Thiess invests in Maptek laser scanner for Oyu Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia

(Image: Maptek)Maptek (Denver, CO) and IT Experts LLC (which represents Maptek's mining software) have delivered a Maptek I-Site 8200 3D laser scanning system to Thiess (Brisbane, Australia) for the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mining project in Mongolia's South Gobi Desert.
 The I-Site 8200 is a laser scanner for underground surveying with an accuracy of +/- 6 mm and a scan rate of 40 kHz that, along with the Vulcan software, creates a 3D view on a tablet controller of the scan it makes. The device can scan drives, tunnels, stopes, stockpiles, silos, and so on. Thiess, in a joint venture with local contractor Khishig Arvin, has been working on a boxcut (an open cut in the earth that serves as an entrance) and decline (the tunnel ramp that approaches the deposit) for the project from August 2016. The boxcut will provide a safe and secure entrance for the underground tunnels and conveyors expanding over 10 km and depths of up to 1300 m. The twin declines provide up to 395 m of vertical lift with a maximum gradient of 18%. The conveyor to surface declines consist of 16.6 km of tunnels and 35,000 cubic meters of large excavations to house the required conveyor transfer and drive stations. Oyu Tolgoi is jointly owned by the Government of Mongolia (34%) and Turquoise Resources (66%, of which Rio Tinto owns 51%). Rio Tinto has managed the Oyu Tolgoi project since 2010. The I-Site 8200 system is suited to underground drive mapping and above ground survey applications. Thiess will also use I-Site Studio software with conformance reporting. Source: Maptek