Environmental Data Management for Mining

Environmental Data Management Software Mining Companies Need Now

Mining is a vital industry, but it also poses environmental and societal challenges. More than ever mining requires an environmentally sensitive and sustainable approach. For this reason, mining companies and environmental professionals need to follow strict standards and regulations to minimize the impacts of mining on the environment.

Mining companies collect and analyze large volumes of environmental data to measure their performance and compliance to make informed data-driven decisions. This data also contributes to the better design and management of mine sites, allowing the mining companies to proactively manage and mitigate their environmental risks

Mining companies have recognized that data-driven planning, workflow control, and decision making are critical to their sustainability. EarthSoft is helping mining clients with digitalization, automation, and data-driven initiatives in support of their long-term sustainability strategies. EarthSoft’s EQuIS supports sustainable mining and is a software solution helping companies manage their environmental data efficiently and effectively, saving time and money.

• Capture and store environmental data from various sources
• Report and share environmental data with stakeholders and regulators
• Visualize and model environmental data to identify trends and issues
• Integrate environmental data with other applications and systems

Water management is one of the most critical aspects of sustainable mining. EQuIS supports water quality and quantity data monitoring with robust reporting providing a comprehensive view of water resources. EQuIS helps optimize water use to comply with water management policies and practices that are socially equitable and environmentally friendly.

Comprehensive, Efficient and Cost-Effective Data Management and Compliance Monitoring

A well-designed management strategy and workflow for the collection, validation, storage, protection, and processing of environmental data produces clear, specific information. This information leads to better decisions, greater efficiencies, and valuable insights. Automation of the environmental data management workflows from sample planning to sample collection, transmission of electronic chains of custody (COCs) from the field to the laboratories and then the laboratories to a central data repository can be achieved through an effectively designed end-to-end digital solution.

By leveraging digital workflows in EQuIS, mine sites around the world have put their sample/task planning on autopilot and have recognized huge gains in productivity, shortened report delivery schedules, and mitigation of risk to their regulatory commitments. Digital sample tracking workflows provide maximum visibility into monitoring programs, automatic progress notifications, exceedance and non-compliance notifications, and ensure complete, representative datasets are delivered with each reporting commitment.

Mining organizations have a gambit of field data collection requirements, from site inspections to water quality parameters, to instrument integration and in-field institutional controls. A centralized, digitized field data collection workflow ensures quality and completeness of day-to-day field activities. Seamless integration with a centralized EQuIS database provides real-time updates of monitoring progress, safety meetings, core sample analyses, and more.

EQuIS has numerous tools and automated workflows to support environmental data management for mining. Digital field data collection is achieved via the EQuIS Collect app and EQuIS Live, which manages high-frequency, high-volume data from data loggers, sensors, weather stations, and other API sources. EQuIS Enterprise and EnviroInsite, in conjunction with EQuIS’ ability to integrate with third party applications such as Esri’s ArcGIS and EVS, provide mine operators flexible and effective reporting together with advanced data visualization and analysis. Standard EQuIS reports can be auto-generated and distributed to the appropriate team members.

Maintaining environmental compliance requires an efficient way of managing data streams from various sources. EQuIS Enterprise dashboards compile relevant environmental information into a single, up-to-date display allowing data managers to see the big picture while having access to more in-depth information as needed.

EQuIS Enterprise Dashboard Benefits

A well-designed dashboard has several benefits allowing environmental managers to stay in control of their environmental performance. The result is better management of liabilities and an improved response time to evolving issues.

Environmental compliance requires companies to regularly monitor a range of parameters from various sources against values from site permits or environmental regulations. 

Examples include:

• Groundwater quality
• Surface water quality
• Soil and sediment contamination
• Ambient air quality
• Stack emissions
• Noise pollution
• Flow rates
• Waste management
• Greenhouse gases

Flexibility

EQuIS dashboards are highly flexible and configurable directly in the web interface. Various widget types, such as the ones above, can be arranged in dashboards to structure views based on the sites’ requirements. For example, while one site may require constant monitoring of trends, another site may need a more in-depth look at the spatial distribution of results. EQuIS Enterprise administrators set permissions based on user roles. Typical implementations include a handful of data managers who configure and maintain dashboards for a broader user base. These dashboards provide the end users with pre-defined views to monitor the relevant datasets. Dashboards can be structured in diverse ways to meet compliance needs.

• Separate dashboards for every site.
• Individual dashboards for different matrixes (e.g., Dashboard A for ground water, Dashboard B for surface water, etc.).
• Task-specific dashboards (e.g., Dashboard A to monitor incoming field data, Dashboard B to monitor laboratory data, and Dashboard C to upload new data)
• Based on site complexity (e.g., Dashboard A: Site overview, Dashboard B: Parameter values at discharge point B).

Relevance and Automation

Compliance dashboards rely on a solid EQuIS database foundation that constantly monitors, verifies, and processes incoming data. EQuIS Enterprise dashboards are built on the EQuIS Schema and provide workflow automation capabilities. Datasets from data providers are verified and loaded automatically to keep dashboards up-to-date, allowing environmental managers to easily review the most recent data.

• Time series charts that automatically update with the most recent field or analytical results.
• Maps that automatically display the most recent results and automatically highlight out of range values.
• Reports that are generated automatically and sent by email to alert stakeholders of new analysis results.

Constructing dashboards with user defined widgets removes the manual data processing common with legacy systems. Adopting a solid data management system to digitize and automate common workflows increases data quality while reducing the costs for the data collection and analysis.

OWN THE WORKFLOW – MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

A core function of the EQuIS data management system is providing end users with consistent data sets of known quality. The ultimate value of data are their use in addition to storage and retention. After all field data have been collected, time-series data telemetered, and lab data acquired from the lab information management system (LIMS), project teams require quick access to actionable information to make informed decisions. EQuIS reports and Enterprise dashboards provide actionable intelligence to make high-grade, cold-eye, management decisions and mitigate environmental risk at sites.

Schedule a Demo Today!