Dorosh Е.А., Talgamer B.L. The Influence of Rock Moisture on Bulldozer Performance in the Development of Placers

DOI: 10.18503/1995-2732-2023-21-2-13-20

Abstract

Abstract. Problem Statement (Relevance). The development of placers by bulldozers has been widely used since the 1940s in the development of permafrost placers and since the 1960s in the development of thawed placers. On the one hand, the increase in the volume of the development by bulldozers was ensured by an increase in power of utility tractors, and on the other hand, by technological advantages of the development by bulldozers. At the same time, despite the rich experience of the use of bulldozer equipment, machines are often used in unsuitable mining and geological, and mining and engineering conditions, for example, when developing rocks of higher moisture. Ultimately, the result is an inefficient use of equipment and an increase in the cost of final products. Objectives. The study is aimed at determining the influence of moisture on performance of bulldozers and establishing a boundary, when the development by bulldozers is inefficient. Methods Applied. We applied the following methods: determining the timing of the bulldozer operation in a watered face, determining moisture of developed rocks, modeling technical performance based on the monitoring results, and analyzing the influence of moisture of developed rocks on performance of the bulldozer. Results. The performance drops by 51-63% with an increase in moisture of the developed rocks from 14 to 26%, and by 68-78% with an increase to 34%. The development by bulldozers is efficient, when excavating rocks with a normal moisture of 8-15%, less efficient, when moisture content is 15-25%, and more often inefficient at a moisture of over 30-35%. Practical Relevance. Due to the deterioration of the raw material resources base of placer gold and the involvement in the development of low-quality reserves, it is important to efficiently use high-performance mining equipment in the development of rocks of higher moisture.

Keywords

placer deposits, open pit mining, bulldozer, rock moisture, bulldozer performance

For citation

Dorosh Е.А., Talgamer B.L. The Influence of Rock Moisture on Bulldozer Performance in the Development of Placers. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University]. 2023, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 13-20. https://doi.org/10.18503/1995-2732-2023-21-2-13-20

Egor A. Dorosh – Executive Director of LLC SibZoloto, Irkutsk, Russia. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Boris L. Talgamer – DrSc (Eng.), Professor, Head of the Department of Mineral Deposits Development, Institute of Subsoil Use, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Irkutsk, Russia. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ORCID 0000-0003-1413-0116

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