GoldSim User Conference Poster Session

Posted by Rick Kossik

We just wrapped up our User Conference in downtown Seattle, and it was lots of fun.  The conference was attended by nearly 60 people from six countries.  In addition to invited papers, a panel discussion, and a day of advanced training, one of the highlights of the conference was the poster session, where attendees presented a wide variety of interesting GoldSim applications. This post provides a list of poster abstracts and presents the winners (as selected by attendees) of the best poster presentation.

The poster session described seventeen GoldSim applications.  The wide variety of applications described was amazing.  Of course, many posters described interesting and complex applications in GoldSim's traditional application areas (e.g., water resources, oil and gas, mining, radioactive waste management). In addition, however, a variety of posters were also presented in other arenas (e.g., forest management, predator-prey modeling, complex project management, solar power feasibility). Abstracts from all of the posters can be found here.

At the end of the conference, attendees voted on the Best Poster, and there was a tie (with each entry receiving 21% of the vote). The winners were:

A Phosphate Mine Water Model Utilizing the GoldSim Modeling Tool (Jeffrey Davis, Cardno)

The volume of water handled every day at a Florida Phosphate mine is greater than that of any other substance; including the phosphate. An average size mine is nearly always pumping several hundred thousand gallons per minute of water around the property. Prudent management of the water volume and its chemical composition is critical to the sustainability of this business; any failure to do so has the potential for consequences well beyond the property line of just that mine. Historically, management of the water has relied upon the human judgment of a few highly experienced individuals, and while they have done a very good job, the industry faces stricter effluent limitations in the near future. To ensure the mine is properly positioned to comply with these stricter limits and a desire to further improve water management decisions, a water model for one mine was created by Cardno for Mosaic utilizing the GoldSim modeling software. This pilot model was created to determine if the complexities of a typical phosphate mine can be successfully reduced to a mathematical simulation. The presentation will discuss how this model was created including all the parameters considered for inputs and outputs (ore mined, rainfall, evaporation, seepage, ground water use, beneficiation impacts, etc.). After completion of the project a validation of the model compared model predictions with actual results. Those results will be shared.

Journey of a Water and Load Balance Model (Kathleen Willman, SRK Consulting)

What do a board game and road trip have in common with a water and load balance model? Play along on the journey of a water and load balance model to find out. SRK has been creating water and load balance models for decades. Initially models were developed primarily in Excel. Today, many of our models are developed in GoldSim. A modeler taking on his/her first model may believe the project will follow a linear path from start to finish, but this is not typically the case. There are generally many detours along the way. Although the circuitous path followed on the journey of a water and load balance model may appear at first glance to be disorganized, there is a method to the madness. Like many board games, there is a start and a finish to every model (although some models never seem to be really “finished” and continue to evolve over time). Also like many board games, modelers will hit bumps along the way that require they go back several steps. This non-linear path is a necessary part of developing a model. It leaves room for ongoing changes and communications between the modeler and the end user of the model.

Both Jeffrey and Kathleen took home a $200 Amazon gift certificate.