IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v109y2025ics0301420725002363.html

Comparative analysis of mathematical models for integrated production scheduling and sustainable waste management in open-pit mining complexes

Author

Listed:
  • Lin, Jingsi
  • Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali
  • Topal, Erkan
  • Chang, Ping

Abstract

Optimal production scheduling and waste management in open-pit mining operations present significant challenges. The conventional two-step process involves the application of mixed-integer programming (MIP)-based models to sequence the extraction of mining ore blocks over a planning horizon, followed by a separate procedure to allocate extracted waste blocks to various locations within waste dumps. This paper introduces an integrated approach to optimise extraction sequencing and waste dump management in a mining complex comprising multiple pits or mines, multiple material processing streams, stockpiles, and waste dumps. In addition to addressing critical operational and technical requirements, the proposed approach ensures the environmentally responsible disposal of potentially acid-forming (PAF) waste and incorporates explicit control of haulage costs, enhancing material transport efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint coupled with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. The study employs mixed-integer linear programming (MILP)-based models, including both existing and newly developed formulations, to achieve simultaneous optimisation of pit production and waste dumping plans. A comparative analysis of these models, applied to an operational mining complex in Western Australia, highlights the novelty of this contribution in terms of model structure, computational complexity, solution efficiency, and environmental sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin, Jingsi & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali & Topal, Erkan & Chang, Ping, 2025. "Comparative analysis of mathematical models for integrated production scheduling and sustainable waste management in open-pit mining complexes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:109:y:2025:i:c:s0301420725002363
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105694
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420725002363
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105694?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Renaud Chicoisne & Daniel Espinoza & Marcos Goycoolea & Eduardo Moreno & Enrique Rubio, 2012. "A New Algorithm for the Open-Pit Mine Production Scheduling Problem," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(3), pages 517-528, June.
    2. Lin, Jingsi & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali & Topal, Erkan & Chang, Ping & Huang, Jinxin & Lin, Wei, 2024. "A novel model for sustainable production scheduling of an open-pit mining complex considering waste encapsulation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Moreno, Eduardo & Rezakhah, Mojtaba & Newman, Alexandra & Ferreira, Felipe, 2017. "Linear models for stockpiling in open-pit mine production scheduling problems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(1), pages 212-221.
    4. Thomas, Anu & Venkateswaran, Jayendran & Singh, Gaurav & Krishnamoorthy, Mohan, 2014. "A resource constrained scheduling problem with multiple independent producers and a single linking constraint: A coal supply chain example," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 236(3), pages 946-956.
    5. Lamghari, Amina & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2016. "Network-flow based algorithms for scheduling production in multi-processor open-pit mines accounting for metal uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 250(1), pages 273-290.
    6. Das, Ranajit & Topal, Erkan & Mardaneh, Elham, 2023. "A review of open pit mine and waste dump schedule planning," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    7. Danish, Abid Ali Khan & Khan, Asif & Muhammad, Khan & Ahmad, Waqas & Salman, Saad, 2021. "A simulated annealing based approach for open pit mine production scheduling with stockpiling option," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    8. Dorit S. Hochbaum, 2008. "The Pseudoflow Algorithm: A New Algorithm for the Maximum-Flow Problem," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 56(4), pages 992-1009, August.
    9. Shi Qiang Liu & Erhan Kozan, 2011. "Scheduling Trains with Priorities: A No-Wait Blocking Parallel-Machine Job-Shop Scheduling Model," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(2), pages 175-198, May.
    10. Alipour, Aref & Khodaiari, Ali Asghar & Jafari, Ahmad & Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Reza, 2022. "An integrated approach to open-pit mines production scheduling," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Asif Khan & Christian Niemann-Delius, 2014. "Production Scheduling of Open Pit Mines Using Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm," Advances in Operations Research, Hindawi, vol. 2014, pages 1-9, November.
    12. Guoyu Wang & Jinsheng Zhou, 2022. "Multiobjective Optimization of Carbon Emission Reduction Responsibility Allocation in the Open-Pit Mine Production Process against the Background of Peak Carbon Dioxide Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, August.
    13. Das, Ranajit & Topal, Erkan & Mardaneh, Elham, 2024. "Concurrent optimisation of open pit ore and waste movement with optimal haul road selection," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Alexandra M. Newman & Enrique Rubio & Rodrigo Caro & Andrés Weintraub & Kelly Eurek, 2010. "A Review of Operations Research in Mine Planning," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 40(3), pages 222-245, June.
    15. Ramazan, Salih, 2007. "The new Fundamental Tree Algorithm for production scheduling of open pit mines," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(2), pages 1153-1166, March.
    16. Groeneveld, Benjamin & Topal, Erkan & Leenders, Bob, 2019. "Examining system configuration in an open pit mine design," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Mirzehi, Mohammad & Moradi Afrapoli, Ali, 2024. "Sustainable long-term production planning of open pit mines: An integrated framework for concurrent economical and environmental optimization," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    18. M Kumral & P A Dowd, 2005. "A simulated annealing approach to mine production scheduling," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 56(8), pages 922-930, August.
    19. Montiel, Luis & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2015. "Optimizing mining complexes with multiple processing and transportation alternatives: An uncertainty-based approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 247(1), pages 166-178.
    20. Shishvan, Masoud Soleymani & Sattarvand, Javad, 2015. "Long term production planning of open pit mines by ant colony optimization," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(3), pages 825-836.
    21. Amina Lamghari & Roussos Dimitrakopoulos & Jacques Ferland, 2015. "A hybrid method based on linear programming and variable neighborhood descent for scheduling production in open-pit mines," Journal of Global Optimization, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 555-582, November.
    22. Gilani, Seyyed-Omid & Sattarvand, Javad & Hajihassani, Mohsen & Abdullah, Shahrum Shah, 2020. "A stochastic particle swarm based model for long term production planning of open pit mines considering the geological uncertainty," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    23. Gonzalo Muñoz & Daniel Espinoza & Marcos Goycoolea & Eduardo Moreno & Maurice Queyranne & Orlando Rivera Letelier, 2018. "A study of the Bienstock–Zuckerberg algorithm: applications in mining and resource constrained project scheduling," Computational Optimization and Applications, Springer, vol. 69(2), pages 501-534, March.
    24. Tabesh, Mohammad & Moradi Afrapoli, Ali & Askari-Nasab, Hooman, 2023. "A two-stage simultaneous optimization of NPV and throughput in production planning of open pit mines," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    25. Luis Montiel & Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, 2017. "A heuristic approach for the stochastic optimization of mine production schedules," Journal of Heuristics, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 397-415, October.
    26. Lamghari, Amina & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2012. "A diversified Tabu search approach for the open-pit mine production scheduling problem with metal uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 642-652.
    27. Lamghari, Amina & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2016. "Progressive hedging applied as a metaheuristic to schedule production in open-pit mines accounting for reserve uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 253(3), pages 843-855.
    28. Jean-Claude Picard, 1976. "Maximal Closure of a Graph and Applications to Combinatorial Problems," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(11), pages 1268-1272, July.
    29. Albers, C.J. & Critchley, F. & Gower, J.C., 2011. "Quadratic minimisation problems in statistics," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 698-713, March.
    30. Zhang, Jian & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos G., 2017. "A dynamic-material-value-based decomposition method for optimizing a mineral value chain with uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 258(2), pages 617-625.
    31. Albers, C.J. & Critchley, F. & Gower, J.C., 2011. "Applications of quadratic minimisation problems in statistics," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 714-722, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Noriega, Roberto & Pourrahimian, Yashar, 2022. "A systematic review of artificial intelligence and data-driven approaches in strategic open-pit mine planning," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Zeng, Lanyan & Liu, Shi Qiang & Kozan, Erhan & Corry, Paul & Masoud, Mahmoud, 2021. "A comprehensive interdisciplinary review of mine supply chain management," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Lin, Jingsi & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali & Topal, Erkan & Chang, Ping & Huang, Jinxin & Lin, Wei, 2024. "A novel model for sustainable production scheduling of an open-pit mining complex considering waste encapsulation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Jélvez, Enrique & Morales, Nelson & Nancel-Penard, Pierre & Cornillier, Fabien, 2020. "A new hybrid heuristic algorithm for the Precedence Constrained Production Scheduling Problem: A mining application," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    5. Samavati, Mehran & Essam, Daryl & Nehring, Micah & Sarker, Ruhul, 2017. "A methodology for the large-scale multi-period precedence-constrained knapsack problem: an application in the mining industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 12-20.
    6. Abalos, P. & Brickey, A. & Goycoolea, M., 2025. "Scheduling by Pushbacks: A historical review of optimization approaches for strategic open pit mine planning," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Zhang, Jian & Nault, Barrie R. & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos G., 2019. "Optimizing a mineral value chain with market uncertainty using benders decomposition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 274(1), pages 227-239.
    8. Zhang, Jian & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos G., 2017. "A dynamic-material-value-based decomposition method for optimizing a mineral value chain with uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 258(2), pages 617-625.
    9. Paithankar, Amol & Chatterjee, Snehamoy & Goodfellow, Ryan, 2021. "Open-pit mining complex optimization under uncertainty with integrated cut-off grade based destination policies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Franco-Sepúlveda, Giovanni & Del Rio-Cuervo, Juan Camilo & Pachón-Hernández, María Angélica, 2019. "State of the art about metaheuristics and artificial neural networks applied to open pit mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 125-133.
    11. Amina Lamghari & Roussos Dimitrakopoulos & Jacques Ferland, 2015. "A hybrid method based on linear programming and variable neighborhood descent for scheduling production in open-pit mines," Journal of Global Optimization, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 555-582, November.
    12. Del Castillo, M. Fernanda & Dimitrakopoulos, Roussos, 2019. "Dynamically optimizing the strategic plan of mining complexes under supply uncertainty," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 83-93.
    13. Mehri Aghdamigargari & Sylvester Avane & Angelina Anani & Sefiu O. Adewuyi, 2024. "Sustainability in Long-Term Surface Mine Planning: A Systematic Review of Operations Research Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-24, November.
    14. Moreno, Eduardo & Rezakhah, Mojtaba & Newman, Alexandra & Ferreira, Felipe, 2017. "Linear models for stockpiling in open-pit mine production scheduling problems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(1), pages 212-221.
    15. Das, Ranajit & Topal, Erkan & Mardaneh, Elham, 2024. "Concurrent optimisation of open pit ore and waste movement with optimal haul road selection," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    16. Paithankar, Amol & Chatterjee, Snehamoy & Goodfellow, Ryan & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali, 2020. "Simultaneous stochastic optimization of production sequence and dynamic cut-off grades in an open pit mining operation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    17. Michelle Blom & Adrian Pearce & Pascal Côté, 2026. "Long-Term Open-Pit Mine Planning with Large Neighborhood Search," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 56(2), pages 152-132, March.
    18. Shamsi, Mohammad & Ataei, Mohammad & Nehring, Micah & Pourrahimian, Yashar, 2025. "Optimization of semi-mobile in-pit crushing and conveying production scheduling," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    19. Rafael Epstein & Marcel Goic & Andrés Weintraub & Jaime Catalán & Pablo Santibáñez & Rodolfo Urrutia & Raúl Cancino & Sergio Gaete & Augusto Aguayo & Felipe Caro, 2012. "Optimizing Long-Term Production Plans in Underground and Open-Pit Copper Mines," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(1), pages 4-17, February.
    20. Chatterjee, Snehamoy & Sethi, Manas Ranjan & Asad, Mohammad Waqar Ali, 2016. "Production phase and ultimate pit limit design under commodity price uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 248(2), pages 658-667.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:109:y:2025:i:c:s0301420725002363. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.