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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.

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  • 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

 

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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:

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  • 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:

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  • 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.

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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).

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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.

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Summary below of the recommendations and outcomes implemented for the client

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

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  • 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)

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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.

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MRLG has delivered programs for OEM internal audiences in:

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  • Australia

  • Japan

  • Russia

  • South Africa

  • US

  • Finland

  • Turkey

  • Tanzania

  • Mozambique

  • Indonesia

  • Papua New Guinea

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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

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