Case Studies
We work with some of the world’s biggest mines both on the surface and underground. Here are some practical examples of how companies have used MTS to improve their operations.
Where possible, specific sites and client names are provided.
Tackling Carbon Emissions Reduction With Mining Technology
DECARBONISATION
Western Europe
At a Glance:
MTS worked with the site to target efficiency gains in the load & haul activities.
Outcome: ↑ Estimated avoidance of 2,895 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, with productivity per operating hour increasing by 6% and a 4% reduction in litres per tonne.
Project Requirements:
1. Targeted carbon emissions reductions by harnessing technology.
2. Better utilisation of existing mining technology.
3. Improving operational productivity.
A regional mining company was passionate about minimising its impact on the environment. Although the site already had a Fleet Management System in place, it recognised that more could be done to extract value from existing tools and data. With...
Mitigating Operator Equipment Abuse
ASSET HEALTH
West Africa
At a Glance:
MTS worked with a site to reduced operator abuse, and improve component longevity.
Outcome: ↑ 37% decrease in frame cracks, 56% reduction in alarms triggered by improper equipment operation.
Project Requirements:
1. Develop tools to help reduce component damage and premature failures.
2. Identify and train operators on O4R methodology.
Operator equipment abuse presents a significant challenge to any mining operation. This behaviour can have significant knock-on consequences, including: Premature Component Failures: Improper handling techniques can lead to excessive wear and tear on equipment components, resulting in premature failures. These breakdowns disrupt...
Grade Control Improvement – Reduction of Overmining
PRODUCTIVITY
South America
At a Glance:
MTS helped the site identify and target areas of grade quality loss for improvement.
Outcome: ↑ 75% reduction in overmining, 5% reduction in material mis-dumps.
Project Requirements:
1. Identify the root causes of overmining and misdirected material movement.
2. Support improvements through training, system configuration, and process design.
A new gold mine in South America was experiencing challenges in meeting its material grade requirements due to excessive dilution. Despite investing in advanced high-precision machine guidance systems, the site was not achieving the expected grade control performance. This had become more urgent as the operation moved into higher-grade...
Truck Frame Life Extension
ASSET HEALTH
USA
At a Glance:
Haul Road Explorer was used as part of a targeted program to extend the haul truck frame life to reach the end of mine life.
Outcome: ↑ 41% reduction in road-related alarms, ↑ 44% decrease in total crack count, ↑ 2% increase in truck productivity.
Project Requirements:
1. Identify high-impact events (e.g. rack, pitch, bias), and reduce frame stress through targeted road maintenance.
2. Optimise Payload Management by using dashboards to monitor loader behaviour.
3. Reducing structural fatigue and extending frame life.
The mining industry is characterised by demanding operational conditions and high costs. Extending the lifespan of critical equipment, such as haul trucks, is paramount to maintaining profitability and sustainability. This case study examines a surface gold mine in the USA that successfully employed Haul Road Explorer (HRE) to help...
Optimised Refuel Assignments
PRODUCTIVITY
South America, Suriname
At a Glance:
MTS worked with the site to enable better use of the FMS dynamic refueling feature through resolved system config, dashboards & training.
Outcome: ↑ 1,242 hours saved annually across a fleet of 30 trucks, adding 348k tonnes hauled and $7M in increased revenue.
Project Requirements:
1. Site facing large productivity losses due to inefficient fuelling activities.
2. MTS was engaged to help examine and streamline this process.
A large gold mine in South America lost excessive time on fueling activities for their fleet. The operation engaged MTS to optimise the use of their Fleet Management System (FMS). The optimised configuration of the FMS helped the operation make significant improvements to its fleet’s fueling processes. Fueling is one of the many...
Effective Use of Aux Fleet – Motor Graders
PRODUCTIVITY
South America, Peru
At a Glance:
Outcome: ↑ 52% increase in grader utilisation, 32% reduction in idle time, and eliminated the need for costly auxiliary fleet purchases.
Project Requirements:
1. Developing tools to track and analyze grader activity, including grading and idle times.
2. Creating road fleet planner reports to identify priority areas and focus grader efforts effectively.
3. Expanding HRE capabilities to visualize grading locations and integrate insights into workflows.
A mining operation with an extensive road network faced challenges in completing essential road maintenance tasks. Auxiliary fleet utilisation is an important metric to monitor, where efforts should be made to ensure it remains high, especially in challenging climates and geological conditions. At the operation, concerns arose about a...
Payload Optimisation: Improved Productivity
PRODUCTIVITY
West Africa, Ghana
At a Glance:
MTS helped the site improve payload compliance & productivity leveraging variety of tools.
Outcome: ↑ Estimated monthly production gain of 50,700 tonnes.
Project Requirements:
1. Incorrect loading techniques were hampering the productivity of the site.
2. There were large disparities in payloads with large quantities of overload and underload events.
3. MTS helped fix this distribution so that payloads were more in line with the targets.
A mature mine in Africa had problems with reaching their expected productivity levels. Having already invested in several modern technologies, changes seemed necessary on an operational level. To determine what changes needed to be implemented, Mine Tech Services (MTS) was engaged. MTS used the existing technologies to implement...
Pit to Port Optimisation – Site Study
PRODUCTIVITY
UAE
At a Glance:
MTS were engaged to help site identify areas for improvement in their pit-to-port processes.
Outcome: ↑ MTS' assessment identified 21 key improvements, leading to an estimated 15-20% increase in productivity for the UAE quarry.
Project Requirements:
1. Conducting a detailed operational audit of the quarry’s pit-to-port processes.
2. Leveraging existing data to identify inefficiencies.
3. Implementing GPS tracking tools like HREa for real-time data collection.
The extractive industry is under constant pressure to increase productivity while reducing costs. Optimisation can be challenging, especially when dealing with complex pit-to-port operations with varying degrees of digitisation throughout. This case study explores how a large surface quarry in the UAE, at the early stages of its digital...
Improved Asset Operation and Safety with Haul Road Explorer
SAFETY
North America
At a Glance:
MTS helped a site perform a rapid root causes analysis for an incident investigation & establish improved operating practices.
Outcome: ↑ HRE resulted in a 36% reduction in abusive truck operation alarms, a 29% reduction in road-related incidents, a 44% reduction in road-related alarms, and significantly improved overall safety and asset performance.
Project Requirements:
1. Analyze truck data (e.g., suspension, speed, brake application) and environmental factors to understand operational parameters leading to the incident.
2. Perform visual inspections to assess road camber, drainage, and site conditions contributing to the incident.
3. Provide additional training focused on safe driving practices, especially in areas with challenging road conditions.
A mature gold mine with an extensive road network used Haul Road Explorer to transform the way they operated. This case study explores a safety incident at this gold mine and how Haul Road Explorer (HRE) software was used to identify the root causes and implement corrective actions. They transitioned from reactive road repairs to...
Rapid Safety Incident Root Cause Analysis – Over Turned Truck
SAFETY
South America
At a Glance:
Haul Road Explorer used to rapidly determine root cause for upturned truck incident.
Outcome: ↑ The investigation was completed in less than 1 hour, reducing downtime, preventing future incidents, and swiftly returning the water truck to service.
Project Requirements:
1. Analyze operator fatigue and truck health data to determine root causes.
2. Utilize HRE to expedite the investigation process, reducing downtime.
3. Implement corrective actions such as fatigue monitoring, overtime policy review, and distraction safety systems.
This case study explores a safety incident involving a water truck that overturned at a mine site. The incident resulted in minor injuries, equipment damage, and operational disruptions. The investigation utilised Haul Road Explorer (HRE) software to streamline the process and identify the root cause. Challenge A safety incident occurred...
Safer and More Productive Intersection – Distractions
PRODUCTIVITY
USA
At a Glance:
Haul Road Explorer was used to identify root causes for an unperforming intersection. This resulted in a safer and more productive haulage network.
Outcome: ↑ Reduced distractions by 48%, increased production by 6000 tons/week.
Project Requirements:
1. Analyze and resolve a recurring safety issue at a mine site intersection, where frequent distraction events are causing safety concerns and reduced productivity.
2. Identify the root causes, implement preventative solutions, and track improvements in safety and productivity through data-driven insights.
This case study explores a common safety issue in mining operations: distracted vehicle operators at intersections. Mine site networks are ever-evolving; however, it is important to maintain consistent monitoring of these networks in order to mitigate potential safety concerns. Sites often face the issue where certain areas may be...
Autonomous Haulage Stoppage Reduction
PRODUCTIVITY
Australia
At a Glance:
Haul Road Explorer was used to identify multiple root causes for AHS related stoppages.
Outcome: ↑ 32% reduction in AHS-related stoppages, leading to improved productivity, reduced maintenance costs, and enhanced operational efficiency.
Project Requirements:
1. Addressing the root causes of frequent stoppages in the mining operation's new autonomous haulage system (AHS).
2. Optimizing road conditions, infrastructure, communication, and operational practices to reduce false positives and improve overall efficiency and productivity.
A mining operation was experiencing significant disruptions after its recent transition to an autonomous haulage system (AHS). Frequent stoppages due to various factors were hindering productivity and negatively impacting overall operations. To address these issues, the company implemented Haul Road Explorer (HRE) to help optimise its...
Effective Haul Road Management: A South American Gold Mine Case Study
PRODUCTIVITY
South America
At a Glance:
MTS implemented HRE at a extensive operation who integrated it with their daily practices.
Outcome: ↑ Increased production by 38,000 tonnes per week, translating to an estimated incremental revenue of $174,880.
Project Requirements:
1. Effective haul road management is crucial for optimising productivity and minimising costs in the mining industry.
Effective haul road management is crucial for optimising productivity and minimising costs in the mining industry. This case study highlights how a South American gold mine utilised Haul Road Explorer (HRE) to identify and address a significant haul road bottleneck, resulting in substantial operational improvements. The mine operated...
Idle Time Reduction
PRODUCTIVITY
America
At a Glance:
Outcome: ↑ 60% reduction of idling on delay.
Project Requirements:
1. Identify and benchmark idle time across fleets.
2. Reduce avoidable idle time (and hence some running costs).
3. Provide management visualisations to maintain control.
Part of a larger mine optimisation project called out the reduction of idle time as one of the key areas for improvement. MTS was engaged by the client to help them target and manage mobile equipment idling. They were keen for us to provide insight as to where idle time could be reduced without simply applying blanket policies which may...
World Class Service Accuracy Performance
PRODUCTIVITY
South America
At a Glance:
Outcome: ↑ Increased Service Accuracy from 70% to >95%.
Project Requirements:
1. Integrate onboard SMU Hours with site planning system.
2. Improve Visibility of Preventive Maintenance (PM) timeline.
3. Help team to deliver and maintain a world-class Service Accuracy performance.
An open pit mining operation in South America engaged Mine Tech Services to assist with their monitoring, planning and execution of Preventive Maintenance (PM) services. The site used Service Accuracy as one of the performance metrics; in short, are the PMs planned and executed when they should be according to the targets and...
Why Choose MTS for your Mining Technology Needs?
At MTS, we bridge the gap between mining technology, people, and IT. Our experienced team of mining technologists is dedicated to empowering mines to enhance productivity, minimise waste, and optimise costs through the seamless integration of technology.