Mine Planning

You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Without unanimous agreement from mine planning teams for how key performance indicators (KPIs) are calculated or measured, it becomes nearly impossible to accurately assess the lifecycle of a mine (LOM), bottom line, and mine safety.

Even deciding the best way to measure basic indicators such as productivity, availability and utilization can create division between leaders or between organizational levels. To resolve these disputes, KPIs for planning and performance reviews are best determined by a designated planning department, with the agreement of affected departments.

While the short-term consequences of effective alignment on these indicators can be significant, the long-term impact on LOM, margins, strip ratios and cut-off grades will bring the most profound improvement to your mine performance.

Key Client Challenges:

1. How do we ensure our mine planning team’s structure and other departments are structurally set up to align KPIs?
2. How do we align measurements for key performance indicators and ensure that each department agrees to use them?
3. What is the best way to ensure that agreed upon metrics are tracked accurately and are shared openly across departments?
4. How do we plan for exceptions and adjust the metrics measured in specific conditions, such as areas with specific geological considerations, community feedback, or rainy seasons?
5. How do we leverage technology to enhance data collection, monitoring and analysis in our performance review process?
6. How do we align sustainability requirements with our KPIs for ease of compliance and reporting?

Key Indicators in Mine Planning

To accurately assess mine performance, mine planning teams need to lead a periodic review of KPIs to ensure that nameplate capacities, historical results and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) guidelines remain applicable with the reality of what is happening on-site.

Examples of indicators that may need to be aligned for effective measurement include:

1. Ounces per ton moved
2. Cost per ton moved
3. Additional or unexpected costs at the processing plant
4. Lost ounces
5. Equipment tramming delays
6. Additional service costs (eg. air, power, ventilation)

How Unison Mining Can Help

Many indicators can be left unaccounted for in misaligned mining projects. Mine Plan Attainment and Plan Adherence, for example, are critical KPIs that are routinely overlooked. The correct number of tons may have been moved but were they the right tons required to support the blend expected at the processing plant?

By neglecting key KPIs in your planning stages, equipment utilization is reduced due to unplanned moves. In underground operations specifically, taking ore out of a sequence can make it unfeasible to go back to certain areas.

Unison Mining planning services are centered around helping your team set up the processes, systems, and team behaviors foundational to a culture of continuous improvement. We ensure that KPIs across departments and levels are trackable, measurable and aligned closely with your organization’s strategy and goals.