Simulation-based utility assessment of real-time information for sustainable mining operations

In capital intensive industries such as coalmines, real-time information is useful to run their operations within sustainable limits, and to enable early detection and response to deviations from those limits. The goal of this research is to assess the utilities of real-time information collected in coalmines for operating within sustainable limits. In this work, one of the largest coalmines in North America is considered. Utility indices are first proposed for important real-time information from the coalmine. Attributes are then defined for the indices and expressions for utility are proposed. The indices are also classified based on their impact on economic, social or environmental dimensions of sustainability of the coalmine. Experiments are conducted using real-time data on a simulation model of the material handling network of the coalmine to assess one of the proposed indices. The proposed index is found to precisely indicate utility of the corresponding real-time information.