Abstract:

Mine closure planning is typically performed separately after a completed life of mine plan. The separation of knowledge, technology, and responsibilities between these plans prevents a holistic approach to mine planning, and opportunities to improve the value of the project as it moves towards closure are rarely explored or realized.

The key objective for this case study was to determine the best “planning for closure” case for an operation with less than five years remaining production. Detailed physicals for landform rehabilitation were quantified and costed using modern mining software and integrated with the mine, processing, and closure plans to form a base case scenario. The base case provided a consistent auditable platform upon which to explore value-adding options and assess overall project values for various “what if “ scenarios.

Scenarios were run to test cashflow sensitivity to the sale price, mine phase sequencing, haulage cost, and “as-dumped” landform design. The underlying aim for each case was to minimize dump reshaping cost, reduce the closure footprint, and maximize overall “real” cashflow .

This paper demonstrates that by integrating planning tools into the whole mining value chain, all the way through to final closure, practical and informed decisions can be made many years before final rehabilitation is initiated. This process adds real value to the mining operations and enables informed decisions to be made on future investments, and guides future cash flow management strategies.

Biography of the presenter: Andre Stengl is a principal mining engineer with 18 years of experience in mine planning and consulting. A graduate from the University of Wollongong (Australia), his study primary site experience is based in Australian Open Cut Coal operations, ranging from drill and blast, dragline and truck shovel design, highwall mining, Production Scheduling, and long-range planning. For the last 5 years, Andre has been based in North America implementing Deswik software and consulting for Open Pit Metal mines across a variety of commodities - notably Gold, Diamonds, and Oil Sands. During his time with Deswik, Andre has been a Subject Matter Expert for their Landform and haulage (LHS) and Open Pit scheduling tools.] Pete Mollison is the Director, Mine Engineering at Pan American Silver Corp. He is a graduate of the University of Ballarat (Australia) and for the past 25 years has worked in open pit and underground operations and consulted on various global projects. For the past 9 years he has been based in Vancouver BC, and during that time has undertaken projects and assisted at sites throughout the Americas. In his current role, he provides technical services leadership and creates value opportunities along the mine value chain for Pan American Silvers operations.

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Andre Stengl