Johannesburg, 04 May 2004
AST GMSI, a business unit of the AST Group, had been contracted by Impala Platinum Limited (Impala), Rustenburg operations, to implement a Mineral Resource Management (MRM) system that will provide Impala with an integrated business solution for the management of its mining production in the Rustenburg area. The system will be implemented in association with Impala staff at all 13 operating shafts.
The development of a MRM system for Impala commenced with a pilot project at their number 14 Shaft. The aim of the pilot was to test the efficiency of the GMSI solution and where necessary customise the system (in line with Impala`s business requirements) before any mine-wide implementation.
The system comprises modules that cover 3-D geological modelling and estimation, sampling, survey information and measurement, graphical mine design and scheduling, production monitoring and ore flow.
The modules of the MRM product suite can function as stand-alone systems. They are integrated by means of a common infrastructure, which provides a single point of entry, security, maintenance and basic data sharing.
"Within a mining value chain, it is essential to have tools that will assist with flexible mine planning and production scheduling as well as the flexibility to ensure that life-of-mine and operational planning are optimised during the extraction process," explains Dolf Prinsloo, MD of AST GMSI. "This will be made possible with MRM."
"The system will also provide timely information, which implies that the data contributing to the information will have to be correct and consistent; it will have to comply with business standards and required international resource and reserve reporting protocols and it must be available to the organisation in an appropriate, useable format, as and when required."
According to Paul Visser, Operations Executive - Impala, the implementation of the MRM system at Rustenburg Operations will support Impala`s production growth and performance improvement initiatives. It will also enable decision-makers to make more timely and informed decisions.
AST GMSI will also provide full support and maintenance, and, in association with the Impala project team, train Impala Platinum staff on its use.
AST GMSI, with the AST Group, provide a full range of value-adding technical systems and services to the mining industry. All aspects of the mining value chain are addressed, from the strategic to the operational shift level, including sampling, survey and valuation systems. AST GMSI also adds value through mining and business engineering, technical services, outsourcing, systems, integration services and technical mining systems, integrating the latter with enterprise - resource planning, as well as other services or systems.
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