Mining contractor Thiess is trialing scanning technology at Queensland’s Anthill project to help reduce environmental impact, improve safety and increase productivity.

The OreSense technology, created by tech mining start-up Plotlogic, scans rock to distinguish high grade resources from waste.   

The technology provides real-time information, eliminating the need for a week or more waiting for testing results. 

It is also expected to create environmental benefits through lower fuel usage and machinery consumables and a more optimised heap leaching process. 

Group executive growth and strategy Abdul Jarrah said the trial aligned with Thiess’ commitment to use technology to drive sustainable improvements for our clients.  

“Investing in technology such as OreSense further enhances our inhouse capability and allows us to offer our clients greater value across the safety, cost, productivity and environmental spectrum,” he said. 

“Importantly, our focus on innovation will support our clients to achieve their environmental goals as Thiess continues to establish itself as a leader in sustainable mining practices.” 

Group manager, geology and geotechnical Donna Sheehy said applications for the technology were far-reaching.  

“The machine takes around three minutes to scan a wall or mine face area of 15m by 50m – if the trial proves successful there is potential to scan dig faces and stockpiles to determine grade,” she said. 

“From machine learning we can use OreSense to give us real time assay – saving lengthy lab processing wait times. 

“This allows us to increase the average grade of material fed to the heap leaching process which means we haul less waste, reducing our use of fuel and machinery consumables.” 

The trial will run for about four weeks.