COMPARISON BETWEEN ECONOMIC EVALUATION TOOLS ON DIMENSIONING OF EQUIPMENT FOR MINE

PDF | The adequate selection of the production rate of a mining enterprise has a direct influence on the possibility of project success, as well as the definition of the size and quantity of equipment used in its operation influence the maximization of the Net Present Value (NPV). In this process, the risk analysis in the output variable allied to the sensitivity analysis provides more consistent results, since it considers the risks and uncertainties of a project over its lifetime. This study purposed to analyze the operation of an aggregate mine from the consideration of four different sets of excavator-truck using the Equivalent Annual Equivalent Value (VAUE) method, comparing it with the NPV method. The economic evaluations carried out in a previous study were reviewed, in which the NPV was obtained and the Risk and Sensitivity Analysis were performed in each of the scenarios, and the VAUE methodology was added to the analysis, which was also submitted to probabilistic analysis. The performance of each excavator and its corresponding trucks for different production rates was verified in both methodologies, allowing to conclude that for the same number of transport units and provided that the required production rate is possible, the smaller the equipment size, the more economical the scenario is. On the other hand, the higher the production rate of the enterprise, the more profitable this will be.