RIGOROUS ALGORITHMS TO OPTIMISE STOPE BOUNDARIES; CAPABILITIES, RESTRICTIONS AND APPLICATIONS

7th International Scientific Conference - SGEM2007, www.sgem.org, SGEM2007 Conference Proceedings/ ISBN: 954-918181-2, June 11-15, 2007

ABSTRACT

Few algorithms are available for economic optimization of stope boundaries
and underground mining area. The algorithms may be classified as rigorous
and heuristic. The rigorous algorithms are those which benefit from the
mathematical proof and provide the true optimal solution according to the
conditions and environment they are applied. The heuristic algorithms are
based on searching for the optimal solution according to some rules. They may
not guarantee to find the true optimum but provide the approximate solutions.
The accuracy of the solution depends on the power of the search technique
used. Generally, the rigorous algorithms are applied on a panel or a level of an
orebody to optimize stope boundaries with the mathematical support. These
algorithms provide the optimum solution for a panel or a level. In contrast,
the heuristic algorithms are applied on the entire mining area. They usually
provide a 3D analysis of the problem but they do not give much details of the
ultimate mining layout such as location of levels and panels. In this paper, the
existing rigorous algorithms developed for optimization of stope boundaries
are introduced using the available literature. The capabilities, restrictions and
applications of these algorithms are evaluated and compared.

Keywords: Underground Mining, Stope Boundaries, Optimisation, Rigorous
Algorithms.