Senior Mining Engineer
SRK Consulting (UK)
Yerko Martinez, MSc, MAusIMM, is a Senior Consultant (Mining) with 10 years of experience specialising in mine planning and project management for multi-disciplinary technical studies. His technical expertise includes underground mine optimisation, mine design, scheduling, cost estimation and technical-economic evaluation. Yerko’s professional career includes operational experience obtained in the Chuquicamata Underground Project as the Planning Leading Engineer, leading the planning team in charge of ensuring the timely development of the extraction and undercut levels. He has worked in various copper and gold projects located throughout Europe, CIS, Africa, Asia and South America in both technical and project management roles leading multi-disciplinary teams.
Underground Mining Studies: Workflow and Considerations
Underground mine planning is a complex multi-disciplinary process which requires numerous decisions throughout which influence the outcome of the Project. Early-stage strategic planning is a key step in defining the Project approach. Once the strategy is defined, such as the underground mining method and the production rate, further detailed technical work can be advanced to prepare a robust life of mine plan for the mineral resource. A clear understanding of the workflow for the underground mining study is critical to unlock the Project value. This presentation focuses on the key tasks involved in the technical underground mine planning work and the considerations when progressing from a resource model through the various mining study stages including stope optimisation, mine design, scheduling and cost modelling.