Maptek Vulcan 8

Engineers can save time on the ground with the new open cut drill & blast tools. On-screen preview of drill & blast patterns eliminates potential layout problems before a blast is even set. The new double stitching option allows extra holes to be inserted midway between previously created blast holes using the same or completely different hole design parameters. Excessive toe burdens can be handled by adding holes around the blast perimeter. 

In a dynamic mine environment, surfaces are always changing, and the effects ripple through the planning process. Vulcan 8 allows the depth of blast holes to be recalculated as a group to reflect the new surface, saving time and reducing errors. Holes can still be edited individually, with alternatives for maintaining the 2D collar location, or 3D vector of angled holes. New editing options allow selection of holes by echelon, reversal of row direction, renaming of blasts, and customisation of the popular datatip display. 

Vulcan 8 directly addresses safety and regulatory issues. The drillhole warning calculates how far a drillhole is from blast areas. The display highlights holes which are too close, allowing re-design of drifts if necessary. Similarly, the proximity alert allows engineers to easily check designs for existing voids.

The underground stope analyser in Vulcan 8 allows engineers to optimise mine plans based on different cut-off limits, with a time-saving global gradient tool to ensure adjustments in one area are automatically updated in overall designs.

HARP (Horizon Adaptive Rectangular Prism)'s non-rectangular block models easily handle reverse faults and very thin horizons, and can be reserved against complex 3D solid shapes such as pit cutbacks and mining blocks. A single file contains all the structural, quality, faulting and associated data; thousands of variables per block are permitted. Geological resolution and stratigraphic fidelity are preserved. Vulcan's geostatistical tools can also be applied to HARP models.