Austmine recently held its second Canada Mining Mission where participants embarked on a tour of the Canadian mining landscape including interactive site visits and meetings with some of the most prevalent mining companies in the region. Business Development Manager Dallas Araneda represented MICROMINE on the mission along with representatives from various mining services companies from Canada and Australia.
Focusing on gold and nickel operations in and around the Ontario area, the event program consisted of a combination of site visits to underground operations and meetings with key producers such as Vale, Barrick, Goldcorp, Detour Gold and Glencore. It provided attendees with opportunities to network with the local service providers (Hatch, SGS, Stantec, ASDR, CSRN, SES Professionals and others) as well as with the local government and key industry stakeholders.
Some of the highlights of the mission included a visit to the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) which gave an insight into the Ultra-Deep Mining Network (UDMN) projects. The mine site visit to North American Lithium assisted attendees in understanding the mining/milling processes for lithium. The mission also included a site visit to the impressive NORCAT underground Centre in Sudbury.
Araneda commented “the mission provided MICROMINE with a great understanding of some of the issues faced by producers in this region and how potentially we as METS providers can assist. It was also great to share knowledge with other attendees and there was some really great ideas and discussion being generated throughout the mission.”
There are a number of opportunities arising in the region in gold, nickel, oil sands, lithium and other base metal mines. Underground sites are still very prevalent in the region however there are increasing numbers of open pit sites emerging.
The Canada Mining Mission highlighted some of the key emerging technologies in the market currently and how they are assisting mining operations to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and increase production.
Whilst there is a growing number of emerging sites that will utilise open-pit mining methods, underground mines are still prevalent across the Eastern Canada region. There are a number of opportunities in the region for technology solutions providers who are able to reduce costs, improve productivity and increase safety.
MICROMINE has a strong placed a strong focus on the Eastern Canada mining region having recently opened a new office in Toronto. The new Toronto office provides MICROMINE with a solid footprint in the region and allows the business to provide clients in this region with local representation.
With impending major releases for the three MICROMINE products; Micromine, Pitram and Geobank, it positions MICROMINE for continued growth in the region.
“It was really beneficial to learning more about the provincial legislation, environmental issues and ways of connecting the mining industry with the local community. It really showed how diverse the Eastern Canada region is.” Aranada said.
“I am looking forward to being involved in the next Canada Mining Mission.”
See photos from the mining mission below:
