MINING SOFTWARE users and then working with them to develop the next generation of digital solutions ,” RPM said . “ This approach means we are always developing solutions to solve real and current business problems , rather than trying to find a buyer for a solution we thought the market needed .”
Through products such as MinePlanner , XECUTE and AMT Mobile ( from left to right ), RPMGlobal is offering integrated data exchange and learnings throughout the mining value chain
“ With SOT ( a strategic financial optimisation tool ) and Enterprise Optimiser ( mine scheduling ), for example , organisations will look at optimising capital and strategic decisions , which are then passed to MinePlanner to determine the optimal mining schedule ,” the company told IM . “ This is published by way of integration to both XECUTE and ShiftManager for the short-term scheduling and execution , which is only made possible with enterprise integrated solutions and solutions that ensure there is consistency at each level of the planning process .”
Such functionality is being leveraged in sustainability and emission-related decision making by mining companies , according to RPM , with the company ’ s scheduling , optimisation and financial products factoring in the emission profiles of one mine plan or scenario over alternatives at the same time as forecasting and optimising schedule and budgets .
“ While mine planning has traditionally aimed to economically optimise mining processes , our solutions now offer the ability to simultaneously optimise for ecological and / or carbon reduction drivers ,” the company explained .
RPM ’ s products are also able to optimise schedules using a user defined weighting or prioritisation of NPV versus emissions , allowing miners to balance both considerations in their decision-making process .
This is also displayed within the RPM simulation portfolio , which allows users to model , quantify and visualise the differences between diesel , hydrogen , hybrid diesel and electric vehicles within the mining fleet , as well as the emissions of each .
“ We also offer products that are specifically designed to capture , store , manage and report on environmental data ,” RPM said , referencing EnviroDataVault to share environmental data anywhere throughout an operation , including with external stakeholders .
“ This transparency has been a welcome change for many of those stakeholders who now have access to data from the operations ,” it added .
RPM ranks its most important development as a company in the last five years as the achievement of ISO270001 accreditation – a standard that , it says , ultimately provides an organisation with a framework for establishing , implementing , maintaining and continually improving an information security management system .
It explained : “ With cyber threat and data breaches on the rise , mining organisations need to know that they are doing business with other companies that take security seriously and have implemented best practice approaches to information security .”
This development – alongside a commitment to migrate many of its solutions into cloud-based platforms – harks back to one of RPM ’ s key differentiators : innovating on behalf of its clients . “ We spend a lot of time listening to our end
Maptek on the path to value
Turning data into business insights is the primary goal of Maptek customer success strategies , according to Eduardo Coloma , Maptek CEO , explaining that its customers are also looking for an integrated offering to deliver on this .
“ Maptek recognises this and strives to deliver the shortest , easiest path to value ,” he told IM .
This path to value – which stretches across the mine value chain , from extraction to production and even reconciliation – is progressively being shortened through the addition of mechanisms for augmenting and automating the flow of information .
An example of this evolved out of the application of Maptek Vulcan for resource estimation at the Cerro Los Gatos polymetallic mine in Mexico .
The operation already used Maptek Vulcan for resource estimation , yet , with a significant volume of new channel sampling and drill hole data for monthly updates requiring integration , Los Gatos was eager to optimise the process without sacrificing quality of results .
Coloma explained : “ The team was able to accurately define the mineralised zones , deploying Vulcan for exploratory data analysis to provide an overview perspective . Implementing the Maptek workflows tool , combined with Python scripting , automated the process , saving the operation 40 % in turnaround time .”
Resource estimations are now reconciled monthly against extracted material , with Power BI tools generating dashboards to allow Los Gatos to identify possible short- or long-term
With Maptek BlastLogic , an operations manager reviewing energy consumption over a specific period can recall blast metrics that correlate with the material being processed to explain spikes in usage , according to Eduardo Coloma
International Mining | FEBRUARY 2024