Hooman Askari Nasab, PhD, PEng

Area of Study / Keywords

Mining Engineering Mine Planning and Design Simulation Modelling of Mining and Industrial Systems

About

Hooman Askari is a professor of mining engineering in the School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Alberta, Canada. He teaches and conducts research into mine planning & design and simulation of mining systems. Hooman is a registered professional mining engineer with more than two decades of operational, consulting, research, and teaching experience in the area of open pit mine planning and design. He has a strong track record of success in leading the Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL) research team sponsored by industry partners into development, testing, and delivering mine planning optimization prototype software and mine simulation models to major mining companies. He consults as the Principal Engineer on long-term to short-term open pit production scheduling optimization and simulation of mining-systems through OptiTek Mining Consulting.

Research

Research Interests

My research focuses on using operations research and advanced analytical methods such as mathematical modeling, optimization, discrete event/continuous simulation, and intelligent agents to arrive optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex, large-scale mine planning/operations decision-making problems.

Development of new optimization techniques and uncertainty quantification for mine planning and design plays a vital role in reducing environmental footprint and financial risk of mining projects. Deviations from optimal plans in mega mining projects will result in huge financial losses, delayed reclamation, and resource sterilization.

My research interests focuses on two areas of research with the goal of reducing the mining environmental impact.

  Risk Based Mine Planning and Mineral Processing Design Integration, using:

• Discrete optimization
• Stochastic programming
• Multi-objective optimization
• Intelligent multi-agent systems
• Heuristics and meta-heuristics

 Simulation Optimization of Mining Systems, using:

• Discrete event simulation
• Continuous simulation
• Stochastic modeling

Research Currently in Progress

My research activities are conducted through the industrial research consortium, Mining Optimization Laboratory (MOL) at the School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Alberta.

The objective of the research group is to focus on creative, far-sighted fundamental research addressing industry applicative needs. MOL carries out research projects with clear objectives, scope, deliverables, and timelines with focus on two major areas:

• Applications of Operations Research in Mining Planning and Design
• Simulation / Optimization of Mining Systems

MIN E 325 - Mine Planning and Design

Introduction to mine planning and design using professional software tools. Drillhole databases; drillhole compositing; surfaces and solids; geological and economic block models; open pit mine layout and planning requirements; pit limit optimization; haul road design; pit and waste dump design; long and short-term mine production scheduling; cut-off grade optimization. Prerequisites: MIN E 295, CIV E 265.

MIN E 407 - Principles of Mine Ventilation

Principles and practices of underground total air conditioning. Control of quantity, quality, and temperature-humidity of the underground mines. Design and analyses of mine ventilation networks. Theory and applications of fans to mine ventilation systems. Ventilation planning and overall system design. Prerequisites: MIN E 414 and one of CIV E 330 or CH E 312. Corequisite: MIN E 422.

MIN E 651 - Application of Mine Planning and Design

The course integrates theory and applications by means of undertaking a design project using mine planning software. Emphasis is placed on pit limit optimization, strategic mine planning, short-term planning, and open pit mine design. Prerequisites: MIN E 631 or consent of the Instructor.

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