Tag Archives: Moss

Komatsu to tap NSS Canada MOSS software for improved blasthole drilling

Leadership teams from NSS Canada and Komatsu joined this week to celebrate the official signing of their MoU as well as an initial commercial agreement that will see Komatsu use and supply NSS Canada’s current versions of MOSS and MOSS AR for use with Komatsu drills, and the drilling retrofits business with support from the NSS Canada team.

The Miner Operated Survey System (MOSS) integrates mine design specifications and drawings when generating a drill plan and provides real-time information to miners, engineers and geologists, NSS Canada says. The company offers both a standard version of MOSS and an augmented reality version of MOSS (MOSS AR), currently ready for market.

MOSS AR is a new innovative technology developed by NSS Canada that incorporates MOSS with an augmented reality display, using the Microsoft HoloLens. The addition of MOSS AR provides real-time holographic projections of all survey and planned data, reduces traditional survey equipment requirements and saves time with a five-minute markup process, all while providing survey-grade accuracy, the company says.

The agreement between the two companies allows for the addition of an optimised solutions package and customisation of MOSS into Komatsu’s drill rig control systems, NSS Canada says. It also opens new possibilities for clients to use a mining package that bridges Komatsu’s products with NSS Canada’s mining software solutions for optimisation of solutions underground.

“Having the ability to work with a company like Komatsu allows for a strategic opportunity to expand globally with our MOSS system,” Bruno Lalonde, CEO/President of NSS Canada, said. “This agreement fits our aligned visions for technology, innovation and adaptation to safety.”

Komatsu’s vision is to create value through manufacturing and technology innovation to empower a sustainable future where people, businesses and our planet thrive together.

Johan Kempe, Product Director Underground Drills, Komatsu said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement with NSS to help our customers to tackle the challenge to improve the quality of drilling blast holes and to align with the mine design and planned drill plans. NSS has several innovative products and solutions that complement our product offering.”

Exyn’s underground drones to get more Canadian air time with NSS agreement

Exyn Technologies, a pioneer in autonomous aerial robot systems for complex, GPS-denied industrial environments, has announced a partnership with NSS (Northern Survey Supply) to distribute Exyn’s underground drone products in the Canadian market through NSS Canada.

Canadian underground mining companies looking for ways to increase safety and efficiency by using cutting-edge autonomous robots now have a viable solution for their needs, Exyn said.

“Exyn offers a full-stack solution that enables flexible deployment of single or multi-robots that can intelligently navigate and dynamically adapt to complex environments in real time,” it explained.

ExynAero, an autonomous and self-piloting aerial drone, operates using a high level of autonomy (Autonomy Level 4) to access complex, GPS-denied environments, predominantly within the mining industry. It replaces legacy CMS systems for safer and more efficient workflow.

Nader Elm, CEO and Co-Founder of Exyn Technologies, said: “We’re proud to expand our worldwide footprint with this partnership by empowering surveyors with a suite of highly accurate cavity monitoring tools. More Aeros & Paks in the field means more safety for mine workers in Canada and beyond.”

The thematic synergy of the partnership can be seen in the prioritisation of safety and efficiency from both companies, they said.

NSS Canada provides tools and solutions, such as MOSS (Miner Operated Survey System), to ensure underground procedures can be done safer, faster and with more accuracy. ExynAero autonomous drones, meanwhile, allow data to be collected without humans subjecting themselves to potentially hazardous locations and situations.

“The partnership allows mining customers to benefit from comprehensive underground aerial 3D mapping with progressive visualisation that increases overall transparency of mining operations – including for GPS-denied, hard-to-reach, or hazardous areas, or locations that would be time-consuming to survey and inspect using conventional methods,” the companies said.

Bruno Lalonde, President, NSS Canada: “NSS Canada believes in the rapid adoption of cutting-edge technologies that can revolutionise the mining industry by increasing safety, speed, and accuracy. Exyn Technologies is a pioneer in the industrial drone space, whose autonomous drone technology reduces the possibility of human error in potentially dangerous environments. Our mutual dedication to safety and innovation through technology is why we believe this is the perfect partnership!”

Northern Vertex Mining ready for more gold at Moss mine

Production looks like increasing at Northern Vertex Mining’s recently started up Moss gold-silver mine, in Arizona, USA, as recent modifications to the Merrill Crowe facility and additional output from the heap leach kick in.

The company produced 7,482 oz of gold and 45,876 oz of silver during the three months to the end of June, compared with 6,057 oz of gold and 25,558 oz of silver, marking the company’s strongest quarter to date. In June, alone, Northern Vertex saw 2,580 oz of gold and 18,051 oz of silver come out of the operation.

The Moss open pit and heap leach gold and silver mine hit its commercial straps in September 2018, at which point the company said expected fiscal 2019 production guidance was 36,000-40,000 oz of gold equivalent production.

Northern Vertex said this week that its operations team has made progress in correcting issues that have hampered the process plant since started up, with modifications to the filter press piping, clarifiers and vacuum pump system nearing completion.

“We have observed a large decrease in reagent consumption and an immediate improvement in recoveries of gold and silver from the pregnant solutions,” the company said.

Such improvements to the Merrill Crowe facility recently resulted in the company’s single largest gold shipment to date – of $1.2 million representing nine days of production.

The Moss team initiated a recovery study of the heap leach pad in May 2019, with the purpose to confirm consistent moisture percolation throughout the pad; measure solution volume and solution grade retained in various areas (panels) of the pad, in order to determine the gold and silver inventory remaining on the pad; obtain samples for further bottle roll testing, in order to estimate the amount of gold inventory that can be recovered by re-leach; and design and implement a leach solution application plan to recover additional gold from the leach pad inventory.

Results from the first panel (known as the ‘Central Panel’), which contains approximately 235,000 t of ore have been received, the company said. “Results show remarkable consistency in the percolation of solution, both laterally and vertically. Furthermore, the study confirms there are no dry areas, channelling is not occurring, the pad is retaining its moisture as expected and that the recoverable gold and silver in inventory will meet or exceed feasibility predicted recoveries.”

While the full study, which will include an additional five panels is ongoing, Jim Gubler, Process Manager at Northern Vertex, said the results from the Central Panel indicated there are around 5,000 oz of recoverable gold contained in this area, of which an “estimated 3,000 oz have already been dissolved in the water held in the heap and need only to be flushed and collected”.

He added: “With the leach solution application plan that we have designed, we are projecting that a significant portion of this gold will be recovered over the next several months, which should add to our normal monthly production.”

The ongoing column test program (using crushed ore samples) is predicting ultimate recoveries of approximately 80% for gold and 60% for silver from the heap leach. The column test work on the crusher samples and the heap leach pad recovery study described above will also be used to optimise and shorten the recovery curves going forward, using live ore panels for testing rather than bulk samples that were used in the feasibility, Northern Vertex said.

“Every current test being run indicates that we should be able to outperform the feasibility recovery curves,” the company concluded.