Optimising declines in underground mines

This paper describes a method for optimising the layout of a decline in an underground mine. It models a decline as a mathematical network connecting the access points at each level of the proposed mine to the surface portal. A feasible decline is one satisfying all operational constraints such as g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTransactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. Section A, Mining technology Vol. 112; no. 3; pp. 164 - 170
Main Authors Brazil, M., Lee, D. H., Van Leuven, M., Rubinstein, J. H., Thomas, D. A., Wormald, N. C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England Taylor & Francis 01.12.2003
SAGE Publications
Subjects
DOT SOFTWARE
MODELLING
OPTIMISING DECLINES
UNDERGROUND MINES
UNDERGROUND MINES
OPTIMISING DECLINES
MODELLING
DOT SOFTWARE
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Summary:This paper describes a method for optimising the layout of a decline in an underground mine. It models a decline as a mathematical network connecting the access points at each level of the proposed mine to the surface portal. A feasible decline is one satisfying all operational constraints such as gradient and turning radius requirements. The task is to find the decline that minimises a given cost objective. Typically, the cost objective will be some combination of development and operational costs representing a project cost or a life-of-mine cost. The procedure to find the optimal decline has been automated and the paper describes the current capability of Decline Optimisation Tool (DOT) software. A case study on the optimisation of a decline to service the Jandam gold mine in the Pajingo field of Newmont Australia Limited demonstrates the practical application of the technique.
ISSN:1474-9009
1743-2863
DOI:10.1179/037178403225003546