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
Case studies: Learn about our collaboration with multidisciplinary teams on a copper sulphide project and mitigation of acid rock drainage risks in the Amazon:
