Ecological and economic evaluation of quarry trolley trucks

Open-cut mining is the main way to extract minerals. Up to 80% of the rock mass produced by that is transported by dump trucks with diesel engines. Atmospheric gas pollution is an essential disadvantage of using diesel vehicles, especially in deep formations. Exhaust gases from diesel vehicles have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment. Constant exposure of exhaust gases on the body can cause immune deficiency, bronchitis, cerebral vessels and nervous system suffer. The higher the depth of mining the higher the concentration of machinery on formations and the worse the conditions of natural ventilation of the working space. At the depth of quarries over 200–250 m air pollution by harmful substances at the workplace leads to a gradual increase of the maximum permissible concentrations. That affects both people and economy of the enterprise since it entails the necessity to shut the career down, deteriorate visibility on the highway, which also causes a partial or total suspension of equipment operation. Transfer of dump trucks to electricity is a prospect way to solve the problem. Together, all the positive qualities of trolley trucks reduce the maintenance costs of transportation of rock mass by 15–20%, as well as exclude the gassing of the quarry and formation of smoke. Need for power from the contact network is the most serious drawback of trolley truck. Today, thanks to modern technologies, eliminating most of the drawbacks of trolley trucks is not difficult. Quarry trolley trucks are better used only for long-term development, since the content of the trolley line contact requires attendance and maintenance. The payback period can be 2–4 years