understand the End-to-End Mine Planning

O Mine Planning comprises all the studies involved in the search for the best use of mineral resources. 

A successful venture demands adequate mine planning, as this process is decisive for conducting and developing the mine. Geology and Engineering skills are essential in this context:

Geology

At the beginning of mine planning, it is crucial to understand the geology of the site. In this context, the Geological uncertainties are considered to be the main contributors to possible process failures throughout the life of the mine. In order to avoid them, it is extremely necessary to have a deep geological knowledge of the region of interest, through field and laboratory research, called Geological Survey or Geological Mapping.

They constitute the first step in the sequence of mineral exploration stages and their purpose is establish characteristics such as nature, shape, spatial position, origin, age, evolution, and importance of rocky bodiess (PRICE, 1992). Due to its complexity, it is a step that involves the use of various geoscience disciplines such as geophysics, geochemistry and petrology, for example.

Once the geological survey has been carried out, the Creation and Interpolation of Geological Models for spatial characterization and quantification of the deposit.

To achieve this, a careful collection of information is necessary to understand the mineral body, through obtaining samples (drill cores/channels/chips), requiring that the drilling plan representatively cover the mineral deposit under study and obtain the maximum amount of information about lithologies and grade distribution, for example.

With this data, we create sections that define the different lithological contacts of the body under study, providing the basis for geological interpretation.

From then on the lithological layers are transformed into blocks that characterize mineral resources, with the three-dimensional model being the most used today. Each block contains all the information obtained from the studies, including chemical, mineralogical and structural information. 

Geostatistical techniques estimate properties in unsampled locations of the deposit, using samples that have the same dimensions, shape and represent the smallest portion of the domain to be studied. The most used are the mathematical methods of kriging, inverse distance power and influence polygons, thus obtaining an accurate assessment of the entire project resource. 

Engineering

After defining the block model, the Categorization of Ore Blocks, Where each block will receive a Economic value regarding what is expected to be obtained with the extraction and mineral treatment, considering revenue and associated costs. Waste blocks have a negative value, while blocks containing ore can have a value less than, equal to, or greater than zero depending on the quality and quantity of the ore that is contained.

In possession of the economic values of all the blocks, it is necessary to look for the set of blocks that provides the highest possible profit, taking into account the restrictions related to the project. It is essential to use computational methods in mine planning, due to the wealth of details. These methods evaluate grades and their distributions in the model, lithology properties, metallurgical recovery, associated costs and sales revenue.

There are different algorithms that seek the optimal pit, that is, that seek to maximize profits, such as Lerchs-Grossmann and Pseudoflow, which in addition to economic aspects also consider geotechnical restrictions that must be respected.

Understanding the behavior of the pit, varying each of the planning parameters, is very important to anticipate scenarios. This study is called Sensitivity Analysis, in which they are generated multiple pit designs, depending on changes in the variables such as mining cost and sales price, for example.

Based on these analyses, the engineer guarantees greater security and confidence in his project, since a group of optimal pits is obtained, where economic feasibility studies that help identify mining limits and seek to maximize the Net Present Value (NPV).

These different mining limits are the initial guidance for the Generation of Extraction Phases or pushbacks. The phases will define how the pit will evolve as material is extracted over the years.

With the definition of the phases to be mined, the mine structuring Where are the construction of access, ramps and berms of the benches that will make the pit operational. It is important that the engineer has knowledge of the entire fleet needed to follow the mining plan schedule, so that the pit has its appropriate design for a safe and efficient operation.

Finally, with this entire set of variables, we program the phase extraction sequence. Strategic sequencing is extremely important, as it is from this that we obtain the maximum value of the project, considering established goals and restrictions (such as tonnage, grade, waste/ore ratio and other factors).

Like this overview From main challenges encountered in the elaboration of a planning mining, we have a synthesis of this activity that aims to make better use of the mineral resources of an enterprise. O HxGN MinePlan is the most modern and complete software on the market when it comes to dealing with exploration, modeling, geostatistics, tactical, strategic and optimized planning, since you can work quickly and efficiently in all these steps. If you want to know how to optimize your processes, contact contact with the prominas Mining.