THE PROBLEM OF PRODUCTION PLANNING IN OPEN-PIT MINES

The variables in open pit mine production planning interact in a circu lar fashion, that is, without knowledge of one variable the next varia ble in the circle cannot be determined. Fixing or assuming the values of one or more variables along this circle will lead to inferior plann ing. An efficient plan will require simultaneous solution to the varia bles in the circle. However, such a solution is not easy to obtain due to the complexity and shear size of the problem. During the last thre e decades, partial solutions have been found using operations research techniques and heuristic algorithms. In this paper, a recently develo ped method which utilizes a combination of a heuristic algorithm and a dynamic programming formulation is described. This method brings the required simultaneous solution to the problem. An actual example is al so given to illustrate the new method.