I'm sharing a slide set that takes a practical look at open pit optimisation and scheduling solutions currently on the market. Over the years, I've compared three foundational threads that keep coming up in this space: - Lerchs-Grossman (LG) - Lane (cut-off grade strategy) - Johnson (DBS) I'm not claiming every product fits neatly into one bucket -- but these reference points helped me build a clearer mental model for comparing what different tools are actually doing. In the deck, I focus on: - what different products optimise (and what they don't) - how constraints are represented (mining, processing, blending, geotech, haulage, destinations) - where results depend on assumptions that are easy to miss If you're evaluating tools, implementing one, or trying to get better outcomes from what you already have, I hope it helps. Question for others working in mine planning: What's the biggest gap you've seen between an "optimal" schedule in software and one that survives operations?