September 2013

ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS OF

MINESIGHTEnvironmental awareness makes it critical, if not a legal requirement, that closure planning should be

under way even before mining has begun. MineSight is well aware that this requirement helps to ensure

better environmental outcomes. The proper plan can also allow reclamation to begin before mining has

finished. This allows costs to be spread over many years and rehandling of waste material is minimized.

MineSight features many tools that aid in creating and demonstrating these plans.

The MineSight Surface Resloping tool (MSSR) is a recent addition to our product suite and aids in

reclamation planning. This tool allows you to quickly edit the slope angle of a surface to increase stability

and help the mine achieve a more natural look after reclamation. The MSSR can smooth the slope of the

topography to user-specified angles while reporting the cut and fill volume required to achieve the final

surface design.

Figure 1. A dump resloped from a 45-degree face angle to a constant 32 degrees.

The MSSR can recalculate the slope of a large area, but also has the option to use secondary slope angles to

help steer clean water flow away from sensitive areas or divert potential runoff from mined areas into a

safe area. In general, it helps promote good drainage.

Figure 2. The same dump with the eastern portion restricted to a maximum 20-degree slope.

The water flow can be represented by polylines with the use of the directional arrows available in the

polyline object properties. The estimated water table in the pit can be represented using a semi-

transparent surface. After the water flow has been mapped, if any sensitive areas still have the potential for

collecting runoff, the Attach Template tool can be used to quickly design retaining walls by attaching the

supplied templates along a polyline following the path of the desired wall.

Figure 3. The retaining wall can be quickly placed along a polyline to control water flow.

To help with a more complete representation of the proposed final surface, the output from the MSSR can

be overlaid with an image of the proposed final product using the Texture Surface Tool. Polygons can be

draped to the surface to show any applicable property boundaries, highlight key drainage areas or other

ecologically sensitive areas.

After mining is complete, some areas will require backfilling to make the location safe. For example, the

drillhole collars located outside of the pit boundary can be highlighted in the viewer and then exported to

an ASCII or CSV file to create a log to ensure that they are plugged.

Figure 4. The panel where the Collar points can be created with the option of attributing the DHID to

the points.

After the final topography has been designed and the surface overlaid with an aerial picture of the site, the

Viewer 3D Preset tool can be used to create easily reproducible screenshots of the operation from multiple

angles and at multiple stages of the mine life. This is done by saving the Camera position and direction

with the Save Viewer 3D Preset button.

Figure 5. The Save Viewer 3D Preset button.

MineSight is technology for the life of your mine – even the very end of the life of your mine! To find out

more about the MineSight Surface Resloping tool, please contact Mintec Technical Support.

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