MICROMINE will implement the Pitram fleet management and mine control software solution at Nova, which is 100% owned by IGO and is located approximately 160 kilometres north-east of Norseman.

Nova began commercial operation in July 2017 and produced 22,258t of nickel, 9,545t of copper and 740t of cobalt at a payable cash cost of A$2.78/lb Ni in the 2018 financial year .

IGO gave guidance that production at Nova will increase by around 20% in FY19 to 27,000-30,000t of nickel, 11,000-12,500t of copper, and 850-950t of cobalt .

MICROMINE's Pitram Operations Manager, Daren Hinchliffe, said: "MICROMINE's fleet management and mine control solution Pitram, will be used by operations personnel, to capture insights and data from mobile equipment and underground mining activities, in real time.

"Using Pitram's voice-based mine control system, underground operators can call in their activities, locations and status to mine control, and performance results can be monitored constantly, allowing for continuous improvement."

"Using Pitram's automated technology, shift supervisors can keep track of what is going on throughout the mine, at all times, results and performance can be monitored constantly."

"This will provide IGO with critical data as to how the mine is performing and, help identify bottlenecks, enabling the company to respond quickly to opportunities to implement process improvements."

IGO's Chief Operating Officer, Matt Dusci, believes this will drive significant value through productivity efficiencies and cost savings at Nova and ultimately serves as a platform for future integration with automation at the mine.

"We are pleased to implement an excellent system such as MICROMINE's Pitram at Nova, which we believe will improve production, decrease costs, and offer real time data to ultimately enhance the overall capabilities of our operations," Dusci added.

The roll-out of Pitram at Nova commenced in Dec 2018 and is expected to be completed in early 2019.