Haul truck fleet sizing is the single largest mine capex decision · 5 to 8 USD million per truck and decades of fleet maintenance OPEX. The model captures every cycle from loader to crusher, the loader-truck matching policy, the fleet maintenance availability schedule, and operator behaviour. Output supports fleet right-sizing, loader-truck pairing, and route redesign.
Pit-to-crusher cycle · loader-truck matching · maintenance availability · operator productivity · route geometry.
Tonnes per truck-hour · loader utilisation · queue at loader · queue at crusher · fleet availability.
Fleet right-sizing · loader-truck pairing policy · route redesign · maintenance schedule · autonomous haulage business case.
Crusher circuit decisions compound through the entire mineral processing chain. Mismatched primary-secondary capacity creates bottlenecks. Screening efficiency that ignores feed variability degrades downstream. The model captures every unit operation, feed distribution, screen efficiency, and circulating load · then surfaces the circuit reconfiguration decisions.
Primary · secondary · tertiary crusher · screening efficiency · circulating load · feed variability.
tph at each unit op · crusher utilisation · screen efficiency · downstream availability.
Crusher circuit reconfiguration · screen capacity · circuit availability · maintenance scheduling.
Conveyor uprating is one of the most common brownfield mining capex decisions. The model captures belt throughput, transfer point capacity, stockpile feed and reclaim, and weather-affected scenarios · then validates the uprating business case or the new-network design.
Belt throughput · transfer point capacity · stockpile feed and reclaim · weather scenarios.
tph at each belt · transfer point queue · stockpile dwell · belt availability.
Conveyor uprating business case · network reconfiguration · transfer point investment.
ROM stockpile management is where ore body variability meets operational reality. Pile geometry, blend management, slot allocation, weather impact · all decisions that ripple downstream into processing plant performance. The model surfaces the policy decisions and the capex implications.
Pile geometry · blend management · slot allocation · weather impact · reclaim policy.
Stockpile dwell · blend variance · reclaim throughput · weather availability.
Stockpile capex · blend policy · weather contingency · processing plant feed quality.
Train scheduling between the mine load-out and the port is where mining and logistics meet. Loadout productivity that lags train arrivals creates queueing. Train availability that lags port turnaround creates a different bottleneck. The model puts the whole chain on the same clock.
Train arrival profile · loadout productivity · loadout-to-port turnaround · rail availability.
Loadout tph · train turnaround · rail utilisation · port-to-loadout lag.
Loadout capex · rail scheduling policy · port-rail interface design.
Ship loader productivity gates the entire pit-to-port chain. Vessel arrival pattern, loader cycle time, vessel turnaround, port stay metrics · all decisions that feed back to the mine schedule and the mine capex programme. The model closes the loop.
Vessel arrival pattern · ship loader cycle · vessel turnaround · port stay metrics.
Loader productivity · vessel turnaround · port stay · berth occupancy.
Ship loader capex · vessel scheduling agreement · port-mine interface design.
Every mining simulation engagement conforms to eight layered standards covering platform, validation, technical reporting, sustainability, quality, environment, safety, and data exchange. The platform is the tool. The discipline is the model. The Chartered Engineer is the signature.
Hero discrete event simulation platform · simulation model is the canonical deliverable
Validation, Verification and Accreditation framework
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy technical reporting guidelines
International Council on Mining and Metals sustainable development principles
Quality management system
Environmental management system
Occupational health and safety management
Live data exchange standard · for fleet management and process integration
The model is the proof. The report is the audit trail. The recommendations are the executable artifact. Outputs map to Wistwin digital twin layer for live-vs-design comparison once the facility is operational.
Delivered to client as a FlexSim .fsm file · runs on client license · documented with parameter sheets and assumption log.
Build-spec verification · historical data validation · sensitivity analysis on top 3 drivers · ASA VV+A framework.
Operational targets · operator and regulator KPIs · target vs simulated · evidence-grade.
Layout · process · technology interventions · order-of-magnitude costed.
Every run captured · audit-ready and reproducible.
Every section signed · audit-ready · regulator-ready · lender-ready.
Client names withheld. Representative of multiple engagements in this category.
Haul truck dispatch policy combined with crusher circuit reconfiguration modelled head-to-head against the baseline. 11% tph uplift on the mine-to-port chain validated. Implementation board-approved on the strength of the simulation evidence.
50 mtpa coal mine designed against fleet right-sizing target. Capex reduced by 12% through optimal loader-truck matching. Lender approval secured.
Brownfield expansion modelled against pre-expansion baseline. Conveyor uprating + secondary crusher addition validated for tonnes per hour target. Operational risk register supported by simulation evidence.
Mining discrete event simulation models the full pit-to-port chain · haul truck fleet, crushing and screening circuit, conveyor network, ROM stockpile, train loadout, ship loader. You need it when a capex or operating decision is too big to commit on spreadsheet evidence · fleet sizing for greenfield mines, circuit reconfiguration business cases, conveyor uprating, stockpile policy validation, train scheduling against ship arrivals.
The hero discrete event simulation platform for mining work is FlexSim. AnyLogic and Simio are available where the client has standardised on those platforms. The platform is the tool · the model and the Chartered Engineer signature are the value.
Eight to twelve weeks for a single operation (mine, crusher, or load-out). Sixteen to twenty weeks for a pit-to-port chain. Faster if Modular Dispatch, Wenco, or Maptek exports are clean and available.
Open-pit metals (iron ore, copper, gold, bauxite, nickel), open-pit coal, underground hard rock, underground coal, mineral processing plants, and pit-to-port logistics chains.
Yes. Brownfield expansion modelling is a frequent use case. The model runs against pre-expansion baseline and proposed-expansion scenarios for capex sizing, fleet right-sizing, and crusher circuit reconfiguration.
Yes for offline data integration · Modular Dispatch, Wenco, Maptek, and dispatch logs are standard inputs. Live FMS integration is possible but most engagements use historical exports for validation.
Yes. Mining capex projects require simulation-based throughput validation for lender approval. The deliverable package is structured for direct lender consumption · verification + validation report, KPI scorecard, recommendation register, CEng MIE FIE signature.
The haul truck model captures load times at loaders, dump times at the crusher, route geometry, fleet maintenance availability, and operator productivity distributions. Output supports fleet right-sizing, loader-truck matching, and route redesign decisions.
Yes when the client has BIM or geological model in place. The model imports geometry and mine plan data. Output KPIs publish to the digital twin layer for live-vs-design comparison.
Yes. Standard disruption scenarios · equipment breakdown, weather, power outage, labour disruption, dispatch failure · each runs against steady-state baseline to compute recovery time and tonnage shortfall.
Mining simulation references AusIMM guidelines for technical reports, ICMM principles for sustainable development, ISO 9001 + 14001 + 45001 for operational quality, environment, and safety. Standards depth is the discipline behind the model.
Six artifacts · native simulation model (.fsm file delivered), verification + validation report against ASA VV+A, KPI scorecard, recommendation register with capex impact, scenario log, CEng MIE FIE signature.
Engagement scope is confirmed during a 30-minute consultation. Written estimate within five business days · no published price · scope drives the proposal.
Tell us the operation, the decision you need to defend, and the timeline. A practice lead responds within one business day. Written estimate within 5 business days · no published price · scope drives the proposal.
Scope your model