Tag Archives: mining software

RPMGlobal establishes Asset Management Centre to address AMT software demand

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

RPMGlobal has announced the opening of its Asset Management Centre of excellence in Perth, Western Australia, which has been developed to, the company says, address the rapid growth and demand of/for the company’s AMT software suite.

The centre brings together personnel with a diverse range of skills focused on best practice in the asset management space, with the centre having a particular focus on supporting clients and projects in Western Australia.

AMT is RPMGlobal’s asset management software which helps mining companies, contractors, OEMs and their dealers effectively manage their assets using a “unique” Dynamic Life Cycle Costing engine.

Since early 2021, RPMGlobal says it has been recruiting heavily for asset management specialists to cater for additional deployment and support skills to enhance and support the delivery of current and future demand of their asset management suite of solutions.

According to Richard Mathews, RPMGlobal CEO, the decision to base the centre in Perth made sense on several fronts.

“Perth became an obvious choice due to the highly sought-after skills and experience of the recruitment pool as well as the time zone with a number of our bigger customers and users of the software,” he said.

RPMGlobal claims to have secured a marked increase in new organisations using the software in the last 12 months and is making room for a heightened period of growth, in particular from its Western Australia customers.

“Perth makes sense not just for Western Australia but also several globally strategic projects,” Mathews said. “We are expanding for what is a significant period of growth across our business, particularly in the AMT space.”

The upward trajectory builds on a big 2020 for the Perth team where a major renovation of RPMGlobal’s Perth office was completed, adding another floor and unveiling a dedicated Customer Experience Centre to support the company’s growth in the local market.

Mathews said this latest period of accelerated growth across its Western Australia customer base is in line with securing major sales and accelerating development of new products and services.

“Our intention is always to have a very strong local support network for our customers and the increased investment in our Perth footprint is a strong reflection of that commitment,” he said.

The company’s organic expansion coincides with a period of increased market confidence and positive industry outlook, coupled with a sharp focus on innovation from major mining companies, RPMGlobal says.

Mathews added: “It’s certainly an exciting time for the mining industry and we have seen Perth, in particular, emerge as a digital and innovation mining hub.

“Our Perth Asset Management Centre demonstrates our strong commitment to the region and providing our growing customer base with technology solutions that unlock long-term value across the mining value chain.”

RPMGlobal’s SaaS model enhanced with IMAFS and Shift Manager cloud-based transitions

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

RPMGlobal says it has accelerated the transition of its product suite to the cloud, releasing two new cloud offerings to the market.

The company’s IMAFS™ inventory optimisation and Shift Manager™ operational management solutions have now made the transition, the company said.

IMAFS uses artificial intelligence-based algorithms to enhance inventory management and forecasting accuracy for miners. It connects to an organisations ERP, enabling operations to continuously improve the accuracy of parts availability, reduce inventories, decrease stockouts and reduce equipment downtimes, according to the company.

Transitioning IMAFS from a hosted solution in the cloud to a full Software as a Service (SaaS) model will provide users with greater flexibility in security and authentication, RPMGlobal claims. As a result of the shift to the cloud, customers can now continuously optimise their inventory management processes.

“The move to the cloud has as an array of benefits, including increased ease of use, as users now only need a browser to access the IMAFS software,” RPMGlobal says. “Other benefits include high levels of scalability and availability, a modern API interface, faster deployment time and improved cost effectiveness.”

Shift Manager, meanwhile, is a short-term task planning and execution solution that enables users to collaborate and communicate through a single, integrated plan. The software allows users to manage tasks and resource allocations to drive more effective on-shift decision making and greater compliance to plan, according to the company.

As a cloud-enabled hosted solution, users are able to execute short-term shift planning through a single, integrated, web-based application without the need to be physically on site, the company says. Other benefits include enhanced security and collaboration across departments and a rapid implementation methodology that includes several pre-built integration points.

RPMGlobal Chief Technology Officer, Paul Beesley, says cloud adoption will help the industry unlock additional productivity and sustainability improvements.

“Cloud applications facilitate remote collaboration and the scalability that mining organisations require while creating robust data storage solutions that are more cost-efficient when compared to outdated hardware,” he said.

“Our products have been designed to leverage the tools and services available on the cloud platforms to rapidly build enhanced solutions for our customers. The transition to a full cloud offering across our full product portfolio is being enabled due to our above industry average investment in research and development and we look forward to continuing our progress in releasing more cloud offerings to the market soon.”

RPMGlobal Chief Executive Officer, Richard Mathews, added: “The company is committed to investing in technical innovation to enable customers to operate their mines as efficiently as possible.

“With more customers adopting a remote-operating business strategy through technology enablement, our work to migrate other products to a complete SaaS model will ramp up as we strive to add additional value for our present and future customers.”

Maptek brings mining software knowledge to CEEC

Comminution of minerals, Communications in mining, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Maptek has become the latest company to join the Coalition for Eco Efficient Comminution (CEEC) as a new sponsor, signing on for three years of sponsorship.

Announcing the Maptek sponsorship, CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, welcomed the company to CEEC’s worldwide network of miners, mining supply companies and researchers working toward more sustainable practices.

“Maptek is the first mining design software company to sponsor CEEC’s important work,” she said. “It delivers advanced tech solutions to people making key decisions at mine sites, and has a truly global reach, which means Maptek can help drive large, positive impacts.

“High-impact Maptek technologies are used at thousands of sites worldwide, so Maptek is in a great position to work with miners to find and implement new ways to create value and reduce footprint. Together, we see exciting opportunities for mining companies to leverage technology as we all strive to decarbonise and achieve the best possible ESG outcomes.”

Maptek solutions cover the whole mining cycle, and the company’s vision is to change the way mining is done, forever, CEEC says.

Maptek CEO, Eduardo Coloma, said these aims can be best achieved by considering comminution outcomes from the earliest stages of mining.

“Building eco efficiency and sustainability into a mine’s operating model is more than possible,” he said. “The latest technologies allow us to predict energy and productivity improvements by linking the orebody to the plant. There are a lot of opportunities, and we hope to contribute to sharing the world’s leading practices and technology options to accelerate these through our support of CEEC.

“CEEC objectives to drive efficiency, productivity and sustainability throughout the whole mining life cycle are well aligned with Maptek aspirations.”

Coloma believes the industry can share site knowledge and practical ways to optimise energy consumption and reduce operating costs, with better downstream cost efficiencies.

He added that partnerships and collaboration are key to success. Maptek brings established partnerships with miners and collaborators, including CEEC Sponsor PETRA Data Science, and is looking forward to working with others to help share practical site optimisation and industry decarbonisation options, CEEC says.

Coloma said understanding its customers’ future energy plans now enables users to incorporate solar and wind energy usage into mine scheduling tools, and predict better plant and energy performance.

“Maptek solutions already include multi-objective optimisation for blast design and fragmentation prediction and analysis, all helping to drive improved productivity and performance from mine to mill,” he said. “Tracking fragmentation on a blast-by-blast basis helps operations improve mining performance.

“We’re keen to share inspiring ideas and solutions like this, to help encourage uptake of best practice, which is fundamental to increasing sustainability for the future of the mining industry.”

Keogh said Maptek coming on board as a CEEC sponsor highlights the huge potential to translate improvement goals around mining footprint and productivity, and connect them across the silos into real actions on the ground at mine sites.

She noted that industry now has advanced technology to make decisions that drive big impacts downstream: from blast design and execution, to ore-waste delineation, efficient excavation and fleet use, through to energy and water use in the mill and beyond.

“Technology options available now offer exciting and tangible options,” she said. “We can leverage advanced, practical software at sites, and extend this further with new knowledge from big data and digital twins. I look forward to mine sites sharing their work to not only test and plan, but also put in place these positive changes across mine sites worldwide.”

Seequent adds to cloud-based geoscience software base with Imago acquisition

IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bentley Systems’ Seequent business unit has acquired Imago Inc, a developer of cloud-based software for the capture and management of geoscientific imagery.

The acquisition, which comes only a month after announcing the purchase of Aarhus GeoSoftware, will expand Seequent’s technology solutions portfolio while boosting cloud capabilities to help geoscientists and engineers solve earth, environment and energy challenges, it said.

Imago’s cloud-based platform enables the capture, cataloguing and review of drilling core and chip images from any source, to support every aspect of the geological process from exploration to grade control. Continued development of Imago’s machine learning will lead to a step function in the interpretation of geological data, according to Seequent.

Seequent said: “Mining companies around the world apply Imago’s solution in conjunction with geology data management and modelling tools to enable teams to make more confident, profitable decisions using instantly available, high-quality images. Seequent already integrates its Leapfrog, Oasis montaj, Target, and Minalytix MX Deposit with Imago’s solution, making it easy for geologists, engineers and other stakeholders to extract knowledge and learn from geoscientific imagery. The goal is to unlock significant potential for mining and other industries, transforming image data into meaningful insights for geological activities.”

Imago establishes a consistent process for capturing high-quality images, which integrate with existing workflows and allow the application of machine learning

Graham Grant, CEO of Seequent, said: “It’s an exciting step to welcome the Imago team on board to help advance Seequent’s progression into the cloud. We’re continually exploring ways to provide new technologies and solutions to solve workflow challenges, improve operational efficiency and deliver greater value for our users who are working to solve some of the world’s major civil, environmental, and energy challenges. This acquisition demonstrates Seequent’s continued growth and our commitment to make a positive contribution to the industries we serve globally.”

Imago’s Co-Founder, Federico Arboleda, said: “As a small team in Phoenix and Perth, we’re excited to join forces with Seequent, as this will now allow us to substantially scale Imago’s solutions in mining and other markets. We founded Imago to help mining companies manage the high volume and size of geological images and unlock the great value in this geoscience imagery. Image data is an increasingly important source of data across the geosciences – and can come from potentially any source, including core photos, hyperspectral, aerial photos, drones, and handheld devices. It will become even more important to transform image data into knowledge as automation needs increase.”

acQuire future-proofs GIM Suite with latest update

Communications in mining, IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , ,

acQuire has advanced its flagship GIM Suite product with a new release that, it says, includes a raft of brand-new features plus a transition to a new cloud-based licence model.

GIM Suite 5 has been built for the future of data management, with the aim to improve the way geologists and miners manage their geological data, acQuire explained. The new release streamlines data collection from the field to sample submission and provides a way to seamlessly manage their entire field data collection workflow across mobile, desktop and web.

Steve Mundell, Director of Product at acQuire, says the company is focused on continually evolving the GIM Suite software to ensure miners are always working with the most powerful geological data management tools on the market.

“We’ve focused on providing dynamic and interactive tools for geologists to match the way they work,” Mundell said. “GIM Suite 5’s new interface is designed for drill hole logging and sampling across a range of drilling methods, from exploration to production, whether you’re collecting data in remote field locations or logging in the core shed.

“It gives you visual feedback in real time when logging geological observations and sample intervals within a graphical log in web or mobile. You no longer need to use multiple software tools for different logging scenarios.”

Geologists working with geoscientific data can use GIM Suite 5 for Reverse Circulation, air rotary drilling or Rotary Air Blast, air core or diamond drilling methods.

Workers in a remote environment with limited or no connectivity, can capture drillhole data using the acQuire Arena mobile app. Alternatively, if they are working online, they can capture data on any Windows device through a web browser.

GIM Suite 5 smoothly integrates all the steps from mobile data capture in the field to creating sample despatch reports on the web, acQuire said. Users can plan, capture, import, monitor and despatch.

“This results in a fast, efficient, and accurate way to manage geological data across an entire field collection workflow,” Mundell explained.

A new web-based tool, Data Discovery, enables senior geologists or anyone on a geology team to discover and access all data stored in GIM Suite.

“We want to give miners a way to dig deeper into their geological data, when they need to” Mundell said. “You can rapidly construct complex queries in our web interface. The data discovery tool lets you create complex data queries and views with a ‘drag and drop’ tool. You can construct queries, filter or aggregate data across data views, and create on the fly calculations.”

Business rules and other parameters governing the quality and integrity of geological data are controlled from a central location in a new, web-based data definition library, acQuire says. This simplifies how data definitions are managed and allows users to apply business rules consistently across all methods of data capture. Configuration times for new projects are also reduced, with users able to rely on previously created data definitions.

With this release, acQuire has overhauled the way it licences its technology to ensure everyone who needs GIM Suite has easier access to the product, it said.

“We’re introducing a simplified and more flexible licence model for all users of GIM Suite technology with this release,” Mundell said. “GIM Suite licences are now managed from a cloud-based licence platform, making it easier to access and manage team licences.”

RPMGlobal adds electric vehicles to the HaaS simulation mix

Environmental, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

RPMGlobal says it has further advanced its environmental, social and governance (ESG) software capabilities following the completion of enhancements to its Haulage as a Service (HaaS) simulation product to incorporate support for electric vehicles.

In addition, the company is planning to add hydrogen haulage vehicle technology into the mix later.

As a cloud enabled, service-orientated approach to haulage analysis, HaaS provides mining companies with the capability to undertake haulage calculations in a cloud environment, according to RPM.

The introduction of electric vehicle support will allow users to model energy usage and regenerative braking within HaaS, providing users with the ability to complete travel time calculations programmatically in a cloud-based environment.

RPMGlobal’s investment in both cloud and sustainability has increased significantly in the past year, culminating in the latest release of HaaS. HaaS, which was the first RPMGlobal solution to be released as a true Software as a Service offering, is a native cloud application that gives miners increased operational agility to undertake haulage calculations from any location, the company explained.

RPMGlobal Chief Executive Officer, Richard Mathews, said the latest release further demonstrated the company’s commitment to support mining organisations on their journey towards environmentally responsible operations.

“RPMGlobal is focused on contributing towards a sustainable future for the people and organisations that we work with and it is great to see the advancements that our software is contributing to in this space,” he said.

With hydrogen now viewed as having an important role to play in the industry’s bid to decarbonise through the integration of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the next step for RPMGlobal’s haulage simulation platforms will be the introduction of hydrogen vehicle technology to the mix. Foundation work has already started on the offering, with completion planned later this calendar year, the company said.

“This new functionality will allow organisations to simulate hydrogen-powered vehicles and run scenarios with the specific characteristics of the new hydrogen technology,” RPM said. “The simulation platform will then provide a way to assess options and scenarios for diesel, electric or hydrogen powered vehicles in any combination.”

Mathews views the platform as critical capability for mining organisations and original equipment manufacturers as they search for ways to remove reliance on fossil fuels in mining.

“As more and more organisations commit to emission reduction targets, it will be critical to have software that can simulate different outcomes based on what combination of diesel-, electric- or hydrogen-powered vehicles are deployed within the mining operation and allow users to quantify the results of each scenario in a way that assists them to make the best decisions inclusive of sustainability considerations,” he said.

An increasing number of miners have formally set emissions targets while the majors have committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Many of the plans to reach these decarbonisation commitments have an element that focuses on haulage of material and the shift from diesel to alternative energy sources that are more sustainable, according to Mathews.

“Whether an organisation is looking to battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen, or trolley infrastructure as a greener alternative, our intent is to ensure RPMGlobal’s simulation solutions can support and enhance those decisions into the future,” he said.

The company added electric vehicle support to its haulage simulation platforms, HAULSIM and SIMULATE, back in May.

MICROMINE deepens mine scheduling expertise with Precision Mining addition

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

MICROMINE says it has taken its first step on the acquisition trail, signing a deal to purchase Queensland, Australia-based technology company Precision Mining.

The arrangement will give MICROMINE full ownership of Precision Mining, which is best known for its flagship mine scheduling software, Spry.

The acquisition is the first in almost two decades for MICROMINE, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.

Spry expands and deepens the mine scheduling segment in the company’s software suite. Spry provides a dig scheduling, dump scheduling and mine haulage software environment that gives complete results in a fraction of the time, according to Precision Mining.

MICROMINE’s current offering covers the entire mining cycle from exploration to production control, with its products currently used at 2,000 sites in 90 countries.

MICROMINE CEO, Andrew Birch, who took the reins at MICROMINE in 2019 after private equity firm Potentia Capital acquired a majority stake, said Spry would continue to operate as a standalone brand but would also be closely integrated with the MICROMINE suite.

“Precision Mining really stood out, not just for the quality of its software but also for the team’s experience and reputation as consultants in mine scheduling and haulage,” Birch said. “We looked worldwide for a company that was best in class and had the potential to scale globally. Finding an Australian company like Precision that is building innovative technology solutions suitable for the global mining market made the acquisition really attractive.”

Birch said MICROMINE’s focus for the past two years has been on accelerating organic growth and ensuring its product, distribution and customer service are “on point” and the company’s product roadmaps and vision are pushing into the next generation of both technology and mining.

“We are now expanding our reach and depth of expertise in a market we know well,” he said. “This is a very synergistic addition to our business and an important part of our growth strategy.”

The Precision Mining team, led by founders Glen Barnes, Craig Morgan and Zim Chan, will continue working in the business, bringing specialist scheduling and mine production expertise to the MICROMINE stable, according to MICROMINE.

Barnes said: “Joining MICROMINE will give us the experience, resources and global distribution network that are critical and together we will grow the business. The company has been growing quickly since 2007, and we reached the point where we need the expertise and support of a global business like MICROMINE to take it to the next level.”

RPMGlobal seeks to align short- and long-term mine planning with Attain

Communications in mining, IoT, Mining services, Mining software, , , ,

RPMGlobal has broadened its software optimisation suite with the launch of Attain, a solution that, the company says, helps mine planners maintain alignment between their long-term and short-term production schedules and improve the net present value (NPV) of their operations.

The company explained: “The dynamic nature of mining operations creates a high degree of uncertainty across many different elements. Unexpected events often arise which require mine planners to reschedule their mine plan. Should the short-term mine plan deviate too far off course from the long-term plan then value can be eroded by the failure to achieve the strategic long-term goals.”

Attain is a software solution that solves the challenge of mine planning horizon misalignment by ensuring operational mine planning is systematically aligned with the long-term plan, resulting in optimised short-term schedules and improved NPV, RPMGlobal claims.

Once a schedule becomes misaligned with the longer-term plan, Attain will produce feasible, optimised short-range schedules aligned with the long-range schedule. These alternatives are offered to the mine planner who is then able to review and selects the preferred short-range schedule.

Attain targets the two-to-six-month planning horizon and builds a short-term schedule that considers the actual results to-date while maintaining alignment with the long-term plan, it says.

“With a highly intuitive user interface, the user simply selects their preferred long-term plan which then becomes Attain’s optimisation objective,” RPMGlobal added.

RPMGlobal Chief Executive Officer, Richard Mathews, said: “Short-term planners are always reacting to events that cause a deviation from the mine plan but they often don’t have a way of knowing what the unintended consequences of the resulting re-planning decisions are on the life of the mine.

“With Attain, users can make informed decisions while adjusting the short-term plan knowing that the long-term plan objectives are being met. Attain complements all mine planning tools and processes that mining operations use.”

Mathews said the team were excited to launch the Attain solution to the market and would be seeking feedback from early adopters to prioritise future development.

Sandvik adds new layers to iSURE underground rock excavation software

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

Sandvik is looking to further optimise the drilling and blasting process with an updated version of its iSURE® underground rock excavation software.

iSURE, Sandvik says, works seamlessly with its i-series drill rigs, providing accurate analysis functionality to improve the work cycle and process. It has evolved into a renowned computer program for tunnelling construction and mining drill and blast process control, helping produce the data needed for optimising the drilling and blasting cycle.

iSURE 8.0 added a template-based drill and blast plan generation tool that considered rock blastability, tunnel profile quality target and explosives used, not forgetting designer capability to easily edit and tune the result based on the feedback of the drill and blast process, Sandvik says. iSURE 8.1 builds on this, including an in-built three-day training program to cover steps from simple concepts to the more advanced cases.

A key development sees iSURE 8.1 having a toolset for specifically covering “advanced metrics”. This helps the user increase knowledge and reveal points of improvement in face drilling rigs usage and in the tunnel excavation drill and blast process via producing high level key performance indicators from collected rounds and respective design data. These consist of production, realised schedule and heuristics analysis of the data addressing the feedback received regarding version iSURE 8.0. They are targeted to improve excavation (face drilling) production capability, plan future activities such as new projects, and to raise awareness when problems or difficulties occur.

The new and existing features found with iSURE 8.1 are designed to improve the entire drill and blast process through data collection. It will also hint if any rig adjustment is required, or if rig misuse is suspected. It shows the change in rock mass drillability, drill steel consumption, face shape after blasting and scaling, any operator deviation from the plan while drilling, and, based on scanner data, the realised profile and production volume. All this results in improved production and productive feedback that can be assessed and built upon, empowering the entire drill and blast process, the company says.

iSURE 8.1 is not the final development of this solution from Sandvik. New improvements and developments are planned based on further sharing of knowledge and experience with customers and drill and blast professionals globally, the company says.

Currently, iSURE is used with Sandvik’s i-series face drilling rigs, the original construction i-series and newer bedrock-style i-series, TCAD+ and bolting instruments.

RPMGlobal introduces ‘industry first’ Hybrid Scheduling tool to XPAC Solutions

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

RPMGlobal has unveiled its next evolution of mine scheduling software with the latest release of its leading suite of scheduling products, XPAC Solutions.

The latest release includes speed and performance upgrades and functionality and architectural improvements designed to provide the user with additional agility.

However, it is the introduction of Hybrid Scheduling in XPAC 3.1 that is already generating excitement, according to the company.

Hybrid Scheduling is, RPM claims, an industry first that provides users with the flexibility of manual scheduling, together with the time savings and ease of automated scheduling.

For many years, XPAC Solutions have allowed users to start scheduling manually then seamlessly transition to automatic scheduling at any point. With Hybrid Scheduling, users can define the high-level strategy, such as the timing of shovel moves or opening of a new pit and leave the AutoScheduler to work out the detail.

The Hybrid Scheduling functionality includes a major update to the user interface that completely turns the traditional iterative scheduling workflow on its head, according to RPM.

Users no longer need to process the entire schedule every time they make an adjustment to the configuration. They can now step through the schedule incrementally, pausing at key milestones and refining the schedule as they go.

With most scheduling software products on the market requiring users to choose one of either manual or automatic mode, XPAC Solutions’ Hybrid Scheduling functionality gives mine planners the best of both worlds – the ability to schedule both manually and automatically which can be used across all solutions in any combination, RPM says.

RPMGlobal Chief Technology Officer, Paul Beesley, said the release of XPAC 3.1 represented a major step-change in the industry’s approach to planning and scheduling.

“XPAC Solutions 3.1 gives mine planners more flexibility and capability than ever before which is critical for the dynamic environment in which mines operate,” he said.

“Key scheduling decisions can be made manually, while the detail of how those decisions will be achieved is determined automatically. Importantly, all three methods are performed simultaneously in an interactive, highly visual environment that integrates 3D animation, Gantt charts and task sequences.

“Planners can pause the schedule at any point and visualise the status of the mine and key equipment so it’s much faster to build practical, efficient dig sequences for all major equipment.”

The latest upgrade to XPAC Solutions includes major speed and performance enhancements across the process. Data compaction and caching techniques make it much faster to load complex 3D data into memory and virtually eliminates any further delays when the plot is revisited, the company says.

Among other improvements, the new version allows delays associated with equipment relocations to be inserted automatically with durations based on the distance that must be travelled.