Kalumbila Minerals, a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals, will implement Modular Mining systems at the Sentinel copper mine in Zambia. The Sentinel open-pit copper mine received Board approval in May 2012. Construction started soon thereafter with commissioning scheduled for Q3 2014. Sentinel mine’s processing facility will have an anticipated annual throughput rate of 55 Mt at an average grade of 0.5% Cu. The single-phase implementation on the mine’s 60-unit heavy equipment fleet will include Modular’s DISPATCH Fleet Management system, MineCare Maintenance Management system, and ProVision Machine Guidance solution for shovels, dozers and drills.

“Maximizing production efficiency is critical to our success. We chose to partner with Modular because of their capabilities of the IntelliMine Mine Management solution and proven success in the industry,” said Junior Keyser, Mine Manager at Kalumbila Minerals, Zambia.

The DISPATCH, MineCare and ProVision systems will optimise production, reduce maintenance costs and equipment downtime, and ensure that shovel, dozer and drill operators can precisely adhere to the prescribed mine plan. “The selected technologies will give Sentinel the tools to achieve efficient, cost-effective operation from day one,” said Lourens du Plessis, General Manager Africa, at Modular.

The Sentinel copper mine, Enterprise nickel deposit, and other mining deposits are part of First Quantum’s Trident project, located approximately 140 km west of the town of Solwezi and 150 km from First Quantum’s Kansanshi mine in northern Zambia. The Trident project represents the largest single project investment (some $2 billion) ever in Zambia. The Kansanshi copper mine, 80% owned by First Quantum Minerals and the eighth largest copper mine in the world, is also a Modular customer.

 The system is expected to be commissioned later this year.