With the current technological era, the mining industry has seen a lot of changes in the past decade. From automating machinery to applying advanced systems for rehabilitation, the mining sector is constantly developing new ways to change the way we work and extract minerals from the earth. A big shift also occurred in the mining operations itself, allowing us to move more tonnage in a shorter period, and increase the precision of drill/blast while maintaining a steady rate of dilution. More technology implies more efficiency, which means that we can get results more quickly at a higher precision.
In underground geology, the usage of paper and pencil is no longer efficient to meet the expected efficiency. This is because it is time-consuming, and the human error risk is very high. Using a digital application that allows geologists to quickly draw ore contours and assign lithologies will allow them to save time and complete more faces in a shorted period. Not only does having a digital application provides efficiency, but it can also produce results and geologists can then make decisions instantly! On the other hand, using paper and pencil means that the geologist will exit the mine, go to an office, draw the raw data digitally, produce results, and only then will they be able to take a decision. This process can be simplified by have a digital application on a table or mobile, that is always on hand to be used whenever needed.
Face mapping digital applications can also be programmed so that whenever the device is connected to an internet connection, the raw data gets automatically uploaded to the mine server, making it available to all the operation staff instantly. In this way, other departments can access this data and start working on it, which makes this a very efficient way of communicating and saving time.
Promine’s face mapping application, available in CAD and on mobile, offers geologists the opportunity to possess a mobile app for face mapping. This app was developed specifically to give geologists user friendly tools for producing a grid, assigning lithologies and grades, drawing back maps, and generating reports. The importance of going digital has never been more important than now to meet the industry standards and to increase the efficiency throughout the whole mine life.
