System Analysis and Simulation of Narrow Vein Mining Method with Underground

Pre-concentration
Mario Morin, Andrew Bamber, Malcolm Scoble
Department of Mining Engineering. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Abstract
The application of underground pre-concentration technology to narrow vein mining has the potential to change the
entire economics of bulk mining methods when used in narrow vein situations. The rejection of waste at or near the
face means that a higher-grade ore can be sent to surface. The waste rock can be reused directly as backfill. Swelling
of the muck through blasting means that only 60 to 65% can be used as fill. Planning and scheduling of the fill usage
is key to the success of this method. Through the use of simulation and system analysis, this paper examines the
planning and scheduling implications of underground pre-concentration when applied to traditional narrow vein
mining methods (cut-and-fill /drift-and-fill, longhole, AVOCA). It considers the logistical factors that represent
potential system bottlenecks that are key to understanding the correct implementation and control strategies.

Keywords: narrow vein mining, process simulation, systems analysis; pre-concentration

1. Narrow Vein Mining Issues and Potential Solution

Narrow vein mining has always represented a challenge to the Canadian mining industry in terms of productivity
and economics. The primary goal of narrow vein mining has been to extract the ore while minimizing the dilution
experienced as a result of being unable to mine only the mineralized vein. The minimum mining width possible is
approximately one metre using only hand tools and 1.5 metre with narrow-seam mining equipment. While narrow
mining widths provide a means of controlling grade, this selectivity comes with a higher mining cost and lower
productivity. The Canadian mining industry has tended towards bulk mining in an effort to increase productivity and
reduce mining costs.
Commonly used mining methods can be ranked in increasing order of productivity, and decreasing unit cost of
mining (see Table 1).
Mining methods for narrow vein deposits are highly selective mining methods and tend to be unproductive, while
highly productive mining methods are unselective, and result in an increase in unwanted dilution. Often the adoption
of a more highly productive mining method is precluded by the inherent decrease in head grade delivered by the
method through this increased dilution. However, bulk mining methods can lower the cost of mining, and hence
lower the cutoff grade required for positive mining economics.
The solution to this problem is underground pre-concentration, where the ore is upgraded through the rejection of
barren waste using various technologies such as optical or conductivity sorting, magnetic separation, dense media
separation or coarse particle flotation. Operating and capital cost savings accrue through a reduction in the tons
delivered to downstream processes (Bhappu, 1996). Undertaken at or near the face, pre-concentration can provide
the desired selectivity missing in bulk mining methods, while enjoying the increased productivity of these methods.
The coarse-particle processing technologies for carrying out pre-concentration already exist, and are utilized in a
number of mineral processing applications on surface. The difficulty in implementing pre-concentration is in the
successful integration of this process reliably within the underground mining cycle. Challenges to this successful
integration include the stability of the process plant excavations, integration of the mineral processing into the
underground material handling system , and scheduling of the mining and backfilling processes.
This paper presents a simulation analysis of the mining cycle with underground pre-concentration as part of the
process.

Table 1 Comparison of Common Underground Mining Methods

Method
Application
Productivity Capital
Requirements
Longwall / breast
Narrow seam, steeply
Low
Low
mining
dipping
Drift and fill

Narrow seam, steeply

dipping

Low

Medium

Room and Pillar

Shallow, Narrow seam,

shallow dipping

Medium

Medium

Cut and Fill

Thick seam, steep or

shallow dipping

Medium

Medium

Post-pillar cut and

fill

Deep, massive, thick,

irregular

Medium

Medium

Shrinkage stoping

Thick seam, steep

dipping

High

High

VCR

Shallow, thick or
irregular

High

High

Sub level Caving

Shallow, thick or
irregular
Surface, moderate to
steeply dipping

High

High

High

Low

Highest

Medium

Open cut mining

Strip mining

Surface, thick seam,

irregular

Comments
Highly selective, typically not
mechanized, high cutoff grade
required
Selective, mixture of manual,
narrow seam equipment, high
cutoff grade required
Narrow thick seam
mechanized equipment, poor
extraction
Thick-seam mechanized
equipment, good extraction,
but requires fill
Thick-seam, mechanized,
moderate extraction, requires
fill
Bulk mining equipment,
requires good ground control,
unselective, dilution is a
problem
Bulk mining equipment,
requires good ground control,
unselective dilution is a
problem
Bulk mining, unselective,
low-grade
Surface blasting and
earthmoving equipment, no
selectivity, low grade.
Stripping ratio is a problem
Bulk surface earthmoving
equipment, (draglines), no
selectivity, low grade

2. Narrow Vein Mining A Systems Viewpoint

To build a model of a process, it is first required that this process be understood and described adequately. This is
critical to understand the how it affects the various activities making up this process. Each activity will have given
inputs and outputs. Structured analysis and design techniques (SADT) are ideally suited to this kind of task and can
analyze very complex models into a set of hierachical diagrams through a decomposition process (Ross, 1977).
Each lower level diagram is documented and represents a refinement to the previous level. Originally developed for
the Unites State Air Force for analyzing and communicating the functional perspective of a system, SADT has
evolved into a formal method suitable for modeling the decisions, actions, and activities of an organization or
system. The 1993 government standard, IDEF, formalized the notation and methodology for this activity-based
modeling tool (FIPS PUBS, 1993).

The SADT model always begins with a context diagram that explains the purpose of the model as well as its
boundaries. Every SADT model is built from a single viewpoint and SADT models will look different depending on
the viewpoint. Figure 1 illustrates the context diagram for narrow vein mining with pre-concentration. Inputs, in this
case Production Requirements and Mining Resources, comes in from the left. Outputs, namely Hoisted Ore and
Hoisted Waste, are seen exiting to the right. What makes SADT different from other techniques is the consideration

of constraints (referred to as controls) and resources (referred to as mechanisms). Controls, seen coming in from the
top of the diagram, represent constraints on the process (shown in the box). M echanisms, seen coming in from the
bottom of the diagram, represent resources that will be used by the process in transforming the inputs into the
outputs.

Figure 1 SADT Context Diagram

Applicable constraints that need consideration include rockmass, mineralogical, orebody and equipment
characteristics. Resources include Pre-concentration Technology as well as Backfill Technology and Hoisting
Technology. Obviously, different mineralogical compositions will require different pre-concentration technologies.
While traditional hoisting technology is fairly common, the use of pre-concentration may allow the use of more
novel hoisting technologies like hydraulic pumping or vertical conveyors.
Each diagram is hierarchically decomposed into lower levels. Figure 2 is the first level decomposition of the
Context Diagram. The Context Diagram has been decomposed into five activities or processes. Note that the arrows
shown in the previous diagrams are repeated here on the boundary and that new arrows between the four activities
have now been added. With colour coding of arrows, it is possible to add feedback arrows (shown in dotted lines) or
error arrows which are not represented on this diagram. This decomposition process is repeated until a satisfactory
level of detail has been provided. SADT is a powerful technique for reducing apparent complexity while providing
the required or appropriate level of details. SADT provides a richness of details that would be difficult to capture
using common flowcharting techniques. For more information on IDEF0 and SADT, the reader is referred to the
work by Marca and McGowan (1993).

Figure 2 First Level Decomposition of the Context Diagram

The purpose of this analysis is to create a basis for suitable simulation model that incorporates all the relevant
aspects of the process. Figure 2 illustrates the more important considerations. The Pre-concentrate Muck activity
takes Unsorted Muck from the stope production and separates it into Concentrated Ore and Sorted Waste Rock.
Mineralogical Characteristics of the muck as well as Equipment Characteristics determine how this activity will
operate. Changes in mineralogical compositions will affect the ore/waste streams and the efficiency at which the
pre-concentrator operates. We also can observe to which activity the different constraints and resources are applied.
An important consequence of the mining process is that the rock mass swells during the fracturing and breakage
process. This means that if the ore extraction is less than 40% of the total volume, there will be excess waste
material that will need to be hoisted to surface. Generally, at best 60 to 65% of the total muck can be resued into the
stopes as backfill due to volumetric constraints. It has been identified that underground pre-concentration requires
the careful scheduling of void space during mining. In traditional mining, all ore and often most of the waste rock is
hoisted to surface for processing and disposal. Frequently, waste rock and sand are re-introduced underground as
backfill. With underground pre-concentration, a portion of the Sorted Waste Rock is selected for backfill and the rest
transported to surface for disposal as Hoisted Waste. The amount of sorted waste rock to be used as fill will depend
on the Void Space Available and the Rock Swell Factor but is under the control of the Prepare and Place Backfill
activity. A feedback control called Pre-concentrator Feedback is used to adjust the efficiency and performance of
the Pre-concentrate Muck activity (see Figure 3). Pre-concentrator feedback can initiate a bypass function during
maintenance to maintain productivity if required. Another feedback control is to bypass the pre-concentrator if
backfill storage is full. From an operations perspective, waste rock suitable for fill is available as soon as it has been
sorted and because there is very little buffer space in the system, backfill must be processed and placed continuously
within the mining cycle. Managing Stope Production requires careful scheduling to ensure that void space is always
available. If space is not available, then the Excess Waste Rock to be hoisted to surface will increase to compensate.
Therein lies the challenge of underground pre-concentration. How does one schedule development and production to
ensure that void space is available in a timely manner? This requirement is analogous to the Just-in-Time concept
used by many manufacturing industries where parts come in just in time for assembly with no intermediate
warehousing. As well, how does variations in ore composition, equipment reliability and performance affect the

production cycle? The addition of underground pre-concentration increases the complexity of the process and thus
increases the risk of a series failure, reducing the overall reliability of the process. These questions are best answered
through process simulation. Simulation can be used to model the overall process based on system variables such as
volumes, rates, capacities, speeds, distances and reliabilities.
Figure 3 illustrates the structured analysis for the Pre-concentrate Muck activity. Note that the pre-concentration
activity has three storage activities to store incoming Unsorted Muck and outgoing Concentrated Ore and Sorted
Waste Rock streams. These storage activities will act as surge bins to buffer the variability in pre-concentrating the
muck. The Pre-concentrate activity is under the control of several variables including Equipment Productivity &
Reliability, Mineralogical Characteristics of the muck, the Concentration Performance & Efficiency and the Preconcentrator Feedback.

Figure 3 Decomposition Diagram of the Pre-concentrate Muck Activity

3. Introduction to Narrow Vein Mine Simulation

The production cycle of the underground mine is very amenable to discrete-event simulation as proven by other
research performed to date (Sturgul and Smith, 1993; Vagenas et al., 1995, 1996, 1998, Corkal and MacKenzie,
1999). The various mining activities, drilling, blasting, mucking, hoisting, etc., can be broken down into individual
components that are joined to create a representative model of the mining cycle. The operational performance of
mobile equipment, that is the mechanical availability, the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), downtime and
repair time, etc, can be modeled statistically using various distributions. The interference that takes place between
various activities or the impact of one activity on the rest of the system can also be evaluated. As well, it is possible
to examine the impact of mining method, equipment performance and production rate on the potential cashflow for
an ore deposit (Yazici et al, 1999a, 1999b).
For the simulation work, the authors have chosen to use Imagine That! Inc.s Extendtm. This discrete-event
simulation tool is well suited to dynamic modeling of the underground mining cycle by using an extensive library of

pre-defined building blocks that are linked to create a model (Krahl, 2002; Imagine That!, 2004). The structured
analysis model created earlier is easily transferable to a simulation model.
To create a simulation model for narrow vein mining requires an understanding of the actual physical layout and
characteristics of the orebody. These characteristics include orebody depth, shape and spatial alignment as well as
mineralization grade and dispersion as well as rockmass strengths and behaviour. These characteristics will define
the mine layout and the mining method(s) that will be used to extract the resources. In the Canadian context, most
narrow vein orebodies tends to be vertical or sub-vertical deposits that are mined using cut-and-fill (and its many
variants, i.e. mechanized, cut-and-fill, drift-and-fill, and underhand cut-and-fill), longhole, and uppers (e.g. the
AVOCA method (Duke, 1981)). If the deposit is flat or near horizontal, potential mining methods could include
hardrock longwall and room-and-pillar. Based on the shape, grade, orientation and depth of the typical narrow vein
orebody, as well as accounting conservatively for possible factors such as weak ore and hangingwall strength, the
methods indicated for such an orebody using the Nicholas and modified Nicholas Procedure (Pakalnis et al) indicate
longwall, drift and fill or cut-and fill methods would be suitable.
Because waste rock is continuously produced, mining methods that provide an opportunity to quickly place the
waste rock or backfill back into the stope are better suited to underground pre-concentration. AVOCA and roomand-pillar have an advantage in this respect in that many small cuts or rooms are taken individually, thus reducing
the intermediate rock storage volume. However, both AVOCA and room-and-pillar operations would require the
construction of fill barricades for containing the fresh uncured cemented backfill.
Methods like cut-and-fill typically extract long cuts and the waste would have to be stored prior to being used. Of
course, if several cut-and-fill stopes were available and scheduled in such as way as to have at least one stope always
available for backfilling, then the need for intermediate storage could be considerably reduced perhaps even
eliminated. Similarly, the selection of initial stopes where the orezone is thinner will ensure the early availability of
a fill stope. However, having several active stopes at once means that the pre-development and mining equipment
requirements could be more extensive. As well, to minimize material travel times, development, production and
disposal areas should ideally be close together. This closeness could result in greater equipment congestion and
interference problems. These issued must be balanced in the pre-concentration scenario.

4. Simulation Model
For the purpose of this paper, the authors have chosen to simulate the extraction of a narrow-vein stringer orebody,
typical of a Sudbury Igneous Complex Footwall deposit. The hypothetical deposit is deep, of moderate grade, and is
associated with other deposits which have been mined previously to a depth of 1500m, thus principal access to the
orebody is already provided. Secondary access to the orebody is via a sub-vertical shaft from the 1500 2500m
level, with a haulage ramp for horizontal access to the deposit..
The cut-and-fill method has been used as a basis for the simulation. From a simulation perspective, it does not
matter what mining method is used provided ore can be produced at a certain rate. The method of access and layout
of the mining method however, is important. The orebody is deep and is reached via a sub-vertical shaft. A decline
is used to access the orebody from the bottom of the sub-shaft. Several production levels have been advanced into
the ore zone. The bottommost level is connected to an orepass, and a truck system will be used to haul the muck to
the pre-concentrator and backfill plant located close to the shaft. Cut-and-fill mining will be overhand (moving
upward) and backfill will be provided to the stope via a fill borehole connected to the uppermost level. Concentrated
Ore and Excess Waste Rock will be hoisted to surface (see Figure 2). Sorted Waste Rock will be sent to the backfill
plant to become Rockfill and later on Placed Backfill.
For the simulation, the production target was set as 1,000 tpd. Each stope will be advanced using a 4 metre wide, 3
metre high, 4 metre deep round. Each round produces nominally 48 m3 of muck or 148 tonnes. Operation was
assumed to be 12 hours per shift with two shifts per day. Blasting will take place every shift. We will also assume
that only four stopes plus one spare stope are all that is required to meet the production objective of 1000 tpd. The
model also resets once the fill-cycle is completed, allowing the simulation of eight complete mining and filling
cycles for each mining level.

It is important to define the operating characteristics of the pre-concentrator. The nominal target is to reject 60% of
the tons received at a recovery of 95% or better. Concentration Performance & Efficiency can be changed
depending what is happening within the stoping and rock storage bins. Muck storage capacity is available in the
orepass and in the pre-concentrator plant. If the mine is muck bound, the sorting efficiency of the pre-concentrator
can be increased. If backfill is needed, the efficiency can be reduced. This muck storage provides buffering between
the different processes and help smooth out the variations that naturally occur in a production setting. Figure 5
illustrates the basic design of the pre-concentrator. An important design criteria in the adoption of underground preconcentration is the provision of a bypass circuit should the pre-concentration facility become indefinitely
unavailable. The fundamentals of the underground pre-concentration system are described more fully in the paper on
Reducing Selectivity in Narrow-vein Mining Methods.
The basic principles of the mining simulation are described below:
A round is produced through the drilling and blasting of a stope. The ore is mucked by LHD in batches of 15t, and
dumped at the orepass over an average distance of 280m. Another round may not be blasted until the mucking cycle
is complete in each stope. A limit of one blast per 12h shift is also imposed. Stopes 1-4 are blasted on successive
shifts at the beginning of the simulation; the random delays built into the model means that this blasting order can
become staggered over the running of the simulation. A stope is mined out after 24 rounds have been blasted. 5% of
the ore blasted is rejected at the orepass by static grizzly. Rejects are transferred directly to the fill silo. Ore from the
orepass is collected by haul truck in 40t batches and delivered over a haul of 3km to the pre-concentration feed silo.
The pre-concentrator separates the ore into concentrate and waste. Concentrate is hoisted to surface via a hoisting
system with an appropriate reliability. Waste is delivered to the waste silo and hauled to the backfill silo over a
distance of 1km via 40t haul truck. Backfill is delivered to the stopes via a fill raise on each level. Fill is collected
from the fill raise on each level and returned to the stope by the production LHDs. Initial simulations showed that
due to the low utilization of the scoops, an additional LHD was not required for this task. Stopes are filled when fill
tons = 60% of the tons mined. A filled stope is reset by the simulation, and the mining cycle will commence for a
second iteration. The basic modeling parameters are listed in Table 2.
Table 2 Basic Parameters Used for Simulation
Parameter
Stope dimensions
Orebody thickness
Face advance
m3 / round
Ore density
t / round
Rounds per cut
Mucking
Mucking distance
Orepass capacity
Hauling
Haul distance
Pre-concentration
Feed storage capacity
Waste rejection
Metallurgical recovery
Concentrate production
Concentrate storage capacity
Backfill production
Backfill storage capacity

Value
4m x 3m x 4m
70m
4m
48
3.4 t / m3
144
24
4 x Wagner ST8, capacity 15 t, max speed 9 km/h
270 m
3000 t
2 x B40 haul trucks, capacity 40t, max speed 24 km/h
3 km
1000 tpd
1000 t
60%
95%
400 tpd
1000 t
600 tpd
1000 t

A feature of the model was the allocation of reliabilities to each production element in the model. Stopes, LHDs,
orepasses, haul trucks and the pre-concentrator were allocated realistic reliabilities. A base case of 85% reliability
for each step in the process (with a random distribution of mean-time-before-failure) was established. Simulation
was then used to explore the basic productivity for the system, the impact of pre-concentration and the continuous

generation of backfill on the mining cycle, and the impact of increasing and decreasing the reliability of each
production element in turn. The maximum backlog of ore at each point in the mining and processing system was
also recorded during the simulation.
The details of the mine model as described above have been captured in a discrete-event simulation model using
ExtendTM. Blocks from the generic and manufacturing modeling libraries have been used in constructing the
model. Figures 4 to 8 are block-level representations of the mining and pre-concentration processes in Extend. The
Extend model created is a steady-state discrete event model (Banks et al, 1999). It is steady-state because it does not
consider the initial development work to create the initial or start-up stopes or what happens to the model at the end
of the mine-life.
Figure 4 illustrates the ore generation process as an Extend simulation representation. An ore block containing
approximately 10,000t is generated on each mining level, based on the typical dimensions of the Onaping Depth
orebody and the mining width chosen. Four active stopes are generated in the ore block, containing between 1500
and 2500t depending on the thickness of the orebody; face dimensions are 4m x 3m with 3m rounds. Stope # 1 is
chosen to be the smallest in the ore block in order to make a fill stope available as soon as possible. Simulation starts
at time 0, a blast is initiated during a 12h shift and 144t of material is made available in the stope. Another blast may
not be initiated in the stope until the round has been mucked; a delay is allowed after each mucking cycle to allow
for drilling and blasting. Blasts in stopes 2, 3 and 4 are successively delayed by a shift. The stope availability block
generates a random distribution of MTBF around the percentage availability set for the stope. Availability in each
case can be adjusted between 0 100%. The backfill status block monitors the status of the ore block in order to in
initiate fill once the stope is exhausted, as well as signal the completion of backfill operations; stopes are regenerated
after the backfill cycle in order to simulate continuous mining operations.

Generate
stope tons
use

Initiate
Blasts

#
u

C
Count

Blasts

#
change

Stope

demand
use

Set V

#
u

reset3

L W

3a done

down

Stope3

reset3b

C
Count

STOP

change

blast

Status 3

Y
N

A
B

And

Y
A
A
B

a=0

LHD3

B
Y
Y

Full 3

Stope
Availability

Backfill
Status

Figure 4 Ore Block Generation Simulation Model

Make
round
available
in stope

The ore generated in each blast is batched into 15t lots and made available to the LHD for collection. The mucking
route length and the haul speed is defined in the model; haul speed is on average 9km/h both ways, however this can
be varied. The LHD also has an availability based on a random distribution of MTBF. During the dump function,
ore is unbatched back into individual tons and delivered to the orepass. The LHD runs continuously until either a
failure occurs or the ore in the round is completely mucked. This process is shown in Figure 5.

Stope

Loads
No.3

C
Count

#
Var

C
Count

STOP

down

demand

out3

B
Y

Var
demand

A
a=1

Info

C
Count

Var
demand

demand

L W

C
Count

Var
n

LHD3

B
Y B

#3

144t round
available in
stope

reset3b

A
B

And

a<=14

out3

LHD haul to
orepass

Batch ore
to
15t LHD
Figure 5 Muck Haulage Simulation Model
Length

orepass

batch

Haul Route

Items Being batched:

Speed to Orepass:

To Orepass
batch
Info
#

F
L W

C
Count

Stope 1

?
0.05

reset4

Speed to Preconcentrator:

Length

0.95 a
b

select

To Backfill

Items in queue:

Var

Loads In:

demand
C
Count

C
Count
r

Throw

L W
Orepass:

autofill

Loads Out:

#
Waste Rock:

Status 4
reset4b

reset4
Ore Mined:

Orepass

Var
demand

C
Count
r

ore

n
demand

Status 4

Info

Var

Stope 2

reset4b

Figure 6 Multiple Stopes Muck Production System

Ore from Stopes 1 4 is delivered by LHD to the orepass. A maximum of 5% oversize is scalped from the ore and
diverted to the rockfill bunker. The orepass has a maximum capacity of 500t. Ore is batched from the orepass into
40t lots for collection by the haul trucks. There are two haul trucks operating in tandem over a haul route of 2750m,
comprising 571m vertical gain over 12 inclination; the haul speed is 24 km/h on average both ways, and the trucks
also have an availability determined by a random distribution around the MTBF. Ore is dumped to the preconcentrator feed silo at the end of the haul route. Figure 7 illustrates the simulation model representation for preconcentration.

Hoist concentrated
ore to surface
stockpile

Reject 60%
waste on
average
ore

#
F

Preconcentrator

n
L W

Var

use

speed

demand

Length:

Var
F

demand

F
L W

Var

0.4

0.6?

L W

select

demand

Length:
F
Arrivals:
L W

Top:
Backfill Silo

Departures:

Bottom:

backfillout
Total:

backfillout

Pass rejects to
silo for
collection

#
Var

Info

n
demand

backfill

Figure 7 Pre-concentrator Simulation Model

Ore is unbatched from the haul trucks into the pre-concentrator feed silo, which has a maximum capacity of 1000t.
Ore is transferred to the pre-concentrator where an average of 60% waste is rejected to the waste silo, which also has
a capacity of 1000t. The pre-concentrator has an availability determined by a random distribution around the MTBF.
Concentrated ore is delivered to the hoist via a concentrate silo, and hoisted to the surface stockpile which represents
the outside battery limit of the simulation. The hoist is also assigned a realistic availability of < 100%.
Waste from the waste silo is batched into 40t lots for collection by the backfill haul truck. The haul truck delivers
waste over a horizontal distance of 1000m to the top of the rockfill silo. Waste is unbatched from the trucks into the
rockfill silo, which has a total capacity of 3000t. If a fill stope is available, rockfill from the silo is batched into 15t
lots at the rockfill bunker on the mining level, collected by production LHD, and delivered to the stope. Stopes are
considered filled when 60% of the original tons blasted have been returned to the stope. When backfill is complete,
the stope is regenerated to begin the next mining cycle.

10

filledbstopes
Stope empty?
Catch

Full

Full 2

Full 3

Full 4

LHD's out:
No.1
No.2
No.3

Stope1a
Stope1b
Stope1c

No.4

Stope1d

Stope1e

Stope2a

filledbstopes

Preconcentrated

Var

F
n

L W
rockpass

Waste
delivered to
rockfill pass

filledbstopes

Var

demand

Stope2b
Stope2c
Stope2d

Stope3a
Stope3b

demand

Stope2e

Stope3c
Stope3d
Stope3e

filledbstopes

Stope4a
Stope4b

Kiruna #1

filled?
#1
#3

Stope4c
#2

Stope4d
Stope4e

#4

Production LHD collects

rockfill on level and
delivers to fill stope
when available
use # u
AGV
change
F
speed

ASR
AGV

Info

speed X Y

Preconcentrated

backfill
Speed to Backfill Silo:
Speed to Rockpass:

Collect waste
and haul to
rockfill pass

Figure 8 Pre-concentrator Rockfill Simulation Model

5. Simulation Results
The model was simulated for several different scenarios, each representing a range of operational and performance
parameters which are likely in the underground system. The baseline scenario is run with a standard availability in
each operation in order to demonstrate proof of concept i.e. that the concept of integrated underground mining and
processing simply works in the ideal situation, as well as to establish a baseline productivity for the system.
Succeeding simulations explore the impact of varying subsystem availabilities on the productivity of the entire
system; the availability of all other elements in the model remain unchanged from the baseline. Simulations 9, 10 &
11 explore the impact of increasing and decreasing the performance of the pre-concentrator on throughput and
capacity at each stage in the system.
A summary of the simulation results is shown in Table 3. The availability of all system elements is 85% unless
otherwise noted.
The simulation demonstrates the basic validity of the underground pre-concentration concept. The impact of altering
system reliability on system productivity was examined using the simulation model. It was found that the impact of
varying the reliability of some system elements such as the stope, impacted productivity to a much greater extent
than other elements such as the haul trucks. It was found through the simulation that elements such as the LHDs
and haul trucks are under-utilized in the mining system as represented, and that decreasing the availability of these
elements did not impact on system productivity until the utilization of the element approached unity. The results of
this analysis are shown in Figure 9.

11

Table 3 Simulation Results for Various Component Reliabilities

Simulation Run
System Conditions
Production Rate
1
Baseline 85%
230.4
2
Stope 95%
716
3
Stope 75%
115.2
4
Stope 90%, LHD 75%
332
5
Stope 90%, LHD 60%
241
6
Stope 90%, LHD 50%
230
7
Stope 90%, LHD 50%, Haul 60%
195
8
Stope 90%, LHD 50%, Haul 50%
177
9
Stope 95%, Haul 50%, Pre-conc. 75%
618.4
10
Stope 95%, Haul 50%, Pre-conc. 60%
516
11
Stope 95%, Haul 50%, Pre-conc. 50%
480

% of Max
32%
100%
16%
46%
33.6%
32%
2.2%
24%
86%
72%
67%

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
40

50

60

70
80
Availability

90

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
100

Stope
LHD
Haul
Utilization

Productivity

Mining System Productivity & Utilization Impacts

Preconc
Sutil
LHDUtil
Hutil
Putil

Figure 9 System Availability, Productivity and Utilization Impacts

6. Conclusions
From the simulation results a general trend can be seen. The basic simulation gives a productivity of 230 tpd for the
mining system as simulated. A drop in stope availability significantly drops the productivity of the system, and an
increase in availability of the stope substantially increases the productivity of the mining system. However, it should
be pointed out that if the stope is unavailable, it results in a lost blast. In a real mining situation, it is often possible to
make up for a lost blast but our simulator cannot account for this at this time.
LHD utilizations are moderate in all cases - utilization increases if stope availability increases and vice versa. Haul
truck utilization is low in all cases, indicating that two 40t haul trucks are overspecified for the duty, and could be
replaced by 20t units. Maximum orepass capacity varies with the combined productivity of the stopes and LHDs.
Rockfill capacity reaches a maximum of 2800 t when the overall system productivity is high, and is generally low
when the system is producing at a low capacity.
The impact of varying the performance of the LHD, haul truck, and pre-concentrator elements is insignificant when
compared to the impact of varying the productivity of the stope. The inherent 60% backfill generated by the preconcentrator on average requires a maximum surge of 3200t which is catered for between the waste silo of the preconcentration plant, the haul truck capacity and the capacity of the rock pass delivering fill to the stopes. The

12

continual requirement for fill is easily catered for by the LHD stope fleet even at the maximum production rate of
750 tpd. Backfill efficiency is high compared to stoping efficiency, and backfill rates are far higher than the basic
mining rate. The model also indicated that significant downtime can be incurred in the system due to lack of fill
during simulation runs where stope productivity was low, or haul truck or pre-concentrator productivity was low,
and thus the supply of backfill was interrupted.
The simulation demonstrates a number of critical issues in integrated underground mining and processing:
A continual supply of backfill generated in mining can be accommodated in the mining cycle
The generation of backfill is critical to the productivity of the system - interruptions to the mining cycle
occur when there is a shortage of backfill in the rock pass
The productivity of the mining systems is driven primarily by productivity at the stope, and in decreasing
proportions by the productivity of activities distant from the stoping activity
The low utilization of the haul trucks is indicative that only 2 such units would be required for the
production rate in the simulation
Reasonable variations in the availability of haul equipment result in increases in surge requirements at
various points in the system. However, the overall productivity of the system is not affected significantly
The simulation demonstrates clearly proof of concept of the underground mining and processing system, as well as
highlighting key productivity issues of stope and mucking system availability over downstream system component
availabilities.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Mr. Chris McCann of UBC Mining Engineering for his
support and commitment with the Extend simulation modeling.

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