RungePincockMinarco (RPM) has entered into an agreement with FlexSim Software Products to acquire a copy of its simulation software. This will provide RPM with the exclusive right to not only commercialise, but further develop the FlexSim simulation software for the mining industry and extend its use throughout RPM’s simulation software suite.

RPM has for a long time understood the importance of simulation in the mining industry. The TALPAC product has been the market leader for over 30 years. It is used at hundreds of mine sites around the globe and is the trusted application when it comes to equipment productivity simulation.

RPM delivered a fresh new approach to simulation in February 2014 with the launch of HAULSIM, a discrete event simulation product specifically designed for mine haulage systems. HAULSIM was the beginning of RPM’s partnership with FlexSim as FlexSim’s simulation engine was incorporated into HAULSIM, giving users the ability to accurately model complex mine haulage systems in an interactive visual 3D environment so they can easily identify and remove operational bottlenecks.

The positive market reaction to HAULSIM encouraged RPM to deliver tight integration with its scheduling products, making this simulation step a seamless validation activity in the mine planning process. Once the mine plan has been built, the 3D simulation engine is easy to use. Taking a step further, this acquisition provides RPM with the underlying infrastructure capability to both extend the HAULSIM Desktop product and develop an Enterprise version of the product.

This simulation engine will also be embedded into the next major release of RPM’s recently released ultra-short term mine execution system, XECUTE. This will give mine planners, who have just created their ultra-short term mine plan, the ability to watch a full simulation of their plan in XECUTE’s 4D interactive viewer. Based on the outcomes of the simulation, users of XECUTE can either fine tune their plan and then simulate it again, or commit it directly to the Fleet Management Systems to execute.

Commenting on the acquisition, RPM’s CEO and Managing Director, Richard Mathews, said, “This acquisition supports our software strategy. FlexSim’s reputation in the world of simulation is second to none, so we are delighted with this major advancement in our software strategy. Adding to our comprehensive suite of Design, Scheduling, Financial and Execution products, this step makes RPM leaders in mining simulation as well.”

FlexSim’s Founder, President and CEO, Bill Nordgren, stated, “RPM is the most qualified software company within the mining industry because of its leadership position in developing and integrating simulation technology. With the acquisition of FlexSim technology, RPM will offer the most complete enterprise solutions in the mining industry. We are pleased to have such a strong partnership with a forward thinking company”.

RPM has also released an update to its industry paper titled Minimum Engineering Study Requirements. Under the banner of RPM Perspectives a publication that dates back to 1999 and previously known as Pincock Perspectives, RPM’s global team of experts has produced this update to the paper that has served as in industry guide to the challenging landscape of mining studies.

This topic was first documented in 2005 and updated in 2009, with the latest version being even more comprehensive.

Tim Swendseid, President of Consulting Services – Americas and major contributor to this paper commented on the update, “Issue # 70 of Pincock Perspectives was ground breaking; it was the culmination of so much information that it became a real tool for the industry. With the update in 2009, Issue #95 was incredibly well received. It has been our most requested paper, and even now six years later, we still get regular requests for copies. Recently we received a request for proposal for a prefeasibility study, and the request referenced our own table from the 2009 article — it is a highly regarded guideline used by the global industry. With so much value riding on the back of engineering studies we felt it was time for an update.

“This update has encouraged much discussion across our global team and taken a lot of work to produce.” The collaborative approach means all significant global exchange listing codes have been considered. This paper includes a comprehensive table of RPM’s Guidelines for what is suggested to be the minimum requirements for the three key levels of engineering studies, regardless of jurisdiction, incorporation or geographic location.

“Having this table as a tool makes it very easy to ensure your studies are meeting the minimum best standard we have set. At a quick glance you can see how complex this process can be if you don’t have the right information at hand. We hope this latest update continues to provide value to the industry, concluded Swendseid.”

He has over 30 years of operational and engineering experience including senior leadership positions at operating properties in the USA, Chile and Mexico. He has been involved with numerous operation and construction audits, investigations and implementations of internal growth projects and acquisition evaluations of individual properties and of entire companies. This has provided him with a solid grasp of the technical, operational and financial aspects of mining for all sizes of projects and puts him in good stead to lead the production of a paper like this.

Commenting on the publication of this paper Philippe Baudry, Executive General Manager – Advisory Services said; “The previous versions of this paper have come to be seen as somewhat of a bible for the industry, we set a standard and both editions have been referenced too many times to count. It has taken some time to gather all the right information but the team has done a fantastic job to ensure this article is informative, comprehensive and technically correct.

“Tim has led a global effort to ensure that RPM continue to set the benchmark for mining industry studies and we hope that our insight continues to be valuable. Our teams are experts in their field and producing a document of this calibre demonstrates their knowledge and professional integrity.”