Minnovare’s ongoing collaboration with gold miner Northern Star Resources, has led to an official “technology collaboration” that will see the development and implementation of Minnovare technology across the company’s operations in Western Australia. The collaboration follows the implementation of Minnovare’s drill and blast production optimizer technology at Northern Star’s operations in Western Australia.
For the past two months, the technology has been installed on select long hole rigs at the company’s underground operations, which has seen improving rig accuracy and setup with an immediate benefit to operations, the company said. Since implementation, drilled meters have increased by 17% and blast-hole deviation at the collar reduced by 75%, according to Minnovare. Flow-on benefits have included an increase in average recovery due to reduced bridging and a reduction in average dilution, reducing overall cost of production.
“In a very short period of time, we have seen tangible benefits from the production optimizer system. The system has been well-received by all operators, and Minnovare have worked with us to ensure a successful implementation,” said Rob Parsons, general manager of Northern Star Mining Services.
Minnovare Managing Director Callum McCracken said, “We’re delighted to be entering into this technology collaboration. Northern Star were an early adopter of our production drilling technology and we’re pleased to see the immediate effect it’s having, with efficiency gains right across their operations.”
