Mining and MineralsMine Planning and Production Scheduling
A mine plan converts a resource in the ground into a sequence of decisions about what to move, when and in what order, and every downstream cost follows from it. This course covers building one. Delegates work through the relationship between resource model and reserve, pit optimisation and the selection of a shell, phase and pushback design, and the strategic, tactical and operational planning horizons and what each is permitted to change. Scheduling covers equipment matching, haulage and cycle time, stockpiling and blending to feed a plant within specification, and the reconciliation between plan and actual that most operations do badly. The course closes on the trade off between grade, tonnage and life of mine.
Course objectives
- Explain how a resource model becomes a reserve and a mine plan
- Apply pit optimisation and select a shell against economic assumptions
- Design phases and pushbacks that can actually be mined
- Distinguish the strategic, tactical and operational planning horizons
- Schedule production with equipment matching, haulage and cycle time
- Use stockpiling and blending to feed a plant within specification
- Reconcile plan against actual and act on the variance
Who should attend
- Mine planning engineers and mining engineers
- Production and operations superintendents
- Geologists working with planning teams
- Technical services managers
- Graduate engineers entering a planning role
Course outline
- 01From resource model to reserve to plan
- 02Pit optimisation and shell selection
- 03Phase and pushback design
- 04Strategic, tactical and operational horizons
- 05Equipment matching, haulage and cycle time
- 06Production scheduling and constraints
- 07Stockpiling and blending to plant specification
- 08Reconciliation, variance and the grade against tonnage trade off
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 to 16 October 2026 | Mbabane, Eswatini | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 26 to 30 October 2026 | Maputo, Mozambique | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | Register Now |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Cape Town, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 8 to 12 February 2027 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | Register Now |
| 22 to 26 February 2027 | Durban, South Africa | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 8 to 12 March 2027 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | Register Now |