Is openpit production scheduling “easier” than its underground counterpart?

Mining Engineering , 2015, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 68-73

O’Sullivan, D.; Brickey, A.; Newman, A.

Although some of the prevalence of openpit production scheduling software can be explained by the predominance of openpit mining throughout the world, other factors have led to a lag in corresponding underground software. We explain mathematically why underground production scheduling is more difficult than its openpit counterpart and provide directions for research in the underground scheduling arena.