Controlling Costs in Mining: How to Make More Money

It's no secret that mining operations are 28% less productive today than a decade ago (McKinsey). As a result, mines have been trying to cut the costs incurred to produce mining output or attempting to increase output at no additional cost. Both strategies have proven to be challenging; until now. Advancements in technology have changed everything. Controlling costs on a mine site is now a matter of investing in the right solution for your operation.

Use information to drive down costs

Top 10 Challenges

Watch the video below to learn how Tropicana Gold mine in Western Australia leveraged MineStar technology to drive down costs.

6 ways information can help drive costs down on your mine site:

Know when trucks are loaded, maximise each haul & improve performance
Minimise queue & hang time to ensure trucks are always fully productive
Identify location of trouble spots on your mine site & take corrective action
Maintenance & service always completed on time, shutdowns minimised
Alert operators & technicians to issues instantly to optimise repair times
Monitor equipment health, to fix problems before they cost you money

The only way to control costs and make MORE money is to utilise the right technology solution or service.

Find Technology

MineStar

Cat® MineStar™ is the industry’s most comprehensively-integrated mine operations system. Consisting of operations and mobile equipment management systems, MineStar is configurable to any type of mine, of any size.

How does MineStar make me work smarter?

With MineStar, you control your entire mining operation by tracking and monitoring assets, at any level, and sharing data seamlessly between capability sets. For example, if HEALTH discovers that one of your haul trucks is down due to a mechanical problem, it can share that alert with FLEET.

This deep integration is what gives the Cat MineStar System unparalleled flexibility and both broader and deeper capabilities than other mine management system available on the market today.

How data management controls costs

PwC compiled a research report after analysing 20 years of operating performance data from 136 mines and 4,760 machines.

MineStar can help you control costs via data management

Take advantage of rebuilds to lower costs

Rebuilds come at a fraction of the cost of buying a new machine. Here’s how one of our mining customers, Boral, came to the decision to invest in rebuilds instead of buying new machines.

Boral invests in a rebuild strategy to control costs

INFOGRAPHIC

Cat 773G Off-Highway Truck

Having quality equipment that you can rely on is one way to control costs. It doesn’t get more reliable than the Cat 773G off-highway truck. Here's everything you needed to know about this incredible machine.

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Must-Have Mining Technologies

Cat MineStar HEALTH

Stay one step ahead in the equipment cost-control battle with MineStar HEALTH. This real-time equipment monitoring technology tracks and records a range of machine parameters for ongoing fleet health.

Diagnose and identify issues with your equipment before they’re a costly problem;
Create custom reports that track when services are due, schedule any repairs in advance and monitor your fleet’s post-repair performance;
Get instant alerts when problems arise, allowing you to take immediate action (reduce downtime);
Identify health “hot spots” around your mine site, i.e. problem areas where issues keep occurring, allowing you to investigate and fix.

Cat MineStar FLEET

Put your best performance on repeat every time with MineStar FLEET. This fleet management technology analyses operational and equipment data to give you big-picture insights into how your entire fleet is operating.

Track fuel usage and cycle times to improve fuel efficiency, which adds up to massive savings over the course of a year;
Create custom real-time dashboards that deliver accurate information suited to your mine site’s unique load/haul system, which will give you the information you need on a daily basis to make cost control decisions;
Have your pit supervisors check against daily ‘cost control’ goals in real-time, during the shift, not after, allowing them to take immediate action.

Scheduled Oil Sampling

Managing, monitoring and maintaining equipment effectively involves utilising a number of solutions and services. One of those services is scheduled oil sampling (SOS).

Provides a detailed oil and coolant fluid analysis so you can see what is going on inside your machine and detect problems before they become serious
The standard tests include wear rate analysis, oil cleanliness analysis, oil condition analysis and detection of fuel, water and glycol
Gives managers an accurate account of equipment health, allowing them to schedule maintenance and oil changes more effectively while maintaining maximum reliability and extending equipment life

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