Abstract

Rio Tinto Simandou Iron Ore Project GIS Data Optimisation
Track: Mining and Geosciences
Authors: Jeff Atherton, Chris Franklin

Simandou is a world-class iron ore mining project located in South Eastern Guinea. Rio Tinto in conjunction with AECOM and Fluor is designing a new 635 km railway and port facility to transport the iron ore to world markets. More than 400 professionals in 20 offices spread across four continents are simultaneously working on the design phase of the project. GIS is an integral part of the design process. The main goal for GIS implementation for this project was to design a system that will be able to maintain consistent data between all the design offices and disseminate changes in a fast and reliable manner. The GIS project team was able to meet the project goals by designing a complex replication model between the project stakeholders that leverages ArcGIS Server's Geodata Services and Disconnected Replication to manage spatial data at the engineering design level.