From vision to value

Mining is entering a new era of orebody intelligence and the partnership between Maptek and PETRA is already proving what’s possible.

Following Maptek’s acquisition of PETRA earlier this year, the two businesses have  moved quickly from strategic alignment to practical innovation, delivering their first integrated workflow designed to simplify complex mining processes and unlock operational value.

A shared purpose built on orebody knowledge 

Maptek and PETRA have a joint purpose of creating value across the mining lifecycle, so taking the step to unite cemented a shared commitment to unlocking value through deeper orebody knowledge and geological variability.

‘PETRA invented digital mine to mill AI software, and remains well ahead of the industry,’ said Peter Johnson, Chairman of Maptek.

‘By bringing PETRA fully into the Maptek group, we can support their continued innovation while delivering even greater value to our customers.’

Solving a persistent industry problem 

The first integration project between PETRA and Maptek focuses on a challenge familiar to many mining teams: manual data handling.

Historically, applying advanced blast optimisation recommendations from PETRA’s MAXTADrill&Blast® software inside Maptek Vulcan required manual input and rework.

Even when AI-generated recommendations were available, time constraints and disconnected workflows often prevented operations teams from fully realising their true value. The new integration changes that completely.

Mining engineers can now directly import AI-generated blast design parameters from MAXTA into Vulcan with a single click.

Users can immediately apply optimisation objectives including cost and confidence-based parameters without the inefficiencies and risks of manual data transfer, resulting in a faster, more seamless workflow that makes advanced orebody intelligence easier to access and act on.

What makes this integration significant is its practical focus. It’s designed to remove friction between systems and enable teams to operationalise AI-driven insights in everyday workflows.

This is especially important in drill and blast operations, where rapid decision-making and execution directly impact downstream productivity and value recovery.

The solution is available to existing and new customers as a standard complimentary upgrade, helping operations immediately benefit from improved workflow efficiency and optimisation capability.

Building toward an automated mining ecosystem

The integration forms part of Maptek’s broader automation strategy through the Vestrex platform, which enables automation of data management, computation, workflows and decision support across the mining value chain.

Over the next year, MAXTA capabilities will be enabled in Vestrex, allowing customers to automate and manage their technical ecosystems more holistically.

Future integration work is already planned for MAXTAGeomet® products, with downstream performance predictions expected to integrate into Maptek Vulcan and Evolution workflows for mine planning and scheduling.

Redefining orebody intelligence together

 The vision is clear: connect orebody intelligence directly to operational decision-making across every stage of mining, from resource estimation through to scheduling and execution.

With their first integration already delivering measurable workflow improvements for planning teams, the Maptek and PETRA partnership is moving quickly and purposefully, to further transform the way miners access and act on critical orebody knowledge.

Together, Maptek and PETRA are combining their mining expertise, AI-driven orebody learning and integrated workflows to help mining organisations unlock more value from geological variability.

PETRA CEO Dr Penny Stewart puts it simply:

‘Maptek and PETRA speak the same language. We share the same fundamental purpose: using orebody knowledge to create value across the mine value chain.’