Optimising Mine Productivity

Student 620013345

Productivity • Optimisation involves making the system as effective as possible.

• Productivity in Mining is historically low in comparison to other industries- this could be because each section is analysed independently when reducing the costs, rather than evaluating the system as a whole.

Historic Data- What is happening to Productivity?

“The MineLens Productivity Index shows that mining productivity has dropped 3.5% per year for the last decade”

“The chart shows that labour mining productivity in Australia has declined by 50% since 2001”

It is clear that the productivity in mining operations has declined over recent years, however, furthermore in this period we have seen improvements in the machinery efficiency and reliability as well as engineering advancements which, theoretically should increase the productivity.

What has caused the “Productivity Crash”? A boom in the mining industry in 2006-7 led to substantial growth in new

investment, employment and profits. The decline in productivity is due to the pursuit of production growth and

headline revenue during the boom in commodity prices. This led to an increase in low skilled work force, and a significant decline in the productivity which has yet to see substantial recovery.

There is intense interest in cutting costs incurred to produce mining output, or to increase output at no additional cost, in other words to raise productivity.

Huge Improvements in equipment efficiency and reliability as well as technical efficiency levels. Investment into the sector by OEMs producing

higher quality equipment Engineering Advancements in the sector

Huge expansion in operations brought increase in productivity, but not efficiently.

Ineffective utilisation of key inputs (labour, equipment etc)

A move to reinstate silos to manage size, scale, complexity.

What is Pushing Productivity Down? Talent Shortages- Despite the decrease in development, the mining industry lacks experience in many areas including project managers, mining geologists and engineers. Declining Resource Quality- Between 2001 and 2012 the weighted average head grade of copper fell by 40%. As ore grades decline production costs for each ounce or ton increase; this directly affects the industry productivity. Elevated Input Costs- Input and production costs remain stubbornly high on everything from infrastructure, to labour, contractor rates, royalties, permitting fees and compliance. Capital investments can take years to yield output making near term productivity short falls. Insufficient Capital Allocation- In the rush of the boom time many mining companies over-spent on labour and production, as well as sinking significant resources into no longer profitable mines.

Focus Area: De-BottleneckingWhat is a Bottle Neck?

A 'bottleneck' is a stage of the production chain (a sub-process), that constraints the throughput of the whole process. Its capacity is smaller than the capacity of the up-stream and down-stream sub-processes.A bottle neck could occur due to numerous reasons in the mining industry, for instance: Inadequate design/ planning Unplanned events which constrain

production The inherent variability of the process

Improvements to cycle times, haul distances should be optimised and additional design considerations such as waste dump location considered.

Improvements in management for budget and maintenance procedures.

Benchmarking Studies: Constant review of the current practise, and ‘zooming out’ over the entire operation in order to detect issues with plant performance and guide operation planning improvements.

Focus Areas: De-Bottlnecking

Strategies to “buck the trend”- Strengthen Mine Planning

Refocus on high quality production by increasing cut off grades

Reduce Capital Expenditures in properties with lower production potential and shorten mine lives

Consider benefits and risks of reducing reserves

Optimise mine sites through enhanced sequencing

Prioritise lower cost projects Attract and retain experienced

mine planners capable of improving operational performance and tracking daily adherence to production volumes mine locations and mineral content.

Strategies to “buck the trend”-Improve Budget and Risk Management

Independent analysis in Australia has shown that 65% of mega projects in excess of AUS$500 million fail to deliver targeted value.

Establish a clear line of sight for expected expenditures, including unit cost for production.

Strengthen capital management

Share key metrics with all departments

Strategies to “buck the trend”- Workforce planning Properly defined workforces and management across the talent life cycle

Clarify business model governing mines, plants and infrastructure and sustainability

Foster a culture that discourages unnecessary spending

Apply long term career development, flexible rosters, training and keep employees engaged

Implement a system for identifying global resource requirements

Train local populations for key job functions

Strategies to “buck the trend”-Improve Efficiencies through technology

Productivity involves maximising throughput per unit time, quality and cost. Better technological applications can help improve these.

Seek innovative technologies, mining methods which could be capable of unlocking deposits and improving mine site productivity

Replace disjointed reporting systems with streamlined management systems which report actual operational performance.

Use production visibility tools in order to get automaterd visual of mining operations from pit to port.

Mine to Mill Optimisation Traditionally operations are

evaluated individually: i.e Ore extraction, then, processing to create a marketable product.

Economic benefits can be realised through evaluating the system as a whole; blasting is cheaper than comminution. Therefore an increase in spending in order to increase fragmentation can have an overall economic benefit on the process.

Blasting Optimisation Finer blast fragmentation can

increase mill throughput by 20-30% or reduce the specific energy requirements by 30%

Blasting provides the first opportunity for comminution – or size reduction. It is also a cheaper and more efficient process, compared to both crushing and grinding.

One of the most valuable aspects of blasting is the generation of very fine particles (e.g., smaller than 12mm) that will pass through the primary mills and onto the secondary ball mill circuits, alleviating a common bottleneck.

Case Study- Increase mine productivity using Data Analytics and Targeted Operator Training

Immersive Technologies, a leader in mine training solutions, released data supporting an increase in training correlates to higher outputs.

Improvements were found in cycle time, spot time, swing time and bucket fill factor improvements.

In-pit data was collected through an on-board data capture system and analysed in order to define the optimal training interventions. Targeted one-on-one skill training sessions were conducted to close gaps for each dragline operator.

• A comparison of operator performance in the six months before and six months after the training showed:

• • 4% improvement in cycle times• 10% improvement in swing times• 5.7% improvement in bucket fill factors

Future of Automation • Improved communication, automatic reporting from

machinery and positioning systems provide opportunities for better planning and increased mine productivity. For example, with access to real-time information, positioning and centralised control via Mine Operation Centres it is possible to fine tune shift planning with well-defined algorithms that optimise production planning.

• Maintenance monitoring systems can also extend service intervals and avoid serious breakdown at the production face, which can ensure productivity targets are met. Monitoring systems can further optimise equipment maintenance planning to ensure that equipment is kept operational and to minimise time in the workshop.

• With regard to drilling, both remote and autonomous drilling can yield more drill meters per working hour. Autonomous loading solutions improve mine efficiency and productivity by allowing loaders to be automated and remotely supervised by operators in real-time.

• "No accurate figures are available yet, but the system reduces the time needed to travel through the mine during shift changes, which increases the number of productive hours per shift and tonnes produced per month," concludes Renström

Conclusions As the cost of extraction increases, and the value of the material decreases it is clear that extraction at lower rates is imperative. Ernst and Young have identified the productivity issue as a big business risk Now the mining industry is focused on increasing productivity, new and innovative methods are becoming apparent, with increased automation a clear path for the future of mining operations.

References • https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Energy-and-Resources/

gx-er-sliding-productivity-and-spiraling-costs.pdf• http://www.metso.com/miningandconstruction/mct_service.nsf/webwid/wtb-120117-22576-

83110/$file/105.pdf• http://www.mining.com/web/increase-mine-productivity-using-data-analytics-targeted-oper

ator-training/• http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/how-digital-innovation

-can-improve-mining-productivity• http://www.boliden.com/fi/Sustainability/Case-studies/Mine-automation--a-prioritised-RD-ar

ea/• http://www.cim.org/en/Publications-and-Technical-Resources/Publications/CIM-Magazine/Se

pt-Oct-2012/Feature/Operations.aspx