At Explica, our goal isn't just to run a competition — it's to give the industry real insight into what good mine planning looks like globally. Most plans are built around a single number, the P50. But a plan that only works on paper isn't a plan, it's a guess with good production values.
We're opening a mine planning challenge on our simulation platform, Oxygen. Entrants get a fully synthetic training site and build the schedule that maximises tonnes moved while lifting the probability of actually achieving that plan — not just the headline P50, but the whole spread around it.
Awarded for the best combination of tonnes moved and probability of achieving plan. Contest Rules To Follow.
The Details
- Opens
- Coming September 2026
- Who's eligible
- Anyone with an interest in mine planning
- How to enter
- Register below
This is a chance to see what a probability-aware plan actually looks like next to the one sitting in your Gantt chart, test your thinking against a community of peers doing the same — and contribute to a shared, public benchmark of what good mine planning looks like. Explica will be sharing insights from the entries as they come in, so the value extends well beyond the winning plan.
- The Mine Planning Challenge puts every competitor in control of the same seven-day plan for Kestrel Ridge, a fictitious large-scale iron ore mine. Working entirely within Oxygen, you’ll use its AI agent and simulation capability to analyse the plan, make mine-planning decisions and improve the outcome. But this isn’t simply a race for maximum tonnes—the winning plan must deliver strong production while managing risk and volatility. You’ll also have a limited number of AI tokens, so a big part of the challenge will be deciding what to investigate and asking the right questions. Same mine, same equipment, same constraints—the difference will be the quality of your decisions.
Closing the gap between the plan and the probability of hitting it is the real contest, not just chasing tonnes.
