Stephen Henley

Abstract This paper describes the use of an integrated software system in the evaluation of a layered Ball Clay deposit in the western part of the Hampshire Basin. The site has been investigated by core drilling over the past 15 years and very detailed lithological logs have been prepared together with a comprehensive set of physical and chemical test results. A three-dimensional cellular block model was created using DATAMINE software to produce a seven layer model for the deposit. The main clay seam was divided into four horizons based on quality criteria and 14 different physical and chemical properties were interpolated into each of these layers. From this model, the reserves were then calculated on the basis of the proposed pit design. In addition, a series of grade plans were produced for seven of the more critical properties, together with contour and isopach maps of each clay horizon plus the sandy overburden. These plans may be used for the control of clay quality during production and for the prediction of changes in those clay properties which may affect product blending. The structure and thickness of the basal non-productive clay sequence was also modelled in order to assess areas where this sequence is thin and susceptible to rupturing by high piezometric pressure in the underlying sand sequence. Isopachyte plans and cross sections were generated to demonstrate the variations in thickness of this sequence across the site. This case history demonstrates the way in which a computer modelled database can be used to provide comprehensive structural interpretation, quality control and volumetric assessment of a bedded deposit with complex variation in both physical and chemical properties.

<p>ROBOMINERS is developing an innovative approach for the exploitation of currently non-feasible mineral deposits. The approach entails the use of a robot-miner - a bio-inspired reconfigurable robot with a modular nature - in a new mining setting where the activities are nearly invisible and where mining presents less socio-environmental constraints, thus contributing to a more safe and sustainable supply of mineral raw materials.</p><p>The main aim is to design and develop a robotic prototype that is able to perform mining related tasks in settings including both abandoned, currently flooded mines not accessible anymore for conventional mining techniques; or places that have formerly been explored, but whose exploitation was considered as uneconomic due to the small-size of deposits, or their difficulty to access.</p><p>ROBOMINERS’ innovative approach combines the creation of a new mining ecosystem with novel ideas from other sectors, particularly robotics. At this point, work has been done to understand the best methods for the robotminer’s development in 1) biological inspiration, 2) perception and localisation tools, 3) behaviour, navigation and control, 4) actuation methods, 5) modularity, 6)autonomy and resilience, and 7) the selective mining ability. All these aspects combined aim to provide the robotminer XXI Century tools for mineral exploration and exploitation of (currently) unfeasible deposits.</p><p>At the same time, for the vision of a new vision of a mining ecosystem, work is involving studies on 1) developing computer models and simulations, 2) data management and visualisation, 3) rock-mechanical and geotechnical characterisation studies, 4) analysing ground/rock support methods, bulk transportation methods, backfilling types and methods, and 5) sketching relevant upstream and downstream mining industry analogues for the ROBOMINERS concept.  </p><p>After design and development, based on the previously mentioned studies, the robot-miner is set to be tested at targeted areas representatives which include abandoned and/or operating mines, small but high-grade mineral deposits, unexplored/explored non-economic occurrences and ultra depth, not  easily accessible environments. Possible candidates for testing purposes include mines in the regions of Cornwall (UK), mines in the Kupferschiefer Formation (e.g. Poland) or coal mines in Belgium.</p><p>When compared to usual mining methods the ROBOMINERS approach shows: 1) no presence of people in the mine, 2) less mining waste produced, 3) less mining infrastructure, 4) less investment, 5) possibility to explore currently uneconomic resources and 6) new underground small-sized mines, practically “invisible”. Altogether, ROBOMINERS can contribute to solve some of the main issues that make mining’s social license to operate so difficult to get in Europe: land-use, environmental limitations, and socio-economic aspects.</p>

<p>The UX-2 robot of the UNEXMIN technology represents the newest generation of underwater explorers capable of operating in flooded mines and other closed underwater environments meanwhile providing geoscientific information. The technology was developed by an international team of scientists during the UNEXMIN (https://www.unexmin.eu/) Horizon 2020 project (2016–2019) and the UNEXUP (https://unexup.eu/) EIT RawMaterials project (2020–2022). The concept was proven in various environments and the first generation of robots was built in the UNEXMIN project. Besides technological upgrades, the UNEXUP project was focusing also on marketing and commercialization thru UNEXMIN Georobotics Ltd. (https://unexmin-georobotics.com/), the spin-off of the consortium.</p> <p>The technology proved its capabilities at numerous flooded sites in various harsh environments during the last years including, abandoned mines, caves, historical sites and even drinking water facilities.</p> <p>Although very bad visibility was observed in the South Crofty mine, Camborne (UK), the robot could manoeuvre down to -300 m and investigate a narrow shaft relying mainly on sonar-based navigation.</p> <p>The Csór water well, the main drinking source of Székesfehérvár (Hungary) was another location where the UX technology proved its usefulness and 3D-mapped the well with centimetre accuracy for reconstruction purposes.</p> <p>In August of 2022, the UX robot created a 3D topography map and continuous water parameter measurements further exploring the flooded karstic cave Hranice Abyss (Czech Republic) down to -450 m – setting up the current word depth record.</p> <p>Even remote-control and full autonomy were demonstrated in Kőbánya-mine, Budapest, Hungary. During the remote-control test, the Budapest team launched the robot, but the underwater robot operation was done from INESCTEC, Portugal.</p> <p>Ecton copper mine (UK) used to be the deepest mine of its age in the 18th century, closed and partially flooded for more than 160 years. Now it is a listed National Monument in the UK and is under strict protection within a site of special scientific interest. Here the UX robots proved their value in discovering new workings, connections, and technological solutions helping the archaeologists which could not be recovered by other methods as well as elucidating the geological structure.</p> <p>The salt mine of Solotvyno, Ukraine was a demanding challenge as the UX robot had to be capable of operating and measuring in freshwater as well as in fully saturated (ca. 330g/l) brine with 1.25 g/cm<sup>3</sup> density, which was located below a freshwater layer.</p> <p>The abandoned fluorspar mine of Würmtal, Pforzheim, Germany was the last site visited within the frame of the UNEXUP project where the UX robot revealed its unique capabilities by exploring a large part of the flooded workings. More than 3 km was covered laterally in a single dive down to the fluorspar vein, and colour- and UV-images of the ore were delivered successfully. UX robot also brought back data, helping to assess the stability of the walls.</p> <p>The UNEXMIN project was funded by the European Union thru the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the no. 690008 grant agreement.</p> <p>The UNEXUP project was funded partially by the European Union thru EIT RawMaterials no. 19160.</p> <div id="sconnect-is-installed">2.12.0.0</div>

The most important copper minerals of the Las Cruces deposit in the pyrite belt of southern Spain are supergene enrichment zone sulphides of which chalcocite is the most significant. The deposit is overlain by 140 metres of barren marls and has been explored only by drilling. Drill cores have been split and assayed, but it became clear that there was a substantial problem related to core recovery which affects, in particular, some of the higher grade material. Much of the chalcocite is present in a friable and unconsolidated form and its progressive loss is evident visually in many core samples. The result of this loss of chalcocite is that there is a systematic downward bias on copper assays, leading directly to under-reporting of the copper resource. Studies of the assay data indicate the likely degree of under-reporting, but there is no simple way in which the reported resource estimates can validly be corrected.

<p>UNEXUP is a project co-funded by EIT RawMaterials that started in January 2020 and will be concluded in December 2022. The main objective is to develop, test, and commercialize a novel robot-based technology to survey flooded mines and other underwater structures. The robots are equipped with geoscientific and navigation instruments that allow the collection of valuable data from sites that cannot be assessed without human risks or high investments for dewatering, for example.</p><p>This technology was initially developed during the H2020 UNEXMIN project – UNEXUP predecessor, during which three (UX-1) robots were built and tested in five different underwater sites in Europe with increasingly challenging conditions. From the lessons learned on these pilot tests, the engineers collected crucial points for improvement – in close connection with the feedback and requirements from potential users of technology.</p><p>In UNEXUP the objective is to build two new robots, with improved software and hardware compared to the previous generation, and to launch them to the market as a commercial service. The first robot, UX-1Neo, was developed in 2020; while UX-2 will be ready in 2022.</p><p>UX-1Neo is the upscaled version of the UX-1, equipped with improved navigational and geoscientific instruments and sensors. The upscaling robot has performed four field missions in 2021 – ranging from flooded mines, a water well, and an underwater cave.</p><p>The field missions proved the added value that the technology can provide to the mining community and other sectors involving underwater structures. UX-1Neo is a modular vehicle, ca. 90 kg, with swappable batteries, autonomy of approximately 9 hours, and depth capacity of 500 m. An IMU and DVL support the navigation of the robot, to measure the position and depth during the missions. The multibeam (1) and scanning sonars (2) allow the robot to map close, mid, and long-range cavities, and to detect and avoid obstacles in the environment. In addition, the robot is equipped with six SLSs (Structured Light Systems) for more detailed mapping when visibility and turbidity allow. Six cameras – natural light – allow the visualization of the environment and identification of rock types and geological structures. The motion control is supported by eight thrusters, and a mechanical pendulum, for pitch position lock.</p><p>The geoscientific instrumentation in UX-1Neo includes a hyperspectral unit, water sampler unit, water chemistry unit (pH, oxygen concentration, EC, temperature, pressure), sub-bottom profiler and a fluxgate magnetometer. This payload allows geoscientists to collect and interpret spatial and geoscientific data from underwater sites.</p><p>UX-2 is being developed with increased modularity and depth range compared to UX-1Neo, and some instruments and sensors in UX-1Neo were designed to be compatible with UX-2. It will have higher Technology Readiness Level; and a rock sampling unit supported by a robotic arm. Therefore, the UX-2 will be able to perform in even more challenging environments – broadening the applications of the commercial service – and extending its reliability to perform.</p>

Abstract: For technical applications in the mining industry, large institutional data models are the exception rather than the norm. Much more common, given the distributed nature of the business, and the scattered locations of the specialists involved, is the personal or project database. Such a database is set up for a project (or part of a project), and is developed using a data model defined specifically for that project. At the end of the project, the database may be archived or it may be supplied to a central group for integration with a corporate database. If uncontrolled, such methods of database management can lead either to direct drastic loss of data or to incompatibilities in data recording standards. The use of common software standards and data dictionaries throughout an organization can reduce radically these dangers and can produce positive benefits not only in data recovery but in reusability of techniques.

SQL is the (more or less) standardised language that is used by the majority of commercial database management systems. However, it is seriously flawed, as has been documented in detail by Date, Darwen, Pascal, and others. One of the most serious problems with SQL is the way it handles missing data. It uses a special value 'NULL ' to represent data items whose value is not known. This can have a variety of meanings in different circumstances (such as 'inapplicable ' or 'unknown'). The SQL language also allows an 'unknown ' truth value in logical expressions. The resulting incomplete three-valued logic leads to inconsistencies in data handling within relational database management systems. Relational database theorists advocate that a strict two-valued logic (true/false) be used instead, with prohibition of the use of NULL, and justify this stance by assertion that it is a true representation of the 'real world'. Nevertheless, in real...

The UNEXMIN project is developing an autonomous robotic system that can explore and map flooded underground mines, gathering new geological data from locations that are now inaccessible for human exploration and that can be used in future sustainable applications. The robotic system – UX-1 – will have specifically designed tools for the challenging environment. Among these there are the water sampler, magnetic field unit and SLS ("Structured Light Sensor"). In the on-going development phase software and hardware tools for navigation, 3D mapping and data processing are being created. Post-processing software is being developed to provide optical and sonar imaging as well as geochemical, hydrological, geophysical, and mineralogical information from the variety of instrumentation to be carried by UX-1.

UNEXUP is an EIT RawMaterials supported project (Project Number 19160) with the aim to improve and commercialize the robot-based technology developed in the H2020 UNEXMIN project (2016-2019). In UNEXMIN three underwater robot prototypes (UX-1 a,b,c) were built with geoscientific and navigational instruments capable of collecting valuable geological, mineralogical and spatial information from flooded mines without causing harm to the environment, risk to human lives, or high dewatering costs. This technology was tested in five different field trials and proved to be an efficient exploration method to sustainably evaluate the potential for mineral resources in these mines. For example, scanning sonars and structured light systems can map the environment even with near-zero visibility, the visible light cameras allow the identification of structural and geological features, the gamma-ray counter helps to identify minerals with natural radiation, and the pH, EC and water sampler allow t...

There are two internationally recognised systems for classification and reporting of reserves and resources of solid minerals: the CRIRSCO family of reporting standards and the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC). Despite a common perception that these are in competition, they are in fact closely linked, and they address different sets of requirements. The CRIRSCO standards, which include PERC, JORC, and the Canadian CIM standard among others, were developed for public reporting by companies listed on stock exchanges to provide a consistent terminology as well as quality assurance in company estimates of mineral resources and reserves. The underlying objective is protection of the public (in this case investors) by ensuring that the reports produced use consistent terminology and core content so that they can be understood and compared, and that those who prepare public disclosure reports are competent to do so and are prepared to take personal responsibility for their ow...

This paper describes the UX-l underwater mine exploration robotic system under development in the context of the UNEXMIN project. UNEXMIN is an international innovation action funded under the EU H2020 program, aiming to develop new technologies and services allowing the exploration of flooded underaround mines. The system is comprised by the UX-l robot prototype, launch and recovery system, command and control subsystem and a data management and post-processing computational infrastructure. The UX-l robot is a small spherical robot equipped with a multibeam sonar, five digital cameras and rotating laser line structured light systems. It is capable of obtaining an accurate point cloud of the surrounding environment along with high resolution imagery. A set of mineralogy, water parameters and geophysical sensors was also developed in order to obtain a more comprehensive mine model. These comprise a multi-spectral camera, electro-conductivity, pH, magnetic field sensors, a subbottom sonar, total natural gamma-ray detector, UV-light for fluorescent observation and a water samnling unit. The design of the system is presented along with the robot design. Some preliminary results are also presented and discussed

&am…

Conclusion  Philip and Watson have made many valid criticisms of the theory and application of geostatistics. Journel and Srivastava, in their turn, have defended the basis of geostatistics and highlighted a few of its unique advantages as an approach to analyzing spatial data without, however, answering most of the criticisms.The controversy remains unresolved; but a possibility of resolution does exist, however, given the answers to two particular questions:1.  For a given set of spatial data, does a rational procedure exist by which a geologist can select the most appropriate numerical technique to extract the information he or she requires? 2.  If so, what statistical tests can be used to justify this choice of technique? These questions are not of mere academic interest but have major economic implications. In the mining industry, for example, the best possible estimates of tonnage, grade, and error bounds are vital for economic decisions; so long as disagreement exists on vali...