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Open Pit Mine Design, Planning, and Engineering

The bulk of the world’s minerals come from open pit mines where large volumes of rock must be moved while keeping costs low. Since profit margins depend on cyclical metal prices, optimal mine design and scheduling are vital. Drawing on our world-wide industry experience, we develop practical and workable solutions based on geological, geotechnical, hydrogeological, economic, and environmental considerations.

Our rigorous mine planning methodology focuses on pit optimization relative to grade cut-off strategy, economic mining depth, and size and scale of operation. The result is a life-of-mine plan and technical-economic model for your mineral resource. Our expertise ensures that appropriate project development decisions are made to advance projects quickly and efficiently. We cover all stages of mine life from initial scoping through to mine optimization and expansion projects. 

Services

  • Engineering studies at all stages
  • Strategic planning of economic cut-off grades and production rate analysis
  • Mine design, optimization, and scheduling using software packages such as Whittle, Gemcom, Vulcan, MineSight, Datamine, Surpac, Talpac, Xpac, and Minemax
  • Mining strategy development, implementation, and optimization
  • Operating cost, labour productivity, and manpower requirement estimation
  • Capital expenditure estimation
  • Open pit to underground transition analysis
  • Technical studies compliant with international standards, including scoping and feasibility studies, project reviews, and technical audits
  • Competent person, independent expert, and stock market listing reports
  • Due diligence reviews
Interview with Principal Mining Engineers Scott McEwing and Fraser McQueen

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Related Projects

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Mining Project Advisement

Mining Project Advisement

Mining Project Advisement

Buena Vista Iron Ore Mine
Nevada, USA
SRK was contracted with Magnum Mining and Exploration and it’s wholly owned subsidiary Nevada Iron to fast-track the Buena Vista iron ore project aimed to start supplying DSO cargo by the end of 2021.
Shaft Velocity and Heating Study

Shaft Velocity and Heating Study

Mine Ventilation Case Study

Solvay Trona Mine
Green River, WY
Mine ventilation case study to address airflow and heating problems with intake shafts
Mining Feasibility Study

Mining Feasibility Study

Mining Feasibility Study

King of the Hills
Western Australia, Australia
SRK completed a high-level technical review, concept studies, pre-feasibility study and feasibility study for the King of the Hills gold project.

Consultants in Related Fields

Chris Britten

Chris Britten

Vancouver, Canada
Chris is a Senior Consultant with 7 years of combined operational and consulting experience in the mining industry.
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Maryam Sahafzadeh

Maryam Sahafzadeh

Vancouver, Canada
Maryam has over 13 years of experience in open pit mine planning and design.
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Nathan Wineinger

Nathan Wineinger

Clovis, USA
Nathan has over 12 years of experience in ventilation system design in mine and tunnel ventilation projects.
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Marcin Wertz

Marcin Wertz

Johannesburg, South Africa
Marcin Wertz has been with SRK Consulting for the past 28 years and has been involved in the field of mining engineering for over 37 years.
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Related Articles

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Annualized Probabilities of Pit Slope Failures for Quantitative Risk Analysis
Franco Oboni, Cesar Oboni, Luis-Fernando Contreras

In the realm of open pit mining, assessing the risks associated with pit slope failures is paramount for ensuring safety and optimizing economic returns.

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Blueprints for Success
Andrew van Zyl, Marcin Wertz, Joseph Mainama, Ali Rudaki, Jaco van Graan, Desmond Mossop

No matter the conditions of the mining market, plans for new mines always abound. Meanwhile, the eye is always on the future. Every factor of a mine’s existence, especially during this time of unprecedented change, is being examined and evaluated.

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Fifteen years of resistance data collected at Freeport Indonesia
Brian Prosser

Commencing with the GBT Mine in 1978, P.T. Freeport Indonesia has consistently ramped-up underground mining operations at their Ertsberg District in Indonesia.

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Mineable Stope Optimiser (MSO): A Mine Planning Tool More Important Than Ever
Nuno Castanho

MSO is demonstrably a valuable planning tool that can assist to create optimised mine plans and contribute to the efficient progress of mining studies.

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Modelling Fractured Rock Heterogeneity in an Open Pit: Groundwater Model Calibration Using Pilot Points
Claudia Martínez

Understanding groundwater flow in fractured rock is a complex task. Explore our uncertainty analysis results that were valuable for identifying data needs and optimizing future hydrogeological works.

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Mining Magazine: Getting Some Air
John Bowling

There are a handful of non-negotiable factors when it comes to mining safely and efficiently, and among that group is proper mine ventilation.

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