# Proposal of a Transport Planning Model for the Removal of Quarry Stone Using a Simulation
## 1 Introduction  
Internal transport in a company is an integral part of every technological process. Its technical level should correspond to the technical level of other machines and equipment so that it does not become an obstacle to the flow of technological process. Surface mining means of transport are subject to performance, economic and environmental requirements. Continuous and cyclic transports are used in quarries. Continuous transport mainly uses means with a continuous flow of material (e.g., belt conveyors in coal mining) or a flow of material in regular batches (e.g., endless rope transport--cableway). Cyclical transport ensures material flow in cycles (e.g., car transport, rail transport). The type of transport used also depends on the type of rocks mined. When mining cohesive rocks in quarries, cyclic transport systems are mainly used (often a combination of car transport and shovel loaders). Continuous modes of transport are also often used when mining coal and non-cohesive rocks. The specific conditions of mining in quarries determine that automobile transport is the most used type of transport from the quarry wall to the crusher because of its advantages: mobility and work maneuverability. Transport in quarries is one of the most frequent problems addressed in several scientific articles, the authors of whom have solved several complex or partial problems related to this topic. One of the solved problems is the selection of suitable means of transport. The selection of suitable means of transport and their compliance with loading equipment impact the evaluation of the performance of the transport system and the entire company [1]. Technical, technological, economic, environmental, geological and organizational factors must be considered when selecting dump truck models to ensure the efficient operation of deep open pits [2]. The authors of [3] present a procedure for choosing loading and transportation machines for an open-pit complex ore mine using a statistical testing method (Monte Carlo technique). Also, the study [4] investigated the crucial factors and corresponding criteria that affect the selection of trucks. To solve the selection problem, the authors of this study used the analytic hierarchy process and the fuzzy weighted sum model for six different truck types and 20 selection criteria. Another problem that has been solved is the cycle time analysis of dump trucks. Cycle time is a direct measure of the process and equipment performance in waste material transport for open-pit mines and other processes [5]. The study [6] demonstrates a practical cycle time analysis of dump trucks. It examines the possibility of minimizing the transport system's cycle time and factors impacting the dump truck's speed. The authors analyzed the data using mathematical regression methods via the Microsoft Excel program. Cycle time and the match factor method are used to evaluate loading and transport equipment in an andestite mine in the article [7]. The match factor (MF) equals one, indicating an efficient operation between loading and transport equipment. If the MF value is less than one (MF < 1), it demonstrates that the transport equipment works 100% effectively and the loading equipment allocates more time for waiting. The last scenario is when the MF value exceeds one (MF > 1). A higher value indicates that the loading equipment works effectively, but the hauling equipment generates waiting time. Several articles and studies deal with optimizing the flow of trucks [8] and efficiently allocating trucks to the shovels in operation at open-pit mines. This aim of maximize production and minimize costs is subject to operational and physical constraints. To support these processes, different centralized dispatching solutions have been implemented based on mathematical programming, heuristic methods, or simulation modeling [9; 10]. This research is focused on developing a transport planning model for a limestone quarry. Simulation modeling is applied to create and validate this model.