Advances in 3D Spatial Technologies for Mining Applications

April 2012

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About Maptek

• An Australian technology company, founded in 1981

• Specialist in application of 3D computer graphics technology to geology and mining

• 31 years of consistent delivery – Reliability, Strength, Experience

• Culture of innovation and delivery drives technical outcomes for customers

• 13 offices worldwide with 300+ employees (170 in Australia)

• Over 65% in technical roles for product development, R&D or customer technical services

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Our Solution Areas

Vulcan 3D Software

• Geological resource modelling and analysis

• Stratigraphic and metalliferrous deposits

• Mine planning and optimisation

• Open Cut and underground

• Day to day mine operations technical tools

• blast design, survey, grade control, road

design, stockpile design, reconciliation etc

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Our Solution Areas

I-Site Laser Scanning System

• Very high speed surveying instrument

• 9,000 unique measurements per second at

ranges up to 2km and precision <20mm

• Software to exploit the data

• Huge quantities of data holding a lot of value,

but that value is not easily extracted without the

right tools

• Fast, Safe and Accurate spatial data

collection

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Our Solution Areas

BlastLogic

• Quality Management System for Drill and Blast

• Critical and expensive stage for all mining

operations

• An “Expert” System

• Drill and Blast roles are often given to new

graduates

• Historic performance data can improve results

• 3D interaction with design to allow accurate

execution, evaluation and reporting

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Who uses Maptek products?

• The global market leader in two segments with two

established products

• Over 1250 sites with more than 6000 Vulcan licenses

in 60 countries

• Over 250 I-Site Laser Scanners delivered to mines

around the world

• Always working on new things, and trying new ideas

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How we got here…

• Drillhole plotting, visualisation and analysis of geology

• A spatial problem solved using statistical, geological and

economic modelling

• In 1981 computers were expensive and no one had

ever heard of buying software – a new business is

born

• Value of computers to process and analyse geological

data soon obvious to early adopters

• Maptek invested heavily in designing and writing

software with the sole aim of providing a solution to

geologists.

Interdata 7/32

Mini-Computer

Calcomp

960 plotter

IBM 5080 Graphics

Terminal

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Escondida - 1985

The worlds first 3D electronic display of an orebody – Utah International, San Francisco

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Vulcan Grows

• In the mid 80’s Silicon Graphics UNIX Workstations made

access to the computing power easier, at a low $200,000

each.

• The SG Personal IRIS computer made mass penetration

possible at just $50,000 a piece!

• Maptek established offices where our customers were, and

put good programmers in them to serve the requirements of

the customers. A huge amount of software was written.

• By the mid 90’s, PC’s were doing the work of graphics

workstations for a fraction of the cost.

• Maptek had proven the value of the capability, and had a

vast range of quality software solutions available.

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Mining investment as % of GDP (Aust. Bureau of Statistics)

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Vulcan Today

• Geological modelling and Mine

Planning tool used and preferred by

the vast majority of the world’s miners

• Still driven by same philosophy –

work with customers to understand

the problems, then solve them using

technology to add value to the

process

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Old Dog, New Trick

• During the late 90’s Maptek completed a number of projects for DSTO, exposing us to

the possibilities of new Laser technology

• Laser Scanning allows very fast collection of “range images” – dense 3D point clouds

representing distant surfaces

• A few challenges

• No sensor instrument existed for use in the manner we wanted to apply it

• We were a software company with no capability to build electro-optical instruments

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Opportunity

• It soon became obvious that a dedicated solution for the mining industry was required

• Surveying

• Colour imagery

• Safety and usability

• Supply

• In 1999 - 2000, Maptek defined an R&D program to build a commercial laser scanner

for mine surveyors

• AusIndustry START Grant R&D funding was sought and awarded, and the project

began at the end of 2000

• Collaborative support from ‘friendly’ industries (defence, automotive)

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• New Team + New Ideas = New Capabilities

• Mechanical

• Electronic

• Optical

• Manufacturing

Build a Laser Scanner to solve

the problems of Mine Surveyors

Risk

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Time of Flight Distance Measurement

r = c xT/2

• Required measurement precision of 10mm = timing precision of ~30pS

• Laser Pulse frequency 20kHz, pulse duration 9nS (almost 3m)

• Round trip at 500m range takes ~3.3mS, leaving about 46mS for each

measurement to be processed

Laser, detector

and clock

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Single Axis Scanning

Motor and angle

encoder

Laser, detector

and clock

Mirror

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Single Axis Scanning

Motor and angle

encoder

Laser, detector

and clock

Rotate at

~10Hz

(r, Q)

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Single Axis Scanning

Motor and angle

encoder

Laser, detector

and clock

Rotate at

~10Hz

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Single Axis Scanning

Motor and angle

encoder

Laser, detector

and clock

Rotate at

~10Hz

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Single Axis Scanning

Motor and angle

encoder

Laser, detector

and clock

Rotate at

~10Hz

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Single Axis Scanning

Motor and angle

encoder

Laser, detector

and clock

Rotate at

~10Hz

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Dual Axis Scanning

Step motor and

angle encoder

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Dual Axis Scanning

(r, Q,f) (x, y, z)

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Dual Axis Scanning

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A Laser Scan

Click image to

view video

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• Added features for alignment with geomatic

coordinate system (6 DOF control)

• Survey telescope, tilt sensors

• Added high quality, automated, colour digital

texture rendering

• Created 3D analysis and modelling software

to take advantage of the HUGE quantities of

data

• Leveraging Maptek’s core capability

• Made introduction of a new technology easy to

accept for users - it worked, and it was easy to

use

A Solution

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I-Site 4400-LR scanner

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NOW WE HAD TO

PRODUCE AND

SELL THEM!

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• Very Difficult beginnings in 2004

• Low manufacturing volume, new facility

and tooling, lack of experience with

product and process – quality impacted

• Excellent people and a dedication to

customer satisfaction bought success and

growth

• Further investment from 2008 to ‘get serious’

• Tooling and facilities for higher volume

• People with correct skills and experience

• IIFSA Grant funding from SA Govt for tooling

Manufacturing

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• Outsource electronics, optics, metal and

plastics fabrication and machining

• We benefit from a community of technical

capability in SA, but costs to compete

globally are under pressure

• Assembly, component and system test,

calibration, service and packaging in

house

• Focus on quality and service – the best

product in the world is no good if it does

not work

Manufacturing

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Case Study: San Jose Mine Rescue 2010

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• 33 miners trapped deep underground in Chile

• All men rescued alive after 69 days – exceeding the

longest previous underground survival by weeks

• Local Chilean expertise combined with a global

technology effort made the rescue possible

• 1 billion people watched the news grabs on TV

• This is how it was done

August 5 to October 13, 2010

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The first few days

• Day 3 sees a second collapse when equipment is used

underground to try and clear a ventilation shaft.

• Attention moves to a surface rescue thereafter, as the

entire mine is deemed too dangerous.

• Known pathways to probable locations are thereby lost.

• The rescue problem becomes one of spatial location and

hitting targets with deep “exploration style” drilling.

• …and a firm test of faith that people are still alive

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Maptek contacted on day 6

• Make accurate 3D models from the complex existing plans

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Day 7

Maptek sends an expert Vulcan

user to site to project existing

2D maps to accurate 3D

locations and depths, and

created the underground model

Confidence in existing survey

and maps was unknown at this

stage

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Day 8

• Maptek surveyor and I-Site

8800 Laser Scanner Expert

attends the site to create

above ground detailed

topographic survey and

model

• Site infrastructure

visualisation, context and

positioning

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Day 9

The first complete 3D model of the entire situation

Click image to

view video

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Esperanza Hole

• Chosen to intercept the drive just outside the refuge

• Launched from the far pad by the team from

Terraservice, who came down from Escondida to help

• Schramm T685WS truck mounted drill rig

• Exploration drill

• Fast – 70m/day, 5.5” bore

• Compressed air driven hammer using reverse circulation to clear

the cuttings

• Carefully surveyed and visualised every step of the way

• Every 100m the bit and rods were removed and the hole was

resurveyed

• Downhole wire measurement + gyro were used

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Day 14

• Maptek sends a geologist

to join the rescue effort.

She worked planning and

mapping ‘exploration’ style

holes

• Worked with Escondida exploration miners and Terraservice

drilling team on completing the Esperanza Hole

• A further 2 holes were also deviated and advanced using

the same techniques

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Day 17 – a miracle

• Drill was stopped at depth when pneumatic pressure

dropped – indicating the bit was in a void.

• Drill was at correct depth as calculated and all machinery

powered off to listen.

• Hammer blows were heard on the drill rods… someone

was alive there and was hitting the drill bit with a hammer!

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• “The 33 of us are good in the shelter”

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Success

• Second hole breaks through on Day 18, and third on day 19. These

were for supply, communication etc.

• The miners were now communicating with the drill team and were

assisting with earth moving, survey and measurement.

• Planned hole separation was 1.5m, actual result measured was 1.12m,

at 700m depth.

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Day 26 – Rescue plan A starts

• Strata 950 drill (Australian)

• New hole – 90 dip – straight down to refuge

• ETA – Christmas

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Day 31- Rescue Plan B starts

• Schramm T130XD (US) owned by GeoTec Boyles

• Bore “La mano de Dios” to 300mm

• Then bore again to 710mm

• Custom bit required

• Center Rock (US)

• 2 months faster

• Lower spatial risk

• Miner involvement crucial

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FENIX capsule

• Provided by Chilean Navy

• Requires 710mm bore, cased

for top 54m downhole

• Approximately 10 minute one

way trip, one person at a time

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Luis Urzua

• Shift supervisor on the morning of August 6

• Credited with leading and organising the men throughout

the ordeal

• Mapped the Plan B rescue chamber with a team of 3 to

assist the drill team on the surface with targeting

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