RPMGlobal’s HAULSIM software links Lac à Paul mine to port

HAULSIM was used during Arianne Phosphate’s critical engineering study phase, enabling the company to evaluate several key haulage scenarios and routes.

This allowed the company to link the Lac à Paul project to the nearest port facilities, 240 kilometres away.

HAULSIM, a four-dimensional discrete event simulation enables users to build a digital twin of any mining operation to evaluate different scenarios, fleet options, haulage routes, stockpiles and dump placements.

Using this technology, Arianne Phosphate was able to be confident in its recommendation to invest capital in its mine to port haulage route, removing guesswork from the process.

RPMGlobal Americas general manager Sandeep Sandhu described Arianne Phosphate’s positive outcomes using HAULSIM as “very satisfying”.

“It has been great to work with a passionate company like Arianne Phosphate and it has been very rewarding to see our solutions making a valuable contribution towards advancing the Lac à Paul phosphate project,” he said.

“We’re proud to contribute to the Lac à Paul project and achieve results through the use of HAULSIM that will create positive social and economic impacts for all stakeholders.”

Arianne Phosphate chief operating officer Jean-Sébastien David said choosing HAULSIM for the engineering study phase of the project was a natural decision for the company.

“RPMGlobal’s commitment to improving efficiency and value of our mining operations through cutting-edge solutions made the decision to select HAULSIM a natural one,” David said.

“Partnering with a global leader in the development of leading mining haulage systems enabled us to demonstrate the attractive returns that the Lac à Paul project is set to generate.”

Once the project is fully operational, Lac à Paul will produce three million tonnes of phosphate concentrate per annum, making it one of the world’s largest phosphate rock projects.

It will consist of an open pit mine, concentration plant and deep-water port facilities and creating 2000 jobs during construction, followed by 1000 direct and indirect ongoing jobs throughout the life-of-mine.