Suppliers News (May 29, 2006)

Finning sells more trucks to Escondida

Vancouver-based Finning International (FTT-T, FINGF-O) says its South American division has sold 18 new and two used Caterpillar 797B mining trucks to Minera Escondida, operator of the largest copper mine on the planet. The deal is part of a global pact between BHP Billiton (BHP-N) and Caterpillar (CAT-N).

The sale increases the total number of 797 mining trucks in service at Escondida to 58 units. The trucks will enter service beginning in August and the rest should be in operation by the end of 2007.

Escondida is situated in the Atacama desert, 170 km southeast of Antofagasta, Chile.

“As Caterpillar’s key business partner, Finning continues to benefit from the increasing demand for equipment by the South American mining companies,” says Doug Whitehead, president and CEO of Finning International.

Finning International, the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer, sells, rents, finances and services equipment and engines in Western Canada, the U.K., and South America. Finning also owns a large equipment rental business in Europe.

Surpac course on resource estimation

The Vancouver office of Snowden mining consultants is offering a 4-day resource estimation course using the Surpac software. The course, slated for June 20-23 in Vancouver, is designed to give geologists and mining engineers a clear understanding of geostatistics and how they are used in resource estimation.

The course will be presented by Ian Glacken, a specialist in project management and resource estimation. He will be joined by Chawki Jreige, a Surpac instructor and technical support assistant who is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

The course will provide an overview of reserve estimation and modelling procedures, teach participants how to choose the best modelling system, present a thorough understanding of fundamentals and how to apply them on-site, practice with Surpac, and real-life case studies.

The course reviews the various aspects of resource modelling including:

* importance of geology and domaining;

* volume-variance effect;

* data validation and analysis;

* variography;

* different methods of estimation, including inverse distance and various applications of kriging; and

* an introduction to conditional simulation.

Participants must have experience and training in the Surpac database and block model components before enrolling. Snowden is offering a Surpac refresher course on June 19. Participants should bring laptops (the Surpac software will be loaded on-site).

The cost of the 4-day workshop is $2,750, whereas the 1-day Surpac refresher course is $600.

For more information, contact Dianne Ross at (604) 683-7645. E-mail: training@snowdengroup.com