Space is too tight to include everything in our annual software focus in IM November. As a result, this news has been collected from the cutting room floor. News includes Maptek VulcanTM and Maptek I-SiteTM being selected by consultants AMEC for several of its sites in the Americas, whilst the company has also launched Vulcan 8. Runge has formalised a heads of agreement with Geological Solutions, a provider of field geological and supervisory services. And, AMIRA has extended the reach of its new P843A foundation geometallurgy project G2MIII (Geometallurgical Mapping and Mine Modelling) to include new areas of research in hydrometallurgy and environmental aspects.
A key reason for AMEC selecting Vulcan as one of its software programs of choice is the flexibility of the package for assessing deposits for the optimal mining scenario – whether open pit or underground. Another driver is that many of AMEC’s clients are asking for Vulcan.
“AMEC is a world leader in providing mine design services to clients. To do that, we have to use the best tools and develop innovative procedures,” commented Larry Smith, AMEC VP Consulting, Mining & Metals. Vulcan is instrumental in resource estimation and underground mine planning applications including survey, geological modelling, drill and blast, grade control and geostatistical tasks. AMEC has implemented Vulcan software at multiple sites, including Denver, Phoenix, Reno, Saskatoon, Vancouver and Santiago.
“With Maptek, AMEC know they can rely on the latest technology in Vulcan combined with Maptek’s 30 years in the mining business,” said Jeff Handley, Vulcan Sales Manager for North America. Vulcan builds a common platform between technical design and planning teams, and allows 3D models to be shared with management and stakeholders. Some 4,000 licences of Vulcan are in use across the globe for applications ranging from exploration, through geological modelling, mine design and planning to rehabilitation.
Besides Vulcan, there is Maptek I-SiteTM which provides easy-to-use high technology surveying solutions. The company has MineSuiteTM, a production monitoring and fleet management system. Maptek products are in use at more than 800 sites worldwide.
With the new version of Vulcan – Vulcan 8 – the company says that simple things like allowing thumbnail previews of all data types, a single panel legend editor, and having all import-export options in one pop-up menu can make a big difference. Plotting histograms against drill holes allows users to view multiple ore grades and values for each hole for modelling. Grades can be visually analysed throughout the mine design process.
On-screen preview of open-pit drill and blast patterns can eliminate potential layout problems before a blast is set. A double stitching option allows holes to be inserted midway between previously created blast holes using the same or different design parameters. Excessive toe burdens are handled by adding holes around the blast perimeter. The depth of blast holes can be recalculated as a group to reflect updated surfaces. Holes can still be edited individually, with options for maintaining the 2D collar location or 3D vector of angled holes. New editing options allow selection of holes by echelon, reversal of row direction, renaming of blasts, and customisation of the datatip display.
Mine safety issues are addressed with a warning tool which calculates the distance of drill holes from blast areas, highlighting those which are too close; drifts can then be e-designed. The proximity alert allows designs to be checked for existing voids.
Cost benefit analysis options allow planning based on estimated revenue. The new underground stope analyser provides optimisation based on different cutoff limits, with a timesaving global gradient tool to ensure adjustments in one area are automatically updated in overall designs. “New tools help users identify and control contaminants, assign dollar values to mining blocks, apply a discount for benches to calculate NPV, and limit the amount mined by bench or face restriction. Simple changes like setting a time lag between the start and finish of consecutive faces improve site safety,” said Eric Gonzalez, Maptek Product Manager for Vulcan.
Vulcan 8’s new integrated stratigraphic modelling moves logically from database to geological model in five intuitive steps. The final step uses a unique technique. HARP (Horizon Adaptive Rectangular Prism) features nonrectangular block models which easily handle reverse faults and very thin horizons, and can be reserved against complex 3D solid shapes such as pit cutbacks and mining blocks. A single file contains all structural, quality, faulting and associated data, with thousands of variables per block. Geological resolution and stratigraphic fidelity are preserved. Vulcan’s geostatistical tools can also be applied to HARP models.
Smarter panels and enhanced data security are included in Vulcan 8. Every file type associated with stratigraphic modelling can be created and accessed from one user-defined directory. The interconnected workflow means that changes can be made to data at any stage in the modelling process; it can then be re-run without starting at the beginning.
Geological Solutions agreement helps Runge provide end-to-end mining services
Under the terms of the Runge agreement, Geological Solutions will be its prime sub contractor. This means Runge (together with its wholly owned subsidiary GeoGas) and Geological Solutions can, for the first time, provide an end-to-end continuum of services to the coal seam gas and mining industries. This agreement will cover field and rig management incorporating gas services through to laboratory testing, reservoir modelling and resource and reserves certification.
Tony Kinnane, Runge Managing Director: “Runge was looking to partner with an energetic and dynamic group with a good reputation for the provision of field services. Geological Solutions provides this and is a good fit for our business as its high quality personnel are well known to us through the interaction we have had in providing training to this group. Through a collective industry knowledge, technical skills and experience coupled with Runge’s technology and commercial capability, we are extremely well positioned to work together with customers to add maximum value to their business.
“The coal seam gas industry is growing rapidly and is fast becoming a significant provider of base load energy requirements around the world. Our acquisition of GeoGAS provided a unique ability to augment Runge’s underground and open cut mining planning services and now this agreement makes us an industry leader in the provision of a full suite of technical services to our customers in the coal seam gas industry.”
Bradley Crighton, Managing Director of Geological Solutions, said: “Increasingly many coal seam gas operators are seeking a more complete range of technical services to reduce their internal efforts and resources required to manage exploration, testing, modelling and advisory services required to develop a gas production facility. Combining the field geological and rig supervisory skills of Geological Solutions with the laboratory gas testing and reservoir modelling skills of Runge provides the industry with a single ‘one stop shop’ high quality solution”.
Kinnane also commented on Runge’s 2009 financial year results, saying “earnings were equivalent to last year’s earnings when taking into account proforma adjustments. This was a satisfactory result in light of the difficult circumstances caused by the Global Financial Crisis over the last 12 months”.
On Runge’s outlook for the 2010 financial year and beyond, Kinnane said “the market fundamentals are improving with less uncertainty within the mining industry. Looking forward, Runge has a number of global growth opportunities. This is particularly evident in the demand for Runge’s software solutions which has built a large sales pipeline. The demand for Runge’s consulting services is recovering in Asia, South Africa and South America and holding steady elsewhere”.
Runge is participating in the SAP® EcoHub solution marketplace. This community- powered marketplace makes it easier for customers to discover, evaluate and purchase partner solutions – such as Runge’s Mining Dynamics Short-Term Mine Scheduling (xSTMS) composite application – that complement SAP applications. The SAP EcoHub provides customers access to complementary solutions and offerings that integrate most effectively with their installation of SAP solutions. It leverages SAP’s comprehensive ecosystem, where customers and partners can connect. The SAP EcoHub integrates community input, user feedback, ratings and partner demos, enabling a more educated and intelligent selection of solutions.
Resources available for download from the SAP EcoHub site include a Runge Mining Dynamics xSTMS summary, certification details of xSTMS 1.0, and the ability to request a live demo or contact from the Runge team.
“SAP EcoHub is an online solution marketplace that gives SAP’s customers access to tools to maximise efficiency and profitability,” said Gary Gibson, Global Alliance Manager for Runge. “Successful mining operations depend on the availability and reliability of data in order to make critical, every day decisions. Because of the complexity of mining data and the spatial characteristics associated with it, rapid universal access to trusted and accurate information has traditionally been difficult. Mining Dynamics is designed to address this. We are delighted to be part of SAP EcoHub and feel that our inclusion further deepens our partnership with SAP.”
Mining Dynamics, of which the xSTMS application is a part, provides the ability to reliably integrate business processes, information management, and operational data with enterprise systems. It allows data from mine plans to automatically interface with corporate enterprise systems and accounting packages from vendors such as SAP. This capability provides management with real-time and up-to-date operational information.
In addition, Runge is an SAP software solution partner in the SAP PartnerEdgeTM program. Through the program, partners work closely with SAP to develop and certify the technical integration of their solutions with SAP software. Integrated partner applications extend, complement and add value to SAP solutions, thereby helping mutual customers more successfully meet business needs and drive strong results. Runge’s xSTMS solution version 1.0 is a certified composite application integrating with the SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (SAP MII) application. It extends and adds value to a mining organisation’s SAP solutions.
AMIRA expands scope of geometallurgy project
Following a very successful final meeting for AMIRA’s foundation geometallurgy project P843 GeMIII (Geometallurgical Mapping and Mine Modelling), an innovative new proposal for continuing and expanding the research program has proven popular with sponsors. As a result the new P843A project has begun and will include new areas of research in hydrometallurgy and environmental aspects.
The development of the original project P843 was driven by AMIRA members who recognised the need for better ‘cradle-to-grave’ mine planning and optimisation. The resultant project was the fastest growing and largest foundation project in AMIRA’s 50-year history, and is now one of AMIRA’s most important and largest research collaborations. Its main aim is to allow predictive ore and waste characterisation from the first stages of discovery and resource evaluation for later efficient optimisation of mine planning and processing. Avoidance of risk in later mine development (‘no surprises’) and maximisation of economic recovery over the full life of the deposit are keys to the value of the project.
The original project focused on the integrated development of low cost quantitative (sometimes non-traditional) measurement of key geological parameters and proxies for critical geological properties which were suitable for inclusion in mine planning block models. While continuing this work, the new project will move more to application in various case studies on deposits. Already nine deposits have been nominated by sponsors for possible case studies – these include Chuquicamata Norte, Teniente, Andina and other deposits in Chile, La Colosa in Colombia, Prominent Hill in Australia, Wafi in PNG and several others.
The research is being conducted under the leadership of Professor Steve Walters by the CODES Centre of Excellence at the University of Tasmania, the JKMRC, the Bryan Research Centre and Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation in the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, and the Parker Centre in Western Australia.
Sirovision, the commercialised 3D imaging system developed from CSIRO research, is becoming an increasingly used tool. New advances that enjoyed support from AMIRA project P788 are allowing its use to be extended from open pit to underground. Commercialised by Datamine, Sirovision combines advanced digital photography with sophisticated computation to produce a 3D image that provides extensive geotechnical and geological information. It can markedly increase the speed with which geologists and engineers provide instructions to production crews about ore/waste delineation, make better decisions about safety and improve mine and blast designs.
