Kitware and Newmont Guide Mining with Virtual Reality

Open-source software forwards mine expansion.

Clifton Park, NY (PRWEB) April 19, 2017--Through a combined effort, Kitware and Newmont Mining Corporation (Newmont) visualized ongoing expansion of the Tanami mine in virtual reality (VR). For the work, Kitware added functionality to ParaView, its open-source software solution for high-performance computing (HPC).

“We teamed up with Newmont geologists to not only model the existing underground development of the Tanami mine but to map planned activities in accordance with results from exploration drilling,” said Ken Martin, who led the visualization effort at Kitware. “The virtual environment in ParaView has helped geologists to investigate whether their expansion plans will allow miners to reach gold in the most effective and efficient manner.”

The Northern Territory of Australia holds the Tanami mine. To date, the mine includes around 80 miles of tunnels and reaches over 5,000 feet below the surface of the Earth. According to Newmont’s Group Executive for Resource Modeling, Marcelo Godoy, over the next two years, Newmont plans to complete approximately 76 miles of core drilling, aiming to increase estimation confidence and expand the gold reserves.

“The work we do in mining makes intense use of three-dimensional visualization of spatial data, so we have been monitoring advances in VR technology for a few years,” Godoy said. “The traditional mining software providers were too slow to include VR into their development roadmaps; therefore, we decided to partner with Kitware to bring the technology to a level where it can be effectively used for resource modeling and mine planning.”

To assist Newmont geologists, a team from Kitware added functionality that grants users control over the exact scale of the virtual world in ParaView. This functionality has encouraged Newmont geologists to easily transition from viewing the entire model of the mine to individually touring life-size tunnels and branches.

“VR provides a unique way for us to interact with our drilling data, geological models and mine plans,” Godoy said. “The ability to visualize huge amounts of data at real-world scale enhances our abilities to recognize mineralization patterns and make better design decisions.”

The Kitware team worked with Newmont to create a customized version of ParaView that enables users to virtually travel at scale-appropriate speeds. Further refinements to load and save viewpoints have allowed Newmont geologists to quickly navigate the virtual mine model. Members of Newmont demonstrated such navigation at this year’s BMO Capital Markets Annual Global Metals & Mining Conference, where they led attendees through Tanami with VR.

“It has proven to be a powerful communication tool to showcase our operations and projects to investors, analysts, reporters and Board members,” Godoy said.

The Visualization Toolkit (VTK), which provides the rendering engine for ParaView, will gain the enhanced functionality that Kitware worked with Newmont to produce in the 8.0 release cycle. For more information, please contact kitware(at)kitware(dot)com.

About Kitware

Kitware is an advanced technology, research and open-source solutions provider for research facilities, government institutions and corporations worldwide. Founded in 1998, Kitware specializes in research and development in the areas of HPC and visualization, medical imaging, computer vision, data and analytics and quality software process. Among its services, Kitware offers consulting and support for high-quality software solutions. Kitware is headquartered in Clifton Park, NY, with offices in Carrboro, NC; Santa Fe, NM; and Lyon, France. More information can be found on kitware.com.

About Newmont

Newmont is a leading gold and copper producer. The Company’s operations are primarily in the United States, Australia, Ghana, Peru and Suriname. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and was named the mining industry leader by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in 2015 and 2016. The Company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by its leading technical, environmental, social and safety performance. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925.

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