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By I. Murray, N. Geoffroy

"Buried pipelines, tanks and other similar equipment are almost always present on large scale industrial sites, including in the oil and gas fields. However, as the proverb “out of sight, out of mind” suggests, it is easy to overlook proper maintenance procedures and simply assume that corrosion protection measures in place are working correctly. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, leading to significant environmental damage and loss of production. This paper describes several cases from various industries where buried equipment failed because of corrosion, sometimes with catastrophic results. It also presents various strategies, based on experience and new research, to help predict and prevent damage to underground metallic structures.INTRODUCTION Metallic underground structures are extremely common in industrial and commercial settings for numerous reasons. Burying pipes, tanks, wires and other similar equipment has numerous advantages: it provides significant protection from mechanical damage, frees up ground space that can be used for other purposes, requires little to no support structure and is generally more esthetically pleasing. However, this last benefit can also be considered the most significant disadvantage of underground equipment: becoming invisible and forgotten. While every engineer is aware of the importance of preventive maintenance, it is also human nature to somewhat forget about equipment that is hard to inspect and assume that everything is fine. This is unfortunately not always the case and failures in industrial settings can have extremely serious consequences. While economic aspects immediately come to mind (loss of production, cleanup cost, etc.), failure of underground equipment also results in an environmental and therefore public relations nightmare, especially in the oil and gas field. Leaks that would have been considered negligible in the past can now make national headlines and perfect reliability, while probably impossible to achieve, is now the goal of most companies. While environmental damage (real or perceived) is most often associated with leaks in the oil and gas industry, it can also affect the mining world. For example, the authors have worked on a project where a buried slurry pipeline had ruptured in the ground, causing a release of perfectly inert tailings. While the economic loss was low, the leak was reported in local media and caused a public relations problem."

Jan 1, 2017

By Laura A. Sanders

Mineral scale formation is prevalent in numerous mining operations. Such scale formation can occur in the direct-contact heat exchangers ahead of an autoclave. In these heat exchangers, the incoming slurry comes into contact with steam in a stage-wise fashion, which is re-circulated from the downstream flash vessels to heat the slurry in stages ahead of the autoclave. Calcium sulfate scaling causes severe problems in mining operations where increased temperatures are involved due to rising temperatures promoting calcium sulfate scaling through a decreasing solubility. In a number of these operations, the scale formation can occur in the presence of mineral solids, where fine-grained charged particles are at concentrations in excess of 35%. Scale prevention is not difficult in standard aqueous systems; however, the presence of solids leads to significant deficiencies in the prevention of scale due to the adsorption of the polymer onto the charge solids instead of the polymer interaction with the scale. Therefore, a technical solution to prevent mineral scale build up occurring in presence of pulp slurry in mining operations is needed. Several novel antiscalant technologies were developed and evaluated which provided a substantial improvement in the scale prevention in such systems.

May 1, 2013

By Alexander Smith

"The Silver Standard mine is 6 miles by road northwest of New Hazelton, B.C., a small town on the northern line of the Canadian National Railways some l 75 miles northeast of Prince Rupert. The deposits lie on the western slope of Glen Mountain (elevation 2,100 feet), with the main adit, mill, and campsite at 1,300 feet. The deposits were found in 1910, shortly after the area had been swept by forest fire and during a period of prospecting activity spurred by the construction of the railway. Crude ore only was shipped until 1918, when a 50-ton gravity mill was built which operated until 1922. Gross value of production of this period, at present metal prices, was about $1,000,000.In 1947 the present company was formed and a 50-ton flotation mill installed. Production from 1948 to 1955 has been in excess of $10,000,000, and net smelter returns about two-thirds of this amount. More than 60 per cent of the production and 80 per cent of the profit have come from one vein, No. 6. On the 1,300-foot level this vein had an ore section 375 feet long and 2.5 feet wide, averaging 0.18 ounces gold, 85 ounces silver, 10 per cent lead, and 16 per cent zinc.The mine workings follow a simple pattern. A series of parallel veins, striking northeast and dipping southeast, are numbered from 0 to 12, starting at the northwest. They lie within a zone trending south 70 degrees east, and the distance between Nos. 0 and 12 veins is about one mile. Recently several cross-veins, dipping northeast, have been found between Nos. 8 and 12. They are apparently of the same type as the others, though they may not have the same structural controls. They could be an important new source of ore.The mine has been developed principally by crosscut adits at the 1,500- and 1,300-foot levels and a 510-foot shaft with levels at I, 150, 1,000, ·and 850 feet. Drifts and crosscuts total 17,000 feet, chiefly on Nos. I, 4, 6, 7, and 8 veins. The drifts are stoped by shrinkage, top shrinkage rill, cut-and-fill with resuing, or open stope methods. The mill produces a lead-silver-gold-copper concentrate and a zinc concentrate, with indicated recovery of more than 96 per cent (4)."

Jan 1, 1949

By D. N. Thurston

Luscar Stereo commenced construction of the mine at Coal Valley, Alberta, in August, 1976. It is designed to produce approximately 2.5 million clean short tons of steam coal annually - 2.0 million tons per year being committed to Ontario Hydro and 0.5 million tons per year being committed to Neptune Terminals for sale on the export market. The project involves constructing a heavy-media coal preparation plant, erecting a 42-cubic-yard dragline, constructing a shop/office complex, and developing three surface mining zones and associated facilities. As there were no existing facilities in the Coal Valley area, it was necessary to establish access roads, an airstrip, temporary utilities, fuel supplies, a construction camp, rail upgrading and communication services.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. K. Szymanski

"RÉSUMÉPour maintenir de bonnes performances technique et économique dans l’exploitation par chambres vides (open stope) il est primordial d’assurer un contrôle efficace des limites réelles des chantiers d’abattage. C’est pour cette raison que, de plus en plus souvent, les opérateurs miniers utilisent un dispositif de laser (Cavity Monitoring System: CMS) qui permet de mesurer les dimensions réelles de chantiers en vue de calculer principalement la dilution et les pertes du minerai ainsi que d’autres paramètres. Malheureusement, il n’existe présentement aucune méthodologie commune, qui permettrait d’interpréter ces résultats selon les mêmes critères pour faciliter d’évaluations juste et précise de la réalisation par rapport à la planification en vue d’en apporter de corrections, dans les différentes opérations minières, si nécessaire. Dans la première partie du présent article on discute les principales séquences d’exploitation utilisées dans l’extraction par chambres vides. Par la suite, à l’aide des sections transversales et longitudinales on illustre toutes les phases des travaux miniers. Ceci en vue de permettre au lecteur de comprendre mieux c’est qui peut se passer effectivement dans les chantiers d’abattage. Par après on donne les définitions générales de principaux facteurs de performance technique. Finalement, l’exemple numérique, élaboré à partir des résultats de l’arpentage au laser effectué par la mine Bousquet 2 dans un chantier d’abattage, donne les détails concernant les définitions ainsi que les valeurs de nombreux facteurs de performance technique, qui pourraient être utilisés, par après, par les opérateurs miniers dans le suivi de leurs exploitations souterraines."

Jan 1, 1997

By I. S. Parrish

The Sullivan Mining Group has been exploring the mineral deposits of the Mount Pleasant area of southern New Brunswick since 1967. Sullivan geologists have logged over sixty miles of drill core, mapped over five miles of underground workings and studied numerous surface exposures. Several mineralized zones have been defined and two higher-grade porphyrytungsten bodies delineated. Within these bodies, wolframite occurs as disseminated specks and grains up to one-half inch in diameter. The host rock is a brecciated rhyolite porphyry that has intruded quartz-feldspar porphyry of Mississippian age . The host rock is itself intruded by an acid porphyry called transition rock and is underlain by a microgranite. The mineralized zones, host rock, transition rock and microgranite are all thought to be derived from the same magma, and to represent progressive fractions from that magma.

Jan 1, 1978

By W. G. Worcester

IN the presentation of this paper to the Institute, three objects are in the mind of the writer: first, to set forth the close relation which, of necessity, exists between ceramics and the industrial minerals; second, to clarify the apparently hazy understanding which many have of ceramics in general; and lastly, of equal or even more importance, to stimulate a greater interest in the industrial minerals, especially in those used and required by the ceramic industries. While Canada is now producing in large quantities a fairly wide variety of the ceramic industrial minerals, there are some which are not known to occur in the Dominion. Hence it is to be desired that our geologists, prospectors, and others, while on field work, should be on the look out for commercial deposits of such minerals as diaspore, bauxite, ucts of a value in excess of $600,000,000, a figure which places ceramics as kyanite, massive topaz, and sillimanite. A find of any of these in quantity would prove of very great importance and value to the country as a whole. At this point it seems desirable to introduce formally the word ceramic or the plural of it, ceramics. In doing so it may be stated that the origin of the word dates far back in history in that it was derived in part from the Greek word Keramos, 'a potter' or 'pottery', which in turn has been traced back to an older Sanskrit root meaning 'to burn' or 'burned stuff', having reference, no doubt, to burned pottery or other clay wares; and the word was so used until near the close of the last century, when the world's first schools of ceramic engineering were established in the United States. The use of the term ceramics was then expanded to cover a much larger field the entire field of the silicate industries and products. At one time it was suggested by a limited number of ceramists that the term 'ceramic engineering' be changed to 'silicate engineering'. This proposal, however, gained little support and was soon abandoned.

Jan 1, 1945

By R. K. Netolitzky

The Weedy Lake, Tower Lake, and Wedge Lake gold deposits illustrate contrasting styles and different ages of mineralization within the same district. The discovery of these deposits was the result of systematic exploration of gold occurrences noted during research of assessment files. The Weedy Lake and Tower Lake depo its reflect a late-stage gold mineralizing event. The e deposits developed along the same major structural break, and also display simi lar mineralogy and alteration patterns. Mineralization is developed in all the lithologies present. The Wedge Lake property, while having occurrences similar to the Weedy and Tower deposits. has the more important Twin Zone which best fits a volcanogenic exhalative model. The Twin Zone has a complex structural history without a recognizable alteration halo. The setting may be proximal to a hydrothermal vent. Mineralization is hosted within a mixed ulphide/oxide/silicate facies iron formation breccia. and the gold is intimately associated with arsenopyrite. The origin and age of the brecciation is key to understanding the mineralizing event. Traditional prospecting procedures in conjunction with conventional B-horizon soil geochemistry were instrumental in the Twin Zone and Weedy lake disco,•eries. Tower Lake was a prospecting discovery partially defined by previous drill programs. This deposit was also identified by B-horizon oil sampling.

Jan 1, 1986

By A. J. Sinclair, N. Champigny

"The Cinola gold deposit in the northern Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, is in a clastic sequence consisting of a lower shale of the Late Cretaceous Haida Formation and an overlying interbedded sequence of pebble conglomerate and coarse-grained sandstone of the Middle Miocene Skonun Formation. Both formations are intruded by a stock and dykes of porphyritic rhyolite. Two K-Ar model ages indicate mineralization and probably porphyritic-rhyolite intrusion at about 14 Ma (middle Miocene). A splay of the Sandspit fault system constitutes the footwall on the west of the deposit.The Cinola deposit can be classed as Carlin-type based on features such as (1) small particle size for gold, (2) Tertiary age of mineralization, (3) element abundances (e.g. high Hg), (4) dominantly argillic alteration, (5) a structural setting associated with major faults, (6) porosity of the host rock and (7) spatial and possibly genetic association with felsic intrusions. Gold is widespread and occurs mainly as grains of< 0.5 11-m in silicified sedimentary rock, and in quartz veins. Locally, coarse > 100 11-m particles of native gold occur in quartz veins, especially in strongly brecciated porphyritic-rhyolite. Ore minerals are mainly pyrite and marcasite, but include small amounts of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, pyrrhotite, cinnabar, tiemannite (HgSe), rutile, magnetite, hematite and limonite in addition to native gold and electrum. No silver minerals have been found; silver was found in gold particles in amounts varying from 6.2 to 24.2 weight per cent. Alteration products are sericite, illite, kaolinite and chlorite, with abundant quartz of several stages.The host rocks, specifically the Skonun Formation, formed as an alluvial plain facies in a braided river system discharging into a marine basin in early Middle Miocene time. During the Middle Miocene, this sequence was intruded by a rhyolitic stock. The highly porous and permeable Miocene clastic sequence apparently provided an optimum setting for the development of a large geothermal system, the energy for which probably derived from the rhyolite stock. Mineral deposition followed a well-defined paragenesis, which, from oldest to youngest, is: (1) precipitation of iron sulphide minerals, and early quartz; (2) several stqges of quartz veins, with deposition of sphalerite succeeded by galena, chalcopyrite and visible gold. Micron-size gold was precipitated throughout these two stages of mineral deposition. Argillitization of the host rocks probably in part coincided with the mineralization and continued during cooling of the geothermal cell.In-situ reserves have been estimated at 41.1 million metric tons averaging 1.85 g Au/tonne using a cutoff grade of0.86 g Au/ tonne."

Jan 1, 1982

By William Petruk

Image analysis studies were performed on mill products from pilot-plant and laboratory tests that had been conducted to determine the effect of grinding media on the selective flotation of two zinc-lead-copper ores. It was found that, when the ores had been ground to the same degree of fineness with flint pebbles, ceramic pebbles or ore fragments (autogenous grinding) as with steel balls, there generally was increased sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena liberation in the flotation feeds, depending on the textures of the minerals. The increased sphalerite liberation fully accounted for the improved zinc recoveries that were obtained when steel balls were replaced by either pebbles or ore fragments. The increased chalcopyrite and galena liberation accounted for part of the changed technical efficiency of concentration, but other factors, probably changes in oxidation and reduction of iron and in consumption of oxygen, also contributed.

Jan 1, 1977

By Xing-Liang Sun, Xian-Min Han, Zheng-Guo Zhu

The study on the material properties of frozen soils in China was being developed quickly in the past decades of years, because of the increase of the engineering constructed in frozen soil regions on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, and numerous research results were achieved mainly about strength and deformation behaviour and constitutive models of frozen soils. Studies have shown that the deformation procedure of frozen soils is irreversible; therefore, it is more appropriate to research mechanical properties of frozen soils by means of damage mechanics theory. In this paper, an elasto-viscoplastic anisotropic damage model is presented by introduction of Perzyna viscoplastic equation into analyzing the deformation of frozen soil. In addition, an anisotropic damage evolution equation is obtained by means of extending non-viscous damage to viscous damage. Triaxial tests at different strain rates are chosen to illustrate the application of this model, and good agreement between experimental data and numerically simulated results is obtained. The calculated results indicate that, under the same conditions, the damage at higher strain rate is less than that at low one. So the phenomena are explained from damage mechanics that the frozen soil has larger elastic modulus and shear strength at higher strain rates, and explained from mechanism that the emergence and development of micro-cracks in the body of frozen soil can be to some extent retarded at higher strain rates.

Jan 1, 2015

By Frank Condon

?Location ?Background ?Drilling Program ?Mineral Resources ?Geology ?Economic Assessment ?Strategic Partner ?Located in Nunavik, Québec ?160 km northwest of Schefferville ?240 km south of Kuujjuaq ?160 km northeast of Brisay ?Magnetic Anomaly ?Property Boundary ?Diamond Drill Holes

May 1, 2011

By Xiaozhu Chen, Qi Ping, Pu Yuan, Qinyong Ma

"In order to investigate the fractal feature of coalmine deep rock fragments under impact loads, variable cross-section split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus, 50 mm in diameter, was adopted to conduct impact compressive test for rock specimens from -962m deep coalmine. Various impact pressures, such as 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2MPa, were selected to implement different loading rates. Sieving statistical analyses were conducted for rock fragments after being impacted, and the particle size distribution of broken rock in various loading rates were calculated with the fractal method and then the corresponding fractal dimension was obtained. Test results shows that there is a good self-similarity and fractal feature in fragments distribution of deep coalmine sandstone under impact loads. The fractal dimension of fragments is between 1.9 and 2.7. The research also indicates that there is an approximate power relationship between dynamic compressive strength and fractal dimension, and a strength power relationship between fractal dimension and average strain rate. Moreover, there is a linear relationship between fractal dimension and specimen absorbed energy. The rock fractured process can be quantitatively described through fractal dimension, which can reflect the deep rock broken degree and is an ideal index to evaluate the distribution of rock fragments.INTRODUCTIONBroken rock is one of the most basic processes in mining operations, rock fragmentation has always been an important index to evaluate rock breaking effect (Xu & Yu, 1984). Macroscopic fragmentation of rock material is the final results of continuous development, expansion, gathering and cutthrough of internal micro-cracks. This process, developing from microscopic damage to macroscopic fragmentation, is an energy dissipation process and shows fractal characteristics (Xie, 1993). Turcotte (1986) has conducted statistical analyses of fragmentation for different kinds of geological materials under various broken conditions, and arrived at the conclusion that fragmentation distribution is a fractal."

Jan 1, 2015

By Jacek Paraszczak

Possibility to move human workers away from dangerous places ?enhanced safety and improved working environment; ? Increase of actual operational time: ? Less losses due to shift changes, regulatory breaks, blasting periods, ventilation after blasting, etc.; ? Possibility to work in extremely dangerous conditions where man-operated machine could not be used (for example: ST-14 loader in backfilling operations in the Kemimine, following roof collapse). Reduction of the production cost through: ? Lower maintenance cost (less damage due to operator?s mistakes and no machine abuse); ? Higher productivity and effectiveness of the equipment (less machines to meet production targets, less operators required, lesser maintenance cost...). ? Although personnel health and safety are key drivers behind autonomous operation of mobile equipment in U/G mines, with significant capital and operation costs one expects to achieve: ? Productivity higher, or at least equal to that offered by man-operated equipment and systems; ? Lower production cost. Therefore, high effectiveness of the autonomous equipment is crucial to succeed.

May 1, 2010

By Charles B. Newmarch

Abstract In the course of coal studies undertaken by the B.C. Department of Mines in southeastern British Columbia, special attention was directed to problems of coal seam correlation. Methods that had been used successfully in other coalfields were found, in the Crowsnest area, to have a restricted use or furnished only additional evidence that might prove helpful when used in conjunction with other criteria. A correlation technique involving semi-quantitative spectrographic analyses of coal ashes was developed. Elements detected in the ash include Si, B, P, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Ti, Cr, Ga, Ca, Al, Ge, Ba, Mo, V, Ag, ?y;b, Na, Zn, Zr, Ni, Sr, Cu, K. Of these, the elements found to be most useful in correlation were Na, Ba, Si, V, and Mg. The element Na was invariably detected in the ash from one of the seams but was not found in samples taken from any of the others. In all of the four seams sampled statistically, significant differences in the amount of certain trace elements were noted. When the values obtained for these trace elements were portrayed in the form of histograms, the resulting diagrams had a characteristic shape for each seam. The diagrams provided a basis for seam identification within the limited area (8,000 feet by 4,000 feet) that was investigated. Introduction During the field seasons of 1946, 1947, and 1948 the British Columbia Department of Mines undertook a geological investigation of the coal measures of southeastern B.C. As field work progressed in the Crowsnest area it was found that, within the Kootenay formation, which contains all the commercial seams of the region, the coal beds are the most persistent stratigraphic units. Because of relatively rapid changes in ?both the thickness of the seams and the interval between seams, difficulty has invariably been experienced in attempts at correlation. Even short-range correlati0ns by able geologists who have worked in the Crowsnest coal basin have been questioned by the operating companies. It was apparent, therefore, that a more dependable correlation technique was needed so that stratigraphic and structural studies could be of greatest value. This paper presents, firstly, a summary of the results obtained in attempted correlations using methods that have been found effective in other coalfields. Secondly, a method based on semi-quantitative spectrographic analysis of coal ash is described and the apparently promising results are discussed.

Jan 1, 1950

By K. L. Azinger

Successful relationships between mining companies and local stakeholders are now an essential part of the social contract of “doing business” (Prescott, 1995). The methodology presented in this paper is designed to assist mining companies in understanding and building relationships with diverse stakeholder groups. The methodology starts by recognizing that mining projects have a natural life cycle which can be used to identify when new external affairs strategies are required. In designing an external affairs strategy, the first step is to set objectives that are compatible with the overall objectives of the mining project. The management team then identifies the main stakeholder groups and seeks to understand the priorities and inter-relationships of the individual stakeholders. The result of this stakeholder analysis is an understanding of the Degrees of Influence of each of the stakeholder groups along with a relationship map which illustrates the strong interactions between stakeholders. The company is then prepared to take a proactive approach to building relationships with the primary stakeholders. This methodology was developed by BHP to assist with the federal government environmental approval process for the development of Canada’s first diamond mine. BHP has successfully used the methodology in three different phases of the NWT Diamonds Project and is now applying the methodology to mining and development projects around the world.

Jan 1, 1998

By D. R. Spink

An historical background is presented to provide a basis for the lack of normally expected developmental effort over the first 20-25 years of viable zirconium production operations. This is followed by a description of developing technology, which is the result of years of research and piloting effort directed to the development of a more economical method to produce high-grade metallic zirconium. It is predicted that many of the process improvements described will have a significant impact on future zirconium production methods and consequently on future prices and markets.

Jan 1, 1977

By G. P. Contractor

Medium and low carbon steels, modified with uranium, were studied in order to evaluate the influence of uranium on forge ability, mechanical 11roperties, response to heat treatment and microstructure. Uranium contents ranged up to 0.70 per cent. The medium carbon steels are hot short if the uranium content exceeds about 0.35 per cent. More uranium can be tolerated in low carbon steels. The hot shortness is caused by the formation of intergranular phase UFe2. Critical transformation temperatures, Jominy hardenability, and resistance to tempering are not significantly affected by the 11resence of uranium. Similarly, uranium has little or no effect on the tensile properties of carbon steels. The addition of uranium has a favourable effect 11n the stress-rupture characteristics and some beneficial effect on fatigue properties. However, more results are required for verification. In the steels investigated, it seems that most of the uranium carbide combines to form complex inclusions of U (0, C, N) or (C, N), rich in oxygen or nitrogen or both.

Jan 1, 1963

By J. Keough

During industrial electrowinning of copper, uneven growth can impact current efficiency, cause short-circuits in the cell and negatively impact the final quality of the metal product. Copper electrodeposits can be made smoother by incorporating a host of additives in the electrolyte but uneven copper growth may still occur due to variations in electrolyte composition throughout the cell-house. To quantify roughness, 3D images of the surface may be combined with scaling analysis to gain further insight into the deposit structure. Moreover, scaling analysis may offer a method to predict long-term deposit structure using short-term copper deposits. In this paper, the application of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and scaling analysis are used to monitor copper growth and extract surface roughness characteristics. The cathode was a 304 stainless steel disc that was polished to a mirror finish. Copper was deposited onto this surface over a range of 10, 20 and 30 minutes from an acidic sulfate solution (40 g/L Cu) at 40oC from an electrolyte that contained or was free of guar. AFM images were acquired to obtain 3D topographical information on the samples and scaling analysis was performed to extract the root-mean-squared (rms) roughness, periodicity (grain size), aspect ratio of surface features and growth mechanism. INTRODUCTION During the process of copper electrowinning, the dissolved metal ions are reduced and thereby deposited onto a cathode substrate which is later recovered by stripping the metal from the cathode surface. Although this process is widely used in the industry, the conditions of the deposition procedure may cause the growth of the metal product to be uneven which can not only impact the current efficiency and final copper product quality but may also lead to plant interruptions through short-circuits if the anode and cathode make contact. To create more uniform copper deposits, a host of additives may be included in the electrolyte which may act as brighteners, leveling agents and inhibitors which may include guar gum, glue, thiourea or polysaccharides or polyacrylamides and their industrial use has changed over time (Moats, Luyima, & Cui, 2015). As such, the electrolyte composition is often complex and subtle variations in the solution matrix throughout the cell-house may impact the surface morphology of the final copper product. In an effort to quantify the roughness of copper samples, image analysis is often applied and may include Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) or Atomic Force Microscopy characterization. While both are appropriate, AFM offers 3-dimensional information which may be used to both qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the surface characteristics.

Jan 1, 2019

By Stephen Se

Geological assessment of active mine faces enables ore grade control, geological modelling and exploration planning. Monitoring of the mine advancement at every drill-blast-muck cycle allows for effective production management. However, geological assessments are performed infrequently due to the need to travel to active mine faces, and detailed surveys to map the mine progress are performed at the end of the month. Instant Mine Modeller (iMM) is a portable ruggedized stereo-vision system that creates photo-realistic three-dimensional models of underground mine faces on-site. The 3D models are generated automatically within minutes and can be viewed underground and annotated with geological information. The overall ore percentages of the face are calculated automatically for grade control. Annotated 3D models are located in the mine coordinate system and can be imported into mine management systems. iMM allows for daily monitoring of the mine progress and geology, and for re-visiting the mine virtually as it existed. iMM has been deployed in an underground hard rock mine for 18 months, and it effectively brings the underground work face into mine management offices enabling the right decisions at the right time. iMM has demonstrated benefits to various mine processes including grade control, geological mapping, 3D photo-realistic as-built and production volume.

Oct 1, 2009