The Customer
Sandfire MATSA’s operations, located in the province of Huelva, Spain comprise three underground mines in the municipalities of Almonaster la Real and Calañas.
These operations include mineral exploration, extraction, and processing at a modern 4.7 Mt/y plant that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As part of the international Sandfire Group, Sandfire MATSA works responsibly and safely to produce mineral concentrates, specifically copper, zinc, and lead.
The Opportunity
In mid-2024, Sandfire MATSA began seeking a software solution capable of generating an optimized plan that integrated its three operating units. The solution needed to be capable of simultaneously considering the specific constraints and characteristics of each, with the objective of defining the best sequence and
maximizing overall value.
For example, MATSA wanted to be able to ask ‘what if’ type questions, such as: ‘What if we reduce the amount of development meters each year?’ ‘What if we vary the cutoff value?’
Having accurate answers to these questions would help the management team understand and quantify the impacts of different decisions and, importantly, optimize the value of each asset over the LOM.
The Solution
In consultation with Deswik, Sandfire MATSA selected APEX as the decision support tool to optimize its strategic mine planning.
APEX is an industry-leading optimization software for underground strategic mine planning. It harnesses the power of cloud computing and industrial mathematics to solve complex strategic problems quickly with the aim of optimizing mine schedules. APEX uses a two-phase algorithm that balances processing time and solution optimality to provide robust results in a reasonable timeframe. Its objective is to maximize net present value (NPV) by re-sequencing the mine plan while adhering to:
- Mining tasks and their dependencies.
- Operating constraints, such as equipment availability, ventilation rates, blending targets, materials handling capacity and plant recovery.
- Financial cost and revenue factors.
APEX enables long-term planners to quickly test scenarios and see how strategic outcomes shift when variables, production limits or capital availability influence mining value.
“We’ve always relied on a skilled engineering team to deliver solid mine plans. APEX provides the team with the ability to explore a much wider range of scenarios, using algorithms to expand our options and provide optimized answers that support better decisions.” - Danilo Crego, Head of Short-term Mine Planning & Operations Control at Sandfire MATSA.
Sandfire MATSA initiated a study to prove the value of using APEX to drive strategic decisions across its three mines. From start to finish, the study took less than two months. Seven scenarios were generated using a combination of three development rates and two cost scenarios.
An additional scenario was run, analyzing the impact on NPV of bringing forward production in specific areas of the mine. Prior to using APEX, Sandfire MATSA would schedule each mine individually. Now, the company can optimize all three mines simultaneously, with little additional preparation, allowing planners to assess changes in NPV by prioritizing different mining areas and the impact on cashflow by varying the mining sequence.
“The algorithms and processes behind APEX are very complex, but the user interface is not. Our three long-term mine planning engineers, including myself, completed the training in one week and then we were able to start running scenarios ourselves. Of course, we have great ongoing support from Deswik if we ever have questions or need help,” – Danilo Crego.
The Value
Today, when Sandfire MATSA needs to create a LOM plan that aligns its three operations, its engineers can run a range of ‘what if’ scenarios and understand the impact of potential scheduling decisions and make the best possible strategic choices. Sandfire MATSA considers that the results of the study demonstrated the capability of the software to support the assessment of strategic alternatives, such as modifying the mining sequence and quantifying their effect on NPV.
Importantly, Sandfire MATSA’s engineers were able to use APEX in their LOM planning process after only one week of dedicated training in Deswik’s office. The system ensures that data is easily accessible to everyone who needs it, with intuitive navigation and fast retrieval. Access can be finely targeted – users can view only the specific details relevant to their role.
“When we created our last LOM plan, we ran 65 scenarios with APEX to test lots of different
sensitivities and found a scenario that optimized the NPV for all three mines at once. That would
never have been possible if the process was still manual,” - Danilo Crego.
Ongoing collaboration between Sandfire MATSA and Deswik has enhanced visibility of spatial data, improved data governance to minimize safety risks associated with inaccurate or uncontrolled planning data, and created new opportunities to drive productivity and efficiency.
To find out more about Deswik APEX, click here.