Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Optimising passing bay locations and vehicle schedules in underground mines

  • General Paper
  • Published:
Journal of the Operational Research Society

Abstract

In many underground mines, haulage vehicles carry ore from underground loading stations to the surface. Vehicles travel in narrow tunnels with occasional passing bays that allow descending empty vehicles to pull off the main path and wait for ascending laden vehicles to pass. The number of passing bays and their locations influence the delays to descending vehicles, and hence the haulage productivity of the mine. We formulate and solve a mixed integer programming (MIP) model to determine the optimal locations of passing bays to maximise haulage productivity for given numbers of vehicles and passing bays. The MIP also generates the corresponding vehicle schedule. Previous studies have only examined the placement of equally spaced bays. The results obtained from the MIP show that this is not always optimal. Furthermore, we observe that the best locations of passing bays are those that allow interleaving of vehicles without delays at bays.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anjomshoa H (2011). Optimal placement of passing bays in underground mines. PhD thesis, University of South Australia.

  • Anjomshoa H, Lee DH, Pudney PJ, Albrecht AR and Mackenzie SA (2010). Passing bays in an underground mine. Mining Technology 119 (1): 31–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins A, Kozan E and Ferreira L (1997). Modelling the number and location of sidings on a single line railway. Computers and Operations Research 24 (3): 209–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoare RT and Willis RJ (1992). A case study of animated computer simulation in the Australian mining industry. Journal of the Operational Research Society 43 (12): 1113–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luscombe R and Lee DH (2005). Identifying key infrastructure changes to improve rail network performance. In: Proceedings of the ASOR 18th National Conference, Perth, Western Australia.

  • Mills G, Perkins S and Sier D (1993). Capacity planning for a railway corridor. In: Proceedings of the ASOR 12th National Conference, Adelaide, South Australia.

  • Petersen ER and Taylor AJ (1987). Design of single-track rail line for high-speed trains. Transportation Research Part A: General 21 (1): 47–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts BH (2002). Computer simulation of underground truck haulage operations. Mining Technology 111 (2): 123–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Runciman N, Vagenas N and Corkal T (1997). Simulation of haulage truck loading techniques in an underground mine using WITNESS. Simulation 68 (5): 291–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturgul JR, Jacobsen WL and Tecsa TL (1996). Modeling two-way traffic flow in an underground one-way decline. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia

    H Anjomshoa, A R Albrecht, D H Lee & P J Pudney

Authors
  1. H Anjomshoa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A R Albrecht
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D H Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. P J Pudney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A R Albrecht.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Anjomshoa, H., Albrecht, A., Lee, D. et al. Optimising passing bay locations and vehicle schedules in underground mines. J Oper Res Soc 64, 241–249 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2012.42

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2012.42

Keywords

Search

Navigation