MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Project Start
Optimization in Mine Design using Whittle Software
Due date: October 3rd 2012
Early bird submission bonus by September 23rd 2010: 10%
Late submission penalty: 10% per day

OUTLINE

1.

Introduction

2.

Task

3.

Data Files

4.

Instructions

Page 1

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

1. Introduction
Assignment 1, part of project, covers the following topics:
1. Definition of the ultimate pit limit.
2. Determining nested pit shells.
3. Designing pushbacks.
4. Effects of extraction sequence of ore/waste blocks on production scheduling and
long term planning.
Concepts behind Whittle Nested Pits
Whittle uses a Model File containing details of the contents of each block, but, for
optimization purposes, we need a single value for each block. This value is the cash flow
(positive or negative) that would result from mining the block. For optimization purposes
it is important to assume that the block has been uncovered. It is unnecessary to allow for
stripping costs, because the optimizer does this implicitly. If we calculate the block
values for a particular model we will get a certain set of block values that, when used in a
pit optimization, will lead to a particular pit outline, the optimal outline.
Example 1
For the purpose of this example, assume the pit outline is outline "A" in the following
diagram.

Figure 1. Pit outline obtained from a single optimization.

Within an optimal outline, every block is "worth mining". Each block consists of zero or
more parcels and, possibly, some undefined rock that can be regarded as another parcel.

Page 2

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

The resultant cash flow from mining a block consists of the sum of the cash flows
generated be mining the blocks parcels. A parcels cash flow depends on the way we
treat the parcel (i.e. mill, leach, etc.) and the associated prices and costs with the method
of treatment. An increase in all commodity prices while keeping the costs constant may
cause the parcel to be treated differently (e.g. it may now be processed rather than treated
as waste); in this case, the cash flow will always either stay the same or increase.
Increasing the prices will not decrease the cash flow obtained from mining a given parcel.
Thus, if we increase the prices, the value of every block within outline A will increase or
stay the same. No block value will go down. Consequently, every block within outline A
is still worth mining.
Example 2
In addition, if we do another optimization using the new values, the new outline (shown
as outline B below) is certain to include the whole of A. It may also include extra blocks
that were not worth mining before, but which are now worth mining.

Figure 2. Pit outlines obtained from two optimizations.

The Whittle Pit Shells node (Optimization program, FXOP)

If we step the prices through a series of values, doing an optimization for each, we obtain
a set of nested pit outlines, and this is, in effect, what the Pit Shells node in Whittle does.
It multiplies all of the prices by a series of 50 to 100 "Revenue Factors" ranging,
typically, from 0.3 to 2.0, and produces a pit outline for each factor. The reason for
producing outlines for the smaller values of Revenue Factor is that we want to produce
inner pit shells that highlight the best positions to start mining and to assist with the
sequencing. The outlines are often very close together and form an almost continuous
"spectrum", where the change in tonnage from one outline to the next is quite small.
However, if the grade increases sharply with depth or the ore body is discontinuous, large
tonnage differences between adjacent pits can occur. Since all the outlines obey the pit

Page 3

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

slope requirements, it is simple to determine which sequences are feasible when mining
out a particular pit.
Example 3

Figure 3. Schematic of nested pits.

In Figure 3, if pit 5 is the ultimate pit, we can clearly mine in the sequence a, b, c, d, e, f,
g, h, etc. If the pits are sufficiently far apart to give working space, another possible
sequence is a, f, b, g, k, c, etc. Regardless, given a set of nested pits, these sequences are
clearly defined and easy for the computer to trace, and thus can be used to show various
mining schedules in order to obtain projected tonnages, grades and cash flows. Although
each set of outlines is only strictly optimal for a particular set of costs, their usefulness
goes far beyond this. Provided that the costs used are of the same order, another
optimization run with different costs will usually produce a set of pits of similar shape,
but are shifted relative to those from the first run. For example, pit number 20 from one
run may be very similar to pit number 25 from the previous run. It is therefore reasonable
to simulate mining with wide ranges of prices and costs using the same set of nested pits.
Once a set of costs has been settled on, a final optimization using those costs and a
repeated simulation can be run as verification.

Page 4

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

2. Task
Find the optimal ultimate pit limits, design pushbacks and generate a Life-of-Mine
(LOM) production schedule for a copper deposit, so as to maximize its Net Present
Value. Report all findings and justify your choices. For this task, the Whittle software
must be used along with the parameters provided in Table 1 and the orebody models in
the files described below. All deliverables for this assignment are discussed in this
section; for information on the related files and steps, refer to the following sections.
Table 1. Parameters for the optimization of a copper deposit.

Slope angle

45

Selling price

1.9$/lb

Selling cost

0.4$/lb

Mining cost

1$/tonne

Processing cost

9$/tonne

Recovery

90%

Cut-off

0.3% Cu

Model Cu unit

Tonnes

Processing capacity

7.5 M tonnes

Extraction capacity

28 M tonnes

Discount rate per period 10%

Step 1: Defining the ultimate pit limit

Define the final pit by choosing amongst the available nested pit shells generated by
Whittle.
Deliverables from Step 1:
a. A pit-by-pit graph of undiscounted cash flow per pit shell, where the pit number is
plotted on the X axis and the net economic value on the Y axis.
Page 5

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

b. A pit-by-pit graph of discounted cash flow per pit, where the pit number is plotted
on the X axis and the discounted economic value on the Y axis.
c. Pit-by-pit graph of recovered metal, ore and waste where the pit number is plotted
on the X axis and the metal on the Y axis.
d.

Plot the required graphs using bar style.

e.

All choices made need to be justified and implications briefly explained.

Step 2: Design pushbacks given the ultimate pit limit in Step 1

Using the final pit as defined in Step 1, use the automatic pushback selection in Whittle
to choose the pushback design. Try at least two different and meaningful numbers of
pushbacks and assess the possible implications on the final NPV of the mine; explain the
differences and related effects.
Deliverables from Step 2:
a) A table that associates a pushback to its NPV.
b) Report in pushback-by-pushback graphs ore, waste, metal and cash flows.
c) Discuss the implications of the number of pushbacks used and what they physically
represent.
d) All choices must be justified and implications briefly explained.
Step 3: Generate the LOM production schedule of the mine
Using the ultimate pit and pushback design from Steps 1 and 2, generate the LOM
production schedule. Please use the same processing and extraction capacities as in Table
1.
Deliverables from Step 3:
a) Produce the LOM production schedule and report all related graphs (ore, waste,
metal production, and cumulative NPV) for the mine.
b) Describe the differences among the available schedule generating options: Milawa
NPV, Milawa Balance and fixed lead.
c) All choices must be justified and implications briefly explained, including the
selection of the scheduling option.

Page 6

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Deliverable for Assignment 1:

A properly documented report that amalgamates the
deliverables from each of the three Steps above, for
the mines yearly pit design and mine planning study.

Page 7

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

3. Data Files
The folder named Assignment 1 contains the following folders and files:
Assignment 1: This contains a folder named MOD FILES and a description of the
procedure to carry out the expected tasks involved in Assignment 1.
The MOD FILES folder contains a single estimated (kriged, deterministic) orebody
model and a parameter file.
*.mod (Orebody block model file) is a type of file that contains the specification of the
block model of the deposit such as block coordinates, metal grade, ore and waste
tonnage, etc

Figure 4. Example of a mod file when opened in a text editor.

The parameter file contains the following general information, for further details please
consult Whittles help documents (can be accessed within the software).
The parameter file given for this assignment consists of the following information:

Dimensions of a block are the X, Y and Z directions, respectively.

Origin coordinates related to the origin of the model framework is at the outer
corner of the block with coordinates 1,1,1.

Dimensions of the model framework are expressed as the number of blocks in the
X, Y and Z directions, respectively.

Page 8

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

While the supplied parameter file does not contain this information, it is entirely possible
that it contains the following information:

General formatting requirements provide the number of decimal places to be used

for the input and output of various quantities, other than those associated with
specific elements.

Active blocks indicator specifies which blocks you want Whittle to work on when
doing the optimizations. There are three possible indicators, and are defined as
follows:
o Active blocks indicator of 1: all of the blocks in the model framework are
considered for mining.
o Active blocks indicator of 2: only the blocks within sub-regions are
considered for mining. The sub-regions do not need to fill the model
framework. If blocks occur in the Model File in regions not included in a
sub-region, they are rejected. An active blocks indicator of 2 can be useful
in certain unusual circumstances.
o Active blocks indicator of 3: only blocks provided in the Model File are
considered during optimization. That is, the rest of the blocks in the model
framework are completely ignored.

Restart interval lets you specify the time between dumps. Dumps refer to the Pit
Shells node which periodically dumps all of the data from memory to its Work
File to enable a later restart. This can be extremely helpful if, for example, a long
optimization run is terminated because of power failure. If the restart interval is
left blank, restart dumps occur every two hours.

Reference mining cost is the cost of mining waste of undefined rock-type at the
Reference Block.

Cost of mining waste of a defined rock-type at the Reference Block is obtained by

multiplying the Reference Mining Cost by the appropriate rock-type mining CAF
(cost adjustment factor).

Cost of mining waste of any type at a particular block is obtained by multiplying

the cost of mining the same rock as waste at the Reference Block by the positional
mining CAF for the block in question.

Mining dilution factor - Example: A five percent dilution would be effected by a

mining dilution factor of 1.05. The dilution is applied by increasing the tonnage of
mineralized parcels, regardless of whether there is any waste (non-parcel tonnage
or parcels with no elements) in the block. This can lead to a negative waste
tonnage for an individual block and, in regions of the pit that are entirely
mineralized, negative stripping ratios are possible.

Mining recovery factor is applied to take into consideration the loss of ore due to
mining at the edge of the orebody or during transportation to the mineral

Page 9

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

processing plant. The mining recovery factor allows an overall mining recovery to
be applied.

General default block tonnage is used by the Reblocked Block Model node and by
the Pit Shells node (where the active blocks indicator is set to 1 or 2) for blocks
that are not specified in the Model File. Default block tonnages can be blank
(meaning undefined), or a value that is zero (to represent air), or positive.

Ore selection method flag controls how Whittle selects ore for processing from
the available parcels. There are two possible flag settings: 1 and 2.
o Ore selection method flag set to 1 Selection by cut-off

Ore is selected by comparing the grades of the material with precalculated processing cut-offs. If the material does not satisfy the
cut-offs, it is treated as waste.

If more than one processing method is applicable, the grades are

compared with the cut-offs of each in turn, in the order in which
they are specified in the Parameters File.

o Ore selection method flag set to 2 Selection by cash flow

Ore is selected by comparing the cash flow that would be produced

by processing it, and the cash flow that would be produced by
mining it as waste. If the cash flow from processing it is higher, the
material is treated as ore. If not, it is treated as waste. If more than
one processing method is applicable, the one that produces the
highest cash flow is used.

Air flags are used to specify the treatment of air blocks or undefined blocks in the
model:
o Air flag A controls whether air blocks are included or excluded, during pit
optimization. There are two possible flag settings: 1 (included) and 2 (not
included).
o Air flag B controls which air blocks from the Model File are included in
the Results File. There are three possible flag settings: 1, 2 and 3.
o Air flag B set to 1: air blocks are not included in the Results File,
regardless of whether air blocks were included or excluded during
optimization.
o Air flag B set to 2: only those air blocks are included in the Results File
that would be "mined" as part of the largest pit extended into the air.

The positional mining CAF flag controls whether or not the positional mining
CAFs are used by the Pit Shells node and the Analysis nodes (Analysis program).
There are two possible flag settings: 1 and 0. Positional mining CAF flag set to 1:
the positional mining CAFs in the Model File are used by the Pit Shells node and
the Analysis nodes. Positional mining CAF flag set to 0: the positional mining

Page 10

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

CAFs in the Model File are not used by the Pit Shells node nor are the Analysis
nodes.

The positional processing CAF flag controls whether or not the positional
processing CAFs are used by the Pit Shells node and the Analysis nodes. There
are two possible flag settings: 1 and 0. Positional processing CAF flag set to 1:
positional processing CAFs in the Model File are used by the Pit Shells node and
the Analysis nodes. Positional processing CAF flag set to 0: positional processing
CAFs in the Model File are not used by the Pit Shells node nor the Analysis
nodes.

The print unprocessed mineralisation flag controls whether or not the Pit Shells
node and the Analysis nodes report the total tonnage and element content of any
mineralised material that is mined but not processed. These quantities can be
useful when reconciling the results of different runs. There are two possible flag
settings: 1 and 0.

Revenue Factor values in the pit shells node are used to scale base case prices up
or down, in order to control which nested pits are to be produced.

Regarding Sub Regions; Parameter Files with no sub-regions are valid, but then
the Slope Set node will demand an Additional Arcs File, which will have to
contain all of the required arcs.

Block limits specifies the size and location of a sub-region by its lowest and
highest block numbers in the X, Y and Z directions.

Sub-region default block tonnage

Default block tonnages are used by the Reblocked Block Model node and by the
Pit Shells node (where the active blocks indicator is set to 1 or 2) for blocks that
are not specified in the Model File. If the density of rock varies within the model
framework, but the variation can be simulated by allocating different default
block tonnages to different sub-regions, then sub-region default block tonnages
can be useful.

Slope angle should be provided along with information of the bearing and the
slope.

Bearings are expressed in degrees, clockwise from the positive Y direction

usually north. It is very important to note that bearings are given instead of wall
positions. Any walls at right angles to the bearings, in a particular slope region,
will have the given slope applied.

Slopes are expressed in degrees from horizontal.

Number of benches to consider for arc generation may control the accuracy of
slope reproduction. The more benches that you specify, the greater the accuracy,
and the longer the optimization will take.

Grade dependent expression information must include an expression identification

code, the expression usage and the definition of the expression.
Page 11

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

The element type code is an alphanumeric code of from 1 to 4 characters which

identifies a particular element in the model. It is not case sensitive. Examples:
GOLD, Cu.

The position in the Model File specifies the position of the element data in the
Model File.

The element formatting requirements provide the number of decimal places to be

used for the input and output of element quantities in a parcel, total quantities and
grades.

The selling cost per unit is the cost involved in selling a unit of the element,
where a unit is defined by the values used for quantities of the element in the
Model File.

The price per unit is the price for a unit of the element where a unit is defined by
the values used for quantities of the element in the Model File. It is used with the
Revenue Factors to determine element prices for different pit shells.

Rock-type information must include the rock-type code, the rock-type mining
CAF, the rehabilitation cost per tonne and the processing throughput factor.

The rock-type code is an alphanumeric code of from 1 to 4 characters which

identifies a particular rock-type in the model. It is not case sensitive. Examples:
OXID, SULF, WTHR.

The rock-type mining CAF is the ratio between the cost of mining this type of
rock as waste, and the cost of mining undefined blocks.

The rehabilitation cost is the cost associated with rehabilitating waste dumps
chemically, visually and ecologically. This cost is applied if the material is treated
as waste, but not if it is processed.

Processing-method/rock-type for open pit mining must include processing method

code, rock-type code, processing cost and element information. The processing
method code is an alphanumeric code of from one to four characters. It identifies
the processing method to be used. It is not case sensitive. Examples: MILL,
HEAP, CIL.

The rock-type code, which is not case sensitive, must be one of the codes defined
for a rock-type. The pairing of the method and type codes indicates that parcels of
this rock-type may be processed by this processing method, if it is economic to do
so. If a rock-type, even one containing elements, occurs in the Model File, but is
not paired with a processing method here, it will be treated as waste.

Processing cost the effective processing cost is used for calculating cash flows as
well cut-offs.

Element type code must be one of the codes defined for an element above.

Cut-off control flag dictates whether or not the element(s) are cut-off controlled.
This is only relevant when ore selection is by cut-off.
Page 12

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Element processing cost per unit is the cost that can be calculated based on the
units of each element input into the process, where a unit is defined by the values
used for quantities of the element in the Model File. It is in addition to the general
processing costs.

Processing recovery fraction is the processing recovery (e.g. 0.93) at high grade
for this element.

Processing recovery threshold is a grade that is subtracted from the actual grade
of each parcel before the processing recovery fraction is applied.

It is important to note that although the information above is a list of what may be
contained in a parameter file, the inclusion of all the above parameters is not required for
it to serve its purpose.

Page 13

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

4. Instructions
The computer session of this first part focuses on the basics of using the Whittle software.
This is only useful to those who have not used Whittle previously. This section covers
importing data into Whittle, generating pit shells and ultimate pit limits, designing
pushbacks from pit shells and optimization with the Milawa-NPV option. Some of the
traditional sensitivity analysis, such as varying commodity price and processing capacity
are also included in the notes, but is not necessary for this assignment. You are, however,
encouraged to explore these features if desired.
The data set used in this assignment is generated from an estimation method (ordinary
kriging). The estimated orebody model will be used as input and the resulting schedules
and pushbacks obtained in the first part are referred to as the base case during analysis
performed in subsequent assignments.
1 Import Deposit Data in to Whittle
a. Make a new directory in C:\ drive (or the network) called Assignment 1 Then,
inside the workshop directory, make a subdirectory called working.
b. Copy the files: parfile.par, kriging.mod found in the directory
\Assignment 1\MOD FILES into the Assignment 1 directory you just
created.
c. Open Whittle and import parfile.par and kriging.mod files as follows:
d. Click on create a new project and press OK.

Page 14

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

e. Type project name: Assignment 1, select the project directory by clicking on the
directory icon on the right sideC:\Assignment 1\. Then, select the working
directoryC:\ Assignment 1\working. Click on next, for import type, choose
Whittle block model. Browse the workshop folder to find kriging.mod as
the model file to import, and parfile.par as the parameter file to import. Then,
click on finish and yes to confirm. If there are any additional windows that
appear asking for parameters, simply keep selecting Next or Finish until
they go away.

Page 15

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

f. Check the parameters loaded and run the program by clicking on the third man
icon

. A green check mark should appear beside New Block Model.

g. Under New Block Model, select the Description tab and change the block
models description from New Block Model to Kriged Model.
h. Under the Formats tab, set the Units for Element A to tonne. Not setting
the correct units in Whittle can lead to misleading results.
i. Press the Accept button to accept the changes.
j. Now, click on each of the tabs and check what information is provided.
k. When finished, select the Check Data button to ensure that all data has been
correctly entered.

2 Generate Ultimate Pit Limits

a. Click on New Slope Set on the left and description tab on the right. Type
Kriging Slope Set for the description and click on Accept keeping all the
values as default. Click on Profile tab and check the parameters to ensure that
the slope angles are correct, as per the assignment requirements (Section 2).
b. Click on New Pit Shells on the left and description tab on the right. Type
Kriging Pit Shells for the description. You will need to enter all of the
parameters defined in Section 2 into the appropriate tabs. In particular (and for
future steps with similar options), it is beneficial to use the following parameters
(below). Once again, it is important be mindful of your units (% recovery,
grades expressed as decimals, pounds for selling on market, etc.) When
finished, press Accept.

Page 16

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

c. Right-click on New Schedule Graph on the left side and choose Cut Branch
from the menu. Repeat for the Pit by Pit Graph node.

d. Click on description tab and type Operational Scenario-1. Click on time

cost tab and change the discount rate. Then, Click on the limits tab on the
right side and change the value of the mining and processing limits.
Additionally, ensure that the units for Element limits is set to pounds. Then,
click on accept.

e. Add Pit by Pit Graph: Right click on Operational Scenario-1 and add Pit by
Pit Graph. Click on description tab and type Pit by Pit Graph-1. On
schedule tab, ensure that fixed lead is selected with 0 value. In the
Definition tab, delete all the lines below tonnage of waste rock. Then add a
new value to be displayed by clicking in add select Output on the left and
select Undiscounted revenue and cash flow on the right, and choose Open Pit
Value. In order to generate various graphs (as outlined in the assignment
deliverables), you will need to repeat this step and select the correct properties
to save. You will likely need to explore the various options to be able to get the
Page 17

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

correct graphs. Do not hesitate to include a new graph not outlined in the
assignment deliverables if you believe it helps you justify your points in your
reports discussion. Click on add to selection list and best case, click on OK.
Then, click on OK and accept it by clicking accept in the general window.
Then, run the program by clicking the running man icon.

Page 18

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

f. Generating the pit list: Right click on the Kriging Pit Shells and select OtherExport Pit List. Select the assignment 1 directory and change the name to

Page 19

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

kriga.pil, click on run. Click on OK for the message. You will need these pit
shells for future assignments.

Page 20

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

g. Finding the optimal pit: Click on Pit by Pit Graph-1. Click on output tab
on the right side. It shows the best, specified and worst case scenarios. The
optimum pit can be found from there (checking in the discounted cash flow it
may be seen which pit shell has the highest value and therefore may be chosen
as the ultimate pit).

Page 21

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

h. Click on the Graph tab and press zoom button. Click on the preferences. Type
DCF on the Title of Y-Axis. Select only Open Pit Value and unselect the
other options. Click on the 2nd Y-Axis preference tab and unselect Use multiple
Y-Axis because you have chosen only one display (there is no need to display
the 2nd axis). Click on Style preferences and select Open pit value for the
best case. Change the Style to Bar, and Colour to red. Click on Graph tab to
see the modified plot. Repeat these steps to generate your graphs required for
the assignment deliverables. Be sure to comment on your results.

Page 22

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Page 23

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Page 24

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

3 Generating Pushbacks from Pit Shells

a. We will first create pushbacks using the automatic pushback selection tool.
Right-click on Pit by Pit Graph-1, and select Copy Node. Right-click on
Operational Scenario-1 and select Paste. Change the name of the node
(Description) and re-name it to Pit by Pit Graph-# where # is the number of
pushbacks you wish to test. Under the Schedule tab, and under Specified
case pushback definitions, select Auto and enter the number of pushbacks
you would like in your design. Select the Definition tab, and press Edit.
You can now enter the final ultimate pit shell to be considered (the limit of
mining); enter the ultimate pit shell number defined in Step 2 (g,h) in the End
textbox. You will not need to worry about the graphs in this step, as they will be
generated in more detail in the following step. Press the running man icon to run
the pushback designs. After the algorithm has finished running, under the
Schedule tab, you will see numbers listed in order beside Pushbacks used for
last run. These tell you the optimal pit shell combinations that Whittle has
chosen, given the number of pushbacks you have selected. You will need to
remember where to find these numbers, as they will be required in the following
step (Step 3 b). Repeat this step for various numbers of pushbacks by copying
the node and pasting under Operational Scenario-1, and changing the number
of pushbacks.
b. Adding Mining Width (combine pit shells to pushbacks): Right-click on
Kriging Pit Shells select Add and Mining Width, then, click on the
Description tab and type Kriging Mining Width - # Pushbacks (where # is
the number of pushbacks you want to consider). Click on the Definition tab
and type in the desired mining width (justify your parameters in your report). If
you are unsure of any of the parameters in this menu, please refer to the help file
in Whittle. Then, in Pushback definition, click on edit pushbacks and type in
the desired pit shells numbers to be considered as pushbacks. These were made
available to you in Step 3 (a) under Pushbacks used for last run. Run the
program to combine pit shells to pushbacks. You will need to repeat this step for
each pushback configuration you wish to test (# of pushbacks in design). It is
recommended that you save these as new scenarios

Page 25

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

c. Right click on your pushback scenario created in the previous step (Kriging
Mining Width - # Pushbacks), and select Add then New Operational
Scenario. Whittle should add the correct parameters, however if they are
incorrect, be sure to put in the correct parameters, as per Step 2 (d). Right click
on your new operational select and select Add then Pit by Pit Graph. Under
the Schedule tab, ensure that Specified Case Pushback Definitions is set to
Page 26

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Manual, and you will need to add your pushbacks. Press the Add button,
and then enter your pushbacks in increasing order (e.g. if you have 4 pushbacks,
you would enter 1 2 3 4). Press OK. Under the Definition tab, ensure that
Whittle will generate the correct graphs that you require. When ready, press the
running man button. Under the Graphs tab, you should now be able to see
your graphs for the pushbacks (i.e. not pit shells, as shown in the previous step).
You will need to re-do this analysis according to the various # of pushback
scenarios you have chosen. Compare what happens in pushback tonnages, ore
tonnages, etc. to justify your decision on number of pushbacks in your design
before going on to the next step.
d. Generating Pit list Krigb.pil: Right click on Kriging Mining Width, toolsexporting pit-list- select the working directory and change the name to krigb.pil,
export it. Here, this pit list contains block coordinates and the number
representing three pushbacks. You will need to do this for which ever design (#
of pushbacks) you deem best. The output file is required for future
assignments.

Page 27

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

4 Optimization with Milawa-NPV

a. New Schedule Graph: Create a production schedule by right clicking on the new
operational scenario (whichever was deemed optimal from the previous step),
selecting Add then Schedule Graph. In the Description tab, type Kriging
Schedule Milawa NPV. On Schedule tab, click on Milawa NPV and
click on add on the right side, pit 1, then pit 2 and pit 3 by clicking add on
the right side(Add as many pits as needed). Select Milawa NPV as the
Specified case scheduling algorithm. On definition tab, delete all the lines
below tonnage of waste rock and click on add. Then, click on output on the
left, and on the right choose element and grade and at down choose Qty of
<element> output from <method> (<method><element> /UO*) to have metal in
the output file. Click on add to selection, choose Cu, from mill for
specified case, and OK. Click accept. Feel free to add whatever graphs
necessary to justify your decisions in your reports discussion. Then, run the
program by clicking on 2nd running man. Repeat this step for Milawa
Balanced. Discuss the differences between the output schedules, which one
you think is more effective, etc.

5 Exporting the Results to an Excel Worksheet

a. Right-click on the menu-button on the optimal pushback design you have
chosen on the left side. Choose Options then Export Files options. See that
the directory file will be created (directory can be changed by clicking at the
end of directory name box). Click on the square beside Spreadsheet File to
put a check-sign and type the name as krigpb.csv and Ok .

Page 28

MIME 513 Mine Planning Optimization under Uncertainty Fall 2012

Lecturer: R. Dimitrakopoulos

Page 29