Introduction
(”AVCS”) is an Adelaide based company that provides specialist engineering services to the exploration and mining industries.
Since establishment in 1993, the company has consulted on a range of Australian and International projects, ranging from open-cut coal to underground copper and large civil works.
AVCS focuses on the use and development of leading technical computing solutions to enhance and integrate all aspects of my design, planning, scheduling and costing.
AVCS combines more than 20 years of mining engineering experience, with industry-leading 3D computer modeling expertise.
Through this combination of skills and experience AVCS can provide assistance in the following areas:
open cut mine design and scheduling
reserve estimation and reviewing
deposit optimization
stratigraphic and block modeling
survey and reserve reconciliations
3D visualization of geological and design data
spatial data management and manipulation
custom procedures for design, reserving and scheduling
application development
The Problem
AVCS staff accessed the Gurobi website and it wasn’t long before the latest version of Gurobi was fully installed, trial licensed and it was loaded into VB.Net to commence modeling. Gurobi’s online help and sample models are a godsend for people who have no prior optimization model-building experience. With the ability to break down the problem into a series of logical components, AVCS staff immediately commenced developing its first MILP optimization model.
In the space of a couple of days, the model progressed from just an idea into a full-blown concept program that would function on a small dataset running the trial license to demonstrate a properly optimized solution. The model-building process was very straightforward using the .NET interface and having the ability to define the optimization problem using easily understandable logical expressions rather than requiring a PhD in applied mathematics was fantastic.
Results
This modeling endeavor ended positively for everyone involved; AVCS and the client both ended up purchasing Gurobi licenses, the client has a fantastic product which allows them to complete an almost impossible task quickly and easily, and AVCS was given the opportunity the develop internal optimization model building capabilities.
Subsequent to this initial work, AVCS has already developed an internally used software product for another common and complex mine engineering task and we are looking forward towards our next development opportunity with Gurobi.
