Custom mine planning solution for Spence Mine

Spence Mine is located near the community of Sierra Gorda in northern

Chile, approximately 50 km southwest of Calama and 150 km northeast of
Antofagasta, at 1700 metres above sea level. The deposit was discovered
by Rio Algom in 1996 and purchased by Billiton (now BHPBilliton) in 2000.
Project construction and mine development took place in 2005-06 and
the first copper was produced in December 2006. The supergene deposit
comprises partially oxidised copper porphyry, with mineralisation at
a depth of 80-100 metres. The Spence Mine has a nominal capacity of Spence Mine uses the graphical interface for showing the different details
200,000 tonnes of copper cathode, with a 19 year mine life. at any point of time during the scheduling process. The Maptek Vulcan
‘progress map’ option is used to replay the scheduling in a graphical
Spence Mine has been using the Maptek Chronos™ software since interface. This is very useful for visualising the impact of scheduling
2004 to assist in designing their mine plan. Chronos is a scheduling on-screen.
package that allows a user to create a complete scheduling model using
a spreadsheet interface. The purpose behind the Spence model is to
incorporate the scheduling for two different rock types (sulphides and
oxides). It is necessary to send these two rock types to the plant at different
times. Correct management of the material is very important at this stage,
because the stockpiles are being heavily used.
Initially, the idea was to create a model that could provide an optimal
solution to the reserve planning problem using different cutoff grades
for different materials at different times. The user selects the specific
cutoff grade for a particular period, selects the constraint and runs the
optimisation. The aim is for the user to be able to run many different
optimisations in a short time.
The model includes several dynamic reports for examining every
detail of the scheduling. The idea is to incorporate many types of reports
to provide as much information as possible about the specific scenario and
to allow ‘what if’ analysis. If the user changes any parameters, all the reports
are recalculated and it is possible to quantify the impact. The key purpose of the planning model is to meet the need to assess different
trade-off alternatives. For this reason, this model has been incorporated in
This model is based on mixed integer linear programming (MILP) to
the planning process as a tool to assist planners in decision-making and in
maximise the present value of the operation, subject to operational
the correct evaluation of the generated alternatives.
restrictions. Integrated with a spreadsheet-based graphics environment,
this results in an easily adaptable product. Multiple scenarios can be
generated in a short period of time, giving rise to a series of alternatives.
Thanks to Jorge Calderón
The optimisation strategy considers the possibility of generating multi- Senior Engineer, Minera Spence
period optimisation with the selection of a specific field by the user. In Reproduced from Forge 3, 2007
the scenario presented in the formula shown, the selected function is the
profit. Before reaching this stage, at the core of the model, the profit of
each potential cutoff is calculated. This function includes some penalties
imposed on material which goes to a process different from that which
was scheduled, thus minimising material rehandling. The discount rate is
incorporated in order to update cash flows and include dollar value over
time; this is a parameter in the planning model.

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