Tag Archives: mining software

Guanajuato Silver reduces costs, optimises workflow with Micromine software solution

IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Micromine says Guanajuato Silver Company has chosen Micromine as its primary geological and mine design software provider.

Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond software will soon be implemented across four active mine sites – El Cubo, Valenciana, San Ignacio and Topia.

Guanajuato Silver chose Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond due to the comprehensive functionality, which has enabled the company to replace multiple geological modelling, mapping and mine design applications with Micromine’s powerful all-in-one solution, Micromine said.

James Anderson, Chairman & CEO of Guanajuato Silver, said: “We believe both Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond will enhance the performance of our mine exploration and engineering teams. By consolidating multiple software licences into one comprehensive package, we have been able to reduce our software costs while optimising workflows. We are also confident that Micromine’s strong support and commitment to customer success will help us achieve our goals as we continue on our journey to reactivate silver and gold mines in Guanajuato.”

Guido Perez, Micromine’s Regional Manager for the Americas region, said: “I regularly hear from geologists who are frustrated about the amount of time they are losing transferring data between multiple applications. It’s been a great experience for us to work with Guanajuato Silver to solve this problem for their team. By implementing a single software solution that covers multiple steps in the mining process, their team can stop worrying about managing software and start focusing on what matters.”

As one of the fastest-growing silver producers in Mexico, Guanajuato Silver also placed high importance on access to multi-language training and support for its rapidly growing team, the software provider said. Micromine has responded to this need quickly, already hosting in-person training sessions with over 50 users on-site in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The implementation of Micromine Origin and Micromine Beyond is just the first step in the ongoing relationship between Guanajuato Silver and Micromine, according to the latter. The organisations are currently collaborating on a program to support mining students in the Guanajuato region in developing the technical skills required for their future careers.

Commit Works launches My Shift Resourcing for CiteOps software

Automation, IoT, Mining services, Mining software, , ,

Commit Works, a software provider of integrated work management solutions, has launched My Shift Resourcing, a new feature of CiteOps specifically designed to cater to the needs of shift supervisors responsible for executing operational shift plans, it says.

Building upon the existing weekly and 24 hour plans in CiteOps, My Shift Resourcing provides shift leadership with an easy way to allocate planned tasks to locations, equipment and personnel, according to the company. The web-based shift-lineout tool supports drag-and-drop task assignments, providing real-time feedback on the expected use of locations, equipment and personnel.

Shaun MacRae, Head of Product, says: “My Shift Resourcing is a game-changer for shift supervisors. The feature is designed to streamline the process of managing and executing shift plans, providing real-time feedback on resource utilisation. This simplifies shift planning and optimises operations by ensuring that work is assigned to the appropriate resources when needed.”

My Shift Resourcing is fully supported by CiteOps’ powerful personnel rostering capabilities, as well as the recently released skills and qualifications management capabilities, Commit Works says. This ensures the right resources are allocated to the right work at the right time. All work assignments appear automatically on custom or out-of-the-box shift plan printouts, as well as on mobile tablet and phone interfaces for digital field operations.

My Shift Resourcing has undergone on-site testing and development to deliver a measurable impact on operations, the company explained. It simplifies the detailed shift planning process and boosts overall operational efficiency by streamlining workflows, Commit Works added.

Hexagon’s Mining division introduces new features to software suite

IoT, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , ,

Hexagon’s Mining division has introduced a new innovative block model management solution to its HxGN MinePlan solution, seeking to address the complex challenges associated with orebody data management.

This release will introduce HxGN MinePlan Block Model Manager, which enables users to quickly populate, manage and share block models from HxGN MinePlan 3D and third-party systems.

One of the key features of HxGN MinePlan Block Model Manager is its new API, which simplifies integration with other systems enabling data interoperability, according to the company. This means users no longer need to manually import or export block model data, streamlining the process and saving valuable time.

To remain at the forefront of technology changes, Hexagon says it is continuously modernising MinePlan, ensuring it remains a leading-edge solution that fits seamlessly into the modern digital ecosystems its clients are investing in, making it adaptable to changing needs.

Among other new features included within Hexagon’s Mining division latest releases are an enhancement of the MinePlan 3D Auto Cut Generation tool to allow for batch configuration of cut parameters. This will allow planning engineers to configure the cut parameters for all their pits in the first step of their workflow and run the batch of cut operations in the next step, according to the company.

In the HxGN MinePlan Geosciences Suite release, the company has included the ability to back-code geologic solids to drill holes, creating new intervals that the solids intersect. This has been a long-requested feature that will better enable field exploration planning, support superior reconciliation of geologic domain models and improve geostatistics resolution, according to Hexagon’s Mining division.

The results of MinePlan Geologic can be coded to drill holes. Users can validate results of coding operations in MinePlan 3D

The company’s HxGN MinePlan GeoLogic implicit modelling solution has also further undergone several enhancements, which will result in more realistic geologic models in complex geological settings, particularly in environments with complex faulting, the company says.

Lastly, in the HxGN MinePlan Schedule Optimizer solution, users will now be able to restrict the availability of roads by phase and elevation, while road availability by bench elevation has been added to allow further control of material routing. Alongside this, the software developers have included the ability to update the model location without resetting the schedule, allowing the user to define the new file path of a block model without having to reset the schedule, if the block model is moved to a new location. This will enable users to use the latest features in MinePlan Schedule Optimizer, such as destination coding if they need to move their block model to a new location, the company says.

MinePlan Schedule Optimizer also no longer requires users to set the destination ramps in a specific direction (from source to destination), eliminating unnecessary setup requirements.

Road availability can be toggled by segment and bench elevation in MinePlan Haulage

And, now that MinePlan Schedule Optimizer supports shovel scheduling, additional equipment information fields have been added, providing more comprehensive reporting, Hexagon’s Mining division said.

Lastly, on the HxGN Mineplan Activity Scheduler, Process Points – a destination type that can perform basic or complex calculations – allows users to model complex routing scenarios, such as routing by material type or pebble rejects sorting point for the mill. Blending Optimized Layers is a module inside MinePlan Activity Scheduler that allows the user to blend material coming from different sources to hit tonnage, volume and grade targets.

These two features can now work together, according to the company, providing a “great addition” for operations that needs to model complex routing scenarios and hit blending targets at the same time.

HxGN MinePlan Activity Scheduler works with three different types of volumes: BCM (Bench Cubic Metres), LCM (Loose Cubic Metres), and HCM (Haul Cubic Metres). MinePlan users can now run a blending scenario maximising HCM and LCM volume and using HCM and LCM as constraints, it said.

Vela’s Datamine keeps track of mineral tenements with LandTrack Systems buy

Environmental, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , ,

Vela Industries Group’s Datamine has acquired Australia-based mining compliance training and software company, LandTrack Systems, in a deal that could see LandTrack’s tenement management solution reach expand.

LandTrack Systems’ asset management system focuses on protecting, managing and tracking mineral title compliance, agreements and environmental activities worldwide.

Vela Industries Group’s Exploration General Manager, John Shippick, said: “We’re really excited to have this fantastic group of products and people under the Datamine umbrella. Any error can be costly, disruptive and stressful and, as LandTrack Systems delivers specialised tenement management software assisting with any aspect of your tenement management, it was almost too fitting to have them join us.

“We look forward to working closely with LandTrack Systems to enable the delivery and support of LandTrack products – taking their reach beyond Australia and around the globe.”

LandTrack Systems General Manager, Rachel Whiteman, said the acquisition is a positive movement for the company and its clients, as opening its game-changing solutions to a wider audience means more can benefit from LandTrack Systems products.

“Already supporting more than 140 Australian mining companies – including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Northern Star, Newcrest and Mineral Resources – this collaboration will enhance our abilities enabling us to show the world the difference we can make to the mining tenure process,” she said.

Delta Drone and Strayos team up to improve mine site decision making

Automation, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , ,

Drone-based data provider, Delta Drone International Limited, has announced a new product addition to its data solutions business model via its partnership and distribution agreement with AirZaar Inc, a corporation doing business as US-based, mining-focused software provider Strayos.

The arrangement will allow DLT to distribute software licences across Africa and Australia, either directly or via resellers and consultants. DLT will apply the solution in an integrated way
for existing and new customers to process and value-add drone captured data. In addition, customers will gain extra value from the Strayos platform more broadly, given its multi functionality to generate ongoing operational insights across business operations.

DLT CEO, Christopher Clark, said: “We have been assessing the markets in which we predominantly operate, being Australia and Africa, and have identified that our customers want a stronger vertically integrated solution that not only includes data capture but also data insights. Overlaying AI-intelligence in our current data workflows adds a higher value proposition to the end user, resulting in faster turnaround of reporting and ultimately simplifying decision making within these complex environments.”

Clark said the partnership with Strayos was mutually beneficial, with Delta Drone International seeing an increased revenue mix of software sales while Strayos would leverage the drone-focused provider’s global presence and geospatial experience “to ensure customers receive seamless on-boarding and continuous support”.

Strayos, Delta Drone says, has developed a unique software platform with advanced image processing, digitalisation and artificial intelligence tools designed to improve safety, efficiency and productivity in mining job sites.

DLT added: “Strayos’ software is primarily data-enabled by aerial imagery and LiDAR, captured by drones, and used to create digital twins of sites. The digital twins can be further enhanced by adding data from additional sensors from mining equipment. Strayos AI generates insights that help mining management and engineers make faster more informed decisions and ensure conformance across their operations.”

Strayos CEO, Ravi Sahu, said: “By partnering with Delta Drone, customers in Africa and Australia will be able to take advantage of Strayos’ AI powered solutions and insights to optimise their operations for safety, sustainability and productivity from mine to mill. Delta Drone is an excellent partner for this market expansion as they can immediately expand the products and value add they offer to their current customers and are well-positioned to support new customers.

“Working with Delta Drone is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in making advanced AI solutions easily available to the mining industry.”

Gold miner IMK feels the benefit of Volvo CE ActiveCare connection

IoT, Mining equipment, Mining software, , , , , , , , , ,

Since implementing Volvo Construction Equipment’s ActiveCare, Indonesian gold miner Indo Muro Kencana (IMK) has experienced productivity improvements that could easily be replicated across the industry, according to Hendro Sugito, Aftermarket Director at Indotruck Utama, authorised dealer for Volvo Construction Equipment in Indonesia

Gold exploration and mining company IMK, based in Central Kalimantan, connected the country’s largest ever fleet of machines to ActiveCare, the remote monitoring and proactive maintenance service, in November 2021.

IMK’s 52 articulated haulers and seven crawler excavators are fitted with sensors that convey real-time information relating to their production, fuel consumption, health and even operator skill to a portal in the cloud.

Some data points, such as location, speed and load are also communicated from machine to machine to help the operators complete work safely and efficiently.

The dashboards and reports then enable the plant and site manager to identify areas for productivity and efficiency improvements, implement adjustments and set new targets for further progress, according to Volvo CE. This could involve tweaking the number and capacity of machines on site to reduce idling time, finding more direct driving routes, or introducing training for certain operators.

Nine months on, the data has helped IMK increase productivity across its three sites by approximately a third, while reducing fuel consumption for the benefit of the environment and the company’s bottom line, Volvo CE says.

Another major benefit of connecting the fleet has been the positive impact on the convenience, effectiveness and cost of managing machine servicing and repairs, according to the OEM.

With ActiveCare, an artificial intelligence tool monitors all error codes and alarms transmitted from the machines to the cloud. The algorithm sorts through the data, prioritising the alerts according to urgency and severity and attributing probable causes.

This saves a huge amount of time and effort for the plant manager and helps them to determine whether immediate intervention is required for an issue or if the service technicians can wait until the next scheduled downtime. The engineers can also remedy small issues before they have the chance to develop into more serious and expensive problems, and always be ready with the right tools and parts.

Overall, the system has given IMK unprecedented insight into equipment availability, Volvo CE says. This information is key to productivity and profitability in a mining environment where machines are expected to operate almost 24 h/d and any time lost is a loss in earning potential. With ActiveCare, IMK can now optimise its machine availability and ultimately boost overall profitability of its facility, the company concluded.

Sandvik to pair Polymathian portfolio with Deswik solutions for ‘unique’ combination

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , ,

Sandvik has signed an agreement to acquire Polymathian Industrial Mathematics, an Australia-based provider of advanced mine optimisation software and services.

Polymathian will be reported in Digital Mining Technologies, a division within business area Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions (SMR), Sandvik says.

Polymathian’s solutions for automated decision making and process optimisation complements the offering of Deswik, a leading mine planning software company which Sandvik acquired in April, the company added. Its product offering includes mining operations optimisation and simulation software for areas such as extraction process, material flow, energy and fuel consumption, and maintenance efficiency. It counts several of the world’s largest mining companies as customers.

Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik, said: “With the acquisition of Polymathian we continue to broaden our offering to enhance productivity in our mining customers’ value chain. Polymathian’s automated decision making and process optimisation, together with Deswik’s software tools for planning and managing production, represent a unique combination in the market.”

Polymathian will be a part of Business Unit Deswik and remain OEM agnostic, according to Sandvik.

The acquisition will enable Sandvik to further accelerate the development of its end-to-end optimisation, battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and AutoMine® offerings, by leveraging Polymathian’s unique skillset and platform, it added.

Mats Eriksson, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, said: “Polymathian is a great addition to Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, and enables SMR to now have a unique digital portfolio that will help our customers to optimise their data-driven operations across the value chain and ensure their mine design is fully compatible with technologies like AutoMine and BEVs. I am very pleased to welcome Polymathian to the Group.”

Polymathian was founded in 2013, has 50 employees and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. The company’s annual revenues per June 2022 were around SEK100 million ($9.6 million). The transaction is expected to close during the March quarter of 2023.

Datamine adds to mining project management software offering with Scenario acquisition

Mineral project development, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, , , , ,

Datamine, via Vela Industries Group, has acquired Scenario, a leader in project delivery and project controls software for various industries, including mining, with its Enterprise SaaS platform.

Scenario, according to Datamine, is used on large and complex projects in the resource, infrastructure, construction, power and property development industries across Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

John Bailey, COO of Vela Industries Group, said: “The Scenario acquisition is a complementary addition to Datamine’s software portfolio. With increasing cost pressure on owners and contractors to deliver large-scale mining projects on time and schedule, Scenario will enable our customers to manage, collaborate and report progress across a portfolio of mining projects in real time.”

Sarah Smith, CEO of Scenario, added: “We are excited and proud to be joining Vela Industries Group and working alongside other leading software organisations operating within our client industries. This acquisition is an important next step in our continued journey of growth, further expanding our international presence through Vela’s network.”

Exyn’s drone-based mining autonomy ambitions taking flight

Automation, Communications in mining, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Having already achieved the highest documented level of aerial autonomy – level 4A – with its drone-based solutions, Exyn Technologies is striving for further industry firsts, Raffi Jabrayan, VP of Business Development and Commercial Sales, says.

One of its more recent breakthroughs came in Germany at the K+S’ Werra mine site, where a team demonstrated the use of the ExynAero™ and ExynPak™ at an underground salt mine.

Over the course of three days underground, Exyn’s field engineers successfully flew multiple autonomous missions in hard-to-reach areas while capturing rich, high-fidelity point clouds in a fraction of the time it would take traditional cavity monitoring systems, according to the company.

Jabrayan explained: “Several drone companies had previously attempted an autonomous mission to scan the immense cavities this specific site has, but the dust interference meant most of these missions ended within seconds.

“We were able to fly in some cavities completely beyond visual line of sight, mapping areas in a fraction of the time the teams would normally take for such manual inspections. In all, we were able to carry out a six-minute autonomous flight at the site.”

While the company did not carry out any specific modifications to its ExynAero platform to conduct such a flight, Jabrayan acknowledged that ongoing design and software improvements over the last year had enabled the company to accurately detect both dust and thin wires underground.

In addition to this, the company also displayed the capabilities of its handheld ExynPak solutions while on site in Germany.

The ExynPak, according to Exyn, can provide the world’s first real-time colourised point cloud visualisation on a handheld LIDAR scanner, capturing precise, colourised 3D models 20-30 times faster than a traditional stationery tripod or terrestrial scanner.

Powered by ExynAI™, the ExynPak ‘drapes’ real-time RGB information captured through two hemispherical fixed cameras onto point clouds created by a gimballed Velodyne LIDAR Puck LITE, providing operators a complete colourised 360° view of their environment, Exyn says.

At the Werra mine site, the Exyn team was able to capture a colourised cloud where the stratification of the rock could be clearly seen in the scan, enabling the K+S team to obtain data it would likely never be able to replicate in any other way, according to the company.

Jabrayan says such information could see operators plan their mining processes around the colourised captures, following mineralisation identified by the scans to ensure no economic ore had been missed after mucking out.

At the Werra mine site, Exyn’s field engineers successfully flew multiple autonomous missions in hard-to-reach areas while capturing rich, high-fidelity point clouds in a fraction of the time it would take traditional cavity monitoring systems

 

The ExynPak is likely to become a core part of Exyn’s next aerial autonomy offering for open-pit mining, powered by ExynAI, which enables safe flight in the most dangerous industrial environments.

“We have done some work in terms of moving our flights to the surface,” Jabrayan said. “It could cover various aspects – tailings monitoring, highwall scans…there are lots of requirements for it. We are actively working on integrating GPS into our ExynAI stack for outdoor autonomous flights, however, it’s not ready to be pushed to customers just yet.”

The company is currently working on surveys of ground-based resources, such as stockpiles, using a handheld ExynPak, plus carrying out aerial flights in manual mode.

Reaching the level of autonomy it has underground will most likely involve the help of its collaboration partner, EY, and a third company providing “software and visualisation input”, Jabrayan says, adding that he expects to see this autonomous solution come to light in 2023.

Earlier this year, Exyn, in partnership with Maestro Digital Mine, presented an aerial drone fitted with a Maestro gas monitoring Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) device.

This new gas monitoring drone, which integrates critical gas sensors onto the ExynAero and ExynPak platforms, is effectively the “quickest and safest mobile gas monitor on the planet”, Michael Gribbons, CEO and Co-founder for Maestro, said.

Powered by ExynAI’s multi-sensor fusion capabilities, gas sensor readings are captured while the robot is in flight and displayed in real time via a ruggedised tablet, Exyn explained. These sensor readings are saved with precise coordinates in a high-fidelity point cloud that can be exported and examined in a variety of mining software.

Jabrayan says a lot of mines have reached out to the companies since first presenting the solution at the SME MineXchange Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City, earlier this year.

“They are interested in the benefits such a solution could provide in terms of safety and productivity,” he said. “By flying the gas sensing drone underground soon after a blast, it could take the necessary readings and issue a notice to another system that it is safe to re-enter the area.”

This could see more mines shift away from re-entry processes based on out-of-date manual gas readings, to a system that is much more accurate and shaves – potentially – hours off operational downtime.

Exyn is closing in on a long-term trial agreement with at least one miner in Australia looking to test out this gas-sensing drone solution, according to Jabrayan.

“The long-term plan is to develop a drone-in-a-box solution that can reside underground and be flown immediately after a blast to offer the quickest possible readings,” he said. “Remote autonomous mapping of this type could see Exyn provide data to shift operators as they are heading underground, allowing them to get a picture of the environment ahead of reaching the location.”

The incorporation of such data into mine site operational processes could see drone-based solutions become vital to the running of mines in the future, and Exyn, through its post-processing pipeline, ExSLAM, is looking to enable this.

ExSLAM extracts the raw cloud from robot logs and refines it for third-party software, using a factor graph optimisation algorithm to create low-drift point cloud maps.

Jabrayan says the company continually receives plaudits from customers about the ease of use of this solution, explaining that Exyn is one of the few companies that georeferences its maps inside an existing coordinate frame.

“From there, we are able to detect all the survey points, download them, georeference them and push the data to any end-user software,” he said.

Exyn, Jabrayan says, is software agnostic when it comes to this process, but he did admit the company was in advanced talks with some leading mining software companies that could see its mapping data integrated directly into their platforms.

“We are also working with certain companies to use robotic process automation to make it a one-button process to scan, go directly into the end-user software, and create a mesh that can be used,” he said.

“We remain focused on using our technology and R&D to provide the best solution to customers in order for them to be as productive as possible and, of course, work in a more efficient and safe manner.”

RPMGlobal and MIRARCO’s AVM, VCM software to receive funding boost

Mine ventilation, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

RPMGlobal has announced an increase in funding for its optimisation software development program after receiving industry funds to further support the ongoing development of its decision support software for underground mining.

The support has been given by the government of Ontario through the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), an organisation that supports innovators to commercialise new Ontario based technologies. RPM acquired three optimisation software modules in December 2021 from Sudbury-based MIRARCO as part of a three-year collaborative research partnership. MIRARCO is a solution research provider for the mining industry and research arm of Laurentian University.

David Batkin, RPMGlobal’s Head of Product Strategy, said it was terrific to be working with forward thinking, likeminded organisations.

“RPM and MIRARCO have had a great working relationship for the past few years, and it is fantastic to be enjoying this additional support from OCI; it will go a long way to further develop these important optimisation programs,” he said.

MIRARCO President and CEO, Dr Nadia Mykytczuk, added: “This collaboration with RPMGlobal will result in full commercialisation and deployment of tools that will benefit the mining industry. We are really excited to have our teams working together as well as bringing together new academic collaborators from Queen’s University.”

The software modules benefitting from the investment are part of RPM’s Design and Scheduling product portfolio. These modules consist of the Advanced Valuation Module (AVM) and the Ventilation Constraint Module (VCM), both of which extend and complement the functionality of RPM’s mine optimisation software solutions.

The AVM facilitates the generation of optimised underground mine plans that are robust to uncertain product prices and ore grades. The VCM generates optimised underground mine schedules based on ventilation constraints.

The funding provided by OCI, which has a proven track record when it comes to supporting software development, RPM says, will be matched by RPM and will be used to support the multi-year collaboration arrangement between RPM and MIRARCO.

Batkin concluded: “We are very thankful to OCI for this support and for having the foresight and vision to recognise the value that this technology will bring to the underground mining industry.”