A computer-based mine development and production management gam

A model of the sequence of decisions required for mine development and production has been formulated and is operated as a computer-based game. The Mine Manager is an operations research game in which the user assumes the role of mine management in the exploitation of a mineral deposit. Potential applications of the game lie in experimentation, policy formulation and education in mine economics. The Mine Manager is described using the terminology of games.;The selection of parameters and of the level of detail in the model reflects a compromise between realism and simplicity. At the development stage, the selection of project specifications concerns the mining method and capacity installation. Decisions on cut-off grade and/or cut-off value, capacity utilization, the sequence of mining, stockpiling and expansion are made during the mine life. Decision making takes place within a framework provided by an abstraction of the operating environment of a mine, and must comply with a set of rules. These rules ensure that only feasible decisions are made. Within this constraint, the model offers a high degree of flexibility in setting the values of the decision variables.;The Mine Manager combines elements of geology, mining, management and gaming. Conditional simulation is used to generate grades of copper, zinc and gold in a massive sulphide deposit. Mining operations in both underground and open-pit mines are modelled, and hypothetical capital and operating cost functions are developed for the mine and mill. A pricing model generates new price series for each run of the game.;The Mine Manager is operated interactively on a microcomputer through the use of modular software. The user interface and a sample run of the game are described, and the information displays created by the game are presented.