The case for less on-site jobs

How many employees really need to be on site? Mill and mine operators mostly have hands-on roles, but what about a mill operator who never leaves the control room? A majority of the professional and administration staff in a large mine work in the mine offices and might enter the mine or mill once in a fortnight, or less often. Today’s technology allows those people to be located off-site, in a capital city, with an occasional commute to site when needed.

This is not about the automation of equipment. It simply makes use of current forms of communication to minimize the costs of people on site. There are some disadvantages to this approach and there will be resistance, but the potential savings in logistics and to the environment are huge. For example, moving 100 people off a large mine site could save $15 million or more, and save the planet much unnecessary greenhouse emission.

The changes will be seen first where operating margins are stressed, so we can expect the iron ore mines to lead the way. Initially they will lay off many more people than they can afford to lose in the longer term, and when they recruit again it will be to city-based positions. The rest of the industry will learn from this and follow. In reality, the movement of planning for large mines into city offices has been developing over the last decade.

Mine planning is a highly leveraged activity. Small improvements in the quality of mine planning can lead to large improvements in revenue and safety. The engineers and geologists in an off-site planning group can focus on key tasks without the distraction of day-to-day fire-fighting. They work regular office hours in a clean, comfortable environment that permits productive, clear thinking. They may see a greater range of projects than an in-house employee at a single mine site while working in an environment of technical excellence, with mentors and peers who can support them when needed.

By working regular weekly hours, lateral communication is enhanced and better thinking and planning time is possible. However, off-site activities must remain under the direct control of the mine manager, who owns those resources.

The risk in off-site mine planning is that it may introduce mistakes due to a lack of awareness of actual mine conditions, with poorly directed planning efforts, non-availability of planner for urgent tasks and ultimately a lack of credibility on site for the mine plan. The process depends upon reliable digital communications, video-conferencing and data-sharing technology, together with the ability to commute to site efficiently by aircraft.