Development of Environmental Monitoring Platform for Mining Companies in the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina

Project Developed in Collaboration with the National University of San Luis for the Ministry of Mining

Date: 20/05/2023

Authors: Herman Aguirre-Jofré, Ariana Carrazana Di Lucia

MiningiDEAS offers a range of consulting and technical advisory services focused on the development of digital platforms for data analysis and visualization. This capability is supported by the geological, mining, and environmental information management knowledge that its members have acquired over the last decade.

In this context, MiningiDEAS, in collaboration with the National University of San Luis (UNSL) in Argentina, has developed an R&D project driven by the State Mining Secretariat (SEM) of the Province of Santa Cruz to build a platform for environmental information analysis that facilitates monitoring, control, management, and support processes for the mining industry.

The platform known as CyMA Santa Cruz allows mining companies to enter data electronically/digitally. Additionally, it has visualization and reporting dashboards for presenting and analyzing trends in environmental variables, which technical experts from the SEM can audit immediately.

This project has enabled the SEM to review and modernize its interaction methods with mining companies in the province, modifying its data collection approach.

The implementation of this platform has allowed the SEM to renew work procedures, update controls on the parameters that companies must report, prioritize parameters with the greatest environmental impact, unify reporting criteria, and define standards for measurement methodologies.

The advantages of this technological tool include:

• Agility in the process of information analysis
• Diligent identification of compliance with national and provincial legal frameworks and international standards
• Promotion of good practices by mining companies that meet the established limits
• Proactive alerting of potential environmental impacts
• Automatic presentation of reports by mining companies
• Efficient and transparent communication of results regarding the control management conducted by the regulatory authority

The process of creating CyMA Santa Cruz required high technical expertise in software development and mining. The necessary stages to successfully carry out this work were as follows:

1. Definition of project objectives, scope, and limitations by the regulatory authority, along with the determination of the number of mining companies in the Province that would participate in this process. MiningiDEAS played a crucial role in this stage by visualizing and defining the conceptual development framework, setting expectations, and including the necessary features for the project to be accepted by the mining companies.
2. Cleaning, structuring, storing, and designing the data model based on the historical environmental information provided by the regulatory authority. MiningiDEAS and UNSL reviewed all historical data that mining companies were able to provide and that the regulatory authority kept in its legal records. In many cases, the worked information dated back to the late '90s. This meticulous work provided MiningiDEAS with unparalleled knowledge of parameter trends that must be measured to safeguard and preserve the environment in which mining activities are conducted.
3. Development of an administration and data visualization platform. Starting from scratch, MiningiDEAS and UNSL custom-built the databases, the data model, configured the servers on which the historical information was stored, created the portal for digital information submission that mining companies would start using from the current year, and built the reporting platform that displays the results the regulatory authority will be able to monitor in an automated manner and instantly upon submission by the companies.

After a professional effort requiring international technical capabilities, during the first week of May (celebration of Mining Day in Argentina), MiningiDEAS and UNSL handed over the platform to the regulatory authority, trained its staff, conducted a data entry demonstration, and validated the system in the field, within one of the 11 mining companies operating in the region.

At its final presentation stage, the CyMA Santa Cruz system was explained in detail to the Governor of the Province of Santa Cruz, a process that took place in its institutional premises.

The SEM has decided to embrace technology and big data, relying on and utilizing tools that eliminate uncertainty about environmental regulations, one of the most relevant issues in attracting mining investments worldwide. This also aims to promote a sustainable mining industry in its territory.

This project lays the foundation for further technological developments in both environmental and any other link of the mining production chain. At MiningiDEAS, we look forward to continue collaborating in both the public and private sectors, providing more and better tools that make mining a fundamental economic pillar in Argentina.

In the following links, you can see the media impact of our work:

• Panorama Minero: Issue 520, page 36
• University of San Luis News: 'Developed Software for Environmental Control in Mining Companies'
• Universities Today: 'Developed Software for Environmental Control in Mining Companies'
• Página 12: 'Experts Develop Software to Monitor Mining Companies in Santa Cruz'
• Ministry of Production, Trade, and Industry Website: 'Santa Cruz to Have an Innovative Platform'
• Interview with the Deputy Secretary of Geology of the Province: Mercedes Arguello
• Press Release from the Government of Santa Cruz: 'Santa Cruz to Have an Innovative Environmental Monitoring Application'

If you wish to receive consulting services from MiningiDEAS to enhance your production and increase your company's benefits, please contact our team of specialists.