Software · head to head
MineSight vs Vulcan
Vulcan
Software
Industry-standard 3D mine planning and modeling software
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: MineSight mineSight (now part of Hexagon Mining) sells time-limited lease licenses rather than perpetual seats for exploration-stage users: License to Explore is scoped explicitly to "the life of a drilling campaign" and comes as two separate products, HxM Explorer and HxM Modeler, with additional functionality (UAV point-cloud surface meshing, a QAQC module) sold as further add-ons rather than included (archived press release, 6 March 2016); Vulcan neither the Vulcan product page nor the Maptek store page shows a price, a licence term or a subscription length
- They diverge on capability: MineSight covers 3D mine design, Vulcan covers Block modeling.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which MineSight and Vulcan actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Windows), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (1981).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in MineSight
- 3D mine design
- Operations planning
- AutoCAD
- ArcGIS
- Oracle
- Vulcan
Only in Vulcan
- Block modeling
- Mine design
- Surpac
- Leapfrog
- I-Site
- MineSched
Both cover
- Geological modeling
- Production scheduling
- Resource estimation
- SAP
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
MineSight
- Mine planningnot Vulcan
- Resource schedulingnot Vulcan
- Pit designnot Vulcan
- Underground developmentnot Vulcan
- Production optimizationnot Vulcan
Vulcan
- Geological modelling, block modelling and resource estimationnot MineSight
- Open pit and underground mine design and schedulingnot MineSight
- Grade control and geotechnical analysis at operating minesnot MineSight
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
MineSight
- MineSight (now part of Hexagon Mining) sells time-limited lease licenses rather than perpetual seats for exploration-stage users: License to Explore is scoped explicitly to "the life of a drilling campaign" and comes as two separate products, HxM Explorer and HxM Modeler, with additional functionality (UAV point-cloud surface meshing, a QAQC module) sold as further add-ons rather than included (archived press release, 6 March 2016)
Vulcan
- Neither the Vulcan product page nor the Maptek store page shows a price, a licence term or a subscription length
- Vulcan is a base product extended by nine paid add on modules covering geology and estimation, open pit design, underground design, scheduling, grade control and geotechnics, so the entry licence does not cover a full workflow
- Buying requires going through the Maptek store or contacting Maptek directly for a quote
Pricing, plan by plan
MineSight
On request- MineSight Core$18000/year
- Geological modeling
- Mine design
- Block modeling
- MineSight Advanced$35000/year
- Production scheduling
- Resource estimation
- Advanced optimization
Vulcan
On request- Vulcan Standard$8000/year
- 3D modeling
- Mine design
- Block modeling
- Vulcan Professional$15000/year
- Advanced geostatistics
- Resource estimation
- Pit optimization
- Vulcan Enterprise$25000/year
- All modules
- Custom solutions
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose MineSight if
- You need 3d mine design.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want operations planning.
Questions people ask
- Is MineSight or Vulcan better?
- Neither clearly leads. MineSight starts at On request and Vulcan at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, MineSight or Vulcan?
- MineSight starts at On request and Vulcan at On request.
- Does MineSight or Vulcan run on more platforms?
- Both run on Windows, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is MineSight best used for?
- MineSight is most often used for mine planning, resource scheduling, pit design, underground development. Of those, mine planning and resource scheduling are not what Vulcan is typically brought in for.
- What can MineSight do that Vulcan cannot?
- MineSight covers 3D mine design, Operations planning, AutoCAD, ArcGIS. Vulcan covers Block modeling, Mine design, Surpac, Leapfrog. Both handle Geological modeling, Production scheduling, Resource estimation, SAP.