Coal land transport

This paper examines the economics of three transport options, namely road, rail and conveyor, currently used to transport coal in Australia and compares their effectiveness to meet the capital, operating and life-cycle costs, energy usage and sustainability requirements for ongoing use by the coal mining industry. A study conducted by Parsons Brinkerhoff, Australia and the College of Engineering, Central Queensland University,Australia, has identified the transport distances where economic advantage changes from one transport mode to the other, expanding the current industry knowledge base and also providing a primary selection tool to enable selection of the optimal transport option for a given transport task. At today‘s market prices the road transport option proved the most economical up to 3 km transport distance. Between 3 km and 30 km the conveyor transport option proved to be the most economical. For transport distances greater than 30 km the rail option takes over as the most economical transport mode. This study has provided a starting point from which further detailed and task specific assessment of transport considerations will allow an informed transport option selection decision to be finalised with relation to defined operational and market situations.