Economic Mining Method Evaluation for Separated Ore Lenses in Block 186 at Boliden Tara Mines, Ireland, Using Deswik Software

Abstract

In block 186 of Boliden Tara Mines, Ireland, two ore lenses are separated by waste and low grade material.Long-hole open stoping is seen as an alternative method to room-and-pillar mining that permits the extraction of two waste-separated ore lenses simultaneously. Both methods are well-established at the mine. Within the scope of a bachelor's thesis, the viability of this method was investigated. This was done by using Deswik software, currently being introduced at the mine, to generate data for comparison. While the complexity of the situation necessitated a number of simplifications and adjustments, it is concluded that the separate mining of both ore lenses, as planned, is more economical.

A Lean Scheduling Framework for Underground Mines Based on Short Interval Control

“…Visser W. (2020) [12] proposed a blueprint for operations management based on short interval control to improve mine performance, but its application method was still not resolved. Recently, mining service providers, such as ABB, Deswik, Hexagon, Sandvik, and Mobilaris [13][14][15], have developed software and hardware solutions for short interval control, expanding its potential applications. However, further research into the change in functions of management triggered is still essential, which was neglected by them.…”