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By J J. Culberson

The past 10 years has seen use of computers become widespread in the mining/exploration industry (including coal, precious and base metals, oil/gas and industrial minerals). This paper will concentrate on the use of computers as a tool to provide technical solutions (including data management, mine planning and operational support) to this industry rather than the use of computers to aid accounting, maintenance and inventory (æcommercialÆ) applications. This paper will review the processes and benefits of the use of computers in mining. We then review the use of technical computing locally here in New Zealand and see what business benefits local users have found from using computers in mining. We have, in research for this paper, spoken with mining software vendors from around the world to find out what is currently the æbest practiceÆ in the industry. The paper will then list what those vendors see as the ultimate improvement on the cards for the future of mining software.

Jan 1, 2000

By Om P. Garg

The purpose of this paper is: 1) To summarize the capabilities and some of the limitations of the existing mine planning software. 2) To provide some guidelines for acquiring the software. 3) To identify problems and challenges in terms of how to justify increased use of computers (particularly the 32-bit microprocessor based super micro computers), for various activities related to a mining operation No attempt has been made to review the contents of available software packages in detail. Also the scope of this paper is limited to mine planning related computer applications. Applications related to accounting, inventory control, preventive maintenance, equipment scheduling, etc. have not been covered.

Jan 1, 1983

By O. Garg

This paper summarizes the computer applications in open-pit mine planning at the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC). A brief history of the use of computers at IOC is given, and a description of the existing facilities is outlined. The following systems are discussed: storage and retrieval of geological data; geotechnical data analysis; long-term grade and tonnage forecasting; ore grading; and open-pit mine design. Justification for using computers in open-pit mine planning is given, and possible future areas of application are considered.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. A. Haney, S. J. Gigliotti

Over the past ten years, analysis of the acceptability of face ventilation systems has been based on numerical criteria rather than solely a study of air flow and methane patterns in the face area. This type of analysis has become possible primarily because of the instrumentation and mathematical models developed by the Ventilation Division, Pittsburgh Health Technology Center, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). To properly use these mathematical models, large amounts of methane and airflow data must be collected in the face area during mining activities. To supplement underground testing of face ventilation systems, a full scale model of a face area was built. This model includes a full scale model continuous miner, a face ventilation system, a gas release system, and a remote methane detection system. The remote methane detection system consists of an array of twelve methane sensors located throughout the face area. Data from the sensors are transmitted to strip chart recorders. Methane, air quantity, and other data collected during a test are entered into a computer for analysis. This paper presents the data entry system, the models used for data analysis, the test results, and the application of these results to a face ventilation system.

Jan 1, 1983

By Bruce Johnson

This paper is not written to "break new ground" in computer applications; it is just a treatment of how an operating metal mine utilizes a mainframe computer for planning, analyzing, and reporting on the ventilation and cooling systems. The Unisys mainframe computer at the mine site is used in programs that analyze the ventilation network, keep records on various ventilation installations, calculate the results of measurements and produce reports on ventilation conditions in the working places and on the main air distribution, and plan and analyze the cooling system. All the programs are interactive to terminals. There are a series of data files that are generated by some programs which may be used by other programs. Most of these programs have been developed in-house. The computer is also used as a word processor via a vendor-supplied text editing program to produce memos, letters, and to keep up-to-date lists of equipment used.

Jan 1, 1989

By David B. Costain

Three dimensional surface approximations are important means of evaluating physical and environmental factors that affect surface coal mining and reclamation. Computer approximated surfaces are projected as an array of square grid cells where individual cells define each parameter value respective to locations on the grid. Grid surfaces or grid cells within a surface can be compared or modified through application of standard mathematical functions. Surface approximations can be used to define the quantity and quality of marketable coal and to evaluate thickness and quality of overburden. Surface approximations also can be used to evaluate overburden swell factors wherein changes in post-mine topographic relief are related to expansion of unconsolidated materials in the backfill. Application of computer approximated surface to analysis of approximate original contour (AOC) standards allows an assessment of the quantity and geographical displacement of overburden and the distribution and numerical level of slope.

Jan 1, 1984

Digital computers, by virtue of their capacity for high speed repetitive calculation at low cost, are finding increasing application to routine calcula- tions in the mining industry. In this paper techniques are shown whereby the use of computers can be extended to more complex tasks. The regular calculation of grades and tonnages of material to be extracted from specified areas of an operating open pit is a necessary part of production planning. In this paper it is shown how these calculations can be carried out by computer. thereby freeing planning staff from manual calculation. An operating open-pit mine can be described in terms of drill logs, geological ore boundaries and pit perimeters at various levels. These form the data base which must be suitable for frequent updating to incorporate new information. A suite of computer programmes is described which operates on this data base to calculate tonnages and grades of ore within extensions to the perimeters as indicated to the system by planning staff. Possible future extensions are discussed.

Jan 1, 1971

By E. C. Wade, R. D. Valentine

This paper describes a computer applications engineering system and it's use to apply a thermal dryer fan motor in a coal preparation plant. The computer hardware and software systems are described to indicate the general approach taken and a specific case study is reviewed to show how computer power is brought to projects in the coal industry.

Jan 1, 1983

By Thomas H. Kleine, Alan R. Cameron, William W. Forsyth

In general the software required by a blast designer includes tools that graphically present blast designs (surface & underground), can analyze a design or predict its result, and can assess blasting results. As computers develop and computer literacy continues to rise the development of and use of such tools will spread.

Jan 1, 1995

By G. Adel, J. Richard Lucas, C. Haycocks

This paper describes over sixteen computer programs developed at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the past twenty years to assist in the design of coal operations. Overall development concepts in the construction of the programs are outlined, commencing with those used in the exploration phase of mining and extending through economic analysis and into the design of specific engineering systems such as belt, rail and power networks, scheduling, rock mechanics problems and simulation of face systems. Summarized information is given for the use of the major programs including user restrictions, input data, typical output and industrial applications and case studies. Analysis has been made of the programs' applications by industry throughout the world. Such analysis is facilitating development of new programs as well as a refinement of existing ones. To date programs have been constructed in four categories: exploration, ground control, economic and simulation. Face production simulations are stochastic in nature and require the use of time study data obtained at sites underground. Future programming efforts currently under development are aimed at interactive programs for use with minicomputers and, where advantageous, with graphical displays.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. E. Turner

Hamersley Iron Pty. Limited, one of the world's largest iron ore producers, operates a 3.0 million tonne per year pelletizing facility at Dampier in Western Australia. The plant produces pellets for the export market using a blend of natural hematite fines from the Company's two mines at Tom Price and Paraburdoo. Processing includes fluidised-bed drying of the ore feed, open circuit dry grinding, disc balling and pellet induration in a travelling grate furnace of Dravo-Lurgi design.

Jan 1, 1980

By R. R. Tatiya

"The ultimate aim of a mine design is to determine the development work involved and resources required by adopting one or more specific alternatives. A part of the process is the production of mining plans/designs, an outline of the amount of work and costs involved as well as a prediction of the revenues expected. The paper aims to examine these aspects of mine design using the computer models developed. These models are capable of designing and performing economic analysis for one or more stopes for a continuous orebody. IntroductionTatiya and Allen (1987) have described ’defining stope boundaries using a computer.’ Using the stope boundaries defined or even hypothetical ones, algorithms have been prepared to design the layouts of the following stoping methods: 1. sublevel stoping (longitudinal as well as transverse);2. DTH (Down-the-hole) stoping; and3. flat back cut and fill stoping with posts and pillars.Tatiya (1989) presented this work at the 21st symposium on the application of computers and operations research in the mineral industry (APCOM). Economic analysis of a stope is the additional feature incorporated with these algorithms.The system has been tested by an economic analysis of the three stoping methods modeled for a small portion of a deposit of a copper mining complex. The deposits at this mining complex form lenses of varying shapes and sizes, having low copper content. These chalcopyrite lenses are steeply inclined with a thickness in the range of 5 m to 60 m. The strata are competent and suitable for underground mining.In different sections of the mines different sets of equipment are used to perform the basic unit operations. Some of the ore handling levels in the mines are trackless, the rest are tracked."

Jan 1, 1998

By S. Henley

There is much in common between the requirements of open-pit mining and quarrying operations. Both involve the extraction of large volumes of material from surface excavations. The principal differences are of degree: open-pit mining of materials such as coal or gold generally involves the extraction of only small volumes of 'mineral' and large volumes of waste-they are operations with very high stripping ratios, and are made viable only because of the high unit value of the extracted mineral. In quarrying operations, the unit value of the mineral - sand, aggregate, limestone, or clay - is much lower, but stripping ration Are also lower. Thus the same techniques of geological modelling, reserve estimation, and pit planning are applicable, as is shown in two examples from the British quarrying industry. In each case, a primary requirement is the definition of production volume or tonnage. Sometimes, this need may be addressed simply by the use of a survey data processing package. However, in other cases, such as the two examples addressed in this paper, of sand and clay quarries, detailed assessment of the variation of mineral grades is a vital part of the exercise, and simple volumetric modelling cannot in itself be sufficient. In these cases, a block model approach using simple logical and numerical post-processing is also required to obtain required parameters for commercial classification of the products to be extracted. Pit designs themselves may be optimised by use of algorithms such as Lerchs-Grossmann, but the value of mineral produced can be dependent on factors other than its grade in any one part of a single pit, and the 'optimised' pit itself must be considered only a good sub-optimal. Given the right degree of healthy skepticism, and a software package with sufficient flexibility to be adapted readily to the rather different requirements of the quarrying industry, there is no reason why the quarrying industry should not benefit from the many years of investment in mining software technology.

Jan 1, 1989

By Eileen Ashworth

Computer-assisted instruct ion is now being used in areas as diversified as training handicapped children to preflight simulation for airline pilots. This paper reports on two courses that have been developed at SDSM&T on the PLATO system for miner safety training. Advantages of computer-assisted instruct ion for this type of training is discussed. (Figures show examples of actual use.) A discussion will be given on other applications such as maintenance troubleshooting, training of engineers and managers at remote sites and training of local people for working in the mine.

Jan 1, 1983

By Keith G. Kirk, Lawrence E. Welborn, Patrick A. Ley

Over the past two years the Office of Surface Mining in conjunction with Energy & Minerals Technology Assessment, ENCORE Systems Inc., and Boeing Computer Services has developed the Economic Coal and Ore Reserve Estimation (ENCORE) Coal Seam Modeling System. This system is being used by OSM, certain states, and industry for mine planning and mine plan permit review. The ENCORE system enables the mining engineer to start at the reserve estimation stage of surface mine planning and continue through the entire mine planning process and into the permit preparation process. The ENCORE system enables the state and federal regulatory authorities to assess a given mining and reclamation plan permit application in a rapid and efficient manner and greatly speeds up the mine plan review and permitting process. The ENCORE system is user friendly and menu driven thereby permitting the engineer with minimal computer training to rapidly learn and utilize the system. Data are input both through digitized map files and bore hole information files and stored in a data base that is an integral part of the ENCORE system. The system performs reserve estimation through standard polygon methods, least square methods, and geostatistical (kriging) techniques. Geostatistical routines permit rapid evaluation of coal and overburden quality and quantity. System outputs include drill hole sumnary and resource summary reports, cross sections, isopach maps, structure contour maps, premining topography maps, postmining topography maps, and three-dimensional perspective views. The maps can be displayed on a high-resolution, color graphics terminal or generated by a high quality plotter and are suitable for direct inclusion in the mining and reclamation pl an permit application. This paper gives detailed examples of ENCORE'S use together with example outputs.

Jan 1, 1983

By Ward C. W

Conventional polygonal and block modelling techniques inadequately represent the grade-thickness distribution of some narrow shear and stratabound gold deposits. The polygonal influence of high-grade drill intercepts can result in overestimates of resource tonnages at high-grade cut-offs. Although block modelling methods provide grade smoothing and a better representation of structural continuity, the technique can lack precise definition of ore width. An alternative method known as Spatial Object Modelling (SOM) has been developed on MineMap software to overcome some of these modelling issues. This method does not rely on a uniform cell size and allows grade smoothing between resource intercepts in three-dimensional space. The SOM technique creates grade-thickness bars on regular, user-defined spacings which allow easy visual comparison of raw intercept data to the interpolated model. Model cell values are readily transformed into isopachs, isopleths and resource perimeters for reporting and mine planning purposes.

Jan 1, 1997

By Reichman J. P

Extensive use is made of a small scale computer (IBM 1130), in the calculations of ore reserves for Western Mining Corporation's nickel mine at Kambalda, W.A. All surface drilling data such as assays, density and location information, are stored on disk files at the Company's Technical Computing Centre at Perth, W.A. The computer is used to search through the data, select significant ore intersections, calculate the area of influence of each intersection and perform the necessary calculations to arrive at an estimate of the ore reserve. Comparing the computer-assisted ore reserve calculation with an entirely manual operation, it is estimated that a saving of 40 percent in time is achieved together with

Jan 1, 1973

By Thomas J. Menner

Jan 1, 1983

By De Janti VP

The automation and centralized monitoring of longwall type underground mining is presently an important subject matter of research in France. The purposes are :to improve safety and working conditions to increase productivity.to improve efficiency in machine operation through continuous "health monitoring". to make winning possible in difficult seams.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. R. Tatiya

The algorithms to model three stoping methods - sublevel, down- the-hole (DTH) and cut and fill stoping have been developed. These algorithms are capable of designing and performing economic analysis for one or more number of stopes in a continuous orebody. The design and economic analysis of each individual stope are first obtained. This is followed by the composite stope design layout and overall economics of the stopes under study. This paper describes only the stope design aspects of these models. The programs have been written using Fortran 77 with Tektronix graphical aids available at Imperial College Computer Centre (ICCC) London and are based on the basic data obtained from Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) and Rajpura Dariba (a zinc mine) in India. Minor modifications, however, may be necessary in some routines when used on other systems and for other mines.

Jan 1, 1989