Table 1: shoewss.........................................................................................................................................

3
Table 2: Specifications of Hydraulic excavator LIUGONG 950E...............................................................8

Figure 1: shows organization s....................................................................................................................5

Figure 2: Excavation processes at Jitegemee coal mine...............................................................................7
Figure 3: Hydraulic excavator LIUGONG 950E which was used for excavation processes at Jitegemee
Coal Mine....................................................................................................................................................8
 CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Historical background of the company

Jitegemee Holdings Company Limited (JHCL) is a full service mining and processing company
of coal mines with its corporate offices in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and its coal mining and
processing sites in Ruvuma region in Mbinga district and Ruanda village.

On 21st, May 2020 the company started the mine development stage by surface mining which is
dominated by removal of waste to uncover the underlying ore body, then provision of topsoil
stockpiles and waste dumps and carrying out of the advanced stripping overburden to expose the
deposit of coal seam. The coal seam is approximately exposed to about 8m deep down from the
topsoil which is covered with high percentage of the sandstone upon reaching the other coal
seam which is about 7 to 8m from the sandstone.

The company’s mine production was started in May 2021 at pit number (I) where by Dozers and
Excavators are used digging and loading the haulage trucks that transport coal to the ROM (Run
Of Mine) stockpile area upon which the haulage trucks shall drives to deposit ore onto it. The
mine production was very low at the beginning of the mine about 28,000 tons/month compared
to now days’ production which has increased to about 50,000 tons/month. On the beginning of
mine production at JHCL, the production was hindered by lack of enough heavy equipment like
Excavators, Wheel loaders, Drill rigs, and Haulage trucks.

Currently, the company is a full service mining and processing company because it has improved
in purchasing heavy equipment, high capital investment and has increased number of skilled
labors like Mining engineer, Geologist and Mining manager for managing and supervising
effectively all mining activities inside the mine whereby there were no those workers previously,
production has increased with high quality coal which is preferred by various industrial users and
power plants.
1.2 Origin and formation of Coal.

Coal is a natural fuel, occurring in layers in the earth’s crust composed mainly of plant that grew
in and adjacent to swamps in warm, humid regions. Materials derived from these plants
accumulated in low-lying areas that remained wet most of the time and was converted to peat
through the activity of microorganisms. It has been further altered by the agencies of heat and
pressure to the varying degree of completeness. The different kinds of plant material vary in their
proportion in different coal, decay and subsequent alteration of the material proceeded to
different degrees. As a results coal shows great variety in their chemical and physical properties.

From time to time sinking of the floor of the lake or swamp drowned the forests and sediments
carried by rivers were deposited in layers above the vegetable sludge. Each layer of vegetable
sludge which forms further as coal bed is called Coal Seam.

1.3 The products of the company

The company is mining, processing and selling high quality thermal coal with small quantity of
some other components, the company is also doing special coal research based on coal utilization
to produce the clean and carbonized coal briquettes for domestic and institutional uses like
cooking purposes which is very economy compared to other energy sources.

Table 1. Quality and specs of the product of the company.

PARAMETERS VALUE
Calorific value(kcal/kg) 5900 – 6350
Moisture (%) 6 Max
Volatile matter (%) 21 - 27 Max
Ash (%) 16 - 21 Max
Sulphur 1.05 Max
HGI- Hard Grove Index 50
Fixed Carbon (%) 60 Max

Table 1: shoewss

1.4 Location of the Mine Site

The mining site is 43km from Kitai junction (tarmac road from Songea - Mbinga) at Ruanda
Village-Mbuyula coal field. The sales point is equipped with a standard coal processing plant at
Paradiso Village 22km from Kitai junction (tarmac road from Songea - Mbinga). The roads are
goods and accessible throughout the year with full under control of TANROADs.

1.5 The Company’s Vision

Vision of JHCL is to be preferred mining partner for all stake-holders that includes clients,
business associates, employees and the communities within which the company operates. The
company strives to be Tanzania’s leading coal mining company, enabling economic prosperity
and moving a positive change for a better quality of life.

1.6 Company’s Mission

To add value to our client’s business by offering them quality coal that exceeds client
expectation.

1.8 Organization Structure

Table 2. Organization structure at JHCL

 Head of Directors

Human Resources
Managing Directors
Manager

Planning Finance Mine Manager Occupational

Commercial
and Administration Health, Safety and
Mine Department Department
Departments Security Department

Site Administrator
Production Unit Quality Control Technical Unit
and HCE Unit

Dispatch Mining sector Mechanical Sector Secretary

Mineral Processing
Mining Engineer Mechanical Engineer Mechanic Workshop Store Keeper
Engineer

Mining Super
Geologist Machine Operators Haulage Drivers Fuel Shelver
Retendance

Drillers Mining Technician Spotters

Offsiders Trip Checkers

Figure 1: shows organization s

 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 MAIN ACTIVITIES PERFORMED AT JITEGEMEE HOLDINGS COMPANY

LIMITED

Jitegemee Holdings Company Limited (JHCL), gives full mining services and conducts its
mining activities by using surface mining method with open pit mining to expose a coal bed
(seam).Due to the method used at JHCL to mine coal, some activities performed are done in the
way different from other underground mines. The following are the main activities conducted in
the mine.

2.1 Excavation
Open pit mining method is the one used at jitegemee holding company limited to perform their
activities due to the geological formation and stratification of coal bed activities. This excavation
is done by using hydraulic excavator through the following procedures
 Removal of topsoil
Topsoil is removed after bush clearing, whereby a dozer is used. The machine is of komatsu with
model D155AX which ripe and push bushes away. There after the Excavator can excavate freely
to remove the topsoil by loading to the truck and transporting it to the dump site.
 Overburden stripping
Overburden stripping invo lve removal of overburden bed so as to expose the coal seam. The
overburden is excavated by an excavator then loaded to the haulage tucks and then transported to
the waste dump for disposal. The hard underlying rock can be soften by drilling and blasting
processes done to fragment the rock in order to simplify the excavation process before loading
and transporting the fragmented overburden materials (spoil) to the waste dump.
 Mining of coal
When existing overburden is stripped and placed away from the coal seam to the dump site, the
coal seam become exposed and is mined out freely by an excavator, loading and transporting
coal is executed by haulage trucks to the stockpile (ROMPAD). For hard rock mass in coal seam
where an excavator cannot excavate freely, drilling and blasting processes are done to fragment
the coal bed. After blasting the same processes of loading haulage trucks which transports coal to
the stockpile and then to the processing plant proceed. The below picture shows how excavation
processes were performed at JHCL:-
 Figure 2: Excavation processes at Jitegemee coal mine

Excavators used in whole processes of coal mining from topsoil removal, stripping of
overburden to the coal excavation at Jitegemee coal mine are Hydraulic excavators as listed
below with their models:-
I. LIUGONG 933E and LIUGONG 950E.
II. CAT 325D LME and CAT 349E LN
2.1.1 Working principle of hydraulic excavator
High pressure oil is supplied to the track’s hydraulic motors through hydraulic swivels at the axis
of the pin, allowing the machine to slew 3600 unhindered and thus provides the left and right
movement. The arm provides the up-and-down and closer-and-further (digging movement)
movements. Hydraulic fluid is pumped through the end of the piston and in turn, pushes the rod
through the cylinder, which creates fiercely force resulting in the fluctuation on the hydraulic
pressure differential of each cylinder of the boom, arm and bucket. Thus creating movement of
one or both parts of the arm.
The below structure shows the Hydraulic excavator of LIUGONG 950E as drawn from auto
card:-
Figure 3: Hydraulic excavator LIUGONG 950E which was used for excavation processes at
Jitegemee Coal Mine

Parameters Measures
Maximum operating weight 55500kg
Minimum operating weight 48000kg
Engine power 298kw (378hp)
Bucket capacity 1.4-3.2m3
Maximum travel speed (high) 5.3km/h
Minimum travel speed (low) 3.3km/h
Maximum swing speed 8.5rpm
Arm breakout force 255/240/209 KN
Arm breakout force power boost 270/263/225 KN
Bucket breakout force 265/263/268 KN
Bucket breakout force power boost 280/287/288 KN
Shipping length 11.515mm
Shipping width 3.340mm
Shipping height 3.550mm

Table 2: Specifications of Hydraulic excavator LIUGONG 950E

 Track shoe width (std) 600mm
Boom 6500/7060mm
Arm 2550/2900/3380mm
Digging reach 10625/11585/12020mm
Digging reach on ground 10338/11368/11810mm
Digging depth 6521/7380/7860mm
Vertical wall digging depth 5204/6011/6435mm
Cutting height 4645/5052/5015mm
Dumping height 9977/10618/10785mm

System maximum flow 2x380L/min (2x100 gal/min)

System pressure 32.3MPa

2.1.2 Machine Availability of Hydraulic Excavator

Machine Availability is the actual time that the machine or system is capable for production
activities as a percent of total planned production time
Machine availability is the metric used to measure the percentage of a time a machine can be
used. It is amount of time in which a machine actually runs and is available for production.
Machine available rate; is the percentage of time that production equipment is available for use,
divided by the maximum time it would be available if there is no downtime for repair or
unplanned maintenance.
It can be expressed as
operating time
Availability factor =
operating time+downtime

The data collected for LIUGONG 950E hydraulic excavator are:-

 Started with 1409.10 hrs.
 Finished with 1419.10 hrs.
 The machine was available for production in 10 hrs.
 Downtime for the machine for maintenance to repair it tips was 1.50 hrs.
10 hrs
Availability factor =¿
10 hrs+1.50 hrs
10 hrs
=
11.50hrs
 = 0.87 or 87%
The machine availability is 87%
The machine availability factor is not at excellent efficiently as expected because of downtime
machine during waiting for maintenance and release of new machines

2.1.3 Cycle time of an Excavation

The time taken to complete one phase of operation is called cycle time. Mathematically it can be
defined as the summation of all times taken by unit operation to complete the main operation.
Cycle time varies depending on the machine, in other words the cycle time of an excavator is
different from the cycle time of haul trucks.
Cycle time of an excavator is measured by looking time when the excavator is :-
 Loading the bucket
 Swinging
 Unloading the bucket
 Swinging back
Table 4. Showing the excavator cycle time during its whole cycle of operation

S/ TYPE OF OPERATION 1st ROUND 2nd ROUND AVERAGE CYCLE TIME

N
1 Fill the bucket 7.82sec 8.46sec 8.14sec
2 Swing filled 5.25sec 5.45sec 5.35sec
3 Load the truck 3.68sec 3.72sec 3.70sec
4 Swing empty 3.84sec 3.90sec 3.87sec

Total cycle time = (8.14 + 5.35 + 3.70 + 3.87) sec

= 21.06sec
Cycle time of an excavator is 21.06 sec to complete one phase of its operation

2.1.4 The utilization of machine

Machine utilization is the extent to which the productive capacity of a machine is used during a
specified period of time. It is expressed as a percentage
 actual productivity
Utilization = x 100 %
planned productivity
Factors influencing utilization of a machine in surface coal mine
The factors that influence effective utilization includes
 Clear instruction about the task to the operator
 Proper maintenance plan
 Training and improving operator’s skills and proper task allocation
Failure to use the machine effectively, it leads to increase in fuel cost (operating cost) and failure
to meet the production target.

2.1.5 Machine Productivity of Hydraulic Excavator

Productivity is defined as the measuring of a machine’s proficiency in converting the raw input
into a useful product. It is calculated by dividing the average output each period by the cost
incurred in consuming the resources in the same period.
output
productivity=¿
input
Productivity of an excavator is typically measured by the volume of loose or rock soil the
machine can displace in an hour of continuous operation.
In other words, the productivity of an excavator is determined by the volume of material handled
by excavator per hour in an operation
volume of material handled
productivity=
time(hour )

Table 3. Data collected to determine the coal production rate at jitegemee holdings
Truck Number of trips Volume of material handled per trip (m3)
number
T. 102 DZQ 24 19
T. 780 DXQ 25 19
T. 964 DWU 26 19
T. 967 DWU 25 19
T. 969 DWU 24 19
TOTAL 124 95

Total volume of material handled = 124 × 95 m3

 = 11780 m3
Machine starting engine hours with 1513.10 hrs.

Machine finishing engine hours with 1522.70 hrs.

Machine available for production in only 9.6 hrs.
11780 m3
Production rate =
9.6 hrs
= 1227 m3/hr.
Coal production rate at jitegemee Holdings Company is about 1227 m3/hr
The following factors caused the production rate of the company to be low:-
 Working environments, this includes the standing up floor, on gentle slopes the excavator
operates easily. During rainfall season its productivity decreases
 Operator’s skills on the task and operating the excavator was not great
 Number of excavators
 Fragmented size of the materials (the size of materials to be handled) was to large
 Maintenance schedules of both excavator and haul trucks

2.2 Drilling
The process of making holes in a solid material using a drill bit to achieve rock mass penetration
under the action of different cutting forces defines drilling. The rock drilling system used at
jitegemee coal mine is Mechanical drilling system which involves rotary-percussive mechanical
energy system. Rotary-percussive methods are the most frequently used in all types of rock. The
type of drill rig used at Jitegemee Coal Mine is Sandvik Ranger DX800

The drill steel/rod which is used for transmitting the energy from the prime mover to the drill bit
have length of 3.5m. The bits is used at Jitegemee coal mine to apply energy for rock for
penetration is a button bits with a diameter of 127mm and 90mm.

The flushing media used to clean the hole, cool the bit as well as to stabilize the hole at
Jitegemee coal mine is compressed air that is generated by a compressor with a capacity of
producing 8.1m3/min, up to 10 bar. The key specification of the Sandvik Ranger DX800 Drill rig
are listed below:-

 Recommended hole diameter of 76 – 127 mm / 3" – 5"

  Certificate of ROPS and FOPS
 Transport length of 7.2m / 10.7 m (24 / 33 ft )
 Transport width of 2.45 m (8 ft )
 Transport height of 3.6 m / 3.2 m (12 / 11 ft )
 Weight of 15 200 kg / 33 510 lbs
3
 Drill rod / tube diameter of 45 or 51 mm / 1 " and 2"
4
 Hydraulic rock drill of HL820T, 21kW / 28 hp and HF820T, 23kW / 31 hp as option
 Engine of Caterpillar C7.1, 168kW (225 hp ) / 1800 rpm (Tier3/ tier4F)
 Flushing air capacity of 8.1 m3/min, up to 10 bar
 Operator cabin is Ergo cool

2.2.1 Preparation of drilling pattern

Drilling pattern is prepared by considering the nature of the rock mass to be blasted, usually
where an excavator cannot excavate freely, the type of pattern normally used at Jitegemee coal
mine is Staggered square drilling pattern which is the best because it provide better distribution
of explosives energy into the rock mass by providing better rock fragmentation also it allows
better overlaps of the shock waves from each blast holes, sometimes other patterns like square
pattern are used but not usually , the parameters used at Jitegemee coal mine was as follows by
considering the type of rock mass found at the mine:-

 Spacing (4m when 127mm bit diameter is used and 3m when 90mm bit diameter is used)
 Burden (4m when 127mm bit diameter is used and 3m when 90mm diameter bit is used)
 Hole diameter of about 127mm (bit diameter)
 Hole length was depend on the length of the particular bench
Some visible mark are introduced to the designed drilling pattern.
Figure 3. Staggered square drilling pattern

2.2.2 Penetration rate of the bit

The rate of penetration of the bit refer to the progression speed of the drill bit when the formation
rock breaks. It is determined by evaluating the required amount of time to drill one meter. The
rate of penetration is determined by the followings:-

 Bit type
 Rock hardness
 Drilling fluid properties
 Bit tooth wear
 Personal efficient

S/ RO Tim RO Tim R3 Tim R4 Tim R5 Tim

N W1 e W2 e (m) e (m) e (m) e
(m) (sec) (m) (sec) (sec) (sec) (sec)
1 9.7 1114 7.5 900 9.0 964 8.4 955 8.1 933
2 9.7 1118 8.0 920 9.2 1000 8.0 920 7.8 907
3 9.5 1110 7.5 904 9.0 980 8.9 960 7.9 924
4 9.4 1100 7.8 910 8.9 950 8.6 942 8.1 924
5 9.2 990 7.9 915 8.8 960 7.7 898 8.1 930
6 9.9 1270 9.5 1252 8.2 930 7.0 800 8.1 940
 7 8.9 960 9.8 1600 8.1 924 8.2 923 8.3 948
8 8.2 930 9.4 1140 8.2 938 7.2 813 8.7 956
9 8.2 934 9.4 1145 8.1 928 7.0 797 8.1 936
10 7.5 865 9.7 1220 7.7 895 8.4 952 8.0 920
11 7.7 892 9.6 1205 8.3 942 7.9 920 9.0 980
12 7.6 880 9.7 1230 7.9 924 5.9 660 7.9 948
13 7.3 821 9.6 1210 8.0 916 7.6 870 8.8 976
14 7.4 890 7.7 895 9.3 1080
TOTAL 120. 1387 115. 1455 109. 1225 108. 1230 116. 1330
2 4 4 1 4 1 5 5 2 2
Table 5. Showing the holes length and their time spent during drilling.

Total meter drilled = (120.2+115.4+109.4+108.5+116.2) m

Total meter drilled = 569.70m

Total meter drilled is 569.70m

Total time spent to drill 68 holes = (13874+14551+12251+12305+13302) sec

= 66283sec

66283
=
3600
Total time spent on drilling 68 holes = 18.40 hours

Total time spent for drilling = 18.40 hour

From the formula,

total metre drilled (m) 569.70 m

Rate of penetration = , Rate of penetration =
total time spent (hrs ) 18.40 hrs

Rate of penetration = 31m/hr

Therefore,

Penetration rate of Sandvik Ranger DX800 Drill rig is 31m/hr.

2.3 Blasting

Blasting involves rock fragmentation which is the breakage function carried out on large scale to
break down masses of rock for different purposes. Blasting is the process which involves
different operations like charging of explosives, priming and firing. Blasting is done by using
chemical explosives which has widespread use for all consolidated (hard) materials in surface
and underground mining. At Jitegemee coal mine blasting was done to only areas which were
hard to be excavated by the excavator

Blasting processes

Blasting has the following processes which should be done carefully so as to get an effective
blasting;-

 Priming
 Charging
 Stemming
 Tie-up connections and firing

2.3.1 Priming

The process of connecting the low explosive (Booster) with high explosive (Detonating cord) to
create a powerful explosive for aim of fragmenting the rock mass is called priming. At Jitegemee
coal mine the type of Boosters which were used is Pentonite booster of 150gram. The boosters
were connected with a detonator cord of (25ms/500ms) delay.

The figure below shows the priming process at Jitegemee Coal Mine:-
 Figure 4: Shows priming process at Jitegemee Coal Mine

2.3.2 Charging

Charging refer to the process of placing explosive material in a drilled hole (blast hole), the
amount of material placed for each hole were determined by the length of a blast hole, diameter
of a blast hole, rock strength, the presence or absence of water, explosive properties and the
required optimal fragmentation size.

The amount of explosive in each hole was calculated from the following formula

Q = a*w*l, where by

Q = Amount of explosive placed in each hole

a = Spacing

w = Burden

l = hole length
Example: As per blasting carried out on 08th August 2022, the following data were collected
during the charging process;

i. Number of holes charged were 85 holes

ii. ANFO used 185 bags @ 25kg = 4625kg

The ammonium nitrate bag each of 25kg were mixed together with 1.5 liters of fuel oil (Diesel) .

iii. 85 Pentonite boosters @ 150g = 12.75kg

iv. Average charging length was 8.5m
v. Spacing and burden was 4m × 4m
vi. Blast hole diameter was 127mm
vii. Powder factor used was 0.40 kg/m3

Amount of explosiveused ( kg )
Powder factor=¿
Volume of material fragmented (m3)

 Total amount of explosive used = amount of ANFO used + amount of booster

Total amount of explosive used = (4625 + 12.75) kg

Total amount of explosive used = 4637.75kg

 Volume of material blasted = Burden× Spacing× Hole depth× Number of holes

Volume of blasted material = 4 m× 4 m ×8.5 m ×85

Volume of blasted material = 11560m3

Loading density, is the amount of that is required to be loaded for each unit meter of a bore
hole. It is given by the formula, π ¿ )2 ρ , from the data above,

The density of an explosive (ANFO) is about 800 kg/m3

0.127 m 2
Loading density (LD) = π ( ) × 800 kg/m3
2

= 10 kg/m

Loading density used was 10 kg/m

The figure below shows charging process of explosives (ANFO) at Jitegemee Coal Mine:-
Figure 5. Charging of ANFO in holes at Jitegemee Coal Mine
For holes containing water were charged differently from dry holes through the following
procedures;

i. After priming, the priming booster was inserted inside the hard nylon black sleeving
tube.
ii. Filling ANFO inside the sleeving tube.
iii. Tightening a tube with a string to avoid water from entering the tube.
iv. Filled tube with explosive material was inserted slowly inside the blast hole in order to
avoid the collision with the walls of a blast hole
v. Charged holes were stemmed with hard rock cuttings to provide strong confinement of
explosives.

In areas which had large amount of water, the pump was used to remove amount of water
from the drilled holes. The figure below shows how ANFO was placed in sleeving tube at
Jitegemee Coal Mine:-

Figure 6: Placing ANFO into sleeving tube at Jitegemee Coal Mine

2.3.3 Stemming

Stemming was done after loading a blast hole with explosive, the length of stemming was
determined by amount of explosive which was inserted in each hole according to the hole length
of each hole. Materials that were used for stemming were aggregates, sand and gravels that
helped in providing enough confinement to help the explosive gaining its maximum
fragmentation energy. The tamping stick of about 4m were used as a stemming rod during
stemming process. The figure below shows how stemming process was done at Jitegemee coal
mine:-
Figure 7: Stemming using tamping stick at Jitegemee Coal Mine
2.3.4 Tie up connections and firing

This is the process of connecting the detonating cord left at the surface to connect one blast hole
to another to enable the initiation process to spread well from a single initiation point. The tie up
connection process was done in order to make a single closed circuit of blasting, all the surface
detonator of 25ms were connected together using a ‘v’ shape pattern with a delay of 17ms from
one row to another. The below tie up shows how connections were done at Jitegemee Coal
Mine:-

Figure 8: Tie up connections of blasting circuit at Jitegemee Coal Mine

The purpose of using these delays were to control the energy distribution of explosive and
minimizing ground vibration which may arise due to uncontrolled blasting. When tie up process
come up to an end, before starting the blasting fire, blasting alarm is rang three times to alert all
workers that blasting is to be carried out. The method of firing that was used at Jitegemee Coal
Mine is manual safety fuse initiation. The figure below shows how firings were taking place at
Jitegemee coal mine:-
Figure 8: Fire initiation using safety fuse at Jitegemee Coal Mine
2.3 Loading and Haulage

After blasting materials are needed to be loaded and transferred to the stockpile or dumpsite

2.4.1 Loading

Excavators LIUGONG 950E, LIUGONG 933E and CAT 325D and Wheel loader of model
LIUGONG ZL 50CN were used to load material into a haul trucks of 20m3 volume. Overburdens
were loaded to two trucks and coal were also loaded to other two trucks where by each materials
were transported to the dumpsite and stockpile respectively inside the pit, but the wheel loader
LIUGONG ZL 50CN was used to load trucks which were transporting coal to the processing
point. The drawn figure of wheel loader LIUGONG ZL 50CN is shown below:-

Figure 8: shows wheel loader LIUGONG ZL 50CN which was used in loading haulage trucks
The figure below shows the loading process of LIUGONG ZL 50CN Wheel loader at Stockpile
of Jitegemee coal mine:-
Figure 8: shows loading process of wheel loader LIUGONG ZL 50CN at Jitegemee Coal Mine
2.4.2 Haulage

Haulage was done by transporting coal from the mine stockpile to the processing plant where the
coal is processed and graded. The haulage is done by using a haul truck of model FAW and
HOWO trucks. These mine haulage trucks have loading capacity of 19m3 compared to the truck
capacity of 20m3, all trucks are filled by consideration of rules and regulations of TANROADs
regarding how many tons should be filled to the truck so as to maintain the good budget of roads
construction.

2.4.3 Trucks Cycle Time (TCt)

Truck cycle time is the total time at which a truck complete its cycle of operation.

At jitegemee coal mine haulage operation was done using a haul trucks, each truck has its own
cycle time depending on the digging condition of an excavator, speed of the truck and distance
where material are placed.

Haulage involves operation which can be expressed as time taken for each operation to take
place.

 Loading time (LT)

 Travelling loaded (TL)
 Spotting to dump time (STD)
 Dumping time (DT)
 Travelling empty (TE)
 Spotting to load time (STL)

The average cycle time for 3 trucks was as follows;-

 Cycle time for Truck No. 1

TIME(sec) LT TL STD DT TE STL

1st ROUND 128 231 35 45 166 40
2nd ROUND 220 240 100 38 224 30

3rd ROUND 215 225 35 40 210 40

AVERAGE 187.70 232 85 41 200 36.70
Table 6. Cycle time for truck no. 1

Total cycle time for truck no. 1 = LT+TL+STD+DT+TE+STL

= 187.70+ 232+85+41+200+36.70

= 782.40

Therefore,

The total cycle time for truck no. 1 is 782.40sec.

Cycle time for Truck No. 2

TIME (sec) LT TL STD DT TE STL

1st ROUND 135 260 32 33 235 38
2nd ROUND 125 230 56 40 185 35
3rd ROUND 158 240 50 28 205 45
AVERAGE 139.33 243.33 46 33.70 208.33 39.33
Table 7. Cycle time for truck no.2

Total cycle time for truck no. 2 = LT+TL+STD+DT+TE+STL

= 139.33+243.33+46+33.70+208.33+39.33

= 710.02
Total cycle time for truck no. 2 is 710.02sec

Cycle time for Truck No. 3

TIME (sec) LT TL STD DT TE STL

1st ROUND 136 244 40 42 238 48
2nd ROUND 174 258 24 40 235 36

3rd ROUND 150 270 38 45 220 40

AVERAGE 153.33 257.33 34 42.33 231 41.33
Table 8. Cycle time for truck no. 3

Total cycle time for truck no. 3 = LT+TL+STD+DT+TE+STL

= 153.33+257.33+34+42.33+231+41.33

= 759.32

Total cycle time for truck no. 3 is 759.32sec

Average cycle time for all trucks = (total cycle time)/3

= (782.40+710.02+759.32)/3

= 2251.74/3

= 750.58sec = 12.50minutes

Average truck cycle time is 12.50minutes.

2.4.4 Machine fleet size and Truck match factor

A fleet is the number of production machines that a mine own and utilizes on its production
operations. This number can be estimated chiefly by considering the amount of material that a
mine plan to produce within a certain time of operation. An optimal estimation of fleet is
required to avoid unnecessary increase in operating and owning cost also to assure that the
present fleet meet the required production of a mine.
Ma chine match factor is the compatibility of loading equipment and haulage equipment, it can
be used to match the truck arrival rate to loader productivity rate or in other words it can be
determine the number of transport units for each loading unit.

Data collection

 Total truck average cycle time is 12.50 minutes

 Total excavator cycle time is 21.06 seconds , but an excavator of bucket 3.2m 3
capacity takes six number of bucket or trips to load one truck making a total
loading time of 126.36sec equal to 2.106 minutes

60 minutes
Number of trips per hour achieved by the haul trucks = = 4 trips
12.50 minutes

Number of trips per shift = Number of trips × Workinghours per shift

Number of trips per shift = 4 ×10 working hours

Number of trips is 40 per shift.

Truck with a loader factor of 20 m3 = 17.65 tons

Total hauled material per shift = 40 × 20 m3

Total hauled material per shift was 800 m3 or 706 tons.

Production capacity of the haul system for two shifts is, 2 × 706 tons = 1412 tons per day

Production per day × number of days on August (31 days)

= 43772 tons

Planned production per month

Machine fleet size =
Number of trips ×Truck load factor

100000 tons
=
2480× 17.65 tons

Machine fleet size = 2

Average truck cycle time

Truck match number =
Average excavator loadingtime
 12.50 minutes
=
2.106 minutes

Truck match number = 5.9

Number of truck
Truck match factor =
Match number

4
=
5.9

Truck match factor = 0.68

2.5 Processing plant and sales point

Coal processing

Once the coal has been mined it needs to be processed. The mined out coal is called Run of Mine
(ROM) of 0-450mm. the Run of Mine is the raw material for processing plant. Jitegemee
holdings processing plant has two major processes. These processes are;

 Coal crushing
 Coal screening

2.5.1 Coal crushing

Coal crushing is the reduction of the overall top size of the Run of Mine Coal so that it can be
screened in screening plant to produce coal products of different sizes.

The types of coal crusher used in the processing plant is Tracked Jaw Crusher Terex with model
2005, Pegson XR400 with a capability of crushing Run of Mine Coal in a 3.8m 3 bucket of a
wheel loader with model CAT 980G. This type of crusher is a Single toggle jaw with hydraulic
setting adjustment with a feed opening size of 1100 x 650 mm, hydraulic crusher overload
system ideal for application with uncrushable material in the feed up to 200mm 3. The plant
capacity is about 400 tons per hour of the material is achievable with very low fuel consumption
of 22 liters/ hour due to highly efficient direct drive system with performance of 230 hp (172
kW). The crusher reduces the size of Run of Mine of 0-450mm to different size such as 0-50mm,
0-75mm and 50-100mm

Working principle of a tracked jaw crusher

A jaw crusher consist of two jaws, one of which is movable, while the other is fixed. It mainly
works on the principle of reciprocating motion exhibited by the moveable jaw of the crusher. The
repeated movement of the jaws results in the development of the compression force that causes
breakdown of the rock or the ore placed between the two jaws into smaller pieces. The material
to be broken is fed between the two mechanical jaws, the main task of the fixed jaw is to hold the
material to be crushed in a place so that it does not slips when force is applied. The movable jaw
exhibits a periodic to and fro motion and generates the necessary force to break down the
objects. After crushing the material pass through the conveyor belt openings at discharge height
of 3905mm and belt width of 1000mm, this conveyor is designed to be lowered for the removal
of trapped material and for transportation. The conveyor can be lowered and raised whilst
crushing the material.
 Figure 4. Tracked jaw crusher Pegson XR400

2.5.2 Coal Screening

Coal screening refer to the process of separating coal particles according to their sizes.

Screen is the machine used to separate particles by sizes. The type of screen plant used is Terex
Finlay 663T Super track model 2009.

This plant has an ability of screening 3.8m3 bucket of CAT 980G wheel loader filled with a
crushed coal in 5 minutes. Fuel consumption of the screen plant is 14 liters per hour and the
working mechanism of screen column is by vibration.

After crushing the Run of Mine Coal to different sizes, the crushed coal is transported to the
screen column by conveyor belt. Due to the vibration of screen column which has two screen,
upper and lower screen of mesh sizes 30mm and 8mm respectively. The screen plant has three
outlet conveyor belts for screened materials. The first conveyor belts transporting crushed coal of
a size 0-50mm as fine coal in its pile, second conveyor belts transporting crushed coal of a size
of 0-75mm as a peas coal and separated in its pile and third conveyor belts transporting the
crushed coal of size greater than 50mm up to 100mm were retained out and conveyed out as
cobble coal of size > 50-100mm and separated in its pile. There are three piles of processed coal
in different sizes according to the customer’s needs, these coal have quality and affordable to the
customer for different purposes.

General flow sheet of the processing plant at Jitegemee Holdings Company Limited

RUN OF MINE

CRUSHING

SCREENING CRUSHED COAL

PRODUCTS

FINE COAL PEAS COAL COBBLES COAL

0 – 50 mm 0 – 75mm >50 – 100 mm
Figure 5. Processing plant of coal at JHCL

2.5.3 Quality control process

Quality control process is the process that deals with analysis of coal on particular physical and
chemical properties of coal. The analysis includes;

 Proximate analysis
 Ultimate analysis

Proximate analysis

This determine the behaviour of coal when burned. It gives moisture content, the fixed carbon
and ash.

In proximate analysis the following properties are observed;

Volatile matter

Gases released when coal is heated, principally methane, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide and various compounds of carbon and hydrogen. Along with fixed carbon, volatile
matter determining the intensity of heat produced. The volatile matter of coal is determined
under rigidly controlled standards. The percentage of volatile matter of coal at JHCL is about 21-
27 Max.
Ash

Ash refer to the combustible matter consisting silica, iron, alumina, and other minerals similar to
clay, silt and sand. It can also give an indication about the quality of the coal, if ash content is
high is percentage tend to affect the quality of coal and vice versa. Amount of ash in the coal that
observed at JHCL about 16% - 21% Max.

Fixed carbon

Refer to the solid fuel that left in the furnace after volatile matter is distilled off. It consist most
of carbon but also contains some hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen not driven off with
gases. Fixed carbon gives a rough estimate of the heating value of a coal. The amount of fixed
carbon in the coal that measured and observed was about 60% Max. The fixed carbon content is
used as an index of the yield coke expected from a coal on carbonization. Higher the fixed
carbon content, higher will be its calorific value.

Calorific value

Calorific value refer to the amount of heat produced by the combustion of fuel mass. It is
expressed in joules per kilogram or kilocalories per kilogram or heat produced by the combustion
of a unit weight of a fuel. Each coal have its own calorific value according to the quality, if it is
ROM 1 coal have high amount of calorific value compared to others like ROM 2 and ROM 3
coal. The calorific value of both types of coal at JHCL it ranges from 5900 kcal/kg to 6350
kcal/kg. This means that the good quality coal have a calorific value of 6350 kcal/kg compared
to others coal.

Moisture content

Coal that has been exposed to contact with water in the seam or coal wetted by rain, may carry
free or visible water. This water plus the moisture within the coal is called total moisture. The
amount of moisture retained by a coal may vary between fairy wide limits. By exposing coal in a
thin layer in a dry, well ventilated place, the coal loses free or surface moisture content in
equilibrium with the moisture in the atmosphere. Moisture held within the coal itself is known as
inherent moisture. At JHCL moisture contents of a coal is about only 6% Max.
Moisture may occur in four possible forms within a coal;

a) Surface moisture: water held on the surface of a coal particle

b) Hydroscopic moisture: water held by capillary action within the micro-fractures of the
coal
c) Decomposition moisture: water held within the coal’s decomposed organic compounds
d) Mineral moistures: water which comprises part of the crystal structure of hydrous
silicates such as clays.

Total moisture is analyzed by loss of mass between an untreated sample and the sample once
analyzed. This can be achieved by any of the following methods;

1) Heating the coal with toluene

2) Drying in minimum free-space oven at 150℃ within a nitrogen atmosphere
3) Drying the air at 100℃ to 150℃ and relative loss of mass determined

Methods 1 and 2 are suitable with low rank coals but method 3 is suitable only for high rank
coals as free air drying low rank coals may promote oxidation. Inherent moisture is analyzed
similarly, though it may done in a vacuum.

Hard Grove Index or Hard Grindability Index (HGI)

Grindability of a coal is a measure of the ease with which it may be ground to fine size. The
grindability of a coal is a composite property embracing other specific properties, such as
hardness, strength, tenacity and fracture.

There are two methods determining the ease of grinding coal to fine size which are hard grove
method and ball mill method. A standard test called hard grove apparatus has eight 1-inch balls
that roll on a stationary ring and are driven by upper grinding ring which is rotated at 20 ± 1 rpm.
50g of air dried coal of size -16 + 30 mesh is subjected to 60 revolution in hard grove apparatus.
After grinding, the coal is screened through a 200 mesh sieve

G=Hard Grindability Index=6.93 W +13

Where W= weight of sample passing through 200 mesh sieve, gm.

Coal which are easy to grind have Grindability Index near to 100.
A high value of hard grove grindability index indicates a soft and easily grindable coal. Hard
grove index of a coal initially increases with the rank, reaches a maximum of about 105 for
bright coals of 89% - 90% carbon, and then falls to about 35 anthracites. Coal that are easiest to
grind are found in the medium and low volatile groups. They are easier to grind than coal of the
high volatile bituminous, sub-bituminous and anthracites ranks.

In ball mill method, 700 ml of -6 mesh coal is grounded in a 12" ×12" steel ball mill with 285
ball of specified sizes rotated at 70 rpm. The grindability is the ratio of the net weight of – 200
mesh coal formed to the number of revolutions.

The principal advantage of hard grove method is its rapidity of the tests, the disadvantage is that
it requires an expensive grinding machine. Only softer components of the coal are crushed
leaving harder particles unground. The ball mill method eliminates this error by grinding the
entire coal to finished size. The ball mill method is still used by manufacturers when mixtures of
coal of varying grindability values are being fired, for high ash content coals, or for coals with
large quantities of hard impurities. At Jitegemee Holdings Company Limited about the hard
grove index of a coals is only 50.