MICROMINE’s geological data management system, Geobank, has extended its presence in Australia’s coal mining sector by securing a contract with Whitehaven Coal, according to the mining software solutions provider.

One of Australia’s largest independent coal producers, Whitehaven Coal, has implemented Geobank across all of its projects in New South Wales and Queensland, MICROMINE said. The company produced 16 Mt of coal in 2018, contributing to record Australian coal export results.

Geobank is a geological data management software solution that provides a flexible and efficient environment for capturing, validating and managing data, according to MICROMINE.

MICROMINE Senior Geobank Data Management Specialist, Ibo Mango, said Geobank provided an important tool for coal miners to hone, manage and direct their exploration and production processes.

“Geobank helps companies of all sizes to better record, access, review, integrate and utilise their essential geological data,” Mango said. “Problems with inaccurate data are often invisible. Loss of data, poor accessibility or quality control issues can cost millions of dollars and cause inaccurate decision making, especially in a high-yield sector like coal.”

As a strong player in the Australia coal mining industry, and with a major expansion project underway, Whitehaven Coal procured Geobank to provide a robust, flexible data management solution, MICROMINE says. Geobank has adapted to suit Whitehaven’s specific work flow requirements, including data collection, validation and depth adjustment, browsing and advanced reporting needs.

“Geobank’s fully customisable solution provided Whitehaven with extended functionality designed specifically for their exploration and mining needs. Geobank provides specialised utilities for displaying and managing drillhole data,” Mango said.

Geobank also integrates the Australian CoalLog Standard, which was introduced in 2012. Before CoalLog, around 30 different data formats and over 100 different data code translation tables were used in the capture of geological and geotechnical data, which led to major inefficiencies in the collection, transfer, and analysis of coal borehole data.

Members of MICROMINE’s Geobank team played a role in the development of CoalLog and ensured its integration into Geobank’s suite of products.