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ECC International Ltd, John Keay House, St Austell, Cornwall PL25 4DJ, UK
The computerized reserve evaluation system developed in house for ECCI’s UK kaolin operations served well from 1981 to 1987 but, with an evolving data base and increasingly more sophisticated demands placed upon it, its limitations became ever more apparent.
It was clear that to maintain the system and develop it at the required pace was not feasible. Therefore the decision to replace it with a proprietary system was taken and DATAMINE was installed in July 1988.
The new system has been installed to operate in parallel with the ECLIPSE ground modelling system which has been in operation at ECCI since early 1985 and has made significant impact in the fields of surveying, mapping and of quarry and tip design. At the present time, 900f the Mid Cornwall China Clay region has been mapped using this system and topographic update is readily available in digital format for quick assimilation into DATAMINE, speeding up model construction immeasurably.
The application of DATAMINE is discussed in terms of its role as a tool in resource management and the construction of orebody models for primary kaolin deposits is briefly described. In order that the system could be made more specific to ECCI’s kaolin operations, a series of macros have been developed which essentially customize DATAMINE to ECCI’s specific requirement whilst maintaining total flexibility. These macros are described in broad outline and this serves to illustrate how the system is being applied in this particular situation. The ultimate goal is to provide a comprehensive and flexible overview of ECCI’s kaolin resources in SW England. This overview, coupled with a mineral extraction and debris disposal schedule, is a key component in the cost effective management of ECCI’s mineral business.
