ABSTRACT

Block cave mining operations face challenges to meet daily operational production targets. The optimistic long-term and medium-term plans along with uncertainty and the synergistic effect of the mechanical and structural failures in operational levels of the mine cause a significant deviation from production plan targets. The on-site tuning of the mining production targets in real time are neither the best practice nor the optimum approach to compensate for shortfalls in production. The objective of this paper is to develop a methodology that generates practical and near-optimal short-term mine plans for block caving operations in the presence of operational uncertainty. To accomplish this goal, we propose a simulation-optimisation approach using a Monte Carlo simulation model and a multi-objective non-linear goal programming model that takes into consideration operational constraints and uncertainties. In a case study, we compare the results of the proposed methodology against the mine plan and the historical production data of a copper block cave operation. The strengths and weaknesses of the model are presented and discussed.

摘要

块状洞穴采矿业务面临挑战，无法实现日常生产目标。乐观的长期和中期计划以及矿山运营水平中机械和结构故障的不确定性以及协同效应，导致与生产计划目标的重大出入。实时对采矿生产目标进行现场调整既不是最佳实践，也不是补偿生产不足的最佳方法。本文的目的是开发一种方法，该方法可以在存在操作不确定性的情况下为块体崩落操作生成实用且接近最佳的短期矿山计划。为了实现这个目标，我们提出了一种使用蒙特卡洛模拟模型和多目标非线性目标规划模型的模拟优化方法，该模型考虑了操作约束和不确定性。在一个案例研究中，我们将拟议方法的结果与采矿计划以及铜砌块洞穴开采的历史生产数据进行了比较。介绍并讨论了该模型的优点和缺点。