A decision-support model for operational planning of surface coal mining considering equipment failure

This paper presents a decision-support model aiming, primarily, at maximizing the productivity of surface coal mining activities through operational planning and management. The model is formulated based upon mixed integer programming, and it determines the optimal production plan of the shovels and allocation plan of the haul trucks in order to minimize operational cost, fuel consumption as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of surface coal mining. The model is further extended to multi-scenario decision aided system for taking into account of the uncertainties associated with equipment failure. Illustration and numerical calculation are given to shown the application of the proposed model. The model formulates a simplified decision making in surface coal mining operations, suggestions for further development is also given latter in this paper.