That is the challenge Deswik is targeting with NOVA, the latest software offering designed to bring mining, blending and haulage into a single integrated workflow for open pit operations.


According to Amanda Forbes, principal mining consultant at Deswik, the demands on mine planning teams are growing on multiple fronts.


“Deposits are getting more complex, margins are tightening, and we’re dealing with lower grades, more variability and more geo-technical and operational constraints than ever before,” she told Australian Mining.

“Planning teams are expected to deliver more scenarios in less time, with fewer experienced people available to ensure those plans are practical, robust and realistic.”


When a plan can’t be executed as written, operations are forced to make quick decisions on the day to maintain production, which can push the site away from its longer-term objectives. That often comes down to how the planning process itself is structured.


“When mining, blending and haulage are handled in separate systems, each piece of the plan can look valid on its own, but that doesn’t guarantee it works as a whole,” Forbes said.


“Teams can waste significant time moving data between systems and checking consistency, rather than spending that time improving the plan itself.”


Delays in receiving inputs can compress planning timelines.


Some constraints only become visible once everything is brought together, often leaving very little time to properly identify and analyze the bottlenecks.


“NOVA was designed to address a fundamental problem in how mine planning is typically done, where the process is split across multiple steps and tools, without a clear, consistent workflow for building a plan,” Forbes said.


With mining, blending and haulage visible together in a single environment, changes can be tested quickly with the impact seen across the full system.


“That changes how planning time is used,” Forbes said. “Less time is spent transferring data or reconciling outputs and more time is spent testing how the system behaves when inputs change.”


Scenario planning has shifted from being a nice-to-have to a core part of the planning process. With more volatility in geology, costs and operating conditions, a single plan is no longer enough to support decision-making.


This is where NOVA can have a significant impact. With scenario management built into the workflow rather than treated as a separate task, planners can run and compare multiple scenarios more easily, leading to better visibility of risk and more informed decisions.


Deswik’s surface mining capability has been part of its offering from the very beginning.

These tools are now widely adopted across design, scheduling, optimization, blending and reporting, developed through close collaboration with customers using them in real operations.

NOVA builds on that foundation, bringing those capabilities together in a way that better supports how planning decisions are made.


The focus hasn’t been on adding complexity, but on making it easier to produce plans that are consistent, realistic and practical to execute.


“The clearer the decisions behind the plan are, the more likely the operation is to stay aligned and deliver against its long-term objectives,” Forbes said.



This feature appeared in the July 2026 issue of Australian Mining magazine.