To achieve net zero by 2050 it is crucial that the mining industry reduces its carbon footprint since mining is one of the biggest producers of carbon dioxide, currently emitting around 4.5Gt of CO2 equivalent per year. Most metals needed for clean technologies (e.g. copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium) are extracted by open pit mining. Open pit mines are large excavations made in the ground to mine minerals. The overall steepness of mine slopes (also called pit-walls) has a substantial influence on the carbon footprint of an open pit mine since carbon footprint is broadly proportional to the amount of rock excavated (carbon footprint being due to activities like drilling and blasting, material haulage and handling). OptimalSlope (the innovation) is a new geotechnical software programme which determines optimal pitwall profiles of depth varying inclination so that the overall steepness of the pitwall, from crest to toe, is maximized for the given lithology and rock properties.

The benefits brought by OptimalSlope to mine design can be summarised as follows: 1) less waste rock implies reduced Global Warming Potential (GWP) emissions and energy consumption so measurable environmental benefits in terms of mining decarbonisation 2) significant excavation cost reductions for the mine project which increases profitability of the mine and can result in the mining of some deposits to become economically viable 3) reducing the time needed from mining teams for mine design.

This project aims to develop a sleek new Graphical User Interface (GUI) featuring functionalities typical of Computer Aided Design programmes with the aim to enable the input of the mine stratigraphy into our software OptimalSlope. Also we want to develop the innovative ability for our GUI to import files produced by existing commercial geotechnical and mining software packages as input data. The new GUI will add a new dimension to our product for its users, bringing a significant step change to the chances of its commercial success.