The development and application of key profit drivers in mineral resource management

[摘要] Every mining operation is constantly seeking for new ways to manage a broad range ofbusiness variables. Managers across the production chain find themselves torn betweenthe initiatives to reduce costs, balancing throughput and asset utilisation improvements,maintaining product quality, and other similar performance indicators. This they do in theirrespective areas of responsibility, measuring against their set targets. Herein lies thedilemma: Which operational factors will maximise the profit of the organisation as a wholeas opposed to the individual areas. And what is the impact of parameters outside theirdomains on their performance areas?Phalaborwa Mining Company has been no exception in this scenario. With time the sameissues and operational challenges were presenting itself to the management team. Thequestion had to be asked: Would a fundamentally new approach to viewing the businessunearth anything new and useful to take this remarkable company to new heights? Thisstudy was launched to challenge the views of business and to offer answers to the abovedilemma.The study has shown a remarkable degree of interlinkedness between productionvariables across the production chain. For instance, the mineralogy and petrology of therock mined had strong effects in the milling, flotation and even smelting processes, and thestatus of the metal market price conditions offered exciting options to operationalmanagers, provided the relationships are understood. Using an integrated model themagnitude and nature of interrelationships between the drivers of performance areexplained. As a result it could provide the capability to play off' costs against benefits foroperating decisions. For example: How long should one keep the open pit mineoperational and should it be decommissioned at the same or at a different time as thedownstream units?The integrated nature of the business model clearly showed that to reach optimalperformance for the whole company, decision-makers across the production chain need toplan collaboratively. It was evident that the powerful modelling approach will loose itseffectiveness if the organisational thinking is not changed to a collective one. The modeltherefore, could only be effective if it is embedded into the planning and monitoringbusiness cycles.

[发布机构] University of the Free State