Productivity considerations for shovels and excavators

During Haulage and Loading 2007, the Engineering and Mining Journal organized an OEM round table discussion with the theme 'Reducing cycle times'. Seven panelists identified areas where they could improve cycle times for open-pit mining. Although the discussions focused mainly on haud trucks, two panelists discussed shovel productivity as it relates to cycle times. Topics ranged from truck-shovel pass matching to payload management. A clear message came through that all the minutes saved per cycle meant nothing if the mine did not have a properly trained operator. The article reports on the discussions. 4 figs.