Replacement study of off-highway trucks in an open-pit coal mine in Turkey

The proper assignment of equipment can be achieved by insuring a timely investment and a timely replacement policy through the mine life. Mine design engineers must constantly decide whether existing assets should be continued in service or whether available new assets will better and more economically meet current and future needs. These decision must be made with increasing frequency as the dynamic side of mining quickly advances and technology produces more rapid changes. Thus the replacement of equipment requires careful engineering economy studies if we are to arrive at sound decisions. This paper reviews dynamic solution approach where all truck fleet are evaluated for each year of the operation. Equivalent annual cost of operation is carried through the analysis. The optimum solution is achieved by selecting the minimum equivalent annual cost at the last year. The solution provides the best equipment replacement policy.