A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply
Cut-off grade controls the movement of materials among mining, processing and refining stages of an open pit mining operation. The cut-off grade policy constitutes a schedule of cut-off grades and the associated quantities of materials that flow through various stages over the life of operation. Thi...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Pergamon Press
2019
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74912 |
| _version_ | 1848763407537274880 |
|---|---|
| author | Khan, A. Asad, Mohammad Waqar |
| author_facet | Khan, A. Asad, Mohammad Waqar |
| author_sort | Khan, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Cut-off grade controls the movement of materials among mining, processing and refining stages of an open pit mining operation. The cut-off grade policy constitutes a schedule of cut-off grades and the associated quantities of materials that flow through various stages over the life of operation. This flow of materials in the system relies on the grade-tonnage curve of the mineral resource and given that the variation in grade-tonnage curve is inevitable, it is crucial that the methods that define the cut-off grade policy must consider this grade uncertainty. However, with few exceptions, a majority of these methods ignore this uncertainty in the supply of materials. This paper shares a two-stage stochastic linear programming based cut-off grade optimisation model that accounts for the grade uncertainty and maximises the net present value (NPV) subject to the production capacity constraints over the life of operation. An application of the proposed method at hypothetical and realistic cases promises higher NPV as compared to the traditional heuristic approach. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:02:58Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-74912 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:02:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Pergamon Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-749122019-08-08T06:14:25Z A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply Khan, A. Asad, Mohammad Waqar Cut-off grade controls the movement of materials among mining, processing and refining stages of an open pit mining operation. The cut-off grade policy constitutes a schedule of cut-off grades and the associated quantities of materials that flow through various stages over the life of operation. This flow of materials in the system relies on the grade-tonnage curve of the mineral resource and given that the variation in grade-tonnage curve is inevitable, it is crucial that the methods that define the cut-off grade policy must consider this grade uncertainty. However, with few exceptions, a majority of these methods ignore this uncertainty in the supply of materials. This paper shares a two-stage stochastic linear programming based cut-off grade optimisation model that accounts for the grade uncertainty and maximises the net present value (NPV) subject to the production capacity constraints over the life of operation. An application of the proposed method at hypothetical and realistic cases promises higher NPV as compared to the traditional heuristic approach. 2019 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74912 10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.12.003 Pergamon Press restricted |
| spellingShingle | Khan, A. Asad, Mohammad Waqar A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| title | A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| title_full | A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| title_fullStr | A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| title_full_unstemmed | A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| title_short | A method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| title_sort | method for optimal cut-off grade policy in open pit mining operations under uncertain supply |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/74912 |