GEOVIA’s Glenn BARLOW writes for International Mining magazine.
The confluence of OT and IT appears to be closer than it has ever been, with the introduction of new hardware into the mining space underpinning the need to underwrite this with increased software oversight and the required layer of cybersecurity. Akin to the requirement to break down silo mentality in the plant and pit, mining operations are realizing that any ‘disconnected’ technology they choose now will inhibit their future goals around asset optimization.
Glenn Barlow, GEOVIA Industry Process Expert Director at Dassault Systèmes, says ‘virtual twins’ within the 3DEXPERIENCE ecosystem are helping mining companies effectively collaborate internally and externally to progress mining developments and asset optimisations.
The Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform integrates and automates mining processes, dismantles silos and enables executives to focus on higher-value areas and optimised geotechnical, economic, productivity and ESG parameters. The optimisation ensures positive cash flow or net present value while adhering to sustainability and compliance goals, the company says.
Our clients rely on virtual twins to simulate and optimise mine designs, assess feasibility and streamline operations. Engineering and design firms use the platform to create detailed and robust designs for mining infrastructure, from pit layouts to processing plants.
This allows them to test various scenarios to ensure their designs meet operational and environmental goals.
Construction partners, meanwhile, benefit from the integrated project management tools, which allow them to plan and execute infrastructure development and expansions efficiently.
Technology providers and consultants, meanwhile, leverage the platform to integrate data and perform scenario analyses, enabling them to offer specialised solutions and actionable recommendations to their clients.
On the environmental side, regulatory stakeholders and community representatives use virtual twins to visualise and assess potential environmental impacts. This capability is invaluable for ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and facilitating meaningful engagement with local communities.
The beauty of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform lies in its ability to connect all these stakeholders in a unified digital environment.
A platform such as 3DEXPERIENCE which supports the retention of knowledge through revisions, issue management and requirement management means mining companies can see a history of how they arrived at a given decision to change the estimation parameters for a resource model or the equipment requirements for pit optimisation. It means this specific domain knowledge becomes instead part of the company library of knowledge.
However, managing the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of mining project data is only one aspect of how the 3DEXPERIENCE platform assists our mining clients. They also utilise our geological modelling tools to analyse their drilling data and process it into advanced implicit geological models and resource models.
And, in engineering departments, the company’s life of mine planning tools provide pit optimisation, phase generation, schedule optimisation and parametric mine designs, which allow for instant updates and changes to be incorporated.
By bringing together solutions to manage requirements, tasks, sign-off, modelling, optimisation, design and monitoring in one platform, we are able to transform our mining clients’ operations in a similar way to how we have transformed client operations in other industries.
Dassault Systèmes serves several different industries across a wide number of disciplines, which has allowed it to present cutting-edge technology from other industries to the mining sector. An example of this is the adoption of generative design where it runs large numbers of simulations to generate design options, which may not have been considered if generated manually.
We will also be deploying more advanced AI solutions within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, such as the ability to ask questions through our SWYM application which will then return technical answers from our user assistance pages and user communities.
This makes it even easier to find the best resources and information from the stored company knowledge that is built up within the platform.
Barlow sees several parallels with other industries in Dassault Systèmes’ client base, such as civil construction and infrastructure. These industries, like mining, operate in complex, capital-intensive environments and face challenges requiring innovation, efficiency and sustainability.
These industries have successfully adopted virtual twin technology and simulation tools to optimise operations and improve efficiency.
Using geospatial applications to spatially index their data, expose it within the context of regional and even continental geographic information system data and share these views in 3D with all stakeholders is valuable for any clients that work over large expanses of land.
Similarly, mining can learn much from the way these other industries simulate site conditions, predict outcomes and test innovations without disrupting operations, which allows them to minimise risks and costs.
There are sustainability initiatives in energy to reflect on too, with this sector having embraced data-driven decision making and predictive analytics to optimise resource usage and reduce environmental impacts. Mining companies can apply these practices to manage their ecological footprint while maintaining productivity.
There is also potential to incorporate advances from outside of the Dassault Systèmes’ sphere, with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform available to be customised and to integrate solutions from other technology providers.
I think we will see over the coming years a number of new entrants into the mining software segment; these new providers will focus on niche technology looking to provide solutions to single areas of the mining value chain.
We welcome these new entrants as they will push forward innovation in their areas of expertise, but we feel that you can only truly transform the mining industry by focusing not only on the single workflow or silo but instead on the total business process.
The value of software platforms and virtual twins is not just in making the work of a single user more efficient or productive but instead in being able to re-engineer the whole process, making improvements in each step.
Source – International Mining, February 2025
When mining companies seek to increase mine productivity, they turn to Dassault Systèmes for technology and services. It is home to world-renowned and award-winning mining solutions and to industry thought leaders who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in mining, through the GEOVIA brand. The largest global supplier of mining software, GEOVIA delivers comprehensive solutions in all major mining centers in more than 130 countries at over 4,000 sites.