International representatives from academia and the mining industry swung through Sudbury from May 19-21 for updates and demonstrations of the Planning and Rapid Integrated Mine Optimization (PRIMO) research project.
Vale Inco and the Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) hosted delegates from Australia, Canada and the United States, who meet annually to get up to speed on the project's status.
The $2.6-million PRIMO project, which seeks to help create software tools to design and schedule underground mines, is in the final year of its three-year life. Delegates participated in demonstrations of the tools to begin the process of technology transfer to industry.
MIRARCO's role in the project includes the development of an advanced version of the Schedule Optimization Tool (SOT), a commercially available product which produces underground mine schedules.
The PRIMO project is overseen by Australia's AMIRA International Limited, and includes the support of a number of large mining firms including Xstrata Nickel, Vale Inco, Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining and BHP Billiton.
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