From Mine to Market: The Impressive Value Chain

Improving the Mine to Market value chain’s end-to-end performance can be a significant source of value creation, but fragmented responsibilities often cause organizations to lose their vision of the bigger picture.

The mining value chain, which covers everything from raw material extraction to product delivery to clients, is the industry’s backbone. Companies that effectively manage their value chain gain a major competitive edge generating significant value. Those who ignore their value chain are likely to run across bottlenecks, limiting shipment throughput and risking yield.

The distinction between supply chains, which handle inbound and outgoing logistics and warehousing, and value chains, which are made up of integrated end-to-end operations, is crucial. Historically, mining corporations have not prioritized the complete management of the latter. This oversight has led to segregated operations (logistics and commercial services) and organizational structures in which duties are assigned to maximize individual steps (mining, processing, rail, or shipping) rather than the whole (mining, processing, rail, or shipping).

Recent transformations in commodities markets (large price swings, changing market structures with new entrants, and increased regulations), as well as the continued uncertainty of the COVID-19 epidemic, are putting strain on mining value chains. Simultaneously, environmental concerns are evolving; new regulatory regulations are being implemented. To stay competitive, businesses are under unprecedented pressure to improve their resilience, flexibility, and productivity.

While preparing to address these tighter regulations, mining companies must significantly reduce their environmental footprint. Safeguarding the end-to-end competence of compound mining value chains is the most important!