7. Multiple Locations Equipment Selection

In this chapter we consider a multi-location mining operation. An important characteristic for multi-location (multi-location and multi-dumpsite) mines is that the underlying problem is a multi-commodity flow problem. The problem is therefore at least as difficult as the fixed-charge, capacitated multi-commodity flow problem. For long-term schedules it is useful to consider both the purchase and salvage of the equipment, since equipment may be superseded, and there is the possibility of used pre-existing equipment. This may also lead to heterogeneous fleets and arising compatibility considerations. In this chapter, we consider two case studies provided by our industry partner. We develop a large-scale mixed-integer linear programming model for heterogeneous equipment selection in a surface mine with multiple locations and a multiple period schedule. Encoded in the solution is an allocation scheme in addition to a purchase and salvage policy. We develop a solution approach, including variable preprocessing, to tackle this large-scale problem. We illustrate the computational effectiveness of the resulting model on the two case studies for large sets of equipment and long-term schedule scenarios.