17th International Mining Congress and Exhibition of Turkey- IMCET 2001, ©2001, ISBN 975-395-417-4

Application of Pit Optimisation Algorithms Beyond Open Pit Limits

T.Dincer
Mining Solutions Consultancy Pty Ltd, South Perth, Australia

ABSTRACT: Pit limit optimisations are used extensively m open pit mine planning to determine the ultimate
pit limits and open pit mining sequences. Various standard techniques for the analysis of pit limit
optimisation results have been developed and accepted by the mining industry today. This paper presents two
relatively new techniques employing pit limit optimisation algorithms beyond the definition of open pit
limits: (1) optimisation of waste dump limits and (2) definition of optimum mining sequences through
blending pit sequences from multiple optimisation runs.

I INTRODUCTION derived from a simple selection of pit shells based

on optimum pit limits parameterised by the variation
Pit limit optimisations are integral part of open pit of a single input parameter. The performance of the
mine planning today combined with the other mine obtained mining sequence with respect to the
planning tools such as pit design generators, production constraints is generally not questioned
production schedulers and cut-off grade optimiserai prior to the detailed production scheduling stage of a
Pit optimisation algorithms in various project.
implementation forms are the only planning tools Extending the use of pit limit optimisation
that can produce feasible optimum pit development algorithms in long-term mine planning, two
geometries automatically utilising the given techniques are presented in this paper. The
geology, grade, slope and economic information. optimisation of waste dump limits utilising standard
Pit optimisations can be used at almost every pit optimisation algorithms will be discussed in the
stage of a project, from exploration program next section. The optimisation process provides the
definitions to the preparation of feasibility studies, optimum waste dump limits that minimises the
and finally evaluation of development options İn an dumping costs for given cost, distance, area and
operating open pit mine. Although pit topographic surface variables.
optimisations are used widely in open pit mine In the Üıird section of the paper, a technique
planning, the use is rather limited İn context to the based on blending pit shell sequences from multiple
determination of ultimate pit limits and a pit optimisation runs will be introduced to achieve
development sequence only. It is common that
mining sequences that production constraints can be
sensitivity analyses for variations of individual input
varied through time. This technique brings some
parameters are also included in the analysis of the
degree of dynamism into the pit optimisations where
optimisation results for the selection of ultimate pit
limits. the input parameters cannot normally be changed
dynamically in the process.
In current long-term planning practice, waste
dumps, the largest surface structures in open pit Both techniques to be introduced for dump
mining, are usually designed manually without optimisation and mine sequencing were successfully
assistance of any computer tool for optimisation and applied recently in the development of open pit
sizing. Various rules of thumb are used through a mining projects in Australia. The waste dump
trial and error approach for the calculation of optimisations were used in three open pit gold mines
volumes and minimisation of haulage and other to provide guidance in the mine designs. Syerston
related costs. Nickel-Cobalt Project will be presented as a case
The importance of mining sequence definition is study for the application of mining sequence
also usually not evident in long-term open pit definition technique in the fourth section of the
planning procedures. Usually a mining sequence is paper.
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2 WASTE DUMP OPTIMISATION the dump cost model is created through a computer
program outside the modelling package. The area
For large open pit mines, the haulage costs may codes generated in the planning package can be used
constitute almost half of the mining costs. With to divide the topographic surface into different cost
reduced mining costs, lower grades and the added areas. By using the dump area codes as the
costs benefits of bulk mining, high stripping ratios equivalent of ore types in a pit optimisation, it
ranging from 5:1 to 10:1 are common in surface becomes possible to report and analyse the dump
mining today. This means that waste mining can volumes and costs by different dump areas.
make as much as up to 40% of the total mining
costs. With the environmental issues and associated
additional cost, waste dump design becomes an
important task in today's open pit mining.
As established by Bohnet and Kunze (I990),
important factors in the design of waste dumps are:
• Pit location and size through time
• Waste rock volumes by time and source
. Topography and property boundaries
• Existing drainage routes
• Reclamation requirements
• Foundation conditions
• Material handling equipment
Most of the design factors mentioned above can
be quantified by assigning a cost factor which varies
by surface topography and location. The ultimate
objective of a dump design would normally be to
minimise die total dumping cost, including haulage
and other dump area related costs.
It is common practice that the CAD programs
used for open pit designs are also employed to
generate waste dump designs. No other computer
tool or method was known until recently to assist, or
most importantly, to improve the waste dump design
process. Dincer (1997) introduced the application of
a waste dump optimisation process in a case study.
A custom computer program was developed to
create a dump cost model and Whittle Four-D pit
optimisation program was used in the case study, to
optimise the waste dump limits.
Figure 2. Flowchart for dump optimisation process.
2.1 Dump v Pit Optimisation
The dump optimisation problem can be described as The block model input to the optimisation is
a mirror image of the pit optimisation problem inverted around the horizontal plane so that the
vertically. The slope constraints in dump original air blocks transform into solid blocks.
optimisation are defined by using a set of structural Conversely, the solid blocks in the original model
arcs as in the case of pit optimisation. The slopes becomes air blocks since they do not have any effect
defined by the structural arcs are simplified in the in the dump optimisation process. After model
form of cones in Figure 1 : an inverted removal cone inversion, the slope angle constraints are defined by
for a pit and a dumping cone for a waste dump. In the creation of structural arcs in exactly the same
order to mine and ore block at the base of an open way as for pit optimisation. Additional arcs (or
pit, the associated blocks within the removal cone slope constraints) can also be defined to represent
should be mined first. In the case of a dump, the surface structures, such as roads and drainage routes
block within the dumping cone should be dumped that will affect the waste dump limits.
first to be able to dump a block at the top of the
cone.
The general procedure used for the optimisation 2.2 Dump Cost Model
of waste dumps are provided in Figure 2. The Haulage and area costs are the two main categories
procedure is similar to that of pit optimisation but of costs that can be used to construct a model for

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dump optimisation purposes. The haulage cost is
calculated for each block in the model depending on
the block's location with respect to pit exit and
dump access points. In the case of multiple pit ramp
exits, the pit exit providing the lowest haulage cost
can be selected for the calculation of haulage costs.
Since the haulage cost depends on the vertical
displacement as well as the total distance travelled,
it is divided into horizontal and vertical components.
The operating cost for the haulage equipment is also
required in the calculation of the haulage costs.
The area costs apply to the blocks on the
topographic surface. They can be allocated either as
a direct area cost or lump sum cost assigned to a
single block linked to other blocks in the area. The
direct area cost is allocated on the basis of the unit
area and can be used for such items as land
acquisition, clearing and rehabilitation costs. In the
lump sum cost assignment, the total cost would be
incurred fully in order to access any of the blocks in
the specified area. This method can be used to
allocate the cost of diverting a drainage route or
shifting a surface structure such as a road.

2.3 Dump Optimisation ami Results

After the calculation of the dumping costs and the
available dump volume for each block, it İs
necessary to transform these variables into a form
that can be used by the pit optimisation process. The DUM« v o l t « (Un»
open pit economic variables in the calculation of net Figure 4. Comparison road diversion options.
block values are substituted in the dump
optimisation model as follows:
. Dumping cost in dump optimisation replaces the 3 MINING SEQUENCE DEFINITION
mining cost in pit optimisation. Processing cost
becomes redundant in dump optimisation since In current long-term open pit planning practice,
all the costs are represented in the dumping costs. mining sequence definition is usually based on the
pit shell selections from a family of nested optimum
. The dumping capacity (block volume) İn dump
pit shells valid for one set of technical and
optimisation replaces the product (metal or
economical parameters. This approach might be
mineral) in pit optimisation.
valid for relatively simple deposits with short mine
• Product price in dump optimisation becomes a life but probably will not provide the optimum
factor applied on the dump volumes to generate mining sequence in the case of the following:
net block values used in the optimisations. The • Deposits containing multiple elements with
magnitude of revenue factors to be applied in the revenues factored by product categories;
dump optimisations depends on the magnitude of
the cost values stored in the dump model. • Deposits with significant lateral extent and
multiple mining areas;
With fee application of a range of revenue
factors, the resultant dump increments from the • Massive relatively uniform grade deposits with
optimisations are ordered from the best, having the pit economics depending on the surface
lowest dumping costs, to the worst, having the geometries and slight variations m grade; and
highest cost. As well as the determination of an • Long-term projects requiring the inclusion of
optimum dumping strategy, the original case study risk factors, market limitations and other
(Dincer, 1997) showed that the dump optimisations corporate objectives.
can also be used for the evaluation of options for the
placement of major surface structures. The optimum
dumping cost curves such as shown in Figures 3 and 3.1 Pit Limit Parameterisation
4 can be generated for the evaluation of mine design The process of obtaining the family of nested pit
options for major structures. shells for a range of parameters through pit limit

551
optimisations is called "pit limit parameterisation". critical stage of a project's development since it
The pit optimisation process, and consequently the combines geometry, volume, tonnage, grade, time
parameterisation process, is static so that the and economic dimensions for a project as follows:
parameters can vary İn the calculation of the block • "Geometries" in the form of pit shells partly
values within the optimisation model but they addressing mining practicality and accessibility
cannot be changed dynamically through time. issues
Repeated runs are required to determine the "Quantities" reported within the geometries
optimum pit limits for a range of parameters that can (bench volumes, tonnages and grades)
be used for sensitivity analysis purposes and • "Economic" evaluation of the quantities based
definition of a mining sequence for incremental on cost and revenue factors
mine development.
"Dependency " of geometries and mining
The previous work for the parameterisation of pit "order" of quantities
limits and development of a mining sequence can be • inclusion of "time dimension " in the preliminary
summarised as follows: schedules and option evaluations
• Lerchs and Grossmann (1965) highlighted the As schematically shown in Figure 5, me mining
complexities in defining intermediate pit contours sequence would constrain the production scheduling
and suggested the parametric analysis of the process by defining die bench quantities and
optimum pit shells to determine an optimum dependencies as main input to the schedules. The
digging partem to achieve the final pit limits. production scheduling process does not usually have
• Bongarcon and Maréchal (1976) assumed a the geometrical concept and the dependency
constant cut-off grade and used a parameter (X) relationships defined by the pit slopes and access
defined by the ratio of mining cost to unit price of considérations used in die generation of the mining
the metal to parameterise the open pit limits. sequences. As the production schedule is mainly
• Whittle (1988) produced a pit parameterisation driven by the input data, this will in turn will have a
program (Four-D) based on a parameter defined fundamental effect on the mine and mill production
by the ratio of the product price to the mining rates, cut-off grades, ore quality and stockpiling
cost (1/A.). This parameter was utilised in the strategies. If the mining sequence does not account
optimisation such a way that the resultant pit for me production schedule constraints, then major
shells were basically parameterised by price. alterations to the mining sequence (pit stage
Besides the techniques involving designs) are often required to improve and optimise
parameterisation of open pit limits, there are also the resultant production schedules.
some other approaches to determine the optimum
mining sequences (and in part the production
schedules). These approaches can be summarised as 3.3 Blending Optimum Pit Mining Sequences
dynamic programming techniques (Wright 1989, As die complexity of tile mineral deposit and
Dowd and Onur 1992), heuristic search methods scheduling process increases, it is important that
(Wang and Sevim 1992) and artificial neural more attention should be paid to the mining
network method (Tolwinski and Underwood 1992).
sequence definition process. The proposed mining
In the case of a single element or product, simple
sequence definition methodology can be summarised
parameterisation of pit limits and other approaches
would probably be sufficient to determine an as follows:
optimum mining sequence. Even in die single • Define a set of pit optimisation runs that will
element case, depending on the type of the deposit investigate the critical factors and areas for the
and the grade distribution, the varying cut-off grades definition of the mining sequence;
and metal prices may require further analysis of the • Combine and examine the families of the nested
optimum pit shells. The mining sequence to be pit shells from the set of pit optimisations for:
adopted may also be affected by the factors o The change in physical quantities for defined
associated with die production constraints and risk mining areas and/or ore types,
such as confidence levels on die resources. Palma o The schedule objectives, blending and likely
(1997) provided such a case in which several mining stockpile build up requirements,
sequences were studied for the same deposit. The o The variation in operating costs and cash
selected sequence from the study was one of the flows,
sequences (not the original price parameterised o The variation in any other constraint or
sequence) that would satisfy the corporate risk schedule objective that would affect the Mining
management policy. Sequence,
Select individual pit shells from the pit
3.2 Mining Sequence and Production Schedule optimisation runs that suit the constraints and
criteria for each option;
Prior to preparation of the detailed production • Rationalise the pit shell surfaces to create a
schedules, definition of the mining sequence is a Wended mining sequence; and

552
• Prepare a preliminary production schedule to • Earlier analysis and development of the pit
verify the sequence with the inclusion of the time development strategy with various options and
dimension. preliminary schedules save time and cost in the
In this method, the pit shells obtained from pit development of the project.
optimisations are treated simply as shapes that are
analysed and manipulated to obtain a practical • Problem areas and periods can also be identified
mining sequence that will maximise the project cash and various measures can be taken to solve the
flow within production and corporate constraints. In production problems in the mining sequence.
addition to the definition of the optimum mining • As in real mining practice, the mill feed would be
sequence for the project, further advantages and physically controllable in the source defined by
contribution of the proposed methodology might be the mining geometries rather than trying to deduct
summarised as follows: meanings from the behaviour of a scheduling tool.
• Definition of the ultimate pit limits can be carried
out dynamically taking into account the product • A comprehensive understanding of the
specifications, blending requirements and mineralisation provided in terms of contribution
variation in input parameters. of different ore types, geology and areas.

Figure 5. Comparison of mine sequencing and production scheduling processes

4 CASE STUDY- 4.1 Syerston Feasibility Study

SYERSTON NICKEL-COBALT PROJECT llie feasibility study schedule for Syerston was
based on a pit shell sequence selected directly from a
Syerston Nickel-Cobalt Project (Syerston) is located Whittle Four-X optimisation run. A linear
400km west of Sydney in central New South Wales, programming tool was used to schedule the
Australia (Figure 6). The Syerston mineralisation is a quantities calculated within the optimum pit shells.
limonitic nickel-cobalt latérite containing a resource
of 100 million tonnes at 1.06% Nickel equivalent.
The relatively compact resource at Syerston, covering
an area of some 2 kilometres by 3 kilometres, is
suitable for low-cost open pit mining.
The Syerston processing plant has been designed
at a nominal capacity of 2.0 million tonnes per
annum autoclave feed following a ramp up period of
two years. The capacity in terms of metal production
is 20,000 tonnes nickel and 5,000 tonnes cobalt
(platinum by-product). The required mining rates per
annum for a sustainable mill feed rate of 2.0 million
tonnes vary between 6-10 million tonnes (ore and
waste).

553
The operation has initially been planned for a 20 production schedules were recognised as follows
year mine life in high grade ore (+1.0% Nickel (Dincerand Peters, 2001):
equivalent). The total operating life is expected to • Definition of relatively larger/continuous mining
be in excess of 35 years including treatment of the areas for the improvement of the mining widths
low grade ore mined and also that rehandled from and access ramp configurations;
the stockpiles built during high grade operation. • Decrease in high grade ore stockpile movements
The distribution of metal production during 20 with mining larger areas which would provide
years of high grade ore treatment İs shown in Figure more flexibility with ore and waste mining rates;
7. The total metal production varies between 21,000 and
and 27,000 tonnes in the initial 10 years of the high • Increase in metal production in the early years of
grade operation with an average nickel to cobalt the operation by concentrating on areas with
production ratio of 4.6:1.0. The production starts to relatively high nickel and low cobalt grades.
decline slowly after 10-12 years of the operation To achieve these objectives, further pit
down to 15,000 tonnes of total metal at the end of optimisation runs were planned for systematic
the 20 years with the treatment of gradually lower analysis of the optimum pit sequences. The base
grade ore. Figure 8 shows the amount of stockpile case pit optimisation using only high grade ore at
re-handling during the first 20 year's of operation as study nickel and cobalt prices indicated a high rate
a percentage of mill feed. As seen in the figure, the of cobalt production in the early years. This was not
stockpile re-handling can comprise up to 30% of the desirable as the marketing analysis indicated that the
mill feed in some years with the overall average total world production of Cobalt is approximately
ratio of approximately 20%. 35000 tonnes per year and the Syerston Study
should target 5 000 tonnes per year. Four additional
optimisation ruas were completed for a range of
nickel/cobalt price ratios resulting in five different
optimum pit shell sequences. As expected, the
cobalt production was decreased in the early years
of the sequences obtained from optimisations with
higher nickel/cobalt price ratios.
The pit shell sequences obtained from each
optimisation run were analysed together for the
following indicators in the given order of
importance:
• Nickel/cobalt production ratio of more than four
(20,000 tonnes of nickel and less than 5,000
tonnes of cobalt) in the initial 3-5 years of the
Figure 7. Syerston feasibility study metal production schedule. operation. The ratio is normally lower in the pit
shell sequences for later years.
. While achieving the nickel and cobalt
production limitations, maximise the early cash
flow to provide early return from the operation as
much as possible {maximum NPV)
• To achieve the above, the smaller pit shells for
the mining sequence were selected from the
higher nickel/cobalt price ratio optimisation. The
price ratio was gradually decreased with the
selection of the larger shells so that the ultimate
pit limits from the base case optimisation were at
the study nickel and cobalt prices.

After the review of the Conventional Schedule and the 4.3 Syerston Case Study Results
quantities in the pit limits, possible areas
Figure 8. Syerston feasibility study production schedule After the analysis of the mixed list of optimum pit
stockpile «handling. shell sequences, two final mining sequences were
blended each composed of 7-9 pit shells selected
from different optimisations. The pit shells in the
4.2 Redefinition of Syerston Mining Sequence
blended mining sequences were rationalised to
After the review of the feasibility study results, the provide a new family of pit shell surfaces. The
possible areas for improvement in the Syerston metal production charts for the preliminary

554
production schedules based on Mining Sequences 1 • The cumulative total metal production is very
and 2 are provided as a percentage of the initial similar for all schedule cases after 10 years of
feasibility study schedule in Figure 9. operation. The metal production in the Mining
Sequence 1 and 2 schedules are slightly higher at
the end of the 20 years due to treatment of high
grade ore only. No high grade ore stockpiles are
allowed in the generation of Mining Sequence 1
and 2 schedules.

5 CONCLUSION

Two applications of pit optimisation algorithms

beyond the definition of open pit limits have been
discussed in this paper. Further to the standard
application of pit optimisation algorithms, these
applications significantly improve the main long-
term planning tasks of dump designs and detailed
mining sequence definition.
The dump optimisation process introduced in the
second section of the paper is a useful planning tool
especially where:
» The topographic surface is variable;
• The operation size is large with a high stripping
ratio;
• There are multiple dump areas and these areas
depend on the location of other surface
structures; and
. The costs are variable between the dump sites
due to differences in clearing, reclamation and
acquisition requirements, and
In addition to the direct assistance to the dump
design process with the definition of the minimum
cost dump boundaries, dump optimisation can also
be effectively used for mine site design purposes.
The site options for major surface structures can be
analysed with respect to die dumping costs using the
optimisation results. The options for pit ramp exit
positions can be evaluated iteratively to reduce the
waste haulage costs.
As shown in the third and fourth sections of the
Figure 9. Production schedule cases- Comparison of metal paper, mining sequence definition İs a critical stage
production.
of project development combining the geometrical
definitions from pit optimisations and the time
dimension from production schedules. With the
Comparison of the charts above shows the
proposed methodology, the production constraints
following improvements with the development of
the blended mining sequences: and other factors that cannot be quantified İn the pit
• The cumulative nickel production is increased optimisation models can be addressed in the
by approximately 15-20% in the initial two years generation of the mining sequences.
of the operation and 4-6% in the first six years. The application of the proposed methodology in
. The cumulative cobalt production is decreased the Syerston Nickel Cobalt Project was able to show
by 6-8% in the in the initial two years of the practical mining sequences that can facilitate the
operation and 1-6% in the first six years. control of different production rates for multiple
. The cumulative total metal production is up by elements and management of stockpiles.
12% in the initial two years and 3-4% in the first Preliminary production schedules of mining
six years. sequences showed that favourable results are

555
achievable compared to a production schedule Dincer and Peters 2001. Blending Optimum Pit Mining
generated by using a single optimum pit shell Sequences. AusIMM Strategic Planning Conference, Perth,
WA, Australia, in print.
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It İs considered that the proposed mining and Sequencing, Proc. 23rd APCOM Symposium, Tucson,
sequence definition technique is applicable and Arizona, pp.411-422.
bring significant benefits to the projects where there Lerchs H and Grossman I F, I965. Optimum Design of Open
are conflicting and competing constraints, including Pit Mines, Transactions, d.M., Vol.58, No.633, pp.47-54.
nickel latente, iron ore, polymetallic, base metal and Palma R, 1997. Sequence Analysis Using Whittle Software,
Proc. Optimising with Whittle Conference, Perth, WA,
mineral sand deposits.
Australia, pp99-103.
Tolwinski B and Underwood, R, 1992. A Scheduling
Algorithm for Open Pit Mines, Dept. Math, and Comp.
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