A new mathematical model for the optimization of block aggregation in open pit mines. Issue 3 (3rd July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aalian, Younes; Mousavi, Amin; Bsiri, Mohammad Hossein
• Is Part Of: Mining technology. Volume 131:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 149
• Page End: 158
• Publication Date: 2022-07-03
• Subjects: Open-Pit -- Production Planning -- Clustering -- PIL -- Heuristics -- Integer Programming -- Non-Linear Optimization -- Algorithm; Mining engineering -- Periodicals; Mineral industries -- Periodicals; 662.05; 622.05
• DOI: Https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25726668.2022.2064260
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2572-6668

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The open-pit production planning is one of the most important steps of mine design which becomes a hard and challenging optimization problem in large-scale mineral deposits. A common approach in such a situation is to cluster mining blocks (smallest mining units) into larger units. In this paper, an integer non-linear programming model of the constrained block clustering is developed with the objective of minimizing grade deviations while blocks are geometrically connected within a cluster and the shape and size of individual clusters are in the pre-defined range. Then, a population-based iterated local search algorithm is presented to solve this nonlinear model and find a near-optimum solution. The proposed model and the solution approach were applied to a case study of a gold and silver deposit with 40, 947 blocks. The mining blocks are grouped into 1966 clusters which then mine planner can solve production scheduling in less computational time.