Waste management is an unavoidable technological operation in the process of raw material extraction. The main characteristic of this technological operation is the handling of large quantities of waste material, which can amount to several hundred million cubic metres. At the same time, this operation must comply with all administrative and environmental standards. Therefore, optimising waste rock management (particularly haulage and dumping) has the potential to significantly improve the overall value of the project. This paper presents a hybrid model for the optimisation of waste dump design and site selection. The model is based on different mathematical methods (Monte Carlo simulation, genetic algorithm, analytic hierarchy process and heuristic methods) adapted to different aspects of the problem. The main objective of the model is to provide a solution (in analytical and graphical form) for the draft waste dump design, on the basis of which the final waste dump design can be defined. The functioning of the model is verified using an example of an existing open pit. In the case study, 2250 members of the initial population (different waste dump variants) were generated, and a total of 110 optimised solutions were obtained using 15 optimisations. The solution with the best value of the objective function is adopted, and the final waste dump design is created.

This work presents a method of determining the dynamics of development the open pit Gacko in the zone roof coal series with the annual capacity 3∙106 t/year of run-of-mine coal using the module cut evaluation of the software package Gemcom Gems. Defining the dynamics was preceded by optimization of the open pit that is done in the software Whittle. By optimization, the optimum boundary of mining (final contour) was obtained which includes 66∙106 t of run-of-mine coal. The contour of the open, obtained in the process of optimization, was used as the final contour of dynamics of the open pit development. Dynamics was developed for the period from 2016 to 2036 (until the end of service life). In the first 5 years, a detailed dynamics was made for the annual period, and after the fifth year, the dynamics was made for a five-year period.

Protection of the open pit against water is very important, especially if the open pit is located in the complex conditions regarding protection of the open pit against water. To reduce the investments, it is proposed to define the protection system of the open pit against water for a longer period. In the specific case, the technological system of protection against water was considered at the open pit Gacko with construction the canal system with a The Cumulative water collector. The aim of developing such system is the water directing water the river Musnica riverbed and effective protection of the open pit.

Functioning of the drainage system has a great importance for the efficient and continuous exploitation at the open pits. Modern exploitation is realized at the open pits with increasing depth and surface, so it is of a crucial importance to accept as much water as possible before it enters the open pit contour. By this way, the loading of a drainage system inside the open pit is greatly reduced, but it also prevents the negative effects of water on the massif. This paper, using the example of the open pit Potrlica, presents how the already existing system, which fully solves all problems in a dynamic environment such as surface mining of lignite, can be improved. Timely improvement of the system can greatly relieve the existing drainage system and improve the exploitation system.

Waste management is an unavoidable technological operation in the process of raw material extraction. The main characteristic of this technological operation is the handling of large quantities of waste material, which can amount to several hundred million cubic metres. Working with this amount of material usually requires high-capacity systems for excavation and loading, a large fleet of trucks for haulage, construction, and maintenance of a complex roads network, use of a significant area of land in order to achieve the required capacities, etc. At the same time, this operation must comply with all administrative and environmental standards. Therefore, optimising waste rock management (particularly haulage and dumping) has the potential to significantly improve the overall value of the project. This paper presents a hybrid model for the optimisation of waste dump design and site selection. The model is based on different mathematical methods (genetic algorithm, analytic hierarchy process and heuristic methods) adapted to different aspects of the problem. The main objective of the model is to provide a solution (in analytical and graphical form) for the draft waste dump design, on the basis of which the final waste dump design can be defined.

This paper describes a software solution for calculation and analyzed the impact resistance to excavation on technical capacity of a bucket wheel excavator was analyzed at the open pit Gacko. The analysis was carried out for many characteristic cases with the values of resistance to excavation of 750, 1000, 1250 and 1500 N/cm, and in accordance with the set values in the working environment of the open pit Gacko - Central Field.