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12 Apr 2016 - Company & Industry News

acQuire, WASM Partnership Forges into the Future

The changing landscape in the natural resources industry means the integrity of geoscientific information management (GIM) has become even more pivotal to process improvement and value building for many mining companies.

In view of this trend, acQuire and Curtin University’s Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) have collaborated in a series of lectures and computer laboratory sessions to ensure continued preferred practice of GIM.

Over several weeks in March, Master of Science Applied Geology students were given the extraordinary opportunity to work with acQuire’s GIM Suite. Their focus was on QA/QC of analytical results using the software.

Conducted by Paul Fell, acQuire Principal Learning and Development Specialist, along with Matt Yacopetti and Houssem Bensalah, the sessions encompassed:

  • A lecture on the changing digital world they, as geoscientists, find themselves in and the challenges both now and in the future culminating in an Introduction to GIM
  • A computer laboratory focused on working with GIM Suite
  • A lecture on Quality Control of Analytical Results and the Applicability of Statistical Quality Control Techniques followed by a computer laboratory practical using GIM Suite to QC Analytical Results
  • A computer laboratory workshop using GIM Suite with a focus on QC of Analytical Results and interoperability with Vulcan mine planning software

acQuire’s GIM Suite software enables the capture, management and delivery of geoscientific observations and measurements.

Dr Mehrooz Aspiandar, Senior Lecturer, Department of Applied Geology at WASM said, “Most undergraduate geoscience programs have no sampling theory and QA/QC in their curriculum.” He said QA/QC is the backbone of all exploration and mining projects. “This important knowledge gap needs to be addressed and is easily solved by using an industry partner who has wealth of knowledge in the QA/QC domain. I would encourage other universities to look into incorporating best practice in sampling and QA/QC into their exploration and mining programs“, Aspiandar said.

Geosciences requires tailored databases to cater to the nuances of geoscientific data. The [GIM] suite makes it easy for the geoscientist not merely to store the data, which many other standard packages do, but to use it efficiently and effectively via widgets and plots so judicious decisions can be taken quickly. In short, it makes it much simpler for the geoscientist to enter, manage, scale and use the data“, Dr Aspiandar said.

The benefit to WASM students is hands-on experience with the latest GIM software and an insight into preferred practice QA/QC using GIM.

These people are not only future decision-makers, but they have the power to influence now”, Paul Fell said.

With acQuire GIM Solutions used in over 450 sites around the world, the clear benefit for WASM students is they have exposure to the acQuire GIM software and can hit the ground running.

The MSc (Geology) students will benefit immensely by getting to know the acQuire software capabilities including their ease of use”, Dr Aspiandar said. He said this will assist the students with QA/QC and decision-making in the resources industry.

Most of the students are being educated to enter the workforce as exploration or mine geologists’ roles, and the concepts covered by the acQuire team will form the backbone to the decisions these prospective geologists will be making on a daily basis in the industry“, Dr Aspiandar said.

In the future, WASM will try to incorporate the lectures and laboratory sessions with GIM Suite for their Geoscience Honours students as well he said.

The West Australian School of Mines has campuses in Perth and Kalgoorlie. Its endeavours are strong industry partnerships, continual investment in high-tech facilities and a commitment to attracting some of the world’s best and brightest students.

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