For the third consecutive year, the Summer School in Mine Planning and Operations was held. A training instance aimed at undergraduate students of final years of mining-related careers, organized by Delphos Mine Planning Laboratory, the Advanced Mining Technology Center (AMTC), and the Department of Mine Engineering (DIMIN), belonging to the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Chile and which was developed from January 13th to 24, 2020.
It was two weeks of training on production planning in open pit and underground mines, estimation of geological resources and reserves, and models/algorithms of planning under uncertainty. In addition, students were trained in the software tools developed by the Laboratory (Doppler, DSim, and UDESS) and Maptek (Vulcan). All of the above aims to bring students closer, from a critical perspective, to the approaches of the different stages involved in mine planning, both open pit, and underground mining. Particular emphasis was placed on modern modeling techniques and how they can help generate the best productive business. This included instructions in mathematical models for optimal sequencing and advanced methodologies for planning with geological, economic, or operational uncertainty.
The total attendance was 48 students from 16 chilean universities (of which 6 were from Santiago and 10 from regions) and 7 institutions from Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia. It should be noted that female participation in this new version reached 42%. The 90 hours of the course were taught by a team composed of DIMIN academics, AMTC researchers, and academics from the various invited universities.
Dr. Enrique Jélvez, director of the Summer School, expressed his satisfaction with this version 2020: "It's good to see that the Summer School in Mine Planning and Operations has been consolidating after three consecutive years of realization. Furthermore, there is a very positive assessment of all participants, students, and teachers, in terms of the role we have promoted from the University of Chile, through the AMTC and the Department of Mining Engineering, to generate this instance of training, discussion, and exchange of experiences between Latin American universities, and maintain an active agenda of collaboration among its members in mine planning issues".
