A Gold and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) Resource Atlas developed through public–private collaboration between the Department of Science and Innovation and Minerals Council South Africa, has been handed over to State geoscience organisation the Council for Geoscience (CGS).

Work on the Gold and PGMs Resource Atlas was started by the Mandela Mining Precinct (MMP) in 2018 on geographic information system ArcGIS, with the aim of developing mineral resource models to better understand PGM and gold mineral resource opportunities within South Africa.

MMP director Johan Le Roux explains that the Gold and PGMs Resource Atlas is the first of its kind in South Africa, providing end-users access to mineral resources and reserves information on a single platform.

“Its purpose is to give a holistic visualisation of the remaining gold and PGM mineral resources in South Africa and, ultimately, promote collaboration among mining companies to access contiguous mineable blocks using alternative mining techniques,” he states.

Le Roux explains that the portal enables collaboration between academia and industry, as well as mining and exploration. It encourages the ongoing collection and digitalisation of valuable geological data, aiding those from undergraduate student level upwards within the PGM and gold mining industries.

ArcGIS offers several tools to facilitate the streamlining of data acquisition and loading processes by enabling data custodians to upload new datasets through a Web interface.

The Resource Atlas has been operated by the MMP through a cloud-hosting solution consisting of two virtual servers providing the required hardware environment to securely store the uploaded data.

The ArcGIS enterprise portal brings together all the geographic information in the ArcGIS platform, sharing it with users internally throughout the organisation and openly on the Web.

To ensure success, several post-implementation tasks are required to be performed, including data maintenance, change management and executive buy-in, among others.

The project has been completed, meeting the majority of the initial goals and, when well-managed, the CGS says the solution will succeed as a framework supporting innovation within the mining industry, aligning it with the goals of the MMP and South Africa’s National Development Plan.

Le Roux explains that the CGS has its own server, making use of the same service provider for the software, having its own information technology support and the necessary capacity, skills and resources to maintain and grow the Resource Atlas to its full potential.

The CGS welcomed the handover of the portal with enthusiasm, with CGS CEO Mosa Mabuza stating that the council is “ecstatic” to take over the Gold and PGMs Resource Atlas.

He explains that the compilation of this kind of database will be vital for the classification of the geological and geotechnical characteristics of mineral resources, with the long-term objective of reversing the deteriorating production of the precious metals in South Africa.

Moreover, this portal will complement the current geoscience data management portal.