BATCHELOR, D.H. The implementation of a computerised truck dispatch system at Palabora. APCOM 87.

Proceedings of the Twentieth International Symposium on the Application of Computers and Mathematics in
the Mineral Industries. Volume 1: Mining. Johannesburg, SAIMM, 1987. pp. 389-401.

The Implementation of a Computerised Truck

Dispatch System at Palabora
D.H. BATCHELOR
Palabora Mining Company Limited, Phalaborwa, South Africa

Efficient modern-day mining operations are turning increasingly to technology

to combat rising operating costs in an adverse economic climate for the in-
dustry. Computerised truck dispatching is one such technological advance that
has enhanced the efficiency of the mining operation at Palabora. The economic
incentives, basic operation and general system benefits of Palabora's com-
puterised truck dispatching system are considered.

Introduction

Palabora Mine is situated in the too low to support an economically

lowveld plain of the north-eastern viable mining operation. It was not
Transvaal, some 550 km to the north- until 1956 that Palabora Mining
east of Johannesburg. Immediately Company was formed on the initiative
to the east of the mine 1i e s the of the Rio Tinto Zinc and the New-
Kruger National Park and the border mont Mining Corporations to investi-
with Mozambique, whilst 175 km to gate the viability of mining. The
the north lies the Limpopo river and first phase of the mining operation
the border with Zimbabwe. commenced in 1964 with the estab-
The Palabora Igneous Complex is an lishment of mining cuts on Loolekop.
elliptically shaped vertical pipe To da t e (Oc t . 1986) over 1 453 mil-
of volcanic origin, some 7 km by 1 ion tons of material have been
3 km, with a younger alkaline pipe removed from the Palabora open pit.
intruded centrally into the com- The primary product is a high-
plex. This intrusion is the host quality refined copper in both rod
rock for the copper sulphide and and cathode form. Palabora produces
associated mineralisation. sufficient copper to meet the re-
Mining has taken place on the out- quirements of the entire South Afri-
crop, Loolekop, for some 1 200 years can market, the balance going for
but it was only in 1932 that modern- export. Other significant products
day mining commenced when the late are anode slimes (containing gold,
Or Hans Merensky started a sma 11 silver and platinum), uranium cal-
quarry for the winning of phosphate. cine (yellow cake), magnetite,
In those early years the grade of baddeleyite (zirconium oxide), nic-
the copper ore body was considered kel sulphate and sulphuric acid. A

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 389

large tonnage of phosphate bearing to six P&H 2800 and three P&H 2100

rock is also mined by Palabora on shovels and the haul truck fleet to
behalf of the Phosphate Develop- seventy-nine 154 ton Unit Rig MK36
ment Corporation. trucks and four 154 ton Euclid R170
trucks, making a total of eighty-
Background to the mining operation three haul units.

The first phase of the mining The pit is mined in 15,2 m high

operation at Palabora began in 1965 benches, the lowest working,bench

wi th the establishment of mining currently being bench 30 at a depth
benches on Loolekop. The mining of 323 m below the average surface
equipment in use at that time con- elevation. The pit is finally
sisted of two P&H 1400 shovels planned to reach bench 56 at a depth
and a fleet of twenty-six of 721 m below the average surface
65 ton KW Dart trucks with an addi- elevation and 325 m below sea level
tional five P&H 1600 shovels (4,6m 3
) (see Figure 1). The overall slope
and one P&H 2100 shovel (9,2m 3 ) angle is maintained at an average of
1
being introduced in 1966 (Crosson ). 45° to 53° throughout most slopes
The initial open pit plans called and is achieved through a combin-
for a mining rate of 75 000 tons of nation of controlled perimeter blas-
2
rock per day of which 40 000 tons ting and double benching.
was ore, the planned end-of-life of All drill holes are sampled in
the mine being in 1992. No less order to determine the precise
than five mine expansions have mineralogical make-up of each blast.
taken place through the life o f t he After blasting, each muckpile is
mine, with production reaching a subdivided by means of demarcation
peak during 1980 when an average of flags and identification boards into
348 195 tons of material was mined smaller mining blocks known as com-
per day. The effect of these expan- posites. Each composite is marked by
sions has been to increase the plan- means of a unique number and classi-
ned life of the open cast operation fied into one of thirteen different
by seven years to 1999. Following material types according to its
a more favourable stripping ratio, mineralogical constituents and the
production is currently planned at mineral ownership area in which it
307 000 tons per day of which 93 000 occurs.
tons per day is ore at an average Under normal mining conditions
head and cut-off grade of 0,50% Cu shovels are planned to square face
and 0,15% Cu respectively. muckpi les wi th trucks in double
The mining equipment in use at backup. All major permanent ramp
Palabora has increased in size and systems are installed at a grade of
capacity, f 01 1 owi ng the typical 8%, with the more heavily used ramps
technological trends of many large- having trolley assist lines instal-
scale open cast operations through- led. The trolley assist system has
out the world. By 1985 the shovel many advantages over standard diesel
loading fleet had been rationalised powered haulage, the main ones being

390 MINING: CONTROL OF MINING OPERATIONS

WEST 1,8 Km. - - - - - - - - - - - + - 1 EAST

<=-----t------ro----+200 m

=~~~--f"'__------M. S. L.

---+-'----+----------2.5 Om

o JOo ~oo 300 400 500 PIT EXTENSION oP65D

! ! , ! ! !

8CALE:metres

FIGURE 1. East-west cross-section through the Palabora Pit, showing the current and final pit walls. The
World Trade Center buildings are superimposed to convey an impression of the depth

reduced fuel costs and greater haul July 1972, with operation on a con-
truck productivity through increased tinuous basis being achieved in the
3
speed. early part of 1973. The haul truck
All of the ore is currently hauled fl eet at that time consisted of
to surface and delivered to one of nineteen 90 ton Unit Rig M100s and
three 54" Allis Chalmer gyratory thirty 65 ton KW Darts. The basic
cone crushers. All other material concept of the system was to be able
is delivered to one of twelve dumps to detect a truck as it entered the
according to the material classi- pit and assign it to a shovel by
fication and ownership. means of a shovel priority rating

Previous truck dispatching systems system.

The first method of truck dis- Subsequent to the installation of

patching was based on manual batch the system, studies indicated that
allocation, a system which suffered the resultant increase in producti-
certain inherent inefficiencies. The vity varied from between 5% to 8 9-o •

principal problems were that shovels The major disadvantages of this

rarely required an exact number of system were that it was not possible
trucks to satisfy their loading to determine accurately shovel
requirements and that shovel digging loading and crusher digestion
rates, crusher breakdowns and sho- rates: communication was restricted
vel delays and breakdowns could not to one point within each haul cycle;
be timeously compensated for. and it was not possible to determine
The first automatic truck dispat- the exact location and state of each
4
ching system was commissioned in haul truck, thus limiting the deci-

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 391

sions for truck allocation to the Investigations into various systems and their
situation as perceived by opera- benefits
tions personnel from the lookout Investigations into the availabi-
tower. lity of a system capable of satis-
Basic requirements of a fully computerised fying these requirements commenced
system in 1980. Broad concepts were drawn
It was evident that in order to imp- up in order to develop an initial
rove upon the previous truck dispat- and brief functional specification
ching system it would be necessary as a guideline for directing further
to exercise far greater and tighter engineering input.
control over the haul truck fleet. In the latter half of 1983 a de-
Accordingly, it would be neces- tailed simulation study was con-
sary to 'identify each truck indivi- ducted by mining consultants to
dually and be aware of its loca- determine the potential increase in
tion and status at all times. Fur- haul truck efficiency that could be
thermore, it would be necessary to anticipated from a more sophisti-
utilise this information as input to cated dispatch system. The basis of
a process control system based on the study was to compare the then
a high speed digital computer current dispatching system with one
which would contain the necessary such as that defined in Palabora's
logic to make decisions on how best broad specification.
to allocate haul trucks in order to The results of this study showed
maximise production. A further re- conclusively that haul truck effi-
quirement would be the ability to ciency could be increased by between
communicate with each loading and 4,7% to 8,6%.
hauling unit in order that instruc-
The economic justification
tions may be given on a real-time
basis. It was vital that changes in The impact of high fuel costs
state (for example, equipment sta- since 1973 has placed great emphasis
tus, crusher rates, shovel digging on the need to improve haul truck
rates) might be compensated for efficiency. Additionally, the low
quickly and effectively and not just value of the Rand has increased dra-
'as and when possible'. matically the cost of new and repla-
Less important requirements of the cement haul trucks. The overall
system were the provision of ade- mining and beneficiation costs
quate production reporting; an i n- for 1985 amounted to some R285,7 m,
terface wi th the current mainten- of which R141,2 m was attributable
ance system; and the requirement to the mining operation. Of this
for minimum input from both look-out figure, R71,7 m was directly attri-
personnel and equipment operators. butable to haulage costs, thus
The latter of these requirements making it the highest single cost
could only be provided by a system area.
which was self-monitoring and self- Given these economic considera-
adjusting. tions, the potential payback on a

392 MINING: CONTROL OF MINING OPERATIONS

system which offered even the bare DISPATCH is in direct radio contact
mini(Ilum increase in truck utilisa- wi th the onboard field equipment
tion of 4,7% was extremely favour- control units mo u n t e din all sho-
able. The projected savings, inclu- vels, trucks and crushers via two
ding capital cost savings, UHF FM digital radio channels. In
amounted to R14,83 m in 1985 Rand order for DISPATCH to be able to
figures. make accurate decisions with respect
to truck allocation it is necessary
System selection for it to have access to all rele-
Following project approval in August vant data, including the pit route
1984, various suppliers were invited network, equipment status and other
to tender, with the contract finally information received from the field
being awarded to Modular Mining control units. All 0 f t his i n for ma -
Systems Incorporated of Tucson, tion is contained within a complex,
Arizona. purposely designed 'pit data base'
Preparation of a highly detaIled which is continually modified and
functional specification followed updated by manual data entry and
the award of the contract, and sys- self-adjustment from measured para-
tern installation commenced in June meters.
1985. The name of the dispatching DISPATCH keeps track of the loca-
system installed by Modular Mining tion of trucks by means of both
Systems is DISPATCH, and it wi 11 be location beacons and information
referred to as such throughout the entered into the field control units
remaining sections of this paper. by the truck drivers. Location bea-
cons are placed at various key
Basic means of operation points in the pit, on shovels and
The basic aim of DISPATCH is to on the surrounding dumps and haul
optimise haulage patterns for a roads. When a request is received
given configuration of shovels, for a shovel assignment, all alter-
dumps and crushers based upon mea- native assignments for that truck
sured shovel digging, truck hauling are evaluated a s we 1 1 as for all
and crusher digestion rates. In other trucks expected to request an
order to determine the op t imum assignment within the next few min-
haulage model, DISPATCH employs the utes or so. An optimum assignment
Simplex method of 1 inear program- is then given to the truck. It is
ming. This optimum model is regen- this feature in particular that
erated when significant events such dramatically enhances the efficiency
as shovel breakdowns occur or by of the dispatching operation as
default once every twenty minutes. A 1 i ke 1 y future events are always
steady state is assumed to exist and taken into consideration.
it is therefore necessary to apply Once a truck has received an as-
secondary dynamic assignment logic signment and is progressing towards
to ensure that deviations from the its destination, it will pass loca-
steady state are accounted for. t ion beacons en route. Certain of

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 393

these beacons can be designated to fuel put in the truck, etc. Commu-
act as reassignment locations so nication with the driver is via a
that if the validity of that trucks 32 character digital display on
original assignment has been re- the operator interface panel.
evaluated, a new assignment can be
The shovel operator
given. This will usually occur if
The shovel operator has basically
the shovel to which· the truck was
the same facilities as the truck
originally assigned has broken down,
driver, except that he is required
or if another shovel which was pre-
to indicate to DISPATCH information
viously on breakdown has returned to
pertaining to the composites being
service.
loaded, and when the loading of a
During normal operation there will
truck has been completed.
always be circumstances which cannot
be handled by DISPATCH itself, for The crusher operator
instance a truck driver may go to The primary function of the crusher

the wrong shovel or a shovel opera- operator is to indicate to DISPATCH

tor may push an incorrect button on which ore stockpile he is tipping on

the operator interface panel. and when he commences and finishes

Should such a condition arise then crushing a load. The latter informa-

DISPATCH wi 11 prompt the lookout tion is utilised by DISPATCH

operator to take corrective action. within its linear programming calcu-

lations to determine the correct
Operators feed rate of trucks to the crushers
There are five groups of personnel and hence the correct feed rate of
who form key links in the smooth and trucks to the ore shovels.
effective operation of the system.
The lookout operator
These groups comprise haul truck
The nerve centre of the entire oper-
drivers, shovel operators, crusher
ation is the open pit lookout tower.
operators, lookout operators and
Here there are four computer ter-
mine engineering. They will be
minals in use (see Figure 2), each
considered in turn.
of which serves a different function
in assisting the lookout operator
The truck driver
to control the mining operation.
The basic actions required of the
truck driver are to inform DISPATCH Mine engineering

when the truck arrives at a shovel, Mine engineering personnel are res-
when it is being loaded, when a dump ponsible for the upkeep of the
assignment is required, to confirm DISPATCH system, particularly with
arrival at the dump and to request respect to the primary pit confi-
an assignment back to a shovel. guration data such as haul routes,
Other input required is that composite data, production equipment
relating to the state of the haul information, etc. As with computer
truck, such as downs or delays operating systems, DISPATCH has many
being experienced, the quantity of configurable system parameters which

394 MINING: CONTROL OF MINING OPERATIONS

 Location beacons
Location beacons are sma I I, low
power VHF transmitters located at
strategic points in the haul route
system. They are compact and
robust and are mounted in a stain-
less steel tube for maximum protec-
t ion against the elements. As a
result of their usually remote loca-
tion they are normally powered by
solar panels, as shown in Figure 3.
The effective range of the transmis
sion is approximately 50 m which
enables DISPATCH to determine accur-
ately the position of any truck
whi ch should detect a specific
beacon.
Beacons serve various purposes
and may be defined to DISPATCH
in a number of ways. Each beacon
has a unique identification code and
can be defined as either a ca I I
point, cru·sher reassignment, shovel
FIGURE 2. The open pit lookout tower, showing the DIS-
reassignment, auto arrive or
PATCH control terminals
trolley line beacon. Of particular
affect the efficiency with which it
note here are the shovel and
operates. It is the responsibility
crusher reassignment beacons which
of mine engineering personnel to
are located close to the shovels and
ensure that these parameters are
crushers respectively in order to
set to optimise the efficiency of
ensure that truck allocation is
the dispatching operation at aI I
based upon the most up-to-date
time s .
information and allow DISPATCH to
A full description of the prin-
make any last-minute changes if
ciples and theory upon which
DISPATCH assignment logic is based
has bee n g i v e n by Wh i t e a n dOl son. 6

Dispatch hardware
A detailed description of the
system hardware is beyond the scope
of this paper. However, for further
7
reference Baker, Coburn & White
have described fully the operation
of the system and the functionality
of the associated hardware. FIGURE 3. A haul truck appIOaching a location beacon

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 395

 and data entry via the keypad. The
radio is a standard Motorola Mitrek
voice radio.

Communications hardware
Communication is achieved with the
use of a two channel UHF FM system.
Two repeaters, both on a 100% duty
cycle, are located at the lookout
close to the edge of the pit in
order to ensure good radio cover-
FIGURE 4. An operator interface panel for a haul truck
age.
necessary, before the truck arrives
Communication between the VAX and
at its final destination.
the field equipment is achieved by
Field control units means of an interface panel support-
Field control units are mounted in ing a communications protocol devel-
all trucks, shovels and cru.shers to oped specifically for efficient er-
enable equipment operators to com- ror-free communication on a radio
municate wi th DISPATCH and vice channel.
versa. The field control units
Central computer hardware
consist of a vehicle interface pa-
The central computer (see Figure 5)
nel, an operator interface panel, a
is a Digital Equipment Corporation
radio and a power supply. The vehi-
VAX-11/7BO with B ME of internal
cle interface panel, often referred
memory, floating point processor,
to as the 'black box' is of rug-
16 ports, three RAB1 456 ME hard
ged construction and contains
disc units and a TUBO Magnetic tape
three cards to cater for communi ca-
drive. The system was originally
tions, beacon receiving and vital
delivered with 4 ME of internal
signs monitoring.
memory, but various operating system
The operator interface panel (see
and application program upgrades
Figure 4) contains a microprocessor
necessitated a further 4 ME of
to control the 32 character display
memory and the sharing of swap and

IV page files between two discs.

Dispatch software
All of the DISPATCH software in-
stalled on the VAX is written in 'C'
for maximum system efficiency, but
the majority of the software
installed in the field hardware is
written in Pascal and Assembler.
When the system was first instal-
FIGURE 5. Central computer room, showing system console, led much of the software distributed
VAX-ll/780, disc drives and communication
cabinet between the various mine sites

396 MINING: CONTROL OF MINING OPERA nONS

 around the world was generic. How- crusher and a signal received from
ever, as more systems were sold the the crusher operator's interface
system suppliers experienced dif- panel indicating that the load has
ficulty in maintaining a multitude been digested. In this way a rol-
of sites each with its own idiosyn- ling average digestion rate for each
crasies whi Is t st i I I developing crusher may be maintained.
software for others. The Palabora
Shiftchange strategy
software has therefore undergone
Prior to the installation of DIS-
many radical enhancements within the
PATCH, shiftchange took place bet-
first two years of operation, many
ween approximately 10 minutes prior
of them aimed at turning the system
to the end of one shift and 10 min-
into a set package which can be
utes into the start o f t he next.
configured to suit any specific
Drivers would invariably pace them-
open cast mining operation. This is
selves towards the end of the
particularly true of the system
shift in order to arrive at the
reporting which is now achieved
shiftchange in a time I y fashion.
by a forms management command
The means by which DISPATCH assigns
language which can be easily deve-
trucks to shift change is to deter-
loped and manipulated by mine
mine if the truck could take
personnel.
another load and be back at the
shiftchange area prior to the end of
Palabora-specific features
the shift; if not a shiftchange
Several aspects of the system assignment would be given. Depen-
originally delivered to Palabora dent upon specific cycle times, it
required a certain degree of custom- was not uncommon for trucks to ar-
isation, particularly the strategies rive at shiftchange 30 minutes prior
pertaining to the crusher feed rate, to the end of the shift. As the
shiftchange, truck wheel retorquing shiftchange location was on a major
and training methods. These will haul route this caused disruption to
be looked at in turn. the normal traffic flow. It there-
fore became necessary for all trucks
Crusher strategy
which were scheduled to arrive early
As a result of the variable nature
at the shiftchange to be assigned
of the ore delivered to the primary
to a smaller holding location where
crushers, rapid variations in the
they would not affect the normal
crusher digestion rates occur. In
traffic flow.
order for DISPATCH to ensure a
steady and balanced flow of trucks Truck retorquing
to the crushers, the crusher When haul truck wheels are refitted
digestion rates need to be measured or replaced it is necessary that
parameters. The digestion rate of the haul truck return to the Tyre
individual loads is determined from Bay after the first, third and sixth
the elapsed time between the ready load in order to retorque the wheel
signal for a truck to tip in the nuts. This practice was previously

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 397

controlled manually. However with
the introduction of DISPATCH, the
system was automated. DISPATCH
simply keeps track of the loads
hauled by the truck since it last
had a tyre re-fitted and assigns
the truck to the Tyre Bay at the
appropriate time. This ensures
that truck wheels are retorqued at
the correct time, thus making for
increased safety and also allowing FIGURE 6. Training of haul truck drivers under simulated
DISPATCH to account for Tyre Bay conditions
down time when looking ahead to taken by Modular Mining personnel
future truck assignments. un t i 1 there was sufficient in-house
knowledge and ability. Acceptance
Training methods of the system has been good, parti-
Training was identified as one of
cularly amongst the haul truck dri-
the single most important factors to
verso This may in part arise from
be addressed if the project was to
the fact that DISPATCH tends to
be a success. The area of most
enhance job interest.
concern was the ability and willing-
ness of the haul truck drivers to System support
interact with the system correctly. Supplier support for the DISPATCH
In order to address this problem so f tware is achieved via a phone
a small simulator (see Figure 6) 1 ink to the United States over a
was developed at Palabora's request 1200 baud phone modem. Assistance is
and set up several weeks prior to available on a 24 hour per day basis
the arrival on site of the majority for situations which affect the
of the hardware. This simulator normal running of the dispatching
consisted of a shovel and truck operation. System updates are re-
field panel unit driven by a ceived on a regular basis via the
small 16k microcomputer. In this telephone 1 ink. Updates are re-
way shovel operators and truck dri- ceived in the form of source code
vers could be trained in the correct difference files which are then
use of their respective dispatching incorporated into the source code
equipment several weeks prior to resident on Palabora's VAX. Compi-
system start-up, and any problem lation of the source code is there-
areas could be addressed well in fore carried out in Palabora. This
advance. The training of all other method of sending difference f i 1e s
personnel such as lookout operators, as opposed to entire updates signi-
instrumentation technicians, and so ficantly reduces telephone charges
on, took place during system instal- and provides for a more rapid res-
lation and start-up, with full cove- ponse to the rectification of any
rage of all key aspects being under- system software bugs.

398 MINING: CONTROL OF MINING OPERATIONS

 Determination of system benefits tion in order that any limiting

The system was originally justified factors may be investigated. Of

on a 4,7% increase in haul truck particular note is a utility that

efficiency. Installation commenced was developed jointly at Palabora's

in July 1985 and in November of that request, known as the Performance
year this objective was achieved by Evaluation Procedure (PEP) . This
the placing of four trucks on perma- utility is designed specifically for
nent standby. This represented a mine operating personnel in order
4,8% reduction in the haul truck that they may determine exactly
fleet size without any noticeable which facet of the operation is
loss of production. limiting production. The factors
After 12 months of debugging and weighed against each other are haul-
enhancement a detailed study was age rates, shovel digging rates and
performed in order to determine the crusher digestion rates. Historical
precise increase in truck efficien- data from previous production files
cy. Two mining periods were exa- is accumulated for comparison again-
mined in detail using historically st currently measured values. The
accepted measures of performance. PEP report then determines which of
The first part of the study covered these current factors are limiting
a three-month period just prior production by evaluating the produc-
to the installation of DISPATCH, tion levels which could be met if
the second part a three-month per- historical rates were achieved.
iod subsequent to the installation This form of quantification of pro-
of DI SPATCH. The 'truck time' cal- duction is still in the development
culated to give the same level of stage, yet good results are being
production as that achieved was obtained and are proving to be use-
compared to t h e ' truck time' actua- ful. The report is run automatic-
lly available. The ratio of these ally on an hourly basis in order
two figures for each period showed that prompt action, such as a change
that the truck utilisation factor in dumping location, may be taken if
subsequent to the installation of necessary.
DISPATCH was 7,07% higher than the
Prior to the installation of
period prior to installation.
DISPATCH it was very difficult to
determine when there were excessive
Analysis of mining operation trucks in the field which were not
The efficiency of any mining oper- being utilised effectively, especi-
ation is as good as the understand- ally during the period leading up to
ing that management and operations and just after blasting operations.
personnel have of the bottlenecks The PEP utility now provides lookout
and restrictions within the produc- personnel with the necessary inform-
tion cycle. DISPATCH has various ation to decide when trucks may be
utilities which permit close exami- parked without adversely affecting
nation of all aspects of the opera- production.

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 399

 Other more subjective benefits to Vital signs monitoring
have come about from the implemen- Damage to truck and shovel compo-
tation of DISPATCH are improved nents can be significantly reduced
material accountability, enhanced if sufficient warning of abnormal
planning and operational control and running conditions is provided. Vi-
the ability to simulate short-term tal signs monitoring of equipment
mining scenarios. provides the necessary warning to
prevent equipment damage in many
Future developments
cases. DISPATCH has the capability
There are a multitude of applica-
of monitoring up to 32 analogue and
tions that are scheduled for future
32 digital alarms for each piece of
development, three are worthy of
equipment fitted with a field con-
particular note.
trol unit. Any condition such as
Truck refuelling oil pressure, temperature or voltage
Haul trucks are refuelled once every can be monitored as long as it is
24 hours on a fixed rota system. On possible to generate the necessary
certain occasions trucks arrive at signal. All alarms are processed by
the fuel bay with an almost f u 11 the Vital Signs monitoring board in
tank of diesel, usually as a result the field control unit.
of significant equipment downtime
within the preceding 24 hours. In
Conclusion
Since the installation of DISPATCH
order to make the system more
the system has proven itself in
efficient DISPATCH wi 11 determine
terms of tighter and more efficient
the amount of fuel used by each
truck control. The information gen-
truck and automatically schedule
erated by DISPATCH permits the ana-
trucks for refuelling when the fuel
lysis of Palabora's mining opera-
level is low. It is anticipated
tion to a level of detail not poss-
that this will increase the average
ible before. In financial terms the
interval between refuelling stops
payback upon which the system was
to approximately every 36 hours.
originally justified has been rea-
Tyre TKPH monitoring and control lised. However, the challenge for
The ton kilometre per hour level of the future is how best to optimise
each haul truck has a great impact this extremely powerful tool to take
on tyre life. By determining the advantage of those more subjective
amount of work done by a truck with- and often not-thought-of aspects.
in a specific time frame it is pos-
sible to calculate the TKPH value Acknowledgement
attained and base future truck as- The author wishes to thank the
signments upon the requirement for a management of Palabora Mining
less arduous haul cycle in order to Company for permission to publish
reduce this TKPH value and hence the this paper.
temperature of the tyres.

400 MINING: CONTROL OF MINING OPERATIONS

 References of truck control. Min. Mag.
1. CROSSON, C.C. Evolutionary de- vol. 136, February 1977, pp. 74-
velopment of Palabora. TILan-6. 82.
In-6t. Min. Metatt. TILan-6/sect.
A, vo I. 5. Palabora Mining Company Limited.
93, April 1984, pp.
A58-A69. Assorted memoranda and unpub-
lished reports.

2. FAUQUIER, G.P. Trim blasting

and double benching for steeper 6. WHITE, J .W. and OLSON, J.P.
slopes and competent walls at Computer-based dispatching in
PMC. En g. & Mi n. ] n t. v 0 I. 18 4 , mines with concurrent operating
April 1983, pp. 46-52. ob j e c t i v e s . Mi n En 9 . vo I.
38, no. 11, Nov. 1986, pp. 1045-
3. LILL, J .W. , GLIDDON, J.P. and 1054.
WADE, G.C. Palabora - Changing
to meet the challenge of the 7. BAKER, M.R., COBURN, J.W. and
80' s. Delivered at SME confer- WHITE, J.W. Hardware, so f tware
ence, Denver, Colorado, February and system considerations in
1987. computer-based open pit mine
truck dispatching. In-6tILum.
4. CROSSON, C.C. TONKING, M.J.H. S 0 c. Am • T IL a n -6 • vo I. 2, no. 4,
and MOFFAT, W.G. Palabora system Dec. 1983, pp.

A COMPUTERISED TRUCK DISPATCH SYSTEM AT PALABORA 401