I

Helmut Lerchs4

Optimum Design of

Monoger of Scientific Services,

Manteca! Dotacentre,
International Business Machines
Cu. Ltd,.

Open-Pit Mines

Ingo F. Grossmann

Manager,
Management Science Applications.
International Bus+ness Machines
Co. Ltd.

Joint C.O.R.S. arid O.R.S.A, Conference,

Montreal, May 27-29, 1964

Transactions, C.I.M., Volume LXV1I I, 1965, pp. 17-24

Open-Pit Model

ABSTRACT

An open-pit mining operation can be vi ew ed as a

pr oc es s b y w hich the o p e n s u r f ac e of a m i n e i s co n t i n u o u s l y d ef orm ed. Th e plannin g of a minin g pr ogr am in volves the design of the final shape of this open surface.
T h e ap pr oa ch d ev el op ed in th i s p ap er i s ba s ed on th e
f ollow ing assumptions: 1. the typ e of materia l, its mine
value and its extraction coat is given for each point: 2.
restrictions on the geometr y of the pit are specified (sur face boundaries and maximum allowable wall slopes);
3. the objective is to maximize total profit total mine
va lu e of ma t er i a l ex t ra c t ed m in u s t ota l ex t r ac t i on c os t.
Two numeric methods are proposed: A simple dynamic
programming algorithm for the two-dimensional pit (or
a single vertical section of a mine), and a more elaborate
gra ph algor ith m for the genera l three- dimensiona l pit.
=mow

Introd uction

S U R FAC E m i n i n g p r o g r a m i s a c o m p l e x o p e r a tion that may extend over many years, and involve huge capital expenditures and risk, Before Underta king such an operation, it must be known what
are there is to be mined (types, grades, quantities
and spatial distribution) and how much of the ore
should be mined to make the operation profitable.
The reserves of ore and its spatial distribution are
e s t i m a t e d b y g e o l o g i c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e i n f or m a t ion obtained from dr ill cores. The obj ect of pit de-

sign then is to deter mine the amount of ore to be

mined.

Assuming that the concentration of ores and im purities in known at each point, the problem is to decide what the ultimate contour of the pit will be and
in what stages this contour is to be reached. Let us
note that if, with respect to the global objectives of a
mining program, an optimum pit contour exists, and
if the mining operation is to be optimized, then this
contour must be known, if only to minimize the total
cost of mining.
*Now Senior Research Mathematician, General Motors
R esearch L abora tor y, Warr en, Mich.

Besides pit design, planning may bear on questions

such as:
what market to select:

what upgrading plants to install;

w h a t q u a n t i t i e s t o e x t r a c t , a s a f u n c t i o n of
time;
what mining methods to use;
what transportation facilities to provide.
There is an intimate relationship between all the
above points, and it is meaningless to consider any
one component of planning separately. A mathema tical model taking into account all possible alterna tives simultaneously would, however, be of formidable
size and its solution would be beyond the means of
present knowhow, The model proposed in this paper
will serve to explore alternatives in pit design, given
a re a l or a h yp ot he tica l e c onomic a l e n v i r o n m en t
(market situation, plant configuration, etc.). This environment is described by the mine value of all ores
present and the extraction cost of ores and waste
materials. The objective then is to design the contour
of a pit so as to maximize the difference between the
total mine value of ore extracted and the total extrac tion cost of ore and waste. The sole restrictions con cern the geome tr y of the pit; the wall s lop es of the
pit must not exceed certain given angles that ma y
vary with the depth of the pit or with the material.
Analytically, we can express the problem as follows:
Let v, c and no be three density functions defined at
each point of a three-dimensional space.
v (x. y. z) mine value of ore per unit volume
cix, y, z) = extraction cost per unit volume

ro(x. y, z)

v (x, y, z) c(x, y, z)

= profit per unit volume.

Let a (x, y, a) define an angle at each point and let

S be the family of surfaces such that at no point does
their slope, with respect to a. fixed horizontal plane,
exceed a.
Let V be the family of volumes corresponding to
the family, S, of surfaces. The problem is to find,
among all volumes, V, one that maximizes the integral
a) dx dy cla

17