Author Profile

Simon Houlding

BIOGRAPHY

Previous VP of Professional Development
Infomine Inc
Year Joined
1999
Speciality
Geostatistics
Location
North America

A Vancouver-based professional engineer with an international practice providing services for mineral resource estimation, environmental assessment and online learning systems in mining and the geosciences.

Founder of EduMine (the professional development division of InfoMine Inc), the premier provider of online technical reference, continuing education and professional development for a global audience of mining and geoscience personnel and companies (www.edumine.com).

Founder of Lynx Geosystems Inc, developer of systems for advanced 3D modeling and geostatistical estimation in mining and the geosciences. Author of technical references for mineral deposit modeling and geostatistical estimation.

Qualifications include a Masters in Engineering (1972) from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Awards include The CIM Vale Medal for Meritorious Contributions to Mining (2015) and The CIM Robert Elver Award for Mineral Economics (2018).

Podcast

Sarah took part in The Northern Miner’s weekly podcast and discussed the recent trends in risk management and the importance of sustainability and how miners can better measure their ESG credentials. 

Course

This course is for anyone who needs to interface with the mining industry: suppliers of equipment and services, government and regulators, administrative and support staff. You will learn what is current, topical and important in today’s mining scene. In short, you will get a comprehensive overview of the mining industry.

You won't learn everything about the technical aspects of mining, but you will learn what is current, topical and important in today's mining scene. In short, you will get a comprehensive overview of the mining industry.

And you will get links to sources of information where you can find everything else. We hope that you will find the course so useful that it becomes your gateway for information on any mining topic.

The 2022 version of the course has been extensively updated and improved: charts and figures have been brought up to date and improved; many images have been replaced and some have been added; all online links have been verified and/or updated as necessary; mining people, companies and salaries have been brought up to date; and a new commodities section has been added for Lithium.

10 hours | 90 day access

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Geostatistics, Modeling and Analysis is a series of two courses that provides a practical application reference for students and practicing geoscientists concerned with 3D characterization of subsurface conditions. It provides the knowledge and background to allow useful application of geostatistics, integrated with 3D modeling and spatial analysis, in the furtherance of geoscientific objectives.

In practice, application of geostatistical theory requires an integrated toolbox of statistical, geostatistical, geological, spatial analysis, and visualization techniques. The Geostatistics, Modeling and Analysis courses focus on the integrated approach to apply geostatistics for subsurface characterization, from a description of the data structures required, through discussion of the concepts, theory, and application, to qualification of the end results with worked examples.

The courses emphasize the practical application of geostatistics and limit the presentation of geostatistical theory to the level required for a solid understanding of the techniques involved.

Geostatistics, Modeling and Analysis 1 - Data Structures and Theory is the first course in the series. It introduces geostatistics, data types and structures, and covers the basic concepts and theory of geostatistics. It then discusses the integration of geology with geostatistics and explains this through worked examples

19 hours | 90 day access

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Geostatistics, Modeling and Analysis is a series of two courses that provides a practical application reference for students and practicing geoscientists concerned with 3D characterization of subsurface conditions. It provides the knowledge and background to allow useful application of geostatistics, integrated with 3D modeling and spatial analysis, in the furtherance of geoscientific objectives.

The courses emphasize the practical application of geostatistics and limit the presentation of geostatistical theory to the level required for a solid understanding of the techniques involved.

Geostatistics, Modeling and Analysis 2 - Applications and Uncertainty is the second course in the series (and assumes prior completion of the companion course, Geostatistics, Modeling and Analysis 1 - Data Structures and Theory). It introduces practical applications of geostatistics in the geosciences and explains the associated statistical uncertainty of the results. The course covers areas such as uncertainty and probability, visualization and spatial analysis, practical data management, and where possible this is explained through worked examples.

16 hours | 90 day access

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More

Article exploring a 360 mining industry overview

The mining industry is buzzing with predictions about the dawn of a new commodity boom as metals prices rally to record highs and explorers scour the globe for metals needed to fuel the shift into the electric vehicle era.

An engineer by trade and trained in South Africa, Houlding came to Canada and started Lynx Geosystems, a company that specialized in geostatistics and spacial analysis before founding the mining industry’s online education platform.

By 2000, Houlding recognized the opportunity to turn the internet into a globally accessible classroom.

“I think that’s been brought out by the pandemic, where ecosystems really shifted to online education and professional development. We recognized a technical opportunity and I think we accomplished that quite well – and we’ve had a lot of fun. A big part of it was attracting authors from all over the world in different fields to contribute,” Houlding says.

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Article on Mine Blasting

As a fourth-generation explosives expert, Anthony Konya was born into the industry: mine blasting is in his blood and an integral part of his family history.

“My great-great grandfather was a well blaster in Hungary – they used to lower him down into a well in a bucket – he’d plant the dynamite, light the safety fuse and hope someone would pull him up before it went off,” Konya said.

After growing up in Ohio, Konya worked and lived in Missouri, Louisiana and New Mexico, working with Cargill and Freeport McMoran.

At Missouri University of Science and Technology, Kona completed bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees in mining engineering and was later an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Mines.

Konya has authored the online, on-demand Introduction to Blasting course at Edumine for two years, coaching on modern methods that have replaced old concepts to enable blasters and engineers to make significant improvements to the drilling and blasting process.


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Video: Exploring ESG

Sarah was a speaker at the inaugural Edumine Shift Event. This event explored how to move ESG knowledge into the field so that it is top-of-mind for every employee, not just those directly engaged in reporting and compliance activities. The thought leadership panel discussed:

  • What are the key ESG priorities and knowledge gaps we need to address in 2021?
  • How do you make ESG understandable and relevant to a diverse employee base?
  • What are some best practices and success stories we can all learn from?

Watch now >

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