UNDERGROUND

MINE DESIGN
&
PLANNING
UNDERGROUND MINE DESIGN & PLANNING

 Objectives
 To understand and describe the underground mine
design and planning process.
 To identify the significant factors, components and
parameters affecting this mine design and planning
process and show how they are interrelated.
 To describe, using formal software systems analysis,
design and planning process as well as the flow of
information within the process, resulting in a
documented formal, comprehensive, process model.
 To describe the functionalities and the capabilities
required in a computerized integrated underground
mine design and planning system, in accordance with
the documented process model.
 To present the current state-of-the-art in
underground mine planning systems.
 To describe how sophisticated computer science
techniques such as object-oriented programming,
database methodologies, geometric modeling and
Visualization, surface and solid modeling, and expert
systems can be used to integrate the various aspects
of mine design and planning and considerably
improve design and planning efficiency
• To outline a high-level object-oriented data
model suitable for a mine design and planning
system.
• To examine the benefits as well as the
potential risks when creating such systems
and propose possible development and
implementation avenues.
 EVOLUTION OF UNDERGROUND MINE
DESIGN AND PLANNING SYSTEMS
The Traditional Mine Design and Planning Process.
 Traditionally, mine design and planning activities have
been restricted to defining the methods for accessing
and then extracting the ore reserves. Based on
experience or current practice, the engineer would
determine the best plan for extracting the ore while
the planner would determine and schedule the
required resources to implement the engineer's plan.
In many small mining operations, the same individual
performed both tasks.
• Typically, using paper level plans and section
drawings, the stope outlines would be placed over
the ore inventory previously defined by the mine
geologist. Later, the mine planner would add the
development work. An approximate grade and
volume (to ~ age)would then be calculated,
including an estimate for ore recovery and ore
dilution. Using some valuation model, the value of
the ore contained within the stope would be
estimated. Based on experience, the planner
would estimate how much muck a stope could
produce in a given time period.
 To determine roughly how many stopes would
be needed to meet the production objectives
set by the corporate office. Depending on the
mill feedstock requirements and observed
variations in stope grades, additional stopes
could have been added for ore blending
purposes. Additional stopes might also have
been added for increased scheduling
flexibility.
 In all cases, sufficient development work
would have to be done before the stopes
could start producing muck. Again based on
experience, the planner would calculate the
amount of lead-the required for completing
development work. Based on average
productivity rates, the number of shifts
required could be calculated.
 Using one to three shifts per day, the number
of days before the stopes would start
producing could then be estimated. The
planner could also estimate the required
supplies, i.e. drill steel and bits, explosives,
etc., to complete the job. In addition,
equipment and labour, currently used in other
locations, could be allocated for the
development and production work.
 If required, additional equipment would be ordered or
miners hired to meet development and production needs.
With a mining schedule defined, it is then possible to
generate a detailed budget and estimate the economic
returns of the mine.
 Thus, the mine design and planning process described
above ties together several elements: ore reserves
estimation, plan and section drawings, mining method
selection and mine layout, development and production
scheduling, equipment selection, cost estimation, and
mine valuation.
 This process is presented in Figure 1 as a block flowchart
that highlights the relationships between the major
elements found in traditional mine design and planning.
 It is obvious that several of the elements are
interrelated and that an iterative solution will be
required. Even with computer assistance, the
traditional design and planning process is tedious
especially if the mine is marginal and the mineral
prices are fluctuating often. Due to time constraints,
the designer/planner will likely look at only a few
options before selecting what appears to be the
best one, thus a lack of effective optimization
 Increased computerization of the traditional
process can only help the designer/planner.
However, if greater design/planning efficiency and
productivity are the goals, new elements need to be
added to obtain the full benefits of
computerization. Typically, these are the support
elements like surveying, rock mechanics, ground
control, ventilation, drilling and blasting,
maintenance planning, incident tracking, and mine
monitoring
 However, other elements like expert systems,
numerical models, data analysis and
visualization tools, simulation, and
optimization techniques are needed to bring
added intelligence to the process. The
integration of these elements, if feasible,
would form an intelligent design system with
decision-support capabilities that exceed
anything currently available on the market.
 Defining the Fully Integrated Mine Design
and Planning Process

 The term "traditional mine design and

planning" is used to separate current
methods, which are a mixture of semi-
integrated mine planning systems, stand-alone
programs and manual methods, from fully
integrated computerized intelligent mine
systems.
 In the traditional process, the designer/planner
is intimately involved in ail the data reparation
and data translation required for each design
activity. The fully integrated system handles all
data preparation and translation work between
design activities internally and transparently to
the designer/planner.
 Automation or Production Control
Integration
• With increasing automation, the mine planning
system will interface more and more with the
automation or production control system. Based on
monitoring and sensing information, the mine plan
would be modified in real-time to meet the
changing conditions. Some authors have coined the
term "intelligent mine" to describe the integration
of mine computer systems with machines and
equipment using a mine-wide communication and
data network.
• However, it should be noted that the focus is on
production control, not mine design and planning.
Such a system requires that a plan already exists
for the system to work properly. The "intelligent'
system simply takes the existing plan and refines it.
For instance, the mine planning software will
download its drilling instructions to the drill. As
drilling proceeds, the drill itself will send
information back to the planning software.
Depending on what the drill "sees", the drilling
pattern may be adjusted or the explosive charge
layout modified to consider the new information
• Similarly, remote sensors could record oxygen
and contaminant levels in the air, requesting
that the ventilation network be modified to
provide better conditions. This would require
that an analysis be performed to determine the
impact of the change on the network. If
feasible and if permitted by government
regulations, the ventilation software could then
send instructions to remotely located fans and
doors to alter the network to the new
configuration.
 Decision-Support
• One definite trend is the use of mine
information systems for decision-support. It
is anticipated that mine planning will be
enhanced by the use of expert systems or
artificial intelligence. An adequately designed
expert system could advise the inexperienced
engineer when required, or supplement the
experienced designer.
• For instance, an aging and retiring workforce means
that valuable experience may be lost as these
people leave their mining companies. Their
replacements may not be as experienced and an
expert system could help with the transition. Many
mine sites also experience high turnover rates. An
appropriately designed expert system can not only
help with the training, thereby shortening the
learning curve, but also advise on appropriate steps
to be taken.
 Simulation and Optimization
• There have been some efforts in optimizing underground
mines, however the problem is not trivial. The pursuit of
an optimized mine design may even be questionable. An
optimal solution is by its very nature inflexible because
any deviations from the assumptions used for the
optimization model results in a sub-optimal design. The
uncertainty associated with many of the parameters (e-g.
grades, market prices, metal recoveries, costs, etc.)
requires that mining solutions be flexible. Good solutions
are robust and can tolerate variations and uncertainties.
• This optimization complexity is due to the
interrelations between the various activities in
mine design/planning and the time element.
A decision taken at a given point in time affects
the options available later. If any optimization
is done, it is generally on a piecemeal basis and
may not always consider downstream effects.
Many of the constraints are difficult to
measure and quantify.
 To be effective, mine optimization requires a
more holistic approach. For instance, drilling
costs are reduced by drilling fewer but larger
holes. However, the detonation of these large
blastholes may cause hanging-wall sloughing
which in turn affects dilution and ore recovery
and thus the economics of the stope.
 Another scenario, the large blastholes can
cause large rock fragmentation that in turn
requires large scoops to muck. Large scoops
require large shafts, raises and drifts that must
be excavated and supported. Large drifts are
expensive to create and maintain, especially at
depth.
• However, small access openings are more
difficult and costly to ventilate and in theory,
there is an optimum access opening size that
provides both the minimum development cost
and ventilating cost (Wang and Ogbonlowo,
1982). The global optimization of this
material-handling problem is complex because
it involves several interrelated components.
 Mine optimization is complicated by the variability
and uncertainty observed in many of the activities
and processes. For instance, there are variations in
equipment reliability, availability, downtime, and
productivity rates. For such problems, simulation is
of benefit in examining the interrelationships and
determining the potential risks of planning
decisions. For example, are three large scoops
better than six smaller ones for mining a particular
rezone? The answer could depend on equipment
reliability, cost of operation, and interference
between the various pieces among other factors.
Functional Elements of a Mine Design/Planning
System
 To extend the capabilities and power of the
design/planning system, the System must be
networked to other external computer
systems and databases within the mine.
These external systems would likely include:
 Mine and equipment maintenance system
(for production, downtime, repair history,
reliability statistics for use in planning and
simulation as well as equipment assignments,
availability status and unit costs)
 Mine inventory and warehousing system (for
inventory tracking* unit costs and order
forecasting of supplies and consumables).
 Personnel database system (for labour
assignments, availability status and unit costs)
 Accounting system (for tracking costs and
budgets for workplaces, processes and
activities)
 Data warehouses (for enterprise wide transfer
of information)
 Depending on the level of automation within
operations, the System could be interfaced to a
Production Control and Monitoring System. This real-
time system, built on a high-speed high-bandwidth
communication network could provide the following
functionalities:
 Production equipment and remote equipment control
(real-time machine "health", current status monitoring
and control).
 Mine control systems status for updating the very-short
term mine plan and fine-tuning the production schedule.
 Mine environment and energy monitoring (for red-time
monitoring and control)
Links between Mine Design/Planning and
other Mine Systems
 The ability to describe a system accurately is
important for several reasons including
 Transferring information from one party to
another.
 Coordinating the design, development, testing
and integration of the various components.
 Describing the transformation process that takes
place on information or materials as they flow
through the various components.
 Aiding in the future troubleshooting of problems
or upgrading of the system.
• Aiding in the design of system simulators for
process troubleshooting, validation, and
testing.
• Aiding in the evaluation of the system's
reliability.
• Aiding in the documentation process.
Systems analysis techniques form part of
the methodologies
1) Analysis and definition of requirements and
functionality including system interactions into
a logical model.
2) Design of a physical model based on the
logical model defined during the analysis
phase. System architecture, data structure,
module interfaces, object models are defined
and assessed before actual coding.
3) Coding or programming the design
specifications into procedures, modules and
programs into computer instructions.
4) Testing of al1 codes, modules and programs.
5) Documentation of all software development
work, system requirements and design
specifications.
6) Maintenance or upgrading to the software as
the product evolves.
(a) Waterfall Model (Royce, 1970)
(b) Spird Model (Boehm and Papaccio, 1988)
Mine Planning Stages, Factors and
Objectives
Mine Planning Stages, Factors and
Objectives
Mine Planning Stages, Factors and
Objectives
 Significant Mine Design Factors
 Mine design sets the stage for the ore body's long-term
development and production schedule. Decisions made at this
stage have a long-term impact on the economics of the mine.
Mine design involves several interrelated and interdependent
activities, components and factors. The major activities
included mining method selection, stope design, layout and
sequencing, primary mine access layout, optimum production
rate determination as well as rock excavation (fragmentation)
and material handling systems. A cost estimate for these
systems combined with the value of the ore reserves will be
used to judge the economic viability and value of the deposit.
 Mining method selection is heavily influenced by the
ore body characteristics which were identified during
the geological analysis and modeling process. The
mining method in turn influences the stope design
(which depends on stope sizing, mining direction and
sequencing). Setting the mine production rate is an
important decision and is usually based on available
reserves, however, it is frequently determined on
partial and incomplete information. Once the
production rate is set, it will influence the mine life,
the number of stopes required, and the drilling,
mucking and haulage systems as well.
 All underground ore bodies require some form
of permanent or primary access. Primary
accesses will generally be used for the entire
We of the mine and represent a substantial
capital cost to the operation which occurs very
early in the economic life of the mine. High
tonnage, bulk-mining methods require large
equipment which in time require large
primary accesses.
 The following information is generally
required for primary access design:
 An ore body model
 Knowledge of the rock mass conditions.
 Anticipated or required production tonnage.
 Equipment sizes.
 Costing data.
Significant Mine Planning and Scheduling Factors and
Considerations

• Mine planning and scheduling is fundamental

to production implementation and control.
Planning and scheduling is an iterative
process that attempts to maximize the
economic benefits of the ore body while
respecting the production constraints and
taking into account the available production
resources.
• Mine planning and scheduling is often labeled as
either long-term or short-term planning. The
difference lies with the time horizons, forecasting
accuracy and the level of detail required. Long-
term planning represents a time horizon ranging
from 5 to 20 years while short-term planning
varies in time from about 6 months up to 3 years.
It is virtually impossible to forecast accurately
some economic parameters for horizons longer
than a few years. It makes no sense to plan an
entire mine in detail if some of the critical
parameters will change in two years.
 Mine Production Control Considerations
• Mine production control is concerned with five primary areas,
surveying control, grade control, fragmentation control, cost
control and schedule control. Surveying control is required to
locate accurately geological and excavation information, for
laying out developments and developments and measuring
advances. Accurate surveying is critical to the system for both
implementation of the design and for verification that the
design has been followed. Accurate surveys are also a
regulatory and legal requirement.
• Grade control ensures that the muck produced will meet the
mill feed requirements and constraints (i.e. grade range,
contaminant levels and ore blending requirements).
 Significant Mine Design Factors

• Mine design sets the stage for the orebody's

long-term development and production
schedule. Decisions made at this stage have a
long-term impact on the economics of the mine.
Mine design involves several interrelated and
interdependent activities, components
• and factors.
 Significant Mine Design Factors
 The major activities include mining method
selection, stope design, layout and
sequencing, primary mine access layout,
optimum production rate determination as
well as rock excavation (fragmentation) and
material handling systems. A cost estimate for
these systems combined with the value of
the ore reserves will be used to judge the
economic viability and value of the deposit.
 Significant Mine Design Factors
• Mining method selection is heavily influenced by the
orebody characteristics which were identified during the
geological analysis and modeling process. The mining
method in turn influences the stope design (which depends
on stope sizing, mining direction and sequencing). Setting
the mine production rate is an important decision and is
usually based on available reserves, however, it is frequently
determined on partial and incomplete information. Once
the production rate is set, it will influence the mine life, the
number of stopes required, and the drilling, mucking and
haulage systems as well.
 Significant Mine Design Factors
 Ali underground orebodies require some form of
permanent or primary access. Primary accesses
will generally be used for the entire We of the
mine and represent a substantial capital cost to
the operation which occurs very early in the
economic life of the mine. Because of the long
working Iife requirement and the high initial
investment in excavation, it is critical that the
best layout be designed early on.
 Significant Mine Design Factors

 A proper layout is based on knowing the

shape, dimension, location of the ore deposit
as well as the metal distribution within the ore
deposit. It is also based on knowing the daily
production rate as well as the equipment
selected for development and production.
 Significant Mine Design Factors
 High tonnage, bulk-mining methods require
large equipment which in turn require large
primary accesses. Regulatory requirements on
clearance as well as pipes, power lines, and
ventilation tubing means that the drifts must
be large enough to safely accommodate the
equipment operating in them. However, large
accesses are costly to excavate and maintain.
Significant Mine Design Factors
The following information is generally required
for primary access design:

 An orebody model;
 Knowledge of the rock mass conditions;
 Anticipated or required production
tonnage Equipment sizes;
 Costing data.
 Significant Mine Planning and Scheduling
Factors and Considerations

 Mine planning and scheduling is fundamental

to production implementation and control.
planning and scheduling is an iterative
process that attempts to maximize the
economic benefits of the orebody while
respecting the production constraints and
taking into account the available production
resources.
Significant Mine Planning and Scheduling
Factors and Considerations
• Mine planning and scheduling is often labeled as either
long-term or short-term planning. The difference lies
with the time horizons, forecasting accuracy and the
level of detail required. Long-term planning represents a
time horizon ranging from 5 to 20 years while short-term
planning varies in time from about 6 months up to 3
years. It is virtually impossible to forecast accurately
some economic parameters for horizons longer than a
few years. It makes no sense to plan an entire mine in
detail if some of the critical parameters will change in
two years.
 Mine Production Control Considerations

 Mine production control is concerned with five primary

areas, surveying control grade control, fragmentation
control, cost control and schedule control.
 Blasting and fragmentation control ensures that the
muck size distribution will be acceptable for mucking as
well as keeping dilution to reasonable levels. In certain
situations, blasting control may also be concerned with
vibration control. This is particularly important when
blasting close to sensitive mining installations (e.g.
shafts, stations, motors) or geological structures.