A Perth-based company is changing the face of drilling operations in mines around the world.
Minnovare is an advanced technology company that specialises in improving the accuracy, reliability and profitability of drilling operations in the underground hard rock mining industry – while simultaneously reducing environmental impact.
Using its innovative Production Optimiser and newly launched Environmental Impact Calculator, Minnovare’s technologies are shaping production and people-related ecosystems to ensure a scalable, sustainable future.
How does this technology transfer to industrial drilling operations? Quite simply, Minnovare’s advanced hardware and data-capture software combine to deliver drill data faster and more accurately – enabling faster, smarter operational decision making.
Launched in 2018, Minnovare’s Production Optimiser has already established a reputation for solving emissions challenges. It combines advanced hardware, software and data analytics to substantially improve drilling efficiency and productivity in underground mines. It optimises the drilling process for faster stope cycle times, reduced dilution and increased ore recovery. The result? Significant savings on waste and energy consumption.
Minnovare has established a reputation for improving the efficiency, productivity and overall profitability of underground hard-rock production drilling operations with a sustainable approach. The technology has been embraced by Australian companies keen to reduce their environmental footprint while increasing their profitability and efficiency.
“Today’s companies are under increasing pressure to establish and demonstrate their environmental consciousness, with reduced site emissions and accurate drilling processes. The emphasis is on emissions avoided,” Mick Beilby, director and co-founder of Minnovare, said.
“Australian companies are quick to adopt this forward-thinking technology, as they are able to see the value almost immediately. The technology is ideal for resource companies all the way through to bulk commodities and all drill types.”
“The Production Optimiser genuinely shows companies how to avoid emissions on site. It has high productivity ESG and is very accurate, which helps companies get to the commodity to drill accurately with less waste.
“This product improves productivity and is accurate,” Mr Beilby continued. “ with less environmental impact and less damage. The Production Optimiser helps with reducing overbreak and underbreak, which are unpredictable occurrences associated with underground drilling and blasting.”
One of Australia’s leading decarbonisation and sustainability experts agrees that Minnovare’s technology is significant.
Speaking at a recent webinar, Adam Gangemi, managing director of Super Smart Energy, an environmental services company, said the Production Optimiser was increasing drilling efficiency, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions, and enabling companies to drill faster, cheaper, and more sustainably.
“Minnovare’s Production Optimiser is one of the better solutions that’s come across my desk,” said Mr Gangemi. “Even small projects can get big bang for their buck. This drilling solution is one example where a small investment can deliver a ten-fold return through increased production, and significantly avoid those mine site emissions simultaneously,” Mr Gangemi said.
“Not having to haul or process waste material is a smart way to do this and it is delivering huge results not only from an emissions perspective, but also increasing production. If we start to look at opportunities that will both increase production and have the benefit of reducing emissions, this will be a no brainer for underground mining companies,” he said.
Mr Gangemi compared a range of WA Goldfields producers and found that most could be saving anywhere between 1,000 to 8,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year by using the Minnovare technology.
“By using the Production Optimiser on-site, you drill more accurately and that means more gold on the trucks, less waste and a significant reduction in emissions,” he said.
To demonstrate the emissions savings, Minnovare has launched a new Environmental Impact Calculator, allowing mining companies to quickly compute the emissions they could avoid on site by using the technology. The calculator shows how CO2 emissions are reduced through improved drilling accuracy using Minnovare’s Production Optimiser system, increasing efficiency, productivity and overall profitability.
“We know the industry wants sustainable outcomes,” Mr Beilby concluded. “Through using our technology, companies will achieve less dilution and deviation from an increase in drill quality and this results in less waste.”
