Mine planning software specialist Maptek has agreed to step up its investment in Minlog and its Production Management Information Systems technology, with the aim of acquiring 100% of the company over the next 18 months.
Maptek said the deal builds on a longstanding partnership between the two companies to bridge the gap between mine planning and mine production.
Maptek has been involved in a partnership with MinLog and its production management and management information systems technology since 2008. When the tie-up was announced in November of that year, Maptek said it “will provide a greater global marketing, delivery and support capability as well as deliver enhanced product functionality to global customers in the short and long term”.
Prior to this, the two companies already had a relationship whereby MinLog acted as distributor of Maptek’s MineSuite product in Africa.
Minlog says it develops, deploys and supports mining processes with intuitive, meaningful information that helps operations manage product flow and performance. It does this through production management solutions, including fleet management and management information systems.
Maptek said: “This latest investment will see Maptek increase its ownership of the business and the products to 100% over the next 18 months. Production Management data is considered a key component in delivering on Maptek’s commitment to add significant value to the data available to mining companies.”
Commenting on the investment, Maptek MD Peter Johnson said: “There is a huge gain in performance and efficiency to be had by combining the data models used in Mine Planning with the systems and processes applied in Mine Operations.
“The orebody knowledge and characteristics have an impact on mine performance well after the planning stages are complete, but there has been little ability to refer to and make decisions with the benefit of that orebody knowledge in a tactical, operational decision support capacity in a mine production environment.”
Under the new arrangement, MinLog will continue to operate, with current management and staff “remaining committed to delivering the world’s best Production Management systems”, Maptek said.
MinLog MD Karel Gilliland said: “MinLog leverages flexible service bus integration and a cloud- or server-hosted data lake containing a validated and contextualised digital record of all equipment and mining fleet being tracked. This enables us to deliver a powerful range of production management functionality across the whole supply chain in a mine.”
He added: “In addition, MinLog develops advanced DSF technology, allowing near real-time data acquisition from fixed and mobile equipment underground for reliable, cost effective and flexible deployment.”