Whittle Consulting Pty. Ltd.
Melbourne, Australia
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"ILOG CPLEX is at the heart of our business, allowing us to solve huge problems very quickly and help improve our customers' bottom line significantly. It gives us—and them—a competitive advantage."

Gerald Whittle Managing Director Whittle Consulting

"Despite years of using ILOG CPLEX, it still staggers me how quickly it can solve a huge problem."

Jeff Whittle Technical Director Whittle Consulting

Business
Whittle Consulting provides specialized planning services to the mining industry. It develops optimization solutions that enable major mining companies to deploy resources efficiently, coordinate activities and maximize production.

Goal
Mining companies must consider a wide range of mine-specific variables when committing resources and scheduling operations. Constraints include mining fleet capacity, shovel limits, stockpiling, processing options, and shipping arrangements. Whittle needed an optimization solution capable of evaluating thousands of scenarios.

Application
Whittle’s Global Optimizer uses ILOG CPLEX to determine the best path or schedule to increase a mine’s net present value. Consultants work with mine management and engineers to model operations. Global Optimizer then employs ILOG CPLEX to address up to 250,000 complex constraints and variables. The solution identifies the best plan to get the most from operations at the lowest cost.

Results
Whittle’s Global Optimizer can increase the net present value of a mine by 5 to 15%. The solution developed a blending strategy that added 20%to the production life of one mine. It also enables mines to cut production costs, evaluate capital expansion programs and develop contingency plans to address price shifts.

Technical
ILOG CPLEX makes up 80% of Global Optimizer. The solution is used with Microsoft Windows and is run on a network of 10 computers.