South Africa’s Murray & Roberts, through its wholly owned subsidiary Murray & Roberts United Kingdom Ltd (MRUK), has agreed to sell its 65% shareholding in Insig Technologies Pty Ltd to the AvidSys Group (AVID). Insig is a Perth based Australian mining technology company, focused on developing mine automation services, providing sensor, software, and autonomous solutions by using equipment and personnel tracking for improving efficiency and quality across the mining value chain.
AVID is an international group based in Perth, Australia. With a presence in Australia and India, AVID operates across several market sectors, including the metals and mining industry. The beneficial owners of AVID are the Gautam family.
The statement said that AVID is experienced in technology development, product innovation and mining services, mining and construction infrastructure development. “The acquisition supports its strategy to develop a vertically and horizontally integrated business with investments in mining, raw material processing, construction, mining services, renewable energy – green hydrogen and infrastructure development.”
In October 2021, AvidSys Group as part of BUMA International, a JV with Indonesia’s Tier 1 mining contractor BUMA, itself owned by PT Delta Dunia, acquired the Downer Mining Open Cut Mining East business which was then renamed BUMA Australia. AvidSys Group’s subsidiary AGDM Investments Pty Ltd holds a 20% interest in BUMA International, with the remainder held by BUMA.
Murray & Roberts said that over the past few years it has developed Insig from a small technology company into a mining technology solutions provider. “Insig requires further investment to support its growth trajectory, which AVID will provide and Murray & Roberts’ multinational mining platform will continue to make use of services provided by Insig.”
In more detail, Insig manages the technology that is changing the face of mining, including underground communications, remote monitoring of equipment, digitisation and the interpretation of real-time data to drive operational efficiencies. It offers services such as data analytics and machine learning capabilities to support deep, real-time insights, predictions and recommendations. Its team of specialists provide digital services comprising life-of-mine (including design), systems and processes to support operations and mining services.
Insig told IM in 2022 that its Genesis offering represents a complete digital mining model of tools that can be developed and used individually, or they can be combined for a higher level of operability and a higher level of insight. The ultimate aim is a completely interoperable mining environment, and all the operating data is being collected and augmented to provide the necessary insights to effectively and efficiently manage the mining operation. Genesis has a modular design, leveraging IIOT technologies that are fully integrated with condition monitoring, maintenance scheduling, execution control, reliability, asset management and connected to the reporting platform to provide a full view of the mine.
It added: “The main differentiator for Insig is its ability to integrate geospatial, time series and transactional data in one location supporting true end-to-end insights across all domains. For example, an operator can start from a spatial view of the mine and understand equipment movements over time. Operational data from the equipment is available to visualise together with the maintenance records…the Genesis Digital Mine journey has just started and Insig already has deployed its products on a small number of sites. Specifically, the ESG & ventilation, condition monitoring and execution control products.”
The deal with AvidSys comprised a nominal value of A$1, with AVID assuming A$7 million of Insig’s liabilities. Insig had a net asset value of A$2.9 million and made a loss of A$1.7 million for the year to 28 February 2023. The transaction was effective from the execution date, being 27 March 2023. The completion date is 31 August 2023.