Gold Mining Software: Mine-to-Mill Optimiser
Optimise gold recovery through mill feed blending, processing and stockpiles
BlendOpt is a configurable optimisation platform for mining value chains. Used as gold mining software, it optimises the mine-to-mill chain: which ore is crushed directly and which is stockpiled, how ROM stockpiles are reclaimed, and how the crusher and mill are fed, to maximise recovered ounces while respecting grade, arsenic, hardness and capacity constraints.
What BlendOpt optimises in a gold operation
Mill feed blending
Blend by head grade, arsenic, sulphur, talc, hardness and abrasion to keep mill feed stable within the day and across the schedule.
Recovery and throughput models
Use your own recovery, throughput and cost formulas, including HIG, flotation and CIL, written in readable notation rather than buried in spreadsheet cells.
ROM stockpile management
Classify and reclaim ROM stockpiles by grade and deleterious elements, including operations with very little inventory capacity.
Crusher and mill scheduling
Build crusher and mill feed schedules that respect planned outages and equipment capacities.
Scenario testing
Quantify the benefit and risk of changes to the operation before committing to them.
Planning under ore variability
Plan with predicted or historical variability in ore properties, not just average grades.
Gold mine-to-mill results
Gold mine-to-mill planning in depth
To remain competitive, respond quickly to changes in market conditions, and maximise revenue outcomes it is important to consider a holistic strategy for value creation as well as improve the coordination of operations planning across the mining value-chain. The BlendOpt software application collaborates with you by utilising your expert knowledge and decision making with mathematical optimisation in order to find ideal plans and schedules for your gold operation.
Plans for mining, grinding, and processing, are difficult to align with recovery and NPV objectives if each planning activity is developed separately instead of holistically. In practice, value-chain optimisation is only achievable through integrated planning. By integrated planning, we mean coordinated planning of decisions between mining, processing, inventory, logistics, maintenance, and sales. While the importance of integrated planning is recognised, its execution is difficult without the right tools to support this process.
BlendOpt is the first mathematical optimisation software tool that supports gold mine to mill integrated planning. Starting with a mine schedule, the BlendOpt Collaborative Mathematical Optimiser (CMO) discovers strategies for how ore should be blended, milled and processed, maximising recovery and throughput while managing costs. Mathematically optimised plans are created using algorithms that test thousands of possible plans in search of the highest profit from the data provided.
Previous mine value-chain optimisation software has historically been unable to accurately model the problem and did not contain algorithmic techniques that could solve the problem in a timely fashion or address the multitude of mining value-chain constraints. In addition, any results generated were difficult to analyse thereby limiting what insights could be gained to inform practical improvements to business strategy, or tactical and operational decision making.
BlendOpt for Gold mining and processing
The BlendOpt solution has been engineered to manage the complexity of the Gold mine to mill value-chain and can support decision making in the following areas :-
- Highly flexible recovery, throughput, and cost model calculations to optimise profits and that take into consideration properties including head grade, arsenic, abrasion, hardness, sulphur and other properties.
- Scenario testing to quantify benefits and risks associated with hypothetical changes to the operation.
- Planning that directly factors in uncertainty using either predictive or historical data on the variability of material (physical and chemical) properties.
- Improvements to the stability of intra-day feed blends with benefits to concentrate grade and total recovery.
- Optimisation under small inventory capacity conditions.
If you'd like to learn more, please read our gold mine to mill case study where BlendOpt was utilised by a gold miner to optimise their planning processes.
Download the article (PDF)
Gold mining software FAQ
What does gold mining software do?
Gold mining software covers geological modelling, mine design and scheduling, fleet management, and mine-to-mill optimisation. BlendOpt covers mine-to-mill optimisation: configured for gold, it starts from your mine schedule and decides how ore is stockpiled, blended, crushed and milled to recover the most gold.
What is a gold mill feed optimiser?
A mill feed optimiser chooses the blend of ore sent to the mill in each period to maximise recovered ounces or profit, within grade, deleterious element and capacity limits. BlendOpt optimises every period together, so today's blend does not leave tomorrow short of good feed.
Can BlendOpt replace our Excel mill feed planning spreadsheet?
Yes. In the gold mine-to-mill case study, a spreadsheet with more than 30 recovery calculations that produced infeasible stockpile plans was replaced by a BlendOpt model of the crusher, mill, stockpiles and recovery.
Which gold processing routes can BlendOpt model?
Recovery, throughput and cost models are configurable, so BlendOpt can represent your circuit. Existing gold models include HIG milling, flotation and CIL.
Does BlendOpt use our existing mine schedule?
Yes. BlendOpt starts from the mine schedule produced by your planning tools and optimises the downstream stockpiling, blending and processing decisions.
Would you like to know more?
Do you optimize product placement into the market?
Do you know when Demurrage adds value (can you spot “value justified” demurrage)?
Do you know in what situations your stockpile quality models increase contract rejection risk?
Does your planning software require stable operations, predictable markets, consistent orebodies?
Can you run scenarios to understand your options?
Does your tactical scheduling software automatically synchronize with your longer term planning tools?
Do your schedules reflect conditions on the ground?
Are your schedules tossed in the bin on day 1?