Integrated System for Improved Grade Control in Open Pit Mines

• Author / Creator

  Vasylchuk, Yaroslav V.

• Grade control establishes the final destinations for mined material (plant, stockpile, waste dump, etc.) at the time of mining. Correct decisions bring profit to a mining company while incorrect decisions bring losses. There are several potential sources of misclassification of mined material: i) unreasonable prediction of grade, ii) failing to account for the consequences of incorrect decisions, iii) ignoring blast movement of rocks, and iv) imprecise selection of mined material using large polygons. This thesis provides tools for addressing some sources of misclassification. A reasonable range of grid sizes for grade control models is determined. The use of simulation and utility theory for grade control classification are illustrated with a series of examples. A program for predicting approximate blast movement of rocks is developed. Grade control dig limits are replaced with truck-by-truck determination of the optimal destination. The new selection paradigm combines all of these considerations in a unified approach.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Blast movement
  • Geostatistics
  • Simulations
  • Grade control

• Graduation date

  Fall 2016

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3M902B2T

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.