Underground mines use many different types of machinery during the drift mining processesof drilling, charging, blasting, loading, scaling and bolting. Drilling machines play a criticalrole in the mineral extraction process and thus are important economically. However, as themachines age, their efficiency and effectiveness decrease, negatively affecting productivityand profitability and increasing total cost. Hence, the economic replacement lifetime of themachine is a key performance indicator. This paper introduces an optimisation model thatgives the optimal lifetime for a drilling machine. A case study has been done at anunderground Swedish mine to identify the economic replacement time of a drilling machine.It considers the purchase price, maintenance and operation costs, and the machine’s secondhandvalue. Findings show that the economic replacement lifetime of a drilling machine inthis mine is 96 months. The proposed model can be used for other underground miningmachines.
Godkänd; 2013; 20130916 (hasham)