ON THE ISSUE OF APPLICATION OF ROAD-TRAINS IN MINING

Abstract

In the near future, the following main directions in the
development of deposits by the open cut method can be
distinguished: 1) the absence of a large number of newly
built large open pits; 2) refurbishment of retired mining
capacities by: reworking the near and under-pit reserves; development of combined open-underground
mining of deposits; development of relatively small deposits in areas remote from developed infrastructure; 3)
reworking of existing open pits to the maximum depth
using modern technologies and approaches. Based on
the analysis of the features of mining operations, as well
as the current stage of development of road transport, it
has been established that one of the options for reducing
costs in the development of deposits is the use of road
trains in mining operations. The article highlights and
considers the following areas of application of road
trains (of various designs) in the development of deposits: 1. Mainline transport; 2. Intra-quarry transport; 3.
Delivery of rock mass in combined or underground mining. The paper shows that road trains have found their
niche for use in mining enterprises, but their use on public roads is possible in case of matching the current requirements established in various countries for the
maximum length of vehicles and permissible axle loads,
or in case of constructing the special technological
roads. Modern road trains have a carrying capacity of
95 up to 180-220 tons and more, while ensuring low
operating costs and high reliability, as well as when
using them over long distances of 10-50 km to 170 km or
more. When using road trains as intra-quarry or underground transport, it is most effective to use special designs, different from road trains for long-distance transportation on the surface. For example, for a combined
open-underground or underground development of deposits, we propose to consider a variant of the use of
high-capacity road trains with small cross-sectional
dimensions, developed by the Institute of Mining of the
Ural Branch of RAS.