RR. Infrastructure Module
- iarmstrong
Infrastructure sites have previously had little to no consideration in mine planning; however, their impact on an operation can be considerable. Micromine Alastri has developed an Infrastructure module that works with Rapid Reserver and ATS/APS to help engineers account for these areas in their schedules. Some critical infrastructure areas that can be model include heritage, environmental and bores. There are multiple benefits to the module, which are summarised below.
Automatic Work Flow
The whole module can be set up to be populated automatically through a custom-developed set of scripts. Getting the software to extract and process the data from large files automatically eliminates any potential for human error, which can be costly. When automating the process, minimal to no additional work is required from engineers when using the module.
Approval Dates / Prohibited Areas
Material impacted by Infrastructure sites can be set up to have approval dates or set up to be entirely prohibited. This data flows into ATS, where it can be used as an input into the mine plan. Material affected by approval dates will only be released into the scheduling inventory once the approval date has elapsed. Material flagged as prohibited will not be allowed to be mined. This functionality greatly increases mine plan accuracy and reduces the risk of mining in close proximity to infrastructure sites.
Reporting
Several valuable reporting fields inside ATS are available to engineers, which help identify and report risks associated with the mine plan.
Intuitive & Visually Rich
The module encompasses an intuitive workflow that can be further simplified by using scripts to automate. Infrastructure data is displayed visually to users, which increases the ease of use and allows for easy data validation.
Custom Properties
Infrastructure sites can be tagged with custom properties that can be referenced downstream in the scheduling process. E.g., Sites sensitive to ground disturbance can be tagged with their Peak Particle Velocity (PPV). It is then possible to reference this value in ATS and alert engineers of blasts that exceed this.
Bore Tracking
When bores are modelled, spatial data related to bores flows through into the scheduling engine. With this information, it is possible to adjust dig rates and create reports that contain information on the removal/reinstallment events that occurred during the bench progression.
Cone Slice Positioning
There is an option called Cone Slice Positioning on the Settings page of Rapid Reserver. This is normally set to Top, but it has a Bottom option as well.
Due to how prohibitively expensive it is to do surface-surface intersections, our solution is to provide users with the ability to pick the optimistic option for slicing by cones (i.e. Top option, or slicing each bench solid by a silhouette generated by the intersection of the cone with the top of the bench) or the conservative option (i.e. Bottom option, slicing each bench solid by a silhouette generated by the intersection of the cone with the bottom of the bench).
The net result is the optimistic option may result in the infrastructure construction line being a touch too close to the infrastructure item in question at points below the bench top RL. The conservative option guarantees that no construction line will ever be close enough to the infrastructure item. However, the conservative option may also result in some material being considered too close but is technically mineable.