Diesel

case study

analyses of diesel use for Mine Haul and transport operations
Fortescue Metals Groups ltd • downer edI MInInG pty ltd • leIGhton contractors pty lIMIted

Diesel is a significant energy source for the mining industry. It is used for material transport processes such as the hauling of ore and overburden. Trucks and trains constitute one of the key diesel‑using activities. Theunderstanding of the energy efficiency of a haul truck or locomotive should not be limited to the analysis of vehicle‑specific parameters. Mining companies can often find greater benefits by expanding the analysis to include many other factors that affect the amount of energy used across an entire fleet, including road gradient and elevation. The rigorous approach required by the Energy EfficiencyOpportunities (EEO) Program enables a corporation to determine the energy savings from projects and the cost of implementing these projects. A systematic and thorough approach focuses efforts on the most energy intensive processes, the key energy and material flows in the process and where opportunities for increased efficiency are likely to lie. As EEO takes a data‑driven approach toidentifying energy‑savings opportunities by collecting and analysing energy use and production data (including the factors impacting on both), it can enable companies to view common processes from new perspectives and identify additional opportunities. This Case Study aims to provide mining companies with examples of comprehensive

analyses of diesel use in mining operations used by Fortescue Metals Group ltd,downer edI Mining Pty Ltd and Leighton Contractors Pty Limited. It provides several examples of analytical techniques that have been used in the mining sector to develop a rigorous understanding of energy and material flows, and enable the identification of energy savings for haul truck operations and rail operations. This Case Study demonstrates analyses of diesel use in trucks by trending energydata over time, development of models and simulations, use of indicators, and benchmarking, including theoretical benchmarking. It also shows how an Energy‑Mass Balance (EMB) has been applied to rail operations. All of these processes can be used by companies to understand energy use, manage energy performance, improve business decision making and identify potential energy efficiencyopportunities.
dIesel use In MInInG operatIons

As of 2008–09, 40 reporting EEO companies in the mining sector consumed 308 PJ of energy of which 52.5 PJ was diesel (17%) for haulage and electricity generation. These EEO mining companies had identified 3 PJ (or 6%) worth of savings directly related to diesel use. These companies adopted 66% of these identified savings in diesel use.

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enerGyeFFIcIency opportunItIes case study

truck operatIons In MInInG
Trucks are used to haul overburden and ore from the pit to a dump site, stockpile or to the next stage of a mining process. Their use is scheduled in conjunction with other machinery, such as excavators, loaders and diggers, according to the site layout and production capacity.

results at a Glance

Fortescue Metals Group identifiedand quantified the energy costs associated with stopping haul trucks unnecessarily, which equated to 361 kL (13,935 GJ)1 of diesel per annum for the Caterpillar 777 fleet and 407 kL (15,710 GJ) of diesel per annum for the Terex 3700 AC fleet for a single stop sign per payload cycle. Fortescue also found additional savings through a change to the engine control unit of the haul trucks. Modellingshowed a 2.3% reduction in fuel consumption, with an increase in cycle time of 1.8%, resulting in a fleet‑wide fuel savings of 232 kL (8,955 GJ) of diesel per annum. In rail operations, Fortescue found that the installation of an automatic start‑stop system would reduce idle time, with savings estimated at 675 kL (26,055 GJ) of diesel per annum. Numerical modelling also found that savings of...