Analysis of the blending problem in open pit production scheduling

A review of the application of operations research techniques to production scheduling in open pit mines reveals that they are not used in practice, because the size of the models is large, and it is difficult to model the feasibility aspects of the process. An algorithm to calculate mining cuts was developed and implemented in a microcomputer. The main advantages are the accuracy of the calculation of tonnages and grades of mining cuts, and the low cost of computer hardware used in the implementation.;The results were used to analyze the blending problem in an open pit iron ore mine, using linear programming parametric analysis. In this problem, the mine sells crushed ore, classified according to size, in lumps and fines. The analysis showed the relationship between parameters that affect the optimal value of the objective function (OV), in this case, the revenue obtained from selling crushed ore. The production strategy is insensitive to a wide variation in the price of the products, and that the OV is directly related to the mill feed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).