Tag Archives: Production Optimiser

Procon laying the change management groundwork for mining tech adoption

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Canada-based Procon has been implementing tried and tested technology for its employees and end customers for decades, resulting in improved operational safety and productivity outcomes.

It is now looking to make the leap and adopt new solutions from the mining technology sector, according to CEO John McVey, with the contract miner already into “phase three” of an “Industrial Supervisor training program”, focused on Procon’s front-line supervision and incorporating change management associated with this adoption.

Speaking to IM on the side lines of the HxGN LIVE Global 2023 event, in Las Vegas, and ahead of his panel appearance on Wednesday (in a panel titled ‘Down Under: Standing Up to the Challenges of Underground Mining’), McVey said the established contract mining model needed to change to accelerate the uptake of new technology in the market.

“Inherently when we bid for work it has to be competitively tendered in order to try and win a new contract,” he said. “You aren’t typically able to add many bells and whistles on if you want to win the work.

“This likely has to change at some point, with mining companies understanding the benefits that come with rolling out and applying these new technology ‘bells and whistles’.”

Procon has seen glimpses of an evolution – McVey references the introduction of battery-electric trucks at the Brucejack mine in British Columbia, Canada, where Procon is working, plus the use of autonomous load and haul equipment at the Kittilä operation in Finland (where Procon previously carried out shaft work) – but he said that today these were the exception, not the rule.

“Where we may also see more mining technology being adopted in the future is with these junior developers striving for higher ESG (environmental, social and governance) goals,” McVey said. “These clean, green metal developers – due to these ESG aims – are often backed by different types of investors that are less risk averse, or less tainted by the project capital and schedule blowouts experienced in previous commodity cycles.”

McVey’s appearance at HxGN LIVE Global 2023 this week is centred around finding out how the mining technology provider can help Procon’s workers and its clients underground, with safety- and productivity-led solutions coming high up the contract miner’s agenda.

“There is very rarely opposition to bringing in any initiatives that will enhance safety underground,” McVey said. “As a result, it is obvious to start here.”

When it comes to productivity, the company is interested in finding out how it could potentially deploy the Production Optimiser™ solution at certain sites. This advanced mining technology, developed by Minnovare, which Hexagon’s Mining division acquired last year, improves drill and blast efficiency and productivity in underground hard-rock mines by reducing collar deviation and, as a result, delivering superior setup accuracy at the collar. This increases the number of holes drilled to within tolerance at the toe, achieving optimum blasts and reducing dilution, according to Minnovare.

Production Optimiser has been deployed across the mining world, including at sites operated by contract miners Pit N Portal (owned by Emeco Group) and Barminco (part of Perenti).

In addition to productivity and safety, McVey is conscious the graduates coming through the pipeline that may enter the mining sector want to interact with the ‘new technology’ they have become accustomed to.

“They are used to playing computer games, interacting with apps and using technology on a daily basis,” he said. “If we are to encourage them to join the mining sector, we need to adopt some of this to increase our appeal.”

Here McVey mentioned the in-house development of an app, PSAFE, to log all incidents underground. This allows Procon employees to upload photos and reports in close to real time, to enhance reporting and analysis of these incidents.

“While a worker may be somewhat reluctant to write up a report after a long shift underground,” McVey said. “The app – which we are in the process of rolling out across all our sites – is enabling them to capture important information almost immediately, particularly ‘near-miss’ reporting which is critical in avoiding potential hazards and incidents.”

Again, this comes back to the change management piece that is so important to any new technology being adopted and used successfully.

McVey is hoping to learn from other mining companies and contractors at HxGN LIVE Global 2023 about how they are achieving ‘buy in’ from their employees for this new technology, to enhance Procon’s own change management processes and reduce the risk associated with applying new solutions at their sites.

Minnovare’s Production Optimiser gold output, sustainability benefits highlighted by Gangemi

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One of Australia’s leading decarbonisation and sustainability experts says Western Australian gold producers are not moving fast enough to reduce carbon emissions.

“Some are leading in the carbon space, but most are slow in implementation,” Adam Gangemi, Managing Director of Super Smart Energy, an environmental services company based in Perth, said. “It is time to see more action.”

Gangemi says there are cost-effective solutions to reduce emissions on mine sites that will impact the bottom line, but mining organisations aren’t taking advantage of the technology options that are available on their doorstep.

Speaking on a recent webinar, Gangemi said a Western Australian innovation, Minnovare’s underground drilling optimisation technology, the Production Optimiser, was increasing drilling efficiency, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions, and enabling companies to drill faster, cheaper and more sustainably.

“Minnovare’s Production Optimiser is one of the better solutions that’s come across my desk,” he said. “Even small projects can get big bang for their buck. This drilling solution is one example where a small investment can deliver a 10-fold return through increased production, and significantly avoid those mine site emissions simultaneously.

“Not having to haul or process waste material is a smart way to do this and it is delivering huge results not only from an emissions perspective (thousands of CO2 per year) but also increasing production. If we start to look at opportunities that will both increase production and have the benefit of reducing emissions, this will be a no brainer for underground mining companies.”

Gangemi compared a range of Western Australia Goldfields producers and found that most could be saving anywhere between 1,000 to 8,000 t of CO2 emissions each year by using the Minnovare technology.

“By using the Production Optimiser on site, you drill more accurately and that means more gold on the trucks, less waste and a significant reduction in emissions,” he said. “If we talk about avoiding even 1,000 t of emissions, a WA gold producer could be taking the equivalent of 300 Hilux utes (utility vehicles) off the road every year.”

To demonstrate the emissions savings, Minnovare has launched a new Environmental Impact Calculator, allowing mining companies to quickly compute the emissions they could avoid on site by using the technology.

The Minnovare calculator shows how CO2 emissions are reduced through improved drilling accuracy and uses the company’s own data to forecast emission savings across an operation.

Gangemi’s benchmarking of Australian gold miners showed a greenhouse gas emissions intensity range between 0.2-1.7 t CO2-e/oz of gold.

Mick Beilby, Director and co-Founder of Minnovare, said: “We know the industry wants sustainable outcomes. Through using our technology, companies will achieve less dilution and deviation from an increase in drill quality and this results in less waste.”

Gangemi describes the calculator as ‘very accurate’ and encourages Western Australian producers to use the calculator to understand the savings they can achieve implementing technology products such as the Production Optimiser.

Minnovare and LiveMine open up to collaboration, integration

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Minnovare and LiveMine have entered a collaboration that, they say, will enable their mine production clients to share data across the business’ software platforms.

The data integration will enable production drilling information logged via Minnovare’s CORE (Client Online Reporting Engine) to seamlessly sync with the LiveMine data management system.

The combination of both technologies streamlines the workflow for the drill rig operator, eliminates the potential errors and ensures accuracy at each stage in the clients drilling process, providing the confidence the client needs to make informed decisions on data they can trust, the companies said.

Chris Davidson – Underground Manager at Silverlake Resources, a customer of both companies – said: “We like to partner with businesses such as Minnovare and LiveMine who not only provide industry-leading technology but take into consideration our feedback and the specific needs of our operation. This collaboration will streamline our process and eliminate duplicate information, meaning our team can have confidence to make smarter, faster decisions on data we can trust.”

LiveMine is a data collection and management solution that integrates with existing operations to eliminate inaccurate reporting and wasted time. It eradicates hours of paperwork, unreliable spreadsheets, uncertainty in data accuracy and helps bring mining operations into the 21st century, the company says.

Coming in underground, open pit and exploration modules, LiveMine offers contractors and owner operators a way to collect and manage their operational data. Being able to use this online or offline means clients can collect crucial operational data directly at the source in real time.

Minnovare CORE is a software platform that serves as a data hub for clients’ entire drilling operations. The platform is central to Minnovare’s Production Optimiser, a drill and blast optimisation system that substantially improves production drilling accuracy and consistency, resulting in less re-work, improved dilution and recovery and an increase in stope turnover in underground mines.

“This secure cloud-based platform features digital drill plans and plods that sync seamlessly with existing mine planning software, providing accurate, reliable and real-time drilling data to mine operators,” Minnovare says. “Visibility and accountability are then ensured by displaying the recorded drilled information in the cloud.”

Live Mine Managing Director, Bud O’Shannessy, said: “This is an exciting collaboration in terms of the value and simplicity it brings to our client’s operations. Minnovare deliver an innovative solution and, when coupled with the LiveMine system, it centralises the drilling and operational data and generates a single data source and approval process. LiveMine share a large client base with Minnovare, and this collaboration is client driven. Our clients have been asking for it.”

Minnovare Managing Director, Callum McCracken, added: “We welcome the collaboration with a leading data management software company like LiveMine, as we see the strength of our joint offering for our clients in terms of immediate and downstream benefits in their operations.”

Pit N Portal equips refurbed Sandvik UG rig with Minnovare Production Optimiser

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Emeco-owned Pit N Portal says it has recently rolled out a freshly rebuilt Sandvik DL421 underground drill rig equipped with Minnovare’s Production Optimiser™ technology for use at the Marvel Loch gold operations in Western Australia.

The 10-week build at Pit N Portal’s purpose-built complex in Perth, Western Australia harnessed the collective skills of its specialist tradespeople, headed up by Phil Lipscomb, Workshop Manager.

In addition to the complete overhaul, the unit was fitted with Production Optimiser, which improves drilling accuracy, speed and QA/QC – resulting in optimal drilling patterns and improved stope performance, Pit N Portal said. “The flow-on benefits to the mine include reduced average dilution, increased recovery (reduced bridging) and a faster stope cycle time.”

The Sandvik DL421 is an electro-hydraulic, longhole drill rig engineered for large-scale production drilling in underground mines. It is designed for vertical and inclined plane rings and fans, as well as parallel long production holes and long single holes with a diameter of 64-115 mm, and a depth of up to 54 m, Sandvik says.

Mining Plus adds Minnovare’s Production Optimiser to ‘Mining Rocks’ strategy

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Minnovare and Mining Plus have entered into a collaboration that will enable Mining Plus to offer Minnovare’s Production Optimiser technology to its global client base.

The collaboration is part of the Mining Plus ‘Mining Rocks’ strategic pillar, which is designed to highlight and promote the latest value-add mining technology to Mining Plus clients at a time when the industry is experiencing advances in areas such as automation, digitisation and process QA/QC.

Mining Plus Managing Director, Ben Auld (pictured on the left), said: “We’re always looking for ways to add value to our clients. In line with this, one of our strategies is to actively seek out technology with the potential to provide material productivity improvements or cost reductions to the mining industry.”

The Production Optimiser is a system that delivers better production blasting outcomes in underground hard-rock mines by increasing blasthole drilling accuracy and consistency. The value that mines achieve varies depending on the commodity and mining method, however bottom-line improvements include reductions in dilution and/or improvements in recovery, Minnovare says.

Mines have also seen improvements in drilling productivity and stope cycle time, as well as greater QA/QC and command of their drill data, the company added.

Northern Star Resources, for instance, increased drilled metres by 17% at one of its Kalgoorlie gold operations by using the Production Optimiser.

Minnovare Managing Director, Callum McCracken (pictured on the right), said: “Minnovare’s Production Optimiser technology has been widely adopted already in the APAC (Asia Pacific) underground hard-rock mining market. We (Minnovare and Mining Plus) see its application globally.

“The collaboration enables Minnovare to leverage Mining Plus’s global network of highly skilled mining professionals to assist in the delivery and support of the Production Optimiser. This enables us to deliver our technology and the step change benefits it delivers in new markets, while ensuring we maintain the high level of service and ongoing support that our customers have become accustomed to.”

Mining Plus can work with mining companies and contractors to understand the applicability and value that may be achieved from implementing Minnovare technology, the companies said.

Auld added: “Our clients frequently approach us for guidance on their technology strategy. Many clients simply do not have the time or resources to conduct the required analysis or due diligence for a thorough valuation and implementation. This collaboration goes some way to helping to resolve this ‘pain point’ for our clients.”

Minnovare’s drill & blast optimisation software logs new milestone

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Minnovare’s CORE product has hit a milestone as the software component of the company’s Production Optimiser system continues to benefit from an increasing number of customers looking to improve their drill and blast operations.

CORE has now logged one million metres of drilling data since the platform’s launch just under a year ago, Minnovare said.

The Production Optimiser system, suitable for installation on all production rig makes and models, “substantially reduces blasthole drilling deviation – which in turn reduces average dilution and downtime (including reduced secondary drill and blasts), whilst improving overall fragmentation and ore recovery”, the company says.

The CORE drill data hub syncs seamlessly with mine planning and drill & blast software (including Deswik, Aegis and Vulcan/Maptek), according to the company, ensuring improvements are seen throughout the production cycle.

Ryan Stimpson, Minnovare Head of Engineering, said: “Every meter provides important insights for our client’s drill and blast operations – precise dates and times, precise drilling locations (compared to the design), and by which drill rig and which driller.

“Maybe best of all – the entire process is captured without the need to decipher questionable handwriting or water-smudged ink like under the old paper plan/plod system!”

With Minnovare CORE, engineers can import drilling assets (rigs), schedules and drill and blast designs from mine planning software – down to the individual hole – and then export them as a digital drill plan (Digi-Plan), accessible by drillers via a touchscreen-tablet mounted onboard the rig, according to Minnovare.

Drillers log actual drill data (including meters drilled) into the tablet and, at the end of each shift, a digital plod (Digi-Plod) is then synced back to CORE, ready to be analysed by engineers and charge-up crews.

“With Minnovare CORE, Digi-Plan and Digi-Plod, engineers and drill teams benefit from a more streamlined, more accountable, data-driven system that improves performance visibility and ultimately productivity across site,” the company said.

Stimpson added: “This level of uptake confirms that CORE is already a critical part of the production cycle for our clients. We’ll continue to listen carefully to feedback from Minnovare CORE users on how to improve the software in a way that positively impacts their role and the productivity of the mine.”

NSR transforms Kalgoorlie drill & blast ops with Minnovare Production Optimser

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A newly released case study from Minnovare and Northern Star Resources (NSR) has shown just how effective the Australia-based technology company’s Production Optimiser drilling solution has proven at the gold miner’s drill and blast operations.

The study, ‘Northern Star: 1-Year-On’, shows drill and blast productivity has increased significantly since implementing Production Optimiser in March 2018. At just one of NSR’s Kalgoorlie gold operations, the miner achieved 42,000 additional stoped tonnes, or around 8,300 oz/y of gold; increasing revenue by A$18 million ($12.2 million), according to the study.

In addition to this, the technology led to a cumulative 31% increase in drilling productivity, a 7% reduction in average stope cycle time and a 54% decrease in “bridged tonnes”.

Minnovare implemented the Production Optimiser system at one of NSR’s operations in March 2018 – running three long hole production rigs. This was followed by a second operation in August 2018, also running three long hole rigs, where NSR increased drilled meters by 33% – boosting average drill meters towards 10,000 m per rig, per month, it said.

Production Optimiser, which works independently of the rig’s on-board systems and can be retrofitted to any make or model of drill rig, uses Minnovare’s CORE software. This software digitises “drill plans and plods (Digi-Plan/Digi-Plod) for accurate drill-data capture and real-time transfer throughout the mine” to deliver greater speed, accuracy and reliability in rig setup – leading to greater drilling accuracy and optimum blasts, according to Minnovare.

Improved stope productivity and, ultimately, increased profitability follow, the company said.

Jeff Brown (pictured), Principal Innovation and Technology at NSR, said: “We’ve seen average drilled meters across our Kalgoorlie operations increase by up to 33%. That’s a significant impact, which has been underpinned by this technology.

“The follow-on from that increase is an equally significant impact to the productivity and, ultimately, profitability of our operations. It’s a prime example of a new technology can quickly add value to multiple areas – producing a better business outcome.”

Due to the success achieved from the Production Optimiser, NSR has entered into an official ‘Collaboration Agreement’ with Minnovare.

Brown said: “This [agreement] will help fast-track a number of new product developments currently in the pipeline, that we see as having the potential to make just as big an impact on our operations. That’s exciting and promising for us as we look to develop and expand on our assets.”

In addition to the work in Kalgoorlie, NSR has agreed to equip its fleet of long-hole drill rigs at the Pogo gold mine, in Alaska, USA, with the Production Optimiser technology.

Maptek and Minnovare combine expertise to improve underground mining accuracy

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Maptek says it and drill and blast technology provider, Minnovare, are delivering streamlined drill and blast solutions to help underground miners optimise their operations.

A project recently completed for an Australia gold miner is a great example of how collaboration between these technology providers can result in better outcomes for mining companies.

Linking Maptek Vulcan™ design and modelling software with Minnovare’s new Production Optimiser system for underground production drilling has streamlined “the connection between design and as-built for more accurate outcomes”, the two companies said.

Ring design data, including images, can now be exported from Vulcan and easily uploaded directly to Minnovare CORE – the Production Optimiser software interface – through scripting provided by Maptek. The Vulcan−Production Optimiser combination helps ensure that drilling follows design. It also reduces the need for re-work, as feedback on accuracy and compliance is available to both the rig operator and the technical engineering team using Vulcan, according to the companies.

Production Optimiser combines advanced rig alignment hardware with drill data capture software, substantially reducing blasthole deviation and average rig setup times, according to Minnovare. “This leads to optimum charge patterns and blasts, with a host of flow-on productivity benefits for an operation, including improved ore recovery, reduced average dilution and a faster stope cycle time,” the company said.

Maptek says it has 40 years’ experience in developing technology and systems that solve daily challenges for global mining companies. “Investment in people, motivated by excellence, innovation and continual improvement, allows delivery of systems that help integrate and streamline mining processes into a single source of technical data to inform decision making,” Maptek said. This includes the scripting that bridged the gap between Vulcan and Production Optimiser.

Minnovare developed the Production Optimiser, which was released in June 2018, in close collaboration with leading Australian gold miners, Gold Fields and Evolution Mining. Since its release the new technology has been taken up rapidly within industry, with leaders such as Northern Star Resources signing an official Collaboration Agreement with Minnovare in August 2018. This has seen the gold miner use it in both Western Australia and, more recently, in Alaska at its Pogo operation.

Analysis that Minnovare has conducted of in-hole survey data proves that circumstances prior to drilling account for up to 70% of blasthole deviation, the company said. This was contrary to the prevailing industry perception that in-hole deviation was the primary contributor.

Northern Star’s Pogo gold mine signs up Minnovare Production Optimiser

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Minnovare’s relationship with Australia-based Northern Star Resources has been further strengthened, with the miner recently implementing the Production Optimiser technology across its fleet of long-hole drill rigs at the Pogo gold mine in Alaska.

The implementation follows successful Production Optimiser installations at some of Northern Star’s Australia operations.

Northern Star acquired Pogo, the company’s first mine outside of Australia, from Sumitomo Metal Mining late last year for $260 million.

Ore is currently mined at rate of ~4,000 short tons per day, with three access portals in use to provide underground access to the various underground mining block areas. Mining methods at the Pogo mine vary due to great variability in vein thickness, dip, grade and continuity.

Minnovare’s Production Optimiser system combines advanced hardware and software that enhances the speed, accuracy and reliability of long-hole production drilling. This leads to improved stope productivity and, ultimately, increased profitability, Minnovare says.

The system can be retrofitted to any make or model of drill rig and works independently of the rig’s onboard systems.

A two-month trial of the Production Optimiser, starting in April 2018, at one of Northern Star Resources’ Kalgoorlie gold operations showed the Production Optimiser technology not only increased drilled metres by 17% at the operation, but also help deliver the highest average stope recovery in the life of the operation.

More on Minnovare and Northern Star Production Optimiser trial

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More details have emerged of the results Northern Star Resources achieved by implementing Minnovare’s Production Optimiser technology over a two-month period at one of its Kalgoorlie gold operations.

A newly released case study, co-authored with Northern Star Resources, showed the Production Optimiser technology not only increased drilled metres by 17% at the operation, it also helped deliver the highest average stope recovery in the life of the operation.

If maintained over a full year’s production, that represents an additional 5,000 oz and A$8.4 million ($6.1 million) additional revenue – equivalent to a 3.5% increase in forecast stope turnover, according to Northern Star Mining Services General Manager, Rob Parsons.

The two-month trial saw the Production Optimiser implemented at one of the Kalgoorlie operation in April 2018, with three long-hole production rigs running.

Parsons said: “The collaboration with Minnovare initially stemmed from the observation that too much time was being spent re-drilling holes (due to inaccuracy). The other problem we identified was the difference between the drill rig’s onboard inclinometers, and what was actually being drilled. It was most visible looking at the final stope pick up – the actual shape didn’t line up with what you had designed. So, we were doing extra work just to validate where things really were.”

Minnovare’s Production Optimiser system combines advanced hardware and software that enhances the speed, accuracy and reliability of long-hole production drilling. This leads to improved stope productivity and, ultimately, increased profitability, Minnovare says.

The system can be retrofitted to any make or model of drill rig and works independently of the rig’s onboard systems.

Parsons said: “We achieved, on average, 100 additional drill metres per day in the two months immediately after implementing the new technology, thanks to reduced rig setup time and re-drills. That’s roughly a 17% increase in drilled metres. During the same period, we reduced average blast-hole deviation (from planned toe-point) by 75%.

“In terms of stope ore recovery, those two months combined were the highest average for the life of the operation. The increased drill rate and stope ore-recovery equates to an approximate 3.5% reduction in stope turnover time.”

Minnovare Managing Director, Callum McCracken said: “Minnovare worked closely with Northern Star from day one to successfully implement the Production Optimiser on site. As the drillers and engineers continued to use the system they’ve seen further gains in drilled metres and a continuation of the improved recovery rate. That’s thanks to optimal blasts and a faster stope turnover, which is a direct consequence of greater drilling accuracy, speed and reliability.”

Since the trial has taken place, Minnovare and Northern Star have signed a technology collaboration agreement to develop and implement Minnovare technology across NSR’s Western Australia operations.