Product Specification

idoba.sim

Underground

AWS Cloud Hosted | Windows Client

Underground Portal Access Mining

Published: 15th July 2025

Version No. 0.1

This document is your guide to understanding, configuring, and unlocking the potential of idoba.sim for underground. It outlines the core technology, functional capabilities, and practical considerations needed to deploy, operate, and benefit from the product with confidence.

Note: Any features indicated as ‘future proposed functionality’ are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and may not represent actual development status or projections.

1. Product Overview

Product Name: idoba.sim

Mining Type Supported: Underground Mining (Portal Access)

Version: 1.0

Deployment Model: Cloud-only (AWS Hosted)

Browsers: Chrome (recommended), Edge

Common User:

  • Mining Companies

  • Mining Engineers

  • Study Engineers

  • Consultants

Purpose

  • idoba.sim is a cloud-native simulation software designed to model underground mining operations and support operations execution improvement, pre-feasibility, and feasibility studies.

Core Technology

  • idoba.sim uses Agent-based modelling to simulate individual entities such as trucks, loaders, and mine locations, capturing the emergent behaviour of complex systems.

2. Functional Specifications

USERS

Current Functionality:

  • User creation is managed by idoba.

  • All users can create and run simulations.

  • Simulations are visible to all users but editable only by their creators.

  • Users can edit their own scenarios.

  • All users can view all scenarios.

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Role-based access control for folders, studies, and scenarios.

STUDIES & SCENARIOS

Current Functionality:

  • One licence supports a single mine site.

  • Users can create multiple studies per mine site, each with multiple “what-if” scenarios.

  • Deleted scenarios are hidden from users but retained in the database.

ROAD NETWORK & MINE DESIGN

Current Functionality:

  • Imports representation of mine surface and underground road networks generated in external mine design planning and scheduling software.

  • Files can be reused across scenarios.

  • Once uploaded, road networks cannot be changed in locked scenarios.

  • Supports 2-way surface traffic flow (from Portal up).

  • Supports single lane traffic underground (from Portal down).

Network Structure Overview

The network consists of the following key areas:

  • Road: The surface-level area above ground (portal).

  • Decline: The segments that connect the surface to the underground workings, leading to the areas where development and production activities occur (access).

  • Access: The zones within the mine where active development or production is underway.

  • Slip ramp: Small sections of road on the decline that can be used by vehicles to give way to vehicles on the decline.

Supported Network Features

  • Declines that are flat, inclining, or declining, with variable grade.

  • Branching declines (a single decline leading to one or more sub-declines to access additional mining areas).

  • Decline bypasses that support directional traffic (e.g., one-way down the main decline and opposite flow via the bypass).

  • Multiple active loading nodes (LNs) within access areas.

Import File Requirements

Two import files are required to import a road network: haul network file and location nodes file.  

  • Format: CSV

  • Must use centrelines only, unnecessary vertices should be removed, and intersections should share common vertices.

Haul Network File

Columns required: route_id, seq_id, x, y, z, max_velocity, one_way, rolling_resistance, segment_type, decline_name, velocity

Note:

  • The decline should have a segment type of “decline” - the decline cannot have changing segment types.

  • Velocity and max_velocity should not change drastically through the network. Changes have to be gradual through sections of the network.

Location Nodes File

Columns required: x, y, z, name, node_type, zone, level, profile_id

Supported values for node_type: crusher, heading, load_point, portal, waste, stockpile, stope

Known Limitations

The following configurations are not supported and may lead to issues during simulation:

  • Loops in the network, as they cause routing confusion for vehicles.

  • Mixed segment types, such as embedding access segments within declines or vice versa.

  • Abrupt speed changes within road segments, which can disrupt vehicle behaviour.

  • Access containing production and development truck load points with a Z elevation greater than an associated mining area decline intersection.

  • Development headings cannot be located directly on a decline segment [an access segment can be added to end of decline as a temporary workaround].

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Full support for loops in network.

  • Full support for mining areas with Z elevation above or below decline access intersection.

CONFIGURATION

Mobile Agents

Current Functionality:

  • Support for loaders and trucks.

  • Loaders are assigned to locations and activities; trucks are assigned to loaders.

  • Maximum tested: 12 trucks and 8 loaders per scenario.

  • Vehicles coming up the decline have priority over vehicles going down the decline.

  • Vehicles traveling down the decline will enter a slip ramp if an oncoming loaded vehicle is detected within 3 slip ramps.

  • Vehicles scan for other vehicles approaching from intersecting declines. Vehicles wait and yield as needed to avoid conflict.

  • Before getting onto the decline from the access, vehicles scan for other vehicles travelling up or going down the decline (2 slip ramps on either side of the access). When clear, vehicles get onto the decline.

  • Loaders prioritize loading trucks from stockpile over primary source.

  • Loaders prioritize emptying primary sources to stockpiles when no truck available to load.

 Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Additional agents: jumbos, spraymec, charmec, longhole drills, operators, light vehicles.

  • Limits may be adjusted as new activities are added.

Fixed Agents

Current Functionality:

  • Stopes

  • Headings

  • Stockpiles

  • Crusher (limited to 1)

  • Waste dump (limited to 1)

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Additional fixed agents like ore passes and ROM.

  • Additional surface destinations (ROM, Waste dumps).

Work Activities

Current Functionality:

  • Load and haul operations includes material movement from stopes and headings to intermediate underground stockpiles to crusher and waste dump.

  • Manual load-haul-dump of material; includes of handling of ore and waste material at stopes and headings.

  • Loaders can work across multiple locations in configured order.

  • Material removal from development headings is prioritised over emptying stockpiles.

  • Simulation of stockpiling (size and locations) is supported.

  • Opening balances of stockpiles, with material of different types (ore and waste) is supported.

  • Ore and waste cannot be mixed in stockpiles, surface locations, loader buckets, or truck trays.

  • Stockpiles are mandatory for load and haul. Capacity can be adjusted to limit use.

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Load haul dump direct to truck from primary source.

  • Ore grade and blending.

  • Control room truck dispatch option.

  • Development advance inclusive of face drilling, bolt and mesh installation, scaling, shotcrete installation, LHD cleanup, and charge-up.

  • Provision for heading profile size and ground support plan variation.

  • Production advance inclusive of full stoping cycle.

  • Backfill systems.

  • Maintenance.

  • Ventilation.

SIMULATION ENGINE

Running Simulations

Current:

  • 25 concurrent runs per scenario to identify patterns: Each scenario’s simulation is run 25 times to identify emergent behaviour. The 25 runs occur concurrently, and the scenario’s results are presented when all runs have completed. Due to stochasticity in the model, each run would contain some variation producing potentially different results. The consistency of results across 25 runs is the emergent behaviour – a high level of consistency indicates a high level of probability of achieving an outcome.

  • Only one scenario can be executed at a time across all users.

  • It may be possible for some runs to fail if agents encounter issues during the simulation. Successful runs are reported on report summary post scenario run completion.

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Support for concurrent simulation runs.

  • Job queuing.

  • Estimation of simulation run time to user

Simulation Length

Current Functionality:

  • Simulations cover a single 12-hour shift.

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Longer durations (day, multiday, week) for activities like development or backfill.

Unproductive Time

Current Functionality:

  • Unproductive time outside of work activities —such as lunch breaks and rest periods — is aggregated and accounted for at the end of the simulation as a part of clearance time.

  • Pre-start check is combined with pre-op inspection.

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Granular modelling of unproductive periods.

  • Randomized timing of breaks and lunch.

  • Separate reporting of pre-start meeting and pre-operating inspection times.

3D VISUALISATION

Current Functionality:

  • Temporal playback of mobile agent movement.

  • Select agent or location to study interactions.

Future Proposed Functionality:

  • Heat maps for congestion and high-traffic areas.

SIMULATION OUTCOME REPORTS

Overview

idoba.sim can generate reports, as described below.  Such reports are intended to serve as decision-support tools.  However, the quality, effectiveness and actionability of such reports are dependent on, among other factors: (i) how idoba.sim is used; (ii) the completeness, accuracy and configuration of the data entered into idoba.sim; and (iii) how such reports are interpreted and acted upon, all of which are the responsibility of the user.  Users should interpret the reports considering all relevant context, and all additional factors that may influence outcomes.  Actual outcomes may vary due to factors such as, without limitation, data quality, operational changes ,and unforeseen events.

Ore and Waste Output Report

  • The first report is the predicted ore and waste output across all completed simulation runs (maximum of 25). This is designed to help users gauge based on probabilistic assessments whether ore and waste target objectives can be met but does not guarantee or assure that these objectives will or won’t be met.

  • Two histogram charts will show the output of all completed runs measured against the targets as set by the user; one for ore outputs and one for waste outputs.

  • Each chart will indicate 10th percentile, 50th percentile, and 90th percentile values, which shows the range of possible outcomes.

  • The spread of outputs is an indicator of confidence of the output. For example, a chart showing a high concentration of outputs near the median suggests a greater likelihood of achieving that outcome.

  • The 50th percentile is the median output suggests the most likely outcome.

  • From the spread of outputs, a single median run is selected to produce all subsequent charts and reports. The median run is generally based on the run that produced the median ore value. However, if there are multiple runs that produced the same median ore value, a single median run cannot be selected. In such a case, the system will narrow down the subset of runs with the median ore value by selecting the run with the median waste value as the median run. If a single median run still cannot be selected due to there being multiple runs with the median waste value, the system will further narrow down the subset by using median operational time as the selection criterion.

  • Based on the median run, a table shows:

    • the ore and waste targets.

    • the ore and waste output from the simulation.

    • the delta between the 2 values so that the user can identify how close the simulated outputs are to the target.

Mass Balance Reports

  • Mass balance reports provide insights into material movement.  The report is designed to help users identify inefficiencies and stockpile capacity issues.

  • Charts are produced for each stope and heading, showing the simulated material movement from the source to the destination which provides g the user with the ability to identify potential bottlenecks.

  • Stockpiles nearing the capacity at the end of the simulation are highlighted.

  • The report shows the tonnage remaining on the stopes and headings at the end of the simulation.

Truck Performance Reports

Truck performance reports are designed to provide insights on the productivity and efficiency of simulated trucks.  The report may support assessment of mine designs and road network design decisions.  The report can include:

  • Comparative performance between simulated trucks and against historical metrics from mining operations.

  • Cycle time for all completed cycles per simulated truck.

  • TKM for each simulated truck.

Loader Performance Reports

  • Performance reports on loaders are designed to provide bogging activity insights.

  • Primary tonnes and rehandle tonnes are shown for each loader.

  • The number of buckets and average payload for each bucket is shown for every loader.

Equipment Utilisation Reports

Utilisation reports are provided for trucks and loaders.

The amount of time each equipment spends in each state (eg, hauling, loading, waiting empty, etc) is shown and each state is categorised as productive or unproductive.

The amount of time each piece of equipment spends being productive and unproductive is surfaced and can be compared with the rest of the fleet.

3. System Requirements

HOSTING PLATFORM

AWS Cloud Only

USER PLATFORM

Browser

  • Google Chrome: 137.0.7151.56+ (preferred)

  • Microsoft Edge: 136.0.3240.92+

Internet

  • Required – Always connected

Mobile Support

  • Tablet and mobile phone devices are not supported

Resolution

  • Recommended: 1920 width, such as 1920x1080

  • Minimum:1440 width, such as 1440x900

For the best and most responsive experience, it is recommended to use a high-performance computer configured similarly to the following:

Processor

  • Intel Core i9 processor

RAM

  • 64 GB

Graphics card

  • Dedicated graphics card

Operating system

  • Windows 10/11 (64-bit)

Browser

  • Google Chrome: 137.0.7151.56

This configuration ensures the application runs smoothly and efficiently.

4. Security & Compliance

idoba.sim is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), utilising its robust security infrastructure to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data.  AWS supports compliance with global standards including ISO 270001, SOC 2 and GDPR, enabling us to meet regulatory requirements.

Your data is protected through encryption both at rest and in transit, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring to ensure a secure and reliable experience.

5. Subscription & Pricing

  • Subscription Model: Annual license fee for a mine site, limited to 3 users.

  • Additional services fee: It’s strongly recommended that idoba technical team assistance in preparing a road network for ingestion or troubleshooting any configuration issues after the onboarding period. Support is charged on a nominal services rate which is subject to change.

  • On-premises and or mobile deployment are not supported.

6. Onboarding & Configuration

  • A URL to access idoba.sim and user credentials will be provided.

  • As a part of onboarding, idoba will provide:

    • a demonstration of the system.

    • A service to assist on the preparation of road networks for ingestion in the product. idoba will provide this service assistance and guidance on the setup of the first scenario – from the creation of studies through to the generation of outputs from the simulation.

  • Standard training materials can be provided on request. These materials are not customised for individual clients but provide general guidance on product use and features.