Optimised haulage system

Abstract

A haulage system 10 comprises an intelligent logistics system and / or energy management system which handles, manages, controls and optimises material and the flow within the system on a global level. The method of handling material 24 comprises receiving a feed of material at a loading station 16, utilising a low impact loading mechanism 18 to sequentially load a fleet 28 of haul vehicles and using an intelligent logistics system to manage the fleet between the loading station and an unloading station 20. The haul vehicles are sequentially unloaded, and the material provided to an uptake. The system may calculate a required number of haul vehicles in the fleet and / or a required travel rate of each haul vehicle in the fleet, which may be based on real time geolocation of individual haul vehicles, average energy consumption of the fleet and / or energy consumption of a specific vehicle, available battery power, health, weather / road conditions and / or tyre performance.

Description

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION This invention relates to an optimised haulage system, intelligent logistics system and / or energy management system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of handling material and a material handling system which is managed, controlled and optimised on a global level. Increased focus on energy efficiency and environmental impact in the hauling, carrying, conveying and / or transporting industry, call for efficiency improvements in in terms of energy expenditure of vehicles. Furthermore, a focus is also placed on improvements in terms of energy efficiency of surrounding systems and processes to result in a holistic focus on energy expenditure and efficiency. For example, vehicles driven by renewable sources such as electricity or hydrogen could potentially provide a means of utilising “clean” energy in the hauling, carrying, conveying and / or transporting process. However, these vehicles’ range is heavily dependent on the weight of the vehicle. Haulage of materials, such as raw materials, processed or partially processed materials, and the like, conventionally involves the use of large haul trucks with large payload carrying capabilities. These trucks are designed to withstand large shocks, impacts and levels of abrasion encountered during loading, transportation and unloading of the loads. Efforts to increase the efficiency of haulage operations are often focussed on the efficiencies of the trucks (in isolation). In this regard, the trucks are typically driven by hybrid drivetrains, fitted with regenerative braking systems or even powered by alternative fuel sources, such as hydrogen. However, due to the large loads, shocks and vibrations, the weight of these trucks (when empty) is significant, and energy expenditure associated with the trucks themselves is high. To date, efforts to improve efficiencies associated with haulage activities have not been concerned with a fleet of vehicles as a whole. Specifically, effecting or realising global benefits and efficiency improvements (therefore on a fleet level) is difficult or even impossible in cases where fleet is made up of a smaller number of relatively larger haul vehicles, due to the relatively large impact a single vehicle has on the global efficiency. Also, the use of relatively larger vehicles makes it difficult or even impossible to differentiate or compartmentalise and independently treat or manage discrete portions or volumes of material based on inherent qualities of the material. It is believed that a shift in focus and methodology would be required to effect efficiency improvements on a system-level scale. It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method of handling material and a material handling system that will, at least partially, address the above shortcomings or disadvantages. It is also an object of the invention to provide a method of handling material and a material handling system which will be a useful alternative to existing systems and methods. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of handling material comprising the steps of: S1: receiving a feed of material from a source of materials at a loading station located at a first location; S2: managing a fleet of haul vehicles between a first location and a second location, using an intelligent logistics or energy management system; S3: utilising a low impact loading mechanism at the first location, sequentially to load haul vehicles forming part of the fleet with material; S4: sequentially unloading haul vehicles forming part of the fleet at an unloading station located at the second location; S5: providing the unloaded material to a material uptake. Further in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, during step S1, the source of materials may typically comprise one of a stockpile and a continuous feed of raw, processed or semiprocessed material. During step S3, each sequence of loading may comprise at least some of the sub-steps of: S3.1: receiving a specific one of the fleet of haul vehicles in a loading bay associated with the loading mechanism; S3.2: utilising the loading mechanism, which takes the form of one of a surge loader and a relatively small excavator, to load a predetermined quantity of material, falling in the range of 50 to 100 tonnes, and preferably about 80 tonnes, onto a tray of the haul vehicle; and S3.3: removing the haul vehicle from the loading bay. An unloading mechanism may be located at the unloading station. In or during step S4, each sequence of unloading may comprise at least some of the sub-steps of: S4.1: receiving a specific one of the fleet of haul vehicles on a tipping platform of the unloading mechanism; S4.2: releasably securing the haul vehicle to the tipping platform; S4.3: tipping the tipping platform and haul vehicle releasably secured thereto, thereby to cause the load carried by the haul vehicle to be unloaded; S4.4: lowering the tipping platform; S4.5: releasing the haul vehicle; and S4.6: removing the haul vehicle from the tipping platform. Each haul vehicle of the fleet may be provided in communication with a processing system and provided with an on-board geolocation monitoring system. Step S2 may comprise utilising the processing system to control each vehicle of the fleet or provide each vehicle of the fleet with realtime control instructions. In step S1, the material may be received at an actual feed rate while in step S5, the material uptake may be associated with a required uptake rate. The required uptake rate may be determined by one or more of: market-driven indicators, material quality measurements, elemental or metallurgical composition of the material; external material stock management requirements; or down-stream process availability. Step S2 may comprise the sub-step of utilising the processing system to calculate a theoretical unloading rate of the fleet. The theoretical unloading rate may be calculated by considering at least some of: a number of haul vehicles in the fleet; an average spacing of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; proximity of haul vehicles relative to each other; an average travel rate of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; average waiting times of haul vehicles at the first and / or second locations; a load carried by each haul vehicle in the fleet. Step S2 may comprise the sub-step of utilising the processing system to compare the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet with the required uptake rate of the fleet. The fleet may be managed such that the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet matches or exceeds the required uptake rate. Further in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, the method may include the step of measuring a physical characteristic of material loaded into each haul vehicle and associating said measured characteristic with said vehicle. The physical characteristic may relate to one or more of: a mineral, metallurgical or elemental content or concentration of the material; a degree of fragmentation or particularisation of the material; lithological characteristics of the material; or a moisture content of the material. The physical characteristic may be measured during excavation or transportation of the feed of material, during loading of the specific vehicle by the loading mechanism or by the vehicle itself. Furthermore, managing the fleet may comprise: determining or defining an independent route to be taken by each vehicle of the fleet based on the measured physical characteristic associated with the vehicle; utilising the processing system to calculate a required number of haul vehicles in the fleet; or utilising the processing system to calculate a required travel rate of each haul vehicle in the fleet. The required travel rate of each haul vehicle may be calculated based on at least one of: i) real time geolocation and relative proximities of individual haul vehicles within the fleet; ii) an average calculated energy consumption of the fleet and / or based on an actual energy consumption of a specific vehicle; iii) available battery power of said vehicle; iv) vehicle health; v) prevailing weather conditions; vi) road conditions; or vii) tyre performance. The processing system may include a backend. Furthermore, each haul vehicle forming part of the fleet may comprise an on-board processing module, while the on-board processing modules of all of the haul vehicles in the fleet may be configured to form a distributed processing arrangement, collaborative processing arrangement, co-processing arrangement and / or mesh processing arrangement, which forms part of the processing system. In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a material handling system, comprising: a loading station at a first location which is operatively fed from a source of material, and which includes a loading mechanism; an unloading station at a second location comprising a material uptake; a fleet comprising a predetermined number of haul vehicles, and a processing system provided in communication with each of the predetermined number of haul vehicles in the fleet and provided for managing the fleet by utilising an intelligent logistics or energy management system. The source of material may comprise a stockpile or a feed of mined material. The loading mechanism may comprise a low-impact loading mechanism, preferably in the form of a surge loader or a relatively small excavator. The unloading station may include an unloading mechanism in the form of a tipping platform configured for operatively and sequentially receiving one of the haul vehicles, securing same relative to the tipping platform, and tipping the tipping platform and haul vehicle thereby to cause a load carried by the haul vehicle to be unloaded therefrom. Further in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, the system may be characterised in that each of the haul vehicles has a maximum load carrying capacity of between 50 and 100 tonnes, preferably about 80 tonnes. Furthermore, each of the haul vehicles may have a tray which may be formed as a structural chassis thereof. The tray may be configured as one of: i) a fixed tray without an on-board unloading or tipping system; or ii) a belly-dump or bomb door tray. Each of the haul vehicles may comprise an electrical drivetrain including an on-board battery. Each of the haul vehicles may be autonomously controlled by the processing system or operatively provided with real-time control instructions from the processing system. Each haul vehicle may be provided with an on-board geolocation monitoring system, such as a global positioning system, with which real-time geolocation data of said haul vehicle is operatively transmitted to the processing system. The source of materials may be associated with an actual feed rate. The material uptake may be associated with a required uptake rate. The fleet may be associated with a theoretical unloading rate, which may be impacted by at least some of: a number of haul vehicles in the fleet; an average spacing of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; an average travel rate of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; average waiting times of haul vehicles at the first and / or second locations; a load carried by each haul vehicle in the fleet. The processing system may be configured to manage the fleet by calculating the theoretical unloading rate in real time and by providing inputs to the fleet to adjust the theoretical unloading rate. Furthermore, the processing system may be configured to manage the fleet such that the theoretical unloading rate matches or exceeds the required uptake rate. A measuring device may be provided for measuring a physical characteristic of material loaded into each haul vehicle. The processing system may be configured to associate said measured characteristic with said vehicle. The physical characteristic may relate to one of: a mineral, metallurgical or elemental content or concentration of the material; lithological characteristics of the material; a degree of fragmentation or particularisation of the material; or a moisture content of the material. The physical characteristic may be measured during excavation or transportation of the feed of material, or during loading of the specific vehicle. Managing the fleet may comprise determining or defining an independent route to be taken by each vehicle of the fleet based on the measured physical characteristic associated with the vehicle. The processing system may be configured to calculate a required number of haul vehicles in the fleet. The processing system may be configured to calculate a required travel rate of each haul vehicle in the fleet. The required travel rate of each haul vehicle may be calculated based on at least one of: i) real time geolocation and relative proximities of individual haul vehicles within the fleet; ii) an average calculated energy consumption of the fleet and / or based on an actual energy -7-consumption of a specific vehicle; iii) available battery power of said vehicle; iv) vehicle health; v) prevailing weather conditions; vi) road conditions; vii) tyre performance. The required uptake rate may be determined by one or more of: market-driven indicators, material quality measurements, elemental or metallurgical composition of the material; external material stock management requirements; and down-stream process availability. Further in accordance with the second aspect of the invention, the processing system may include a backend. Furthermore, each haul vehicle forming part of the fleet may comprise an on-board processing module, while the on-board processing modules of all of the haul vehicles in the fleet may be configured to form a distributed processing arrangement, collaborative processing arrangement, co-processing arrangement and / or mesh processing arrangement, which forms part of the processing system. Further according to the second aspect of the invention, the system may include a standby fleet of haul vehicles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference figure 1 which shows a schematic view of a material handling system in accordance with the invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having" and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted", "connected", "engaged" and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings and are thus intended to include direct connections between two members without any other members interposed therebetween and indirect connections between members in which one or more other members are interposed therebetween. Further, "connected" and "engaged" are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Additionally, the words "lower", "upper", "upward", "down" and "downward" designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words or similar import. It is noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the," and any singular use of any word, include plural referents unless expressly and unequivocally limited to one referent. As used herein, the term “include” and its grammatical variants are intended to be non-limiting, such that recitation of items in a list is not to the exclusion of other like items that can be substituted or added to the listed items. Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like features, a non-limiting example of a material handling system in accordance with the invention, is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. In more general terms, the system operates as an intelligent logistics system or energy management system that optimises logistics or energy management on a fleet level. Even though the system may take various forms, and provision is made for various forms of logistics, in the description below, the system is exemplified as a material handling system. In this example, the material handling system 10 is used to convey raw material from a first location 12 to a second location 14. It will be appreciated that the system could find application with processed or semiprocessed material, chemicals and other forms of bulk material. References herein to “raw” material will be taken to include such alternatives. In the example shown and described herein, the first location 12 is associated with a loading station 16 comprising a loading mechanism 18, while the second location is associated with an unloading station 20 comprising an unloading mechanism 22. The first location 12 is located proximate a source of raw material 24 from which a feed of material is provided to the loading mechanism 18. The second location 14 is associated with a raw material uptake 26 which receives material unloaded via the unloading mechanism 22 (or directly from the vehicles, as the case may be). The system 10 also includes a fleet of haul vehicles (the fleet as a whole referred to by reference numeral 28, with individual haul vehicles forming part of the fleet indicated in the figures by suffixes used with the numeral 28). The individual vehicles of the fleet 28 are typically spaced along a route 30 between the first location 12 and second location 14 and generally travel backwards and forwards therebetween. It will be appreciated that the system 10 is not limited by the number of vehicles forming part of the fleet 28. Furthermore, the system 10 may include further locations and the route 30 need not extend directly between any two locations. The route 30 may comprise a network of routes spanning between a number of locations. Furthermore, the system 10 may include more than one -9-loading stations (associated with one or more feeds of material) and more than one unloading stations (associated with one or more material uptakes). The loading and unloading stations may have different characteristics and may differ in terms of the up-stream or down-stream processes with which they are associated. For the sake of simplicity, the system 10 will be described herein as comprising two locations (namely the first and second locations (12, 14)) and a single route 30 spanning therebetween. The system 10 furthermore comprises a processing system, which communicates with the individual haul vehicles of the fleet 28 in real time via a wireless communication network 34. The processing system comprises a backend 32. Furthermore, each haul vehicle forming part of the fleet 28 comprises an on-board processing module. Collectively, the on-board processing modules of all of the haul vehicles in the fleet 28 are configured to form a distributed processing arrangement, collaborative processing arrangement, co-processing arrangement and / or mesh processing arrangement, which forms part of the processing system. The backend 32 may be utilised to provide overarching and global management instructions to the processing system as a whole, while the distributed processing arrangement may be utilised for interactively controlling the various vehicles in the fleet. By making use of a processing arrangement in concert with a backend, computational requirements of the backend is relieved, and the agility and expandability of the system is improved. The system 10 is characterised by the way in which the processing system manages and / or controls the fleet 28 (physically or by virtue of providing control instructions communicated to the various vehicles forming part of the fleet at any given time). From what follows, it will be appreciated that the system 10 handles raw material by utilising and managing the fleet 28 as a whole, rather than considering a number of consecutive discrete loads carried by a number of individual haul vehicles. By viewing and managing and / or controlling the fleet 28 as a whole, the processing system 32 is capable of optimising the use of the fleet 28 and of reaching increased overall or system-based levels of efficiency. The individual haul vehicles of the fleet 28 have certain characteristics which facilitate its use as part of the system 10 and within the fleet 28. Firstly, each haul vehicle has a limited load carrying capability. The system 10 therefore provides a fleet 28 comprising a larger number of individual vehicles, each of which carries a relatively smaller load, rather than a smaller fleet of vehicles with larger load carrying capacities (which is the norm in conventional haulage systems). Secondly, the overall weight of each vehicle is limited. The loading mechanism 18 may typically take the form of a low impact loading mechanism, such as a relatively small excavator or a surge loader. By providing a low impact loading mechanism 18, shocks, impacts and abrasion typically experienced and absorbed by the tray and chassis of the vehicle during loading are reduced, enabling a reduction in strength requirements, and as a result, a weight, of these components. Furthermore, the unloading mechanism 22 typically takes the form of a tipping platform with which the vehicles are unloaded. The use of a tipping platform removes the need for the vehicle to comprise onboard unloading mechanisms such as hydraulic cylinders and tipping trays. Again, removal of such onboard mechanisms results in a reduction of overall vehicle weight. That said, it will be appreciated that, in some cases, the vehicles may still be provided with onboard unloading mechanisms (such as belly-dump or bomb door configurations). This will be particularly relevant in cases where the material which is transported takes the form of sand or other materials with relatively granular characteristics allowing the material easily to “flow” from the tray under gravity. In such cases, the unloading station 20 need not necessarily be associated with an unloading mechanism 22. The vehicles may typically comprise trays and / or structural components manufactured from composite materials. Furthermore, the trays may be integrally formed with load carrying structures of the vehicles to assist in the load carrying ability of the vehicles. Again, these design choices of the vehicles may enable a reduction in overall weight. By providing vehicles with smaller load carrying capacities and lower overall weights, the efficiency of each vehicle in isolation may be improved, whilst better controlling the flow of material on an overall system level. In cases where an individual vehicle is or becomes associated with a reduced efficiency, such an individual vehicle may more easily be isolated or removed from the fleet 28 and may have a lower impact on a system-level efficiency. The relatively lower total weight of the vehicles (while carrying a load) may also facilitate the use of non-conventional drivetrains, such as electrical drivetrains (powered by onboard batteries) ordrivetrains powered by renewable sources, such as hydrogen. Relatively smaller haul vehicles also lend themselves better to autonomous control effected by the processing system. The vehicles are provided with various onboard telemetry, measuring and sensing mechanisms which capture data, such as geolocation data, speed and acceleration data, battery health data, vehicle system and component health data, data relating to the load carried (as discussed more fully below) and the like, and communicate the data in real time via the network 34 to the processing system. This data may therefore be used as input data used by the processing system in controlling and managing the fleet 28. Typically, the source of raw material 24 may comprise a stockpile of mined material, or a continuous feed of raw mined material. Typically, the raw material may be received at the first location at an actual feed rate (which may naturally be variable). The raw material uptake 26 represents a downstream material processing plant, an end user, or the like and is associated with a required uptake rate. The required uptake rate may be a driving force or input variable of the management and operation of the system 10, in that a rate at which raw material is conveyed between the first and second locations (12, 14) may directly be adjusted in accordance with the required uptake rate. By adjusting the rate at which raw material is conveyed between the first and second location (12, 14) in accordance with the required uptake rate, the fleet 28 may be operated on a favourable global efficiency level whilst meeting production requirements. The required uptake rate may be determined by a number of factors, including downstream process availability, market-driven indicators such as commodity prices, and the like. As discussed, the system 10 is characterised by the management of the fleet 28 on a global level. The system 10 manages the fleet 28 via the processing system, by communicating directly with each haul vehicle within the fleet 28. The processing system may either exercise direct control over the individual vehicles of the fleet 28 or may provide real-time control instructions to each vehicle to allow an operator to control the respective vehicle according to parameters determined by the processing system. A first aspect of the management of the fleet 28 is centred around the sub-step of utilising the processing system to calculate a theoretical unloading rate of the fleet 28. This theoretical unloading rate of the fleet 28 may be calculated in real time and may be influenced by fleet variables such as: - the actual number of haul vehicles in the fleet at a particular moment in time; an average spacing of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; proximity of haul vehicles relative to each other; an average travel rate or speed of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; - waiting times at the loading station 16 and unloading station 20; - other forms of congestion experienced by vehicles in the fleet; - loading and unloading times; a level of battery charge of each individual vehicle; qualitative material characteristics, such as metallurgical or elemental composition, density, concentration, and the like. The processing system manages the fleet 28 in real time by exercising control over the fleet 28 to ensure that the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet 28 matches or exceeds the required uptake rate, thereby to ensure that a sufficient volume of raw material is unloaded at the unloading station 20 to meet the uptake demand. This naturally assumes a sufficient actual feed rate. The processing system therefore, in real-time, compares the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet 28 with the required uptake rate, and calculates changes required at any point in time to the abovementioned fleet variables. This may, for example, entail removing or adding haul vehicles from the fleet 28, instructing haul vehicles in the fleet 28, or at a specific location along the route 30, to increase or reduce their travel rates or speed, and the like. At the same time, the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet 28 is managed to increase the overall efficiency of the fleet 28. Again, this may entail removing or adding haul vehicles from the fleet 28, instructing haul vehicles in the fleet 28, or at a specific location along the route 30, to increase or reduce their travel rates or speed, and the like. For example, in certain circumstances, the calculations of the processing system may indicate a need to add more vehicles to the fleet and reduce an overall speed of the vehicles in the fleet, thereby to increase the overall efficiency of the fleet 28. In other cases, the calculations of the processing system may indicate a need to retire vehicles from the fleet 28 and increase an overall speed of the vehicles in the fleet 28, thereby to increase the overall efficiency of the fleet 28. Individual vehicles may also be controlled based on their specific levels of charge, relative positions, vehicle health, tyre conditions and the like. External factors, such as weather conditions and road conditions may also be considered. For example, a vehicle with a low level of charge may be instructed or controlled to travel at a lower speed while a vehicle with a higher level of charge may be instructed to increase its speed, and even overtake slower moving vehicles. Since each vehicle is associated with a processing module, vehicle-specific parameters and variables (such as state of charge, local efficiencies, and the like) may effectively be incorporated and considered by the processing system when controlling the fleet to result in an optimised global efficiency of the whole fleet and the system. Each vehicle may be provided with a battery management system, with which the actual output of the vehicle may be controlled based on a real-time state of charge or health a battery of the vehicle. The specific output of the vehicle may therefore be determined by its level of battery charge or health. Furthermore, since the processing system controls the fleet on a global level, specific control of a single vehicle within the fleet based on its state of battery charge or health may be counteracted by adjustments to the performances of other vehicles in the system. For example, if a specific vehicle needs to be slowed down to facilitate efficiency thereof based on its level of charge, other vehicles in its vicinity may be sped up to prevent a drop in the overall flow rate of material within the system. A second aspect of the management of the fleet 28 is centred around the measurement or sensing of qualitative and compositional characteristics of the material. For this purpose, the system 10 is provided with one or more sensing or measurement devices which enable the measurement of aspects such as mineral, metallurgical or elemental content or concentration of the material, lithological characteristics of the material, a degree of fragmentation or particularisation of the material, a moisture content of the material and the like. The sensing or measurement device(s) and associated measurement techniques and outcomes may comprise: - X-ray fluorescence (XRF): elemental composition of the raw material; - laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS): elemental composition of the raw material; - hyperspectral: mineralogical composition; - visual: lithological composition, particle size distribution (PSD); - nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR): mineralogical composition on a volume basis; - laser induced fluorescence: composition; and - nuclear methods such as pulsed fast thermal neutron activation (PFTNA) or prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA): elemental composition on a volume basis. The measurement device(s) may typically be mounted to the loading mechanism 18 or to the vehicle itself. That said, it would be possible to associate the measurement device(s) with upstream processes, such as physical excavation equipment or mechanisms with which the material is fed towards the loading station. The system is configured to associate the measurements taken of a specific batch or volume of material with the specific vehicle 28 with which it is carried. The system may therefore manage the fleet 28, and in particular, manage each vehicle of the fleet independently, based on the measurements of the material it is carrying. Since the vehicles and their payloads are relatively smaller, differentiation and particularisation of the loads become feasible (this would typically not be feasible with relatively larger vehicles, since the qualitative characteristics of their payloads are unlikely to be uniform). In practice, the system may use the measurements associated with each specific vehicle to determine or define a suitable route for said vehicle. The route is selected with a view to optimising the efficiency of the fleet as well as the downstream processes. For example, in cases where the measurements of the material associated with a particular vehicle indicates the presence of relatively high concentrations of a particular element, the specific vehicle may be directed towards an unloading station associated with downstream processes which are particularly suited to deal with high concentrations of said element. In another example, the measurements of the material associated with a particular vehicle may indicate relatively large particle sizes. In such a case, the vehicle may be directed towards an unloading station associated with additional downstream crushing facilities. The system is therefore configured to ensure each vehicle is directed towards a suitable location based on the measured characteristics of the load carried. The system may also group vehicles carrying similar payloads and heading towards the same unloading station together. In some cases, such a group of vehicles may even be physically coupled together to form a “train” of vehicles. By breaking up the material into smaller and more manageable sizes, the system is therefore capable of better distributing the material to suitable downstream facilities, which ultimately, improves overall efficiencies of the mining operations. It will readily be appreciated that the first and second aspects of the management of the fleet 28 (namely, the flowrate based and measurement-based aspects) may be utilised in parallel and collectively to improve overall fleet-level or global efficiencies. When referring to the use of an “intelligent logistics or energy management system” reference is made to the use of a system which incorporates and facilitates use of at least one of, or both of the first and second aspects detailed herein. The calculations of the processing system may be made by utilising stochastic optimisation, machine learning, modelling and simulation, and artificial intelligence, to optimise material flow, vehicle routing, traffic scheduling and energy consumption. The system may include a backup pool of vehicles. When the calculations of the processing system indicate that a larger number of vehicles is required in the fleet 28, vehicles may be added to the fleet from the backup pool. Conversely, if fewer vehicles are required in the fleet, some of the vehicles may temporarily be retired to the backup pool. If a specific vehicle within the fleet 28 requires maintenance, it may be replaced by a vehicle from the backup pool. Maintenance of individual vehicles may therefore be planned with an overall fleet performance and efficiency in mind. The backup pool may be hosted at a maintenance, refuelling and / or recharging station, where vehicles retired from the fleet 28 are prepared for future service as part of the fleet 28. It is believed that the use of the system and management or controlling of the fleet on a fleet level may result in increased efficiencies whilst achieving required productions volumes. It will be appreciated that the above description only provides an example embodiment of the invention and that there may be many variations without departing from the spirit and / or the scope of the invention. It will be easily understood from the present description that the particular features of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged and designed according to a wide variety of different configurations. In this way, the description of the present invention and the related figures are not provided to limit the scope of the invention but simply represent selected embodiments. The skilled person will understand that the technical characteristics of a given embodiment can in fact be combined with characteristics of another embodiment, unless otherwise expressed or it is evident that these characteristics are incompatible. Also, the technical characteristics described one embodiment can be isolated from the other characteristics of this embodiment unless otherwise expressed.

Claims

1. A method of handling material comprising the steps of:S1: receiving a feed of material from a source of materials at a loading station located at a first location;S2: managing a fleet of haul vehicles between a first location and a second location, using an intelligent logistics or energy management system;S3: utilising a low impact loading mechanism at the first location, sequentially to load haul vehicles forming part of the fleet with material;S4: sequentially unloading haul vehicles forming part of the fleet at an unloading station located at the second location;S5: providing the unloaded material to a material uptake.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step S1 the source of materials comprises one of a stockpile and a continuous feed of raw, processed or semi-processed material.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in step S3, each sequence of loading comprises the sub-steps of:S3.1: receiving a specific one of the fleet of haul vehicles in a loading bay associated with the loading mechanism;S3.2: utilising the loading mechanism, which takes the form of one of a surge loader and a relatively small excavator, to load a predetermined quantity of material, falling in the range of 50 to 100 tonnes, and preferably about 80 tonnes, onto a tray of the haul vehicle; andS3.3: removing the haul vehicle from the loading bay.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an unloading mechanism is located at the unloading station and wherein in step S4, each sequence of unloading comprises the sub-steps of:S4.1: receiving a specific one of the fleet of haul vehicles on a tipping platform of the unloading mechanism;S4.2: releasably securing the haul vehicle to the tipping platform;S4.3: tipping the tipping platform and haul vehicle releasably secured thereto, thereby to cause the load carried by the haul vehicle to be unloaded;S4.4: lowering the tipping platform;S4.5: releasing the haul vehicle; andS4.6: removing the haul vehicle from the tipping platform.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each haul vehicle of the fleet is provided in communication with a processing system and provided with an on-board geolocation monitoring system, and wherein step S2 comprises utilising the processing system to control each vehicle of the fleet or provide each vehicle of the fleet with real-time control instructions.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein in step S1 the material is received at an actual feed rate; and wherein in step S5, the material uptake is associated with a required uptake rate.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the required uptake rate is determined by one or more of: market-driven indicators, material quality measurements, elemental or metallurgical composition of the material; external material stock management requirements; and down-stream process availability.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein step S2 comprises the sub-step of utilising the processing system to calculate a theoretical unloading rate of the fleet.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the theoretical unloading rate is calculated by considering at least some of:a number of haul vehicles in the fleet;an average spacing of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; proximity of haul vehicles relative to each other;an average travel rate of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; average waiting times of haul vehicles at the first and / or second locations;a load carried by each haul vehicle in the fleet.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein step S2 comprises the sub-step of utilising the processing system to compare the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet with the required uptake rate of the fleet, and managing the fleet such that the theoretical unloading rate of the fleet matches or exceeds the required uptake rate.

11. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 10, including the step of measuring a physical characteristic of material loaded into each haul vehicle and associating said measured characteristic with said vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the physical characteristic relates to one of: a mineral, metallurgical or elemental content or concentration of the material; a degree of fragmentation or particularisation of the material; lithological characteristics of the material; a moisture content of the material and wherein the physical characteristic is measured during excavation or transportation of the feed of material, during loading of the specific vehicle by the loading mechanism or by the vehicle itself.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein managing the fleet comprises determining or defining an independent route to be taken by each vehicle of the fleet based on the measured physical characteristic associated with the vehicle.

14. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 13, wherein managing the fleet comprises utilising the processing system to calculate a required number of haul vehicles in the fleet.

15. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein managing the fleet comprises utilising the processing system to calculate a required travel rate of each haul vehicle in the fleet.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the required travel rate of each haul vehicle is calculated based on at least one of: i) real time geolocation and relative proximities of individual haul vehicles within the fleet; ii) an average calculated energy consumption of the fleet and / or based on an actual energy consumption of a specific vehicle; iii) available battery power of said vehicle; iv) vehicle health; v) prevailing weather conditions; vi) road conditions; tyre performance.

17. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 16, wherein the processing system includes a backend.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein each haul vehicle forming part of the fleet comprises an on-board processing module, and wherein the on-board processing modules of all of the haul vehicles in the fleet are configured to form a distributed processing arrangement, collaborative processing arrangement, co-processing arrangement and / or mesh processing arrangement, which form part of the processing system.

19. A material handling system, comprising:a loading station at a first location which is operatively fed from a source of material, and which includes a loading mechanism;an unloading station at a second location comprising a material uptake;a fleet comprising a predetermined number of haul vehicles, anda processing system provided in communication with each of the predetermined number of haul vehicles in the fleet and provided for managing the fleet by utilising an intelligent logistics or energy management system.

20. The material handling system according to claim 19, wherein the source of material comprises one of a stockpile and a feed of mined material.

21. The material handling system according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the loading mechanism comprises a low-impact loading mechanism preferably in the form of one of a surge loader and a relatively small excavator.

22. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the unloading station includes an unloading mechanism in the form of a tipping platform configured for operatively and sequentially receiving one of the haul vehicles, securing same relative to the tipping platform, and tipping the tipping platform and haul vehicle thereby to cause a load carried by the haul vehicle to be unloaded therefrom.

23. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterised in that each of the haul vehicles has a maximum load carrying capacity of between 50 and 100 tonnes, preferably about 80 tonnes.

24. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 23, characterised in that each of the haul vehicles has a tray which is formed as a structural chassis thereof.

25. The material handling system according to claim 24, in which the tray is configured as one of: i) a fixed tray without an on-board unloading or tipping system; and ii) a belly-dump or bomb door tray.

26. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 25, characterised in that each of the haul vehicles comprises an electrical drivetrain including an on-board battery.

27. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterised in that each of the haul vehicles is autonomously controlled by the processing system or operatively provided with real-time control instructions from the processing system.

28. The material handling system according to claim 27, wherein each haul vehicle is provided with an on-board geolocation monitoring system, such as a global positioning system, with which real-time geolocation data of said haul vehicle is operatively transmitted to the processing system.

29. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 28, wherein the source of materials is associated with an actual feed rate and the material uptake is associated with a required uptake rate.

30. The material handling system according to claim 29, wherein the fleet is associated with a theoretical unloading rate, which is impacted by at least some of:a number of haul vehicles in the fleet;an average spacing of haul vehicles between the first and second locations;an average travel rate of haul vehicles between the first and second locations; average waiting times of haul vehicles at the first and / or second locations;a load carried by each haul vehicle in the fleet.

31. The material handling system according to claim 30, wherein the processing system is configured to manage the fleet by calculating the theoretical unloading rate in real time and by providing inputs to the fleet to adjust the theoretical unloading rate.

32. The material handling system according to claim 31, wherein the processing system is configured to manage the fleet such that the theoretical unloading rate matches or exceeds the required uptake rate.

33. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 32, including a measuring device for measuring a physical characteristic of material loaded into each haul vehicle and wherein the processing system is configured to associate said measured characteristic with said vehicle.

34. The material handling system according to claim 33, wherein the physical characteristic relates to one of: a mineral, metallurgical or elemental content or concentration of the material; lithological characteristics of the material; a degree of fragmentation or particularisation of the material; a moisture content of the material and wherein the physical characteristic is measured during excavation or transportation of the feed of material, or during loading of the specific vehicle, and wherein managing the fleet comprises determining or defining an independent route to be taken by each vehicle of the fleet based on the measured physical characteristic associated with the vehicle.

35. The material handling system according to any one of claims claim 32 to 34, wherein the processing system is configured to calculate a required number of haul vehicles in the fleet.

36. The material handling system according to any one of claims 32 to 35, wherein the processing system is configured to calculate a required travel rate of each haul vehicle in the fleet.

37. The material handling system according to claim 36, wherein the required travel rate of each haul vehicle is calculated based on at least one of: i) real time geolocation and relative proximities of individual haul vehicles within the fleet; ii) an average calculated energy consumption of the fleet and / or based on an actual energy consumption of a specific vehicle; iii) available battery power of said vehicle; iv) vehicle health; v) prevailing weather conditions; vi) road conditions; tyre performance.

38. The material handling system according to any one of claims 29 to 37, wherein the required uptake rate is determined by one or more of: market-driven indicators, material quality measurements, elemental or metallurgical composition of the material; external material stock management requirements; and down-stream process availability.

39. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 38, wherein the processing system includes a backend.

40. The material handling system according to claim 39, wherein each haul vehicle forming part of the fleet comprises an on-board processing module, and wherein the on-board processing modules of all of the haul vehicles in the fleet are configured to form a distributed processing arrangement, collaborative processing arrangement, co-processing-22-arrangement and / or mesh processing arrangement, which form part of the processing system.

41. The material handling system according to any one of claims 19 to 40, further comprising a 5 standby fleet of haul vehicles.

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