James White (Modular Mining) to be inducted into International Mining Technology Hall of Fame

Posted by Daniel Gleeson on 9th October 2014

James White, developer of the DISPATCH system and founder of Modular Mining Systems, will be inducted in the surface load & haul category at the gala dinner in the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver on February 16 (www.im-halloffame.com). On October 1, Modular Mining Systems proudly celebrated 35 years of providing industry-leading mine management solutions for surface and underground operations.

Founded in 1979, Modular revolutionised the way mines work in real time with the release of the DISPATCH® Fleet Management system (FMS). The system’s proprietary optimisation algorithm, industry-specific software and rugged, purpose-built hardware eliminated the need for visual pit oversight, increased production, and enabled mines to manage their entire haulage cycle from a central computer.

Modular’s first customer, the Phelps Dodge Corp (now Freeport-McMoRan), installed the DISPATCH system at its Tyrone mine in May of 1980. Soon thereafter, the mine reported an unprecedented 11% increase in productivity attributable to the increased efficiency derived from its implementation of the DISPATCH FMS. Since then, Modular has consistently repeated this success. By optimising production at over 240 mine sites, the DISPATCH system has helped customers move more than 70,000 Mt of additional material.

Over the last three decades, Modular has gone on to develop the IntelliMine® Mine Management suite, comprised of the DISPATCH FMS, ProVision® Machine Guidance solution, MineCare® Maintenance Management system, and MineAlert™ Safety Management Tools. Together, these products address the big picture areas of operations, planning, maintenance, and safety.

As it has from the beginning, Modular continues to focus on innovation and new ideas, while simultaneously ensuring that customers receive the maximum value from their investment. “We take lessons from the past while keeping our eyes firmly set on a vision for the future,” said Luiz Steinberg, Modular CEO. “As a company, our goal is to provide quality products that help our customers achieve higher levels of productivity, profitability, and operator safety.”