HAULROAD CONSTRUCTION EBOOK

Q. WHY WAS THIS EBOOK PRODUCED? A. This document has been produced to provide the definitive

guide to constructing a better more durable haul road, whilst ensuring that the total cost of ownership (TOC) of the asset is minimised over its life.

Q. WHO IS IT FOR?A. It has been designed for Haul Road Planners, Designers,

Engineers and Superintendents so that adequate thought and design protocols are writ ten into new road designs from the outset, in accordance with best-practice; rather than trying to rectify quality and maintenance issues at a later date.

Q. WHAT WILL YOU GET OUT OF IT?A. This eBook will explain the importance of designing a

haul road from the ground up to achieve lower capital expenditure and on-going operating expenditure.

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For further information, expert advice or a quotation, call Dust-A-Side Australia today on

CALL 1800 662 387 www.dustaside.com.au

Produced as an industry service by Dust-A-Side Australia

Like everything in life, preparation is important. In fact, for Haul Roads, it’s crucial, especially for Greenfield projects

“The structural design specification of a mine haul road is a critical component in the overall road design process. Poor design often leads to premature failure of the road, safety is often compromised and productivity and equipment

service-life will certainly decrease. With the advent of autonomous trucks, any structural design

deficiency would be exacerbated and its impact on operations more problematic to address.”

Building Better Haul RoadsDr. Roger J. Thompson

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OVERVIEW: Creating a Permanent Haul Road Solution.

The thing to bear in mind is that while the base and sub-base design need to remain constant as they are the primary load-bearing layers of a haulroad, the top wearing course design can be changed significantly.

To counter erosion, washouts and grader operators cutting good quality material off the surface of the haulroads during normal operations, most mine haulroads are designed with a wearing course of at least 200mm depth, and sometimes as much as 500mm depth. This layer is considered a somewhat sacrificial layer, and will be totally replenished every 1, 2 or 3+ years. However, it doesn’t have to be this way…..

Provided the haulroad has been built upon a solid base, then incorporating DAS Product (a specially formulated emulsion of bitumen in water) into the wearing course layer of the haulroad will help to stabilise and waterproof the running surface. In turn, this means that the wearing course layer design can be at least 50% thinner.

SUBGRADE LAYER

WEARING COURSE 150mm DUST-A-SIDE STABILISED GRAVEL - 95% MODIFIED COMPACTION

BASE LAYER

HAUL ROAD PAVEMENT DESIGN

100mm

Image: Haulroad Pavement Design incorporating Dust-A-Side Stabilised Wearing Course Layer

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The waterproofing and binding properties of bitumen (as we see on our every-day public roads) means that the wearing course material is ‘glued’ together and water does not permeate through this layer or into the base layers beneath. In turn, this:

A. Prevents the gradual washout of fines caused by rain events and regular watering of haul roads for dust suppression purposes, and

B. Reduces pooling of water and creation of soft-spots in the base layers, since water will shed off a sealed and cambered surface as opposed to penetrating into the material.

The end result is a more competent haulroad that exhibits less deterioration and therefore reduced on-going maintenance requirements.

ONE

The Dust-A-Side Haulroad Management System, coupled with the stabilised running surface, eliminates the need for grader operators to cut the good quality material off of the surface of the haul road during normal operations. No longer does the best road building material end up in the drain on the side of the haul road, or the crown get continually diminished. Instead, the high quality running surface remains on the haul road at all times.

TWO

The end result is that a Dust-A-Side Stabilised Haulroad can often be constructed with a wearing course of only 100mm. This is no longer a sacrificial layer that needs to be regular replenished and replaced, but instead a permanent asset that will survive the life of the haulroad provided it is maintained correctly.

Furthermore, even though there will be a cost for incorporating the product upfront, this can be 100% offset by savings in hundreds of tonnes of gravel that will no longer need to be blasted, crushed, screened, transported, placed and compacted on a unsealed haulroad.

As the following example shows, this can often make the initial construction of the mine haul road cheaper, even before you factor in other additional operating cost savings that will be on-going for the life of the haulroad.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

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50% THINNER WEARING COURSE?

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REAL COST SAVINGSFor the sake of the exercise, say you are designing a network of new haul roads at a Greenfield mining site.

The total length comprises 18kms x 35m of primary haulroads, and there are three adjoining ramps each of 750m x 35m.

For expediency, say the roads are generally flat with an overall cross fall of 2%, and the ramps have a 10% gradient.

Based upon these assumptions, if the wearing course of the haulroad is reduced by 50% and the operation no longer needs to procure large watercarts and graders that would be required to maintain an unsealed haulroad longer term, then there would be a reduction in capital expenditure of over 50% as shown in the following chart.

Conventional - Water DAS Haulroad Management System

Item Unit Cost QTY Total QTY Total

CAT 785 Watercart $4,000,000 2 $8,000,000 0 $0

CAT 24M Grader $4,000,000 1 $4,000,000 0 $0

Wearing Course Material $50 212,625 $10,631,250 106,313 $5,315,650

Establishment of DAS Roads $4,840,000 0 $0 1 $4,840,000

Total Capital Cost $22,631,250 $10,155,650

Even if you were to take out the capital savings associated with the purchase of the watercart and grader, then you will see that the cost of establishing the Dust-A-Side stabilised wearing course is less than the like-for-like conventional unsealed haulroad wearing course solely due to the reduction in material costs.

And as if that wasn’t enough, you could also expect to reduce direct operating expenditure by 14% per annum through adoption of the Dust-A-Side Haulroad Management System compared with conventional haulroad maintenance practices.

REDUCED CAPITAL EXPENDITURE OF $11.4M or 53%

Conventional - Water DAS Haulroad Management System

Item Unit Cost QTY Total QTY Total

CAT 785 Watercart $455 per hr 11,212 $5,101,460 0 $0

CAT 24M Grader $415 per hr 5,606 $2,326,490 0 $0

Wearing Course Material $25 42,525 $1,063,125 4,253 $106,313

Maintenance of DAS Roads $6,890,000 0 $0 1 $6,890,000

Fuel for DAS Plant & Equipment $316,800 0 $0 1 $316,800

Total Capital Cost $8,491,075 $7,313,113

REDUCED OPERATING EXPENDITURE OF $1.8M or 14%

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ADDITIONAL OPERATING COST REDUCTIONS INCLUDE:> Reduction in fuel usage through improved rolling resistance

• RR typically improved by 20-30% compared with a competent unsealed haulroad (refer independent studies conducted by RoadSafety Training Services, Michelin Earthmover Tyres and numerous Client studies).

> Improvement in tyre life

• Typically above 10% due to improved haulroad running surface and less water being applied to the road surfaces for dust suppression purposes (which accelerates tyre wear).

> Reduction in maintenance costs and extended service intervals through improved road roughness and less dust

• Includes struts, chassis, filters, grease, oils etc. (refer independent study conducted by RoadSafety Training Services).

> Lower water infrastructure/purchase costs

• Estimated 90% reduction in water required for dust suppression on haulroads.

IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY ACHIEVED THROUGH:> Faster recovery times after wet weather

• DAS Haulroads shed water due to the bitumen sealed surface and therefore enable heavy vehicles to get back on the road quicker.

> Faster cycle times through improved rolling resistance

• RR typically improved by 20-30% compared with a competent unsealed haulroad (refer independent study conducted by RoadSafety Training Services and Michelin Earthmover Tyres).

> Reduced dust levels

• improve visibility and reduce the likelihood of operational delays due to excessive dust.

IMPROVED SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH:• Reduced dust levels and regulatory compliance

• Reduced carbon emissions due to lower fuel usage of ancillary equipment and lower fuel burn rates on the primary haultruck fleets

• More stable friction levels in all weather conditions and roads drying faster than conventional untreated roads

• Reduced likelihood of uncontrolled movements caused by over- watering

• Reduced likelihood of operator fatigue and musculoskeletal injury due to reduced road roughness

• Reduced loss of control due to distraction and other impairments

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WHAT THE LEGISLATION SAYSAn excerpt from “Specification for Design and Construction of Mine Haulroads” – Department of Natural Resources & Mines.

Legislation R128 states:

1 A surface mine’s safety and health management system must provide a specification for the design and construction of mine roads to enable the safe movement of vehicles about the mine.

2 The specification must have regard to the particular conditions at the mine, including the following—

(a) the characteristics of the mine vehicles;

(b) the types of materials used for road construction;

(c) the methods of working the mine.

3 The specification must be developed through a formal risk assessment process and must provide for the following for the roads—

(a) barriers;

(b) curvature;

(c) grade;

(d) guideposts;

(e) pavement shape;

(f) safety berms;

(g) signs;

(h) surface material;

(i) width.

4 The specification must provide for appropriate control measures for preventing persons and vehicles from falling over road edges with a vertical drop of more than 0.5m.

5 For a primary haul road regularly used for 2-way traffic, the specification must provide for a road width at least 3.5 times the width of the largest vehicle regularly using the road.

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DAS Product is a proprietary bitumen emulsion technology, specifically designed and formulated to provide stabilisation of the wearing course layer on permanent haulroads as well as subsequent control of fugitive dust.

It has been developed especially for the mining industry with the following key benefits:

• Environmentally friendly, non-toxic and non-hazardous.

• Transported and applied at ambient temperature; minimising risks associated with handling and application.

• Extremely good dilution properties and high resistance to total dissolved solids; permitting dilution with poor quality water supplies.

• Ability to mix with a wide variety of haulroad materials that have differing compositions and characteristics.

• Good transport and storage stability; enabling bulk delivery of product to site and a good shelf life.

Dust-A-Side do far more than manufacture and supply DAS Product and other dust control solutions.

We also provide a full service business model incorporating the installation, maintenance and management of haul road performance. This total solution includes:

• All Personnel

• Training

• Plant & Equipment

• Dust Suppression Products, and

• Technology.

Our single-minded, one-source approach doesn’t just help you enjoy unmatched economies of scale, it also means that we can achieve highly effective dust control plus a supremely productive haul road running surface on any mine site.

For more information and advice about Haul Road Construction, please call

CALL 1800 662 387 and consult with one of our experienced engineers.

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RECOMMENDED HAULROAD STABILISATION PRODUCT:

DAS PRODUCT