Melhorar o conhecimento sobre o minério lavrado é um desafio enfrentado diariamente pelas empresas de mineração. O presente trabalho trata de um estudo realizado na mina de apatita, localizada na cidade de Cajati, interior do Estado de São Paulo, de propriedade da Bunge Fertilizantes S/A, onde são abordados temas relacionados ao planejamento de lavra de curto prazo, visando o aprimoramento dos procedimentos de coleta de amostras de pó-de-perfuratriz, que são sistematicamente coletadas com o objetivo de controle de qualidade da lavra, contribuindo para uma efetiva melhoria na gestão do planejamento de lavra e na tomada de decisões. Os resultados obtidos mostram que, da forma como as amostras são coletadas, ocorre um enriquecimento do teor de P2O5, podendo levar a tomada de decisões erradas por parte da operação da mina. / Improve knowledge of the ore mined is a challenge faced daily by mining companies. This paper is a study in apatite mine, located in the city of Cajati, within São Paulo,propriety of Bunge Fertilizantes S/A, where are treated issues related to short term planning of the mine to improve procedures for collecting dust samples drilling, which are systematically collected for the purpose of quality control of mining, contributing to an effective improvement in the management of planning of mining and decision making. The results show that the way the sampling is done, there is an enrichment of content in P2O5, which can lead to making wrong decisions by the operation of the mine.

Um dos principais desafios para engenheiros de planejamento na mineração é fornecer planos de lavra que sejam exeqüíveis e que levem em conta as variabilidades operacionais da mina. Muitas vezes, os planos de lavra são criados com base nos valores médios históricos ou estimados das principais variáveis do sistema, que embora representem corretamente o ambiente de lavra, não permitem estimar o impacto de eventuais variabilidades nos resultados da operação da mina. O resultado dessa situação é uma menor confiabilidade nos planos de lavra quanto menor o horizonte de tempo planejado, o que leva a tomada de decisões operacionais muitas vezes intuitivas que nem sempre são ótimas, podendo prejudicar o atendimento das metas de longo prazo definidas pelo planejamento. Esta pesquisa propõe uma metodologia para criar planos de lavra que incorporem a variabilidade operacional, ou seja, planos exeqüíveis em conformidade com as operações unitárias da lavra, através da aplicação de técnicas de simulação. Essa metodologia é testada através de uma aplicação teórica e um estudo de caso, permitindo que a operação possa efetivamente contar com um plano que teve sua exeqüibilidade avaliada antes de sua publicação, apoiando assim o processo de tomada de decisões num ponto-chave da cadeia de produção mineral. Os resultados do estudo de caso comprovaram os benefícios práticos da metodologia de simulação proposta, permitindo fixar metas de produção mais realísticas para as condições operacionais da mina estudada, além de identificar oportunidades para a continuidade da pesquisa em temas relacionados à incorporação da incerteza geológica e à automatização do processo de simulação de lavra. / One of the main challenges for mine planning engineers is to produce operationally feasible mine plans which take into account the practical variability of the mining operation. It is quite common for the mining industry to work with plans that have been based on estimated means or historical values for most of the key operational variables, which although are useful to represent the mine environment, do not allow management to predict the impact of eventual variations onto the outcome of the mining operation. The result is a lower degree of confidence on the mine plans the shorter the time horizon considered, and a non-optimal decision making process that is much more oriented on experience, with a significant impact on the longer-term targets of the mine operation. This research proposes a methodology for creating mine plans that are operationally feasible and which are aligned with the practicalities of the mining operation by taking into account the operational variability of the mine. The methodology is based on simulation techniques and it is tested through a theoretical application and a case study. The outcome is a mine plan that is appropriate for the mines operation because it has been tested through simulation prior to its publication, which represents an important contribution for the decision making process at a key position in the mine production chain. The results obtained have confirmed the practical benefits of the proposed simulation methodology, by allowing the establishment of more realistic production targets associated to the current operating conditions of the mine being studied. The outcome of the project have also allowed the identification of opportunities for further research, related to the incorporation of geological uncertainty and to the automation of the mine simulation process.

Com o passar dos anos a sociedade tem se tornado gradativamente mais dependente de recursos minerais para o seu funcionamento e para o desenvolvimento de produtos. A maior parte das coisas que cercam o homem necessita de alguma espécie de bem mineral como matéria prima para sua fabricação. Por isso, cada vez mais, a mineração tem sido objeto de estudos, buscando aprimoramento e desenvolvimento nos métodos de extração de minérios. Existem duas formas utilizadas para a extração de bens minerais, uma por uso de métodos de lavra a céu aberto (OP) e outra através da aplicação de métodos para lavra subterrânea (UG). A definição de qual método deve ser aplicado em cada caso depende de diversos fatores, como profundidade e geometria do corpo mineral, competência da rocha portadora do minério e da rocha encaixante, entre outros, mas ao final, aspectos econômicos predominam para a definição da viabilidade de cada um dos possíveis métodos. Porém, existem casos em que a melhor escolha para minerar o depósito não se dá por umas dessas duas opções, e sim, pela combinação de ambas, ou seja, a aplicação da lavra a céu aberto seguida da extração dos recursos remanescentes por lavra subterrânea. A grande dificuldade, nestes casos, é definir qual o momento ideal para a transição de método, de maneira que os resultados do projeto integrado sejam otimizados e que um método não inviabilize o outro. Para isso é necessário analisar as duas opções de lavra individualmente, lavrando somente a céu aberto e lavrando somente por métodos subterrâneos, além de analisar-se a viabilidade do projeto através da combinação dos dois métodos, comparando as opções técnica e economicamente e selecionando a que apresente a melhor resposta ao final, para então tomar-se a decisão de qual alternativa de projeto é o mais indicado para cada caso. / Over the years, the society has become progressively dependent on mineral resources for its operation and for development of products. The majority of the things that surround the men needs some kind of mineral material as raw material for its manufacture. Therefore, increasingly, mining has been studied aiming to improve and develop methods of mineral extraction. There are two ways that are utilized to mineral extraction, one by open pit methods (OP) e another by application of underground methods (UG). The definition of which one should be applied in each case depends on many factors, such as depth and geometry of the mineral body, strength of the mineralized and bounding rock, among others, but at the end, economic aspects are predominant for the definition of viability of the methods. However, there are some cases where the best choice to mine the deposit is not one of these options, but the combination of both methods, it means, the application of open pit mining followed by extraction of remaining resources by underground mining. The great challenge, in these cases, is to define what is the right moment for the transition of the methods, making sure that the results are optimized and one method do not impede the development of the other one. In this sense, it is necessary to analyze both options individually, mining the deposit only by open pit and mining only by underground, and also analyze the combination of the two methods, comparing these options technically and economically at the end, and then decide which project alternative is the best for each case.

La nécessité de maximiser la récupération d'une ou plusieurs espèces utiles d'un gisement du cuivre, l´optimisation des consommations d'additifs dans le processus de traitement métallurgique, savoir où laisser les matériaux qui dans le futur pourraient être valorisés par une série de nouvelles opérations etc., conduit à adapter la planification minière aux caractéristiques géologiques et métallurgiques du gisement.Les unités géo-métallurgiques sont déterminées par une combinaison des principaux paramètres géologiques, type de roche, altération, minéralisation, etc. Chaque unité présente un comportement différent au processus de traitement métallurgiques avec des caractéristiques de récupération et de consommation d'acide bien spécifiques.D´une façon générale, on peut définir la planification de la mine comme un outil permettant de faire la liaison entre la géologie et la métallurgie, non seulement selon des paramètres économiques et de teneurs, mais aussi selon des paramètres géologiques et métallurgiques.Pour pouvoir construire le modèle géo-métallurgique ou géo-minier métallurgique (G.M.M) ainsi que mettre en oeuvre la catégorisation des ressources, nous avons utilisé des outils géostatistiquesLe fait de disposer d´un modèle G.M.M est d'une grande aide pour la définition de la fosse finale et la planification à long terme, soit simplement comme une première approche de la réponse du gisement au processus de traitement métallurgique, mais surtout pour optimiser les coûts et définir différentes alternatives pour maximiser la récupération du métal.Cette étude a été appliquée au cas du gisement stratiforme de Cu et Ag de Mantos de la Luna situé dans le Nord du Chili. Il comporte en particulier une comparaison entre l'approche traditionnelle et l'approche qui intègre le concept du modèle G.M.M. qui porte principalement sur les teneurs de coupure. Le concept G.M.M. peut donc influencer les décisions stratégiques comme les décisions opérationnelles. / The present research work concerns the general field of mining project set-up and is aimed at developing a new approach in long term mine planning. The main objective of this work is to incorporate the geo-metallurgical concept to mine planning which is traditionally based only on economic criteria.The need to maximize the recovery of one or more useful elements of a copper deposit, the optimization of reagents consumption in the metallurgical process, to know where to leave the materials which may be valorise in the future by a series of new operations, etc.. lead to fit mine planning and metallurgical geological features of the deposit. The geo-metallurgical units are determined by a combination of the main geological parameters, rock type, weathering, mineralization, etc... Each unit has a different behaviour in metallurgical process with specific values of recovery and acid consumption.The set-up of the geo-metallurgical mining model (GMM) and the resources categorization were made using geostatistical tools.Having a GMM model is a great help for the definition of the ultimate pit and long-term planning, as well as in a first approach of the response of the deposit to metallurgical process, but also to optimize costs and establish alternatives to maximize metal recovery.This work is based on the practical case of the Mantos de la Luna stratabound Cu and Ag deposit located in northern Chile. It proposes a methodology for resources classification of this type of deposit and includes a comparison between the traditional approach and the approach that integrates the concept of the GMM model.

This work presents two innovative ways to evaluate mining projects. The first is the application of a Technological Model in a copper-gold mine and the second is a decision making model to evaluate the benefit of semi-mobile in pit crusher and conveyor alternatives during the early stages of mining projects. In order to improve the process and to maximize the production and/or value of a mining project, there needs to be an integration of the geology, the mine plan, the processing and the geometallurgy data. In order to accomplish this, a new methodology is proposed for the creation of a technological model. This model can be interpreted as the consolidation of the different models required for a better understanding of the geological and technical information of the deposit. This concept was developed and applied at a copper and gold mine site located in Brazil. Based on the evaluation of different blasting and mill productivity scenarios through a pit-to-plant approach, it was possible to obtain operational short-term gains such as a 10.7% increase in the plant production rate and a 2.2% increase in the crusher\'s feed rate with little or no capital investment. Another important issue faced by mining companies is related to material handling. A significant cost in the operating budget of most mining operations arises from purchasing and maintaining haulage trucks. Recently, in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) has been subject to research because of its potential to reduce haulage costs. A decision-making model was created to identify early on in a project whether or not the semi-mobile IPCC (SMIPCC) is an appropriate alternative to the conventional truck haulage based on the loading and hauling approaches. The method is based on cost analysis and the evaluation of environmental impacts, being successfully tested at an existing open-pit mine, where the results indicated that the IPCC was the most cost-effective option for the operation. Although the IPCC\'s initial CAPEX was 60% higher than the conventional approach, the IPCC\'s OPEX was 43% lower, resulting in a 28% reduction of the life-of-mine net present cost (NPC). / Este trabalho apresenta duas maneiras inovadoras de avaliar projetos de mineração. A primeira é a elaboração e aplicação do modelo tecnológico para uma mina de cobre e ouro já a segunda refere-se à confecção de um modelo de tomada de decisão a ser usado para a análise dos benefícios de aplicação de britagem semimóvel em cava. Para melhorar os processos e maximizar a produção e/ou o valor de um projeto de mineração, existe a necessidade de integração dos dados de geologia, planejamento de mina, beneficiamento e geometalurgia. Com esse foco, uma nova metodologia foi proposta para a criação do modelo tecnológico. Este modelo pode ser interpretado como a consolidação dos diferentes modelos necessários para uma melhor compreensão das informações geológicas e técnicas do depósito. Este conceito foi desenvolvido e aplicado em uma mina de cobre de ouro localizada no Brasil. Com base na avaliação de diferentes cenários de perfuração e desmonte de rochas e de produtividade do moinho, usando uma abordagem de mina-usina, foi possível obter ganhos operacionais de curto prazo, tais como um aumento de 10,7% na taxa de produção de usina e um aumento de 2,2% na taxa de alimentação da britagem com pouco ou nenhum investimento de capital. Uma outra questão relevante para empresas de mineração é o transporte de material. Um custo significativo na maioria das minas surge da compra e manutenção de caminhões de transporte. A britagem em cava e correias (IPCC em inglês) vem sido avaliada em diversos casos devido ao seu potencial para reduzir os custos de transporte. Neste estudo, um modelo de tomada de decisão foi criado para identificar em etapas iniciais de um projeto os benefícios de aplicação de IPCC semimóvel (SMIPCC em inglês) em comparação com método convencional, exclusivamente por caminhões. O método baseia-se na análise de custos e na avaliação de impactos ambientais testado em uma mina a céu aberto, onde os resultados indicaram que o SMIPCC foi a opção mais econômica para a operação. Embora o investimento inicial do IPCC foi 60% maior do que a abordagem convencional, o custo operacional do IPCC foi 43% menor, resultando em uma redução de 28% do custo total a valor presente.

Mining operations exploit mineral deposits, processing a portion of the extracted material to produce salable products. The concentration of valuable commodities within these deposits, or the grade, is heterogeneous. Not all material has sufficiently high grades to economically justify processing. Cut-off grade is the lowest grade at which material is considered ore and is processed to create a concentrated commodity product. The choice of cut-off grade at a mining project can be varied over time and dramatically impacts both the operation of the mine and the economics of the project. The majority of literature and the accepted industry practices focus on optimizing cut-off grade under known commodity prices. However, most mining operations sell their products into highly competitive global markets, which exhibit volatile commodity prices. Making planning decisions assuming that a given commodity price prediction is accurate can lead to sub-optimal cut-off grade strategies and inaccurate valuations. Some academic investigations have been conducted to optimize cut-off grade under stochastic or uncertain price conditions. These works made large simplifications in order to facilitate the computation of a solution. These simplifications mean that detailed mine planning data cannot be used and the complexities involved in many real world projects cannot be considered. A new method for optimizing cut-off grade under stochastic or uncertain prices is outlined and demonstrated. The model presented makes use of theory from the field of Real Options and is designed to incorporate real mine planning data. The model introduces two key innovations. The first is the method in which it handles the cut-off grade determination. The second innovation is the use of a stochastic price model of the entire futures curve and not simply a stocastic spot price model. The model is applied to two cases. The first uses public data from a National Instrument 43-101 report. The second case uses highly detailed, confidential data, provided by a mining company from one of their operating mines. / Thesis (Master, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-30 22:36:51.257

Coal is a fossil fuel mineral, which is presently a major source of electricity and energy to industries. From past to present, there are many coal reserves around the world and large scale coal mining operates in various areas such as the USA, Russia, China, Australia, India, and Germany, etc. Thailand’s coal resources can be found in many areas; there are lignite mining in the north of Thailand, the currently operational Mae Moh Lignite Mine, and also coal reserves in the south of Thailand, such as Krabi and Songkhla, where mines are not yet operating. The main consumption of coal is in electricity production, which increases annually. In 2019, the Thai Government and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) plans to run a 800 MW coal power plant at Krabi, which may run on imported coal, despite there being reserves of lignite at Krabi; the use of domestic coal is a last option because of social and environmental concerns about the effects of coal mining. There is a modern trend in mining projects, the responsibility of mining should cover not only the mining activity, but the social and environmental protection and mine closure activities which follow. Thus, the costs and decisions taken on by the mining company are increasingly complicated. To reach a decision on investment in a mining project is not easy; it is a complex process in which all variables are connected. Particularly, the responsibility of coal mining companies to society and the environment is a new topic. Thus, a tool to help to recognize and generate information for decision making is in demand and very important. In this thesis, the system dynamics model of coal mine planning is made by using Vensim Software and specifically designed to encompass many variables during the period of mining activity until the mine closure period. The decisions use economic criteria such as Net Present Value (NPV), Net Cash Flow (NCF), Payback Period (PP), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), etc. Consequently, the development of the decision support system of coal mine planning as a tool is proposed. The model structure covers the coal mining area from mine reserves to mine closure. It is a fast and flexible tool to perform sensitivity analysis, and to determine an optimum solution. The model results are clear and easily understandable on whether to accept or reject the coal mine project, which helps coal mining companies make the right decisions on their policies, economics, and the planning of new coal mining projects. Furthermore, the model is used to analyse the case study of the Krabi coal-fired power plant in Thailand, which may possibly use the domestic lignite at Krabi. The scenario simulations clearly show some potential for the use of the domestic lignite. However, the detailed analysis of the Krabi Lignite Mine Project case shows the high possible risks of this project, and that this project is currently not feasible. Thus, the model helps to understand and confirm that the use of domestic lignite in Krabi for the Krabi Coal Power Plant Project is not suitable at this time. Therefore, the best choice is imported coal from other countries for supporting the Krabi Coal Power Plant Project. Finally, this tool successfully is a portable application software, which does not need to be installed on a computer, but can run directly in a folder of the existing application. Furthermore, it supports all versions of Windows OS.

En la presente tesis se estudia la aplicación de las herramientas del Lean Six Sigma en el desarrollo de una metodología para la evaluación de proyectos auríferos de vetas angostas en el norte del Perú. Dichas herramientas responden a controles de calidad, tiempo y procesos, los cuales tienen como finalidad el desarrollo de la evaluación económica del Proyecto Trinidad. La propuesta se desarrolló, en primer lugar, con un análisis inicial del proyecto Trinidad con la finalidad de generar estrategias, dicha actividad consta de tres partes: matriz inicial del proyecto, House of Quality y análisis FODA. En segundo lugar, se determinaron las mermas operativas y se diseñó el mapa de flujo de procesos mediante la herramienta BPM (Business Process Management). En tercer lugar, se estableció un control en los tiempos para los procesos identificados para la evaluación del proyecto, mediante la herramienta JIT (Just In Time), es aquí donde se determina los plazos para las actividades involucradas, desde gestión de información hasta cálculo de recursos, método y secuenciamiento de minado y determinación de costos. Finalmente, se analiza el valor del proyecto y el riesgo que conlleva su ejecución. Mediante indicadores como VAN y TIR calculados a partir de la identificación del CAPEX, OPEX y el flujo de caja obtenido del valor teórico de los recursos y los costos operativos. / This thesis studies the application of Lean Six Sigma tools in the development of a methodology for evaluating narrow vein gold projects in northern Peru. Such tools respond to quality, time and process controls, which are intended to develop the economic evaluation of the Trinidad Project. The proposal was developed, firstly, with an initial analysis of the Trinidad project in order to generate strategies, said activity consists of three parts: initial project matrix, House of Quality and SWOT analysis. Secondly, operational losses were determined and the process flow map was designed using the BPM (Business Process Management) tool. Third, a control was established in the times for the processes identified for the evaluation of the project, through the JIT (Just In Time) tool, it is here where the deadlines for the activities involved are determined, from information management to calculation of resources, mining method and sequencing and cost determination. Finally, the value of the project and the risk involved in its execution are analyzed. Through indicators such as NPV and IRR calculated from the identification of CAPEX, OPEX and the cash flow obtained from the theoretical value of resources and operating costs. / Tesis

Coal is a fossil fuel mineral, which is presently a major source of electricity and energy to industries. From past to present, there are many coal reserves around the world and large scale coal mining operates in various areas such as the USA, Russia, China, Australia, India, and Germany, etc. Thailand’s coal resources can be found in many areas; there are lignite mining in the north of Thailand, the currently operational Mae Moh Lignite Mine, and also coal reserves in the south of Thailand, such as Krabi and Songkhla, where mines are not yet operating. The main consumption of coal is in electricity production, which increases annually. In 2019, the Thai Government and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) plans to run a 800 MW coal power plant at Krabi, which may run on imported coal, despite there being reserves of lignite at Krabi; the use of domestic coal is a last option because of social and environmental concerns about the effects of coal mining. There is a modern trend in mining projects, the responsibility of mining should cover not only the mining activity, but the social and environmental protection and mine closure activities which follow. Thus, the costs and decisions taken on by the mining company are increasingly complicated. To reach a decision on investment in a mining project is not easy; it is a complex process in which all variables are connected. Particularly, the responsibility of coal mining companies to society and the environment is a new topic. Thus, a tool to help to recognize and generate information for decision making is in demand and very important. In this thesis, the system dynamics model of coal mine planning is made by using Vensim Software and specifically designed to encompass many variables during the period of mining activity until the mine closure period. The decisions use economic criteria such as Net Present Value (NPV), Net Cash Flow (NCF), Payback Period (PP), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), etc. Consequently, the development of the decision support system of coal mine planning as a tool is proposed. The model structure covers the coal mining area from mine reserves to mine closure. It is a fast and flexible tool to perform sensitivity analysis, and to determine an optimum solution. The model results are clear and easily understandable on whether to accept or reject the coal mine project, which helps coal mining companies make the right decisions on their policies, economics, and the planning of new coal mining projects. Furthermore, the model is used to analyse the case study of the Krabi coal-fired power plant in Thailand, which may possibly use the domestic lignite at Krabi. The scenario simulations clearly show some potential for the use of the domestic lignite. However, the detailed analysis of the Krabi Lignite Mine Project case shows the high possible risks of this project, and that this project is currently not feasible. Thus, the model helps to understand and confirm that the use of domestic lignite in Krabi for the Krabi Coal Power Plant Project is not suitable at this time. Therefore, the best choice is imported coal from other countries for supporting the Krabi Coal Power Plant Project. Finally, this tool successfully is a portable application software, which does not need to be installed on a computer, but can run directly in a folder of the existing application. Furthermore, it supports all versions of Windows OS.