Asieh Hekmat

I am a highly skilled mining engineer with a PhD in Mining Exploitation and the first woman in Iran to achieve this distinction. With years of experience in teaching and consulting, I have developed expertise in open pit mine planning and design, reserve estimation, and feasibility studies. Since relocating to Chile in 2014, I have continued my career as an academic and researcher focused on mine planning, mining economy, environmental impact of mining, mine closure, and equipment simulation.

Diploma/Certificate in Data Science

Project Title: Implementation of an Experimental and Bilingual Teaching Strategy in the Elective Course "Project Management in Mining / Internationalization, Teaching Directorate, 2022

Description: This project was a collaborative teaching experience conducted in partnership with the University of Arizona (USA) and th3rdcurve company (UK). The course focused on project management in the mining industry and utilized simulators provided by Prendo.com as a practical tool for students to apply their acquired knowledge to real-world projects.

During this project, I had the opportunity to work closely with two companies and another university, fostering a rich and diverse learning environment. Our efforts resulted in the development of a specialized "diplomada" (certificate program) in project management tailored to meet the needs of engineers in the mining industry.

This collaborative initiative not only enhanced the educational experience for students but also established a valuable network of international partnerships and paved the way for further academic collaborations in the field of mining project management.

Project Name: Cutoff grade calculation incorporating the risks of acid mine drainage of waste dumps at open pit mining operation, 2022-current

Description: This project, funded by the Advances in Mining Technology Center at the University of Chile as part of the "Proyectos Semilla para investigadoras de universidades y centros de I+D nacionales program", is a collaboration with researchers at the University of Chile and is currently ongoing. The project aims to determine the risk of acid mine drainage (AMD) for each waste block at a copper mine, while also considering the costs of controlling and preventing AMD. The identified risks will be added to the lane algorithm to calculate the cutoff grade of the mine.

The goal of this project is to improve mining operations by incorporating the risk of AMD into the cutoff grade calculation, which will help optimize the mining process. This project also demonstrates my ability to collaborate effectively with other researchers and institutions to tackle complex problems in the field of mining.

Project Name: Open-pit mine planning with the objective of reducing the environmental impact of waste dumps: a focus on copper reserves, 2021-current

Description: This project, funded by the VRID No2021000175INI program at the University of Concepcion, aims to incorporate environmental concerns related to acid mine drainage from waste dumps into long-term mine production planning. The goal is to reduce the impact of waste dumps on the environment by developing a plan that takes into account both the economic objectives of mining and the need to minimize environmental damage.

Project Name: Mining Educational Platform Project/ A project awarded by the Technological Research Institute of the University of Concepción (IIT-UdeC) to the Ministry of Mining, 2020

Description:This project was funded by Codelco and the Mining Ministry to develop a platform to educate children between the ages of 7 and 10 about the mining industry. As the mining consultant for the project, my role was to review and check the educational materials for accuracy. Working with school teachers, I faced the challenge of simplifying complex mining concepts and creating engaging games to make learning fun.

Books:

• Widzyk-Capehart E., Hekmat A. and Singhal, R, 2018; Proceedings of the 27th International Symposium on Mine planning and equipment selection, MPES 2018 Springer.
• Widzyk-Capehart E., Hekmat A. and Singhal, R, 2018; Proceedings of the 18th Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral Production,SWEMP 2018, Springer.

Journals: 

• Anani, A., Nyaaba, W., Hekmat, A., Córdova, E.A. 2019, Optimizing cut-out distance for maximum coal productivity, Journal of Simulation, 95(6), pp. 545–559
• Gómez R., Castro R.L., Casali A., Palma S., Hekmat A., 2017, A Comminution Model for Secondary Fragmentation Assessment for Block Caving, Journal of ROCK MECHANICS AND ROCK ENGINEERING, Volume 50, Issue 11, pp 3073–3084
• Orellana L.F., Castro R., Hekmat A., Arancibia E., 2017, Productivity of a Continuous Mining System for Block Caving Mines, Journal of ROCK MECHANICS AND ROCK ENGINEERING (50), pp. 657–663
• R Castro, R Gómez and A Hekmat, 2016, Technical note: Experimental quantification of hang-up for block Caving application, Journal of Rock Mechanics and mining Science (85), pp. 1-9.
• Castro R., Requelme J., Widzyk-Capehart E., Hekmat A., Baraqui J., 2015; Automation fundamental of continuous mining system; Int. J. of Mining, Reclamation and Environment; Volume 29, Issue 5, Special Issue: Mining Machinery and Automation; pp. 419-432.
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo, P. Moarefvand, 2011, Block size selection with the objective of minimizing the discrepancy in real and estimated block grade, Arabian Journal of Geosciences. DOI: 10.1007/s12517-011-0321-8
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo, M. Akbarpour Shirazi, 2008, A new approach for selection of waste dump site in open pit mines, Journal of mining technology, Vol. 117, No. 1.
• Osanloo, M., Hekmat A., 2005, Prediction of shovel productivity in the Gol-E-Gohar Iron Mine, Journal of Mining Science (ISI), Vol. 41, No. 5.

Conferences:

• A. Hemat, A. Anani, F. Tapia and I. Nevia, 2018, Mud inflow risk Assessment in block caving operation based on AHP comprehensive method, Proceedings of the 18th Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral Production (SWEMP 2018), Santiago, Chile, pp. 51-66.
• A. Hekmat, S. Munoz, R. Gomez, 2018, Prediction of rock fragmentation based on a Modified Kuz.Ram Model, Proceeding of the 27th Internationam symposium on mine planning and equipment selection (MPES 2018), Santiago, Chile, pp. 69-79.
• Hekmat A., Osanloo M., 2017, Block size and open pit mine costs, Proceeding of the 26th Internationam symposium on mine planning and equipment selection (MPES 2017), Lulea, Sweden, pp. 199-204.
• Marco F., Vallejos J., Castro R., Hekmat, A., 2015; A dilution model for narrow vein mine design – a case study; International Seminar on Design Methods in Underground Mining, Nov. 17-29; Perth, Australia.
• Castro R., Olivares D. and Hekmat A., 2015; Influence of fine material and vertical loads on the flow ability of caved rock; 49th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, ARMAS, San Francisco, USA.
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo and P. Moarefvand, 2011, Investigating the Effect of Different Block Dimensions on the Economic Life of Open Pit Mines, 35th APCOM SYMPOSIUM, Aurtralia.
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo, 2010; Investigation the sensitivity of different estimation techniques over block dimension; 19th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, MPES, Australia.
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo, 2010; Reducing the negative environmental impacts of mining activity in open pit mines by selecting the efficient block size, 12th International Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral Production SWEMP; Prague, Czech Republic.
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo, B Asi, 2008, Sensitivity analysis of mining block dimensions in production planning of open pit mines, 17th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, MPES, Beijing, china.
• A. Hekmat, M. Osanloo and M. Akbarpur Shirazi, 2007, Waste dump site selection in open pit mines using fuzzy MADM algorithm, 10th International Symposium on Environment in Energy and Mineral Production, SWEMP, Bangkok, Thailand.
• B. Asi, M. Osanloo and A. Hekmat, 2007, A New Approach for Determination of Open Pit Loading Machines Efficiency, 16th International Symposium on Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, MPES, Bangkok, Thailand.
• Osanloo, M., Hekmat A. and aghajani A.,2006, Reclamation of Granite stone quarry- A case study in Jostan Granite mine,Tehran, Iran, First International Seminar on Mine Closure, Perth, Australia.
• Osanloo, M., Hekmat, A., 2004, Prediction of Loading System (shovel) Productivity Based up on Large Fragmented Rock Caused by Blasting Operation in Gol-e-Gohar Iron Mine,13th Mine Planning and Equipment Selection, Wroclaw, Poland.

• Technical Cource: Applying project controls in sustainable mining, MINEXCELLENC 2022
• Co-chair of the international conferences MPES & SWEMP 2018.
• Reviewer of the journals of: Sustainabilit, Natural Resources Research, Simulation, Journal Of Mining And Environment, Applied Soft Computing Journal, Arabian Journalof Geosciences.
• The member of technical committee, MassMin2020 (Online, Universidad de Chile)
• Technical coordinator of the First International Conference of Underground Mining- Umining 2016- Santiago, Chile.
• The member of technical committee of the 6th international conference of Innovation in Mining Operation-MININ, 2016- Chile.
  
  
  
  

• "La historia de rebelión de una mujer iraní" (The story of rebellion of an Iranian woman), An article about my history published in a Chilean newspaper called El Mercurio.
• "Mujeres que inspiran" (Women who inspir), An interview with me (in Spanish) about my life on a Chilean national radio show called Centro de Innovación Digital Latinoamérica (https://cidla.org/sempiterno-conecta-6/ )
• "El salto de una rebelde iraní" (The leap of an Iranian rebel), An article published in a national journal about my life called: Revista NOS (https://revistanos.cl/el-salto-de-una-rebelde-irani/ )