Leading software and solutions provider Micromine, has successfully supplied and installed its mine control and management reporting solution, Pitram Control, at Newmont's Midas and Leeville mines. Both underground gold mines are located in the Carlin Trend near Elko, Nevada. The implementation of Pitram Control has provided the sites greater functionality, expected to increase production, reduce costs and improve on-site safety and business intelligence capabilities.

(The Micromine control room is pictured here.)

Pitram is a mine control and management reporting solution that records, manages and processes mine site data in real-time. It provides a thorough overview of a mine site's activities by converting data into meaningful information thereby increasing managerial control. Increased control allows key personnel to reduce costs, increase production, and improve safety and business intelligence capabilities.

The system is one of four solutions that comprise the Pitram product suite, which provides a unique upgrade path from the entry-level Pitram Report through to the fully automated Pitram Optimum solution. Implementation started in December 2010 and was completed in September 2011.

Located west of Elko, Leeville Mine employs around 250 personnel on a typical shift and has 11 haul trucks in the mine fleet. The Midas mine has low and high grade ores, which are all trucked to the surface by the fleet. Keith Preston, head of monitoring and the running of the dispatch office at the Leeville Mine, says that after considering a variety of mine control solutions, Newmont decided to introduce Micromine's Pitram Control, and to include some functionalities specific to Pitram Optimum. "Following the implementation, both sites are seeing the benefits that the solution has to offer. Pitram Control has improved safety by consistently monitoring miners and mobile equipment. The solution also provides detailed and real-time production data that is vital to maintaining efficient underground operations.

"Pitram Control provides timely and flexible reports, making it an especially valuable tool for busy managers and other senior personnel who frequently need the latest performance information for meetings with executive teams," he adds.

The Micromine jpg: The Micromine control room.