DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCURRENT ENGINEERING TECHNIQUE FOR BENEFICIATION CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT AT NATIONAL IRON ORE MINING COMPANY ITAKPE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The conventional/traditional method of producing ore in Beneficiation Plant was assessed by collection of data related to production figures and activities of Beneficiation Plant from top Management officers. The data collected are production rate (tonnage) of milled ore and concentrates; covering three shifts (morning, afternoon and night) per day for one month. The waste from production, known as tailings, was obtained using mathematical subtraction. Average daily and monthly production were also obtained by applying basic mathematics via percentages. Re-planning of production resources such as manpower reorganization and training was proposed based on expected output from the concurrent engineering approach and were compared with the traditional approach using similar mathematical approach. Application of the concurrent engineering technique to the data collected from the Beneficiation Plant showed that about 50% increase on concentrates production is achievable