top of page

Our GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

We have decades of experience in Australia and internationally working directly with mine owners, large OEMs and mining services groups to deliver real and demonstrable performance outcomes.

  • Gold Projects in Australia, Turkey, New Zealand, PNG and Africa

  • Coal Projects in Australia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Mozambique and North America

  • Rutile and Mineral Sands Projects in Australia

  • Iron Ore Projects in Australia and Brazil

  • Copper Projects in Chile and Mongolia

  • Platinum Projects in Russia

  • Nickel Projects in Finland and Australia

 

Untitled design(46).png

EXPERIENCE

Iron Ore Project - Western Australia

MRLG consultants were engaged to undertake a site visit to meet with stakeholders and observe mobile mining fleet operators in the field at a large West Australian Iron Ore mine. MRLG developed recommendations for training strategies aimed at ensuring safety while improving productivity and efficiency of mining operations. A three-week training regime covering 24 operators was initiated. MRLG consultants and trainers, were able to:

  • Generate more consistency in digging/loading practices

  • Enhance productivity of mining activities

Iron Ore Project - Western Australia

MRLG consultants were engaged to undertake a site visit to meet with stakeholders and observe mobile mining fleet operators in the field at a large West Australian Iron Ore mine. MRLG developed recommendations for training strategies aimed at ensuring safety while improving productivity and efficiency of mining operations. A three-week training regime covering 24 operators was initiated. MRLG consultants and trainers, were able to:

  • Generate more consistency in digging/loading practices

  • Enhance productivity of mining activities

  • Increase availability and optimisation of the heavy mobile mining fleet

  • Created more knowledgeable and self-correcting operators.

Platinum Project – North Eastern Russia

MRLG consultants were commissioned by a large OEM to assist with the transition to ultra-class mobile fleet at a Platinum mine in north eastern Russian that had previously only utilised civil sized mobile machinery.

MRLG undertook a 10-day site analysis and made recommendations for practice improvement to streamline operations and optimise the use of the five new ultra-

class fleets that were in operation (Hitachi Ex 3600 loading units and Hitachi EH 4000 haul units).

MRLG developed a detailed improvement and change plan for the client along with supporting strategies to assist the implementation of significant operational change agendas at the client’s site.

Summary below of the recommendations and outcomes implemented for the client

Implement mine plan changes to improve mine Conditions and daily operations management:

  • Overall circuit design and dig/dump areas improved to find time economies and increased production rates
     

    • Better floor management in the dig area by support units (dozers) and water management

    • More support and improved dozer utilisation for other projects, eg. excavating soft spots, reshaping, clean-up, or re-sheeting.

    • Dump designs modified to accommodate

      • Risk reduction due to less congestion on dumps

      • Multiple haul units (Eliminating queuing time, reducing reversing distances)

      • Improved traffic flow allowing dual access to dump entry and exit points

      • Plan and develop supervision skills for improved Dozer utilisation

    • Reduced number of intersections and examined possibility of non-shared haul roads to maximise the efficiencies of the haul fleet.
       

  • Circuit design and maintenance improved to provide economies in the load/haul balance and economies attributed to better cycle times and haulage conditions

    • Improved road designs (including water management)

    • Improved consistency of ramp gradient

    • Wider haul roads to the global standard (support 3 truck widths)

    • Maintain running surfaces

    • Better cambering and drainage

    • Safety windrows

Mine Planning and Engineering
 

  • Development and implementation of a whole of operations water management plan/strategy

  • Mining method change from selective and restrictive mining practices to large scale strip mining with long wide benches and other operational improvement strategies

  • Improved Operator technique based on adherence to specific Standard Work Practices (SWPs) for equipment dig set-up and monitoring of adherence to operational standards

  • Development of the above standards to international best practice and implementation into standard daily operations

  • Improved dozer utilisation to improve ramp/road repairs and reducing grader time spent patching work areas, to improve safety, tyre life, machine life and improving life of mine running costs.

  • Review drill and blast practices to ensure that there is always a minimum of (at least) two-weeks to one-month supply of blasted stock available for digging (seasonal management)

  • Enhanced load/haul balance management for the heavy mobile mining fleet through enhanced mining, circuit and dump designs, construction and maintenance

    • Optimise the utilisation of the fleet by engaging in large scale strip mining practices on long wide benches (review mine planning and engineering)

Supervisory and Management Staff Development Implementation
 

  • Improved supervision to monitor dozer and grader utilisation for priority tasks

  • General mining situational awareness and communications training specifically targeted at the shift supervisory levels

Training programs for operator productivity were implemented with the view to:
 

  • Enhance general skills and technique for consistent loading and hauling skills across crews

  • Develop all ancillary equipment operator skill levels to find further mining economies

  • Enhance specific machine set up to maximise loading skills (excavator and haul truck operators) for decreased unplanned maintenance and increased digging proficiency.

  • Reaffirm Shift Supervisor focus on road and running surface design and ancillary fleet utilisation to ensure circuit maintenance

Training Programs – OEM Technical Services Groups

MRLG has designed and delivered customised training programs for the Technical Services groups of some of the world’s largest mining OEMs.

MRLG has delivered programs for OEM internal audiences in:

  • Australia

  • Japan

  • Russia

  • South Africa

  • US

  • Finland

  • Turkey

  • Tanzania

  • Mozambique

  • Indonesia

  • Papua New Guinea

Learning outcomes for these programs were contextualised to the specific OEM audience and covered topic areas around:
 

  • Understanding how the technical specifications of the OEM Heavy Equipment range are interpreted by clients as mining production assets

  • Understanding common mining methods and the linkage between machine selection and mining output

  • How machine selection, configuration and matching affects mining output

  • Interpreting mining productivity outputs as selection criteria for heavy mobile mining equipment (How and why miners select equipment for mining operations)

  • Implementing strategies to assist clients to maximise the use of OEM Heavy Mobile Mining assets

Image by NASA
bottom of page