US 2025/0092784 A1 · OIL SANDS TRUCK-AND-SHOVEL MINING OPERATION WITH PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND CONTROL

Abstract

This disclosure concerns techniques for monitoring and controlling mining operations, notably oil sands mining that involves trucks and shovels. The process can include monitoring key mining performance indicators (KMPI) comprising truck operating parameters; shovel operating parameters; and workforce performance parameters, and then controlling the trucks and the shovels based on a pre-developed model comprising the KMPI. The workforce performance parameters of shift change duration can be determined in various ways, such as determining a base shift change duration based on a shift-change code and adding to it a supplementary shift change duration based on certain additional stationary-state codes; and/or determining truck cycle times during a pre-determined time interval spanning the corresponding shift change, determining a longest truck cycle, determining an average truck cycle which excludes the longest truck cycle; and determining the shift change duration based on a difference between the longest truck cycle and the average truck cycle.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A process for oil sands mining comprising:

utilizing trucks and shovels to mine oil sands ore, wherein the trucks and the shovels are operated by a workforce comprising shift teams that include equipment operators and wherein the mined oil sands ore is input into an oil sands extraction operation to extract bitumen from mineral solids and produce a bitumen product;
monitoring key mining performance indicators (KMPI) comprising:
truck operating parameters related to the trucks;
shovel operating parameters related to the shovels;
and
workforce performance parameters related to the workforce;
and
controlling the trucks and the shovels based on a pre-developed model comprising the KMPI.

5 more elements

A method of monitoring shift change performance of trucks used in oil sands mining operations, the method comprising:

receiving truck performance data from a truck fleet, the truck performance data comprising operator-input codes that include a shift-change code indicating when a shift change is occurring and stationary-state codes indicating states during which the trucks are stationary;
determining a base shift change duration based on the shift-change codes;
determining a supplementary shift change duration based on a selection of the stationary-state codes;
and
providing an adjusted shift change duration based on the base shift change duration and the supplementary shift change duration;
or
wherein the method comprises:
receiving truck performance data from a truck fleet, the truck performance data comprising truck cycle times;
for each truck in the truck fleet:
determining truck cycle times during a pre-determined time interval spanning the corresponding shift change, each truck cycle including loading, hauling, dumping, and dispatching;
determining a longest truck cycle;
determining an average truck cycle which excludes at least the longest truck cycle;
and
determining the shift change duration based on a difference between the longest truck cycle and the average truck cycle;
and
determining an average shift change duration for the truck fleet based on the shift change durations determined for the respective trucks.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Oil sands truck-and-shovel mining operation with performance monitoring and control

Life of this patent

Oil sands truck-and-shovel mining operation with performance monitoring and control

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20