3D Ore-body Modelling

Gold Gazette, August 2002, p. 43: "SRK Consulting leaps into next generation 3D modelling techniques".

SRK Consulting, in partnership with Applied Research Associates of New Zealand (ARANZ), has been engaged in a joint venture project to bring a revolutionary 3D modelling tool to the resource market.

The marriage of SRK Consulting's expertise in exploration and mining geology and geostatistics to the mathematical and software design skills of ARANZ has resulted in the production of Leapfrog™ software. The new modelling software is able to rapidly generate meshes based on any desired cut-off values directly from point data such as assay data or rock quality data without the need for time-consuming preprocessing. Furthermore, Leapfrog allows geological knowledge to be incorporated in the automated generation of solids.

Figure 1: A laser scan is modelled with ARANZ interpolation technology, which is at the core of Leapfrog software code.

Figure 2: A slice through a typical geological model generated with Leapfrog™. This model was generated overnight, directly from composited drill-hole data, and immediately yielded information on grade continuity and structural controls on mineralization.

The Leapfrog method uses the revolutionary rapid interpolation method developed by ARANZ, which is used in the computer graphics industry. The technology has been used to help generate virtual characters in recently released movies, including The Fellowship Of The Ring.

According to Dr. Jun Cowan of SRK, Leapfrog project manager, the semi-automated rapid modelling method will revolutionise the way mine and exploration geologists will model geological data in the future, and the ultimate benefit to a mining company will be a dramatic acceleration of operational workflow.

"For example, by applying this method a typical mine may compress the timeline from data collection, through geological interpretation, to resource estimation from several months to a matter of weeks", Dr Cowan said.

Dr. Cowan points out that traditional modelling techniques has suffered from: (1) problems handing very large datasets, such as entire mine databases, consisting of both exploration and grade control information; (2) slow processing speeds, and (3) inferior automated interpolation techniques that produce wireframes that are often unrealistic when compared to the known geology, leaving creation of solids to be created manually by "joining the dots" on screen.

As a consequence, 3D modelling of solids today is still quite time consuming, and leads to models being 'static', in that they are only updated in campaigns several months or even more than a year apart. This difficulty in keeping solids continually updated, or 'evergreen', affects all aspects of downstream operations, from resource estimation to mine design and optimisation.

Dr. Cowan summarises some of the major advantages of the software as its speed, more accurate interpolation methodology as compared to conventional 3D modelling software, and its ability to accommodate geological input.

A prototype of Leapfrog software has been undergoing trials for several months with select mining companies, all trials yielding impressive results. The software is still under development, but a new service based around some of the Leapfrog technology is now available from SRK Consulting. Some results of Leapfrog modelling will be presented at the AIG sponsored Applied Structural Geology International Symposium, 23th-25th September, 2002 held in Kalgoorlie. Download PDF (about 5MB).