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2010: issue 7 a publication of caterpillar global Mining high-hour cat 5130 shovel moves its last coal belle ayR truCkS ToP 8,000 hours Improving efficiency underground: a challenge worth tacklIng Doing things Differently osisko mining sets aggressive goals to be the best Women: an untapped resource FoR ThE gLobaL Skills crisis We finish 2010 on a high note, with an improving economy and a growing demand for commodities. It’s an exciting time to be part of the mining industry. This issue of Viewpoint contains something for in part by good maintenance practices and support everyone: From practical advice on lowering cost per from Cat dealer Wyoming Machinery. ton in the challenging environment of underground Our industry feature showcases women in all areas mines, to a farewell to a Cat® 5130 shovel that gave of the mining industry—a maintenance technician, more than 15 years of service to a coal mine. the director of a manufacturing facility, a mine Our mine feature showcases Osisko Mining owner, and a miner-to-be who is just starting to get Corporation, a company that exemplifies what we her feet wet. As we struggle with an aging work mean by “mining right.” Its Canadian Malartic force and an increasing need for skilled workers, mine is set to become the biggest open-pit gold having more women showing an interest in mining mine in Canada—and it’s located right in the is a great sign for the future. middle of a community. Thanks to Osisko’s open 2010 brought a renewed commitment from and honest communication with residents, not only Caterpillar to the mining industry. We updated are they accepting the mine, most are welcoming our strategy and under the leadership of new it with open arms. The economic benefits and CEO Doug Oberhelman, we’re investing in existing infrastructure improvements for Malartic are and new products and updating our facilities and tremendous. And so is the mine’s potential. Osisko processes to strengthen quality and shorten time- is partnering with Caterpillar and dealer Hewitt to-market. Equipment to get the best equipment and latest technologies that will help it become one of the This industry is critical to our business, as it is to world’s top-tier gold producers. yours. We promise to do all we can to make it a success for all of us. We also feature Alpha Coal West Belle Ayr coal mine in Wyoming, USA—where a fleet of 797B trucks is accumulating more than 8,000 operating hours a year, an impressive utilization rate made possible Chris Curfman President, caterPillar global mining EditorIal BoarD: tony Johnson, editor. Jim callahan, australia; Matt turner, canada; Viewpoint is a publication of cat global Mining, Mary wang, china; Martin gill, CIS; David Mohr, europe, africa and the producer of one of the mining industry’s broadest middle east; John Bergin, Southeast Asia; keith Malison, latin america; lines of equipment and technology. caterpillar Brad Beyer, united states; David rea, large mining trucks; Mel Busch, serves the worldwide mining community through large track-type tractors; randy aneloski, large Wheel loaders; Yon its vast dealer network and a single division called chong / chris gehner, underground machines; kent clifton, support; ken caterpillar global mining, headquartered in edwards, safety & sustainability; tim siekmann, Product support; greg Peoria, usa, with additional offices worldwide. gardner/Dan hellige/andy trent, global accounts; renee Balaco/charlie Zimmerman, mining marketing; roschelle Mccoy, technology; converse Marketing, Publisher. c cat global mining / viewpoint / 2010: issue 7 table of Contents high-hour cat 5130 shovel moves its last coal 32 improving efficiency underground: a challenge Worth tackling 2 Women: an untapped resource for the global skills crisis 22 bELLE ayR TRuCkS ToP 8,000 hours 28 oSisko: a benchmark in resPonsible mining 14 osisko Mining sets aggressive goals to be the best doing things differently 6 neWs from caterPillar 33 cat global mining / viewpoint 1 Underground mines are one of the most challenging environments for operators and their equipment. Many plunge to great depths with demanding conditions that affect equipment performance. Even the process of getting machines down to work adds a great deal of logistics and costs. IMPRoVInG EFFICIenCY UnDeRGRoUnD : A CHALLENGE WORTH TACKLING Despite their challenging “I like things that are almost free and easy to environments, underground implement,” Widdifield says. “Small changes in operations add up to big benefits. Things like miners are always on the lookout operator efficiency, cycle times and payload have for ways to improve loading and the greatest impact on cost per ton—and they’re haulage performance to lower easy to evaluate, change and manage.” cost per ton. EVaLUATE oPERaTIoNS “Unlike our surface counterparts, who can look “The only real way to find areas to improve out over the pit or use GPS tracking to monitor is to look at what you’re already doing,” says performance, our fleets are truly out of sight,” Widdifield. “You need to see where you are before says Caterpillar underground efficiency expert you can make any changes. Pay attention. Look Larry Widdifield. “Evaluating performance takes at what’s happening around you. Document talent to extract information about the fleet and issues you see and develop an action plan to make operator performance. But it can be done—and improvements.” it’s definitely worth doing.” The goal is to confirm you’re getting the Loading and haulage are large contributors to maximum out of your equipment; set and cost per ton, and they’re impacted by a number achieve new benchmarks for safety, efficiency of factors—including mine design, application, and profitability; and set new goals for more performance—whether that’s one more bucket or product quality and maintenance. Aside from the one more truck load per shift. environment in which machines operate, almost all of these factors can be managed and improved Areas to evaluate include: to lower cost per ton. Even simple improvements • Machine / system sizing and selection. Is the can have a significant impact. loader matched to the truck? Is the LHD the right size for the job? 2 cat global mining / viewpoint / 2010: issue 7 • Material density for body and bucket selection. “Now we can focus on where to approach • Operating techniques. Are operators properly improvements,” says Widdifield. “We either work trained? Are they working efficiently? on training or machine selection.” • Haul road design and maintenance. Caterpillar has developed practical benchmarking • Payload targets / accuracy. Do you know the data to enable underground mines to get the most payload in the truck? Is the loader bucket full? out of their Cat equipment and to provide guidance • Blasting. Is the muck blasted properly, so on assessing haul road design and maintenance that operators can single-pass load their bucket supports sound industry practice. in less than 12 seconds? A high-level overview is included below; to receive • Speed. Are trucks traveling as fast as they can? a copy of “A Reference Guide to Mining Machine Applications,” please contact your dealer and Conduct a production study reference media number AEXQ0030-02. Conducting a production study is one way to evaluate operations. Production studies measure oPTIMIZINg uNDERgROUND the following: MININg TRuCk PERFoRMaNCE • Loading—Time when the bucket first contacts Truck exchange time is a key to improving the pile to when the operator puts the machine underground truck performance. Truck exchange in reverse time is the elapsed time from when a loaded • Haul—Travel from loading area to dumping area truck receives its last loading pass until the next • Dump—Time to get rid of the load truck receives its first loading pass. Obviously, the shorter that cycle is, the greater the opportunity for • Return—Travel from the dump area back to the load area more cycles per shift. The best practices target is 42 seconds per cycle. It’s important to match the • Total Time—Sum of all the above (a full cycle) truck fleet to the size of the loader to ensure the “ Go into the mine and conduct a maximum output for that area is achieved. one- to two-hour production study,” “Don’t forget that your fleet is as fast as your slowest Widdifield suggests. “It doesn’t truck,” says Widdifield. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a new, faster truck or a more skilled operator. matter if you sit on a rock with a The slowest truck in the fleet is the one the rest of stop watch, ride in the truck with those trucks will be waiting behind. You also want to an operator, or use technology to make sure the loader has an adequate fleet of trucks evaluate performance. A production so he’s not sitting there with no one to load.” study in your operation will give Ensure proper positioning you tons per hour in the actual • Have the loader operator spot the truck. environment.” • Ensure the truck doesn’t have to turn around once it is loaded. Performance is influenced by both the operator • Position the truck away from and the machine. The operator-influenced time can overhead services. be a result of the operator’s training, a different approach to the muck pile, or a different digging • Position for fastest cycle times characteristic of his loader. Dumping is affected by (wheel loaders work best with a truck his approach to the truck, load placement, or the positioned 45 degrees to the face). loader and truck match. Machine-influenced time • Keep rear tires away from loose rocks is a result of how the loader accelerates and how its and out of depressions. hydraulics and powertrain are matched. cat global mining / viewpoint 3 Ensure proper payload placement and management to the truck size and drop height should be minimized.

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