In this assignment I will elaborate the meaning of planning and scheduling for mining operation.

Which is these article specifically elaborate the ideal necessary of planning and scheduling. Here is the summary. PLANNING Underground mining operations, similar to many industrial enterprises, have long recognized the potential benefits of maintenance planning. However, underground mining operations efforts to implement maintenance planning have generally met with little success. Most companies, upon the collapse of their maintenance planning, convince themselves that underground mining is so "unique" that to accurately plan, schedule and measure maintenance work is impractical. Underground mining is different compared to even surface mining but management must realize that failure to successfully implement a maintenance planning system is directly attributable to managements inability to recognize what is required. A successful maintenance planning system can be implemented if:
1. A clear and accountability maintenance organization structure.

7. Management exercises control

2. Maintenance Planner
3. Maintenance of equipment takes into account the mines production strategy.

6. Periodic reports

Underground Mining Operation Resolution

4. Systems and procedures are formally developed approach to maintenance.

5. Reliable records

Figure 1. Uderground Mining Operation Resolution. Below is the explaination about the first three point of the resolution. Maintenance Organization Structure Successful implementation of a maintenance planning system hinges on ensuring that the overall maintenance organization is structured in such a way that responsibility and accountability are clearly defined. A basic test for accountability is to observe if an individual can be identified as being responsible for the maintenance in a specific area, shop, or for a particular equipment type. The most common problem happens when operation and maintenance people do not play along together and keep blaming each other. Another key is to establish whether the appropriate individual has sufficient resources under his control to manage all the maintenance activities in his area. Maintenance Planning Staff Mining operations accept the need for the separation of operational planning from the actual production activity. The need for long and medium range operational planning is generally fulfilled by a separate staff organization whose primary function is to offer

direction over the long term. Production supervision controls the daily and weekly output from the mine but where and how they mine is dictated by the long range mine plan developed by staff employed for the specific purpose of operational planning. Unfortunately, the existance of this maintenance planner group is still questioned. Imagine a significant mining operation without a central mine planning organization and then imagine any number of mine operating supervisors "doing their own thing" with little, if any, regard to the long range consequences. Separate the function of planning and supervising in maintenance for the same reasons they are separated in operations. Planning and "doing" require different skills. Then, the planner need to be: 1. A person that have an experience in maintenance supervisor. He must possess the skills to obtain facts, analyze them and assist in choosing the best course of action. 2. Placed close to the realities of day to day problems 3. Use an indirect flow command to avoid an antagonism. Maintenance and Production Strategy It is vital that both production and maintenance departments needs and objectives are satisfied when initiating a maintenance planning system into an underground operation. Maintenance must consider the economic affect on production of any maintenance related equipment outage and production must accept the requirement to routinely maintain production equipment. Before routinely planning and scheduling mining equipment for maintenance, the basic rules about preventive and break down maintenance must be foreknown. SCHEDULLING Planning and scheduling are essential to the successful running of mining operations. Mining companies have the challenge of scheduling their mines development to optimise the net present value (NPV), minimise costs, and the range of roles across the mine planning process means that a scheduling system must be able to cope with various data requirements. Short-term production scheduling involves evaluating equipment availability and placement, while long-term scheduling involves optimising a projects value. It is important to develop schedules that are robust under a number of economic scenarios, can respond rapidly and remain competitive. There are many benefits to having a good scheduling system. It can help a mine manager to make better decisions based on reality but with the future in mind, which translates to less waste, less re-working and getting the job right the first time.First and foremost, a good mine scheduling system must produce a practical and realistic sequence of tasks that reflect the interactions of mining activities yet honour the goal of maximising value of the asset. It must do so in a manner that is transparent to all implementers and reviewers beyond the planning engineer. says John Bailey, manager executive consulting at CAE Mining. According to the . Marc Smith, technical services manager Pitram at Micromine there are practical differences between surface and underground mine scheduling: 1. The scheduling of a surface mine is focused on the implementation of a blend plan, the optimisation of the loading and hauling system and management of ancillary tasks. The mining cycle activities are several or more days in length. Planning is about improving efficiencies within the individual tasks. 2. Within an underground operation each activity may only take several hours and is tightly constrained by the availability of the working face. Here the scheduling is

focused on managing a set of tightly dependant tasks to optimise the utilisation of a working face. A missed or late activity can have serious ramifications on the development rate of primary headings.

#Case Study of Barrick Gold Corporation Tulawaka Mine

The Tulawaka mine is located in northwest Tanzania, in the Biharamulo District of the Kagera Region. It is an open-pit mine with an underground access ramp located at the bottom of the pit. Tulawaka is a joint venture between African Barrick Gold and Northern Mining Explorations Ltd. Barrick holds 70 percent interest and is the operator. In 2009, Barricks share of production was 66,000 ounces of gold at $413 per ounce, with Barricks share of proven and probable gold reserves estimated at 93,000 ounces of gold. Tulawakas life as of December 31, 2009, was estimated to be approximately two years based on proven and probable reserves. According to a Tulawaka responsibility report (2010) an updated mine plan based on the current successful underground mining is being prepared; this may result in the extension of the mine life. Current operating capacity of the mill operations is approximately 1,320 tonnes per day. Total production in 2009 was approximately 94,000 ounces of gold at an overall recovery rate of 94.1 percent. A study of the operation and feasibility of mining the ore body below the pit with underground methods is being done as well. At the Tulawaka mine, the author, A.Gustafson and friends interviewed maintenance personnel at different hierarchical levels. Maintenance workshops and storage
Maintenance is performed in a central surface workshop supported by the purchasing and warehouse units for materials and spare parts; the department also outsources maintenance. The workshop uses a team specialized in both surface and underground mining equipment. The maintenance department ensures continuous equipment availability and maintenance.

The supply chain starts with the materials required by the department; the warehouse is contacted to check their availability. If spare parts or materials are not available, a quotation/proforma invoice for them is sent to the selected supplier, using a purchase requisition from the system.

Maintenance strategy The department categorizes maintenance as planned maintenance, unplanned maintenance, corrective maintenance and condition monitoring. Furthermore, the department also has designed the following improvement plan: [1] Prepare maintenance schedule based on hours interval; [2] Put in place the maintenance kits, and proper tooling for maintenance activity; [3] Conduct condition monitoring and oil analysis; [4] Perform pre and post PM inspection, introduce a service report system Future plans of the department to reduce downtime include: [1] Complete backlogs in a timely manner during planning downtimes; [2] Educate operators to report all defects they see during operations, and plan for execution as fast as possible; [3] Educate mechanics in inspection methods; [4] Introduce condition monitoring. Opinion: From the elaboration above we can conclude that this mining generally has established a good planning and scheduling with clearly show the accountability of the department, use an hour planning to prepare a maintenance, and etc. As Dr. Erika Steffens and Dr. James Steffens book "How to Set Goals for Success". "The difference between my GOAL and my DREAM is my PLAN." And if I can add it, I will say And the difference of the PLAN and REALITY is SCHEDULE.
Reference : [1] Hamilton, C.O., (2010). , Maintenance Planning in Underground Mining Operations. Performance Associates International, Inc., Tucson, Arizona. [2] Gustafson, A., Schunnesson, H., Galar, D., and Mkemai, R., (2011). TPM framework for underground mobile mining equipment;A case study. Mine Planning and Equipment Selection. [3] http://www.miningmagazine.com/equipment/tools-of-the-trade?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=print_friendly