Pitkit

Pitkit is an open-source software toolkit designed to assist open-pit mining planning and optimization. It provides an integrated environment for building, simulating, and optimizing pit designs, schedules, and resource models. The core aim is to help engineers model ore bodies, evaluate different pit configurations, and generate feasible extraction plans that balance ore recovery, operating costs, and environmental constraints.

Key features include a modular architecture, data import from GIS and mining-data formats, block-model resource estimation, pit-shell generation, and optimization-based scheduling and scenario analysis. A built-in 3D visualization module supports exploration of pit geometry, while scripting interfaces enable automation and integration with external tools.

Pitkit is implemented primarily in Python, with performance-critical components in C++. It offers an API for extending functionality via plugins and supports interoperability with common GIS, CAD, and database systems. The project emphasizes reproducibility and traceability of mining plans, providing data provenance, versioning, and export of plans in standard formats.

Development and governance follow an open-source model, with contributions from a community of users, researchers, and industry partners. The project maintains documentation, tutorials, and example datasets to facilitate learning and adoption in both academic and professional contexts.

Applications and impact include life-of-mine planning, cut-off grade optimization, and sensitivity analyses under varying economic and technical assumptions. Pitkit is used in university courses for teaching mining optimization concepts and in industry for preliminary mine design and scenario comparison.