A new model for mining method selection of mineral deposit based on fuzzy decision making

Mining method selection is a critical point and a strategic issue in the mining engineering process. Selection of a method unsuitable for deposit characteristics may make exploitation of the orebody troublesome and sometimes uneconomical. So, available deposits should be evaluated carefully in an optimum manner. In the process, the selection of the most appropriate mining method is of great importance from the economical, technical and safety points of view. In the method selection process, many controllable and uncontrollable parameters should be taken into account. Therefore, these parameters must be obtained with scientific and technical studies for each ore deposit1. In the past, selection of an extraction method was based primarily on operating experience at a similar type of mine and on methods already in use in the districts of the deposit. The approach of adopting the same mining method as that of a neighbouring operation is not always appropriate. However, this does not mean that one cannot learn from comparing mining plans of existing operations in the district, or of similar deposits2. There is no single appropriate mining method for a deposit. Usually two or more feasible methods are possible. Each method entails some inherent problems. Consequently, the optimal method is the one that offers the minimum numbers of problems. The key issue for mining method selection is to maximize the profit by selecting the method with the highest recovery of the mineral resources and the lowest cost among the feasible alternatives. The approaches to the selection of the mining method can be classified in three categories: profile and checklist methods, numerical ranking (scoring) methods, and decision making models. In this paper, the problems with these methods are discussed and the results of applying fuzzy decision making software tool in the process of selecting the extraction method for several cases are offered. The main purpose of this paper is to present a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making model for the mining method selection. In order to introduce the suggested fuzzy decision making model, firstly, the existing mining method selection models and their disadvantages are presented. Then, the A new model for mining method selection of mineral deposit based on fuzzy decision making

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