A Goal Programming Model for Dispatching Trucks in an Underground Gold Mine

Abstract

The cost of transporting mined material in an underground mine is major. This cost typically represents between 50 to 60 percent of a mine’s total operating costs. The problem of dispatching trucks in an underground gold mine is, therefore, of major economic importance and warrants the use of a decision support model. The developments of a realistic decision-support model for the dispatching problem in an underground gold mine is addressed in this paper. The problem must address multiple conflicting objectives and therefore a goal programming model was formulated. The model was applied to a case study, the Red Lake underground gold mine, in Ontario, Canada. The results showed major improvements in meeting the multiple objectives of this problem versus a single objective model. The results illustrate the flexibility that the dispatching problem (in underground gold mines) yields when solved for multiple objectives using a goal programming model.