Application of discrete event simulation in optimising coal mine room-and-pillar panel width: a case study

Abstract

A key design aspect of room-and-pillar coal mines is the panel width (or number of entries in a panel), which affects unit mining costs and productivity. Traditional mine design approaches do not facilitate optimisation of unit mining costs and productivity as a function of the panel width. Discrete event simulation can be used to facilitate optimal panel width selection that minimises unit mining costs and maximises productivity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of panel width on the cost and productivity of a room-and-pillar operation using discrete event simulation. The mining system is modelled as a discrete event model that estimates unit costs and productivity for a given panel width (number of entries). Data from a real-life mine is used to validate the model in Arena®. An optimal panel width is recommended based on simulation results.

Keywords:

• Discrete event simulation
• Room-and-pillar mining
• Panel width optimisation
• Simulation analysis program
• Monte Carlo simulation
• Fleet size optimisation
• Coal mine
• Productivity

Acknowledgement

This work was made possible with funding from the Illinois Clean Coal Institute. The authors are grateful for the support of Prairie State Generating Company, owners of the cooperating mine for their support during this research. The authors are also thankful to Ms Sisi Que and Mr Mark Boateng for their assistance.

Notes

1. Half-width = , t_{n−1, 1−α/2} = critical values from t tables, n = number of replications, s = sample standard deviation.

2. InfoMine cost data is used in this paper to protect the mine’s confidential data.