AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE LIFE EXTENSION OF COAL HANDLING AND PROCESS PLANTS

摘要

When considering the life extension of an existing plant, is often assumed that the plant capacity is fixed as per the original design. However, accurate estimation of the plant capacity requires an analysis of the change in feed size distribution together with the change in yield for the new reserve. This information must be combined in a simulation to identify bottlenecks and calculate the plant capacity under varying feed conditions. This paper presents a methodology for an integrated approach to life extension projects, where information from the mine plan is used to inform the plant capacity analysis. The plant capacity is estimated to a high level of accuracy using Limn: The Flowsheet Processor in order to evaluate the plant capacity as a function of export yield. This information is fed back into the mine plan, such that the mine plan is tailored to the existing plant infrastructure. Three common scenarios are evaluated, viz. a fixed Run-of-Mine tonnage, a fixed product tonnage, and a "sweat-the-asset" scenario where the optimum use of the existing plant is made and project Nett Present Value is maximised. Information derived from this methodology provides a means of optimising mine plan for a given process plant.