KEY ISSUES
Confidence that the Mine Plan reflects the mining strategy and the Mine Plan is robust and achievable.
Aspects to consider:
- Mine Plan has been validated, and that all schedule activities are linked correctly.
- Intricacies and risks are understood.
- Opportunities are understood and are maximised.
By considering these aspects, project value is maximised and the project’s performance remains aligned with stakeholder expectation.
MAIN TECHNIQUES
1. Manual Levelling
Provides a schedule that attains a physicals’ profile using the scheduler’s personal knowledge of the deposit to:
- Prioritise mining activities by mine area and/or orebody.
- Prioritise development, production and infrastructure tasks.
- Prioritise production to achieve contained metal targets.
- Constrain mining tasks to meet required productivity limits.
2. Resource Blending
Provides a high-level schedule that achieves a physicals’ profile through the definition of target limits.
3. Resource Levelling
Provides a levelled schedule based on prioritised mining activities, resource productivity and resource availability. While also ensuring that mining activities are aligned to strategic mining objectives.
OUR SOLUTION
The use of Resource Levelling to provide schedules that:
- Meet/determine the physicals requirements/capabilities of the mine.
- Maximise the use of the scheduled resourcing.
- Honour strategic mining objectives.
- Provide guidance for mining optionality and business strategy.
The use of 4D software packages to visualise the mining sequence and mining schedule, providing a visual audit that ensures mining activities:
- Are not artificially constrained.
- Are scheduled as they are expected to be mined.
BENEFITS TO CLIENT
Scheduling using Resource Levelling enables:
- The flexibility to run scenarios by modifying mining strategies, productivity assumptions and physicals targets.
- Prioritisation of mining activities ensures the mining strategy is followed, providing confidence in ‘What-if’ analysis results.
- Leading to understanding of the sensitivities of the Mine Plan and confidence in the Mine Plan.
Ultimately, unlocking the mining strategy enables the reduction in mining unit costs; maximising revenue, and in turn maximising the value of the project.