ARENA simulation model for truck-shovel operation in despatching and non-despatching modes

ABSTRACT Truck-shovel operation is a popular material handling system in surface mines because of its flexibility in removing large volume of earth material. In a typical mining operation, trucks are assigned to a shovel in either dispatching or non-dispatching mode. Using the “Expected Delay Time” concept, ARENA simulation models clearly show an improvement of mine productivity with a dispatcher, especially when the truck fleet size is around the optimum value.