Technical Session - 2

Title:            Best positive inverted truncated cone – BPITC – Method and its application for optimum pit design and strategic production planning
Authors:       Abu Bakarr Jalloh, Kyro Sasaki, Yaguba Jalloh, Mustapha O. Thomas
Abstract:     The design, production planning and scheduling of an open pit mining project can only be started after the ultimate pit limit (UPL) has been determined. UPL determination is affected by input factors such as metal price, slope stability and grade uncertainty. Metal price fluctuations for example have imposed a high degree of uncertainty to the mine planning procedure, whereas slope instabilities accounts for majority of mining accidents and excavation downtime. These factors all contribute to the difficulty in determining the optimum design and sequence of mining. In a bid to tackle the aforementioned problems, a non- mathematical formulation model with pit slope constraints, metal price fluctuations and dynamic cut-off grade is introduced. None of the existing algorithms consider these factors and the time value of money collectively in UPL determination; this study aims to determine UPL, mine design, mine schedule and strategic long-term plan using the Best Positive Inverted Truncated Cone (BPITC) algorithm. We implemented this algorithm on a metallic ore deposit. Results confirmed that it guarantees the true optimum UPL while some commercially available software packages may not.

Keywords:  Ultimate Pit Limits (UPL), Decision-Making, Production Planning, Best Positive Inverted Truncated Cone (BPITC), Strategic Production Planning
Pages:        105-108

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