Filing Information

Inventor(s)	Gary Allan Froyland · Merab Menabde ·
Assignee(s)	BHP Billiton Innovation Pty. Ltd. ·  View assignee updates
Correspondent	BRINKS HOFER GILSON & LIONE ·
Application Number	US12417483
Filing date	04/02/2009
Publication date	12/10/2009
Predicted expiration date	10/02/2023
U.S. Classifications	703/1  · 299/105  ·
International Classifications	E21C3508  · G06F1750  ·
Kind Code	A1
Foreign Priority	AU2002951891 - 10/09/2002 · AU2002951893 - 10/09/2002 · AU2002951894 - 10/09/2002 · AU2002951896 - 10/09/2002 · AU2003901021 - 03/05/2003 ·

Patent Family

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of extracting resource(s) from a particular location. In particular, the present invention relates to the planning, design and processing related to a mine location in a manner based on enhancing the extraction of material considered of value, relative to the effort and/or time in extracting that material. The present application discloses, amongst other things, a method of and apparatus for determining slope constraints, determining a cluster of material, determining characteristics of a selected portion of material, analysing a selected volume of material, propagating clusters, forming clusters, mine design, aggregation of blocks into collections or clusters, splitting of waste and ore in clumps, determining a selected group of blocks to be mined, clump ordering and identifying clusters for pushback design.

Independent Claims | See all claims (40)

1. 1.-68. (canceled)
2. 69. A method of determining extraction of material from a mine having at least one pit comprising: (a) receiving into a data processing system a block model to divide the pit into a plurality of blocks based on predetermined mining parameters; (b) defining, using the data processing system, a plurality of clusters, each comprising a plurality of blocks; (c) defining, using the data processing system, a plurality of cones, each containing at least one cluster; (d) defining, using the data processing system, a plurality of clumps by the intersection of cones; (e) determining, using the data processing system, a secondary clustering of the blocks in the block order extraction schedule, the secondary clustering, clustering blocks according to spatial order and block order extraction schedule ordering; (f) propagating, using the data processing system, second cones upwardly from each secondary cluster of blocks; and (g) ordering, using the data processing system, the extraction of material from each second cone to provide an optimal extraction schedule of all blocks in the pit.
3. 82. An apparatus for determining extraction of material from a mine having at least one pit comprising: a processor for; (a) receiving a block model to divide the pit into a plurality of blocks based on predetermined mining parameters; a memory for storing computer program code that, upon execution by the processor performs operations comprising: (b) defining a plurality of clusters, each comprising a plurality of blocks; (c) defining a plurality of cones, each containing at least one cluster; (d) defining a plurality of clumps by the intersection of cones; (e) determining a secondary clustering of the blocks in the block order extraction schedule, the secondary clustering, clustering blocks according to spatial order and block order extraction schedule ordering; (f) propagating second cones upwardly from each secondary cluster of blocks; and (g) ordering the extraction of material from each second cone to provide an optimal extraction schedule of all blocks in the pit.
4. 95. A computer program for determining extraction of material from a mine having at least one pit comprising: (a) code for using a block model to divide the pit into a plurality of blocks based on predetermined mining parameters; (b) code for defining a plurality of clusters, each comprising a plurality of blocks; (c) code for defining a plurality of cones, each containing at least one cluster; (d) code for defining a plurality of clumps by the intersection of cones; (e) code for determining a secondary clustering of the blocks in the block order extraction schedule, the secondary clustering including, clustering blocks according to spatial order and block order extraction schedule ordering; (f) code for propagating second cones upwardly from each secondary cluster of blocks; and (g) code for ordering the extraction of material from each second cone to provide an optimal extraction schedule of all blocks in the pit.