The case for open data format standards

For years, the mining industry has struggled with incompatible, poorly integrated applications and data files for solving complex problems. Poor software integration has resulted in increased work efforts and inefficiencies. One way to improve integration would be through the use of an open mining data standard based on self-defining data formats (SDDFs), Used in several research areas for the transfer of information between different computers and applications, SDDF files embed the necessary data descriptions as well as the actual data records, Separating the data from the application would provide several benefits including portability and flexibility. This open data format standard could be established using a consortium of mining companies, software developers and vendors, government agencies and academia through a collaborative effort of all concerned stakeholders who would agree to support this standard within their own organizations and projects.