Australian mining software solutions company RPMGlobal has expanded its suite of commodity-based mine scheduling software systems through the launch of their steeply dipping coal (SDC) XPAC Solution™, a mine scheduling solution specifically tailored for the complex scheduling issues unique to this type of geology.

SDC is a commercial-off-the-shelf software product built on harnessing RPM’s industry leading scheduling solution, XPAC^® and, as with RPM’s other commodity-based solutions, incorporates RPM’s dynamic design, haulage and product optimisation functionality.

Mining is a dynamic process and many factors contribute to the complexity of mine planning. With RPM’s SDC Solution, it is now possible to maximize productivity and coal recovery from steeply dipping coal seams.

These coal mines employ the terrace mining method due to the nature of the coal seams within the deposit. The mines can be geologically complex, involve many thin seams and have intricate coal mining methods and therefore present a number of challenges not encountered with traditional open pit mines.

SDC enables users to visualize the location and shape of every coal seam that intersects every bench, making schedules more practical and easier to communicate.

The opportunities for backfilling in worked out sections of the mine are considerable and the maintenance of adequate backfill space is essential when maximizing haulage efficiency. Such situations require a more dynamic and flexible approach to the design of the mine.

Built on XPAC’s scheduling platform, the SDC process-driven solution has been designed to optimize how dynamic haulage can be used to model and provide accurate, cost effective, alternative routes to both the worked out areas and the conventional external pit dumps within a mine.