Chris Bray
Principal Consultant (Mining Engineering)
SRK Consulting
Chris Bray BEng, MAusIMM(CP) is a Principal Consultant (Mining) with 25 years’ international experience, contributing to and managing a wide range of multidisciplinary technical mine studies, due diligence, operational support and international reporting projects. He has a strong background in underground and open pit mining which can assist in assessing and communicating practical solutions for mining challenges for strategic planning and investment decisions.
Chris’ technical expertise includes: open pit and underground mine optimisation, mining method selection, trade-off assessment, mine design, scheduling, ventilation, water management, equipment selection (including battery-electric), cost estimation, materials handling, contracting, financial modelling, benchmarking, due diligence and valuation. He has worked on base, precious-metal, potash, lithium, iron ore, manganese, bauxite, coal, uranium, and industrial mineral projects throughout Australia, Central Asia, Russia, India, Europe, Africa and Central/South America.
Trade-off Assessment for Strategic Mine Planning
Trade-off Assessment is essential for understanding the mining potential and value of any mineral deposit to establish the preferred strategic approach for advancing the project or making an investment decision. Trade-off assessment of the mining method (open pit and/or underground), production rate, cut-off value and processing approach to understand the influence on project scale, economics and environmental and social impacts is required for identifying the Strategic Mine Plan. In addition to economic assessment, important design aspects that shape strategy include future management of mine waste and tailings, technology and energy supply options, delivering sustainability goals and the mine’s post closure setting.
This presentation provides an overview of a flexible trade-off assessment approach that has been successfully applied to a wide range of mining projects, based on the available information, to enable improved visibility and confidence in identifying the best strategy for an operating mine or developing project.