IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v37y2012i1p81-89.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimal production scale of open pit mining operations with uncertain metal supply and long-term stockpiles

Author

Listed:
  • Waqar Ali Asad, Mohammad
  • Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos

Abstract

An open pit mining operation consists of various stages, and the calculation of the production capacities of these stages depends upon the available supply of ore (mineralized material of economic value) and waste material. Cutoff grade is the criterion that specifies the amount of ore and waste. The material with grade equal to or higher than the cutoff grade is classified as ore. The material with grade less than the cutoff grade is considered waste. While this explains the link between cutoff grade theory and the calculation of production capacities, the majority of optimization models for finding production capacities not only disregards this relationship but also ignores expected variations and uncertainty in metal content or the available supply of ore and waste material.

Suggested Citation

  • Waqar Ali Asad, Mohammad & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2012. "Optimal production scale of open pit mining operations with uncertain metal supply and long-term stockpiles," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 81-89.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:37:y:2012:i:1:p:81-89
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2011.12.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420711000778
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2011.12.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abdel Sabour, S. A., 2002. "Mine size optimization using marginal analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(3-4), pages 145-151.
    2. Osanloo, M. & Rashidinejad, F. & Rezai, B., 2008. "Incorporating environmental issues into optimum cut-off grades modeling at porphyry copper deposits," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 222-229, December.
    3. Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos G. & Abdel Sabour, Sabry A., 2007. "Evaluating mine plans under uncertainty: Can the real options make a difference?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 116-125, September.
    4. James Otto & Craig Andrews & Fred Cawood & Michael Doggett & Pietro Guj & Frank Stermole & John Stermole & John Tilton, 2006. "Mining Royalties : A Global Study of Their Impact on Investors, Government, and Civil Society," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7105.
    5. James Otto & Craig Andrews & Fred Cawood & Michael Doggett & Pietro Guj & Frank Stermole & John Stermole & John Tilton, 2006. "Mining Royalties : A Global Study of Their Impact on Investors, Government, and Civil Society, Appendixes," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7136.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khan, Asif & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali, 2021. "A mixed integer programming based cut-off grade model for open-pit mining of complex poly-metallic resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Kuangyuan Zhang & Richard Olawoyin & Antonio Nieto & Andrew N. Kleit, 2018. "Risk of commodity price, production cost and time to build in resource economics," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 2521-2544, December.
    3. Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2013. "A heuristic approach to stochastic cutoff grade optimization for open pit mining complexes with multiple processing streams," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 591-597.
    4. Savolainen, Jyrki, 2016. "Real options in metal mining project valuation: Review of literature," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 49-65.
    5. Zeng, Lanyan & Liu, Shi Qiang & Kozan, Erhan & Corry, Paul & Masoud, Mahmoud, 2021. "A comprehensive interdisciplinary review of mine supply chain management," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. Xiao, Chang & Florescu, Ionut & Zhou, Jinsheng, 2020. "A comparison of pricing models for mineral rights: Copper mine in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Tabesh, Mohammad & Moradi Afrapoli, Ali & Askari-Nasab, Hooman, 2023. "A two-stage simultaneous optimization of NPV and throughput in production planning of open pit mines," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Castillo, Emilio, 2021. "The impacts of profit-based royalties on early-stage mineral exploration," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Hansen, James & Gross, Isaac, 2018. "Commodity price volatility with endogenous natural resources," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 157-180.
    3. Bertrand Laporte & Céline de Quatrebarbes & Yannick Bouterige, 2019. "Rent sharing and progressivity of tax regimes in the mining sector: An analysis of 21 African gold-producing countries [Partage de la rente et progressivité des régimes fiscaux dans le secteur mini," CERDI Working papers halshs-02103047, HAL.
    4. Figueroa B., Eugenio & Orihuela R., Carlos & Calfucura T., Enrique, 2010. "Green accounting and sustainability of the Peruvian metal mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 156-167, September.
    5. Vining, Aidan R. & Moore, Mark A., 2017. "Potash ownership and extraction: Between a rock and a hard place in Saskatchewan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 71-80.
    6. Celine de Quatrebarbes & Bertrand Laporte, 2015. "What do we know about the mineral resource rent sharing in Africa?," CERDI Working papers halshs-01146279, HAL.
    7. Amos James Ibrahim-Shwilima & Hideki Konishi, 2014. "The Impact of Tax Concessions on Extraction of Non-renewable Resources:An Application to Gold Mining in Tanzania," Working Papers 1403, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    8. Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2013. "A heuristic approach to stochastic cutoff grade optimization for open pit mining complexes with multiple processing streams," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 591-597.
    9. Sauerwein, Titus, 2020. "Gold mining and development in Côte d’Ivoire: Trajectories, opportunities and oversights," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Gunton, Cameron & Gunton, Thomas & Batson, Joshua & Markey, Sean & Dale, Daniel, 2021. "Designing fiscal regimes for impact benefit agreements," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Christopher Hajzler, 2012. "Expropriation of foreign direct investments: sectoral patterns from 1993 to 2006," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 148(1), pages 119-149, April.
    12. Abcede, Rene & Gera, Weena, 2018. "Examining the coherence of legal frameworks for ecosystem services toward sustainable mineral development in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(PB), pages 228-239.
    13. Auger, Felipe & Ignacio Guzmán, Juan, 2010. "How rational are investment decisions in the copper industry?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 292-300, December.
    14. Afriyie, Kwadwo & Abass, Kabila, 2020. "Profiting from illegality: A discursive analysis of the chainsaw operation in rural Ghana," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    15. Peck, Philip & Sinding, Knud, 2009. "Financial assurance and mine closure: Stakeholder expectations and effects on operating decisions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 227-233, December.
    16. Laporte, Bertrand & de Quatrebarbes, Céline, 2015. "What do we know about the sharing of mineral resource rent in Africa?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P2), pages 239-249.
    17. Jyrki Savolainen & Ramin Rakhsha & Richard Durham, 2022. "Simulation-based decision-making system for optimal mine production plan selection," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(2), pages 267-281, June.
    18. Frank M. Fossen & Lukas Mergele & Nicolas Pardo, 2017. "Fueling fiscal interactions: commodity price shocks and local government spending in Colombia," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(4), pages 616-651, August.
    19. Jara, J. Joaquin & Lagos, Gustavo & Tilton, John E., 2008. "Using exploration expenditures to assess the climate for mineral investment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 179-187, December.
    20. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & François Vaillancourt (ed.), 2011. "Decentralization in Developing Countries," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14175.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:37:y:2012:i:1:p:81-89. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.