ARANZ Geo Ltd of New Zealand, the developer of pioneering Leapfrog 3D geological modelling software programs, which is one of the main trendsetters in this field worldwide, has unveiled a new product, Leapfrog Geo.

Leapfrog Geo, which will be launched at the 19th annual Mining Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in early February, takes a further leap forward in serving the mining industry from a geological perspective.

The Leapfrog brand is already familiar to many companies and geologists in the local mining industry through the well-proven 3D geological modelling program, Leapfrog Mining.

“When Leapfrog Mining was launched in 2003, it set a new standard in 3D geological modelling that had not previously been seen and it has maintained its position as a leading product of its kind worldwide,” comments Desmond Subramani, Leapfrog’s local representative and distributor.

“One of the main things that distinguishes Leapfrog Mining and gives it an edge over conventional geological modelling programs is the use of implicit modelling, as opposed to digitising, in simulating geological formations in 3D format. This technique was pioneered by Leapfrog and is applied in all its programs.

“It provides geologists with greater control over the various parameters and provides a more effective basis for interpretation of the model. In addition, the model is produced more quickly from the basic data and is more accurate. It can also be updated dynamically as new data becomes available or interpretations change.

“Other advantages include greater user-friendliness and the ability of the program to provide the model in simpler forms to make it more easily understandable to the non-specialist, such as providing illustrative movie sequences or zoning in on a particular section to provide a detailed representation of a particular geological formation.”

These advantages have been improved in the new Leapfrog Geo product, while several important new features have been added to further enhance the program’s versatility and user-friendliness.

“The biggest advance made with Leapfrog Geo is that a new framework has been introduced that provides much greater flexibility for users to refine their models progressively as their geological understanding improves. There is also an increased focus on generating models and associated information in a more easily understandable form for the end-user, thereby substantially enhancing the features already provided in the Leapfrog Mining program,” Subramani points out.

“Leapfrog Geo also incorporates a higher capacity operating system than its predecessor and it provides greatly improved interconnectivity with complementary geological software, such as data collection and management and resource estimation programs, as well as geographical information systems.”

In addition to the enhanced Mining component, Leapfrog Geo also incorporates Leapfrog’s other two major geological programs, Leapfrog Hydro and Leapfrog Geothermal.