UGMS is RPM's first edition release of the software, which is fully integrated with its enterprise solutions.

Indeed, CEO Richard Mathews said the launch was in line "with the company's mission of delivering innovative end-to-end enterprise solutions for miners".

Specifically, the solution features automatic design tools that can can save time, but also provide the ability for a user to generate alternative designs. At that point, parameters can be changed and the model re-run to create an optimal mine design.

"We have leveraged the most advanced technologies including the very latest parametric design capabilities that support rapid scenario generation, long-term planning and optimal mine design for our customers. This ensures miners continue to drive efficiency and productivity improvements in a visually orientated environment," Mathews said.

He added that the design solutions would first be available to UGMS customers of its XPAC Solutions software. RPM will later roll out additional design capabilities across its enterprise architecture, though the company did not indicate a specific timeline.

At its core, RPM added, UGMS Optimiser will incorporate discrete optimisation tools used in underground metals mine design, all in one solution. This can give users a rapid understanding of the impact of changes to metallurgical grade, mining costs, revenue, forex and the roll-on effects they have on accessing mineral deposits.

The newly launched system uses RPM's Development Optimiser, a combination of the Planar Underground Network Optimiser (PUNO) and Decline Optimisation Tool (DOT) solutions.

It also uses Mine Stope Optimiser (MSO) to produce stope shapes and inventories from a block model, and to generate mining shapes in days instead of months.

"We are the first company to combine and incorporate the three big underground optimisers into one enterprise-enabled design product," Mathews said.

"The value of the results this product will produce through the ability to quickly evaluate multiple mine design scenarios to achieve profitable outcomes, and the time it will save, will be a true differentiator from the existing tools in use in the industry."