One may think of a haul road as merely a filthy path that merely serves one purpose, and that is to transport the mined ore from one site to a new. But that dusty road is the artery of the total operation. Lacking that dusty haul road a mining venture would soon pass on. To care for the road is in effect the same as taking care of one's individual physical condition.
We recognize what occurs when our arteries stop operating correctly, but what occurs when a haulage road is no longer maintained appropriately.
On a typical haulage road you will have haul trucks traveling day and night. Particular haul roads have as many as 500 trucks for every day. While others could have less trucks but the trucks they do own are many times bigger and heavier. Once more many of the operations are 24 hours each day every day with no occasion for stopping and starting.
While you have constant traffic on these haul roads you have got to do something to get rid of the dust. Several of these haulage roads are over 5 miles long and typically 50 feet wide. Every one of these roads may need about one gallon per square yard each day to keep the dust abated. If you were to calculate these numbers you will discover that a normal haul road dust control plan will necessitate millions of gallons of water every week. In some places water is a very treasured commodity that should be conserved when feasible not only for the availability but also for the expenditure of acquisition. Just ask yourself, what would your water bill be like if you consumed more than a million gallons each and every week?
As the Haul road is watered to sustain manageable levels of fugitive dust, the road may start to erode. This erosion will produce pot holes and new imperfections which over time will cause the road to be un-drivable. Not only will this turn into a horribly rough road, but those circumstances will furthermore cause premature failure to the haul trucks.
Also, the expense of maintaining haul trucks increases dramatically when they have to function in a dusty environment. There are lots of parts on a truck that break down faster when they are surrounded by dust. The engine will ingest dust from the haul road which will predictably end up in the engine oil, consequently causing a early breakdown of the truck and thousands of dollars in repairs.
Working on a haul truck is not a uncomplicated commission. You might envision having to replace a tire that is 10 feet tall. The yearly expense to operate these behemoths is greater than most American families take home in five years. If you can reduce that expense you will be saving the company enormous amounts of capital that could be directed at something more beneficial.
Alleviating these costs is rather easy. One just needs to utilize a efficient road dust control plan that not only controls the dust yet will in addition add a high level of erosion control. The more successful programs will actually change the old dusty dirt road into a rock-solid stabilized driving surface akin to many asphalt roads. This in turn will eradicate the need for water as a dust control agent and will deliver a very smooth dust free driving surface that lowers the cost of operating the million dollar trucks.
Tallying all these savings together will without difficulty help a mining operation lower their operating expenses to the point where the dust control program has paid for itself inside a year's time and the resources from such can after that be added to the bottom line.
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