Concurrent simulation and optimization models for mining planning

One of the most important challenges for mining engineers is to correctly analyze and generate short-term planning schedules, or simply month mining plan. The objective is to demonstrate how simulation and optimization models were combined, with simultaneous execution, in order to achieve a feasible, reliable and accurate solution for this problem. A tool based on Arena simulation software and Lingo was developed, tested and approved within VALE (former CVRD Brazil), with excellent results, presented in this paper.