Case Study: Palabora boosts block cave productivity with Dassault Systèmes GEOVIA

Palabora saves 2,100 hours a year with Dassault Systemes

Palabora, South Africa's only producer of refined copper, transitioned from an open pit to a block cave mining operation and faced challenges with inefficient geological modeling and cave management. To enhance productivity and accuracy from modeling through to operations, they partnered with Dassault Systèmes and its GEOVIA brand, utilizing the GEMS and PCBC software solutions.

Dassault Systèmes implemented its GEMS software for geological modeling and its PCBC application for block cave reserve estimation and management. This integrated solution streamlined data flow, reduced errors, and automated shift-based draw orders. The results were significant, including an annual production of 60,000 tonnes of copper and time savings of over 2,100 hours per year, which is equivalent to saving one man-year of labor. Palabora achieved improved cave management, more profitable mining, and a solid plan for future operations.

Palabora