Bulawayo Mining Company

END OF MONTH REPORT

Name : Angel Brito

Department : Mining
Month : January 2017
Period of attachment : 2016 2017

Subject: Production Operations

TITLE PAGE
1. Executive Summary3
2. Introduction3
3. Definition of terms.4
4. Attachment content5
4.1 Pre-task Risk Assessment5
4.2 Overall Lashing and Tramming Shift Time Utilization7
4.3 Machinery & Equipment Status7
5. Tramming Cycles8
5.1 Air loader lashing8
5.2 Locomotive tramming8
6. How Mine ore production statistics9
7. Factors affecting production9
8. Recommendations / Solutions10
9. Signatories10
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The combined tasks of loading and haulage are the foundation of the mining industry. In the
simplest scenario, a loading device is used to load fragmented ore into a unit conveyance, which
carries the ore to a facility where it will be beneficiated. The loader and conveyance must be
selected to suit the needs of the operation. The mine is accustomed to dealing with large volumes
of material in a bid to produce 1200tonnes/day, to achieve this target air loaders, 3t and 5t granby
cars, 2.5t and 6t capacity locomotives and 5t skips are utilized. The material most commonly
handled in production is rock containing an economic mineral (GOLD) that has been fragmented
by long hole drilling operations.

INTRODUCTION
Production consists of unit operations namely rock fragmentation and ore handling. Rock
fragmentation is achieved through drilling and blasting whilst ore handling involves loading,
tramming, dumping and ore hoisting. Ore handling operations are currently conducted at 26L
which is the main production level and 28L which is going to be the next main production level.
The following activities are carried out:
Air loader lashing
Locomotive tramming
Grizzley attending
Secondary blasting
Ore hoisting
Ore is withdrawn in the main haulages via draw points situated below the coning level 10m
above, this ore is produced by longhole stoping operations. It is lashed by use of pneumatic air
loaders from the draw point into 3 tonne granby cars that move on rails and trammed to the
grizzley for dumping by 6 tonne battery powered locomotives with a pulling capacity of at most
7 cars. The grizzley aperture sizes vary from 25cm to 40cm widths; however ore of widths
greater than 25cm are further directed to the underground crusher at 28 and Level for size
reduction before hoisting. At the first grizzley at 28L ore is directed via an ore pass into storage
silos of capacity 750tonnes for temporary storage at 28&1/2 L before conveyance via the loading
and hoisting bay at 29L. The second grizzely at 28L is for waste rock and directs waste via an
orepass into an ore bin beneath at 28&1/2 L for temporary storage before hoisting at 29L
Loading bay. The third grizzley at 28L was constructed with larger aperture sizes to allow ore
boulders to be directed via an ore pass to the underground crusher at 28&1\2 L for size reduction.
Ore from 26L is dumped at one grizzley and is directed via an ore pass straight to the
underground crusher before hoisting from 29L loading bay to 23L tipping bay.
Boulders are fragmented through secondary blasting if there are hang-ups in draw points or too
large to fit into apertures at the grizzley. The process is conducted only by an authourised holder
of a mine blasting licence who is usually the Gang leader or supervisor to the production crew.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Production: Total volume or weight of material to be handled in a specific operation. It can refer
to either the economic mineral to be produced or to the waste material. Mineral production is
given most frequently in units of weight while waste rock is often expressed in units of volume.
It is common, for example, to refer to total annual production.
Production rate: The theoretical production volume or weight of a machine per unit of time. It
is usually expressed on an hourly basis but can be given for other units of time such as a shift or
a day.
Productivity: The actual production per unit of time when all efficiency and other management
factors are considered. It can also be referred to as a net production rate, or production per unit of
labor and time (e.g., tons/employee-shift).
Efficiency: The percentage of the estimated production rate that is actually handled by a
machine. Reductions in production rate can be related to the machine itself, personnel, or job
conditions. The efficiency factor can be expressed as the average number of minutes worked at
full production in one hour divided by 60 minutes
A pneumatic air loader is a self-propelled, air powered rail mounted machine with an integral
front mounted bucket; supporting structure and linkage which loads or excavates through motion
of the machine and lifts, transports and discharges material.
A battery locomotive is a battery powered self-propelled rail bound machine which requires a
driver for manual operation for pulling trains.
A refuge bay is a short excavation or cubby in haulages or roadways into which persons flee in
order to get away from moving equipment
Rolling stock means any rail-bound equipment that is not self-propelled.
Train means one or more locomotives and rolling stock, all coupled.
Turnouts and crossings mean the mechanisms which enable traffic to switch from one track to
another
Secondary blasting: - means any blasting other than primary blasting and shall include the
fragmenting of large rocks, the blasting of obstacles in ore passes or waste passes, sockets or
hitches and the re-blasting of misfired holes and any blasting to make a place safe.
A grizzly is a grating placed over the top of a chute or ore pass for the purpose of stopping the
larger pieces of rock or ore that may hang up in the pass.
A battery charging bay is a station that provides power to charge the batteries of a battery
locomotive. These chargers are classified according to output voltage and the rate at which they
can charge a battery.

A skip is a self-dumping metal box or bucket used in a shaft for hoisting ore or rock.
 ATTACHMENT CONTENT
At How mine all production operations fall under Section 2 also known as the stoping section,
the production crew comes in 3 shifts that is from 7am 3pm (morning), 3pm 11pm(afternoon)
and 11pm 7am(night). The production crew per shift consists of
1. Lashing and Tramming
1.1. 1 air loader driver and 1 assistant (per draw point)
1.2. 1 locomotive driver and 1 assistant (per locomotive)
1.3. 2 grizzley attendants
1.4. 1 switch attendant
1.5. 1 gang leader (per crew)
1.6. 1 supervisor (per shift)
1.7. 1 checker

2. Underground Crusher
2.1. 1 crusher attendant
2.2. 1 assistant

3. 29L and 25L loading bay

3.1. 1 onsetter
3.2. 1 assistant

4. 23L tipping bay

4.1. 1 driver
4.2. 1 assistant bellman

5. North Shaft
5.1. 1 gang leader
5.2. 1 driver
5.3. 1 onsetter
5.4. 1 locomotive driver
5.5. 1 assistant

PRE-TASK RISK ASSESSMENT

1. Air loader lashing
EMS/ Mitigation OHS/ Mitigation QMS/ Mitigation

Oil spillage - Dust - wear respirators Ore overthrows careful tipping

Good housekeeping Water down dry ore Training of loader drivers

Noise wear ear plugs Over-filling and Under-filling

granbies fill bucket to the
correct level

Whip lashing tightly secure

compressed air hoses with chain or
sling

Rock fall avoid standing directly

below draw point

2. Locomotive tramming
EMS OHS QMS
Battery acid spillage Electrocution Undercharged battery
Heavy battery load Poor performing loco
Run over by locomotive Non-achieving of targets
Loco derailment
Acid burns
Coupling accidents
3. Secondary blasting

EMS/ Mitigation OHS/ Mitigation QMS

Air pollution /good ventilation Gassing/ open auxiliary fans Time management
Noise pollution/ wear earplugs Dust/ wear respirators
Ear damage/ wear ear plugs
4. Underground Crushing

OHS EMS QMS

Dust Air pollution Poor fragmentation.

Noise Noise pollution Choking(ore)

Fall of ground

Falling from a height

Heat
5. Ore Hoisting
EMS OHS QMS
Lubrication spillages Fall of objects from the shaft Slow hoisting cycles
Fall of ground overfilling
Skip derailment Under-filling
Under-wind/over-wind Inaccurate figures
Skip run-away Legibility issues
Stapler pricking

Overall Lashing and Tramming Shift Time Utilisation

Activity Period
Travelling + Safety Talk 1h
Preparations 30 min
10 min/blast, on average 3 blasts are carried
Secondary blasting
out on each shift. Total time is 30 min.
Production Tramming 5h
Other delays such as locomotive and rolling
stock derailments, congestion at the grizzley 1 h
etc.

1. Machinery & Equipment Status

Machinery ID Location/Level Condition
In Order Out of order
1 (6t) 2 (6t)
28
4 (6t) 2.5t
Locomotives
3 (6t)
26
5 (6t)

Air loaders 53/16 51/16 28

 52 54 55 /16 26

5/11 41/10
47/14 50/15 28
51/16
46/14 45/12 26
Electric Loader 49/15 28
Granbies 6 * 3t 28
(Rolling Stock) 14 * 3t 26

Tramming Cycles
Air loader lashing
1. Air loader bucket capacity = 300kg
2. Number of bucket loads per granby car = 10
3. Time taken to fill 1 car ~ 2 minutes
Locomotive tramming
1. Hauling distance differs in relation to the draw point being lashed ~ 100m 300m
2. Target hourly production = 15 cars per hour
3. Target tonnage = 44.4 t/h
However several factors affect Production and result in failure to meet the daily production call.
Category Target 26L Current Target 28L Current
26L 28L
Production /day 1256t 648t 800t 300t
Production/shift 419t 216t 267t 100t
No. of cars 147cars(419t) 72 cars (267t) 89 cars 33 cars
(3.0t/car) per shift (267t) (100t)
Hourly production, 21 cars/hour 12 cars/hour 15 cars/hour 6 cars/hour
75% shift time (59.85t) (44.4t) (44.4t) (16.5t)
utilisation,
(cars/hour)
HOW MINE ORE PRODUCTION STATISTICS
SECTION CAPACITY PRODUCTION RATE

Underground Silos 29L = 750t

25L = 450t

Underground Crusher 100 t/h Operating - 16 hrs/day

1600 t/d
18 * 32 Jaw Crusher
48 000 tonnes /month
Ore size reduction from
+40cm to -15cm
23L Hoisting from 29L 4.7 tonnes/skip Operating 16hrs/day
loading bay 80 t/h
Ore passes from chutes onto a 1280 t/d
conveyor belt then into a 5 38 400 t/m
tonne flask before hoisting
North Shaft Hoisting Skip factor = 4.7t/skip Time available = 1176
Locomotive = 6 tonne t/d
Ore flows via an ore pass from
23L tipping point to 25L Granby cars = 5 tonne
loading bay before hoisting to Tractor = 5 tonne
surface via the North Shaft Ore and waste = 35280
t/m
Shaft maintenance = 58.5
hrs/week

North Shaft Bins 578 tonnes

Rough Ore Bin 166 tonnes

Stock pile capacity =
12 000 tonnes
Factors affecting production
- Presence of boulders at 28L Ore Grizzley 1 reduces tipping space on the grizzley and
increases dumping time as more time is spent hammering and dislodging boulders stuck
in the grizzley apertures. 75% of muck tipped onto the grizzley is passing through the
0.2m x 0.2m apertures, resulting in blockages of the grizzley by boulders. This causes
further delays as tipping times increase the tramming cycle times.
- Machinery downtimes are affecting availability. Unavailability of spares results in
delayed attendance to machinery breakdowns.
- Poorly fragmented ore requiring further fragmentation by secondary blasting results in
lost production time during tramming. On average 3 secondary blasts are carried out on
each shift. Each secondary blasting session results in 10 minutes lost production time,
which totals to 30 minutes lost on each shift.
- Other delays and losses to production include frequent locomotive and rolling stock
derailments especially at turn outs and switch points, waiting time average 10 minutes
when 2 locomotives are in use to allow each loco to use the grizzley area.

Recommendations/Solutions
- Improvement of fragmentation in stope drilling and blasting. Possibly a revision of our
blast designs and drilling standards. Possibly increase grizzley attendance labour to speed
up the handling of boulders at the grizzlies.
- Provision of spares will reduce the mean time between breakdowns; spare equipment
could also be used to avoid any production stoppages. There is also a need for timely
attendance to breakdowns by Fitters.
- Resolve a more efficient measure to handle oversized rocks at the production grizzley
such as a mechanical rock breaker, other than manual labour to reduce losses in
production periods.
- Rapid development of the 28L Tipping Over-run haulage to allow for usage of the 2nd
Ore-pass to Crusher. This will also allow for oversized rocks to be sent for crushing, and
not cause delays as on the 1st Ore-pass.

SIGNATORIES
Author (Angel Brito)
Training Officer (Mr T.Chokera).
Head of Department (Mr E.Gwatidzo)..