The current depressed nature of the mining industry globally was reflected in the lower number of entries that infrastructure software provider Bentley Systems received for its Be Inspired award in the Innovation in Mining category.

The Be Inspired awards highlight the world’s most “outstanding projects” that have innovatively used Bentley software in infrastructure design, construction and operations.

The yearly international programme formed part of the company’s Year in Infrastructure 2016 Conference, which brought together infrastructure professionals and members of the media to share innovative practices in infrastructure project design, engineering, construction and operations and to celebrate the “extraordinary work” of architects, engineers, contractors and owner-operators worldwide.

Speaking to Mining Weekly on the sidelines of the conference, which took place in London earlier this month, Bentley Systems building electrical and plant VP Ken Adamson said the number of mining projects remained low owing to current economic conditions and depressed commodity prices.

Nonetheless, he stressed that the quality of the submissions that had been received was not in question. This year’s three finalists for the Be Inspired award in the Innovation in Mining category included Russian design institute OJSC Magnitogorsk Gipromez for its work on the LPC-11 complex of the OAO Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works project, in Russia; multidisciplinary management, engineering and development consultancy Hatch for an export lump screening study undertaken for an iron-ore miner, in Australia; and engineering services provider Tetra Tech Proteus for its work on gold mining company Newmont Mining’s Tanami expansion project, also in Australia.

Tetra Tech Proteus was the winner in this category for the second consecutive year. The company won the category in 2015 for its work on Australian exploration company Greenland Minerals & Energy’s flagship Kvanefjeld rare-earth elements, uranium and zinc project, in southern Greenland.

Adamson noted that there were usually a number of large greenfield projects showcased by major mining houses at past conferences. However, this year, most of the presentations focused on improvements made to existing greenfield operations by junior mining companies.

He pointed out that Bentley launched its MineCycle software package in 2015 and, while uptake had been reasonable, the operating pressures facing mine owner- operators had held back adoption of the technology.

“My hope is that the global economy and mining industry start recovering in 2017. This will undoubtedly drive MineCycle package sales, as companies will seek more cost-effective and efficient ways of developing and operating their projects, which the software provides for.”

Moreover, he quipped that, while he was optimistic about the future of the mining sector, he was “by no means enthusiastic” about it quite yet. Nonetheless, Adamson remarked that the company was developing a new MineCycle Connect Edition, which it intended to release soon.

Adamson said Bentley was working with bulk materials simulation software provider Edem to change the way that the design and engineering of bulk materials handling systems in the mining industry were done.

“We are seeking to combine our technologies (Bentley’s MineCycle and Edem’s GEMM database) to enable design engineers to verify the operation of each component in the bulk materials handling system, and thereby eradicate potential problems early in the design cycle, where the cost impact is lowest.”

He explained that, while this joint venture (JV) was still in its early days, it had proven to be workable, and both companies remained committed to changing the way that bulk materials handling systems were designed.

The companies are awaiting feedback from their software users about whether this potential new JV software offering will be of interest to them. Thereafter, the companies will decide on whether to proceed with the commercial roll-out of the system while factoring in issues including market conditions, commodity prices and demand sustainability numbers.

Ilan Solomons attended Bentley Systems’ Year in Infrastructure 2016 Conference as a guest of the company