Ken Lane began his industrial career in Sheffield in 1950 after gaining a first in mathematics at Cambridge. His particular concern was the introduction of computer techniques in production planning and quality control.

In 1959 he joined a headquarters Planning Department at the Rio Tinto company. He was with the company through its period of major expansion leading to the establishment of the RTZ Corporation.

He became managing director of a central consulting group, RTZ Consultants, which rapidly gained an international reputation for its pioneering work on the development of mining software and the application of computers in mining.

This book captures Ken Lane’s cut-off grade optimisation understanding since 1964 into the language of mining engineers today. It lays the foundations of how and why optimisation can often lead to substantial improvements in the net present value of projects.