Stochastic Long-term Schedule with Equipment Uncertainty
The project aims to include and measure the effects of equipment uncertainty in the stochastic long-term schedule.
Title
Application of Simultaneous Stochastic Optimization at Large Copper Mining Complex with Geological and Equipment Uncertainty
Short Description
Integrating equipment production/capacity uncertainty to simultaneous stochastic optimization of mining complexes framework.
Associated with
Master’s Candidate and Graduate Research Assistant — McGill University’s COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory.
Project Description
The simultaneous stochastic optimization of mining complexes aims to optimize the different components in a single optimization model under grade, material type and, in the present work, equipment production uncertainty, capitalizing on the synergies between the various components and the quantified variability and uncertainty of the materials mined, to meet production targets and capacities better.
The uncertainty and variability associated with the different material sources are incorporated in the optimization model using stochastic simulations, also employed to quantify the uncertainty related to equipment production, generated conditional to historical mining and processing production data collected from different equipment in the mining complex.
The current work presents an application to integrate uncertainty and decisions about mining capacities dictated by the available mining equipment (e.g. trucks and shovels) and crushers’ production capacities in the simultaneous stochastic optimization model.
The application of the approach at a large copper mining complex composed of two deposits, three stockpiles, five crushers, three mills, two leach pads, a waste dump and several different mining equipment types and models indicates that the stochastic schedule has higher chances of meeting the other production targets and capacities while achieving a substantial increase in the net present value (NPV) of the mining complex when compared to the conventional plan.
Status
Completed between March 2020 and June 2020.
Publication
Work presented as part of McGill’s Mining and Materials Department’s MIMI 673 Mining Seminars on June 12th, 2020.
The written document can be found in the Publications section.