MINERS NEWS - National & International news from the hard rock, coal, heavy equipment, aggregates & mining industries

Software article for Miners News
July 31, 2009

By Betty Gibbs

MineStar™ FleetCommander

MineStar FleetCommander system from Caterpillar is a fully integrated mine monitoring and control solution that uses technology to improve productivity and maximize commodity value. Real-time interaction with mobile field equipment allows mine management to improve machine utilization, track material movement and monitor daily production against plan. The program has seven modules, which configured based on a mine's particular needs and experience has demonstrated that productivity can be improved. Each module can be used to improve productivity by capturing and reporting on key operational statistics.

Features include:

" Close integration with the mine model and optimization of the assignment algorithm.
" Mine controller can specify the type and quality of materials delivered to the dump, stockpile or processing plant.
" "What if" impacts of making changes to the production plan during the current shift.
" Embedded dashboard enables mine controllers in the office to view shift-based and real-time KPI and production variance information.
" Easier to read on-board display, touch screen for information input

For more information contact a Cat dealer or on the Internet: http://www.cat.com/minestarfleetcommander

Pipeline Systems - Mineral & Mining Process Control Systems

PSI is a system integrator that approaches control system equipment needs and strategy from the client, or end-user. Primary considerations for each client's needs include long-term product hardware/software support, maintainability, flexibility for growth, and integration with other process control systems and equipment. The PSI control systems integration group solves complex and/or specialized control strategies that are reliable and maintainable. The company works on process plant control, instrumentation specification and selection and material handling projects. Some of the PSI capabilities include:

" Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
" System Integration Definition and Specification
" Hardware and Software Architectural Design
" Detailed Control System Implementation
" System Control Simulation
" Operator Display Development and Implementation
" Software Implementation and Testing

For more information, visit the PSI web site at: http://www.pipesys.com/app_mining.html. See their ad in this issue in Section Page

SSG Software

SSG Geotechnical Software provides software from a variety of sources and offers programs for Borehole Logging Software, Fence Diagrams Software, Site Characterization, Slope Stability Software, Soil Analysis Software and Visualization and Graphics software. The general categories covered include Air Pollution Software, Environmental Database, Geotechnical Software, Groundwater Software, Public Domain Software, and Surface Water Software.
Major software titles include: GMS, SMS, WMS, Visual MODLFOW, Groundwater Vistas, Surfer software, Grapher, Didger, MapViewer, AQUASEA, Argus One, Bioslurp, Chempoint, Chemstat, Equis Geology, EVS, FEFLOW, Galena, gINT, HEC-HMS, HEC-1, TR20, TR55, HSPF, ISC AERMOD View, MODFLOW-SURFACT, MODRET, MINTEQA2, SoilVision, RiverMorph, Swim, SVE_3D, Vflo, any many more!
On the Web: SSG-software.com

GeologyNet.com

This Web site has a large number of links to geological information of all types and includes links to an extensive selection of commercial software as well as shareware and freeware programs. Some of the categories include:

" Data Collection/Databases
" Gemology
" Geology General
" Geophysics
" Image Analysis
" Log Plotting/Analysis " Mapping/GIS
" Mineralogy/Petrology
" Mining
" Paleontology
" Remote Sensing/Image Processing
" Structural Geology

Encom Discover

This is a desktop Geographical Information System (GIS) designed especially for the geosciences, providing the tools to effectively compile, visualize, analyze and map spatial geoscience data. The software is used with MapInfo Professional. Features include the following:

" Build geological datasets
" Produce high-quality scaled geological maps, with titleblocks, map grids, legends, structural symbols, etc
" Compile drillhole data and create cross-sections, plans and logs
" Create, filter, contour, profile, manipulate, color and analyze gridded surfaces
" Analyze and visualize geochemical data
" Rectify unprojected raster images
" Create graphs with maintained spatial links for interactive analysis
" Optionally display your GIS data in 3D (Discover 3D)

The software can also integrate with a field GIS.
Encom Discover can be obtained from RockWare. http://www.rockware.com/product/overview.php?id=279 See their ad in this issue in Section A, Page A-24 (outside back page).