Nine case studies are presented to illustrate how risks can be, minimised
or quantified during pit optimisation, utilising Whittle Four-D software.
Each case study covers a specific problem that has been encountered from
a wide variety of pit optimisations. Case A: Maximising profits when the tenement owner is paid a royalty
on tonnes processed. Case B: Allocating product prices, rather than a single commodity
price during optimisation. Case C: Quantifying processing costs that are affected by penalty
elements in the ore. Case D: Exploration expenditures below current pits can be quantified
through the use of simulation techniques. Case E: Alternative strategies can be quantified when pits are restricted
by tenement boundaries. Case F: Relocation of mine infrastructure that requires large capital
expenditures, can be simulated by allocating costs to an area during
optimisation. Case G: Evaluating alternative corporate strategies during pit
optimisation. Case H: Sensitivity analysis for price, processing cost and mining cost.
Case I: Quantifying the advantages of using additional mining capacity
during the early periods of mining.