User Forums

Applied Geostatistics course (August 2007)

The 6th Citation Program in Applied Geostatistics was held in the Maptek Denver office from July 9 to August 3. The accredited course combined academic knowledge of modern geostatistical tools with industry experience, focusing on mining. The course was attended by a wide range of mining professionals, from those running grade estimations to experienced users who needed a deeper knowledge of the theory and practice of geostatistics.

Instructors were Dr Clayton Deutsch, Professor and Director of the School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Alberta, and Eric Gonzalez, Regional Manager for Maptek Mexico and the Caribbean. Dr Deutsch teaches and conducts research in geostatistical methods applied to resource estimation and grade control. Eric is a Mining Engineer who has been using Vulcan software since 1996, specialising in the Geostatistics package. He completed the Geostatistics Citation in 2003.

Applied Geostatistics courses are also conducted by Maptek in Chile and Perth, Australia.

Intensive course in Mining Geostatistics (June 2007)

Maptek South America was pleased to present certificates to students on completion of the 5th Intensive Course in the Application of Mining Geostatistics. The course, which required attendance for four weeks over a two-month period, involved theoretical and practical aspects, with the objective of providing knowledge in the theory and use of modern geostatistical tools, with an emphasis on mining.

This year 19 students came from different companies throughout South America: Alessandro Medeiros Silva, Cecilia Germano Porto, Anderson Goncalves Candido, Paulo de Tarso Ferreira and Fernando Rosa Guimaraes from AngloGold, Brazil; Viviana Scavuzzo, Cerro Vanguardia, Argentina; Jorge Artal, Antofagasta Minerals, Chile; Fernando Saez, Xstrata Tintaya, Perú; Carlos Medrano, Poderosa, Perú; Leonardo Hiram, Serra Grande, Brazil; Emerson Ricardo, Yamana, Brazil; Yuan Tay, Collahuasi, Chile; Jose Bertini, Golder, Chile; Carolina Vasquez, Chile; Antonio Magri, Chile; Fernando Didona, Cerro Colorado, Chile; John Estaño, Xstrata Copper, Perú; Giovanny Ortiz, Angostura Project, Colombia; and Marcelo Tapia, Cerro Colorado, Chile.

Presenters Dr Clayton Deutsch, University of Alberta and Dr Eduardo Magri, University of Chile, with course graduates

Users Conference (September 2006)

Brazil’s IV Vulcan Users Conference was held at Ouro Preto, Minais Gerais from August 16 to 18. The 32 attendees included clients and Maptek staff from Brazil, Denver and Chile.

General opinion was that the conference furthered the knowledge of many Vulcan geology and mine planning options. Presentation of the new Version 7 features reinforced Vulcan’s position as a leading product in mining software packages.

Attendees at Brazil Users Conference click on image to enlarge

Geostatistics training (September 2006)

Claudia Monreal from Maptek Chile conducted an intensive two week internal training course in Perth to Maptek’s Australian geology team. Participants from Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth were taught the theories behind geostatistical methods, which were reinforced using practical examples from real operations.

Course content included: variography; simple, ordinary and indicator kriging; and simulation. Following on from this training, Maptek will be offering customer training courses in the application of geostatistics in Vulcan, which can be accessed by contacting your local Maptek office.

L-R: Stephen Gouldstone, Chris Grove, Anthony Bottrill, Steve Sullivan, Claudia Monreal, Mark Gabbitus, Richard Jackson, Julian Cosson, Toby Prior
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Vulcan users from across the world gather in Cancún and Reno

Maptek held the 1st International Vulcan Users’ Conference in Cancún, Mexico from September 7-9, 2005, presenting the new advances in Vulcan, Chronos, I-Site and MineSuite. With the new regional office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean opening in Cancún, the conference provided the perfect opportunity to highlight the presence of Maptek in the region.

The conference focused mainly on technical works presented not only by Maptek personnel from different South American offices, but also by many Vulcan users from various mines.

The main theme of the conference was the use of Conditional Simulation, a highly powerful tool to measure uncertainty in geological resources and mine plans. Emphasis was placed on highlighting real applications of the software, presenting practical examples.

The conference was attended by an impressive number of clients, including: BHP Billiton (Minera Escondida Ltda, Cía. Minera Cerro Colorado, Minera Spence SA), Falconbridge, Minera Los Pelambres, Minera Michilla SA, Cía. Minera Zaldivar, Minera El Tesoro, Cía. Minera Mantos de Oro, SRK Consultores, Guíñez Consultores, and Mineral Tech Denver. Representatives from Compañía Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), Brasil, Grupo Mexicano Peñoles and the University of Alberta, Canada, also attended. Maptek personnel included Barry Henderson, CEO of Maptek America and Europe and Peter Odins, Maptek Product Analyst based in Sydney.

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The large number of papers presented by participating clients demonstrated the high level of expertise in the use of our software in their daily activities. This reinforces our commitment to provide our clients with a useful tool to assist in their tasks, and the feedback continues to drive our development path.At the conclusion of the conference, all the attendees agreed that a highlight was the usefulness of seeing new solutions offered by Maptek.

‘We have been using the Vulcan tools since the start of our project’, said Miguel Walker, from Minera Los Pelambres, adding that the mine ‘is no place to operate with a solution that is far from optimal’.
Likewise, he highlighted the speed that is offered by Chronos tools, ‘Nowadays, we can evaluate within a few hours what an engineer would take months to complete using traditional methods’.

Raúl Roco from Minera Escondida Ltda maintained that the presentations were particularly positive, ‘because many papers were presented showing the advances in my area of interest, which is in resource evaluation. Especially in the area of conditional simulation, the modern tools to evaluate resources’. He also confirmed that participation in the event was very useful from the point of view of meeting colleagues from other mining operations, who are confronted with other realities, to be able to share with them in order to understand their difficulties and how they are resolved. ‘In this sense, it is an excellent opportunity’, he concluded.

Carlos Pinto, from Minera Michilla SA, arrived at a similar conclusion, emphasising the profound knowledge of the diverse expositors in each of their areas of expertise. ‘The best part of this experience was gaining valuable ideas to take away. It is a pleasure to see colleagues being willing to admit their weaknesses and strengths, and share how Maptek has helped them’. ‘I am convinced that technology is one thing, but if it is not applied and the spirit of innovation is not generated in the engineers, it will never develop beyond what it is.’

Barry Henderson, CEO of America and Europe, and Marcelo Arancibia, Senior Vice-President of Maptek South America, congratulated participants on the high level of expertise shown in the diverse presentations. Finally, an invitation was delivered to all present to attend the next Vulcan Users’ Conference to be held in September 2006 in Viña del Mar, Chile.

In October, clients from across North America and Australia attended the 8th North American Vulcan Users Conference in Reno, Nevada.

The three-day event was divided into Engineering, Technology and Geology components with presentations from clients and Maptek personnel. Topics ranged from Pit Optimization and Risk Analysis Planning to Geostatistical Simulation.

An Open Forum allowed clients to voice concerns, ask questions, and make suggestions about Maptek products and services. The I-Site 4400 and MineSuite’s portable tablet computer hardware were demonstrated and on display each day, generating plenty of interest.

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A skills competition allowed clients to show off their Vulcan expertise. The final play-off between Grant Adams (Thiess, Qld, Australia) and Dustin Fisher (BHP Billiton, New Mexico, USA) was a timed event projected live onto the screen. Dustin is now the proud owner of the Vulcan Champion plaque.

A total of 75 clients and Maptek staff attended the conference bringing together a myriad of experience, ideas, and networking opportunities. Attendees at the conference included staff from three universities, as well as 20 companies, including Stillwater Mining, Barrick, Placer Dome, Newmont, Rio Tinto, Peabody Energy, P&M Coal, Albian Sands, and Thiess Pty Ltd.

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Round Mountain Gold Corp’s senior geologist, Keith Fowlow, commented that ‘the talks were very interesting and useful to me, especially the block modeling. The talks on I-Site were useful [as we think] this technology could greatly improve our pit mapping and slope stability’.

Karl Hackett, Maptek’s Business Manager in Denver, added, ‘From a vendor-standpoint the open forum was very useful. Clients were encouraged to provide suggestions, make comments about Maptek’s products and services, and to ask technical questions live to the group. This feedback is used to help drive development direction and to improve our products.’

Surveys completed by conference attendees offered feedback about the format, timing, and content of the conference. The tentative date and location for the next North American Users’ Conference is Calgary, Alberta in the spring of 2007.

Pictures from the North American User's Conference 2005 (click to enlarge)

We are pleased to announce that the 2005 North American User's Conference CDs are now available for US$99. Abstracts [85KB pdf]

Email info@maptek.com to order your copy.