MineTwin by Amalgama
Sofware for simulation and planning of mining operations
Typical challenges addressed
Quantify return on investment
Perform comparative analysis of CAPEX initiatives in a risk-free environment. Use MineTwin to simulate various CAPEX scenarios including adding a hoist, rail system extension or even switching to unmanned trucks and loaders.
Test mine plan feasibility
Consider mobile fleet congestion, ore quality fluctuations, queuing in front of ore passes and other factors before committing to weekly, monthly or annual production plan.
Determine production capacity
Determine the real achievable production capacity of open-pit or underground mine. Find bottlenecks that constrain the ore flow – anything from drill & blast works to mobile fleet, lack of ore passes to slow trains or even skip hoist.
Evaluate operational improvements
Simulate operator hot-seating, introducing one-way roads, intermediate ore buffers or virtually any other idea to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes both on production volume and costs.
MineTwin is developed by Amalgama
MineTwin is based on a detailed discrete-event simulation model of a mine
MineTwin uses Amalgama® platform and libraries to provide fast and adequate simulation models of underground and open-pit mines.
Scenario management environment with 2D and 3D mine layout editors and data correctness checking simplifies data management and scenario building.
MineTwin allows users to simulate years of mine operations within minutes on a regular PC.
Simulation can be run with or without an interactive dynamic 2D and 3D animation. Switching off the animation allows to further accelerate the simulation and scenario analysis.
Using simulation has become an industry standard in mining
Simulation models are successfully used in mining
Unlike traditional tools like Excel models or linear programming, simulation models can capture complex constraints and cyclical dependencies that are present in the majority of mines. Todays modern simulation tools, such as MineTwin, allow to speed-up creation of simulation models.
Verification of annual and quarterly plans
- Will we meet the production plan next quarter?
- How many loaders and trucks should we buy next year?
Selection of the underground railroad extension scheme
- Where to place the underground railway after extension of operations?
- How to balance the throughput between skip hoist and decline?
Finding bottlenecks, planning operational improvements
- Should we use surge loaders?
- Where to place the most productive borers?
Maintaining WIP buffers at all stages of mining
- How should we prioritize development and production works next week?
- Is there a risk of falling behind the annual plan both grade-wise and volume-wise?
MineTwin is a planning and decision support tool for mining companies and mining consultants
The use of simulation models for operational and mid-term decision-making is a mining industry standard
MineTwin considers real operational constraints and interdependencies.
Scenario management environment allows users to keep all data for simulation consistent and up-to-date.
The data can be imported from various sources ranging from EAM systems and mine surveying software to simple Excel spreadsheets and text files.
Key features of MineTwin
Mine layout editor
- Mine layout can be viewed and edited in both 2D and 3D views. Navigation between these views is synchronized to make the work fast and intuitive
- Built-in error checking functionality helps users find inconsistencies in the data and navigate to the places which need to be fixed. Some errors in spatial data can be fixed automatically
- All data about stopes, ore passes, equipment units, trains, hoists and other assets is organized in a tree view and grouped by types and models
- All parameters of objects (equipment units, etc.) are edited through property views. Property views are designed to help users avoid errors while entering and editing the data.
Simulation model
- The simulation model reproduces mine operations at a detailed level. For example, every truck run, every shovel loaded and every blasthole drill is simulated directly
- Gantt charts show all details of equipment functioning. Cumulative flow charts allow users to quickly analyze ore flow balance by mine areas, stopes or for the entire mine
- Simulation can be run on a set time scale. In this case it is possible to observe the movements of machinery in 2D or 3D views.
Dynamic animation
- Animation is dynamically updated during simulation experiment
- Users can visually verify that simulated operations replicate the realily
- Multiple performance indicators are shown on dynamically updated charts and plots
- Formatted Excel report is generated after every experiment run. Detailed logs ensure that modeling results are transparent and explainable.
Amalgama technologies are used in various companies
Projects
Amalgama has implemented more than 35 successful commercial planning and simulation projects.
Amalgama customers and partners
MineTwin: modular simulation-based solution
MineTwin consists of two modules which can be used both separately and together with each other
MineTwin Simulation
MineTwin simulation model quickly and accurately replicates the operations of underground and open-pit mines
MineTwin Planner
MineTwin planner allows to schedule the operations of underground and open-pit mines on the operational and mid-term horizon. Both in simulation and in real life
