Ahead of the focus on safety in International Mining’s October issue comes news that MICROMINE has successfully implemented its underground fleet management and mine control solution, Pitram, at Dugald River, in northwest Queensland. The Dugald River mine hosts one of the world’s highest-grade known zinc deposits, owned by MMG Ltd, which in 2016 announced an optimised mine plan that will support a 1.7 Mt/y operation with annual production of around 170,000 t of zinc in zinc concentrate, plus byproducts.
The successful implementation of Pitram enables the control room administrators to capture live data ensuring data accuracy, increasing efficiencies and control over equipment, tasks and personnel.
Pitram Business Development Manager, Chris Rowohlt commented “Real-time data entry allows the control room to make proactive decisions which ensures the operation can run safely and efficiently to maximise output.”
The solution utilises voice radio data capture, allowing production data to be entered into Pitram via radio communication. Included in the deployment is Pitram’s Materials Management module which uses mine design, survey and production data to provide real-time stockpile balances throughout the mining operation.
“The Pitram Materials Management module adds value to the Dugald River operation by providing an accurate method of tracking the material flow including grades from source to processing” said Rowohlt.
MMG Dugald River Mine Technical Services Superintendent Rhett de Vries explained “The implementation of Pitram has provided Dugald River with a robust mine control solution that will allow the operation to record, manage and process mine site data in real-time. Improvements in safety, productivity and reporting efficiency are already being realised, and the business looks forward to leveraging these benefits as the operation ramps up.”
Additional modules implemented will include Drill and Blast, which provides tools for planning and managing drill and blast operations, additionally, the Controlled Areas module improves safety by monitoring access to dangerous and hazardous areas.
A single source of the truth, Pitram, allows control room administrators to make decisions in real time based on the data captured to increase productivity and reduce costs.
Rowohlt added “We are very excited to have implemented Pitram at Dugald River. Pitram will provide MMG with an overall view of the current mine status, therefore enabling more control over the operation.”