Tag Archives: orebody knowledge

Weir’s ore characterisation work shifts gears to value generation loop

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chris Carpenter, VP of Technology for Weir ESCO®, is on a crusade to educate the mining industry on the importance of orebody knowledge.

As an executive with more than 35 years of experience and 40 patents to his name, he has heard numerous stories about “sub-optimal operational decisions” being made at mine sites due to a lack of information.

Through an ore characterisation project under development within several teams at Weir, Carpenter shared the company is focused on developing cost-effective solutions to provide this information in real time.

He is, however, aware that the mining sector, as a whole, needs convincing.

“I can tell you that many of our customers do not yet acknowledge the full value of what we are looking to provide the sector,” he told IM.

This is changing, with industry studies on the correlation between poor orebody knowledge and negative financial impacts and risks in the mine development process coming to light – IMDEX, the Mineral Deposit Research Unit and the Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining at the University of British Columbia and Ideon Technologies are, for instance, currently engaged on such a study.

In announcing the study, IMDEX Chief Geoscientist, Dave Lawie, hit on a similar theme to Carpenter: “For the mining industry to adopt this technology, it must have clear evidence of the financial impacts and risks of poor or no orebody knowledge and a way of assessing the most efficient methods of collecting, analysing and optimising it.”

What “this technology” is remains open to debate, with many pre-concentration and ore sorting technologies continuing to sprout up among fertile innovation soil in the mining sector.

ESCO and Carpenter believe this technology – at least in a base metals and iron ore application context – has roots in Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), an arm’s-length foundation created by the Government of Canada to fund new clean technologies. Motion Metrics International Corp received SDTC funding back in 2020 for a project using the core innovations of hyperspectral imagery (HSI) sensors, 3D particle size distribution (PSD) analysis and machine-learning algorithms to control energy-intensive mining equipment, an SDTC backgrounder from 2020 explained.

Chris Carpenter, VP of Technology for Weir ESCO

Motion Metrics, in a separate announcement, said the 3.5-year project would lead to the design, development and deployment of a commercial mine-to-mill energy efficiency solution.

“Upon successful completion, mines worldwide will be able to order and deploy this solution, without changing their daily operations, to meet their sustainability targets while reducing their comminution costs,” it said.

University of British Columbia’s Norman B. Keevil Mining Engineering Department and several other organisations partnered with Motion Metrics for this project.

A lot has changed in the four years since this announcement, with Weir Group having acquired Motion Metrics International Corp and been incorporated into ESCO.

IM initially reported on developments of what Carpenter referred to as an “ore characterisation” project in 2022. At that time, this consisted of a BeltMetrics™ trial installation using a MOTION METRICS™ advanced imaging sensor for PSD analysis and a commercial, HSI sensor positioned above a conveyor that was directly after the crusher in a mine’s flowsheet.

When IM caught up with Carpenter in late July, he could report on not only progress with the BeltMetrics installation, but also a fixed-term trial of “ore characterisation” in a TruckMetrics™ installation.

“We have now run two different applications for the technology,” he said. “The belt monitoring trial continues to operate and has demonstrated the ability to predict SAG mill throughput based on the input ore characteristics. We also ran a very successful trial of bulk sorting using similar technology looking at the content of haul trucks. The trial monitored and analysed around 1,000 trucks and several were identified as low grade. Extensive lab testing continues as we evaluate mine ore samples to understand the capabilities of our approach. Based on our lab and field evaluations we are convinced the technology will allow us to quickly and accurately monitor grade, alteration, deportment and deleterious minerals.”

The BeltMetrics trial installation uses a MOTION METRICS advanced imaging sensor for PSD analysis and a commercial, HSI sensor positioned above a conveyor that is directly after the crusher in the mine’s flowsheet

“I would say our proof of concept work has really allowed us to now pick up the pace of investment and search for more development partners to further this technology.”

The TruckMetrics ore monitoring trial – carried out on 100-232 t-payload trucks – may pique interest here, but Carpenter says the initial product development path lies in the processing plant and on the conveyor.

“We are looking to, first, put more minimum viable products (MVPs) out in the market for belt-based solutions,” he said. “While our initial entry into this space was to look at bulk sorting – and we recognise this is still the ‘big target’ – [the] voice of [the] customer research has identified a huge need to provide plant-based systems for applications in managing stockpiles and feed grades.”

These MVPs are likely to be deployed on “development partner” sites with existing separation mechanisms downstream of the crusher – ie apron feeders – where diversions can be made based on the HSI and PSD data.

This same voice of the customer research highlighted the need for an in-pit system that could boost productivity, throughput and recovery ahead of the plant, yet the financial amount estimated for a commercial system based on the HSI and PSD sensor combination did not find favour.

“This has led to our own research into what we feel is a new-to-the-world application or modification of standard HSI,” Carpenter said. “We believe this will give us a competitive edge in the market.”

Illumination restrictions and uses have often been touted as the potential drawbacks of using spectral imaging in the ore sorting space, which IM understands is one of the areas of focus for Weir’s own R&D and lab-based testing.

But there are also other factors to consider ahead of a commercial Weir proposition – whether that is in the pit or plant – landing on the market.

“We don’t just want to be sensor salespeople,” Carpenter says. “The complexity and variety of applications will require a shift to specific solutions for our customers and the need to back that up with the aftermarket service our customers expect becoming their productivity partner.

“What we are proposing is more than just technology; it needs to be a solution that validates the value on a regular basis in a continuous loop.”

That same loop comes back to Carpenter’s and Lawie’s assessment of the industry need to acknowledge the value of such data ahead of adopting the technology.

“Fortunately, our ‘Mining technology for a sustainable future’ focus at Weir is allowing us to invest the money the industry needs to provide both the value generation and value acknowledgement to make such solutions viable and effective,” Carpenter concluded. “This type of work – and orebody knowledge more widely – is critical for the future of mining.”

IMDEX in deep dive study to show value of orebody knowledge

Mineral exploration, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leading global mining-tech company IMDEX is collaborating on what it says is a groundbreaking study backed by Canada’s preeminent sciences research body to determine the real value of orebody knowledge (OBK) in mineral exploration and mining.

IMDEX is partnering with the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) and the Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining (BRIMM) at the University of British Columbia, and Ideon Technologies, a leader in applying muon tomography for orebody imaging, in the million-dollar, two-year deep dive into the economics of OBK.

The MDRU is one of the largest integrated mineral deposit and exploration research groups in the world, dedicated to solving mineral exploration-related problems. The BRIMM creates multidisciplinary teams of leading researchers to work with industry to find solutions to the biggest challenges facing the mining industry and trains the next generation of multidisciplinary professionals.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada – the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada – will part-fund the study through the NSERC Alliance program.

IMDEX Chief Geoscientist, Dave Lawie, said the research findings would contribute to knowledge on the economic benefits of enhanced OBK, promote adoption of new technologies, and help define future research and development directions in the mining industry.

“The mining industry has been slow to adopt innovative orebody knowledge approaches and data collection, despite the increasing improvement and sophistication of the technology,” Lawie said.

“One of the reasons for this reluctance is that mining companies, researchers and technology providers find it difficult to articulate the financial value of OBK; to explain in dollar terms the financial gain of being able to make better decisions earlier and reduce risk from greenfields exploration through to mining production.

“Clearly articulating the dollar value of OBK also assists in the adoption of technology where the cost is born in one part of an operation or organisation, but the dollar benefit is accrued in a different department or during a separate phase of development. It helps address the question, ‘Who will pay for what does not happen?’ where operational risk reduction is the key driver.

“Without quality OBK, companies are taking unnecessary mine development risks.

“For the mining industry to adopt this technology, it must have clear evidence of the financial impacts and risks of poor or no OBK and a way of assessing the most efficient methods of collecting, analysing and optimising it.”

IMDEX says it is leading the development of innovative orebody knowledge technology including through its IMDEX BLAST DOG™, a semi-autonomously deployed borehole sensing and physical measurement technology that provides near real-time orebody knowledge and physical information of the blast hole.

The company also has extensive experience in directional core drilling capabilities through its acquisition of Devico and its leading technology, which has benefits particularly in the search for deep mineral deposits.

Ideon’s technology generates images of orebodies deep beneath the Earth’s surface, up to 1 km below ground level, and has proven effective in detecting deep orebodies, which are challenging to locate using traditional methods, according to IMDEX.

“As exploration increasingly targets greater depths, deep OBK and efficient, environmentally sound methods of drill testing will become more relevant for making accurate early estimates of mineral reserves at speed,” Lawie said.

Senior researchers at UBC will drive the study along with a range of postdoctoral experts. The study will analyse mine projects completed over the past 23 years, integrating information from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange with the respective countries’ mine project reporting codes, the NI 43-101 and the JORC code, to assess the link between OBK – or lack of it – and mine project performance.

Other elements of the study will:

  • Quantify the write-down value attributable to orebody complications;
  • Quantify the link between OBK and mine project performance;
  • Assess the cost of obtaining OBK against the potential value lost in the project; and
  • Develop a risk assessment tool to allow companies to design work programs to optimise OBK and reduce project risk.

Lawie said previous UBC research by John Steen, Michael Samis and Andrew Gillis covering the period 2003 to 2016 revealed that geoscientific challenges were associated with financial losses by mine projects in at least 30% of cases, presenting the Value of Information case that has now expanded into the economic benefits of enhanced orebody knowledge.

This research will provide a starting point for the study using advanced data collection and interpretation to better understand the geological risks associated with mine development projects.

“To our knowledge, this integrated research approach has not been previously attempted,” Lawie said.

IMDEX’s Lawie on BLAST DOG’s continual orebody knowledge evolution

Automation, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

In a presentation to the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, Australia, today, entitled ‘Get a Dog’, IMDEX Chief Geoscientist and Chief Technologist – Mining, Dave Lawie, charted the five-year development journey of the company’s BLAST DOG™ technology that, the company says, provides unrivalled pre-blast orebody knowledge and a 3D view into the bench.

BLAST DOG is a commodity-agnostic blast hole sensing and physical measurement technology that will provide near real-time blast hole physicals and orebody knowledge, according to IMDEX. The value of the technology is in the power of integrated data, enabling experts to make informed decisions that affect each stage of the mining value chain.

“Ten years ago, orebody knowledge was quite an abstract notion,” Dr Lawie said. “When we first discussed it, people wanted more information. Five years ago, they were becoming more interested, and today it’s a theme in the industry.

“IMDEX has led that discussion and been at the forefront of the development of technologies that deliver better orebody knowledge. Reliable orebody knowledge is central to good mine planning. It provides the data that allows for informed decision making that delivers savings throughout the mining life cycle.”

The BLAST DOG sensor is on a track-mounted robotic platform with semi-autonomous hole positioning and alignment capability working over variable terrain and bench conditions, IMDEX explained.

IMDEX Chief Geoscientist and Chief Technologist – Mining, Dave Lawie

Directly and rapidly measuring the orebody via blast holes reveals what the ore reserve looks like in the ground, at a high resolution, and immediately prior to its extraction, providing mining companies with “insurance” data that protects people, heritage, equipment and neighbouring communities, according to the company.

The data has the potential to be used to develop programs to, the company says, improve safety; mine planning; blast design; fragmentation; reduce fume, flyrock, vibration, air-blast and dust; and improve material assignment post blast.

Dr Lawie said an IMARC presentation in 2015 discussing spatial factors among the activity drivers in mining confirmed to IMDEX that its identification and focus on orebody knowledge was correct. But at the time there was no “Internet of Geosensing” system able to deliver the right information.

“The reference to spatial factors is really the Internet of Geosensing; IoG is an orebody knowledge system, and that’s what BLAST DOG delivers,” he said.

The reduction or management of variation alone creates value, with the characterisation of waste as important as the identification of the target metals or minerals, according to IMDEX.

It creates the opportunity for better segregation of ore from waste during mining and, therefore, grade optimisation as well as maximisation of ore recovery and minimisation of dilution.

With the delivery vehicle coming from Universal Field Robots and the downhole sensors designed and refined by IMDEX, the addition of MinePortal 3D visualisation software has accelerated IMDEX BLAST DOG for mining production, IMDEX says.

The company achieved its first commercial contract with BLAST DOG in August this year, at Iron Bridge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with the agreement providing for the staged use of up to three units together with associated products, software, data analysis, reporting and support.

Six commercial prototype trials are planned for the 2023 financial year under the first phase of BLAST DOG development.

IMDEX concluded: “The BLAST DOG technology will continue to evolve, with new answer products, novel and democratised modelling and visual outputs being developed along with expansion to other commodities and geographies and eventually to underground applications.”

Epiroc grows orebody knowledge portfolio with Geoscan addition

Automation, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , ,

Epiroc has agreed to acquire Geoscan Pty Ltd, an Australian provider of digital geological imaging solutions to mining companies, as it looks to bolster its orebody knowledge solutions.

Geoscan is based in Perth, Australia, and has presence in Australia, Latin America, North America, Europe and Africa. Its main offerings are Corescan and Coreshed.

Corescan (a unit pictured) is a leader in hyperspectral scanning, core photography and 3D laser profiling of drill core, rock chips and other geological samples with the associated processing and interpretation, according to Epiroc. It offers an automated solution that increases both the speed and reliability of imaging, processing and data delivery.

“Providing a rapid and reliable mineralogical profile of each drill core, Corescan improves mining companies’ decision making across exploration, resource modelling and ore processing,” the company said.

Coreshed complements this by providing an advanced digital core storage, visualisation, management and data integration solution for drill core and other geological samples, according to Epiroc.

Geoscan has about 50 employees and had revenues in 2021 of about A$9 million ($5.8 million).

Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, said: “Mining companies continue to strive for greater orebody knowledge to strengthen productivity and consistency in their operations, and Geoscan’s solutions play a vital role in achieving that. This acquisition will complement our existing offerings well. We look forward to welcoming the strong team at Geoscan to Epiroc.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the December quarter of 2022.

IMDEX looks for 3D rock knowledge data with MinePortal acquisition

IoT, Mineral processing, Mining software, , , , ,

IMDEX says it will acquire DataCloud’s MinePortal software in a circa-A$20 million ($14.8 million) cash and shares deal that will significantly enhance the company’s data visualisation and analysis capabilities and build on its real-time orebody knowledge technology.

MinePortal is a next generation cloud-connected orebody knowledge technology which interprets and models geological data to enable real-time 3D visualisation, according to IMDEX.

It processes high volumes of data in real time, while applying geostatistical and machine learning algorithms to identify orebody trends. MinePortal contains three integrated solutions: Data Lab, Blast Intelligence and Blend Intelligence, with IMDEX intending to integrate the technology with IMDEXHUB-IQ™ and enhance the real-time orebody knowledge ecosystem.

The transaction will accelerate the development of the IMDEX BLASTDOG™ geosensing tool and enhance its value for clients by linking data obtained from both IMDEX and third-party products to deliver real-time 3D visualisation models, the company said.

IMDEX Chief Executive Officer, Paul House, said the acquisition continued the evolution of IMDEX with its focus on technology to deliver real benefits for clients throughout the mining value chain.

“The purchase of MinePortal is in line with IMDEX’s strategy to move into the production end of the mining value chain and will complement our other initiatives,” House said.

“The ability for IMDEX and DataCloud to bring together IMDEXHUB-IQ, IMDEX BLASTDOG, and MinePortal is genuinely exciting. The partnership will accelerate our product development roadmap and will benefit IMDEX, our clients and the global minerals industry.”

House said the integrated rock knowledge technology will allow visualisation of rock knowledge data in 3D, supporting enhanced decision making in real time.

“To build and view these high spatial density models in the cloud, in real time, and access them from anywhere in the world, is world class tech,” he said.

“MinePortal will enrich the value that current and future rock knowledge sensors provide clients; it has an existing presence within mining production that is readily scalable; and it increases our Software as a Service offering and will generate additional quality revenue.”

The acquisition is subject to conditions including a final vote of DataCloud shareholders to approve the transaction, which is expected to be finalised by the end of this month.

The cash and performance-based share deal involves an initial cash payment to DataCloud of A$8 million, which will secure the assets and intellectual property relating to MinePortal.

The share-based component of the deal will occur from 2022 to 2024, with a pre-agreed number of shares being issued in 2022 and 2023, and with a third tranche of shares paid in 2024, if revenue targets are achieved. On the current share price, the combined value of the share component of the deal is about A$12 million.

Key DataCloud personnel will join IMDEX, complementing the company’s existing presence on the west coast of California, and bring additional artificial intelligence and geoscience expertise.

New Gold to collaborate with MineSense in underground ore sorting move

Automation, Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MineSense is gearing up for a move underground with the help of New Gold and its New Afton gold-copper mine in British Columbia, Canada.

The Vancouver-based technology company has already established and proven its ShovelSense technology for the open-pit mining sector, with its X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) sensor-based system now operating on shovels, wheel loaders and excavators on a commercial basis across six operating mines. This includes large installations at Teck’s Highland Valley and Copper Mountain’s copper operations in BC, as well as one ShovelSense unit at the Antamina copper operation in Peru.

Designed for operation in extreme environments and retrofits on any existing mobile equipment, ShovelSense units come equipped with a human machine interface and proprietary algorithms that measure and report ore grade/characteristics. They can also connect directly to fleet management or other existing control software systems, enabling mine operators to reconcile geological block models with actual ore grade data.

Having finetuned the system for above-ground operations, the company is now embarking on its underground move, according to MineSense President and CEO, Jeff More.

A trial of the underground ShovelSense system at New Gold’s New Afton mine is first up to complete product development. The company will be installing a unit on a Cat R1600G LHD for this step. This will be followed closely by installation at a “large entity” in Chile – with More anticipating start up in the September or December quarter.

The development agreement with New Gold at the BC-based mine is looking to trial and finetune the system for underground operations, with More confident the ShovelSense system will stand up to the test.

“The core technology – all of the algorithms, software, hardware – is the same as ShovelSense for open-pit mining,” More said. “It is the ‘application package’ – looking at how we can attach the unit to the machine and protect it in an underground environment – that is what we have to test out. The design for this is already complete; it’s just a matter of trialling it.”

New Afton represents a good test for the system.

New Afton is Canada’s only operating block cave mine, with the New Afton deposit part of a larger copper-gold porphyry district in the region. The operation regularly mines 15,000-16,000 t/d of ore and waste, with the majority of this currently going to the mill.

The company has already pursued “ore segregation” projects to boost the grade of material being fed through to the processing side, but the move into the higher-grade C-Zone in 2023-2029 will place an even greater emphasis on ore/waste boundaries and milled tonnes at the operation.

At the same time, the ShovelSense deployment at New Afton will represent the first time MineSense has sent a unit into a mine that has so much payable gold, with most operations the company has worked on being primarily base metal-oriented.

In 2020, New Afton produced 64,000 oz of the yellow metal, along with 32,659 t of the red metal.

“This will be the first time we’re touching gold at this level; we have other mines that have payable gold but not at that level,” More explained.

In New Afton’s case, sampling and historical data has proven that the orebody’s copper and gold ratios tend to be consistent and unchanging over the long term. With this knowledge, New Afton has used technology in the past to determine the copper value and make ore/waste production decisions. ShovelSense allows New Afton to move the ore/waste production decision to the drawpoint, according to MineSense. This reduces mixing and blending during the crushing and conveying circuit which can homogenise the material to the point where it is not worth segregating.

Trialling new technology such as this is nothing new for New Afton.

The operation already uses automated loading through Sandvik’s AutoMine solution, is employing electrification with the use of Sandvik and MacLean Engineering battery-powered mobile equipment, and, in the process plant, has Gekko Systems’ highest volume InLine Pressure Jig IPJ3500 to improve gravity concentration.

More says the ShovelSense unit could be in the Cat LHD bucket at New Afton in August, with the machine then going through an above-ground trial ahead of the underground transition at the end of September.

“By early Q4, we should have completed the pilot,” he said.

Mineralogy data needs a push upstream, IMDEX’s Dr Lawie says

Automation, IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

The resources sector creates problems for itself from the first drill hole to production by not acquiring the right data at the right time, according to IMDEX Chief Geoscientist, Dr Dave Lawie.

Speaking ahead of an IMDEX webinar to be delivered to coincide with this year’s Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s virtual conference, Dr Lawie said that with the technology now available there was no longer any excuses for failing to have enough data to make informed decisions at every point in the mining process.

“The industry wants to find, define and mine ‒ but that has to be done with speed and precision and that can only be achieved with reliable data at the right time, which is as early in the process as possible,” Dr Lawie said.

The IMDEX PDAC webinar ‒ What’s the real value of data? Pulling Decision Points Upstream ‒ will feature presentations from IMDEX Drilling Optimisation General Manager, Charles MacFadyen (The importance of drilling smarter metres); Automated Mineralogy Global Product Manager, Sasha Pontual (Digital mineralogy: why it is important for exploration and mining); and Geochemist and Senior Software Analyst, Putra Sadikin (IMDEX ioGAS: Analytics from the upstream to your desk).

Dr John Steen, the Director at Canada’s Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and Mining, has said lack of orebody knowledge leaves companies vulnerable to unforeseen costs which, in some cases, could threaten a mine’s viability.

Substantial write-downs have been attributed to less-than-expected ore grades, access issues which required revised mine planning, and process recovery problems, all of which could be avoided with better orebody data, according to IMDEX.

Dr Lawie said IMDEX technology enabled exploration companies to “drill smart metres” by drilling fast, efficiently and getting early-stage data.

“Doing that, which can include digital mineralogy, in the early phases allows you to get your exploration done, to test more targets and to evaluate them while you are involved in the drilling program,” he said.

At the “define stage”, resources are often not brought into production because there are complications apart from grade often related to mineral recovery, deleterious components, different levels of hardness, which stem from a lack of orebody knowledge, Dr Lawie added.

“Mineralogy is a key component in the define phase ‒ it is in exploration, but it comes into its own in the define phase ‒ because it has so many downstream impacts on mining,” Dr Lawie said. “Push all that information upstream and you can move through the resource definition phase into mining with a lot more confidence because you won’t be trying to fix a problem with mineralogy at the mining phase.

“That sounds trivial, but it’s not, and it’s the causation of a lot of stranded resources. People have not acquired adequate data early enough; they get downstream and want to develop a mine plan so they conduct metallurgical tests which reveal problems that they could already have known about.”

Referring to the third presentation in the webinar, Dr Lawie said IMDEX ioGAS™, an exploratory data analysis software application developed specifically for the resources industry, allowed complex data interrogation to be made quickly and easily.

“To be able to make import decisions in these data-rich environments ‒ and the amount of data is only going to increase ‒ you need to make extracting information accessible,” he said. “IoGAS has been doing that for more than a decade.”