Patent ID: 7957941

Claim:
A method of determining extraction of material from a mine having at least one pit comprising: (a) receiving into a data processing system a block model to divide the pit into a plurality of blocks based on predetermined mining parameters; (b) defining, using the data processing system, a plurality of clusters, each comprising a plurality of blocks; (c) defining, using the data processing system, a plurality of cones, each containing at least one cluster; (d) defining, using the data processing system, a plurality of clumps by the intersection of cones and determining a block order extraction schedule from the clumps; (e) determining, using the data processing system, a secondary clustering of the blocks in the block order extraction schedule, wherein the secondary clustering clusters blocks according to spatial order and block order extraction schedule ordering; (f) propagating, using the data processing system, second cones upwardly from each secondary cluster of blocks; and (g) ordering, using the data processing system, the extraction of material from each second cone to provide an optimal extraction schedule of all blocks in the pit.