Tag Archives: Gascoyne Resources

NRW to leverage MaxMine tech platform at Dalgaranga gold mine

12th January 2022Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metalsAdam Harper, Coert Du Plessis, contract mining, Dalgaranga, fleet management, Gascoyne Resources, gold, MaxMine, NRW Holdings, Tim Abrahams, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

NRW Holdings’ mining division has entered into an agreement with MaxMine to install its technology across the A$300 million ($216 million) Dalgaranga gold mine contract in Western Australia.

The MaxMine platform harnesses cutting-edge hardware, digital automation, advanced artificial intelligence-based analytics and human-powered coaching to empower mine sites to increase environmental efficiency and operationally productivity, according to the company.

NRW was seeking a mining technology provider who could provide reliable data-driven, automated optimisation of its operations on site, leveraging the existing teams and fleet to further its data and broader technology leadership ambition within the mining industry.

The Dalgaranga gold mine is owned by Gascoyne Resources. NRW reach agreements with Gascoyne to keep providing services at the mine back in 2020 after the miner’s successful A$125 million recapitalisation process.

NRW has invested in building out its internal data analytics capabilities and was ready to step up its approach to partnering with service providers that supply to industrial data quality and help solve big data analytics challenges, it said.

Additionally, a tight domestic labour market has increased operator turnover at all mine sites and is an especially challenging issue for the mining contracting segment.

MaxMine’s technology automatically captures, enhances and contextualises up to 10,000 times more data at open-pit mining operations, relative to the industry standard fleet management system products, according to the company. Its data processing pipelines automatically contextualise all equipment, operator, and site data relative to each other, and dynamically to the conditions within the shift, such as weather, or other external factors.

This contextualised site data (a digital twin) is translated, in tandem with implementation coaching, to generate tangible increases in asset productivity and reliability of equipment, through three primary improvement states. These are: (1) Get in control; (2) Optimise Performance; and (3) Ramp up production rates.

These outcomes are evidenced by existing customers who experience, on average, an 11% payload increase and halve tyre costs after implementing MaxMine, the company said.

NRW Operations Manager, Adam Harper, said continuous innovation and intelligent use of data is core to NRW mining division’s future, and another way NRW is consistently adding value for its customers beyond moving tonnes.

NRW General Manager Mining Division, Tim Abrahams, added: “NRW emphasises good data as a critical enabler of our operational effectiveness and partnering with MaxMine, who are a leader in fleet operations data, allows us to continuously improve our performance for our customers.”

MaxMine Chief Executive Officer, Coert Du Plessis, said the two companies were aligned in pursuing a more sustainable and reliable mining industry.

“The benefits from this cooperation extend beyond MaxMine or NRW; the global challenge of ‘Net Zero’ by 2050 cannot be achieved without an order of magnitude change in mining efficiencies. Working with NRW is another fantastic example of great partnerships helping transform a critically important industry into a safer, more efficient and environmentally-friendly component of the world’s economy.”

The announcement of the agreement with NRW comes one month after MaxMine officially launched MaxMine Carbon, a technology offering that, the company says, will enable mining operators to reduce their carbon emissions by 5-20%, depending on their existing efficiencies, with limited or no additional capital expenditure.

NRW Holdings to keep mining Gascoyne’s Dalgaranga gold project

22nd October 2020Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mining finance, Mining services, Precious metalsAndrew Walsh, contract mining, Dalgaranga, Drill and blast, FTI, Gascoyne Resources, gold, NRW Holdings, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

NRW Holdings says it has reached agreements with Gascoyne Resources to keep providing services at the Dalgaranga gold mine, in Western Australia, following the ASX-listed miner’s successful A$125 million ($89 million) recapitalisation process.

NRW has agreed binding terms with Gascoyne for an extension of both mining and drill & blast services for the full life of mine at Dalgaranga, which increases the overall contract value by circa-A$180 million.

In terms of the recovery of all pre-administration debts owed to NRW, it has received A$7 million in cash, as foreshadowed in Gascoyne’s recapitalisation agreement, and received 24 million Gascoyne shares (post-consolidation) valued at A$12 million at the issue price of Gascoyne’s A$85.2 million equity raising. NRW will also receive a further A$13.7 million linked to ounces produced at Dalgaranga and the gold price.

In addition to this, NRW also exercised its rights as part of the Gascoyne Entitlement Offer and now holds, in total, 36.9 million shares in the gold miner (post-consolidation).

Commenting on the work undertaken with Gascoyne and FTI as administrators, Andrew Walsh, NRW’s CFO, noted: “We have worked closely with the teams in both Gascoyne and FTI to support the recapitalisation plan recognising that a viable Dalgaranga project was critical to the success of that process. Output from the project has been consistently above 6,000 oz/mth for most of this year which has provided the basis for a great solution for both Gascoyne and NRW.

“Recent announcements on potential additional resources will provide opportunities for NRW to provide additional services beyond the current life of mine plan.”

CSIRO senses a new way forward for mineral exploration

21st May 2020Mineral exploration, Mining policy, Mining services, Water managementAuris Metals, Capricorn, CSIRO, Erongo Energy, Gascoyne Resources, Independence Group, Marindi Metals, Mineral exploration, Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, MMG, Nicole Roocke, Northern Star Resources, RNI, Sandfire Resources, Thundelarra Resources, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

A project focused on the Capricorn region of Western Australia has indicated mining companies could more accurately pinpoint reserves of valuable minerals using a new water-tasting approach developed by the national science agency, CSIRO.

In research supported by the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), broad “haloes” of altered water chemistry around known deposits of gold, uranium, and other minerals were discovered where interaction with the ore systems had left distinctive traces in the water.

CSIRO Researcher, Dr Nathan Reid, led a team of scientists analysing samples of groundwater from the Capricorn region, where layers of sediment and weathering are believed to hide potential ore deposits from view.

Dr Reid explained: “Groundwater penetrates through covering sediments and interacts directly with the bedrock, dissolving trace amounts of the minerals present into solution. By sampling those waters, our instruments can essentially ‘taste’ the geology they have come into contact with.”

Where the underlying rocks contain a valuable ore deposit, the chemical flavour of that mineralisation extends much further than the concentrated mineralisation itself, according to Dr Reid, comparing this with a teaspoon of salt making a whole glass of water taste salty.

These haloes of altered water chemistry could help geologists identify areas where other ore deposits might still lie hidden below the surface, helping to focus mineral exploration in the right areas, according to CSIRO.

Chemical anomalies identified in groundwater from sediment-covered areas of the study region have already stimulated further exploration investment from companies seeking to identify undiscovered mineral deposits, according to CSIRO. Industry sponsors of the project include Marindi Metals, Thundelarra Resources, Sandfire Resources, Northern Star Resources, MMG, Gascoyne Resources, Auris Metals, RNI, Erongo Energy and Independence Group.

MRIWA CEO, Nicole Roocke, said the innovative work in this project by scientists across CSIRO, the Centre for Exploration Targeting and Curtin University will play an important role in encouraging mining industry investment in under-explored areas of Western Australia.

“This work demonstrates the exciting mineral exploration potential remaining in the Capricorn, and we anticipate this innovative approach to mineral exploration will stimulate renewed interest in many similar areas of Western Australia where we know richly endowed geology lies buried below younger rocks,” she said.

“By supporting this fundamental research, the Western Australian Government is helping to provide the mineral exploration industry with the tools it needs to invest in identifying the next generation of ore deposits in this state.”

The technical report summarising the findings of this research can be found here.