Author: Andrey A. Krivchenko Chief Geologist of JSC ” Kostanay Minerals”
The development of new technologies, accelerated by the coronavirus shock, has shown how necessary remote work tools can be for professionals in various industries, including mining.
In particular, for many geologists, the” stumbling block ” was not only the impossibility of remote quality control of raw materials, but also the general operational management of production processes. This is especially true for users of various software that was not ready for the challenges of 2020.
The way out of this situation was made possible thanks to K-MINE and its effective algorithms for collecting, protecting, analyzing and visualizing data, as well as predicting cost-effective solutions at the enterprise of Kostanay Minerals JSC.
Kostanay Minerals JSC is a mining company specializing in the extraction of chrysotile asbestos and the production of chrysotile fiber. The company is a leading global producer and exporter of chrysotile asbestos, one of the most important elements used in the global industry.
The company has implemented an automated mining management system K-MINE, in particular, K-MINE: Geology. The geological software module has all the necessary functions for remote field management, such as tools for studying the geological and structural features of ore bodies, estimating reserves and resources of deposits, forecasting indicators for short-term mining planning, and much more. Setting up remote work of users with the differentiation of their rights can be easily done by the user enterprise itself.
In particular, the possibilities of three-dimensional frame and block modeling, the creation of geological and industrial models of deposits, the use of statistical and variogram analysis data, as well as mining testing data are relevant. Considering the entire K-MINE software environment, it is worth noting that the introduction of software is possible at any stage of field development.
The geological software package has a very convenient interface for creating or importing/exporting databases. As well as a lot of settings for internal relationships between tables, thanks to the use of a relational database type. To process information in databases, special triggers are used, which allow geologists to perform filtering, calculations of grades and technological grades according to specified technical conditions for products or parameters of conditions for delineating bodies, check logical conditions, etc. without using SQL queries.
K-MINE allows you to perform automatic construction of combined geological and surveying sections, which simultaneously contain geological information combined with the current and project position of mining operations. For maximum convenience, vertical and horizontal scales are automatically formed, the legend and data on the coordinates of the wellheads and the distances between them are displayed, the content of useful components and counting blocks is visualized, as well as all the necessary additional special designations.
Block modeling of deposits, which is appreciated by geologists of enterprises, allows you to perform all stages of work on the assessment of reserves and resources. This includes the creation of models, the allocation of domains, geostatistical studies, the assessment of the quality and quantity of minerals, as well as the optimization of the boundaries of mining taking into account technical and economic calculations.
The use of a 3D model of the field allows you to increase the speed of data processing and the reliability of correlation and interpolation of indicators, as well as significantly simplify the formation of current graphical reports and settlement operations when conducting operational accounting of the movement of the balance of reserves. At the same time, you can configure shared access with the differentiation of user rights, as well as remote work and management of the model.
Our management appreciates the possibility of virtual modeling of the development of the field development situation according to the “if, then” scenario using a resource model. This provides unique opportunities for assessing the risk of investment in the development of the field (or its sections), as well as for conducting a feasibility study of the development parameters, which ultimately allows you to make informed management decisions.
K-MINE also has a powerful built-in tools for preparing documentation for printing, which allows you to create complex reports, including graphic, text and tabular materials, taking into account the required design elements.
Our company keeps up with the times and takes into account the needs of geologists. We understand the urgency of digitalization and operational management of production during the pandemic, when the role of flexibility of work support and remote control is more important than ever.
Currently, the formation block model is being tested, which includes blocks with different sizes along the axes, with the possibility of sublocking and taking into account plicative and disjunctive tectonics. Optimization of the computational algorithms provided the creation of a block model directly from the database without building wireframes, as well as the creation of detailed block models without limiting the maximum possible number of blocks.
The software package is adapted to both open and underground mining methods, and the multilingual interface allows you to use technical and technological solutions for all the world’s mining enterprises. In particular, the software package is adapted to the conditions of post-Soviet users, unlike other analogues. This makes K-MINE a software leader for both geologists and other technical professionals.
Updating and adapting the functionality to the customer’s conditions of the geological software package allows you to organize effective remote work of the company’s geologists from anywhere in the world in conditions of forced distance around the world. The ability to work remotely is especially relevant during lockdowns, as it will help to reduce costs and avoid time losses.
The pandemic is changing the technological landscape, attitudes, and habits of all of us. The current crisis has many unusual features, but the path out of it is already being traced. Today, our customers are increasingly switching to remote work, carrying out:
• – remote workflow management
• – digital twin simulation of operational geological support of mining operations
• – assessment of reserves and resources, maintenance of databases of geological testing, geological reporting
• – multi-variant implementation of technical and economic calculations of the feasibility of field development
* – justification of the most effective option of working out
Thus, using the K-MINE software adapted to remote work, you can get the maximum economic effect from its implementation.
Today, the K-MINE software package is a communication tool for our company’s specialists and is one of the most important components on the way to extensive digitalization, gradually bringing us closer to the future, which was previously only an inaccessible flight of imagination.
