Augment Technologies’ aim of minimising ore loss and dilution by accurately accounting for blast movement continues to find favour, with the Western Australian-based company having recorded some big contract wins in the last four months.
In February, Hexagon announced it was partnering with Augment to create a blast movement solution that enables mines to unlock significant value. This would see the two parties harness a blend of block model data, artificial intelligence (AI), bespoke movement models and measured 3D movement data within their own platforms to create a unified solution. In practice, it would see the Hexagon MinePlan Block Model Manager paired with Augment’s offering, which leverages a physics engine powered by an AI algorithm to create a Muckpile Block Model™ that is continuously improved through a machine-learning process.
The Muckpile Block Model uses vast amounts of blasting data to ensure the controlling parameters and simulated physics within the model are as accurate as possible, resulting in a bespoke solution for each customer, Augment says.
Some four months after announcing this tie-up, Augment has recorded several major wins tied to its Muckpile Block Model offering as well as its OMP platform – a blast movement solution that uses a physics engine and machine learning to quickly transform the grade control block model into an accurate Muckpile Block Model within a few minutes of a blast.
In Canada, the company has notched up two contracts – one with Agnico Eagle Mines’ Meliadine gold operation and another with Centerra Gold’s Mount Milligan copper-gold mine.
At Meliadine, the company deployed OMP into Datamine’s Studio RM solution, as well as integrated Muckpile Block Models into Ore Controller (also Datamine). This led to, the company says, automatic dilution statistics on blasting, designing material types that maximise the tonnage of ore in the operation’s high-grade category, and being able to have independent block models for each mark out.
At Mount Milligan, the company recently celebrated the first deployment of Blast Movement Intelligence, HxGN’s solution that is built upon OMP’s API. This is seeing surveys taken using a LiDAR mounted to an F350 light utility vehicle at the open-pit mine.
In Africa at the AngloGold Ashanti majority-owned Geita gold mine, Augment has also deployed OMP into Studio RM, while integrating the Muckpile Block Models into Ore Controller. “We provided extensive training to teach all production geologists the new procedures relating to Muckpile Block Model,” the company told IM.
Augment has also deployed OMP across First Quantum Minerals’ global operations. “We have now installed the solution at all of FQM’s surface operations, with OMP becoming the standard blast movement analysis tool across its open-cut mines,” the company says.
Closer to home in Queensland, Augment deployed OMP into Studio RM at the Ravenswood gold mine with the aim to reduce safety issues from walking on muckpiles and improving the modelling of blast movements.
