Support to achieve career goals

Alphée Mapendano recently completed a Masters Degree in Mine Planning from the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His thesis involved time series and Monte Carlo simulation for underground long-term mine planning with regard to commodity price uncertainty.

After forecasting and simulating all possible future copper prices, Mapendano used Maptek Vulcan Stope Optimiser to optimise stope shapes for the most likely annual copper price in a 10-year period. Vulcan Underground Design tools then helped develop the mine design for a cut-and-fill mining method. Finally, Vulcan and Vulcan Gantt Scheduler helped create and report a schedule.

‘The Maptek Online Training platform made learning the software very easy because of the interactivity and clarity of the teaching,’ said Mapendano.

He commented that using industry-leading software made his studies more interesting and helped him gain professional career skills.

Skills in underground mine optimisation, design and planning increase chances to find a job as an Underground Mine Planning Engineer.

Mapendano was impressed with the speed of the underground tools for designing a mine, and the power of Vulcan Gantt Scheduler to link the solids and define precedences.

The biggest challenge encountered in his Master’s project was using a set of stopes from different optimisations in a single schedule. The simplicity of the Maptek tools helped to develop a methodology to overcome this challenge.

From this experience he learned how to design and schedule using a cut and fill mining method.

Apart from access to software licences and training, Mapendano appreciated the support from Maptek Business Development Manager, Badisheng Morena, who provided wisdom and advice, with Mine Planning Engineer Stacy Epiga providing technical support for Vulcan underground functionality.

Mapendano continues to enhance his skills in optimisation, design and scheduling for other mining methods like sub-level and long hole stoping, block caving, and room and pillar. He is also learning applications using other software.

Mapendano’s immediate aim is to complete his professional internship with Kamoa Copper Company, where he is currently working as a mine planning engineer. 

Going forward Mapendano would like a similar role in an underground mine anywhere in the world, leading towards becoming a technical services manager at a large operation.

Thanks to Maptek training and support, Mapendano is on the way to achieve his dreams.

Thabo Malapane is a Senior Blasting Technician with BME (Bulk Mining Explosives) in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. His responsibilities include blast designs, QA/QC tracking, blast audit, blast timing design, fragmentation reporting, floor elevation control, auditability improvement and specialised controlled blast designs. 

At an iron ore mine in the Northern Cape that uses Maptek software and services for blast design, Malapane developed his interest in upskilling. Maptek Online Training courses in BlastLogic and Vulcan covered drillholes, databases, block and orebody modelling, open pit design and open pit drill and blast. 

Although these certifications were not an employment requirement, Malapane was motivated to enhance his technical proficiency and professional growth. 

He completed the training in his free time to avoid negatively affecting work. In reality, it impacted positively. His new abilities helped to mitigate challenges faced by the drill and blast department, leading to better overall efficiency and outcomes. 

‘My employer recognised that the skills and knowledge gained brought value to our team and projects,’ said Malapane. 

The convenience of online access, the flexible pace of learning, keeping up to date with the latest technology, developing skills, value addition, improved QA/QC tracking accuracy, and real time data management were significant benefits.

Malapane could apply the new skills almost immediately, as the practical course content was applicable to his daily work. He kept a notebook of design steps for easy reference to solve problems or teach colleagues to use the software.

‘I integrated the learning material straight away – some topics were directly aligned with projects I was running, adding value to the client.’

Malapane appreciated the training resources provided, and also the flexibility to use his own resources to perform the same task, following the steps on online videos. He was able to solve a particular problem using the training demonstrations to create triangulations and check closure before creating a solid, which minimised turnaround time when designing blocks. 

‘I now design blocks ahead of schedule and revise them when they are due for blast, which relieves the workload,’ he said.

Malapane sees the training as a step in the right direction to develop his skillset as a mining engineer. His immediate plan is to acquire statutory certification while gaining experience with different mining methods, resources and technology. 

His medium term plan is to back up the certification with academic qualifications, and ultimately reach the peak of technical management in the mining industry.

‘The Maptek footprint covers most of the leading technology adaptive mines within South Africa, Africa and the world. Knowing the use and application of Maptek products is beneficial to anyone in the mining industry,’ he concluded.

Malapane recommends Maptek Online Training for people looking to advance their technical skills while balancing work commitments. 

Naphtali Dube completed a range of Online Training courses across Vulcan, BlastLogic and PointStudio covering drillholes, databases and design data, open pit design, drill and blast, orebody modelling, block modelling and geostatistical data analyser.

Certification was essential for his role, particularly in relation to resource and block modelling, grade estimation, open pit design, drill and blast design, and manipulation of block models. 

‘My employer was appreciative of the significant value added to resource management and the insights that contributed to problem solving in the planning and design process,’ said Dube.

Dube scheduled and completed sessions at his convenience, with the flexibility to save progress and continue during his own time.

A highlight for Dube was mastering the fundamental concepts of geostatistics, crucial for a mining engineer. 

He was able to effectively apply the acquired knowledge in tasks such as resource modelling, grade estimation, resource classification, visualising block model sections and reporting resources to both geologists and mining engineers.

‘A significant challenge was resolved  around block model manipulation, impacting resource classification, grade estimation and open pit design, as well as import and export of external block models,’ he said.

The straightforward nature of the training allowed Dube to swiftly incorporate the learning, significantly contributing to advancing his career. He intends to pursue additional training focused on mining software, emphasising mine design and scheduling.

‘My overall proficiency with mining software improved and positioned me favourably towards my goal of becoming a skilled mine planning engineer,’ he said. 

Dube recommends Maptek Online Training for its user-friendly interface, concise and straightforward courses, and the flexibility it offers for learning.