 |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
Review Impact of metal prices on
plant optimization
The optimum economic operating conditions of a processing plant are highly
dependent on the market price of the metal produced. Since the price of a
metal product is determined by supply and demand relationships and is
greatly affected by local and world political events, future metal prices
are not explicitly defined. Apart from historical trends, such factors
create a degree of speculation. The study provides a method to account for
the volatility of future metal prices when optimizing fully integrated
mineral processing plants. A model was developed for estimating the
“certainty-equivalent price” throughout the project lifetime while taking
into account the volatility of future metal prices. The certainty-equivalent
price should be used as a substitute for the volatile spot price in any
optimization process that depends on the realized metal price. Non-ferrous
metals were considered in the investigation rather than iron-bearing and/or
precious metals. A hypothetical copper project was provided as an example to
illustrate the applicability of the model and investigate the advantages of
the suggested procedures in improving the financial performance of the
plant. |
|
