Quantifying dilution caused by execution efficiency

Abstract

In open pit mining, dilution is not always a factor systematically analyzed and calculated. Often it is only an adjusted number, for example, calculated or even empirically determined for a certain operational condition perpetuating along time in the form of a constant applied to calculating reserves or mine planning in attendance of audit requirements. Dilution and loss are factors that should be always considered for tonnage and grade estimates. These factors are always associated and can be determined considering several particularities of the deposit and the operation itself. In this study, a methodology was determined to identify blocks adjacent to the blocks previously planned to be mined. Thus, it is possible to estimate the dilution caused by poor operating efficiency, taking into account the inability of the equipment to perfectly remove each block, respecting its limits. Mining dilution is defined as the incorporation of waste material to ore due to the operational incapacity to efficiently separate the materials during the mining process, considering the physical processes, and the operating and geometric configurations of the mining with the equipment available.

Accounting for operational dilution by incorporating geological uncertainties in short-term mine planning

“…The methodology developed by [16,20] consisted of an automated routine for calculating operational dilution through the analysis of short-term mine plans (subsets of blocks to be extracted), analysing blocks' grades, contacts and neighbourhoods to verify if there were differences between the planned grades and the measured data. This work proposes improving the mentioned methodology by incorporating the information of grade uncertainty to calculate the operational dilution.…”

Controlling operational dilution in open-pit mining

“…The proposition and implementation of this technique is based on the methodology of Câmara and Peroni (2016). These researchers' methodology is improved using an algorithm with HTML and Java-Script languages, making it possible to quantify dilution by considering specific operational conditions for short-term mine planning purposes.…”