Skire, a leading provider of capital program, facilities and project portfolio management software, notes that Nevsun Resources (gold and base metal resources) has completed its deployment of Skire UnifierTM for use in its $250 million Bisha project in Eritrea. Unifier will provide comprehensive cost, document and schedule management capabilities, as well as advanced reporting, for project teams based in North America and Africa.
The Bisha mine and processing plant is located west of Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, and is expected to be a long-lived, high-grade mine for gold, copper and zinc production. The initial ore production is forecast to yield high percentages of gold and silver, which will deliver accelerated return on investment. Production is expected to begin in 2010. Project managers at Nevsun’s Vancouver, BC headquarters use Unifier to collaborate with project teams at the company’s Eritrea subsidiary, the Bisha Mining Share Co. Other project stakeholders include the Eritrean National Mining Corp, a shareholder of Bisha Mining Share Co, and Senet, the internationally recognised South African engineering company that is providing engineering, procurement and construction management services for the Bisha mine. Unifier enables all team members to securely access up-to-the-minute project information over the Internet for managing cost accounting and reporting.
“Skire Unifier and its hosting option enable us to provide comprehensive project management capabilities to users in a location with limited IT options,” said Peter Hardie, Nevsun’s CFO. “Its flexibility and ease of use are indispensable features in helping us successfully bridge operations across Vancouver, Eritrea and South Africa. Unifier gives us highly efficient forward-looking project management.”
Nevsun uses the Unifier Cost Manager to establish project cost controls for internal accounting and reporting for the Bisha mine and processing plant project. The Document Manager allows everyone to share documents and have access to current information and project status. Vendor bidding and selection is supported through the automation of an enquiry and adjudication process. Budget management, order placements, change orders, invoicing and other business processes are deployed in Unifier. Nevsun also loaded existing project data into Unifier, giving managers visibility into project progress and enabling them to coordinate efforts more effectively than had been previously possible.
John Leet, Director of Marketing for Skire explained: “As the mine project moves forward, Unifier will provide the company with robust cost controls and a new level of management efficiency.” Skire’s flagship Unifier platform leverages the company’s deep industry experience, giving customers unprecedented visibility and control over major programs and projects.
