Assessing the global sustainability of different electricity generation systems

Every decision-oriented life cycle assessment (LCAs) entails, at least to some extent, a future-oriented feature. However, apart from the ex-ante LCAs, the majority of LCA studies are retrospective in nature and do not explicitly account for possible future effects. In this review a generic theoretical framework is proposed as a guideline for ex-ante LCA. This framework includes the entire technology life cycle, from the early design phase up to continuous improvements of mature technologies, including their market penetration. The compatibility with commonly applied system models yields an additional aspect of the framework. Practical methods and procedures are categorised, based on how they incorporate future-oriented features in LCA. The results indicate that most of the ex-ante LCAs focus on emerging technologies that have already gone through some research cycles within narrowly defined system boundaries. There is a lack of attention given to technologies that are at a very early development stage, when all options are still open and can be explored at a low cost. It is also acknowledged that technological learning impacts the financial and environmental performance of mature production systems. Once technologies are entering the market, shifts in market composition can lead to substantial changes in environmental performance.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5456/pdf

The Future of Ex-Ante LCA? Lessons Learned and Practical Recommendations

The objective of this paper is to review and document the mine fleet management systems’ models and algorithms. The purpose is to understand the algorithms behind the fleet management systems and the proposed academic solutions in this area to identify any gaps in the current literature and to open up opportunities to establish research questions that need to be addressed in an integrated simulation and optimisation operational planning research framework. In this paper, we review industrial fleet management systems and the main academic algorithms behind such systems. The fleet management systems are divided into three subsequently related problems to review: shortest path, production optimisation and real-time dispatching. Finally, the limitations of current algorithms for fleet management systems are documented in terms of mining practice feasibility and optimality of the solution on large-scale problems. The results of this literature review enable us to evaluate the logical links between majo...

Mining fleet management systems: a review of models and algorithms

Prediction of fuel consumption of mining dump trucks: A neural networks approach

The transition to a low-carbon economy will be material-intensive. Production of these materials (from mining to manufacturing) incurs environmental costs that vary widely, depending on the geology, mineralogy, extraction routes, type of product, purity of product, background system or manufacturing infrastructure. Understanding the impacts of the raw materials underpinning the low-carbon economy is essential for eliminating any dissonance between the benefits of renewable technologies and the impacts associated with the production of the raw materials. In this Review, we propose an integrated life cycle assessment and geometallurgical approach to optimize the technical performance and reduce the environmental impact of raw material extraction. Life cycle assessments are an effective way of understanding the system-wide impacts associated with material production, from ore in the ground to a refined chemical product ready to be used in advanced technologies such as batteries. In the geometallurgy approach, geologists select exploration targets with resource characteristics that lend themselves to lower environmental impacts, often considering factors throughout the exploration and development process. Combining these two approaches allows for more accurate and dynamic optimization of technology materials resource efficiency, based on in situ ore properties and process simulations. By applying these approaches at the development phase of projects, a future low-carbon economy can be achieved that is built from ingredients with a lower environmental impact. The transition to renewable energy will require a notable quantity of technology metals and materials; however, production of technology materials causes substantial environmental damage. This Review discusses the raw material extraction approaches that optimize technical performance and reduce environmental impact.

Towards sustainable extraction of technology materials through integrated approaches

Presidential address presented at the The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Annual General Meeting on 11 August 2016.

/pdf/presidential-address-optimization-in-underground-mine-2vuuw7w8ko.pdf

Presidential address: Optimization in underground mine planning-developments and opportunities.

Criteria or transition indicators to guide the complex decision problem of open pit to underground (OP-UG) transition are currently not well defined and documented as most mines rely on context-dependent experiences of their respective project feasibility teams. This problem is further compounded by the fact that transition indicators such as net present value (NPV), stripping ratio and commodity price are dynamic over time. Therefore, traditional deterministic approaches to solving the OP-UG transition problem cannot fully address the practicalities that mining companies face due to the variability of the transition indicators. This paper therefore reviews the OP-UG transition decision problem from a stochastic perspective. Transition indicators identified from an extensive literature review were used to benchmark four case study mines against one which had recently made the OP-UG transition, subsequently leading to the development of a generic OP-UG transition model for gold mines. The model indicates t...

Stochastic modelling of the open pit to underground transition interface for gold mines

This article illustrates the application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate surface ore transport options for the underground mine at AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi mine in Ghana. The mine currently transports about 175,000 tpm of ore from four shafts to the mill using contractor trucking. The mine's current business plan requires the underground ore production to be increased from 175,000 to 220,000 tpm. The extra tonnage is to feed the new tailings sulphide plant, located adjacent to the existing mill. This change necessitated a review of ore transport options between the Kwesi Mensah Shaft and the mill. The four options that were considered are the continued use of contractor trucking, purchasing mine-owned trucks and using surface or underground conveyors. The evaluation criteria were categorised under the broad areas of economic, environmental and technical criteria. Since multiple options and criteria had to be evaluated simultaneously, it was appropriate to use the AHP for the selectio...

Evaluation of ore transport options from Kwesi Mensah Shaft to the mill at the Obuasi mine

A mining production system (MPS) is a result of an iterative process of design, planning, and optimization of mining input variables and decision-making variables (DMVs). The MPS exists within the mineral extraction link of the complete mining value chain. It represents the stage where mining companies have the opportunity, through production, to start generating returns on the investments undertaken. Returns on shareholders’ investments can be realized at this stage. More often than not, the actual performance of the MPS is somewhat different to that in the optimized MPS plan. This behaviour or characteristic is observed in an ensemble of output results of the key performance indicators (KPIs). These results are sometimes above target, on target, or below target due to uncertainty associated with technical and human factors, resulting in actual output being different to that planned. The first two circumstances are perhaps the most desired. However, in most cases the MPS, especially in the case of mature mines, tends to deliver below target. The variability of the KPIs of interest is influenced by internal variables or DMVs. The variable units or DMVs can be either controllable or uncontrollable. It is therefore important to understand and know to what degree the controllable variables can be controlled to achieve the desired output and to minimize the effects of the uncontrollable variables. This paper is part of an MSc research study at the University of the Witwatersrand, based on a platinum mine MPS case study where actual data was available for analysis.

/pdf/characterizing-a-mining-production-system-for-decision-4phaj5ltly.pdf

Characterizing a mining production system for decision-making purposes in a platinum mine

A perspective on global harmonisation of major national mineral asset valuation codes

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