c.

Overburden removal using loaders and trucks

The calculations required to determine the size of a
shovel, front-end-loader, or hydraulic shovel are the
same.

When selecting between the various loading

equipment items you should take into consideration such

things as the amount of mobility required, overburden
thickness and hardness, size of truck to be loaded,
mine life, floor and slope conditions, annual volumes,
etc .

Generally this type of loading equipment supplements

the principal overburden removal equipment.

Two general

approaches can be taken when determining the bucket size

for a loading equipment item.

The engineer can divide the

annual volume to be moved into several parts and solve

for a bucket size for each part, or he can solve for a
single equivalent loader bucket size for the total volume
to be moved annually.

This equivalent bucket size must

then be divided into the standard bucket sizes produced by

the different manufactures.

Either method will lead to

the same results.

When the engineer is considering overburden removal
methods on a cost basis, draglines normally give the
lowest unit cost per bank cubic

yard~

Bucket wheel

excavators are comparable with or even may give a lower

unit cost than draglines when the overburden is deep and
contains no hard material.

Shovels generally give lower

unit costs than front-end-loaders, but do not have the

mobility.

Scrapers usually give the highest unit cost of

58

all the mining systems, but have the lowest initial

capital outlay since no truck fleet is required.

They

are very mobile and produce good results for certain uses
such as topsoil removal.

a ,..-;/. el:::,)
t'
.: ..t ,)
1. 8hovel or front end loader size calculations
a. Required work parameters for the calculations
- Tons or BCY to be moved per year
- Days operated per year
- Daily production, tons or BCY
- Daily scheduled hours

(8)

- Mechanical and electrical

availability (A) 70% to 85%
- Utilization (U) 80% to 95%
- Job efficiency (J)

95%

- Daily effective operating time (OT) ;~ h~s.

OT

= (8) (A) (U)

(J)

- Bucket fill factor, percent (see Table 4-2)

- Estimated work cyCle, in seconds (see Table 4-3)
- Bank weight, pounds/BCY (see Table 4-1)
- Load factor,

(see Table 4-1)

Anexo

b. The number of units needed can be either estimated

from the number of work places or calculated from
the bucket size.

59

TABLE 4-2
TYPICAL DIPPER AND BUCKET FILL FACTORS FOR SHOVELS AND LOADERS
Bucket Fill Factor
Type of
Digging

Shovel

Loader

Easy

0.95 to 1.00

0.90 to 1.00

Medium

0.90 to 0.95

0.80 to 0.90

Hard

0.80 to 0.90

0.50 to 0.60

Very hard

0.70 to 0.80

Not Advisable

Easy Digging: This applies to all loose, free running and

uniformly sized material including sand, gravel, crushed
stone, concentrate, and pellets.

The shovel should be able

to atta in a full or heaped load in the dipper.

Medium Digging: This applies to a free digging material with
a minor gradation of sizing such as earth, clay, gravel with
sorne boulders, and coal.

Little or no blasting should be

required and the shovel will usually obtain a full dipper due
to the m&terial's natural tendencies to flow when penetrated
by the dipper teeth.
Hard Digging: Materials that require blasting but give
fairly good fragmentation fall into this classification.
There is a gradation in size of the material from small
to medium chunks which results in a considerable percentage
of voids.

The materials most common in this classification

are limestone, laminated shales and cemented gravels.

The

dipper will achieve less than a full dipper load due to the
tendency of the material to resist natural flow or sliding.

60

Very Hard Digging: This applies to material requiring heavy

blasting resulting in irregular shaped chunks ranging frorn
srnall to large.

A fair arnount of interlocking between chunks

occurs which resists dipper penetration.

Sorne of the rnaterials

designated by this classification are trap rock, granite,

and sorne sandstones and conglornerates.

The shovel dipper

will average considerably less than a full load due to large

chunks blocking the filling action and hindering the pick up
of the smaller available pieces.

Considerable power is also

required elirninating all but very large wheel loaders.

61

TABLE 4-3.

ESTIMATED WORK CYCLE TIMES

Estimated work cycle times for various shovels operating

in different digging conditions.
Shovel Boom
Size Length
CY
FT

HP

Working Cvcle Times (SEC. )

Maximum
Very Hard
Hard
Medium
Suspended Easy
Load-lb. Digging Digging Digging Digging

38.0

400

60,000

25.8

25.8

29.8

34.8

13*

52.0

450

45,000

26.2

26.2

N.A.

N.A.

14
16*
15

41.6
70.0
50.0

600
600
700

85,000
65,000
95,000

26.3
32.0
28.0

26.3
32.0
28.0

30.3
N.A.
32.0

35.3
N.A.
32.0

17*

80.0

700

80,000

33.7

33.7

N.A.

N.A.

17
25*

47.0
63.0

700
800

105,000
90,000

28.0
33.7

28.0
33.7

32.0
N.A.

32.0
N.A.

23

50.0

800

130,000

30.0

30.0

34.0

39.0

30*
14

70.0
85.0

800
800

116,000
88,000

32.0
34.0

32.0
34.0

N.A.
N.A.

N.A.
N.A.

34

56.0

34.0

34.0

36.0

40.0

Capacity based on coal loading operation only.

Typical cycle times for front-end-loaders operating on a minimum

haul when loading trucks.
Capacity of LoaderSegundos
Work Cycle Time in minutes_
c_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~.-I\:.'; ~}~ ."_A;;.:.\~':;'

up to 4 CY

Z(
.., 36
24
,21..- a

0.40 to 0.60

5 to 10 CY

. ., a 60
' ,jl
30

0.50 to 1.00

11+ CY

-/"

,:

48 a
c. 90
i't)
'1f-

0.80 to 1. 50

,~,uc\ \'J )

Source: Bucrus-Erie, Surface Mining Supervisory Training -Shovel/Truck, 1979.

62

Co

Calculation steps
1. Shovel cycles/day

= (OT) (3600)
Work cycle

20 Tons or BCY/Cycle
30 Bucket size (CY)

Daily tonnage required

Shovel cycle per day

cubic yards
= (tons per cycle) (2000) bank
(BCY)
(BD) (LF) (BFF)

BD

= bank density, lbs./BCY

LF = load factor
BFF

bucket fill factor, percent

OR
Bucket size (CY)

BCY per cycle

(LF) (BFF)

4. After a loader size is determined, the true

production for the manufacture's specified
bucket size should be calculated.

The difference

between the actual and the required production

can be used as part of the operating contingency.

=-p 2. Truck size determination

The most economical truck fleet can only be determined
by multiple runs through the formulas with different
truck sizes.

The smaller truck sizes are not necessarily

the most economice

Five 100 ton capacity trucks may cost

more than four 120 ton trucks both in the intial capital
cost and in operating costo

In general, a loader should

fill the truck in three to five passes.

Multiplying the

bucket size of the loading equipment item byfourwill

give the approximate truck bed capacity in cubic yards.
63

';
u

a. Work pararneters required for calculations

- Assurned truck size, in units of cubic yards
(heaped 2:1) or in tons
- Scheduled operating time, in hours/year
- Mechanical and electrical availability, generally
ranges between 65 to 80%
- Truck utilization, generally about 80 to 90%
- Job efficiency, about 95%
- Load factor, same as that used in the loader
calculations
Material density, in tons/BCY
b. Number of loader passes per load
No. of passes = Truck capacity-CY
(BC) (BFF)
BC

bucket capacity of loader, cubic yards

BFF

bucket fill factor, see Table 4-2

d. Truck haul cycle time

- The haul road must be broken into segments at
every grade change.

The travel time for each

segment must be calculated in the sequence in

which a haul unit would encounter it.

Traveling

times, loaded and the empty return, must be

calculated.

The speed of the truck can be

determined from the manufacture's truck

performance charts.

The average speed from the

64

performance charts must be multiplied by the speed

correction factor (see Table 4-5) to get the true
average speed over the segmento

The speed correction

factor s are different depending on whether the

truck is traveling loaded or empty.
The effective grade is the net resistance to
the trucks travel.

It is the sum of the grade

(will be negative when going down hill) and the

resistance of the truck tire rolling on the
surface of the ground.

The equations is:

Effective grade = % road grade + % rolling resistance

% road grade

= (Rise) (100)
Run

% rolling resistance, see Table 4-4

- Travel time for a given road segment
Travel time =

Haul road length

(Ave. Speed-MPH) (88)

- Cycle time, minutes

Load

Min.

of passes) (Work cycle-sec.)

60
Travel time loaded
(No~

Turn, spot, and dump time (see Table 4-6)

Travel time empty
Spotting time at loader (see Table 4-6)
Average wait time per cycle
Average delay time per cycle
Min.

Total time

65

TABLE 4-4.

TYPICAL ROLLING RESISTANCE VALUES

Ground Surfa ce Type

Rolling Resistance
(equivalent % haul
road grade)

Asphalt

1.5

Concrete

1.5

Dirt-smooth, hard, dry, well

maintained, free of loose
material

2.0

Dirt-dry, but not firmly

packed, sorne loose material

3.0

Dirt-soft, unplowed, poorly

maintained

4.0

Dirt-soft, plowed

8.0

Dirt-unpacked fills

8.0

Dirt-deeply rutted

16.0

Gravel-well compacted, dry

free of loose material

2.0

Gravel-not firmly compacted,

but dry
Gravel-loose
Mud-with firm base

3.0
10.0
4.0

Mud-with soft, spongy base

16.0

Sand-loose

10.0

Snow-packed

2.5

Snow-to 4 in. depth, loose

4.5

66

TABLE 4-5.

SPEED CONVERSION FACTORS

Conversion factors for use in converting maxirnum speed to average

speed by the formula:
Ave. Speed = (Speed Factor) (Maximum Speed)
Ave. Speed = average speed over the road section
Maximum Speed = Maximum speed obtained frorn the manufacture's
specifications

Under 300 lbs-GVW/Hp

Haulroad
Length-ft.

0- 200
201- 400
401- 600
601-1000
1001-1500
1501-2000
2001-2500
2501-3500
3501 & up

Level Haul
Unit Starting
frorn O MPH
0.00 - 0.40
0.40 - 0.51
0.51 - 0.56
0.56 - 0.67
0.67 - 0.75
0.75 - 0.80
0.80
0.84
0.84 - 0.87
0.87 - 0.94

Unit in motion when entering the

haul road section
Level
Downhill Grade Uphill Grade
0.00-0.65 0.00 - 0.67
1.00
0.65-0.70 0.67 - 0.72
Entrance speed
0.70-0.75 0.72 - 0.77
greater than
0.75-0.81 0.77 - 0.83
rnaxirnurn
0.81-0.88 0.83 - 0.90
attainable
0.R8-0.91 0.90 - 0.93
speed on this
0.91-0.93 0.93 - 0.95
0.97
section.
0.93-0.95 0.95
1.00
0.95-1.00 0.97

---------- --------------- --------- -------------- -------------300 to 380 lbs-GVW/Hp

0- 200
201- 400
401- 600
601-1000
1001-1500
1501-2000
2001-2500
2501-3500
3501 & up

0.00
0.39
0.48
0.54
0.61
0.68
0.74
0.78
0.84

0.39
0.48
0.54
0.61
0.68
0.74
0.78
0.84
0.92

0.00-0.62
0.62-0.67
0.67-0.70
0.70-0.75
0.75-0.79
0.79-0.84
0.84-0.87
0.87-0.90
0.90-0.93

0.00
0.64
0.68
0.74
0.83
0.88
0.91
0.93
0.95

0.64
0.68
0.74
0.83
0.88
0.91
0.93
0.95
0.97

1.00
Entrance speed
greater than
rnaxirnurn
attainable
speed on this
section.

380 lbs-GVW/Hp and up

-------------------------0.00 - 0.33
0- 200
0.33 - 0.41
201- 400
0.41 - 0.46
401- 600
0.46 - 0.53
601-1000
1001-1500
1501-2000
2001-2500
2501-3500
3501 & up

0.53
0.59
0.62
0.65
0.70

0.59
0.62
0.65
0.70
0.75

-------------------------------~-------

0.00-0.55
0.55-0.58
0.58-0.65
0.65-0.75
0.75-0.77
0.77-0.83
0.83-0.86
0.86-0.90
0.90-0.93

0.00
0.56
0.64
0.70
0.78
0.84
0.86
0.90
0.92

0.56
0.64
0.70
0.78
0.84
0.86
0.90
0.92
0.95

1.00

Entrance speed
greater than
rnaxirnurn
attainable
speed on this
section.

---------- --------------- --------- -------------- --------------

Source: Bucyrus-Erie, Surface Mining Supervisory Training Prograrn

67

TABLE 4-6.

SET TIMES FOR VARIOUS HAUL TRUCK FUNCTIONS

Turn, Spot, and Dump Time
(Minutes)

Operating
Conditions

Bottom Dump
Tractor-Trailer

Rear Dump

Side-Dump
Tractor-Trailer

0.3
0.6
1.5

1.0
1.3
1.5-2.0

1.0
1.5

Favorable
Average
Unfavorable

0.7

Spotting Time at the Loader

(Minutes)
Favorable
Average
Unfavorable

0.15
0.50
1.00

0.15
0.30
0.50

0.15
0.50
1.00

========================================================

e. Tons or bank cubic yards per year per truck

TPY

(S) (A) (U) (J)

(TL) (60)

OR
BCY/Yr = (S) (A) (U) (J) (TL) (60)
(C) (LF) (M)
S

Scheduled operating time, in hours/year

Mechanical and electrical availability,

generally about 65% to 80%

Truck utilization, about 80% to 90%

Job efficiency, about 95%

TL

Truck load, in tons

cycle time, in minutes

LF

Load factor

Material density, in tons/bank cubic yard

68

f. Number of trucks required

l. By tonnage
No. of trucks

Tons per year required

Tons per year per truck

2. By loading time
No. of trucks = Total cycle time
Spot + load time
NOTE: If the number of trucks calculated by
tonnage is more than the number calculated by
loading time, the loader selected is too small.
To load the necessary trucks per shift to move
the required annual tonnage the size and/or
number of loaders must be recalculated.

If the

number of trucks calculated by the loading time

is significantly higher than calculate by the
tonnage then perhaps a larger truck would be more
economical.
3. Fleet size (FS)
FS = Required No. of operating units
Mechanical Availability
NOTE: The difference between the calculated number
of trucks and the total fleet size is the number
of extra trucks needed to keep the fleet operating.
Switching to a larger truck will lower the fleet
size, but may or may not be more economical due
to the increased capital cost for the larger
trucks.

It may not match the loader size either.

69