Integrated Workflow

  1. Choose Your Own Way

Each project has its own characteristics and MiningMath allows you to choose which workflow fits best in your demand and decide which one should be used. By using MiningMath, you can run more than one scenario simultaneously to have an idea of the deposit potential, so that the optimizer goes to the best possible NPV. A stepwise process could start at the first line of the figure below, in which the executions could take longer, as it explores the whole block model solution space. Meantime, you can open another instance and begin your exploratory analysis by running and refining pushbacks. Having this broader view in mind, you are already able to begin the schedules and use surfaces when you want to reduce the complexity and the run time of each step.

Figure 1: Choose your own way

The Best Case generates an NPV upper bound, which can be used as a reference for comparison against the best case obtained by other software packages. There is also the option of producing Optimized Pushbacks with controlled ore production and operational designs to guide your mine sequencing. Another way is to run a year by year or any timeframe extraction Schedules, using all the constraints to get a detailed long-term view of the entire project, and identify the main challenges that should be overcome. Choose one option below and start your project:

Choice's Trade-Off

If we choose to run yearly periods first, the challenge for the optimizer is bigger, given the multiperiod and non-linear geometrical aspects,. It means more heuristics to enhance efficiency and a higher risk of not being the very best solution for the LOM, but we have higher chances that results will be achieved in shorter time frames. More manipulations are needed for this operation.

If we choose to group periods accordingly, apart from being more efficient, it still has a long-term discounted view. Shapes could be manipulated more easily, but there is no guarantee that shorter timeframes will be properly achieved.

Given the flexibility of MiningMath, the procedure could vary depending on the characteristics and challenges of each deposit.