Tag Archives: mine modelling

Burgex adds ExynPak LiDAR capabilities to mine mapping offering

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Burgex Inc Mining Consultants has announced newly acquired in-house capabilities to provide high accuracy mapping of surface and underground mine workings with the addition of the ExynPak from Exyn Technologies to its fleet of mining and mineral exploration solutions.

With a gimballed Velodyne LiDAR sensor and the ability to provide real-time 3D mapping with survey-grade accuracy, the ExynPak is the leader in high accuracy handheld mapping for mining and exploration applications, according to Burgex. Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) provides accurate, survey-grade 3D mapping in real-time without the use of GPS, it added. This delivers precision mapping in underground mining environments that have been traditionally difficult to map using modern methods.

“The ability to map underground and surface mining workings in high resolution provides an enormous advantage to mine planning and mineral exploration projects,” Burgex said. “With LiDAR capabilities of over 600,000 points per second and a 360° horizontal field of view, it is possible to quickly identify slopes, faults and other geological features in real time. In addition to generating <3 cm accuracy point clouds in real time, the ExynPak is also equipped with two FLIR Chameleon3 RGB cameras that are capable of colourising points – providing yet another layer of functionality to geologic mapping and mine planning projects.”

Leveraging portable LiDAR with aerial data collection provides a new level of flexibility in modelling for mining and mineral exploration projects that is not offered at many, if any, other mining consulting firms in the US, Burgex said. Combined with aerial mapping, the Burgex team can pin underground and surface LiDAR surveys to geo-referenced base surveys and maps – creating a completely modelled project that can be used for mine planning, exploration programs, and more.

Additionally, Burgex Mining Consultants has recently added a DJI Matrice 300 RTK (M300) to its fleet of UAVs, providing even greater capabilities for aerial data collection.

“Not only can the M300 collect data more efficiently that other UAVs, but it can also simultaneously carry up to three payload sensors,” the company said. “The M300 has a max transmission range of up to 9.3 miles (15 km) with a 55-minute maximum flight time. The IP45 water and dust protection ratings and expanded operating temperatures will enable operation in a broader range of field conditions.”

Stuart Burgess, CEO and Co-Founder of Burgex Inc, said: “We are very excited about the addition of this new equipment and the new services we will be able to provide for our clients. From underground to surface, we’ll be able to map and model projects quickly and with centimetre accuracy, which is something that used to be very difficult and expensive to achieve, especially in underground environments. These new tools represent the next generation of mining and mineral exploration advancements.”

Seequent delivers major releases for mining solutions

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Seequent says it has launched new releases for its mining solutions Leapfrog® Geo, resource modelling solution Leapfrog® Edge, model management solution Seequent Central and View.

Seequent’s General Manager – Mining and Minerals, Nick Fogarty, said: “Projects are becoming increasingly complex, and organisations are generating a huge amount of geological data to inform important investment and environmental decisions. Seequent’s mining solutions work in harmony to enable an unprecedented level of productivity and collaboration, giving customers’ insights that improve decision making and further reduce risk.”

Seequent Central’s importance as the nexus for managing geological data, across multiple projects and locations, has been recognised with major release upgrades including the Central Data Room bringing all data into one place, the company said.

Leapfrog® Geo 4.5, meanwhile, includes performance improvements designed to smooth day-to-day workflows for users, including informed uploading, simplified editing and exporting, redesigned file structures and intuitive polar nets, Seequent said.

Leapfrog Geo Product Manager, Byron Taylor, said: “Leapfrog Geo is our flagship solution well known for its stability and usability. For this release, we’ve delivered on many minor user requests that collectively add up to major enhancements. Leapfrog Geo is now well positioned to take on board some even more ground-breaking innovations that we have planned for the future.”

A major addition to Leapfrog Edge is the provision of a new Variable Orientation tool (pictured), which locally re-orientates the search and variogram, and features visual search ellipse validation, easy setup and updates, Sequent said.

“We’ve seen rapid industry uptake of Leapfrog Edge since its launch 18 months ago. This release further enhances Edge’s capability to deliver rapid dynamic resource estimates,” Mike Stewart, Seequent’s Technical Domain Expert, said.

Major advances for Seequent Central include a new intuitive web interface and Central Data Room that brings all critical project data into one place, according to the company. This allows teams to work together from a “single source of truth”, Seequent said. The Central Data Room allows data from a variety of sources to be uploaded, downloaded and version controlled within the Central Portal.

Seequent’s Central Product Manager, Peter Joynt, said: “Seequent Central is the best way to transfer Leapfrog projects to and from remote sites – its version control for geoscience data is a game changer. Before Central, companies were faced with the basic issue of trying to locate the latest version of a model. To further streamline projects, other types of data frequently used with Central can now be built into dynamic workflows, even if the outputs were generated in packages other than Leapfrog.”

View’s latest updates give teams, stakeholders and decision-makers more time-saving ways to collaborate and interact with their data in a browser to uncover insights, according to the company. The online tool allows all data and communications to be saved to the cloud.

“Users can more easily build a story, capturing an aspect of their 3D geological model and use the embedded note function to ask questions and allow stakeholders to give feedback all in one place,” Amy Gerber, View Product Manager for Seequent, said.

SRK Canada bolsters modelling expertise with Labrecque Technologies Inc merger

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The merger of SRK Canada and Labrecque Technologies Inc (LTI) is set to broaden the scopes of the two companies’ service offerings within the mining and minerals industries.

The two have worked together on many underground mining projects in North America, the UK, Russia and the Philippines, most recently pairing up for simulation work on North American Palladium’s Lac Des Iles mine in Ontario, Canada.

LTI specialises in conducting dynamic process simulations to help mining companies predict future performance, optimise productivity and avoid costly mistakes. It has a decade of experience in applying mechanical and industrial engineering methods to mining.

“The modelling work takes a systems approach, with models accounting for interactions and interferences between all of the ore flow systems and mining equipment,” the two companies said.

Most projects involve studying ore and waste handling, lateral development rates, block cave development, construction, production, crusher and skipping capacity, truck ramp haulage and traffic analysis, and bin and storage facility optimisation.

SRK Consulting, meanwhile, offers services from exploration to mine closure, including feasibility studies, due diligence reviews, and production optimisation.

“Combining our shared passion and expertise in providing mining solutions enables SRK and LTI to offer mine design and operational improvements that validate and optimise production through dynamic mine process simulation,” SRK Sudbury Practice Leader Gary Poxleitner said. “This increases mine operators’ and owners’ confidence in the mine plans we develop with them to refine and improve their economic valuations.”

Poxleitner added that integrating LTI’s simulation expertise into its global mining services will further the company’s ability to identify and mitigate risks for SRK’s clients’ projects, optimise operations to improve efficiency and, ultimately, reduce costs.

LTI President Pierre Labrecque said: “The demand for simulation through computer modelling continues to grow rapidly and, now that LTI will be operating as a business unit of SRK Consulting, we will be able to provide greater value to our clients by further collaborating with SRK specialists around the world.”

Since LTI’s 2008 founding by Labrecque, it has grown to serve mining clients ranging from juniors to large multinational companies. LTI’s projects have involved operations from small cut and fill mines to large block caves with capacities ranging from 1,000 to 160,000 t/d.