Micromine Pitram has received ‘double gold’, taking home two major industry awards in Underground Excellence (2026 Mining Magazine Awards) for its partnership with Çayeli Bakır İşletmeleri A.Ş. (Çayeli Bakır) in Türkiye, and in Digital Transformation (2026 Australian Mining Prospect Awards) for its partnership with Rana Gruber in Norway. 

While the projects addressed different business challenges, both achieved measurable improvements in operational performance and decision-making. Together, they reflect a common industry priority: enabling mining organisations to make more data-driven decisions in increasingly complex operating environments. 

"Although the projects were different, they share a common theme. Both demonstrate how access to timely, reliable information supports meaningful operational improvements,” said Tatiana Khamanova, Product Marketing Manager for Micromine Pitram. 

"The story behind both projects goes beyond the technology itself. These awards recognise the people behind the projects who adopted new ways of working, and ultimately used better visibility and information to improve how they operate.” 

Efficiency in Underground Mining at Çayeli Bakır 

The Mining Magazine Underground Excellence Award recognised Micromine Pitram's implementation at Çayeli Bakır, a copper and zinc mine operating under Cengiz Holding. Facing growing operational complexity, reserve depletion, and rising costs, the operation sought greater visibility and control over its underground activities. 

By implementing Pitram and establishing a dedicated Mine Control Room, Çayeli Bakır gained real-time visibility of people, equipment, and production activities throughout the mine. The project delivered impressive, measurable results: an average productivity increase of 18 per cent, including a 39 per cent improvement in development performance, a 29 per cent improvement in shotcrete performance and a 26 per cent improvement in rock bolting performance. 

“Implementing Pitram enabled us to see what was truly happening underground in real time. With greater visibility of our people, equipment and production activities, we could make faster, more informed decisions. This transformation helped us to increase efficiency at Çayeli Bakır,” said Sevda Yalçın, Ventilation Engineer and Pitram Administrator. 

Driving Digital Transformation at Rana Gruber 

The Digital Transformation Award at the Australian Mining Prospect Awards, recognised its partnership with Rana Gruber, an iron ore producer in northern Norway owned by Champion Iron Limited. 

The project focused on replacing fragmented reporting processes with a connected operational data backbone. By digitising and centralising operational information, Pitram enabled faster access to critical data, streamlined reporting processes and supported more informed decision-making. 

For Rana Gruber, the transformation was about ensuring the team had the information they needed to spend less time collecting data and more time improving the operation. 

Reflecting on the transformation, Magnus Staur, Mining Engineer at Rana Gruber, commented: 

“Having a single source for our operational data changed our daily routines. Instead of spending time chasing spreadsheets and checking numbers, we could focus on running the mine and solving problems. It gave us confidence in our decisions and improved the way our team worked together.” 

The two award-winning projects demonstrate that meaningful improvements often come from helping people work more effectively with the information available to them. 

Micromine congratulates the teams involved and is proud to have supported these initiatives alongside its customers.