Underground mining method selection by decision making tools

Abstract

Underground mining method selection is one of the most important decisions that mining engineers have to make. Choosing a suitable underground mining method to extract a mineral deposit is very important in terms of economics, safety and productivity of mining operations. In real life, underground mining method selection is one of the multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems and decision makers have always some difficulties in making the right decision in the multiple criteria environment. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Yager’s methods are the MADM tools and can be used for selection of the best underground mining method by considering the problem criteria. In this study, a computer program (UMMS) based on the AHP and the Yager’s method was developed to analyze the underground mining method selection problems and produce the best underground mining method swiftly for different deposit shapes and ore bodies.