Press Releases

Tucson, Arizona

Modular Mining Systems, the market leader in providing powerful information management solutions to mining operations worldwide, announces substantial business growth in its North American region during 2006. This growth includes the installation of over 400 units at eight customer sites in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

“The North America business unit of Modular has witnessed unprecedented growth during 2006,” affirms Modular North America General Manager, Anthony Cook. “The strong growth can be attributed to the general health of the mining industry where most commodities are in a boom cycle.” According to Cook, Modular North America will achieve record sales for FY 2006 (year ending March 31, 2007) and the trend will continue into FY 2007.

Modular CEO Peter Carter praises the North America division, stating “The North America business unit has been able to respond to market demand by maintaining appropriate resource levels and improving business processes.”

Cook reaffirms, “By continually reviewing all aspects of our business process, we improve efficiency and eliminate ineffective practices. As a result, customer feedback indicates that Modular applications are highly valued, and that the DISPATCH® system maintains its strong market position as the premier optimization product on the market—often imitated never duplicated”.

MineCare® technology is providing the mining industry with a powerful real-time maintenance application, a much-needed solution to the need for reliability-centered maintenance. It is revolutionizing mobile maintenance the same way the DISPATCH system revolutionized operations when it entered the market 25 years ago. The difference now is that system payback can be within months due to the reduction of direct costs, thus improving bottom line results.

North American installations and upgrades instrumental in this growth include Phelps Dodge Bagdad, Phelps Dodge Sierrita, Suncor Steepbank, Barrick Goldstrike, Barrick Cortez, and Grupo Mexico Mines. A major milestone for 2006 is the installation at Suncor Steepbank, Canada. The second largest Canadian producer of oil sands, Suncor Steepbank has noted improved processes and reduction in maintenance costs since the installation of the IntelliMine® suite of products.

“Electing to stay with Modular and upgrade to MasterLink has proven to be the best decision for our business,” comments Carla Baker, Operations Engineer for Suncor Steepbank. “Since we currently are running the DISPATCH® system it was a logical choice for us based on the history and knowledge Modular has of Suncor and the confidence we have that Modular will be able to provide a quality product to sustain our current and future growth.”

Modular believes that Suncor Steepbank, which is encircled by a group of competing tar sand mines, could have a high level of influence towards the interest in Modular products for the surrounding mines. The mine currently operates a customized version of the DISPATCH® system that supports its substantial fleet of 76 trucks, 8 loaders, 14 shovels, 24 dozers, and 30 units of auxiliary equipment. ProVision® Machine Guidance is currently utilized by shovels and loaders to optimize productivity and maximize high-precision availability. The mine upgraded in January 2007 to the newest versions of the DISPATCH® and MineCare® systems, along with the ProVision® system for dozers.

As Modular continues to extend its reach in the mining industry of North America, potential customers are encouraged to contact Modular’s North American clients to gain understanding of the true value-add proposition that has been achieved through the use of Modular technology.