In further development of its environmental, social and governance credentials, RPM Global is introducing environmental disturbance modelling and reporting functionality to mine scheduling product XPAC Solutions.
It has a module under development in Canada and, in collaboration with a Canadian miner, it was tested on site over September.
The module lets users know of any disturbance of environmental significance, across the life of mine across many different sensitive habitats, with results able to be reported independently or in combination.
The software allows mining schedules to be restrained by pre-set limits in water catchment and flora and fauna zones, with users able to request a reduction in environmental distances and force the software to find a different schedule that honours that restriction.
The automatic environmental disturbance reporting functionality also means users no longer have to manually place mine schedules into a geographic information system to build environmental reports.
RPM Global head of ESG Ngaire Tranter said users simply configured the product once and it would generate the data required every time a mine schedule was run.
She said the environmental disturbance capability would be critical for companies operating in jurisdictions that have stringent environmental restrictions.
"Organisations require forward-looking solutions that help them efficiently manage and demonstrate compliance with increasingly complex environmental rules and regulations that govern the industry," Tranter said.
"Across many jurisdictions, policy makers and regulators are strengthening environmental disclosure requirements, which underpin the importance of innovative software solutions that help mining companies navigate this evolving space."
Tranter said the company was already planning for the next stage of XPAC Solutions' ESG capabilities, which are focused on rehabilitation planning.
"There is an increasing focus from shareholders on an organisation's social licence to operate so it's important that we, as a software provider, continue to stay a step ahead by developing solutions that mitigate risk and add value for our clients in this space," she said.
"Our intention is to develop a world-class ESG technology stack that builds on the expertise of our advisory division."
