Glencore connects globally to build robust lateral development strategies
In November 2022, team members from our Mount Isa Copper Operations (MICO) and George Fisher Mine attended a Lateral Development Best Practice Forum encompassing all of Glencore’s underground zinc operations across the globe.
Hosted in Helsinki by our global Operational Excellence team, the forum focused on sharing of best practice techniques and the latest innovations among our Australian, Canadian and Kazakhstan teams.
Underground development is fundamental to the mining process so capturing efficiencies at an early stage through detailed planning, budgeting and execution is vital.
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Left to right: Craig West, Superintendent Development North MICO, Toby Schmidt, Senior Engineering Mining MICO, in Helsinki for the Lateral Development Best Practice Forum.
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Left to right: Rebecca Roper, Mine Manager George Fisher Mine, Trevor Diefenbach, Superintendent Development, George Fisher Mine and Jacquie Star, Engineer – Short Term Scheduling, George Fisher Mine in Helsinki for the Lateral Development Best Practice Forum.
Jacquie Star, Engineer Short Term Scheduling, George Fisher Mine said the opportunity to come together at the forum in person was incredible.
“It allowed for networking on both a personal and professional level which established an environment of trust where honest conversations and sharing of knowledge was encouraged,” says Jacquie.
Being situated in Helsinki made it possible for Mount Isa delegates to visit Sandvik’s Test Mine to see the latest developments in automated technology. The visit has invoked an enthusiasm within the Mount Isa teams for the future of autonomy and integrative technology in mining.
Forum delegates visit Sandvik’s Test Mine to see the very latest in automated technology.
Following the forum, delegates also visited Agnico Eagle’s Kattila Mine in northern Finland to check out Orica’s Avatel technology, which is an autonomous jumbo used for charging development faces that eliminates the need for manual charging.
Rebecca Roper, Manager George Fisher Operations said the experience was invaluable for all personnel involved. To see the full cycle of development using modern advanced technology was an exciting and valuable educational experience for all.
“The progress in autonomous technology reinforces that this is the way forward for a safe, efficient future in mining,” says Rebecca.
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Sandvik Test Mine control centre in Finland.
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Australian delegation visit Agnico Eagle’s Kattila Mine in northern Finland to take a look at Orica’s Avatel technology.
In 2022, George Fisher mine exceeded budget physicals for development, a fantastic result and turnaround from previous years’ performance.
The operational excellence focus on development in 2021 and 2022 contributed to the success, and now the challenge is to enable the next step change in development metres to over 14 kilometres per year.
The forum has assisted in setting strategies to achieve this in 2023 and beyond.
The Mount Isa teams are keen to introduce improvement opportunities they identified to drive efficiency gains in development rates at both George Fisher Mine and MICO, as well as other best practices they identified throughout their visit to Finland.
From Mount Isa to northern Finland – the team braves the elements at Agnico Eagle’s Kattila Mine.
Toby Schmidt, Senior Engineer Mining, MICO said key takeaways for the MICO team was understanding variation in cycle times and the economics of stope design to keep development lean.
“We also touched on ways to run effective meetings to get the most from our teams and the best ways to collect data that can be used to make informed decisions,” says Toby.
During the forum, a Community of Practice was formed which will monitor and share improvements across the different sites over the next 12 months.
George Fisher Mine had an exceptional year in 2022, exceeding budgeted hoisted tonnes for the first time in 10 years. We look forward to its continued success in 2023.