Battling with the software to set up a mining schedule? We all know the feeling... when you're losing precious time because of fighting the software instead of running iterations and scenarios... You will never have confidence in your schedule if you do not have 2 or 3 scenarios to test the flex of your system. Your superiors want a number of options, not just one answer. RPMGlobal's XPAC Solutions products allows you to do just that - run scenarios instead of suffering in s

Chromite is an oxide mineral composed of chromium, iron, and oxygen (FeCr2O4). It is dark gray to black in color with a metallic to submetallic luster and a high specific gravity. It occurs in basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks and in the metamorphic and sedimentary rocks that are produced when chromite-bearing rocks are altered by heat or weathering. Chromite is important because it is the only economic ore of chromium, an essential element for a wide variety of metal, chemi

How sure are you that your mine designs have the minimum number of switchbacks? Have you tested the impact of having one switchback less, how that reduces your strip ratio and down-the-line costs, not to mention the health & safety of your employees ...? What about your benches & stacks, do they honour the geotechnical slope angles to prevent slope failure...? Your ramp systems on your interim high-walls - do they tie up with your final design and serve as dual access for tha

Collahuasi copper mine 180km south-east of the port of Iquique in northern Chile ranks as the third largest copper mine in the world. Proven and probable copper reserves of the open-pit mine as of December 2012 stood at 25.895Mt. The mine produced 282,096t of copper in 2012, accounting for 5.1% of Chile’s total copper output. Collahuasi copper mine is owned and operated by Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi, a joint venture between Anglo American (44%), Xstrata (44%) and

Slightly behind already on this year’s budgeted tonnes…? You have catch-up strategies in place, but your team is not convinced that it will work…? One of the strategies might be pulling in that spare excavator, but will your truck fleet cope with the additional loading capacity…? With years of experience with RPMGlobal’s HAULSIM package, allow me to help you run a calibrated simulation of your mine’s actual loader fleet, truck fleet, road network, infrastructure, maintenance

The mining industry is notorious for its volatile nature as commodity prices fluctuate. History shows that it's the companies that can adjust to the market changes the quickest that lead the pack. Mining on a 5-year old mine design that was based on a Whittle shell all those years ago can mean you're either leaving value in the ground, or more detrimental, you're now mining in areas where profitability is going South... With almost a decade of Whittle open pit optimisation ex

Joy Global’s P&H L-2350 has a 40.52m³ capacity shovel bucket and offers a payload of 72,574kg and is the world's biggest front-end loader. Powered by a 2,300hp (1,715kW) engine, the rubber tired giant loader, with 272t operating weight, up to 26.4ft dump clearance and 11.5ft reach at full lift, is designed for centre loading of ultra-class haul trucks of 363t or higher payload capacity. The front-end loader, originally designed and developed by LeTourneau Technologies, a subs

These days we live in an age where almost every job is carried out with the aid of a computer software programme. Companies require job applicants to have software experience, and the mining industry is no different. But how do you apply for a position if you don't have any software experience? The mine planning courses offered by the School of Rock focuses specifically on exposing you to mining industry software, while learning the basics in a creative and stimulating way. D

Don't have a university degree or diploma, but want to further your career in mining and hit that next promotion...? Don't have the means to travel to a far-off location to complete a mining course...? Or maybe you're a scholar and want to study Mining one day, but you have no clue what Mining is about...? Then consider the Mining for Non-miners course. The course was developed by the friendly people at RPMGlobal, one of the global leaders in mine planning software. The guys

"Chlorite" is the name of a group of common sheet silicate minerals that form during the early stages of metamorphism. Most chlorite minerals are green in color, have a foliated appearance, perfect cleavage, and an oily to soapy feel. They are found in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Chlorite minerals are found in rocks altered during deep burial, plate collisions, hydrothermal activity, or contact metamorphism. They are also found as retrograde minerals in igneou