Acompanhamento e análise das operações de carregamento e transporte na lavra de calcário da empresa SM Minérios

Abstract

In open pit mining, the handling of exploited material is carried out by loading and transport operations, in which the associated costs represent about 60% of the total mining expenses. To minimize these costs and ensure greater productivity, the operation must be developed efficiently, with mine infrastructure conditions that allow for good operating performance, in addition to managing activities, so that improvements and adjustments are constantly made in the process. productive. Thus, this work aimed to analyze the development of loading and transport operations of a limestone company to identify and discuss the factors that can influence the efficiency of the processes. To this end, three steps were carried out: first, the recognition of the company's production process was carried out; then, collections and analysis of cycle times of the equipment were carried out; and finally, measurements were carried out on access ramps, together with the mapping of transport routes. The main factors that showed influence on the efficiency of the loading operation were: angle of rotation of the equipment and the resistance to the filling of the shell in the operation with excavators; and the positioning of the transport unit to receive the load in the operation with loaders. In the transport operation, the factors that showed an influence on the efficiency and development of activities are related to: conditions of loading plazas, mechanical characteristics of trucks, transport routes, inclination of access ramps, width of transport lanes and capacity of the crushing plant. All these factors impacted the cycle time of the equipment and, consequently, the productivity of operations. Based on this, a comparison was made between operational scenarios of greater and lesser efficiency from the times collected. It was observed that a reduction of 1.44 minutes in the truck cycle would provide a production increase of 375 tons per shift. The considerations and recommendations contained in the work took into account the literature consulted, the recommendations of equipment manufacturers and the size of the enterprise. Therefore, it is expected that possible applications of recommendations made, through analysis of relevance and relevance, provide a reduction in operating costs, in addition to gains in productivity and safety.