The challenge
For many years, our clients have been focused on volume—getting tonnages through gates. But the days of ever-greater quantities and always-bigger tools are over.
Today, all over the world, the demand for mining-and-metals products is down. Inventories are increasing, so prices are dropping, too. Mining companies are responding by doing what they know best: reducing costs and eliminating anything that’s not seen as immediately adding value to the creation of the product. It’s a strategy that can only take us so far. Once the low-hanging fruit is gone, so are our options.
It’s time for a new paradigm in mining. We have to start thinking differently and working smarter.
We’re engineers at our core, and engineers love solving problems. So we’re partnering with our clients to tackle some of the toughest challenges in mining, finding innovative answers to the questions that keep them up at night.
Our response
Automation: Standardizing and automating practices can make huge differences to the bottom line. We work with our clients to help minimize variation in their processes, finding and implementing systems that create high-value results.
Electrification: Reducing our reliance on diesel fuel and electrifying even the smallest bits of equipment can produce big results.
Continuous operations: We’ve collected and examined a lot of data. The differences in efficiency between continuous and non-continuous processes are significant.
Eliminating barriers: Look to the mine–mill interface for the best optimization opportunities. To turn a ton into a ton, we need a metallurgical approach that concentrates on the minerals we’re taking out.
Flow sheet optimization: Smaller, more intense processes and earlier waste rejection mean less material handling, smaller equipment fleets, less fuel, and reduced costs…all the way down the line.