"Terralites provide positioning under conditions where GPS-only or GNSS-enhanced receivers are blocked by highwalls and other obstructions in the mine," said Mark Bartlett, manager of Phelps Dodge Mine Technology Group. "GPS outages that would have hindered our machine operations in the past are no longer an issue - software applications that depend on accurate positions can, for the first time, remain uninterrupted," continued Bartlett. Detailed results from the Phelps Dodge deployment were publicly presented at the Institute of Navigation ION 2005, Long Beach, Calif., in a paper delivered by Dr. Kurt Zimmerman, chief architect of Terralites and a Novariant founder.

Demand for Terralites is high, especially in deep, open pits where high-precision software applications are prevalent. "We expect mining customers to derive significant operational efficiencies, especially as more applications are developed that rely on accurate, and 24/7 available positioning. With Terralites, developers of high-precision software applications are no longer faced with the challenge of accurate positioning in this extreme environment," says Anthony Bruno, senior director of marketing at Novariant. For software application developers, Novariant provides positioning outputs based on industry standard formats, simplifying the integration process. System support and software maintenance is provided via TCP/IP, and connectivity to each Terralite component can be achieved using commonly used radio communications networks. "Given that most mine sites are remote and difficult to access, wireless capability is essential to maintain a high level of support and service. This unique capability also offers a greater level of control by the mine site," says Bruno.