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There's a saying in the mining industry James Miedecke is fond of: Good roads, more loads. It's hard to overstate the importance of a haul road to a mining operation. Research has found that truck haulage costs can account for up to 50% of sur- face mining expenses. Yet Miedecke, who is roads and drainage specialist for mine road con- sultant Proof Engineers, said many mining companies don't put enough resources and forward-thinking into haul road construction and maintenance. "Often they'll go down a track that might be a short-term gain, but it gives them a little long-term pain," he said. He started seeing a change in atti- tude around the time commodity prices started to decline. Yes, budgets were getting squeezed, but finding efficien- cies also became critical. Haul roads can help improve a mine's overall productiv- ity—or, conversely, they can be costly. "A rule of thumb is that a poorly constructed road costs 10 times that of a well-constructed road just in mainte- nance costs alone," Miedecke said. Australia-based Proof Engineers is helping to pioneer an innovative approach to haul road construction and maintenance by using a Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine (SEM) from Vermeer, a U.S.-based surface mining equipment manufacturer. Proof Engi- neers has found the machine produces a better overall surface quality, creates a road that allows for faster equip- ment speeds, reduces the number of resources required in road construction and maintenance, and enables a signif- icantly faster process. All of that can lead to a more cost- effective approach. "I would expect a savings of at least 30% by using the surface excavation machine compared with the conven- tional method," Miedecke said. Proof Engineers has used the Vermeer T1255III Terrain Leveler SEM, which can cut an area up to 68.6 cm (27 in.) deep and 3.7 m (12.1 ft) wide in a single pass. Miedecke says it can mill and crush in situ material to produce a more consis- tent and ideal particle size, as well as offer improved grading. Haul Road Problems Miners, Miedecke said, are earth movers, not road builders, so they call in companies like his to help with haul road construction and maintenance. Proof Engineers works globally as a consultant on the construction, mainte- nance and condition measurement of haul roads. When evaluating an existing road, Miedecke often finds it in poor shape. The surface and substructure are de- grading, drainage is a problem, and the size and quality of the road material is unsuitable. Many of these issues begin 46 E&MJ; ¥ DECEMBER 2015 www.e-mj.com H A U L R O A D S Consultant finds surface miner improves quality of road, is faster than traditional method A New Approach to Building Haul Roads Australia-based Proof Engineers is pioneering an innovative approach to haul road construction and maintenance using a Vermeer Terrain Leveler surface excavation machine.