AUSTRALIAN METS
with a trusted and tested supplier that is leading the forefront of mining digitisation is key to unlocking the potential of big data .”
Situational awareness
Effective mine site connectivity is key to enabling the type of situational awareness that saves lives and money , according to MST Global .
In mining ’ s application , situational awareness is achieved via tracking and sensor technologies to provide information from the physical environment and predictions for what is going to happen next .
MST Global , General Manager , Product Management & Marketing , Mark Palmer , said situational awareness was fundamentally about being able to see the state of people , assets and processes in real time and using the data for the greater good .
“ There is an understanding that , for an efficient and safe operation , people need to be able to make decisions quickly and effectively based on the most accurate and up to date information available to them ,” Palmer said .
“ The digitisation of the mine and the advances in tracking and visualisation means that this information can be made available to decision makers facilitating them to make consistent and informed decisions .”
To establish an advanced level of situational awareness , Palmer said the infrastructure on site has to be right , with wireless connectivity a key part of this .
“ The next thing a mine should be looking at is connectivity : your people and equipment should be able to connect to the infrastructure in a meaningful way ,” he said .
This includes the introduction of transponders / tags that can connect to the infrastructure , providing information on who or what they are and where they are located .
“ The final piece is the human and machine interface : people being able to see the information and breaking down silos through APIs ,” Palmer said . “ This is realised through software such as our HELIX platform – information is presented in a ‘ humanly digestible ’ way .”
The most important benefit of situational awareness on site is the ability to make operators of machinery aware of the people around them so all hazardous collision scenarios are avoided .
“ By making this information available when operators need to be aware of it through sensor alerts and warnings , personnel can free up their time to concentrate on the task but be made immediately aware of the presence of people before safety is compromised ,” Palmer said .
This then feeds into efficiency and productivity benefits across the entire value chain .
“ Efficiencies can be realised through information on areas such as trip cycles , when considering optimising production processes , or as simple as finding the nearest electrician for a breakdown underground ,” Palmer said . “ Both rely on knowing where people or things are in real time . The downtime for a machine can cost $ 10,000 ’ s per hour and getting someone there as quickly as possible gets the operation running again as quickly as possible .”
Then there is situational awareness ’ ability to help all levels of the mine management team make informed decisions in their day-to-day operations .
“ It ’ s about providing people with the information they need to make the right decision and not overwhelming them with information they don ’ t require ,” Palmer said . “ Visualisation solutions such as MST ’ s HELIX allow users to tailor the information they need to see , so it can be accessed quickly – or be constantly in view .”
The modelling core
The ability to visualise geological modelling options for mineral deposits in an effective manner is part and parcel of Maptek ’ s latest addition to Vulcan , its advanced 3D geological modelling , mine design and production planning solution .
Having turned 40 this year , the Australia-based company has come up with a new integrated modelling solution that answers the need for geologists to have more time to analyse their resource models , the company says .
During the research and development phase of Vulcan GeologyCore , the company took careful stock of the geological modelling market to clearly define what the processes needed to cover , Maptek Technical Lead , Richard Jackson , said .
“ The result is a dynamic interface and streamlined workflow making it easy to test different domaining scenarios and view live statistics , giving geologists confidence in their data before they assign it to the relevant
Maptek ’ s Vulcan GeologyCore provides geologists with interactive charts to show how the different domaining decisions are represented statistically , providing confidence in good decisions or immediately highlighting where sub-optimal domaining decisions have been made , according to Richard Jackson
modelling method – implicit modelling or a machine-learning engine ,” he told IM .
Jackson said the geological modelling process has , to this point , remained segregated due to the inherent complications with undertaking data validation , domain definition and domain
modelling ahead of the actual modelling process for ore grade estimation .
“ Typically , these steps are performed as multiple independent options within the same program , or often across multiple programs ,” he said . “ Custom scripts to tie together these discrete parts of the modelling process are typically used to streamline the workflow . The use of scripts , however , locks a user into a set workflow and does not promote the testing of new ideas and ‘ what if ’ scenarios .
“ The mechanism used to save time comes at the expense of enabling geologists to do what they do best : make geological decisions .”
Jackson expects the increased time available for geologists to test modelling scenarios to improve outcomes .
“ Studies around what defines good domaining decisions are only done sporadically ,” he explained . “ Years of new information may be available to help identify trends and relationships , however , unless the geologist reevaluates the core assumptions on domain definitions , resultant models still rely on assumptions made in the past .”
Providing geologists with interactive charts to show how the different domaining decisions are represented statistically provides confidence in good decisions or immediately highlights where sub-optimal domaining decisions have been made , according to Jackson .
“ Rapid model generation and evaluation ensures the best decisions are being made about mining a resource ,” he said . “ Machine learning makes iterative re-modelling of geology possible and makes the concept of updating models daily a reality .”
22 International Mining | MAY 2021