Operations

Pipelines, electric lines, roads, ramps, and other mining facilities change frequently. Engineers and operations staff use GIS for facility planning applications. Keeping track of existing infrastructure and integrating it with the mine plan and block models can be achieved with GIS. GIS can also be used to integrate recent survey data with block models or mine design data from other mining software packages such as TECHBASE®, Vulcan, MineSight®, SURPAC2000™, or Mining Visualization System (MVS).

Often, items positioned along linear features, such as a pipeline and boreholes, are referenced by station numbers or measured lengths. A high-end GIS can create special features that can be referenced by this stationing.

Live GPS is becoming commonplace for monitoring and dispatching haul trucks or drills and for providing grade control on shovels. This data can also be tied to a GIS to monitor the location of all equipment in real time.

GIS in Action

• Building Business Continuity Plans—ArcUser, April 2005
• GIS-Based Solutions Power Fleet Management—GeoWorld.com, September 2003