Mine Planning & Design

Carlson Mining is an AutoCAD-based (and IntelliCAD-compatible) engineering and design suite consisting of multiple modules: Carlson Geology (stratigraphic and block modelling), Surface Mining (pit design, scheduling), Underground Mining (mine projections, ventilation), Basic Mining (drillhole entry, fence diagrams, mapping), and Natural Regrade (reclamation back to natural landforms).

Originally developed by Polymathian (acquired by Sandvik in February 2023), APEX applies advanced mathematical optimisation to determine the optimal strategic plan for underground mines. It addresses the challenge of scheduling tens of thousands of tasks over decades while satisfying complex constraints — ventilation, drilling capacity, hoist performance, and mill throughput.

BOLT provides strategic optimisation across the entire surface mining value chain — from extraction through processing to market. Developed by Polymathian and now operating under the Deswik brand, it uses industrial mathematics to maximise NPV by making integrated decisions that consider the full material flow.

Deswik.NOVA is a unified open-pit planning platform combining mine scheduling, blending, and haulage optimisation in a single tool. It represents Deswik's latest generation of open-pit mine planning technology, extending the suite's traditionally strong underground capabilities into surface mining.

Deswik.OPS extends mine planning into operational execution, providing real-time shift management and compliance-to-plan monitoring. It includes an Operator App that brings planning tools to field operations, allowing operators to view tasks directly from the shift schedule and record progress.

Deswik.Planning is a mine scheduling platform particularly strong in underground operations. Built on a scheduling engine that handles both long-term and short-term planning horizons, it dynamically links mine designs to schedules, enabling rapid scenario analysis and re-planning without switching between tools.

Deswik.Spatial is the flagship CAD and mine design platform providing 3D geological mapping, mine design, reserving, and visualisation capabilities. It supports drill and blast design (UGDB and OPDB modules), stope optimisation, surface pit design, caving modelling, ore control, and drillhole optimisation. Data flows directly into Deswik's scheduling and operations products.

GeoMine is a standalone, fully integrated mining software platform with its own proprietary CAD environment (the Foundation module). It currently consists of 19 independently licensed modules including GeoModeler (geological and block modelling with dynamic anisotropy), FlowPit (Lerchs-Grossmann pit optimiser), QuickPit (parametric open-pit designer), Stopemizer (stope limit optimiser), Cavemizer (cave optimiser), iScheduler-OP and iScheduler-UG (open-pit and underground schedulers), uCAD (underground design), HaulCalc (fleet budgeting), DigiSIM (haulage simulator), OreChaser (AI-based infill drilling optimiser), OreController (grade control), OptimCut (cut-off grade optimiser), and Optunimizer (open-pit to underground transition optimiser).

GEOVIA MineSched creates short- and medium-term mine plans through guided workflows. It produces target-based schedules from pre-created block and polygon models generated by Surpac or other geological software. MineSched works across open-pit, surface, and underground mines of varying types and sizes.

GEOVIA Surpac is a widely used mine planning and geological modelling platform. It provides 3D geological modelling including drillhole data management, geostatistical analysis, resource modelling, and mine design for both open-pit and underground operations. The modular, customisable design supports workflows from deposit characterisation through ore-recovery-maximising design to survey and production management.

GEOVIA Whittle is a benchmark tool for strategic open-pit mine planning. It evaluates the financial viability of mineral deposits and determines optimal extraction strategies through pit shell generation using Lerchs-Grossmann or Pseudoflow algorithms. Whittle provides end-to-end open-pit optimisation including strategic scheduling, cost and price modelling, blending optimisation, cut-off optimisation, and simultaneous stockpile optimisation.

HxGN MinePlan (also referred to as Hexagon MinePlan) is a comprehensive, integrated mine planning platform covering exploration through production to reclamation. The platform centres on MinePlan 3D, which provides 3D modelling, visualisation, geological surface and solid building, geostatistical analysis, block modelling, reserves calculation, and mine design. Surveyors, geologists, and engineers collaborate within a connected package.

K-MINE is a single integrated platform (not separate products) consisting of multiple modules covering the entire mining lifecycle for both open-pit and underground operations. Key modules include Surveying (open pit and underground), Geology (3D geological modelling and resource estimation), Open Pit Design (automated pit design, pit optimisation), Underground Design (tunnels, shafts, structures), Blast Design, Scheduling (short-to-long-term production scheduling), Stability Analysis (pit walls, benches, dumps), Ventilation (underground network modelling), Stope Optimisation, and Infrastructure Management.

Maptek Evolution is a distinct product from Vulcan, focused specifically on mine scheduling and optimisation. It produces short-, medium-, long-term, and strategic life-of-mine schedules alongside production plans. Evolution maximises deposit value using cut-off grade optimisation and is delivered as Software-as-a-Service via a secure hybrid cloud system.

Maptek Vulcan is Maptek's flagship mine planning software, transforming raw mining data into 3D models, mine designs, and operating plans. It serves geologists, surveyors, mine engineers, and geotechnical engineers with tools for modelling, design, and reporting. Vulcan is modular, with specialised add-ons for Geology and Estimation (resource modelling), Open Pit Design (pit design and drill and blast), Underground Mine Design (level layout, stope optimisation), Stope Optimiser, and Drillhole Optimiser.

Micromine Advance

by Micromine

Announced in October 2024 for launch in early 2025, Micromine Advance is designed specifically for underground metals mine planning. It addresses the unique complexities of underground operations including stope design, development scheduling, and underground-specific constraints.

Micromine Alastri

by Micromine

Micromine Alastri is scheduling software engineered for complex open-pit hard rock mines. Known for speed, user-friendliness, and visual appeal, it models the realities of both operating and planned mines. It includes two key modules: Alastri Production Scheduler (long-term scheduling) and Alastri Tactical Scheduler (short-term tactical planning).

Micromine Beyond

by Micromine

Micromine Beyond is the integrated mine design suite with strategic and life-of-mine development tools for both surface and underground operations. It provides pit optimisation, mine design, and scheduling. Beyond includes an integrated pit optimiser that combines geotechnical, metallurgical, and financial inputs. Life-of-mine scheduling transforms designs into production plans.

MineCycle Designer enables a single dynamic environment for mine design, evaluation, and scheduling. Built on Bentley's OpenRoads capabilities, it provides rule-based tools for automatic design updates, integration with MineCycle Survey for as-planned vs. as-mined comparison, and configurable mining design standards.

Minemax Planner is rapid strategic planning software focused on pit optimisation and project evaluation. It guides users from block model import through pit optimisation (Lerchs-Grossmann algorithm), nested pit shells, pushback generation, to NPV-optimal schedules. Planner handles large datasets efficiently and supports multiple elements and commodities.

Minemax Scheduler is the flagship product for strategic mine schedule optimisation. It simultaneously optimises mine schedule, trucking, waste dump sequencing, cut-off and cut-over grades, material destinations, blending, processing, and capital expenditure in a single optimisation run using IBM CPLEX technology.

Tempo is Minemax's product for detailed open-pit mine planning spanning two years to life-of-mine at monthly resolution. It fills the gap between strategic optimisation (Scheduler) and day-to-day execution. Tempo integrates with Scheduler for strategic-operational alignment but can also work standalone.

MineScape is a mine planning and geological modelling solution specifically designed for coal and stratigraphic (layered/seam-type) deposits. Originally developed by Mincom (later ABB), it was acquired by Datamine and now forms a core part of its portfolio. MineScape provides automated stratigraphic modelling, resource calculation, and mine design tools optimised for both open-cut and underground coal operations.

MiningMath uses Direct Block Scheduling (DBS) to optimise directly from the block model, eliminating the traditional multi-step workflow (pit optimisation → nested pits → pushback definition → scheduling) that has dominated the industry. Its proprietary Math Programming Solver simultaneously considers pit limits, mining sequencing, material destinations, blending, cut-off grades, geometric constraints (mining widths, bottom widths, vertical advance rates), and NPV maximisation — all in a single run.

Opencontour is a cloud-based open-pit mining platform providing integrated tools for mine design, scheduling, and financial management. Core modules include Core Design (import surface contours and block models, generate 2D/3D open-pit bench designs, manage inter-ramp angles), Scheduling (mine scheduling with physical and financial outputs, cost-benefit scenario analysis), Heap Leach Pad Stacking (dynamic ore stacking sequences, optimised geomembrane height, grade visualisation), and Heap Leach Recovery Optimisation (recovery forecasting, cutoff/cutover grade evaluation, NPV/IRR sensitivity analysis).

MinePlanner is RPMGlobal's next-generation scheduling product and strategic successor to XPAC. It combines all mining methods and commodities into a single platform with an Enterprise backend, whereas XPAC maintains commodity-specific packages. MinePlanner introduces 'Smart Scheduling' — a heuristic-based engine with automated, manual, and hybrid approaches — and is 100% script-free, using pre-defined logic to automate tedious processes.

Studio OP (Open Pit) is Datamine's specialised surface mine design and planning tool, complementing Studio RM by providing dedicated open-pit mine design, scheduling, and reserves estimation capabilities. It sits within the broader Studio software series alongside Studio UG for underground operations.

Studio RM is Datamine's flagship geological modelling and resource estimation platform. Known for its customisability and versatile feature set, it handles complex geological settings and large datasets. Workflows span grade control through resource estimation, with implicit and explicit modelling techniques, comprehensive block modelling, and advanced grade estimation.

Studio UG (Underground) is Datamine's specialised underground mine design and planning tool, complementing Studio RM with dedicated underground mine design, development scheduling, and stope planning capabilities. It sits within the broader Studio software series alongside Studio OP for surface operations.

XECUTE bridges mine planning and operational execution. It provides planners with the most up-to-date schedule inputs and automatically pushes schedule outputs to downstream systems including operations, maintenance, and logistics departments.

XPAC Solutions is a suite of commodity-based mine planning and scheduling software built on RPMGlobal's decades of mining expertise. The suite includes 11 commodity-specific solutions: Open Cut Coal, Underground Coal, Steep Coal, Open Pit Metals, Underground Metals, Open Pit Diamond, Oil Sands, Quarry, Stratigraphic Metals, Open Cut Phosphate, and Underground Diamond.