For more than a decade, Hexagon has supported and partnered with mining schools and students via sponsorships, scholarships, software licenses and research collaborations. For a company focused on the coming decades of innovation and beyond, it makes sense to back the miners of tomorrow.
In Mexico City, on the other hand, Universidad Autónoma Nacional de México (UNAM) can trace its roots back almost five centuries! Once known as Universidad Real y Pontificia de México, and founded in 1551, the school survived Mexican independence but eventually closed in 1865. It reopened as UNAM in 1910 and is today one of several Mexican universities supported by Hexagon in its use of mine planning software.
As part of that ongoing support, our Hermosillo office in the state of Sonora welcomed professors from UNAM and three Sonoran universities in January.
There to conduct annual training was Senior Mine Planning Specialist, Alberdin Quintana.
“I had the chance to perform updated HxGN MinePlan training sessions for professors,” said Alberdin. “It’s a valuable opportunity to keep everyone up to speed with the latest MinePlan solutions and spread knowledge within the student community.”
During Jan. 6-10, Alberdin hosted professors from UNAM, Universidad de Sonora, Universidad Estatal de Sonora and Universidad Tecnológica de Hermosillo. “Getting Started” training was accelerated from two days to one and a half, and Alberdin ensured there was still time for questions. MinePlan 3D was a hot topic for discussion, as was the recently released MinePlan Project Evaluator (MPPE), which replaces MinePlan Economic Planner (MPEP).
Released in October 2019, MPPE is a strategic planning software tool that optimizes ultimate pits and life-of-mine strategic schedules. Featuring a modern interface, MPPE allows planners to easily consider multiple potential scenarios both in the pit optimization and scheduling process using robust case management tools.
“Three of the professors were very interested to know how MPPE works because they had previously used MPEP in their classes,” said Alberdin. “They wanted to learn as much as they could about Evaluator and how to implement this tool in their classes. This topic went very well and there were a lot of questions and good comments about the quick and easy way Evaluator obtains and configures results.
“They were all were thinking and asking me about ideas to create a workflow and build a class program for their students.”
Several professors requested more information about MinePlan’s short-term planning capabilities, which left little time for MinePlan Schedule Optimizer. By the end of the week, professors were brimming with new ideas.
“I think the training went very well,” said Alberdin. “All the professors were very thankful and told about new ideas that they will be adding to their classes. Some of them requested data sets to improve their programs.
“I’m looking forward to the next visit and continued collaboration with our university partners.”
