Gemcom Software International’s latest release of its award-winning Gemcom InSite mine production management solution, InSite 3, provides mining operations with the tools and real-time data needed to improve production throughput and management of mass and grade from the mine to final product, the company says. With InSite, mining operations are able to link production data, costs, and planned versus actual production. The result is greater efficiency, lower costs, and the ability to continuously improve performance of all processes, activities, and equipment.
“The mining industry has increased its emphasis to improving bottom-line results by maximising the value of their production assets and by reacting with greater agility to changes in commodity prices and the economy. InSite provides them with the tools and data needed to achieve these goals,” said Allen Vaughn, Executive Vice president of Gemcom’s enterprise business unit. “Every operation is unique, with different deposits, equipment, staff, and mine and plant configurations. We work closely with our clients to understand their mining value chain to deliver a solution that is matched to their needs. Today, InSite is used throughout the world, supporting these diverse commodities.”
Key InSite benefits include:
* Management of production from the mine, trucking, plant, stockpiling, processing, to final product
* Identifying production and equipment problems that may otherwise remain hidden
* Monitoring of equipment performance to eliminate bottlenecks and control costs
* Improved alignment between planned and actual production
* A higher degree of confidence in production numbers and compliance of systems through auditing, traceability, and data integrity
* Providing the catalyst for continuous improvement by empowering Plan-Do-Check-Act decision making.
“Managing day-to-day operations requires tracking mass and grade throughout the operation and comparing this with planned production. It also necessitates equipment and operational issues to be readily identifiable so they can be dealt with quickly,” said Charlie Forrest, Product Manager for Gemcom InSite. “Our InSite solution enables this by providing mining operations with powerful real-time alerts and analysis of all aspects of their operation, including stockpiles, equipment performance, operational systems, and material balance. The result is planned and actual production can be reconciled more effectively and the operation continuously improved.”
Detecting early-stage performance deterioration in systems and processes on a real-time basis is critical to minimising downtime and avoiding failures along the critical path. In mining operations, equipment failures can lead to significant downtime and delays. InSite provides the data required to anticipate these issues and enable follow up action to keep production on track.
Establishing a clear and accurate view of what is happening at a mining operation begins with having a high degree of confidence in production data. InSite enables this through real-time integration of operational data and validation of material movements, activities, and surveys. This is further enhanced with a robust calculation engine that enables mass and grade changes to propagate to material movements and stockpiles, ensuring the most accurate view at all times. With mass and grade data that is fully auditable and traceable, data integrity and system compliance is assured.
Centerra Gold’s Boroo mine, located in Mongolia, is home to one of the mining industry’s most innovative uses of mine production management technology. Boroo employs InSite as a sustainable solution that enables it to better leverage the data produced at the mining operation. “InSite manages our mine production from the pit, trucking, plant, stockpiling and heap leaching, all the way to final product. The ability to manage and analyse our stockpiles and equipment utilisation from crushed tonnes per hour to SAG mill utilisation provides timely, consolidated, and audited information to decision makers. InSite has improved our processes, taking them from days to hours,” said Alex Petermann, Chief Mining Engineer, Boroo Gold (Centerra Gold).