Tag Archives: Muckpile Block Model

Hexagon and Augment Technologies launch AI-powered 3D blast movement solution

Automation, Explosives and blasting, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Hexagon has announced the global release of its AI-powered 3D blast movement solution, Hexagon Blast Movement Intelligence (BMI), at the same time highlighting a real-world application of BMI at Centerra Gold’s Mt.Milligan copper-gold mine, in Canada.

In partnership with Augment Technologies and through integration of an AI-driven blast movement engine, Hexagon BMI is billed as boosting blasting efficiency and providing high visibility into ore dilution for informed ore and waste delineation post-blast. This leads to the safe production of an accurate block model of the muckpile and, ultimately, an uplift in yield.

The ability to generate a Muckpile Block Model™ – a post-blast representation of the grade control block model – is a distinguishing feature of BMI. Paired with Hexagon Blast Movement Monitors, the AI can be validated and improved as the engine helps to safely and rapidly produce the Muckpile Block Model. Importantly, the model is produced without personnel having to walk on the muckpile to place or retrieve the monitors.

What also makes BMI unique is its integration with Hexagon’s MinePlan Block Model Manager, a data-integrity solution built for collaboration and data sharing across different roles and mining phases, eliminating errors and undue complexity in the block modelling process. By centralising data and using server-based features like block model management, version control and change notifications, Block Model Manager ensures the integrity and auditability of data, according to Hexagon. Its application programming interface improves the access, reuse and integration of that data with other systems to enhance mining operations.

“Our Blast Movement Intelligence solution has proven profoundly useful for optimising downstream processes,” James Dampney, Vice President Resource Optimisation and Material Movement at Hexagon, says. “It can quickly interpret complex data, learn from that data and estimate movements based on that data, getting smarter with each blast so that the model is machine-precise, improving the thousands of decisions that cascade from resource modelling and ore delineation.”

BMI not only enables mines to quickly, safely and confidently define with a high level of precision the routing of the revenue-producing material but also empowers them to conserve energy throughout the rest of comminution, ultimately improving ore recovery and yielding a better bottom line, Hexagon says.

Armed with the additional insights from MinePlan Block Model Manager, Hexagon’s BMI serves as a data-rich, high-fidelity blast movement solution that can positively impact every stage of the downstream mining process. Its global market availability marks a pivotal development in meshing safety and efficiency in the industry, the company concluded.

Centerra Gold Senior Mine Geologist, Alexis Eapen, will be interviewed onstage in the Hexagon booth at MINExpo 2024 on September 25 about how BMI has supported improvements in the drill and blast workflow at Mt. Milligan.

Hexagon to Augment blast movement offering with AI-based partnership

Explosives and blasting, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

Hexagon has announced it is partnering with Western Australia’s Augment Technologies to help mines maximise ore yield and optimise operational efficiencies by accurately accounting for blast movement.

The partnership will harness a blend of block model data, artificial intelligence (AI), bespoke movement models and measured 3D movement data to create a blast movement solution that enables mines to unlock significant value, Hexagon said.

The Hexagon MinePlan Block Model Manager enables users to simultaneously and effectively design, populate, manage and share block models while centrally managing the amount of sample points, variables and outputs associated with orebody data.

Augment Technologies, meanwhile, leverages a physics engine powered by an AI algorithm to create a Muckpile Block Model™ that is continuously improved through a machine-learning process. The process uses vast amounts of blasting data to ensure that the model’s controlling parameters and simulated physics are as accurate as possible, resulting in a bespoke solution for each customer, the company says.

The collaboration between Hexagon and Augment will allow customers to view and manage the Muckpile Block Model that retains all the data and fidelity of the grade control model, with high accuracy and resolution. Users will have the option of incorporating Hexagon’s Blast Movement Monitors as an additional measure for blast movement and for training the AI model, with transparency into all the data inputs and output, it says. They can also combine operational data with insights from the Hexagon Block Model Manager API to help optimise upstream and downstream processes, all within its geological modelling software platform.

“The implications for the industry are profound,” James Dampney, Vice President, Resource Optimisation, Hexagon’s Mining division, said. “Ore loss, dilution and misclassification cost mines millions of wasted dollars a year. Our partnership with Augment Technologies will help mines to optimise digging locations and downstream handling of ore, resulting in valuable processing efficiency and reductions in energy consumption.

“Customers will save training time and operation time by remaining in the same software used to model their ore. The incorporation of an industry-first block model manager provides auditability and traceability to reduce errors while managers and corporate stakeholders will see time-stamped changes of the block model.”

Augment Technologies co-founder and Chairman, Greg Hardwich, said the partnership was setting a new industry standard in minimising ore loss and dilution due to blast movement, bringing enormous efficiency to mining processes.

“We’re very excited to be working with global autonomous technology leader Hexagon to inject our AI-powered capability to create a Muckpile Block Model, transforming the way blast movements are modelled and measured to create significant value for our customers,” he said. “Through this partnership, Hexagon’s customers will have the opportunity to realise demonstratable reductions in ore dilution, allowing miners to return more consistent grades, and higher tonnages of ore for processing.”