Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93 103

www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo

Design and planning for slate mining using optimisation algorithms

F.G. Bastante *, J. Taboada, C. Ordonez
Mining Department, E.T.S.I.I. Minas, Area de Explotacion de Minas, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende,
University of Vigo, Vigo (Pontevedra) 36200, Spain
Received 13 November 2002; accepted 9 December 2003

Abstract
This paper describes the application, for the first time, of design, planning and scheduling algorithms to the mining of
ornamental rock. For the application, a model of an ornamental slate deposit was created that included a block model and a
financial model of the deposit. The block model contains information on useful or exploitable slate content, which is equivalent
to metal content for the traditional mining sectors. The financial model introduces the concept of cutoff grades to slate. Cutoff
grades are a logical consequence of the mine planner having a choice as to whether or not to use diamond wire to cut the blocks.
The techniques applied in this sector of crucial importance to the Spanish mining industry were the Lerchs and Grossmann
algorithm, parametric analysis and the Milawa algorithm.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Slate; Ornamental rock mining; Design; Planning; Scheduling; Optimisation methods

1. Introduction
Many factors play a role in the design and planning
of mining operations that make the task a formidable
one, only surpassed by the complexity of the mining
operation itself.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that there is no
mathematical algorithm available capable of finding
an optimal solution to this task. Algorithms are
available, however, that offer more or less functional
alternatives, once a wide set of parameters have been
implicitly or explicitly fixed under the supervision of
a mine planner and depending on the quantity and
quality of the input parameters that the model will
accept.
* Corresponding author. Fax: +34-986812201.
E-mail address: bastante@uvigo.es (F.G. Bastante).
0013-7952/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2003.12.002

In this paper, we will assume that the sum of

discounted cash flows (net present value, NPV) represents the profitability of the business and that its
maximisation is the business main aim (Lane, 1988;
Runge, 1998; Lemieux, 2000). The definition of
reserves and mining sequence will thus conform to
this premise.
The use of algorithms requires the deposit to be
modelled in the form of rectangular, three-dimensional blocks that will contain a range of information concerning dimensions and coordinates, the type
and density of the material represented by the
blocks, grades, pit slopes, costs, recoveries, prices,
etc.
For each block, this information is reduced to the
following: (1) net value (NV), or the sum of revenues
less the sum of costs attributable to the extraction of
each block; and (2) a file of arcs (S), which represents

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F.G. Bastante et al. / Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93103

the set of blocks that must initially be extracted, in

accordance with the pit slopes, in order to expose the
block under consideration.
With a set of all the possible NV S pairs, we
tackle, in the first place, the problem of determining
the optimum ultimate pit limit of a mine. The ultimate
pit is defined as the contour resulting from the
extraction of a volume of material that represents
the total maximum net value whilst simultaneously
satisfying the pit slope requirement.
Although the floating cone technique proved itself
to be a popular method for obtaining the ultimate
outline, its results were not always optimal. The
solution for the problem finally arose in the Lerchs
and Grossmann (1965) graph-theoretic algorithm.
Other algorithms subsequently appeared which gave
identical results (Picard, 1976).
The next stepa parallel step, in fact, to the
previous oneis to define the mining phases, generally resolved using parametric analysis (Lerchs and
Grossmann, 1965). Lerchs and Grossmann introduced an additional cost k as a parameter in each
block of mineral. An increasing sequence of k values
gives rise to a set of nested pit outlines that are used
to define the push-backs. Dagdelen and FrancoisBongarcon (1982), Francois-Bongarcon and Guibal
(1982) and Lemieux (2000) have all proposed the use
of other different parameters. We shall use the Whittle (1988) technique, which uses the selling price as a
parameter.
Once the phases have been defined, we next
establish the production schedule. Although the main
software packages use heuristic search techniques to
define the best temporal extraction sequence, other
packages use linear programming techniques or a
combination of both.
We used the Milawa algorithm (Whittle Programming, 1998), which searches for either the schedule
with the greatest NPV or the schedule that balances
mining and processing capacities with the greatest
NPV, on the basis of the number of benches in the
ultimate pit, the push-backs and the time periods
configuring the life of the mine, and also bearing in
mind the mine and mill throughputs, and the geometric
restrictions imposed between phases.
The final step in the process is an optimisation of
the cutoff grades. Optimisation methods disregard any
preconceived break-even cutoff (Whittle, 1990); they

compare, rather, the net value for each block for each
of its possible end uses and select the highest net
value (this is equivalent to working with marginal
cutoff grades). With the help of the Lane (1988)
algorithm, we can determine the cutoff grade strategy
that maximises the NPV, bearing in mind all the
restrictions introduced to date.
By this stage, we conclude the first of the cycles
that determines the mining pit limit/mining phases/
production schedule/cutoff grades. We now need to
introduce the effect that a change in the cutoff grades
produces in the model. In fact, it may be that the
assumptions made as to the principal parameters are
no longer valid (costs, selectivity or dilution, for
example), and the model generated is not appropriate
for the new circumstances.
The grade distribution function, its spatial arrangement and the cutoff grades are the factors that
will dictate the quantity of reserves, the average
grade and spatial variability. These will ultimately
determine the extraction method, the rate of production and sequence, or what amounts to the same,
the capital expenses, the costs and profits of the
operation.
These optimisation techniques have been used
extensively in traditional mining sectors (metals
and energy) but have never been used for ornamental rock. The ornamental rock sector tends to
consist of a large number of small volume quarries,
where concepts such as mineral grade are not
applied and where task design and planning is still
carried out manually. Before we apply these techniques to an ornamental slate quarry, we will first briefly
explain the particular characteristics of this kind of
exploitation.
Geological investigation of the deposit is based on
continuous drill cores, since surface alterations impede sampling for fresh rock on the surface (Taboada
et al., 1998). The cores are used to study the sedimentary, metamorphic and structural characteristics
that define the orebody. The orebody contains a mass
of useful slate (which is defined, as we shall see
subsequently, as the equivalent of mineral grade) and
areas of spoil, the latter mainly a consequence of
structural discontinuities in the orebody (Garca-Guinea et al., 1998).
Mining begins with the stripping of surface spoil,
which may consist of other lithologies or areas of

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95

2.2. Ultimate pit outline and push-backs

Lerchs and Grossmann algorithm and nested pit

analysis

Ultimate pit outline and push-backs

Geometric restrictions
2.3. Production scheduling

Milawa algorithm
Financial analysis

3. Data preparation and analysis

Fig. 1. Design and planning methodology.

altered slate. Ripable material is cleared using mechanical methods, and perforation and blasting are
used for resistant rock masses.
In order to extract blocks for processing, the first
operation is to wire-cut the mass in two perpendicular
directions. The blocks are then extracted using loader
or backhoe bucket teeth in accordance with the
cleavage direction (Taboada et al., 2001).
The blocks obtained are transported to a processing
plant where they are converted into roofing slate
sheets by undergoing a process of primary exfoliation,
sawing, final exfoliation, cutting, selection and packaging (Taboada et al., 1997).

This phase consists of the creation of a block

model and financial model for the deposit together
with a definition of the slopes and operational criteria
for the mining of the slate. Fig. 2 depicts the general
morphology of the digital terrain model indicating the
location of the quarry.
3.1. Creation of the block model
The deposit model is composed of a block model
of the orebody and another model that includes the
waste.
The model of the orebody (Fig. 3) was constructed
from the information collected from both the core
samples and a map of outcrops. The bottom of the

2. Methodology
Our first figure (Fig. 1) shows a general overview
of the design and planning tasks for mining deposits
using optimisation tools. The different phases are as
follows.
2.1. Data preparation and analysis

Creation of the block model

Cost structure

Pit slopes

Fig. 2. Morphology of the DTM where the quarry is located.

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F.G. Bastante et al. / Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93103

Fig. 3. Orebody block model. Southwest view.

exploitable layer was first estimated by applying

ordinary kriging to the coordinates of the deepest
extremity where exploitable slate was to be found
for each drill core. Obtained in a similar way were the
data for the top of the exploitable layer. A wireframe
model was created on the basis of the krigged points.
Next, the drill cores represented within our wireframe model were subdivided into lengths representative of the minimum block size required for the
processing plant (0.5 m3); each stretch of useful slate
identified was marked with a 1 and the remainder with
a 0. Using the indicator kriging technique (Journel,
1983), the percentage of useful slate was estimated
within supports (blocks) as the result of indicator
kriging of the binary categorical variable: useful/nonuseful slate is the expected value of the indicator for
each block, providing an estimation of the proportion
of material that corresponds to useful slate (Bastante,
2002). The blocks of 14  15  5 m were oriented
according to the directions of the drillholes perforated
for the wire cut.

In order to complete the model of the deposit, a

model of the spoil material below the topographical
surface was created which was then combined with
the above model.
Each block thus had the following information:
type of material (orebody or strip material), tonnage
and useful slate content.
3.2. Cost structure
We next analysed the materials flow. From the
quarry, we have strip material (WST) and ore tonnage
(ORE). The latter contains useful slate (USS) and
waste slate (WSS). Recovered in the quarry is gc % of
USS (RAC), representing the material that goes to the
processing plant. From RAC, gn % is recovered,
finally resulting in finished slate (ELS, i.e., commercial sheets) and plant waste (RAC-ELS).
In order to create the financial model of the
operation, costs were structured according to the
different mining and processing procedures (Tables
1 and 2). We also introduced time-dependent costs,
CF (255,000 o/year).

Table 1
Quarry cost structure
Mining cost (o/t)

WST

ORE
USS

Drilling and blasting

D1
Drilling and diamond wire cut
Load and haulage
D2
Total
D (0.51)

WSS

PC1 (3.07)
PCu (0.47) PCe (0.39)
PC

Table 2
Plant cost structure
Processing cost (o/t)

RAC

RAC-ELS

Transformation into commercial sheets

Load and haulage
Total

N (22.19)

EN
EN (0.39)

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97

Using the maximum plant capacity (H tRAC/year)

and the average selling price (Pv o/tELS), we can
calculate the marginal cutoff grade (lm). Thus, if a
block from the orebody has OREb tonnes of material,
of which PIZAb tonnes are useful slate, then the
marginal cutoff grade is obtained when
lm

PIZAb
OREb
PC1
Pmgc gn  PCu  PCe gc N EN1  gn CF=H

In other words, the yield from a block with lm% of

useful slate will generate revenues capable of paying
for perforation and wire-cutting, in-plant processing
of useful slate, loading and transport of the waste
produced as a consequence of processing, a proportional part of the fixed costs and finally, the differential loading and transport costs between treating a
block as mineral or as waste slate.
It appears evident that the cutoff grade arises as a
consequence of the decision as to whether or not the
cut is made in the mass using diamond wire.
Given that we have the PC1 cost for the OREb
tonnes as well as the remaining terms bracketed in the
denominator referring to the PIZAb tonnes, we can
simplify the equation. Thus, if we group the latter
costs together and treat them as selling costs Cc
(referring to tonnes of finished slate), the net value
of a block of mineral (NVb) will be given by the
following expression:
NVb Pv  Cc  gc  gn  lb  PC1 PCe
 OREb;
where lb is the grade value for the block.
Financial data and material flows for the deposit
over the period of 1 year were used to quantify costs
and yields. From the above expressions we obtained
lm = 19% and NVb = 0 when lb = 21%.
However, we have to bear in mind that the grade
distribution function for our model (Fig. 4) is only a
crude estimate of the real distribution function, and
that introduction of the marginal grade will result in a
percentage of in-quarry material for wire-cutting of
90%, when in reality, we know that the real value for
the operation is around 60%. Therefore, we cannot

Fig. 4. Grade distribution function.

use the real cost, PC1, in the financial model, but will
have to reduce it in such a way that the product of the
new cost, multiplied by the percentage of abovemarginal grade material obtained using this cost, will
be equal to the product of PC1 by the real percentage
of 19% + grade material.
In this way, we manage to avoid the introduction
of a generalised bias in the financial evaluation that
would affect the definition of the mining pit limits
(fewer reserves). By working with a fictitious cutoff
grade, we alter the tonnage of useful slate to above
the real marginal grade. In our case, however, this
variation will be very small as the marginal grade is
low and most of the reserves are in the richest
blocks.
3.3. Pit slopes
The slope requirements are described by a set of
azimuth-dip pairs. Slope values between directions
were obtained by interpolation, thus generating a file
of more than 6 million arcs. With a mean error of 1j
over the slopes to be modelled, this can be considered
a satisfactory result.

4. Ultimate pit outline and push-backs

This section describes the application of the Lerchs
and Grossmann algorithm to the mining model. The
aim is to define the push-backs (and consequently, the
pit outline) on the basis of an analysis of the algorithm

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F.G. Bastante et al. / Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93103

results and bearing in mind the restrictions on the

operation.
4.1. Lerchs and Grossmann algorithm and nesting pit
analysis
We need to establish the range of values that will
affect the selling price of the tonne of finished slate, as
the basis for the determination of the different pits.
Following a series of tests, factors ranging between
0.60 and 1.20 and between 1.30 and 2.05 were
chosen, with an interval of 0.05 and 0.25 between
each pair of values, respectively.
The graph in Fig. 5 depicts how ore tonnage
(ORE), content in useful slate (PIZA), mean and
incremental ratios and quarry life all varied depending
on the factors used, i.e., depending on different cutoff
grades.
The first pit was generated for a factor of 0.60 and
covered an area of a very rich slate bed (ratio 0.3 t/t),
exposed thanks to the advanced stage of the stripping
operation.
As evidenced by the slope of the PIZA and ORE
curves, pits with lower average richness and increasing mean ratios were delimited as the factor increased,
which would indicate that the pits are including
increasing amounts of ore, due principally to pit
expansion. Particularly interesting is the stretch between the factors 0.95 and 1.00, where an expansion
(of some 800,000 t of material) can be observed, with
a significant increase in the ratio (the incremental ratio
of the first outline is 4.4 t/t, and of the second, 6.9 t/t).
This stretch is therefore quite sensitive to selling price.

In order to perform the initial financial analyses,

we need to introduce the rates that will discount the
capital and maximum production capacities. Initially,
we shall only restrict plant capacityto 13,500 tELS/
yearbut will subsequently introduce mining and
geometric restrictions.
4.2. Mining pit limits and mining phases
With this information, we generate two financial
analyses for each of the pits created previously. One is
the result of considering a mining plan based on
successive multiple phases, with each phase represented by a pit. A mining schedule that follows these
successive contours (BS) will give the best financial
results. For the second analysis, each pit is planned in
a single phase, by withdrawing all the material that
delimits the contour, working from above to below.
The development of this model (WS) will give the
poorest financial results, due to the opportunity cost of
the capital employed in bringing forward the stripping
operations.
For both cases and bearing in mind the extraction
order for the phases, a quantity of ore necessary to
obtain the abovementioned 13,500 t of finished slate
will be extracted each year together with the stripping
spoil necessary to uncover that material.
The results of these analyses are represented in Fig.
6. The pits are indicated on the x-axis, where 1
corresponds to a factor of 0.60 in the selling price, 2
to a factor of 0.65, and so on.
For the BS model, the greatest NPV was
obtained between pits 8 and 10, whereas for the

Fig. 5. Variation in resources compared to slate selling price.

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99

Fig. 6. NPV of the different pits for BS and WS without mining restrictions.

WS, this occurred between pits 6 and 7. In both

cases, the NPV variations were smooth around the
maximums. The disparity in ratios for the initial
period explains the financial differences between the
two cases.
We now introduce the mining restriction (1.1 Mt/
year) and analyse how this affects the results. The new
situation is illustrated in Fig. 7. In addition to the BS
and WS cases, this figure includes a curve, which we

shall denominate SS, in which the phases are defined

by pits 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12.
Here we can see that the NPV values fell, and that
the maximums were displaced towards the left due to
delayed access to the mineral. The BS optimum
occurred between pits 6 and 8, whereas the WS curve
became more irregular.
The SS case was an arbitrary one. The aim was to
see how a definition of intermediate phases would

Fig. 7. NPV of the different pits for BS, WS and SS with mining restrictions.

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F.G. Bastante et al. / Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93103

affect results, as compared to an evaluation of just

extreme cases. The SS curve was nearly parallel to the
BS curve, with the maximum located between pits 6
and 8.
Given that the effect of introducing geometric
restrictions is make advance stripping more necessary,
and bearing in mind the enormous incremental ratio of
pit 9, we selected 8 as the definition of the final
mining pit limit.
In order to test the operational feasibility of the
phases, we observed the geometry of each and the
tonnages of material included (Table 3).
In our case, the first phase (A) was delimited by pit
1, the second phase (B) was defined by 2 and 3, and
the third and final phase (C) terminated in pit 8. When
performing the optimisation, phase A corresponded to
orebody workings, whereas B and C corresponded to
spoil stripping operations.
Each phase covers a tonne of useful slate, sufficient
to supply a plant during a period of some 2 years.
Since the ratios are increasing in each phase, we
should subsequently search for a temporal sequence
of phases that smoothes the transition between ratios,
bearing in mind the mining restrictions.
4.3. Geometric restrictions
The inclusion of geometric restrictions caused
changes to the morphology of each of the contours
generated previously, although the effect of grouping
the contours, by means of a spatial ordering of the
deposit in accordance with predetermined phases,
smoothed the irregularities substantially.
We defined the minimum distance between phases
and the minimum number of pit-bottom blocks. We

Table 3
Tonnage, life and ratios for the different pits

Table 4
Overall effects of the introduction of geometric restrictions
Push
back

Pit

Original
tonnage (kt)

Revised
tonnage (kt)

Percentage
variation (%)

A
B
C

1
3
8

468
1557
3591

422
1602
3470

 9.9
2.9
 3.4

also eliminated the small walls trapped between

phases. These modifications to the model produced
the overall changes indicated in Table 4.
Some 45 kt of the lower bank of the first phase
passed to form part of the second, and the third phase
lost 120 kt due to the elimination of the lower banks.
Represented in Fig. 8 are six plan views at a
distance of 10 m from each other. Each letter represents a block and the phase to which it belongs (a and
A first phase, b and B second phase, c and C the third
phase). The points are blocks of air.
We can now observe the annual production and the
ratios that would result from establishing a sequence
of phases in which only the minimum stripping
necessary to satisfy plant needs was carried out
(Fig. 9).
The equipment belonging to the quarry would be
underutilised during the early years, whereas additional subcontracted equipment would subsequently
be required to saturate the production capacity of
the plant. This type of planning is not to the liking
of the mining engineer, who wants to utilise all the
equipment available. For this reason, it is important
to balance the mine plant system according to
temporal production needs as early as the design
phase.

5. Production scheduling

Pit

Tonnage
(kt)

Life
(years)

Strip ratio
(t/t)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

468
1201
2025
2643
3235
3971
4804
5616

1.7
2.9
3.9
4.5
5.0
5.4
5.7
6.0

0.3
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.4
1.6
1.8

Once the mining pit limits and mining phases have

been defined, we need to establish the production
schedule, i.e., the spatial temporal sequence to follow, in order to obtain these limits.
5.1. Milawa algorithm
We introduced a series of restrictions in the operation that would respect the Milawa algorithm as it

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101

Fig. 8. Plan views from level 1290 m (Z = 12) to level 1340 m (Z = 22).

searched heuristically for the best mining sequence.

These restrictions were (a) the minimum and maximum distances between the phases, measured as the
number of the banks between these distances, and (b)
the maximum number of benches that could be
extracted in each phase per period.
The algorithm was expected to balance mine and
plant capacities. Our results are reflected in Fig. 10.

The ratio decreased, in earlier years due to the

drop in the average grade value and in later
years, due to the depletion of the mineral reserve.
Mine life was shortened to 6 years. The plant was
now saturated for all the periods, and the fixed
costs were reduced due to the shorter life-of-mine.
The NPV is therefore greater than in the previous
case.

Fig. 9. Annual production schedule (case A).

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F.G. Bastante et al. / Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93103

Fig. 10. Annual production schedule (case B).

and that the model of the deposit adequately reflects

the mining reality.

5.2. Financial analysis

Table 5 summarises the financial analysis results.
Included in the first row are the totals of the
material extracted, the mean ratio and the updated
mining cost. The second and third rows show the
quantity of ore from which the useful slate was
extracted, the tonnage of useful slate, the average
grade, the updated costs of perforation and cutting of
the material and finally, the revenues from the sale
of the finished slate. The fourth and fifth columns
show the plant costs (Cc) and the fixed costs,
respectively.
The NPV is positive, and therefore, the operation is
profitable, provided that circumstances do not vary

Table 5
Financial analysis
Totals
Rock
Nave

ORE
PIZA

kt

Ratio/
grade

Cash flow
(ko)

5493
1945
954

1.82 t/t
49%

 1948
 2860
20,862
 8295
 1093
 5866
800

Selling costs
Time cost
Capital expenditure
NPV

6. Conclusions
As one of the main advances of the last 30 or so
years in the mining area, we can point to the development and introduction of new design and planning
techniques for mining, the use of which are by now
widespread within the traditional mining sectors. Our
research makes a further advance, however, by introducing these tools to the ornamental rock sector, of
great significance within the Spanish mining industry.
The optimisation algorithms work with block models each having a financial value. A distinction should
be made between blocks to be sent to plant and those
to be sent to the spoil heap.
Consequently, a model of the deposit was created,
each block of which reflected a useful slate content in
terms of a percentage. This method represents a
parallel between metals mining with its grades, on
the one hand, and ornamental rock mining with
exploitable slate content, on the other. The real and
necessary concept of the cutoff grade has also been
introduced in a natural way into slate mining. A
definition of the cutoff grade implicitly involves a

F.G. Bastante et al. / Engineering Geology 73 (2004) 93103

choicein our case, between use and nonuse of

diamond wire-cutting equipmentthat reflects the
slate mining reality.
The application of parametric and heuristic design
and planning techniques to the mining of ornamental
rock is entirely possible, therefore, provided that
coherent models of the mining reality are used.
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to the FEDER program of the EU for
funding this work via its Project 1FD97-0091.
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