Old pictures and new approachesAncient Japanese moats may lead to better open-pit mine designs

Ancient Japanese moats may lead to better open-pit mine designs

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

June 21, 2022

Inspired by a photo he saw of a Japanese castle moat (similar to this one at Kumamoto Castle), Stefano Utili began researching slope design, leading to the creation of OptimalSlope. Shutterstock

The idea for OptimalSlope, a recently commercialized software solution that its inventor Stefano Utili believes could potentially revolutionize how open-pit slopes are designed, can be traced back to a puzzling vacation photograph he saw some 20 years ago when he was working on his PhD in Italy.

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