Reference no: EM132609940

ENSC3011 Fundamentals of Mining Engineering - University of Western Australia

As you are probably aware, Possum Minerals has recently discovered the Ringtail gold deposit near Norseman WA, and wishes to exploit it with an open pit operation for a mine life of 6 years. A key issue towards the successful completion of this project will be the efficient and cost- effective removal of waste rock. Your recommendations are needed as to the most appropriate fleet required to meet the production target for waste removal, and an estimation of the costs involved.

SCOPE
We are considering a variety of mining scenarios, so each of you has a different set of assumptions for required waste removal rate, ramp gradient and fuel cost (see page 5).

You might want to use some of the background information shown on page 3.

You are required to write a short report with a concise explanation of your input parameters, assumptions, methods and outcomes for all stages of work, it should be sufficient for someone else to replicate your work. It must include an executive summary that provides an overview of the important findings of your work.

Your report must include:
• A clear statement of number and model(s) of Loaders you recommend to use. Explain your decisions. Please note that due to a corporate arrangement, we can only select from a list of Caterpillar shovels shown on page 4. and page 4 in this Memo for costs. LMS has a copy of the Caterpillar Handbook, which might be useful.
• A clear statement of number and model(s) of Trucks you recommend to use. Explain your decisions. Please note that due to a corporate arrangement, we can only select from the Komatsu trucks listed on page 4. this Memo for costs. LMS has copies of the Komatsu Handbook (although a little old) and the Caterpillar Handbook, which might be useful.

• A graph of loading costs ($/year and $/t) and hauling costs ($/year and $/t) for years 1 to 6 of the project, given the schedule for pit depth (see page 3) and your individual production rate (see page 5)
• Decisions have yet to be made on the roster and salaries offered to the equipment operators. Your initial calculations should be for a base case scenario of an average salary of $100,000pa and a roster of "8 and 6". You should show the sensitivity of your results to reasonable variations in those two base case assumptions.

All the parameters you need to perform the calculations must be clearly listed with a justification. This justification will typically be the relevant page from the source, and a copy of this must be included in an Appendix. In other words, you must have an appendix to the report, with a page from the relevant specifications (or lecture notes or other source) supporting every one of your decisions.

Attachment:- Fundamentals of Mining Engineering.rar