Modern Mining September 2021

COVER STORY

is less aggressive on the truck bed than with a shovel. “There is a steady trickle of material onto the truck bed, which reduces damage. The reduced shock loading on the trucks also creates a safer operating environment for truck drivers.” Equally important, with its 300 m³ hopper capac- ity, the FMSL allows the shovel to be repositioned without delaying trucks. The FMSL can also be safely relocated by the shovel operator or via remote con- trol. Monitoring systems such as geofencing and collision detection deliver complete safety. During studies, says Peeters, one of the issues that popped up was how truck/shovel operations could use double-sided loading, where the shovel loads one truck on the one side and dispatches the next on the other side, to improve cycle times. “From a time perspective, loading is quicker than when doing it from one side, however, it is still not as quick as with the surge loader. Additionally, double-sided loading presents traffic and cable management headaches on site,” he says. Exciting opportunities The FMSL not only provides improvements in efficiency, productivity and safety of existing truck- and-shovel systems, it is opening up new and exciting opportunities to transform the mining indus- try with different thinking. With the shift towards fully autonomous trucks electrification, alternative fuel trucks and mines of the future, the ‘go big or go home’ attitude is now replaced by being smart with technologies. “The days of being pass-matched and fixed to a small fleet of costly and associated environmental issues of ultra-class trucks is no longer a restriction. The FMSL opens up opportunity for larger fleets of smaller, more economic, efficient and environmen- tally friendly trucks, which can also generate greater system flexibility and control of ore / waste manage- ment,” concludes Peeters. 

other. The surge loader basically stands in one place for extended periods due to the consistent FMSL hopper position and shovel bucket target. The load- ing profile of the surge loader reception hopper is maximised to speed up the spot and dump cycles; the hopper is a similar profile to that of the truck, so the shovel operator has the same target, helping with the familiarisation and transition to FMSL loading.” Trucks are identified by RFID and guided into the optimum loading position. The feeder automatically starts regulated loading to the truck and sensors detect when to stop the loading process. When signalled, the truck simply drives away to the dump location. “The surge loader provides an optimal fill factor to every truck via material level detectors. This ensures that each truck is loaded to maximum capacity,” he says. “The process benefits the shovel operator, who no longer has to worry about the fill factor anymore, providing reduced spot and dump cycles and more time and freedom to think about the digging cycle. In addition, reversing has always been the difficult part in a truck/shovel operation, and now that it has been eliminated, trucks come straight in and out, with no need for three-point turns anymore. Turning on spot is basically catastrophic on tyres, diesel use and downtime,” adds Peeters. Meanwhile, he adds, with the new FMSL, loading

Trucks are identified by RFID and guided into the optimum loading position.

Key benefits of the FMSL  Improves shovel utilisation  Fixed dump position provides simple and safe repeatable dig and load operation for the shovel operator  Simple truck drive-through operation without reversing increases safety and productivity  Controlled feed minimises dynamic loading and vibration for a safer envi-

ronment, less fatigued operator and reduced truck wear  Precision loading prevents spillage and uneven wear

12  MODERN MINING  September 2021