CAD a handy design tool

When visiting mining operations and mineral exploration offices in North America, one is often struck with the high level of automation of the tasks performed by the draftperson, geologist and mining engineer.

Not long ago, massive teams of drafting technicians under the supervision of numerous geological and mining professionals were needed to manually handle large amounts of information and perform the fundamental tasks of geological interpretation, reserve estimation and mine design. At the heart of this automation trend is the emergence of a powerful graphic driven tool: computer assisted design (CAD). Success stories on the implementation of CAD approaches are told at many mine sites and exploration offices and this is supplemented by an increasing number of positive case histories either published or presented at technical meetings. Among CAD software packages available in the marketplace, AutoCAD (a registered trademark) has been favored by many exploration and mining organizations. Early versions of AutoCAD were limited to the creation and management of drawings, that is, two-dimensional representations of data. Subsequent releases of AutoCAD incorporated three-dimensional capabilities, in particular the ability to program and tailor the process of three-dimensional modelling as it pertains to specific orebodies or unique needs of an organization.

These three-dimensional features allowed a rapid expansion of AutoCAD’s use for reserve modelling and mine planning and as a result many mining organizations recognize that AutoCAD is the fulcrum for automating their geological and mining departments.

The accelerated pace at which CAD technology is being introduced in our industry necessitates ongoing development and skill training for many technicians and professionals.

Several recent initiatives have been undertaken by industry members to provide a more effective means of communication among users of CAD technology. These initiatives include the publication of a comprehensive series of standard symbols by the Northeastern AutoCAD User’s Group and endorsed by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. From an article prepared by Normand Champigny, senior consultant with Coopers & Lybrand’s National Mining Practice, and William Pearson, president of the consulting firm Pearson & Hofman Associates Ltd.

Last December, a meeting sponsored by Autodesk Inc. was organized in Toronto to discuss the formation of a mining AutoCAD user group. The proposed group would be an ideal forum for sharing ideas, experiences and development resources and provide collective direction to vendors.

A paramount consideration related to the use of CAD throughout industry is a standardized format for CAD file exchange. Most CAD users would agree that DXF formats are not standardized for data interchange. In Australia, mining companies have funded through the Australian Mineral Industry Research Association a research project to develop and promulgate data interchange standards.

Initially, this Australian standard project will not embrace CAD-type data but may do so in the future. In Canada, authors of this article are involved in launching a similar standard project. The industry’s quest for standards could benefit from efforts to develop standards in other industries; for example, the U.S. petroleum industry plans to produce CAD standards for information transfer, data structure and symbols.

Also of importance is the integration of CAD technologies with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS allows management and complex manipulations of a wide range of information types and is being adopted by mines ministries in most of the leading mineral producing provinces. Compatibility of CAD and GIS technologies within industry and government will be essential for improving access to Canada’s wealth of mineral resource data.