Inside this issue:

MineTrust: Taking the headache out of data management

New Clients

Site Visits

Release Cycle 15 – Coming Soon

Frequently Asked Questions

Conferences

Training Courses

For more information on Datamine and Datamine Products, visit www.datamine.com.au

Datamine Australia Newsletter - September 2008

What would you do with US$1,000?

Go on a quick getaway? Pay some bills? Put it towards the Christmas fund?

The options are endless. Make it a reality by entering the 2009 Datamine Calendar Competition. Each winning entry receives US$1,000!

Entering is simple. Just submit a Visualizer replay file or a high-resolution screen capture of your data in any product making up Datamine’s Solution Footprint.

Best thing of all is that you can enter the competition as many times as you like and you have up to the 30 September 2008 to get as creative as you like.

Go to www.datamine.co.uk to submit your entry. Good luck!

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Datamine MineTrust:

Taking the headache out of data management

The Challenge:

Many companies rely on a diverse framework of software applications and data formats to achieve business outcomes. Applications and processes used in the Mine Planning Cycle alone generate numerous files by each individual. When this effect is multiplied by multiple groups, departments, sites and countries, it is impossible to distinguish the important precious data from the intermediate data files, copies, “what-ifs”, backups or stagnant archives without effective data control policies. This problem is further compounded when data is passed between different job roles.

It is not just the presence of extraneous levels of data that is a challenge; more often than not, policies and procedures developed by mining companies are insufficient to ensure data integrity. A sensible file-naming convention will only go part way to resolving this situation, but for files that are subject to constant edits and phase-progressions, it is often the case that the original name will not be relevant a few steps further along the process.

So how can you be sure the data files you are looking at right now are the latest version and are actually the files you should be looking at?

The Solution:

MineTrust is a new data management product from Datamine. It is a turnkey solution for efficient data management and protection throughout any operating structure, regardless of software application, data formats or workflow process.

MineTrust offers significant functionality above generic data management systems in that it is designed to fit into current mining processes, provides additional data control to allow for different working scenarios and does not rely on any ‘approved’ data format policies to operate.

MineTrust is of immediate benefit to any organisation for the following reasons:

Data integrity is maintained throughout data lifecycles, ensuring inadvertent overwriting, loss or corruption is minimized.

All project participants, regardless of geographical location or role are aware of where data resides and precisely who ‘owns’ it at any moment in time.

Secure file sharing for work groups: access to data is controlled using familiar check-in and check-out protocols. Users can also be assigned roles to control what data is available to them.

An efficient method of data flow and storage will evolve, providing effective governance and auditability at every level, from independent workstations to an entire global network.

For more information on how Datamine MineTrust can improve the data and process integrity within your company, contact Brian Idzerda:

Email: bsi@datamine.com.au

Phone: +61 8 9479 1771

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From the Helpdesk

Error upgrading to License Manager v4.0.1824.2

It has been noticed that some machines which are used as license servers for Datamine have had some minor problems with the install.

Problem: I have upgraded to Datamine License Manager version 4.0.1824.2 on my server and when I try to run the License Manager I am presented with the following message and cannot run License Manager. How do I get License Manager to work?

$C:\Users\support.DA\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\KUG0P0OP\error1 (2).bmp$

Resolution: Uninstall version 4.0.1824.2 and install version 4.0.1805. If you do not have this version, please contact Datamine Support.

Monday to Friday

7:00am to 5:30pm WST

1300-DATAMN

(1300-328266)

Intl: +61 8 6462 0916

support@datamine.com.au

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New Clients

Datamine welcomes the following new clients that have purchased or rented software in the last three months:

· API Management

· Carrick Gold

· BHP Billiton - Cliffs Nickel Project

· McMullen Mine Planning

· Optiro

· Phu Bia Mining

· PT Adiratna Bani Makmur

· Sundance Resources

Thank you very much for the opportunity to work with you and we look forward to assisting you with support, training and operational improvement.

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Site Visits

In the last couple of months, Datamine Australia has visited the following sites:

· AMC Consultants

· Barrick Technical Services

· BHP Billiton – Nickel West, Olympic Dam Operations, Perth Technology Centre

· Gold Fields – Australia, St Ives Gold Mining Company

· Hatch Associates

· Northparkes Mines

· PT Stania Bara Utama

· Quantitative Geoscience

· Rio Tinto Iron Ore

· Snowden Mining Industry Consultants

· Solid Energy

· St Barbara

To arrange a Datamine visit to your site, please contact Dennis Kattowitz:

Email: dennis@datamine.com.au

Phone: +61 8 9479 1771

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Release Cycle 15 – Coming Soon

Studio 3 New Features

NEW Format Display Dialog Quick Key

You can now open the Format Display dialog using the 'fdd' quick key combination whilst in the Design window.

NEW Wireframe Verification Options

The Wireframe Verify command is used as a precursor to many mesh operations, as it allows the integrity of a wireframe surface to be checked and (optionally) corrected.

The Verify dialog now features a selection of new commands that allow you to isolate "feature edges", that is, areas of discernible properties that indicate a potential area of interest such as a bench crest, a shelf or seam, for example. These features can be output as new string objects. Also implemented is the Stop surface at shared edges option, and additional functions to write normal and adjacency data to a table, complementing the existing crossover data output option.

NEW Depth Interval Markers

A new option is now available for the application of ticks along an entire downhole length, at predefined intervals. This facility also allows annotation to be placed, with fully-configurable positioning and orientation.

NEW Annotate by Segment Length

Studio 3's extensive Format Display settings have been enhanced with in the introduction of a new Annotate by Segment Length option. This setting allows you to define labels at predetermined intervals. These intervals can either be the values represented by 'real world' coordinates (e.g. 50 meters) or as a unit represented by screen distances (generally in millimeters).

Downhole Explorer New Features

NEW Page Layout Mode Keyboard Shortcuts

Page Layout mode in the Plots window has been enhanced to provide additional keyboard modifiers, making layout work even easier:

· By default, objects will 'snap' to neighbouring items to allow you to align things more easily. You can override this behaviour by holding down the <CTRL> key during resizing.

· You can maintain the aspect ratio of a plot item by holding down the <SHIFT> key during resizing using one of the corner sizer bars (using one of the central bars will automatically alter the aspect ratio regardless).

· You can move both parent and child plot items simultaneously by holding down the <ALT> key.

NEW Rename Plot Items and Overlays

You can now add your own descriptions to any plot item or overlay in memory with a simple dialog available from the Format Display dialog or the Sheets control bar.

NEW Distance from Section Option

You can now label your drillholes with the distance between the end-of-hole and section pierce point automatically.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I combine objects in Studio 3?

There may be certain situations where you need to combine objects of the same data type. A list of all loaded objects is displayed in the Loaded Data control bar. The current object for each data type is displayed as bold text.

Two or more objects of the same data type can be combined (or extracted) using the Data Object Manager which can be accessed using one of the following methods:

· Select Data | Data Object Manager from the menu bar

· Right-click on an object in the Loaded Data control bar and select Data Object Manager

To combine two or more objects select the Combine Objects icon at the top of the dialog (). The Combine Data Objects dialog has four sections as shown below:

Enter a name for the object that will be created.

Select the data type to be combined. Note you can only combine objects of the same data type.

Select each object to be combined from the Loaded Objects list and click on the arrow to move it to the Combine List.

If you wish to specify a field that will be used to denote where the original data came from in the combined object, specify the field name here. This field will be created in the new combined object. The field is optional.

When you have set up the Combine List click the OK button to create the new object, which will appear in the Loaded Data control bar.

For more information regarding Data Object Management in Studio 3, refer to the Object Management section in the online Introductory Tutorial.

Submit a FAQ

Do you have a question on how to do something in any of the software products making up the Datamine Solution Footprint? Submit your question to newsletter@datamine.com.au and we will provide you with the answer and will publish the FAQ in the next newsletter as there are bound to be fellow users wondering how to do the same thing!

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Attended Conference

Australian Earth Sciences Convention 2008

21 – 24 July 2008

Exhibitor

Steve Hodgson, Technical Services Manager and Fergus Thomas, Technical Consultant (pictured left) represented Datamine at the conference. Special focus was placed on demonstrating the capabilities of Datamine’s Geological Database Management System (GDMS).

There was much interest in Downhole Explorer for its ease of use in producing high-quality plots of exploration data and Fusion for its ability to configure one central geological database ensuring Quality Assurance / Quality Control procedures are met.

For more information on Datamine’s GDMS suite, contact Dennis Kattowitz:

Email: dennis@datamine.com.au

Phone: +61 8 9479 1771

Upcoming Conference

Future Mining

19 – 21 November 2008