Summary

This review describes the use of geographical information systems (GIS) in mining including mine and ore body exploration, development, production, closure, reclamation, and mine title application in British Columbia. The review also examines and evaluates web sites that specialize in GIS, Mine Maps, and free software for GIS applications.

---

INTRODUCTION

El Toro is a former marine air station in the foothills of the Santa Anna Mountains, Orange County, California. The beauty of the area is interrupted only by the ugly concrete building where we were introduced to the geographic information system used to house many years of data about the site, its geology, soils, groundwater, contaminants, runways, buildings, and yes, even the details of the sewer system in the building we were using.

Why did our instructor insist on showing a musty drawing when the maps of the site's flowers are more colorful and the plots of groundwater contamination more visually stimulating? Here is how the internet, at, describes what was explained to me as I gazed into the blue sky and the soaring hills and brilliant spring-green vegetation and sought to avoid disinterest in the details of a fifty-year old sewer system.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, charged with the responsibility for planning the base reuse, is relying on a cutting-edge GIS prepared by Psomas (Costa Mesa, California) as a major decision making tool in its planning process. Originally designed as a planning tool, the GIS Psomas is building, is based on ESRI's ArcInfo and ArcView GIS software, and has grown into the overall data repository for the El Toro Master Development program. The GIS database includes marine base infrastructure and existing buildings, topography of the site, hazardous materials site classifications updated with remediation efforts, an 18,000-acre subset of County parcel data covering 133,000 parcels surrounding the base, County-wide demographic information, traffic analysis zones, and more.

In its broadest term, GIS is a computerized information system used to capture, verify, store, manipulate, query, analyze and display geospatial data referenced to their location. That much I learnt over four years of working for an administrative law judge compiling a GIS system and using it to evaluate earthquake damage to houses in Los Angeles (Matasovic et al. 2004) (.pdf)

An internet search leaves the impression that every industry and application can benefit from its use but here we will concentrate on GIS in mining and give you an overview and listing of sources of information that may assist you in:

• deciding to use GIS
• purchasing a system
• engaging consultants to set up the system
• employing staff to run the system

If you seek a very basic overview of GIS go to the Army Engineer Research and Development Center booklet Computer-Aided Design and Drafting and Geographic Information System Concepts and Technology. If you know the basics of CADD and GIS, proceed with this review in clear conscience.

GIS in Mining
With the advent of Geographical Information System (GIS), many mining activities (from exploration to stope development, and production to mine rehabilitation) evolved from pure luck to science. Gone were the days when operations would rely on linen and paper maps and old surveys and drawings and superimposing transparencies to create layers and composite images.

GIS replaced old map-analysis processes, traditional drawing tools, and drafting and database technologies.  Here are some reports on how GIS is used in and how it has changed mining.