Over time, Sandfire Resources accumulated a significant volume of spatial data as part of its exploration activities. However, the company’s GIS database gradually fell out of date and was no longer maintained effectively. As a result, geologists could no longer confidently rely on the data, impacting operational efficiency and decision-making.
Challenge: Restoring Confidence in Exploration Data
For a resource company heavily dependent on spatial data, a reliable GIS system is essential. Sandfire Resources spatial data was fragmented, difficult to access, and lacked consistent maintenance.
To ensure that future exploration and operational decisions were based on accurate and accessible spatial information, the company required a new GIS system that could consolidate existing datasets and support ongoing data management with minimal overhead.
Solution: A Consolidated GIS System with QGIS
To address this, GIS Pro was engaged to review, redesign, and implement a GIS solution tailored to the company’s exploration workflows.
The solution included:
- Consolidating existing spatial data into a single, structured geodatabase.
- Integrating spatial layers with existing corporate datasets to provide a comprehensive view of exploration data.
- Deploying QGIS as the primary software for geologists, ensuring that spatial data was easily accessible and could be directly utilised in day-to-day workflows.
Outcome: Enhanced Data Confidence and Streamlined Workflows
With the new GIS system in place, Sandfire Resources quickly regained control of its spatial data. The system restored confidence in the accuracy and completeness of exploration datasets while enabling more efficient workflows across the team.
Working with GIS Pro has exceeded our expectations. Vincent is a rare mix of an advanced database and GIS practitioner with a passion for open source development. This means he can creatively tackle complex projects with an almost unlimited toolkit and achieves results at much lower cost than if constrained to using traditional, proprietary software. I would happily recommend GIS Pro to anyone seeking bespoke spatial development services.
Rob Healy
Project Geologist at Sandfire Resources
Learn More About GIS for Exploration and Mining
For resource companies, explore our Enterprise GIS Solution (powered by PostGIS, QGIS, and MerginMaps) to streamline data access, simplify field collection, and improve decision-making.
