Full text
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| Author(s): |
Tatiane Marin
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP/BC) |
| Defense date: | 2009-03-30 |
| Examining board members: |
Giorgio Francesco Cesare De Tomi;
Ricardo Cabral de Azevedo;
Adriano Caranassios
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| Advisor: | Giorgio Francesco Cesare De Tomi |
| Abstract | |
One of the main challenges for mine planning engineers is to produce operationally feasible mine plans which take into account the practical variability of the mining operation. It is quite common for the mining industry to work with plans that have been based on estimated means or historical values for most of the key operational variables, which although are useful to represent the mine environment, do not allow management to predict the impact of eventual variations onto the outcome of the mining operation. The result is a lower degree of confidence on the mine plans the shorter the time horizon considered, and a non-optimal decision making process that is much more oriented on experience, with a significant impact on the longer-term targets of the mine operation. This research proposes a methodology for creating mine plans that are operationally feasible and which are aligned with the practicalities of the mining operation by taking into account the operational variability of the mine. The methodology is based on simulation techniques and it is tested through a theoretical application and a case study. The outcome is a mine plan that is appropriate for the mines operation because it has been tested through simulation prior to its publication, which represents an important contribution for the decision making process at a key position in the mine production chain. The results obtained have confirmed the practical benefits of the proposed simulation methodology, by allowing the establishment of more realistic production targets associated to the current operating conditions of the mine being studied. The outcome of the project have also allowed the identification of opportunities for further research, related to the incorporation of geological uncertainty and to the automation of the mine simulation process. (AU) | |