High-performance computing (HPC) can complete complex and large-scale computational analysis workloads in a relatively short amount of time, bringing about many breakthroughs in scientific and technological development.
Traditionally an indispensable tool for contemporary scientific research, the use of HPC has permeated and transformed a wide range of industry sectors such as weather forecasting, genetic analysis, earthquake imaging and more.
With big-data analytics now being a big blip on the radar of the mining industry, HPC has also become a necessity for many mining companies today. In a competitive market, efforts to improve margins using operational intelligence are crucial. Here’s where analytics plays an important role in driving better asset utilisation, boosting productivity, enabling better- and faster-informed decisions at all levels, and above all, playing a crucial part in de-risking projects.
Helping achieve this goal is a wide array of sensors and controllers embedded across mining operations. These devices generate vast amounts of geoscientific, asset-condition and operational data in real-time. For example, a digital-twinning unit at the Rio Tinto Operations Centre in Perth leverages artificial-intelligence tools to handle more than 2.4 terabytes of data per minute. This data is harvested from millions of devices across tens of mines and thousands of kilometres of rail, and fed into a HPC facility that allows offsite operators to make data-driven decisions.
As the mining industry transitions into this era of digital data and information mobility, the ability to leverage large quantities of data using HPC is key to unlocking value across the entire lifecycle of mining operations.
Experience Australian provider offers reliable, cost-effective cloud-based HPCaaS.
With over 19 years of international experience, Perth-headquartered DUG Technology (DUG) designs, owns and operates a network of some of the largest and greenest supercomputing installations on Earth.
DUG has a focus on:
- Sovereign capability.
- Green computing to ensure a positive impact on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) footprint.
- Data and cyber security.
- Australian-based dedicated HPC Support.
- Domain-specific expertise.
DUG offers private, cloud-based HPC as a service (HPCaaS)—pure performance in a secure, fully provisioned and fully supported environment. DUG’s differentiated capability in HPCaaS offers users a complete stack. This includes high-speed networks with low latency, innovative solid-state-drive-based storage systems, and professional services such as code optimisation, algorithm development and on-demand software support—all tailored to the specific requirements of your mining workflows.
DUG’s HPCaaS includes not only support for the infrastructure but also bespoke end-user support for mining-specific workflows. This unique service includes benchmarking, tuning and testing to ensure you’re using optimal hardware and benefiting from efficient and effective use of the platform. This offering also affords greater system flexibility by dynamically allocating resources for each task while maximising productivity, without the need for dedicated hardware resources per application. Ultimately, you only pay for the capacity you utilise, without any upfront capital investment.
Whether you’re an experienced HPC user, or lack the resources, time and expertise to set up and configure virtual machines, manage workflows, optimise software for the hardware and oversee the security, DUG’s HPCaaS ensures that you get the support you need every step of the way.
Flexibility to spin up virtual machines or go bare metal.
DUG as a one-stop-shop provides organisations with the flexibility to run their business applications either on virtual machines or bare-metal servers via DUG’s private cloud platform, alongside the company’s HPC, storage and archive product offerings.
In this offering, you have control over the virtual machines or bare-metal servers—install an operating system of your choice, set up any software stack or service you require, and establish your firewalls and security systems. Alternatively, you may also choose to have DUG set it all up for you.
Benefit from tailored, green HPC solutions.
Modern mining operations must actively strive to mitigate potential environmental consequences of extracting metals. With many mining firms embracing digitisation, it is also imperative that the environmental impact associated with data-processing workflows is kept to a minimum.
Running your mining workflows at DUG leverages the company’s patented immersion-cooling technology for hardware, DUG Cool, which uses 85% less synthetic refrigerants and slashes power consumption by up to 51%. Those are significant numbers with respect to both their economic and environmental outcomes, and have helped fuel decarbonisation efforts across many industries. For instance, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) highlighted in their Sustainability Statement the power-saving benefits of DUG Cool, which helped reduce their carbon footprint and meet ESG requirements.
You may choose to work independently or collaborate with DUG’s team of world-class research scientists, mathematicians and software engineers who are available to get your project up and running quickly and cost-efficiently.
DUG’s unique and green cloud services allow you to focus on improving your operational efficiencies, enhancing how you organise, manage and process mining data to optimise performance—everything you need to be successful.
To learn more about DUG’s #PowerfulThinking, please drop a line at info@dug.com.
