Maptek releases Vulcan 64-bit mining software to global market

Mining technology provider Maptek will release Vulcan 64-bit to global mining customers during April. The launch kicked off at Expomin in Santiago, Chile this week.

Vulcan 64-bit combines the advantages of a superior 3D modelling environment with the power of modern 64-bit technology to make it possible to work with large datasets. The 64-bit support covers the entire software offering, allowing all Vulcan users access to the platform (see image).

‘Benchmarking conducted in-house shows massive step-wise improvements in loading large datasets compared to 32-bit,’ announced Eric Gonzalez, Vulcan Product Manager.

‘This was supported by user experience, reported from the global 64-bit beta testing program run in the lead up to the release,’ he added.

‘The handling of larger datasets has been a number 1 client request for some time,’ said Gonzalez. ‘Customers on current maintenance receive this great new version as part of our upgrade and enhancement program, further proof of Vulcan’s value in total cost of ownership.’

Both 32 and 64-bit versions are shipped simultaneously under Vulcan 8.1.4. Data is compatible between platforms, allowing users running 8.1.4 32-bit to share data and projects seamlessly with 64-bit user colleagues.

‘Vulcan 64-bit users will notice some small changes in workflows from the previous 32-bit version, mostly relating to setup for third party components such as ODBC drivers. For our own applications, it will be business as usual.’

Vulcan 8.1.4 includes new options for resource modelling and short term planner tools, along with composited models for stratigraphic deposits, stripping ratio tools for stratigraphic models and improved grade shells.

The move to 64-bit is the first step in a range of improvements that are designed to bring more power to the Vulcan suite.