COAL: Technology boosts productivity at RusCoal’s Khakassia mine

RUSSIA – Russian Coal saw a 5% increase in productivity at its Stepnoy pit just two months after the company installed, in the mine’s BelAZ dump trucks, a technological solution called Karier Mine Fleet Management System, which is produced by Vist Group. According to Sergey Sekletsov, head of IT at the Chernogorsk Branch of Russian Coal, the mine’s existing software was updated by automating its information transmission processes. Now, up-to-date statistics on transportation volumes and downtime, as well as dump truck distances and loads are being transmitted to the 1C system installed at the mine. This allowed for the initial boost in productivity. However, RusCoal expects more as once the Karier system is fully deployed, productivity in shovels and dump trucks should rise by 15%, while equipment operating costs should come down by 8%. At the same time, the miner hopes for 5% to 10% reduction in fuel costs and up to 80% reduction of non-technological downtime. The Stepnoy pit is located in Khakassia, in southern Russia, and it produces D grade coal from the Chernogorsk deposit in the Minusinsk basin. The mine comprises seven coal seams and uses 130- and 55-tonne BelAZ dump trucks as haul vehicles. The pit has a capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year. This story first appeared on www.Mining.com.