The latest release of SOT, called SOT4, includes functionality improvements such as open pit functionality.

RPM gained SOT when it bought Revolution Mining Software in July.

Existing users will get an upgrade to SOT4 as part of their maintenance or subscription package.

SOT has been known as a scheduling tool for underground mines. SOT4 brings that functionality into the open pit world.

According to RPM SOT4 is particularly relevant for open pit operations investigating a transition to an underground environment. It lets users identify economic considerations that will provide the optimal point for that transition to occur. 

That should help mine planners overcome the time-consuming process involved in determining when and how to transition from the open pit to an underground operation.

RPM CEO Richard Matthews said SOT was relied upon by underground operations and with this release open pit operations could unlock greater levels of productivity and profitability.

"The ability to run multiple scenarios to find the optimal schedule that maximises revenue is critical to ensuring optimal value can be achieved," he said.

Other features included in SOT4 include an assessment of the economic schedule in a post-processing step after the initial schedule optimisation has been completed. SOT identifies each block as contributing or not contributing to the highest value pit and reassesses the net present value of the resulting deposit.

There is also an advanced blending capability that lets the mine planner specify a set of blending constraints for each plant that defines a minimum and maximum ratio and allowable variances.

The embedded stockpiling capabilities let the end-user specify the number of footprints to be used for stockpiles and maximum tonnages of each. SOT then determines the grade range for each stockpile and creates and overflow stockpile when necessary.