One of world's largest mines upgrades to GeoEngineering, chooses MicroStation GeoGraphics; Decision will lead to better land reclamation at Highland Valley Copper

Business Wire, Oct 16, 1996

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 1996-- Bentley Systems, Inc., today announced that Highland Valley Copper (Logan Lake, British Columbia, Canada), one of the world's largest copper mines, is upgrading to the innovative GeoEngineering capabilities provided by MicroStation GeoGraphics(TM). The integrated solution for planning and engineering, a replacement for separate CAD and GIS systems, will initially be used for land reclamation mapping and analysis.

Reclamation at HVC includes waste dump resloping and revegetating, and the development of reclamation plans for 5,900 hectares of disturbed land. Typically, land reclamation costs over $2M annually. With MicroStation GeoGraphics, the company has new automation to create related maps more quickly, plan far more effectively, and lower overall costs. HVC's future plans for GeoEngineering include land tenure, surveying and mapping, and analysis of slope stability in the mining pits.

Previously, HVC used mine planning software along with computer-aided drafting to display information in a mapping format. Engineers and supervisors found the maps and data difficult to maintain and update. GeoEngineering offers a streamlined approach and single system for CAD and geographical information.

The decision to purchase Bentley's GeoEngineering solution was also based on several additional factors including the system's ability to work seamlessly with office productivity tools and Microsoft Access, their corporate database. HVC is running the solution on Windows NT(R).

HVC also joined Bentley SELECT(SM), the company's software and support subscription program. HVC will thus receive continuous improvement to MicroStation(R) 95 and MicroStation GeoGraphics. Future software plans for HVC include evaluations of MicroStation PowerScope(TM) for corporate-wide data access and MicroStation Descartes(TM) for engineering imaging.

For more information on the range of MicroStation products, or Bentley, please contact Bentley at 1-800-BENTLEY, 1 610-458-5000 (US), 31 2356-85588 (Europe), 61 3-9699-8699 (Asia/Pacific), via e-mail at jen.mcwilliams@bentley.com, or through the World Wide Web at www.bentley.com.

More on Bentley

Bentley Systems, Inc., is a worldwide leader in engineering software products and user services. The company now serves over 220,000 professionals in building/plant engineering, GeoEngineering, and mechanical engineering. Its MicroStation products are proven at over 70% of the largest U.S. engineering firms and are the software foundation behind the engineering of well-known buildings, airports, hospitals, highways, machines, bridges and industrial plants throughout the world. With annual revenues of over $95 million in 1995, Bentley has risen to number two in GIS/Windows NT software, number three in AEC software, and become one of the world's fastest growing software companies. -0-

MicroStation is a registered trademark; MicroStation GeoGraphics, PowerScope, and Bentley are trademarks; and Bentley SELECT is a service mark of Bentley Systems, Inc. Descartes is a trademark of HMR, Inc. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owner

CONTACT: Michelle Allard

Boston Communications

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mallard@bcomm.com