Wenco International Mining Systems has announced the installation of the Wenco Fleet Management System at the Damtshaa diamond mine in northeast Botswana and the Koniambo nickel project in New Caledonia. The Damtshaa mine is a joint venture between De Beers and the Government of Botswana. Damtshaa, which means “water for tortoises” in Setswana, opened in 2003 and is forecast to produce 5 Mct of diamonds from 39 Mt of ore in its projected 31 year lifespan. The mine employs approximately 250 people and is ISO14001 (Environmental Management Standards) certified. Installation is expected to be completed within the first half of 2013 and will see nine vehicles equipped with the Wenco system.

Wenco Regional Director Jayson Bebek said: “The Wenco system is currently utilised at the larger Orapa and Lethakane operations and the Debswana management team saw the value of bringing the system to the smaller Damtshaa mine. This will allow consistent operational methodology for all of their mines in the region and they can take advantage of the same real-time tools and reporting.”

The also recently announced a contract with Koniambo Nickel SAS to supply the Wenco Fleet Management System at the Koniambo nickel mining project in New Caledonia. Koniambo Nickel SAS, a joint venture of Xstrata Nickel and the Société Minière du Sud Pacifique (SMSP), is managing the project development. The mine has an expected annual nickel production of 60,000 t, and a projected site length of 50 years. Wenco’s Fleet Management System will be installed on 9 shovels and 44 trucks at the mine site over the next two years. Koniambo will also be utilising Wenco’s innovative BenchManager™ high precision GNSS systems on their shovels to further optimize their mining operations.