Rock Excavation by Drilling & Blasting: Evaluation of the Performance of the Equipment in an Open Pit Limestone Quarry

The paper deals with a research carried out at an open pit quarry, to optimize the production through the analysis of the equipment. The discussion was focused on the currently available machines: excavators, dump trucks and drills. The objective was to optimize some aspects of the exploitation, making it possible to complain with the desired productivity. The excavation is performed by explosives, followed by mucking with backhoe excavators and transportation to the crushing plant through dump trucks. All data on the currently in use machines at the quarry were taken into account. Economic evaluations were carried out by analyzing the fuel consumption of each machine; then different models of machines with the same power and capacity features were examined, to evaluate cheaper alternatives. Finally, the more advantageous fleet from an economic standpoint was rated, considering the critical geometry of the quarry. The cost of an initial investment was also evaluated, in reference to the purchase of a new fleet. The cycle times of the machines were experimentally evaluated on site. The results obtained are analyzed in the light of future perspectives; the analysis revealed a reliability of the evaluation and the quarry is currently testing the solution proposed.