Minemax is pleased to partner with the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM), Curtin University in Kalgoorlie, to add value to their quality training in the area of strategic mine planning. John Battista, General Manager of Minemax, recently shared some of his broad industry experience and knowledge in a guest lecture to third-year mining engineering students. “I’m a proud WASM graduate and it’s a real honor to give something back to help today’s students.”

WASM has recently joined the Minemax Academic Software Program and uses Minemax Planner for strategic mine planning in their courses. “Minemax Planner software is particularly suited to educational environments because it solves complex problems, but is easy to set up and use,” remarked Battista.

Dr Mohammad Asad, the Head of Discipline-Mining Engineering, cites the easy-to-use workflow style interface as one of the key aspects for incorporating Minemax Planner into the WASM academic program. “Because the software is so easy to use, we spend less time teaching the students how to use it. The students are guided step-by-step as they work their way through the tutorials.”

Dr Mehmet Cigla, Senior Lecturer at WASM, admitted that gaining practical skills before graduating is critical at the moment, as the mining downturn makes it harder for students to find vacation work and for graduates to find jobs. As a key component of strategic mine planning, Battista urged students, “Make sure you understand the basic reason why the industry exists – to sustainably add as much value as possible for its stakeholders. This will keep you on track to achieve the best result.”