Software solutions provider Dassault Systèmes will be exhibiting its GEOVIA brand of products, formerly known as Gemcom Software International, at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, which will take place from February 3 to 6 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Dassault Systèmes’ solutions span the mining value chain – from exploration, mine planning and production management to mine reconciliation and services delivery.

“Visitors are welcome to join us at booth 1112, where they can interact with Dassault Systèmes’ employees to learn about our latest innovations and how we can help clients meet their specific challenges and needs,” says Dassault Systèmes South Africa MD David Osborn.

“Our mining professionals will be on hand to explain how Dassault’s mining services offering can assist mining operations, and they will demonstrate how GEOVIA’s mining software works,” he says.

The company plans to demonstrate its mining software, including Surpac, GEMS and Minex for geology and mine planning; PCBC, for block caving; Whittle, for strategic mine planning, MineSched, for scheduling; Hub, for data centralisation and collaboration; and InSite, for mine production management and reconciliation.

Dassault Systèmes aims to leave its customers optimistic that there are solutions that can be applied to address profit and efficiency concerns, through the innovative use of mining software.

“Mining Indaba is Africa’s largest mining event and, as the largest global supplier of mining software, we feel it is important for customers and the industry that we are present at the indaba,” says Osborn.

He adds that the indaba is a key international forum for leading exploration and mining companies active in South Africa. “It is a good opportunity for companies to discuss trends with each other and find solutions that address their key business and operational challenges,” he adds.

Dassault Systèmes is looking forward to engaging with current and prospective customers at the event.

The company says the current conversation in the mining industry is about the need for innovation, which can be achieved by adopting new technologies to improve financial returns and sustainability.

“With underperforming mining assets impacting on share prices, mining CEOs want to improve financial returns and boost free cash flow by driving growth through better management across the mining life cycle,” says Osborn.

He adds that, by making better and faster decisions – from the rock face to the port – processes can become more efficient, mineral resources can be used more effectively and wasteful practices can be eliminated. The end result is a healthier bottom line and increased sustainability.

“Mining CEOs are recognising that technologies that have already achieved these goals in other industries can be applied to the management of mining projects,” says Osborn, adding that, by employing a holistic, horizontal view of the mining value chain, new opportunities for improvements can be uncovered.

Dassault Systèmes notes that these types of technologies make it possible to model and simulate the production process – from the extraction of the mineral resource to delivery of the product – to find new opportunities to increase efficiency and productivity.

“In addition to providing us with the opportunity to discuss GEOVIA’s mining-specific software, the indaba also provides a forum for us to explain how Dassault Systèmes' technologies – successfully used by car manufacturer BMW, technology supplier Samsung, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Japanese information technology company Fujitsu and other diverse companies – can be applied in mining to deliver transformational change,” says Osborn.

He adds that the company’s solutions are designed to help mining organisations mitigate soaring costs and fluctuating commodity prices. “We do this by enabling mining companies to uncover opportunities in every area of mining and logistics, and to adapt to market demand and commodity prices while increasing efficiency and controlling costs,” says Osborn.

From the mine site, through to delivering to customers, Dassault Systèmes’ technology helps mining companies improve their business by optimising the processes that drive mining companies to control costs and increase efficiency.

Dassault Systèmes provides companies with the tools and capabilities that link each area of the mineral resource life cycle through data centralisation and workflow governance.

“This enables mining companies to derive value-added decision-making analytics across the entire value chain to optimise the efficacy and efficiency of processes in ways that may have not been considered before,” says Osborn.

Duly Recognised

Dassault Systèmes aims to enable mining organisations in Africa and worldwide to innovate through technology and, subsequently, to improve financial returns and sustainability.

Gold mining company Dundee Precious Metals was recently awarded for their use of technology. “Dassault is proud to have been one of the solutions providers that provided the mining company with a technological backbone, which helped the company achieve its goals of reducing unit costs by 44%, while doubling production without adding any additional equipment,” says Osborn.

Dundee Precious Metals describes the mining industry as being in a state of crisis, owing to low commodity prices, poor funding, high costs and significant labour unrest.

“These short-term challenges will be overcome when mining companies implement new technology to improve overall operational efficiency,” says Osborn.