In modern open-pit mining and quarrying, the transportation of material is a critical operational factor, often accounting for 30% to 60% of total operating costs (Abbaspour & Drebenstedt, 2023). As mines mature and deepen, the distance between the working face and stationary processing plants increases, leading to higher fuel consumption, maintenance requirements, and carbon emissions (Kamrani et al., 2024). Mobile crushers, central to In-Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC) systems, offer a transformative solution to these challenges by relocating the primary crushing stage closer to the extraction point.
Mechanism of haulage reduction
Mobile crushers reduce truck haulage distances by enabling a transition from discontinuous truck-based transport to continuous conveyor-based transport (Nunes et al., 2019). In a Fully Mobile IPCC (FMIPCC) system, the crusher is positioned directly at the mining face and fed by a shovel or excavator. This configuration eliminates the need for haulage trucks for that specific material flow (Abbaspour & Drebenstedt, 2023).
In Semi-Mobile IPCC (SMIPCC) configurations, the crusher is placed at a strategic, central location within the pit. While trucks are still utilized to move material from the face to the crusher, the haulage distance is significantly shortened compared to transporting material to a surface-level stationary plant (Kamrani et al., 2024). Once crushed to a conveyable size (typically under 300 mm), the material is transported out of the pit via high-efficiency belt conveyors (Nasirinezhad et al., 2024).
Operational and environmental benefits
The integration of mobile crushers leads to substantial economic and environmental improvements:
- Cost efficiency: while IPCC systems require higher initial capital investment, they can reduce operating expenses (OPEX) by up to 43% due to lower labor and energy costs (Nunes et al., 2019).
- Energy and emissions: conveyors are more energy-efficient than trucks, as they do not expend energy transporting the dead weight of a vehicle; it is estimated that trucks use 60% of their energy to move their own weight, whereas conveyors reduce this figure to approximately 20% (Nasirinezhad et al., 2024). This shift significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions and diesel consumption.
- Safety and maintenance: by reducing the number of active trucks, mines experience lower traffic density, which improves overall operational safety (Kamrani et al., 2024).
References
Abbaspour, H., & Drebenstedt, C. (2023). Truck–Shovel vs. In-Pit Crushing and Conveying Systems in Open Pit Mines: A Technical Evaluation for Selecting the Most Effective Transportation System by System Dynamics Modeling. Logistics, 7(4), 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/logistics7040092 Cited by: 9
Kamrani, A., et al. (2024). Semi-Mobile In-Pit Crushing and Conveying vs. Truck-Shovel Systems: Long-Term Scheduling with Road and Conveyor. Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL). https://sites.ualberta.ca/MOL/DataFiles/2024_Papers/204_Kamrani.pdf
Nasirinezhad, A., et al. (2024). Model for Optimizing Waste-Haulage Systems in Open-Pit Mines (Trucks vs. IPCC System). Applied Sciences, 15(24), 13148. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152413148
Nunes, R. A., Delboni Junior, H., Tomi, G. d., Infante, C. B., & Allan, B. (2019). A decision-making method to assess the benefits of a semi-mobile in-pit crushing and conveying alternative during the early stages of a mining project. REM – International Engineering Journal, 72(2), 285–291. https://doi.org/10.1590/0370-44672018720109
