Management of Scheduled Delays and Their Impact on Operating Costs and Production in Open-Pit Mining Sites

Effective management of scheduled delays is critical to increasing mining operation productivity. Here we analyse the effects of eight management strategies for shift change and collation/lunchtime on the production and total costs of a loading and hauling system. Strategies with two 12-hour shifts and shift change at the equipment site presented the best productivity and the lowest total costs. An incremental analysis of the number of ideal trucks to cover scheduled delays showed that when six trucks are kept in operation, annual production increases by 4.64% for the best strategy.