Application of the discrete element method (DEM) for simulation of the ore flow inside the shaft ore bunker in the underground copper ore mine

Abstract

Identification of the stream of transported mine output has a great importance for the effectiveness of ore processing and for the control of mining operations. The above fact entails the growing importance of various types of scanners and on-line sensors which serve to determine the measurable parameters of a random sample and to use this information as a basis for the classification of the whole stream of mine output. An alternative method consists in effective processing of large data sets (the “big data” technology), i.e. in combining the previously generated information on the deposit (geological data), information on the locations of currently operated mine fields (mining data), and information on the flow of the stream of mined ore in the underground transportation system. The flow of mine ore is modeled with the use of simulation methods, whose reliability largely depends on how accurately a particular transportation system and its operation are reproduced in the model. Particular attention must be paid to accurate modeling of ore behavior in the nodes of the transportation system, i.e. in the bunkers. The bunkers, apart from serving a retaining function, also effect the averaging of ore parameters, as the portions of mined material subsequently added to the bunker change their position and mix. Modeling the behavior of mined ore inside the bunker is the object of tests performed with the use of Discrete Element Method (DEM). This paper includes the description of DEM and the method used for parameterizing the mined ore data (granulation, ore stream efficiency) and the bunker data (geometry, discharge technology), which are required to build a DEM model of an ore bunker following the design of an actual large-capacity shaft station bunker located in an underground copper ore mine.