Northern Star has some of Australia's heaviest exploration and mine development drilling programmes running at its core underground gold operations in Western Australia.

Jolimont Global Mining Systems and Viburnum Funds-backed Minnovare has developed the Azimuth Aligner and other technologies to optimise the performance of expensive drilling equipment, including the drill and blast ‘Production Optimiser' deployed across Northern Star's mines.

"The collaboration lays a platform not just for further implementations," said Northern Star innovation and technology principal, Jeff Brown.

"Northern Star will be actively involved in the development of a series of new Minnovare products that will deliver additional efficiencies to our underground mining operations.

"Collaborating with solution providers like Minnovare and the technology they specialise in represents the future of the industry so we're very pleased to be working with them."  

In only a couple of months Minnovare's Production Optimiser is said to have boosted drilled metres by 17% and reduced blast-hole deviation at the collar by up to 75% at Northern Star sites.

Flow-on benefits have included an increase in average recovery due to reduced bridging and a reduction in average dilution, reducing overall production costs.