Implementing a Production Schedule at LKAB's Kiruna Mine

Mark Kuchta (), Alexandra Newman () and Erkan Topal ()
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Mark Kuchta: Mining Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, Colorado 80401
Alexandra Newman: Division of Economics and Business, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, Colorado 80401
Erkan Topal: Mining Engineering Department, Dicle University, Diybakir, Turkey

Interfaces, 2004, vol. 34, issue 2, 124-134

Abstract: LKAB's Kiruna Mine, located in northern Sweden, produces about 24 million tons of iron ore yearly using an underground mining method known as sublevel caving. To efficiently run the mills that process the iron ore, the mine must deliver planned quantities of three ore types. We used mixed-integer programming to schedule Kiruna's operations, specifically, which production blocks to mine and when to mine them to minimize deviations from monthly planned production quantities while adhering to operational restrictions. These production schedules save costs compared to schedules produced manually by meeting desired production quantities more closely and reducing employee time spent on preparing schedules.

Keywords: production; and; scheduling:; applications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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