Optimization of Long-Term Production Planning in Sublevel caving Method

Production planning in underground mines is still a manual process and there are no suitable tools for optimal production planning for these mines. It is impossible to achieve a real optimum result through manual programming because of the complexity of underground mines and production planning problems in these mines. Due to the increasing consumption of minerals on one hand and the depth of mineral reserves, on the other hand, efforts to achieve comprehensive production planning optimization methods in underground mines and especially large-scale production methods with high production rates are inevitable. Among the underground mining methods, sublevel caving is a common method for hard rock mining, and there are very few studies of long-term production planning for this method. In this paper, a new mathematical model with the aim of maximizing the net present value (NPV) is presented to optimize the production planning of the sublevel caving method. The technical and operational constraints of the sublevel caving method such as development constraints, production capacity, sublevels geometry, and storage access are included in this model. The proposed model was implemented on an economic block model and the maximum NPV was determined. A comparison of the results obtained with the results of manual planning shows a significant increase in NPV mining operations.