Esan Advances Mining Efficiency with ArcGIS Enterprise

Eczacıbaşı Group’s natural resources company, Esan, is a leading producer and exporter of industrial and metallic minerals in Turkey. It exports to over 45 countries annually, accounting for 52 percent of Turkey’s lead exports and 9 percent of its zinc exports. Founded in 1978 to supply the ceramics industry with top-quality raw materials, Esan has since grown to become a key player in both the domestic and global market.

With its broad product range and robust export network, the company maintains its leadership position in the industry. Esan operates with a sustainable mining approach, prioritizing environmental and social responsibilities. 

Esan conducts mining exploration operations under challenging conditions across a vast geography. To enhance the efficiency of its operations and accelerate decision-making processes, Esan turned to geographic information system (GIS) technology.

The varied formats and dispersed nature of geographic, geological, and geochemical data collected in the field made it challenging to centralize this information and maintain an institutional memory. These difficulties in accessing information quickly led Esan to adopt Esri’s innovative ArcGIS technologies.
 

Using ArcGIS Enterprise, Esan staff centralized access to all exploration data, managing it securely on local servers and enhancing the effectiveness of its analyses. This solution enabled streamlined data management, secure storage, and immediate access for all teams. By digitizing manual processes in the field, operational efficiency was significantly improved.

Staff also used ArcGIS Pro for advanced spatial analysis and visualization of field data, helping Esan decision-makers plan exploration activities more strategically. This software contributed to analyses and allowed seamless sharing of operations across teams via ArcGIS Enterprise. Esan’s field teams could collect data offline, synchronize it later, and instantly access previously gathered data in the field.

Prior challenges field geologists faced in collecting terrain data were largely resolved with ArcGIS Field Maps. This application replaced paper maps with digital data recording, making it easier for geologists to plan transportation routes and identify alternative paths. With web-based maps and GPS capabilities, the app ensured safe field operations and enabled more accurate decision-making.

Additionally, ArcGIS Survey123 was crucial in digitizing occupational health and safety (OHS) inspection forms. This application ensured that OHS inspections were conducted quickly and thoroughly, enhancing the safety of field operations.
 

By implementing ArcGIS technologies, Esan achieved significant improvements in its mining exploration processes. Previously scattered and hard-to-access data has become easily manageable on a single platform. This not only preserves institutional memory more effectively but also allows for rapid analysis of data from the field.

• Data Integrity and Quality: The quality and reliability of field data improved. Consolidating all data on a single platform for analysis accelerated decision-making processes and enhanced their accuracy.
• Collaboration and Team Efficiency: Interactive maps and data sharing significantly enhanced collaboration among teams. Data visualization and simplified access ensured that all teams remained aligned, resulting in faster and more efficient decision-making processes.

Esri technologies provided substantial benefits to Esan, such as significant savings in time and costs, faster decision-making during exploration activities, and improved operational efficiency. These solutions have also bolstered Esan’s competitive advantage in the industry.