volcanology community. Very few of the codes have been adapted for parallel use. It would be fantastic if there was more widespread use of HPC, but the community does not yet have the skills to take advantage of it.’
Coal in the hole Gemcom, part of Dassault Systemes, provides a range of geology and mine planning soſtware solutions, and has worked with major companies around the world. Its Minex product has been used in
Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine in South Africa’s Waterberg Coalfield, which produces 18 million tonnes of coal per year from an area of more than 740 hectares. It has been applied to model complex coal reserves in order to achieve maximum quality and production. Te amount of data generated in a mining
operation of this size is staggering. A recent geological model at Grootegeluk covered 760 boreholes. A full succession borehole holds 12 coal zones and five interburden waste seams, as well as an unweathered and a weathered overburden horizon. Tis equates to 17 different mining horizons, or benches. Each horizon has a roof, a floor, and a thickness grid, yielding a total of 81 grids in the bench structure model. Te 12 coal and coal-bearing seams are
modelled in 13 different density fractions for life-of-mine scheduling purposes, generating 1,560 quality grids for proximate analysis. ‘Our bench quality model comprises 5,696 grids and counting,’ says Caille Van Heerden, senior geologist at Grootegeluk. ‘Te complexity of the multi-seam geology and its associated quality parameters make Minex an
essential part of our modelling efforts. I do not think we would ever get a model of this magnitude out without Minex.’ One person would take three to four weeks
to create a bench structure model for the mine, according to Van Heerden. ‘When you reproduce something with the same data and methodology, the soſtware always renders the same answer,’ he says. ‘If the output is different, you know that you are either doing something wrong, or something has changed in the data or methodology. Tis high level of accuracy is especially important in view of the stringent specifications and narrow tolerances imposed by many of Grootegeluk’s clients.’ Van Heerden highlights the advantages of
the soſtware’s 3D capabilities. ‘You can utilise the graphical display to check your work as you go along,’ he continues. ‘Te results of the behind-the-scenes mathematics are displayed in the graphics window, so you always have a feel for what is happening in the modelling process.’ Tis will help the next stage, as Van
Heerden moves to a more complex seam model. ‘Te new model will have 58 seams in total, resulting from specific combinations of the 76 coal and non-coal samples,’ he explains. ‘Te sample qualities are combined to yield seam qualities. Combining different seams to form new bench scenarios will enable us to optimise production from the mine and product qualities from the plants.’ Tis optimisation will enable Grootegeluk
to expand the number of high-value products that can be extracted from the same deposit. It will also mean that more tonnes can be mined with the same equipment, thereby saving money and increasing profitability.
Modelling coal reserves using Gemcom’s Minex software
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