A simulation model for mine production sequences

Abstract

Mine design process strictly dependent on the economical variables of the orebody and the rock mass properties having effect on the physical parameters of the intended mining system. In addition, the dynamic aspects of the possible system must be taken into account. Difficulty in design arises mainly from the difficulty in obtaining enough and reliable data. Collecting enough and quality data requires to costly and timely procedures. Therefore, the mine design engineers have to consider alternative cases in their designs or they have to design with limited data. This study presents a simulation model that can be used to develop the production subsystem model of an underground mining system. A mechanized production system model and a decision analysis tool using a discrete event simulation process were developed. The tool allows an engineer with experimenting his/her design to generate a model that can meet the targeted production rate.