Determination of optimum production capacity and mine life considering net present value in open pit mining at different overall slope angles

Abstract

In modern mining industry, with increasing competitive environment and unit costs, it is necessary to evaluate mineral resources optimally from the aspects of economy, safety and environment. On the other hand, production increase is another reality and obligation for today’s mining operations. The activities related to the extraction of ore deposit consist of risky operations, which are a great hazard for capital investments that will take many years. Therefore, in terms of feasibility, it is very important to determine optimum production capacity and a mine life in the mine planning. In open pit mine planning, many factors affect total fixed and operating costs, such as haulage costs, particularly when the mine goes deeper, geomechanical features of the ore body and surrounding rocks, diggability and slope stability related to overall slope angle. In this study, with the help of the developed software, by encompassing all these parameters and considering Net Present Value (NPV), it is targeted to determine optimum open pit production capacity and economic mine life, which are the major parameters in feasibility studies of mining projects.

Keywords

• open pit
• mine planning
• net present value
• optimum capacity
• economical mine life