Mining software solutions and services company Micromine reinvests a significant percentage of its profits from yearly licence renewal fees and software sales for research and development (R&D) projects, Micromine customer services manager for Africa Craig Peek tells Mining Weekly.

This level of investment highlights the importance Micromine places on enhancing its current software programs and also the development of new packages and modules, which it releases every 12 to 18 months.

Micromine’s solutions have been recognised and rewarded by the Australian Government who has awarded the company with three research grants totalling A$11-million, one of which was the largest to be awarded to a mining software company, adds Peek.

R&D is conducted by a team of 19 Micromine developers at its branches in China and Kazakhstan and in Perth, Australia, he explains.

Micromine provides its clients with Beta versions of the different software programs it is developing and improvements are made to the programmes throughout the year using feedback from the clients, Peek notes.

He adds that the Beta version runs parallel to the existing software to enable customers to identify new enhancements and highlight problem areas, which enable the software developers to make the necessary changes.

“Clients also inform Micromine of functions that they expect from the software. Micromine will then prioritise the recommendations and start development,” he says.

Peek notes that Micromine uses the knowledge and expertise of its own geologists and mining engineers when developing the software.

Further, the company provides consulting services for its clients, such as producing resource estimates and mine planning, he adds.

Micromine 2013 was released wordwide in June this year and 1500 adjustments were made over an 18-month period. Two new modules for the Micromine software package – stratographic modelling and implicit modelling – were launched in June, Peek notes.

Stratographic modelling quantifies and grades stratified deposits such as nickel laterite, tin, phosphate, bauxite, iron ore and platinum. Its modelling workflow produces a seam block model, which represents geological layers and their attributes.

The module includes intuitive and visual stratographic summary tools that define and understand the relationships between geological layers prior to modeling. The sophisticated geological layer interpolation options handle changes in thickness, such as unconformities caused by crustal deformation, erosion or sea-level variations, to produce the best possible three-dimensional (3D) representation of the deposit. Traditional and geostatistical grade interpolators provide the attribute information of the stratified deposits.

Implicit modelling uses radial basis functions to model grade shells, lithology boundaries, faults or surfaces, providing an analysis of orebody grades and a 3D model of the orebody. The module is used for advanced exploration, geological modelling and resource estimation.

The newest version of the company’s software is available to users who renew their yearly licence with Micromine, he notes.

Peek notes there is a gap in the mining market for graduates skilled in using software such as Micromine. “Students studying geology or metallurgical and minerals engineering do not have the skills to use software such as Micromine. To address this issue and as part of Micromine’s educational development programme, the company has donated its software, worth R2-million, to Stellenbosch University, in the Western Cape.

“This will enable geology, metallurgical and minerals engineering honours students to develop the necessary skills to operate mining-based software. This will also enable graduates to apply for jobs at international mining houses that use this software.

“Educational, such as this one, also benefit mining companies, as they do not need to spend money or working hours training new employees to use software like Micromine,” he concludes.