Dynamic short term production scheduling and machine allocation in underground mining using mathematical programming

Maximising value is the main objective when developing long term mine production schedules. These results provide input for the development of a short term schedule that aims to meet process plant feed requirements so as to produce a quality saleable product. This paper reviews previous work on optimised short- and long term production scheduling and real time fleet management systems. A new dynamic mathematical model using mixed integer programming is proposed to optimise short term production scheduling and machine allocation for application in sublevel stoping operations. The objective of the model is to minimise deviation from targeted metal production. The dynamic nature of the model not only optimises the shift based schedule but also allows rapid equipment reassignment to take place as underground operating conditions change. Optimal results are generated in less than 1 min when trialled on a conceptual sublevel stoping dataset.