Insights and future research directions from a bibliometric mapping of studies in stope layout optimisation

Stope layout optimisation is an important sub-problem of the generic underground mining optimisation problem that contributes towards optimal ore extraction. It is a growing research area as some surface mines transition from open-pit to underground mining. Several researchers acknowledge the complexity of optimising underground mine layouts because exact methods are limited in generating three-dimensional optimal solutions, hence the growing use of metaheuristic approaches to solve the problem in three dimensions. This paper presents a PRISMA-based bibliometric mapping of stope layout optimisation approaches using R-Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software, their concomitant limitations, and suggests potential future research directions in stope layout optimisation.