Apcom ― 2015 Conference Proceedings

APCOM 2015: Your key to effective decision making and staying current with the rapidly evolving minerals industry.

The symposium series on the Application of Computers and Operations Research in the Mineral Industry (APCOM) was initiated by The University of Arizona in 1961. Since then, APCOM has become an international forum for presentation, discussion, and criticism of the state-of-the-art and emerging technologies in the fields of computer and operations research applications applied to the broad minerals industry.

With 113 peer-reviewed papers from all mineral industry sectors—industry, academia, and government agencies—the 37th APCOM proceedings holds the latest knowledge and the most current best practices to incorporate computer technology into mining operations and mining public relations.

The mining operations topics cover sophisticated new engineering techniques to identify better mineral deposits and extract them more efficiently in a safer, bettermanaged mine using the latest tools in geometallurgy, geostatistics, mine design, production planning, 2D and 3D modeling, simulations, mine automation, rock mechanics, mineral processing, and unconventional energy resources. Mining public relations topics, broadly defined, cover not just publicity and outreach but regulatory compliance—winning over neighbors, environmental activists, and other stakeholders—and designing interfaces and training tools using virtual reality and other cutting-edge applications.

A few of the highlights include how to:

• Apply the lessons of ant colonies to optimize pipeline routes—and lessons from genetic algorithms to dig better with draglines,
• Find the economic optimum depth for jointly operating underground and open pit mines,
• Reduce energy costs by using magnetic-powered hoist systems and other new technologies, and
• Identify (and thus address) dust dispersion problems before they occur.