Practical application of mXrap Damage Mapping application at Nova nickel mine

Abstract

Damage mapping at the Nova Operation previously utilised pen and paper methods. There was little to no follow up reporting compiled to mine management regarding the status of ground support, corrosion or rock mass damage levels and changes over time, nor comparison against numerical modelling forecasts.The mXrap Damaging Mapping application was implemented to improve the damage mapping process. The benefits that Nova has seen when using the mXrap damage mapping application include:• Fast, consistent input and ease of use for geotechnical staff; no more pen and paper underground.• Simple reporting through to mine management of changes in ground conditions; a simple summary table and the ability to view mine plans in 2D or 3D.• The ability to query a damage mapping database to identify trends in rock mass conditions, ground support conditions or corrosion levels through time.• The ability to inform rehab requirements (ground not under supported or over supported) or rehab being done too early/too late.• Improved granularity of damage mapping; user can view sidewalls, shoulders, backs level of detail rather than just a single section of a drive.• Geotechnical data is stored in an appropriate database that allows for easy analysis and can be cross-correlated with other data sources (e.g. reconciling with numerical modelling forecasts for rock mass damage).Since the successful implementation of the damage mapping application, capital inspections have also been migrated to use the system for further simplification. An underground inspection app (for daily inspections not focusing on damage mapping) was also developed to migrate these from pen and paper to an electronic database format.