1.1. Densities

Densities, as shown in Figure 1, are used along with block size to calculate tonnages. The user has two options to define them:

• "Field" shows the column(s) that has/have been assigned to the density during the importation. This option is intended to allow varying densities by block.

• "Default value" is applicable to any block without density information, whether a density column is imported or not. It is also used when you choose the field as <none>.

1.2. Economic Parameters

The Discount Rate is a field of Economic parameters, as seen in Figure 2. It is usually considered in an annual base, is responsible to define the impact of mining ore/waste over time, which influences the algorithm decision-making process.

While working with different time frames, the discount rate serves just a rough NPV approximation, and it doesn't affect so much the quality of the solution, given that the best materials would be allocated first. Thus, by multiplying or splitting it by the number of periods, you might get reasonable results.

1.3. Slope Angles

Slope angles are one of the most important parameters when considering constraints hierarchy. The user, as seen in Figure 3, has two options here:

• Field shows the column(s) that has/have been assigned to the slope during the importation. This option is intended to allow different slope angles by block.

• Default value is used to any block without slope information, even if a column was assigned. It is also used when you choose the field as <none>.

1.4. Stockpiling

The stockpiling feature can be used by activating the checkbox. When this option is enabled, shown in Figure 4, the user can define:

• Fixed mining cost (cost/t) refers to the average mining cost used for the economic function. This value is used to decompose the economic value while considering stockpiles.

• Rehandling cost (cost/t) represents the cost to reclaim blocks from the stockpile to the process.