This follows the companies' strategic alignment last year to integrate MICROMINE's Geobank with Imdex's REFLEX IQ-LOGGER.

MICROMINE worked with Imdex for several months to integrate output from Imdex's ioGAS solution into the next major release of its 3-D modelling and mine design software - Micromine 2020 - which will be launched later this year.

The collaboration means geoscientists will be able to directly import ioGAS (.gas) files into Micromine 2020 software to map and model geological domains.

Mark Gabbitus, Micromine product strategy manager, said that the ability to import the files and related geological and geochemical interpretative analysis into Micromine 2020 was a boon for both companies and their thousands of global software users.

"MICROMINE and Imdex recognise it's in everyone's interests to enable the efficient transfer of data between packages," he said. "Integrating software with third-party systems like ioGAS not only makes our client's jobs easier but advances the industry, which MICROMINE values as a thought-leader in the METS sector."

While Micromine 2020 is still under development, Gabbitus confirmed some of the key features that would integrate with ioGAS included:

• In-built ioGAS symbol library so that data imported into Micromine looks exactly as it did in ioGAS;
• Downhole data that can brought from an ioGAS .gas file directly into Micromine as points where attributes (e.g. material type) can be modelled or displayed alongside geological logging to validate boundaries and contacts; and
• Downhole data displays that effectively show how geochemical properties differ between logged geological units.

In Micromine 2020, drill hole traces can be easily created from downhole points contained in an ioGAS .gas file; this data is then saved as a drill hole database in Micromine.

With over 10 years of development, Imdex's ioGAS software has resulted in optimised workflows and easy to use tools that incorporate industry best practise in interpretive techniques. The exploratory data analysis software offers detection of patterns, anomalies and relationships in your geoscience data. It has over 350 commercial clients and 20 government organisation users.

Dave Lawie, chief geoscientist at Imdex, commented: "It is exciting to combine the benefits of these market-leading software packages to provide additional value for our clients. This integration offers a seamless integration of ioGAS files and related interpretative analysis directly into MICROMINE 2020."

MICROMINE will continue to work with Imdex and its ioGAS team to further refine the integration before Micromine 2020 is released to the market later this year.