Vale, a leading global mining company, faced traffic congestion and weigh station bottlenecks in its mining operations. To overcome this, the company used AnyLogic to optimize its mine traffic management and infrastructure, improving vehicle flow and unloading capacity.
Load and haul optimization aims to maximize the efficiency of the transportation of materials from the mine face to the processing area or dump. The Komatsu Mining Technology Solutions Team created a generic mining simulation model that would help with this, concentrating on the movement of haul trucks from shovels to drop-off points and back. Furthermore, they developed extensions of the model to incorporate battery electric trucks for mines and their own internal simulator.
Vale, a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining, wanted to maximize the productivity of its open-pit coal mines in Moatize, Mozambique. To test different scenarios without disrupting the operations, the company opted for simulation modeling and contracted with Genoa, a decision support company specializing in optimization and simulation.
A global coal exporter wanted to validate the design of a new truck loadout facility before construction began. To do it right, they partnered with Jaco-Ben Consulting and used simulation to test different layout options and improve mine traffic management under real-world conditions. The result was smarter infrastructure decisions, optimized mining operations, and fewer risks.
A leading steel producer partnered with MOSIMTEC to optimize bulk material logistics across a complex network of conveyors, stockpiles, and tipplers. Using an AnyLogic simulation model, they identified bottlenecks, tested layout changes, and implemented smart routing logic. This approach led to increased operational efficiency and lower operational costs.
One of the largest resource companies in the world, with over $80 billion in sales, decided to enter a new market. It was planning to build a new potash mine and export 90% of production. They wanted to design a reliable supply chain, with high-speed replenishment, and the ability to recover, or even benefit, from disasters, both natural and man-made. Amalgama and Goldratt were contracted to design the potash mining operations and a full supply chain for outbound logistics.
Any underground works, be it in construction or mining, are distinguished by limited operating resources and space, as well as close interconnections between processes. As a result, specialists inevitably face uncertainties when developing schedules. To create a new project scheduling technique, a team of engineers opted to use simulation modeling software.
SPb-Giproshaht is a consulting company that operates internationally and carries out design, procurement, and construction projects for the mining industry. Their flagship project in this domain is a haulage system optimization project for the mining company Medvezhy Ruchey, one of the largest miners of copper-nickel sulfide ores. Medvezhy Ruchey partnered with SPb-Giproshaht to develop mining haulage simulation models of an ore deposit that could be used for haulage system routing and mining processes optimization.
Mid-term and operational planning in mining is an area where simulation has become a de-facto standard. Simulation copes well with the planning of mining operations: with its hundreds of interacting machines, overlapping maintenance activities, complex layouts of mine fields, and limited capacity of bunkers and conveyors.That is why the world’s leading mining companies frequently ask for integrated simulation-based tools, with user-friendly interfaces, to support their mid-term and day-to-day operations planning. This was the way the world’s 2nd largest nickel producer followed.
Managers and engineers responsible for mining operations regularly face many difficult tasks. They have to make decisions and commitments while working in a complex mining system, where no component is isolated. With the help of Amalgama and one of the Big Four consulting firms, the largest European potash producer simulated the mining process using AnyLogic. A big potash mine is 8 x 8 km in size. 900 thousand tons are mined per month on three underground levels. The mine has 21 km of conveyor belts taking the ore through the system to the skip hoist.