New Technology to Manage Uncertainty and Risk in Open Pit Mine Planning And Design

By Dr. Luis A. Martínez Tipe, PhD Director General & Principal Researcher, CAIDTech Originally published: April 29, 2018

To take advantage of current technology and optimisation processes, in 2016 the manager from R&O Analytics, Dr. Luis Martinez, visited Mr. Alexandre Marinho, manager of MiningMath and creator of the SimSched direct block scheduling technology, in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to discuss different ways for improving access to new technology worldwide, particularly to the open pit mine project evaluation process (see press release). Almost two years have passed since these two start-up companies decided to collaborate integrating their technologies to explore new practical alternatives for planning, designing and valuing open pit mine projects in the face of uncertainty using advanced optimisation processes integrated with modern project valuation techniques and data analytics. The result of this strategic collaboration gave rise to the development of the DAQRAS platform, which is an innovative engine designed to be an advanced platform that integrates different cutting edge technologies, such as the direct block scheduling, data analytics, grade uncertainty and economic quantitative risk analysis, to identify, quantify and manage uncertainty and risk in open pit mine planning. “With DAQRAS, mine planners and mine managers cannot only obtain an excellent mining plan but also be able to measure and quantify operational and economic risks” DAQRAS is still work in progress and R&O ANALYTICS is seeking support to further the development and to expand current capabilities by integrating spatial data analytics in the process, among other technologies. If you wish to know more about DAQRAS and be able to receive a test version when ready, please contact us at contact@randoanalytics.com, or send your expression of interest to:  support@miningmath.com Below, there is a link to an informal video showing a sneak peak of the DAQRAS engine. In the video DAQRAS is used to assess the effect that metal (copper) grade, metal (copper) price, and mining cost uncertainties have on mine planning key operational and economic indicators. Click on the link to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFVQBZAoIfI 

Editor's note: This article was written in 2018. Since then, CAIDTech has developed and applied the probabilistic frameworks described here across multiple mine projects in Latin America and Australia, integrating geological variability, operational dynamics and economic uncertainty into a single quantitative model. Learn more at [caidtechnology.com]