Hudbay Minerals sees commercial advantage in acQuire’s technology upgrades

Canadian miner makes an easy transition to GIM Suite 5

How do you know the best time to upgrade your software? For some companies, keeping on top of regular upgrades is part of a strategy to provide an optimal working environment. For others, new features or improved functionality might be the motivation to upgrade to the latest release. acQuire’s new cloud-based licensing platform introduced for its information management solutions makes life much easier for system administrators and provides customers with commercial advantages.

Hudbay Minerals didn’t waste any time upgrading to the latest release of GIM Suite. The Canadian company mines gold, zinc and copper in Snow Lake, Manitoba. They use the geological data management solution for exploration and mining operations in Manitoba and in their new copper project in Arizona.

As a long time GIM Suite customer, Hudbay made a strategic decision to move to GIM Suite 5. They were attracted to the simplified and more flexible cloud-based licensing model which is available for all users of GIM Suite technology. Senior GIS Specialist Kenda Kozar played an integral role in helping Hudbay’s IT department set up the new licensing platform.

Early adopter to GIM Suite is steeped in mining history

Having spent 21 years in the Hudbay exploration team, Kenda has a thorough understanding of GIM Suite. She currently works with seven geologists, who all need access to geoscientific information. One of Kenda’s challenges is keeping on top of historical geological data, some of which goes back more than 100 years.

“The earliest drill log I’ve seen was from 1907,” Kenda said.

Hudbay started using acQuire’s geological data management software in 2002 before it was called GIM Suite. In December 2021, Hudbay put GIM Suite 5 into production. They were motivated by the ability to log drillholes in GIM Suite’s mobile app but one of the main draws for moving to the latest release was GIM Suite’s new licensing model.

Multiple licence types convert to new release and all functionality

Hudbay had a variety of licences including data entry, read, analysis and a couple floating licences split across their two mine sites and exploration. GIM Suite 5 provided an opportunity to give everyone at Hudbay equal access to the product with a new approach to licensing.

“It wasn’t hard to transition to GIM Suite 5,” Kenda said. “We have had no issues.”

Licence management in GIM Suite 5 has made Kenda’s job much easier.

“I like it. It’s super easy to move licences around if you need to move them,” Kenda said.

“I work on two computers so I like the fact that I can log into the remote computer and open a licence on my computer and it’s the same.

“I had a single licence before, and I couldn’t do that.”

Managing user licences is much easier with GIM Suite 5

Kenda isn’t the only one who has been impressed with GIM Suite 5. Reg Yaworski, Principal Geologist at Hudbay Minerals, says Elliot Flaig, acQuire Commercial Account Manager, played a valuable role in helping Hudbay to cost things out and make the transition an affordable undertaking.

“I am totally impressed with the new licensing platform. Setting up new employees, allocating licences, and purchasing new licences is so much easier and much more convenient,” Reg said.

Kenda said while acQuire was supportive in converting all the old licences to the new model, the GIM Suite 5 release itself didn’t require any special help.

“We just did it. We implemented it, we tested it, and we moved on,” Kenda said. “The upgrade was very easy.”

GIM Suite 5 makes commercial sense for Hudbay

Kenda said being able to convert all their different licence types into the new licensing module was a major advantage to moving to GIM Suite 5 because it made commercial sense. She said being able to convert their existing licences to get full access to all functionality across desktop, web and mobile was a major reason to upgrade to GIM Suite 5.

Hudbay schedules annual product upgrades to keep on top of new releases. This habit of always running the latest release helped in the transition to GIM Suite 5, especially when dealing with the IT department.

“I schedule our upgrades well in advance, so our IT department is always welcoming when I want changes,” Kenda said.

Despite the change in licences, Kenda’s internal customers haven’t missed a beat.

“Nothing has changed for any of our users besides the fact that they have to type in a password when they open GIM Suite.”

More about GIM Suite 5 licensing

The new licensing model means data in GIM Suite 5 is available to those who need it, when and where they need it. Whether working in the field or in the office, users can access their data across desktop, web and mobile with their own unique and individual login. GIM Suite licences are now managed from a cloud-based licensing platform, making it easier to access and manage GIM Suite licences.

If you’d like to upgrade to GIM Suite 5 and get the same benefits as Hudbay Minerals, get in touch with acQuire.

Image sourced from Hudbay Minerals – Pit Supervisions 080