Detailed Longwall Planning & Scheduling

Benjamin Williams22 Oct 2012

Presented By:Date:

Longwall 2012

Longwall 2012

• Mine planning focused consultancy and software development company

• Focused on building innovative software solutions to solve problems in the mine technical services area

• Offerings include:

– mine planning consulting

– software packages

– training and implementation

– bespoke development services

Introduction

LondonCalgary

Johannesburg

PerthBrisbane

Wollongong

Software also used in locations such as:Sweden, Sierra Leone, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Ghana, Colorado, Brazil,

• Offices in Brisbane, Perth, Mackay, Newcastle,

South Africa, Canada and London

• 75 People Worldwide

• Founding members consulting with and

developing mine planning software for the

past 15 years

Longwall 2012

Integrated Software

• Deswik Suite provides a single integratedpackage that combines:

– CAD and reserves generation

– Short Term through to Long Term Scheduling

– Blending for different economic variables

– Reporting and Presentation

Longwall 2012

Deswik.CAD

• Design

• Visualisation

• Data validation

• Graphical reporting

• Plugin environment

Deswik.IS

• Integrates CAD and Scheduler

• Process driven approach

• Rule based task generation

• Manages data

• Reconciliation

Scheduler

• Represents design as Gantt tasks

• Resource driven schedule

• Blending and low modelling module

• Plan compliance

Core Modules

Longwall 2012

Underground Process Flow

Planning Process

Software Goals

• Set out to design sector specific software tools to enable modern design and integrated scheduling across all levels.

• Step through several of the general and specific issues we felt needed to be addressed for UG Coal design and scheduling:

Longwall 2012

Software for UG Coal

• Semi generic products that don’t fit UG requirements well

• PCS (Poor Cousin Syndrome)

• 2D design

• Multiple unconnected programs causing disconnects throughout the design and scheduling process.

Longwall 2012

• Different long term – short term schedule

• UG Coal specific scheduling issues

• Repetitive Design Elements

• 2 Dimensional environment

• Complex geologic models

Common Software Issues

LT & ST interface

• Traditionally separate models.

• Long term Schedule lacks detail required for Short term planning.

• Short term takes too long to add into Long term.

Longwall 2012

UG Coal Scheduling Issues

• Resourcing

• Varying production rates

• Super-paneling

• Managing conveyors

• Rapid schedule changes

• Schedule analysis

Longwall 2012

Scheduling Solutions

Longwall 2012

Scheduling Solutions

Longwall 2012

Scheduling Solutions

Longwall 2012

Design

• Working within CAD environment

• Effectively polylines/strings representing drive centrelines

• Repetitive design work - not easy to modify.

Longwall 2012

2D Design Environment

• Often restricted to a 2D environment, depending on design software package

• Important metrics like thickness, volume and dilution treated as a 2D calculation

• Visualisation of faulting and structure

Longwall 2012

Complex Geological Models

• Grid models that treat individual plysseparately

• Aggregated models – complicated, can lose the original data

• Complex scripting calculations

Longwall 2012

Design Solutions

Longwall 2012

Design Solutions

Longwall 2012

Design Solutions

Longwall 2012

Design Solutions

Longwall 2012

Design Solutions

Longwall 2012

Design Solutions

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Design Solutions

Longwall 2012

Going Forward

Longwall 2012

• Longwall Grade Smoothing

• LTCC

• Place Changing

• Manning Overlay

Longwall 2012