Newmont renews with K2fly

ASX-listed resources software provider K2fly Ltd has bedded down a five-year extension to its existing contract with the world’s largest gold company Newmont Corporation in relation to its resource governance software-as-a-service solution.

Perth-based K2fly says the extension deal, which takes the Newmont contract period out to March 2028, has a total contract value of A$1.3 million. That is in addition to the pair’s initial three-year agreement, which had a total contract value of $900,000.

Cementing the renewal agreement will see K2fly continue to provide its cloud-based RCubed Resource Governance Solution across Newmont’s dozen or so operating mines together with joint ventures and projects across its global operations.

K2fly’s cloud-based platform allows Newmont to carry out mineral resource and reserve data governance, compliance and reporting.

K2fly says RCubed dramatically reduces overheads and improves efficiencies and accountability for those involved in mineral resource inventory estimating and delivers systemised back-up and robustness to reporting processes.

K2fly Chief Executive Officer Nic Pollock said: “This extension of our original agreement from March 2020 with the world’s leading gold company reaffirms the importance of K2fly’s solutions in helping large resources organisations with their environmental, social and governance reporting and aligns with Newmont’s purpose to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining.”

According to K2fly, demand is growing for its resource governance solutions as investors focus on the mining industry’s environmental, social and governance performance.

Last month Alcoa USA Corp signed a US$1.5 million, five-year contract with K2fly, who will provide tailings management solutions at seven of the bauxite, alumina and aluminium giant’s operations.

The company’s all-scrip $3.7 million acquisition of the Decipher for Mining business from CSBP earlier this year appears to already be bearing fruit, with K2fly landing tailings management and monitoring software contracts with Evolution Mining and Heathgate Resources.

K2fly says Alcoa USA is the third International Council on Mining and Metals member to take up the K2fly-Decipher tailings management software solution offering.

Decipher for Mining encompasses cloud-based software-as-a-service technology and compliance solutions for the resources sector, including in relation to mine rehabilitation and closures and tailings storage governance and monitoring.

According to K2fly, the latest Alcoa contract points to increasing demand for the tailings solution as more companies commit to the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.

The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management has been formally endorsed by the co-convenors of the Global Tailings Review comprising the London-based International Council on Mining and Metals, the UN Environment Program and the Principles for Responsible Investment.

Late last year, the Church of England Pensions Board and the Council on Ethics of the Swedish National Pension Funds urged more than 350 mining companies to confirm their support for the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management and to set out a timeline for their intended compliance with it.

The pension funds hold a flabbergasting combined $20 trillion-plus in assets under management on behalf of investors.

When the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management was launched last year, all member companies of the International Council on Mining and Metals indicated they would have solutions in place for all tailings storage facilities with “extreme”’ or “very high” potential consequences by August 2023 and all others by August 2025.

K2fly says all 28 members of the International Council on Mining and Metals were committed to the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management and that the standard was not limited to council members and was accessible to the whole industry.

Management says it is cautiously optimistic that the solution developed with Decipher for Mining to meet the newly agreed Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management will play a significant role in this space.

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