue time and headway-related waiting.

Single-agent autonomy produces asymmetric benefits across subsystems. Introducing a single autonomous hauler or loader yields limited gains in a mixed fleet because productive time remains bounded by shared schedules and downstream constraints. In contrast, the autonomous load-and-carry scenario produces the largest throughput increase in the core scenario set, nearly eight percent, consistent with the fact that this intervention expands the effective operating window by operating through periods that are otherwise constrained by breaks and shift transitions. This result should be interpreted in light of scope, since the load-and-carry unit is modeled as a dedicated crusher-feeding unit, whereas in practice it also performs auxiliary duties.

Overall, the findings indicate that improving a single component often yields diminishing system-level returns when the haulage cycle remains constrained by shared resources, schedules, and interaction effects. The discrete event simulation digital twin provides a validated sandbox for relative comparison of dispatch and autonomy concepts, and the results motivate future concepts that change system-level constraints more directly. ... Read more

The case study consist of a small underground mine with a small mining crew. The vehicle park is relatively large, and therefore it is necessary to establish the added value of additional miners or equipment for short-term production planning purposes, assuming that staff size currently limits production capacity to find out if staff size is indeed the bottleneck in the production capacity of the mine operation. When the bottlenecks of the mining system are known, it will be easier to focus on necessary areas and further implementations to improve the system.

The truck numbers used in the simulation study were ranging from 4 to 7, and the operator pool size was ranging from 10 to 15 people. Significant findings of this study are that with the current mine setup of 4 trucks, there would be no increase in production when adding operators. For the 24 scenarios the production increase was determined, the revenue change and the mining cost. By adding trucks and operators, a production increase of 19.38 % could be reached with 15 operator and 7 trucks.

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Blasting operations form a central part of any hard rock metal mining operation, and are, given its inherent hazards, critical in ensuring safe mine working environments. In order to improve workplace safety in such operations, it is important to select the right explosives and technologies, to issue rules and procedures and to offer adequate training and ensure awareness of hazardous situations. Because multinational mining companies work under different jurisdictions, they have to comply with different rules with different regulators. New Boliden is a Sweden-based mining and metals company, involved in both the extraction, refining and recycling of primarily base metals, with mining operations in Sweden, Finland and Ireland. Given that their aim is to have no Lost Time Injuries (LTI’s) at any operation within the company and that there are prospects of further international expansion and technological developments, it is important to develop working practices that both comply with various legal requirements, are practically usable and lead to a very safe working environment. The aim of the research is therefore to identify applicable legal requirements, technologies and working methods, in order to see if different working practices are compliant with these legal requirements, and whether these different requirements and practices can help to meet both the requirements of different regulators and Boliden’s own mission objectives. This research has identified the legal requirements applying to mining operations in Sweden, Finland and Ireland, and compared working practices in several mines, operated by Boliden Mineral AB in these countries. With a comparable number of relevant legal sources, the legal structure on explosives safety requirements is generally similar. However, Nordic legislation generally puts more generic responsibilities on the employer, whereas Irish regulations are more specific. Blasting requirements in Finland and Sweden are mostly similar and apply to underground and surface mining operations and civil engineering, whereas Irish legislation is tailored specifically to underground mining operations. Significant differences can be seen when comparing explosives handling, in particular explosives storage, Ireland has a very different approach in this respect, which may be helpful in improving safety performance in Nordic mines as well. The main technologies influencing the explosives handling and blasting safety performance are considered to be the initiation systems used, the reliability of explosives and successful implementation of a digital track&trace system. No events leading to human injury have occurred following the utilisation of explosive materials in Boliden Mines in the past ten years. To get a good impression of problematic issues, using both Boliden and international data, it was found that the main types of explosives- and blasting related incidents are misfires, flyrock, toxic fumes and early detonation. Fault Tree Analysis, adapted forms of reliability modelling and the bow-tie method have been used to identify critical parts of the explosives handling and blasting process, based on available statistical data. For more critical cases, root causes of these failures have been identified. Critical activities are these surrounding evacuation of the blasting area, material failures and explosives materials being unguarded. Most incidents appear to be caused by failures in communication between different departments and insufficient awareness of existing safety procedures. Considering that there is overlap between the various operations in terms of legal requirements and practices, especially requirements with a European background, explosive materials used and operational- level working methods, it is judged to be useful to more closely align these practices, since learning from each other’s practices might improve safety levels. Also, alignment of track&trace systems, and the adoption of electronic initiation systems seem to be beneficial in this regard. It is deemed less useful to align more typically national requirements and practices, such as permitting and licensing procedures. In order to be able to exchange best practices, company-wide safety guidelines and reporting based on a clear distinction of responsibilities per activity are recommended. The main conclusion therefore is that alignment of existing safety practices and technology use is achievable given the various legal and operational constraints and is expected to ensure a zero-LTI explosives handling and blasting safety performance. ... Read more