Quarry Material Usage Optimization in Real Time Case Study of a Total Solution for Quarry and Stockpile Optimization

With the pressures on the cement producers to reduce the use of high cost, high-grade materials, extension of quarry lifetime and, at the same time, to maximize output while guaranteeing a constant product quality the need for analytical real-time material characterization and optimization reaches a critical stage. Only a tuned combination of an analytical on-line system with an expert system can guarantee the quarry operation and stockpile optimization with sufficient confidence. Once installed the operation of the quarry and the stockpile pre-homogenization is fully relying on a high availability of such a system. On-line bulk material analyzers using radioactive excitation are available but the reliable supply of the exciting radioactive material has become an issue lately. Several suppliers offer Stockpile blending systems but none of those can offer a fine tuned total solution.