Linear models for stockpiling in open-pit mine production scheduling problems

Eduardo Moreno, Mojtaba Rezakhah, Alexandra Newman, Felipe Ferreira

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

The open pit mine production scheduling (OPMPS) problem seeks to determine when, if ever, to extract each notional, three-dimensional block of ore and/or waste in a deposit and what to do with each, e.g., send it to a particular processing plant or to the waste dump. This scheduling model maximizes net present value subject to spatial precedence constraints, and resource capacities. Certain mines use stockpiles for blending different grades of extracted material, storing excess until processing capacity is available, or keeping low-grade ore for possible future processing. Common models assume that material in these stockpiles, or “buckets,” is theoretically immediately mixed and becomes homogeneous. We consider stockpiles as part of our open pit mine scheduling strategy, propose multiple models to solve the OPMPS problem, and compare the solution quality and tractability of these linear-integer and nonlinear-integer models. Numerical experiments show that our proposed models are tractable, and correspond to instances which can be solved in a few seconds up to a few minutes in contrast to previous nonlinear models that fail to solve.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)212-221
Number of pages10
JournalEuropean Journal of Operational Research
Volume260
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2017

Keywords

  • Linear and integer programming
  • Mine planning
  • OR in natural resources
  • Open pit mining
  • Stockpiling

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