An integrated methodology for decision making of mining method selection

Mine enterprises increasingly depend on computerised decision support tools to improve decision-making in areas such as mining method selection, equipment selection and production scheduling. Information technology and management science are capable of improving the decision making of mining engineering, which have been integrated into a system we have developed. Selection of the mining method for ore deposits is extremely complex and it relies on several factors; the decision maker also confronts multiple conflicting objectives such as maximising benefits and safety, minimising cost, etc. In this paper, a methodology for developing an intelligent decision system for mining method selection integrated with expert systems and fuzzy evaluation based multi-attributes decision theory is described.