MineSight Economic Planner

MineSight® Economic Planner
22nd 1.0 Introduction

MineSight® Economic Planner (EP ) consists of two major components. The first
Annual component —MSOPIT, performs open pit optimization tasks. The second component
—MSVALP, carries out simplified long range open pit production scheduling with cutoff
grade/material process optimization. MSVALP also reports reserves by phase and by
Seminar material types.
The old MineSight® series of programs for pit optimization called the DIPPER series, are
being replaced by the MineSight® EP series and additional features have been added. The
new programs are MSOPIT, MSPTSP, MSPSUF, MSLOPE, and MSVALP and include all
the current functions of the DIPPER series and some new ones. The changes include:
• A special 2-D Gridded Surface File (MineSight® EP GSF) is now used to store the pit
optimization results; the old S and B files are no longer used. This simplifies the use
of the programs. Procedure P60110.dat or MineSight® Compass™ file initialization
can be used to create a new MineSight® EP GSF, which contains predefined GSF items.
• MSOPIT reads directly from a regular 3-D block model (3DBM) and carries out
pit optimization runs using either Floating Cone (FC) or Lerchs-Grossmann (LG)
methods based upon block economic values computed with multiple material
destinations and multiple metals.
• Complex slope constraints can be created from a 3DBM and saved in an MineSight® EP
GSF. Up to four surfaces, each with the slope defined by block, can be used. A new method
of handling complex slopes improves the speed (Floating Rays).
• MSPTSP can be used to assign complex slope data to the MineSight® EP GSF from a
3DBM directly based upon a block code.
• New methods to create a series of pits based upon economics or geometry rules for
phase design are included in MSOPIT.
• NPV can be used in pit optimization (discounting by depth and mining rate).
• MSVALP can be used to evaluate multiple pits with economic assumptions, select pit
shells for detailed pit design and scheduling, and determine optimum cutoff grades
(material processes).
• MSPSUF can be used to perform operations on the surfaces such as: adding pits
together, limiting pits, merging with topography, etc.
• MSLOPE can be used to determine the pit slope for pits created by MSOPIT.
The MineSight® EP GSF is a regular 2-D gridded surface file (File 13) with pre-defined
items. This file contains items including the initial pit optimization surface (TOPOG),
mining restrictions (RCODE), complex slope surfaces and codes (SLPS# and SLPC#), and
50 surfaces for storing the resulting pits (PIT01-PIT50).
From the MineSight® EP GSF, MineSight® 3-D model views can be created and pit
partials can be computed. The current reserve programs PITRES and the M710/711/712
series can be applied to the pits created by MSOPIT using M639V1 to compute partials. Pit
resources are reported in the MSVALP output as well.
The 3DBM has the same structure as the 3-D block model currently in use. For mine
planning, it typically includes items such as: topography percent (TOPO), grade items
(e.g., CUIDW and MOIDW), specific gravity, material code for metallurgical recoveries,
rock code for complex slopes, mining restriction code, and resource classification code
(e.g., measured, indicated, and inferred).
Additional 3DBM items for MSOPIT can include: 1) net value per block, 2) value per ton,
and 3) optional process code for material classifications.
Additional 3DBM items for MSVALP can include: 1) pushback code, 2) best economic
process code, and 3) year number in which a block is mined.
MineSight® Economic Planner Page 1

The corresponding MineSight® Grail procedure for MSOPIT is msep-design.py and
for MSVALP it is msep-evaluate.py.
The relationship between MSVALP and MineSight® Strategic Planner (SP) is:
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MSVALP provides guidelines for MineSight® SP in terms of the estimated optimum
cutoff grades (schedule material classification) and the estimated best mining sequence for
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the life span of a mining project. MineSight® SP does the detailed long-range production
scheduling following the guidelines provided by MSVALP.
This workshop will discuss application aspect of MineSight® EP using the recently
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created KONG sample project. This includes: 1) pit optimization with a target economic
parameter set and 2) comparing the pit optimization series from two approaches – BASE
and MULTP.
Please refer to the Appendix for details on MineSight® EP including: program limits of
MineSight® EP, descriptions of MineSight® EP component routines, general steps of using
MineSight® EP for pit optimization runs and quick schedules, and explanation of input
dialogs with samples.
2.0 Brief KONG Sample Data Set
A new sample data set KONG has been setup as an alternative to the previous MSOP
sample data set. The difference between the MSOP and KONG sample data set is that
MSOP is a massive deposit with a continuous ore body and KONG has scattered ore
bodies. Further, MSOP has one ore process possibly with leach processes. KONG has two
ore processes, one is copper plant (cuplant) and the other is cobalt plant (coplant).
The model dimension for KONG project is given in Table 2.1.
2.1 3-D block model kong15.pit

The KONG project 3-D block model file used in this study is kong15.pit. The model
items and their minimum, maximum, and precisions are presented in Table 2.2.
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Further description of creating a new 3DBM file can be found in Appendix A6.0.
Definition of material code:
MAT = 1 è overburden 1
2 è overburden 2
3 è waste
4 è copper ore (to be processed by copper plant)
5 è cobalt ore (to be processed by cobalt plant)
Statistics distribution by material code is given in Table 2.3.

Definition of resource classification code:
CLASS = 1 è measured (proven)
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2 è indicated (probable)
3 è inferred (possible) Annual
Statistics distribution by CLASS code is given in Table 2.4. Default for classification code
is 3. Classification codes 1 and 2 are treated as ore in this study. Seminar
Ore body spatial distribution is shown in Figure 2.1. The ore body is based on $/tonnes
grade shell at DPT ≥ $0.01/tonnes based on the target economic parameters.
Figure 2.1 Ore body spatial distributions at DPT ≥ $0.01/tonnes with topography.
2.2 2-D Gridded Surface kong13.pit

Multiple GSF files are created for this study. Kong13.pit is used for base case. The
initial topography is fairly flat (show in Figure 2.2). Appendix A5.0 has further details
about MineSight® EP GSF.

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Figure 2.2 Initial topography with 1-m contours.
2.3 Target Economic Parameters – Base Set

Definition of destinations:
Destination = 1 è copper plant
2 è cobalt plant
3 è waste
4 è overburden
Table 2.5 Target economic parameters – base set
3.0 Pit Optimization Based on Economics

A multi-run was set up for pit optimization based on economics. The key steps for
setting up this multi-run are illustrated in Appendix section A8.2 Pit Optimization with
MSOPIT – Multi-Run.
In this multi-run, the prices of copper and cobalt are varied with all other parameters
in Table 2.5 constant. PIT30 item stores the pit optimization pit at the target economic
parameter set. The multi-run started with a copper price of $0.75/lb and a cobalt price of
$5.00/lb and finished with a copper price of $2.00/lb and cobalt price of $30.00/lb. The pit

slope used was constant at 45 degrees. MineSight® EP items PIT11-PIT40 are used to store
the resulting pits. Figure 3.1 shows a cross-section of the multi-run designed pits. 22nd
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Figure 3.1 Section view of base economic set pits at 32165N.
Figure 3.2 Plan view of target economic set pit (PIT30).
3.1 Compute Target Pit Reserves with MSVALP

Twenty pits were selected for pit design analysis. Input samples for MSVALP are
provided in Appendix section A10.0 and A10.1. Table 3.1 summarizes pit reserves by
material type and by destination within target economic parameter set pit PIT30. Table 3.2
provides total reserves within PIT30.

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3.2 Pit Design Analysis with MSVALP - Profit

The Table 10.2 in the MSVALP detailed file is brought into Microsoft® Excel where pit
tonnes are accumulated and a chart is produced and shown in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3 Pit vs. profit and total tonnes.

MineSight Economic Planner
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The target economic parameter set is used in computing pit profits. PIT30 provides the
highest project value and after pit 30, the profit declines even though the mined tonnes are Annual
still increasing.
The detailed reserves are given in Table 3.3.
Table 3.3 indicates that the majority of profit in pit 30 was achieved within pit 26, $390
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million out of $393 million (99.3%) and 205 million total tonnes out of 238 million total
tonnes (86.0%). The $/ton value dropped from pit 26’s $1.91/ton to pit 30’s $1.65/ton.
The $/ton under cumulative is based on total tonness in the pits while ‘/Ton’ is based
on ore tonnes only.
Note that Table 3.3 provided incremental and cumulative ore and total tonnes and
profits for each pit. This information is useful in selecting appropriate pit sizes.
3.3 Pit Design Analysis with MSVALP - NPV

MSVAL develops a quick schedule for user input pits. Thus, project NPV for each pit as
a final pit can be computed. Table 14.0 in MSVALP detailed report (det.p40) is brought into
Microsoft® Excel. The data is re-organized to produce Figure 3.4 – pit vs. NPV and profit
and Figure 3.5 – pit vs. NPV.

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Figure 3.4 Pit vs. NPV and profit.
Figure 3.5 Pit vs. NPV.

The assumptions used for pit design analysis are given as below:
Economic parameter set: - the target economic parameter set (Table 2.5).
The annual discounting factor: 10%.
Pre-production years: 2
Pre-production year capacity: 5000kt/yr
Processing capacity for the copper plant: 900kt/yr
Processing capacity for the cobalt plant: no limit
Total mining capacity: 20,000kt/yr
Mining capacity for the copper ore: 900kt/yr
Mining capacity for the cobalt ore: 2,250kt/yr

Mining capacity for the waste: 20,000kt/yr
Mining capacity for the overburden: 20,000kt/yr
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Since total mining capacity is set at 20,000kt/yr, it is unlikely that the mining of waste
and overburden will reach their 20,000kt/yr each. Annual
In computing the NPV for a pit, stockpile materials are not reclaimed for this case study.
Mining schedules at the end of each pit is given in Table 3.4. Since MSVALP takes the last
pit as the final pit for schedule development, it might move the waste forward for advanced
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stripping, the NPV value at each pit is on the conservative side. Further, the fact that
stockpiles are claimed at the end of the schedule also would make the NPV value at each pit
on the conservative side. However, the general quick schedule approach is on the optimistic
side because some practical constraints are not applied, e.g., precedence among phases.
3.4 Pit Design Analysis with MSVALP – within Base Pit 30

Based on target economic parameter set and within pit 30, what schedule will MSVALP
provide to us? Table 3.5 lists the mining schedule within pit 30.

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In Table 3.5, the mining in periods 16, 20, and 21 exceeded the period mining limit of 20
million tonnes. MSVALP applies the mining capacity in a cumulative sense. If the cumulative
total mining is within the cumulative capacity, MSVALP will accept the schedule.
To preserve space, the detailed mining by processes is omitted.
Table 3.6 shows the cumulative mining schedule corresponding mining schedule given
in Table 3.5. The project NPV using the selected pits is $171,623,056.

Table 3.7 shows the schedule analysis. Table 3.7 indicated that the pushback geometry
imporved the schedule by 28.99% and the cutoff optimization imporved the schedule by 22nd
3.72%. The benchmark for pushback geometry improvement is based on mining in the final
pit according to production requirements. The benchmark for cutoff optimization is based
on input pits as phases and using base economics.
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4.0
Pit
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Design Analysis Considering Multiple Bottoms

Figure 4.1 shows the first pit (pit 11) obtained in economic pit design series. It can be
seen that mining occurred in multiple areas. Due to the equipment build up schedule,
mining in multiple areas at beginning of mining is not desirable. We have a need to locate
a reasonable mining sequence with each area being ranked from the best to the worst.
Figure 4.1 The smallest pit obtained in an

economic series of pits.

BASEBOT option of MSOPIT uses a base pit (pit 30), determines all major bottoms
22nd within the base pit, and ranks the sub-pits formed by the bottoms from the best to the
worst. This indicates a general mining sequence in multiple pit areas. Table 4.1 shows the
Annual pit bottom areas within pit 30 and their rankings from the best to the worst.
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Figure 4.2 shows the location and sequence number as ranked by economics from the
best to the worst. The rectangular boxes indicate the bottom area shown in Table 4.1. After
detecting a pit bottom, MSOPIT can save that pit in a MineSight® EP GSF. This results
in a series of cumulative pit surfaces. In our sample, a total of 17 pit bottom areas were
detected, thus resulting in 17 pit surfaces (pit21 – pit37). A section view of the pit series
obtained via base-bottom approach is shown in Figure 4.3.
Figure 4.2 The pit

bottom location and
sequence number as
ranked by economics.

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Figure 4.3 Section view of base-bottom set pits at 32165 (bottom pit is the final pit).
4.1 Pit Design Analysis Considering Multiple Bottoms

We input the base-bottom pits into MSVALP and generated pit reserves and a quick
production schedule using the same assumptions given in section 3.3. Pit reserves are
shown in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2 Pit reserves for base-bottom series
Note that the pit bottom series of pits did not cover the whole area of the target
economic pit (pit 30). A total of 70 million tonnes and $41 million of profit were left out. It
is necessary to use the final pit 30 with the base-bottom pits for total reserves.
Further, the pit bottoms appeared to be ranked by profit/ore tonnes. The column under
‘/Ton’ is based on profit/total tonnes. This is the reason why the pits do not appear to be
sorted from the best to the worst.
The base-bottom pit series can also serve as slope basis for complex slope pit
optimizations.

Table 4.3 Mining schedule from base-bottom pit series
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Table 4.4 Mining schedule from base-bottom pit series – cumulative

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Note that under constant cutoff grade of +8.999, the NPV obtained did not consider the
mining capacity while the best case must consider the mining capacity.
Overall the base-bottom pit series did not produce better economics compared to the
economic pit series. But practicality is improved. Because we can add pit surfaces or
restrict pit surfaces, we have options to combine the base-bottom pits with the economic
series of pits.
So far we did not emphasize whether the phases are mineable. Some adjustments
are necessary in selecting the appropriate sized phases, but this is not the focus of this
workshop this year.
5.0 Pit Design Analysis Using MULTP Option
We may have cases where a pit suddenly becomes too large in relation to the previous
pit with the slightest increase in commodity prices. MSOPIT option – MULTP can come to
rescue in this situation.
The idea of MULTP is to design a series of phases in a controlled fashion without
re-computing block values. First $/block values are computed, then the distribution of
positive valued blocks tabulated. The top x% of positive valued blocks are taken as ore
blocks and the blocks with positive values but below the cutoff for the top x% are treated
as if they were waste. A waste mining cost is assigned to the waste blocks in addition to
the negative valued blocks. By varying x% from small to larger values, a series of pits can
be designed.
Further, the number of benches which pit optimization can go down from the current
surface is controlled by a parameter. This prevents the pit from going too far below the
current surface. The minimum number of blocks in the pit is also controlled by a parameter
so that the pit is not too small.
Because blocks classified as waste lose their true value and the pits are designed in a
controlled fashion, the final pit designed in this way may not match the base economic
target pit with the same economic assumptions.

The idea of MULTP is to design reasonably sized phases. Using MULTP to fill gaps
22nd between two big pits is a logical approach.
Sample input for setting up MULTP can be found in Appendix section A8.1.
Annual To get some idea about how the MULTP set pits compare to the economic set pits and
the base-bottom set pits, we run MSOPIT with MULTP option from the initial surface to
the final pit limit. Figure 5.1 shows a section view of MULTP set pits at 32165 North.
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Figure 5.1 Section view of MULTP set pits at 32165N.

Note that the distances between two pits are more regular than the economic set pits
(Figure 3.1) and the base-bottom set pits (Figure 4.3).
We input the MULTP pits into MSVALP and generated pit reserves and a quick
production schedule using the same assumptions given in section 3.3. Pit reserves are
shown in Table 5.1.
Note that the cumulatives within MULTP final pit (PIT 28) are about the same as the
economic target pit (PIT 30). For current version of program, this may be a coincidence.

Note that the quick schedule project NPV is at $140,742,480, which is the lowest among
the two approaches. There are not as many MULTP set pits as the other two set pits. In our
final phase selections, we need to take advantage of both approaches.
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6.0 Conclusions
The materials for this workshop are organized so that the main text discusses application
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samples and the how to details are arranged in Appendix.
MineSight® EP offers two routines, MSOPIT (msep-design.py) for pit optimizations
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and MSVALP (msep-evalute.py) for pit analysis and mining schedules with cutoff
grade optimization.
Auxiliary routines are provided. MSPTSP (psptsp.dat) adds complex slope codes
from the 3-D block model to the special MineSight® EP GSF file for complex slope pit
optimization.
MSPSUF (pspsuf.dat) performs calculations on GSF surfaces such as adding two pits
together, restricting one pit by another pit (subtraction), etc.
MSLOPE (pslope.dat) computes pit slopes for the final pit to verify slope accuracy.
Four major options are available in MSOPIT for pit optimization. They are BASE,
BASEBOT, MULTP, and RESOURCE.
BASE option carries out pit optimization within an area in traditional way.
BASEBOT locate pit bottoms in a previously designed final pit and ranks the pit
bottoms by economics from the best to the worst, thus providing a mining sequence order.
BASEBOT also facilitates complex slope pit optimization because the slopes are only
relevant at pit bottoms.
RESOURCE option summarizes resources between two surfaces and generates report
similar to Table 3.1.
MULTP attempts to design phases in a controlled fashion without re-computing values
for the 3DBM blocks. The control parameters are the number of benches going down from
the current surface and the minimum number of blocks in a phase. MULTP avoids re-
computing the block values by computing distributions of positive valued blocks, starting
with a small percentage of positive valued blocks treated as ore blocks and setting others
to default waste block values, gradually increase the percentage of positive valued blocks,
thus obtaining a series of nested pits. The better application for MULTP is to fill the gaps
between two big incremental pits.
MSVALP computes pit reserves and compute mining schedules with cutoff grade
optimization. With Python scripting help and Microsoft®Excel, pit design analysis can be
easily done. MineSight® 3-D coupled with MSVALP reports help a user to select properly
sized and better sequenced phases. The mining results from MSVALP can be formatted as
input to the detailed scheduling program MineSight® SP.

Appendix
22nd A1.0 Assumptions for MineSight® EP
Annual MineSight® EP is not designed to automatically produce an optimized answer for open pit
mine planning, rather it is a tool used to quickly evaluate alternatives to determine the best
starting schedule upon which to base detailed designs.
Seminar Because the pit surfaces from pit optimization are stored on a whole block basis without
roads, the engineer must modify the MSOPIT designs stored in the MineSight®EP GSF to
actually be feasible. Among the enhancements required are the addition of roads, removal
of mining areas with a width less than the minimum, and modifying the walls for geo-
technical considerations. There are other tools within MineSight® which can be used for the
needed changes.
The schedule produced by MSVALP is based upon some assumptions that may be
difficult to achieve in operations. Among these assumptions are:
• Stripping can be moved forward in the schedule based upon capacity not geometry.
• Selectivity in the stockpiles is by the mining blocks (decision variable) computed in
MSVALP.
• Mining capacity is based upon tonnage independent of the actual haulage profiles.
• The mining sequence is defined by mining the pushbacks top-down. The next
enhancement for MineSight® EP is to allow mining precedence rules and scheduling
production from multiple pushbacks.
MineSight SP is more suitable for detailed schedule development.
A2.0 LIMITS for MineSight® EP
The programs are designed to handle most open pit projects modeled in MineSight®,
however there are limits.
While MineSight® 3DBM limits are:
Y-direction Rows 1-1000
X-direction Columns 1-1000
Z-direction Levels 1- 400
MineSight EP current limits in Version 1.00 are
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NX x NY ≤ 360,000
For example 500 rows and 500 columns would be 250,000
NZ 255
Total active blocks 15,000,000 (can be increased by clever packing)
Number of slope rays 50
Complex slope surfaces 4
Complex slope codes 99
Number of Grades 5
Number of Material codes 10
Number of destinations (Ore and Waste) 10
A3.0 MS-EP Component Routines
The new pit optimization programs are described below.
MSPTSP
MSPTSP is used to define complex slope surfaces from an item in the 3DBM and store
the surfaces and codes in the MineSight® EP GSF. The item in the block model must be
related to the pit slope and should have value from 1 to 99. It is assumed that this item
defines the slope for each block. Rather than access each 3DBM to determine the slope at

that point, the code is redefined using four 2-D grid surfaces and the slope can be defined
for each grid point. 22nd
Items SLPS1, SLPS2, SLPS3, and SLPS4 in the MineSight® EP GSF are elevations for each
column in the model. These items represent four grid surfaces and which can be used to
define the pit slope. Items SLPC1, SLPC2, SLPC3, and SLPC4 in the MineSight® EP GSF
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contain the sector codes which define the slope above each surface at each grid point.
SLPS1 is the highest or top grid surface and SLPS4 is the lowest grid surface usually equal
to ZMIN the toe of the lowest block in the model.
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The sector codes are converted to slopes by defining the slope for each value in a table
input to MSOPIT. MSOPIT will determine the slope for each block using this data.
Output from MSPTSP: Items SLPC1-4 and SLPS1-4 in the MineSight® EP GSF will store
surface codes and elevations based on the slope code item input from the 3DBM. Thus,
results can be checked creating a Model Views in MineSight® for SLPS1-4 using SLPC1-4 to
define the colors.
MineSight® Compass™ menu item in MineSight® EP group: Add complex slope codes.
Procedure: psptsp.dat.
MSOPIT
MSOPIT can either read the net value per block [Design Variable (DV)] value from a
3DBM item or calculate the net value per block value based on values from predefined
3DBM items. For example, the DV can be calculated from a metallurgical code and
multiple grades in the 3DBM for multiple processes such as leaching and milling.
Based upon the DV, MSOPIT can run pit optimization, which maximizes profit or NPV
using either the Lerchs-Grossman (LG) or Floating Cone (FC) methods. The LG method
has a re-blocking option.
MSOPIT also has options to assist in designing a series of pits for scheduling. There are
four options:
• BASE Compute pit limits within a specified volume
• MULTP Compute a series of pits limiting the pushback size and mining
highest value material first.
• BOTTOMS Based upon an existing pit, find the pit bottoms and compute a
series of pits
• RESOURCE Compute resources between 2 surfaces.
Pit optimization results are stored as surfaces in the MineSight® EP GSF and can be
viewed in MineSight® 3-D and used in reserve calculations. Options are available to limit
by other pits surface codes and start from existing pits.
Output from MSOPIT: There are various items in the report files, which help to
evaluate the MSOPIT results, but the key things to look at first are:
• MSOPIT computes and sums the value for all profitable columns as a comparison.
The sum of all economic columns if the maximum possible profit with vertical walls
and no roads.
• Check the 2-D-LG profits against the final pit. The 2-D LG pit design uses a constant
slope.
• Check the pit geometry with MineSight® 3-D. Note that a Model View can be
contoured to get bench toes and crests. Also the pit expansion tool in MineSight® 3-D
can be used to expand the pit using complex slope codes, if this is the case, in order to
validate the complex slope shape of the results from MSOPIT.
• Compute reserves and value for pits and series of pits with MSVALP or other
reserve routines.

22nd MineSight® Compass™ menu item in MineSight® EP group: Pit Optimization/Design of
phases. Procedure: msep-design.py
Annual MSVALP
MSVALP is used to evaluate the pits designed by MSOPIT, select pits for detailed design
of pushbacks, assist in choosing cutoff grades, and compute mining schedules. MSVALP
Seminar can compute reserves and value for pushbacks defined by a series of pits stored in the
MineSight® EP GSF and design a schedule for these pits based upon multiple processes.
MSVALP can also determine the cutoff grades, which will maximize the NPV. The
maximum NPV schedule is created by iteration; first assuming that all economic material
is processed, then comparing the present value of mining a unit material against the future
value of material to determine whether or not the material should be processed when it is
mined or stockpiled. This process is repeated until the schedule NPV cannot be improved.
Stockpile material processing is also analyzed to maximize NPV.
Output from MSVALP: There are multiple report files. The standard report file contains
only summary of the run and additional details is in the files below:
DETAIL file. Contains much more information than the standard report and should
be reviewed by the user. This report file contains the reserves by pit and schedules,
numerous tables for analysis, and tables for Microsoft® Excel as well as the reserves
in a format that can be modified for MineSight® SP.
RESERVE file. Contains a summary of mining units by pushback, bench, and
material code.
SCHEDULE file. Contains the resources in RESERVE and the schedule for mining
and processing them.
SUMMARY file. Contains a simple summary of the schedule for reporting which
can be imported into Excel for graphs etc.
In the 3DBM, process code, pushback number, and scheduled period number may be
stored by MSVALP and then examined in MineSight® 3-D.
MineSight® Compass™ menu item in MineSight® EP group: Simplified production
schedules. Procedure: msep-evaluate.py
MSPSUF
Program MSPSUF is used to perform operations on surfaces in the MineSight® EP GSF file.
The basic options are: SETFL, SET50, ADDPT, LIMIT, ABOVE, BELOW. Each operation
reads two existing surfaces and calculates a third from them and stores the new surface
back in the file. Most operations use the original topography item TOPOG, which is the
actual surface elevation while most of the other surfaces are full benches.
MineSight® Compass™ menu item in MineSight® EP group: Surface Operations.
Procedure: pspsuf.dat
MSLOPE
Program MSLOPE is used to compute the estimated slope at each grid point and store
the result into the MineSight® EP GSF.
MineSight® Compass™ menu item in MineSight® EP group: Compute pit slopes.
Procedure: pslope.dat.
A4.0 MineSight® EP in Six Steps
The major steps for running pit optimization and simplified production scheduling with
MineSight® EP are given as follows:
1) Set up a MineSight® EP GSF file for pit optimization using either the procedure
p60110.dat or MineSight® Compass™ project file creation menu. One needs a

standard GSF file from which TOPOG is copied into the MineSight® EP GSF file. It
is convenient to use a separate file for each series of pits, e.g., kong13.bas and
kong13.pit.
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2) Create a new 3DBM for mine planning if necessary to store items computed by
MineSight® EP. These items (optional) are: Annual
VALPB Value per block computed/stored by MSOPIT
VALPT Value per ton computed/stored by MSOPIT Seminar
DEST1 Processing/destination code for the block based on break-even
economics
PUSH Phase number containing block in schedule by MSVALP
IPER Period in which the block is mined by MSVALP
DEST2 Destination of material when mined
These items are optional but are very useful for viewing schedules in MineSight® 3-D.
The best way is to copy relevant items from an existing 3DBM to a new 3DBM with these
extra items added.
3) Use MSPTSP to add slope data to the MineSight® EP GSF from the 3DBM (optional
and for complex slope pit optimization only).
4) Run pit optimization using MSOPIT to design an ultimate pit or a series of pits. The
resulting pits are stored as surfaces in the MineSight® EP GSF. Both Floating Cone
and LG options are available.
5) Use MineSight® 3-D to display or plot the designed pits. The pits can be displayed as a
model view or contoured and stored as a geometry object.
6) MSVALP is used to verify the economics and compute reserves for the pits. MSVALP
can also develop schedules and optimize the cutoff grades.
The pits stored in the MineSight® EP GSF can be used by other MineSight® programs
for manipulating surfaces, computing partials for pit reserves, and developing production
schedules with further details.
Moreover, the triangulated pits or phases designed by using MineSight® 3-D pit
expansion tool can be gridded into GSF surfaces and simplified production schedules can
be produced by running MSVALP with the help of program MSPSUF.
Additional tasks for MineSight® EP could include:
1) Use MSPSUF to add pits together, limit pits and create inner and outer shells. For
example, the pits from pit expansion need to be normalized so that a nested larger
pit is below a smaller pit at every row and column location. MSVALP can be used to
compute the reserves for these shells to verify economics and to produce simplified
production schedules. The corresponding procedure is pspsuf.dat.
2) Compute block partials between pits or from the original surface for reserve
calculations and analysis. All the normal resource calculation programs can be used
with the partials.
3) Create more detailed schedules with MineSight® SP. To compute reserves, use
M639V1 for computing block partials and MTRES for pit reserves. The procedure for
M639V1 is p63901.dat. The procedure for MTRES is pitres.dat.

22nd MineSight® EP procedures in MineSight® Compass™ menu:
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A5.0 Initialize a MineSight® EP GSF

Either procedure p60110.dat or MineSight®/MineSight® Compass™ can be used
to initialize a MineSight® EP GSF file. Since item names in this file are fixed, only these
methods should be used to initialize the file. The procedure (p60110.dat) is available to
allow initialization during Multi-Runs.
There is a toggle Special Pit Optimization file13 to create the MineSight® EP GSF file
from the project file editor.
When creating a MineSight® EP GSF, a TOPOG item is needed from an existing
standard/special GSF file, from which the initial topography elevations can be copied.

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The key items in the MineSight® EP GSF are:

TOPOG stores initial surface elevation. This elevation is at the horizontal center of the
block.
RCODE is surface mining restrictions for pit optimization runs based upon a code from
1 to 100.
SLP?? are used to define complex slopes.
SLPS1 stores surface elevations of the top slope surface
SLPC1 stores the slope codes for surface SLPS1
SLPS2 stores surface elevations for second surface
Each pair of SLPS# and SLPC# forms one pseudo bench. For example, SLPS2 defines
the lower boundary (inclusive) of slope sectors defined by SLPC2. The upper boundary of
SLPC2 slope sectors is defined by SLPS1 (exclusive blocks on the SLPS1 surface).
SLPC5 and SLPS5 are not used currently.
XELV? are additional surfaces used to store 2D LG pits and other working surfaces.
XELV1 stores a surface defining bottom of ore
XELV2 stores potential pit bottoms
XELV3 stores 2-D LG pit based upon rows (westèeast)

XELV4 stores 2-D LG pit based upon columns (southènorth)
22nd XELV5 stores sum of pits XELV3 + XELV4
PIT01 to PIT50 are pit surfaces referenced by numbers from 1 to 50.
Annual PIT00 is the TOPOG surface converted to a new surface with whole blocks.
All MineSight® EP programs (MSOPIT and MSVALP) use surfaces (e.g., PIT??) in the
Seminar MineSight® EP GSF in form of whole blocks. This means that each elevation is a bench toe,
or in the case of the top bench it could be the crest. No partial blocks are used. TOPOG is
the actual elevation of the surface but all the pit surfaces are represented by whole blocks.
This means that the top block in each column may have a TOPO percent in the model from
1 to 100%. The TOPO percent resulted from (TOPOG-TOE)/DZ is used in computing net
value per block.
A6.0 Create a New 3DBM File with Extra Items
The original items in the 3DBM, which are the basis for pit optimization, are:
TOPO Percent of block under topography, if exists, must match TOPOG.
CU Copper grade in %
CO Cobalt grade in %
PCT Percent of block in the ore body
CLASS Resource classification code (e.g., measured, indicated, and inferred)
MAT Material code based on metallurgical attributes
SLP Slope zone code for complex slope pit optimization
The minimum items required are TOPO, CU/CO, and MAT, respectively block percent
below topography, a grade item for value calculations, and a material code (1,2,3,..).
New items were added for use by MSOPIT
VALPB Gross value per block
VALPT Gross value per ton
EP Destination code based on break-even economics (optional)
CUT Destination code based on break-even economics (optional)

New items were added for use by MSVALP
PHA Pushback number (pit number 1-50), which contains the block 22nd
PR1 Best economic process for the block
YR1 Period the block is mined Annual
PHB
PR2
Pushback number (pit number 1-50), which contains the block
Best economic process for the block
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YR2 Period the block is mined
Additional new items were added for use:
NET Net value per block
DPT Net value per ton
A7.0 Pit Slopes
There are three options for the treatment of slopes:
• Constant slope – one pit slope for the entire block model
• Slope defined by azimuth – pit slopes vary by azimuths
• Complex slopes – pit slopes by sectors and may change vertically
In all three-slope cases (constant slope, slopes by azimuth, and complex slope) the
program builds a slope template to model the slope. This template is a matrix that defines
the geometry of a cone based upon the slope definition relative to the base block. Both
the Floating Cone method and the LG method use the cone matrix to determine pit slope
requirements.
Slope is by convention a positive number theoretically from 0 to 90 degrees. It is
measured from the horizontal. In reality very small slopes are not possible due to the block
size and neither are very steep slopes. Consider that for cubes (dx=dy=dz) a 45-degree
slope can be easily modeled since the pattern of mining in terms of blocks would be up one
over one. As the slope decreases and the horizontal to vertical block size ratio increases the
accuracy of pit slopes in whole blocks becomes poorer.
A7.1 Constant Pit Slope
A constant slope is usually used first to determine quickly the pit limits and to confirm
that the model is large enough. A pit designed based on constant pit slope may be
sufficient for detailed pit design with pit expansion for some deposits.
A7.2 Pit Slopes by Azimuth
Up to 50 slopes can be specified for azimuths from 0 to 360 degrees. The pit slope to any
block from the base block is determined by computing the azimuth from the base block to
the block and computing an average slope based upon the weighted average of the slopes
for the closest defined azimuths.
A7.3 Complex Slopes - Add Slope Data to MineSight® EP GSF from 3DBM
Complex slopes are defined by the MineSight® EP GSF items SLPC1-4 and SLPS1-4.
SLPS1-4 are surfaces with SLPS1 being the highest and SLPS4 the lowest. SLPC1-4 are
codes (1-99) which can be mapped into various slope angles. In order to determine the
slope at any point x, y, and z, the steps are:
1. Find the surface SLPSn immediately below z.
2. The slope at point x, y is defined by code SLPCn
Slope angles are measured from the horizontal down so slope are positive angles from 1
to 89. Slopes are assumed to be in degrees.
If complex slopes are used, slope surfaces/codes from SLPS1/SLPC1 to SLPS4/SLPC4
can be defined. These surfaces and codes in the MineSight® EP GSF file can be assigned
with M612RP, but the most convenient method is from a code stored in the 3DBM.
22nd Program MSPTSP reads an item in the 3DBM and assigns the surfaces and codes in the
MineSight® EP GSF file.
Annual A7.4 Complex Slopes – How They are Handled
For complex slope definitions it is possible that the template must be computed for each
Seminar ore block. A ray is generated from the block center at a specified azimuth and along the ray
the slope is defined by the complex slope definition so the ray reflects the geometry of the
pit wall by calculating the elevation change from the base block. This process is repeated
for 360 degrees and from these rays the template is computed for a base block.
This is a very time consuming calculation and it may occur that many passes are needed
before a decision can be made whether an ore block at the base can be mined or not. In
order to minimize the number of times the cone is calculated the Floating Ray method of
calculation is introduced based upon an approximation of the pit geometry.
The user specifies a pit, which usually has been computed using a constant slope
perhaps with re-blocking. The principle behind the Floating Ray method is that the
template computed does not represent the base block but the pit limit on the bench.
The Floating Ray calculation is the same as for the base ore block except instead of
starting the ray from the center of the block. The ray starts from the center of the outermost
block on the current bench along the ray. The floating ray template approximates the slope
for the whole bench, not just one block. This method requires that each potential pit bottom
be defined specifically if there is more than one.
A8.0 Pit Optimization with MSOPIT
The main information required for MSOPIT is list as the following:
Design method:
Lerchs-Grossmann method (LG)
Floating Cone method (FC)
Design variable:
MSOPIT uses net value per block during pit optimization process. This net value
per block can come from two sources:
1) Calculated by MSOPIT based on pre-defined 3-D block model items supplied by
the user.
2) Read in from a 3-D block model.
Pit slopes:
Constant slope
Pit slopes by azimuth
Complex slopes
Coning options – one cone per block, floating ray, and one cone per bench
(variable bench height).
Design strategies:
Base – design one pit a time or nested pits within multiple areas
Multp – design a series of nested pits with tight control from current
surface or previous pit and pushback size
Bottoms - pit optimization with pit bottom areas defined.
Resource - summary of resources by destinations and materials
The main information required for MSOPIT is the value calculation. The value
calculation logic is designed to be flexible, yet not overly complex. If the value calculation

is more complex than MSOPIT can handle, the value can be computed with a user created
MineSight® Grail script, a USER subroutine or M612RP and stored in the block model, then
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read in by MSOPIT from the block model.
The MSOPIT economic logic assumes up to five grades, 10 material classes and 10
destinations. The grades are read from the block model, as is the material code.
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The material code (MAT) should be from 1 to 10. For each process and each
metallurgical code the processing cost per ton is specified and for each grade the metal the
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price, recovery, and conversion factor is specified. The conversion factor is to convert from
grade to payable units.
Also it is possible to have metallurgical types that can have multiple processing
methods. In this case MSOPIT selects the best process based upon economics.
The MineSight® Grail script msep-design.py is used to run MSOPIT. The layout of the
MineSight® EP/MineSight® Grail procedure is to have a project explorer on the left pane,
input dialog to the right, and menu selections on top. A user moves from one input dialog
to the next by clicking the task items in the project explorer. The task for the current dialog
is high lighted. The input task in the project explorer expands or shrinks based on user
input options. The input starts with Define 3D Block Model and ends with Output File
Configuration as shown in Figure A8.1.
In subsequent discussions for section A8.0, KONG sample project is used to illustrate
the input setup for typical ways to run pit optimization with MSOPIT. The input displayed
in the dialogs is from a complex slope Lerchs-Grossmann sample case with net value per
block calculated by MSOPIT.
Define 3-D block model to use and 3-D block model range to be considered for
subsequent pit optimization:
Figure A8.1 Define 3-D block model.

Internally, MSOPIT calculates/reads net value per block and stores the values in a
condensed form (similar to the DIPPER B-file). In subsequent text, the block values stored

22nd in the condensed form will be referred to as B-array. The 3-D block model range will
determine how many blocks need to be stored in the B-array. The larger the range, the
more number of blocks will need to be stored.
Annual Define Surface Topography and Geometric Constraint:
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All the surfaces and items in this dialog refer to those stored in MineSight® EP GSF file
kong13.pit. Starting pit-number = 0 means that the starting pit surface is stored in item
PIT00 in the MineSight® EP GSF file kong13.pit.
Data Limiting Options:
Limiting Surface for Design Variable (0-50):
Store in the B-array the blocks above (including) the defined pit surface, e.g.,
PIT50. 0 means no limiting pit. This option can reduce the number of blocks
stored in the B-array.
Depth:
Store in the B-array the blocks above (including) the defined pit surface +
‘Depth’, e.g., PIT50 + 2 (benches, 10 meters with bench height at 5 meters).
Lowest Code (RCODE) for Surface Limit (0-100):
Defines surface restriction for pit optimization, e.g., river, road, surface facilities.

Design Variable Strategy:
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Design variable refers to net value per block.

There are two choices:
1) calculate by MSOPIT and
2) calculate outside of MSOPIT and read in
For the first choice, one will need later to define 3DBM items and parameters for
calculating net value per block by MSOPIT.
For the second choice, one will need later to define a net value per block item from the 3DBM.
3-D block model items for Calculations

22nd The minimum 3DBM item needed is TOPO.
The optional items are (input order from top down):
Annual Resource classification code item for resource classification, e.g.,

measured=1, indicated=2, and inferred=3.
Percent of ore body within a block
Seminar Specific gravity item for materials within ore body
Specific gravity item for materials outside ore body
Mining cost for materials within ore body
Mining cost for materials outside ore body
Percent of block already being mined out
Mining restriction code item stored in 3DBM
One difference between MSOPIT and DIPPER is that the topo% of a block is used in
value calculation for MSOPIT. DIPPER was adopting an either in or out approach to the
top blocks (the whole block is in if TOPO% >50; Otherwise, the whole block is out).
Options for Value Calculations
Design variable value range refers to the range of net value per block to be stored in
B-array. The minimum value, the maximum value, and the precision determine how many
block values will be packed into a computer word for storage purposes.
Limiting Blocks Based on Resource Classification:
Numerical value, e.g., 2, indicating that 1 and 2 will be considered ore (proven
and probable, or measured and indicated). Others will be treated as waste
(possible or inferred).

Define Economic Parameters for Destinations
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In Economic Options group, five grade items can be selected for economic revenue (or
penalty) calculations. Material code MAT has values as below:
1=Ob1 – overburden 1
2=Ob2 – overburden 2
3=Waste – waste material
4=Cu_ore – ore material for copper plant (cuplant)
5=Co_ore – ore material for cobalt plant (coplant)
Default material code is waste (3).
During net value calculation, each material type needs to be processed (mill or waste
dump). USE means that the material listed horizontally can go to the destinations listed
vertically. For example, material cu_ore can be sent to destination cuplant.
For each combination of USE, one can define price, recovery, conversion factor for each
grade item, the processing cost and mining cost in $/tonnes, and a specific gravity value
for the material.
Once values are put in, the whole set can be exported to a disk file, which later can
be import into the input dialog for MSVALP (or vice versa) to use identical economic
parameters for value calculations.

Cost and Cutoff
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The Representative Costs group defines the default (or reasonable) mining cost for ore
and waste. When MULTP option is used in Design Strategy dialog, the blocks with net
values below a cutoff will be classified as waste simply for obtaining nested pits without
recalculating net values per block. These blocks will assume the mining costs defined in
this dialog.
Variable costs by bench are also defined in this dialog.
Discounting parameters by benches are defined by a Bench Mining Rate Factor which
is in format of how many benches one can mine in a year. For example, 0.125 = 1/8 =
mining eight benches per year. An example for the yearly discounting percent is 15(%).
Pit slope scenarios

In this example, complex slopes are used. The default pit slope is 33 degrees.
The default pit slope is also used by MSOPIT internally to define the horizontal search
area. Therefore, the Default slope is the minimum among all possible pit slope angles.
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Complex slopes Annual
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The old way of ASCII files for complex slopes is converted into MineSight® EP GSF items.
In this dialog, there are two slope surfaces and nine slopes ranging from 33 to 50
degrees. The default for azimuth increment is 30 degrees. The default for Distance
between points determining a slope is block dimension along easting (DX). The default
for Number of points along the rays is 50-project units (meters or feet).
Base pit is used for Floating Ray approach for approximating pit slopes.

22nd Design Strategy
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In Select Design Choice group, Base is designed for normal pit optimization.
MULTP is designed for generating a series of nested pits successively each is limited
within certain number of benches from its previous pit or surface and number of
blocks in each pit is controlled. Bottoms will use a base pit to locate major pit bottoms
and economically rank them. Resources option is used summarize pit resources by
destination and material type.
Resource Configuration is activated only if Resource is chosen.
For Lerchs-Grossmann pit design method, reblocking factors can be optionally defined
along easting, northing, and by bench.
Complex slope options include: 1) variable bench height (one cone per bench), 2)
Floating Ray, and 3) one cone per ore block.
For LG option, one also has option to summarize the net values between two existing
pit surfaces.
Base design dialog

In Cutoffs group, cutoff values can be defined for Mill or Mine categories. The economic
cutoff for Mine (ore) for net value is 0. A block with net value above 0 will be able to pay
its own mining and processing costs. The economic cutoff for Mill is usually the processing
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cost. A block with a net value able to pay its processing cost plus at least some partial cost
for its mining belongs to Mill group. Annual
Each pit optimization area is bounded by IZ1, IZ2, ROW1, ROW2, COL1, and COL2.
In this example, pit optimization result will be stored in item PIT48 in MineSight® EP
GSF file kong13.pit.
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If a limiting pit is specified, the resulting pit optimization pit will be within the limiting pit.
Audit Options
If bench, column, and row numbers are defined, detailed audit output will be put in the
file workmsopit.tmp for the block and the whole column. How the net value per block is
computed for the column will also be in this file.
Output File Configuration

In this example, the run file will be runopt.ry1. The output report file will be
22nd rptopt.ry1.
In optional file 15 output group, Processing Number Code Item(P#) could be PR1 for
Annual storing destination number based on break-even economics. The Net value per block could
be NET. The Net value per ton could be DPT.
In optional file 13 (MineSight® EP GSF) output group, if Store 2D-LG pits is checked,
Seminar the 2-D LG pits which were designed based on simplified slope requirements before 3-D
pit optimization starts, would be stored in items XELV3, XELV4, and XELV5. If Store ore
bottoms is checked, the results would be stored in item XELV1 and XELV2. XELV1 stores
a surface defining bottom of ore and XELV2 stores potential pit bottoms.
A8.1 Pit Optimization with MSOPIT – MULTP
This section will briefly discuss another design strategy – MULTP.
MULTP attempts to design a series of pits in one run. In this design strategy, the net
values of blocks are sorted from the highest to the lowest. A certain percentage of ore
blocks (value > 0) in the value matrix (B-array) within design area are classified as ore. The
remaining blocks are classified as waste. The ore blocks will retain its value but the waste
blocks will assume a waste mining cost. If we start with a smaller percentage of blocks
being classified as ore and carry out pit optimizations by progressively increasing the
percentage of blocks being classified as ore, we can obtain a series of nested pits.
To prevent the designed pit becomes too big, a user can define how many benches, from
the current surface, the designed pit is allowed to go down.
To prevent the designed pit to be too small, a user can define how many blocks the
designed pit must have in it.
The dialog inputs unique for Design Strategy-MULTP are presented as below.
Design Strategy:
In this dialog, MULTP option is checked.

MULTP
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In this dialog, the resulting pits will be stored in items from PIT21 to PIT40, a total of 20 pits.
The run area is the whole block model.
The starting percent for ore blocks being classified as ore is 0.05 (5%). The maximum
percent for ore blocks being classified as ore is 1.0 (100%), which will approximate the
ultimate pit without control on number of benches going down. The starting percent
should not be 0% because no pit will be designed.
The step size equals: (100-5)/20.
The maximum depth from current pit surface for pit optimization is ten benches (50 meters).
The minimum number of blocks required for each incremental pit is 10,000 in the input.
A8.2 Pit Optimization with MSOPIT – Multi-Run
MULTP is great for filling in the gaps for a big incremental pit. Often a user wants to tie a
pit to a particular economic parameter set. Multi-Run conveniently provides a way for the
user to produce a series of pits with variable economic parameters.
An example for setting up a Multi-Run with msep-design.py is given below:
Bring up the Multi-Run dialog:
Click on MineSight® Compass™ Options tab, in MultiRun Options | Open group,
choose New and click on folder open icon, the Multi-Run dialog will be brought up.

22nd Define starting pit number as a variable 5 (?05):
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Define the copper price and the cobalt price as variables 1 and 2 (?01 and ?02) for process
cu_ore-cuplant combination:

Define the cobalt price as variable 2 (?02) for process co_ore-coplant combination:
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Define result pit as variable 3 (?03):

Define run file and report extensions as variable 4 (?04):
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Save default responses by selecting File | Save Multi-Run Setup:

Fill in values for all variables at one time:
In this example, for the first run, the starting surface (variable 5) is MineSight® EP GSF
item PIT00, the copper price (variable 1) is $0.90/lb, the cobalt price (variable 2) is $20/lb,
the result pit surface (variable 3) will be stored in MineSight® EP GSF item PIT11, and the
run file and report file extension (variable 4) is c9.
Please note that it is probably a good idea to write down each variable definition as it is
designated (dialog input stage), otherwise, one may forget the designation of each variable.
A9.0 Display MineSight® EP GSF Pits with MineSight® 3-D
Since the pits resulting from pit optimization are stored in MineSight® EP GSF, they can
be viewed in the same way as any other GSF files within MineSight® 3-D. In fact, all the
items in the MineSight® EP GSF can be viewed with MineSight® 3-D.
It is important that the geometry of the pits designed with MSOPIT be examined
visually. In order to do this, a user should first define at least two grid sets; a west to east
grid set and a horizontal grid set.

Second, the user must create model views for each item in the MineSight® EP GSF.
MineSight® 3-D has a function to create model views for all items in the MineSight® EP GSF
with minimum mouse clicks. The steps are shown below:
22nd
1) create a folder for saving model views, e.g., GSF-pit,
2) within the newly created folder, select New | Model View and specify a short name
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(perhaps by using the file extension, this short name will become a prefix to the GSF
items forming model view names). Seminar
Select the PCF and MineSight® EP GSF and when the following window pops-up,
Answer OK and the window below appears.

3) Click Select | all Select | OK and a model view will be created for each item in the
MineSight® EP GSF. The geometric relationship between pits is best seen in section
views. For plan views it is best to create a contour from the pit surface.

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Note: a user can uncheck the items that are not wanted
before clicking OK.
Section View of pits stored in MineSight® EP GSF (model view).

Contours of a pit stored in MineSight® EP GSF
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A 3-D view of the pit stored in MineSight®EP GSF.

A10. MSVALP - Calculation of Schedules
22nd MSVALP computes reserves between pits developed by MSOPIT and uses them to
develop schedules that meet production constraints and optimize the cutoff grades.
Annual Since MSVALP optimizes cutoff grades, one model item must be selected for the cutoff
grade and as the cutoff grade increases so must the value of the material. The actual
Seminar economics are based upon up to five grades and their processing assumptions.
The objective for the cutoff grade optimization is based upon finding the cutoff grade
within each pushback and each bench in each period, which results in the maximum NPV.
This is accomplished starting with the cutoff grades that maximize the total profit and then
computing the NPV for each class of material in a simple top down schedule. The reserves
are divided into mining units based upon pushback, bench, process class, and cutoff off
bin. Then each unit is examined to determine the change in the NPV by not processing
that class (i.e. sending the material to stockpiles or waste dumps). Then the unit that has
the most positive effect on the NPV by not processing it is removed. The calculations are
repeated until there is not significant improvement in the NPV to be made.
The MineSight® Grail procedure for MSVALP is msep-evaluate.py.
As in previous sections, we will present an example for illustration. We will omit the
dialogs in msep-evaluate.py which are the same as those in msep-design.py and
focus on unique dialogs to msep-evaluate.py.
Define Phases to Schedule:
Note that the pits must be sequential and increasing in size, otherwise MSVALP will
terminate with an error message. Use MSPSUF to normalize the pits if required.

Value Calculation Options
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Define Economic Parameters for Destinations
For each Material there must be at least one destination and if the destination is an ore
process, there should also be a waste process specified. Note that materials cu_ore and co_
ore are specified to go to either the mill or waste destinations.
For each ore destination the value calculations should be defined based upon from one
to five grade items from the model. For each grade item the Price, Recovery, and Factor
must be specified. The value calculations is:
Value for Grade1 = Grade1 x Price1 x Recovery1 x .01 x Factor1

The Factor is used to convert the grade into payable units. For example ,if the Price is
22nd based upon pounds and the grade is percent, the Factor must be the pounds per ton, 20 for
Imperial units and 22.0456 for metric projects.
Annual Costs and Cutoffs
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The cutoff grade must be based upon one of the grade items specified in the previous
panel. A maximum of 10 cutoffs are allowed.
Min. NPV change to switch cutoff bin: = if the project NPV difference ≥ $10,000.0, the
schedule material bin will be reclassified, e.g., from ore to waste or vice versa.
Discount percent per period: = annual discounting rate in % (10%).
# passes for NPV Calc: = number of iterations (passes) to stop improving project
NPV (100).

Process Production Targets
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Five sets of production targets can be specified. The periods should be specified
sequentially from 1 to 99. The maximum number of periods allowed is 99.
The capital investment is assumed to be invested at time IY1.

The material mined in a period is defined by the capacity of one or more destinations.
The destinations are listed horizontally. The Rate variable for each destination indicates
whether or not that destination is used to determine the mining for the period. A check
means that the destination is included in the total ore target for the period. For example, in
the case above, the period mining in defined mining the material required to send 900,000
tons to the cuplant. No target constraints are defined for coplant, waste, and Ob. The Grade
option is used to specify how the capacity is defined, either by tonnes as in this case or by
recovered metal. If a grade is specified, then the capacity is assumed to be units of metal
recovered instead of mining tons.

22nd The Use check box is used to limit production in addition to the controlling capacity
specified by the Rate. For example, if there was a run of mine leaching process independent
of the mill, the capacity could be specified. This capacity would be a (desired upper) limit,
Annual not a goal.
The Total mining capacity rate is the maximum tonnes that can be mined in a production
Seminar period for all destinations.

Note that without excess mining capacity there is no opportunity to optimize cutoff grade.
Stockpile Processing Options
When stockpiled material is sent to a process there is a loading and hauling cost per ton
specified by Cost to Send.
It may not be reasonable to process material that has a low value so a minimum profit
per tons can be specified.
Output Configuration

In addition to the standard output file, four more files are output by MSVALP. They are
Details file, Reserve Database file, Schedule file, and Data Summary file.
For each block in 3DBM, three items can be optionally stored. They are: the process to
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which the block was sent, the phase # in which the block is located, and the period # in
which the block was mined. Annual
A10.1 MSVALP - Reading the Reports
In addition to the standard output file, four more files are output by MSVALP. They are
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Details file, Reserve Database file, Schedule file, and Data Summary file.
For our sample data, they are as follows:
Standard output file – rptval.mlp
Details output file - det.mlp
Reserve database file - res.mlp
Schedule file - sch.mlp
Data summary file - sum.mlp
Instead of explaining all the details in the report files, we will list some of the key tables
and point out which file they are in. The tables may have been reorganized for presentation.

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Annual
Seminar

22nd
Annual
Seminar

MineSight Economic Planner

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MineSight Economic Planner

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MineSight® Economic Planner

22nd 1.0 Introduction

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2.1 3-D block model kong15.pit

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2.2 2-D Gridded Surface kong13.pit

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Figure 2.2 Initial topography with 1-m contours.

2.3 Target Economic Parameters – Base Set

3.0 Pit Optimization Based on Economics

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Figure 3.1 Section view of base economic set pits at 32165N.

Figure 3.2 Plan view of target economic set pit (PIT30).

3.1 Compute Target Pit Reserves with MSVALP

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3.2 Pit Design Analysis with MSVALP - Profit

Figure 3.3 Pit vs. profit and total tonnes.

3.3 Pit Design Analysis with MSVALP - NPV

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Figure 3.4 Pit vs. NPV and profit.

Figure 3.5 Pit vs. NPV.

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3.4 Pit Design Analysis with MSVALP – within Base Pit 30

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Design Analysis Considering Multiple Bottoms

Figure 4.1 The smallest pit obtained in an

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Figure 4.2 The pit

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4.1 Pit Design Analysis Considering Multiple Bottoms

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Table 4.4 Mining schedule from base-bottom pit series – cumulative

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Figure 5.1 Section view of MULTP set pits at 32165N.

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A5.0 Initialize a MineSight® EP GSF

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The key items in the MineSight® EP GSF are:

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Figure A8.1 Define 3-D block model.

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Design variable refers to net value per block.

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Annual Resource classification code item for resource classification, e.g.,

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In this dialog, MULTP option is checked.

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