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OPTIMAL LOCATION OF AN UNDERGROUND CONNECTOR USING DISCOUNTED STEINER TREE THEORY

Part of: Operations research and management science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2021

K. G. SIRINANDA Open the ORCID record for K. G. SIRINANDA [Opens in a new window] ,
M. BRAZIL Open the ORCID record for M. BRAZIL [Opens in a new window] ,
P. A. GROSSMAN Open the ORCID record for P. A. GROSSMAN [Opens in a new window] ,
J. H. RUBINSTEIN Open the ORCID record for J. H. RUBINSTEIN [Opens in a new window]  and
D. A. THOMAS Open the ORCID record for D. A. THOMAS [Opens in a new window]
K. G. SIRINANDA
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, VIC3010, Australia; e-mail: kashyapa.sirinanda@gmail.com, peterag@unimelb.edu.au, doreen.thomas@unimelb.edu.au.
M. BRAZIL*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, VIC3010, Australia; e-mail: brazil@unimelb.edu.au.
P. A. GROSSMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, VIC3010, Australia; e-mail: kashyapa.sirinanda@gmail.com, peterag@unimelb.edu.au, doreen.thomas@unimelb.edu.au.
J. H. RUBINSTEIN
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, VIC3010, Australia; e-mail: hyam.rubinstein@gmail.com.
D. A. THOMAS
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, VIC3010, Australia; e-mail: kashyapa.sirinanda@gmail.com, peterag@unimelb.edu.au, doreen.thomas@unimelb.edu.au.
*
e-mail: brazil@unimelb.edu.au
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Abstract

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the gradient-constrained discounted Steiner point algorithm (GCDSPA) described in an earlier paper by the authors is applicable to a class of real mine planning problems, by using the algorithm to design a part of the underground access in the Rubicon gold mine near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The algorithm is used to design a decline connecting two ore bodies so as to maximize the net present value (NPV) associated with the connector. The connector is to break out from the access infrastructure of one ore body and extend to the other ore body. There is a junction on the connector where it splits in two near the second ore body. The GCDSPA is used to obtain the optimal location of the junction and the corresponding NPV. The result demonstrates that the GCDSPA can be used to solve certain problems in mine planning for which currently available methods cannot provide optimal solutions.

Keywords

network optimizationmine planningunderground miningSteiner treesnet present value

MSC classification

Primary: 90B80: Discrete location and assignment
Type
Research Article
Information
The ANZIAM Journal , Volume 62 , Issue 3 , July 2020 , pp. 334 - 351
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Copyright
© Australian Mathematical Society 2021

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