Nonlinear programming and genetic search application for production scheduling in coal mines

Efforts to eliminate unnecessary scheduling and inventory problems faced by the coal industry today initiated the development of a generalized, nonlinear programming model. Although no accepted methodology for developing such a model for this purpose currently exists, one was created and successfully tested. Production and transportation cost estimates were obtained from independent coal mines in Illinois, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and based on these estimates, a hypothetical model was developed and tested using genetic search for nonlinear optimization. The results of our tests indicate that the model has potential for decision support in coal mines.