Thursday 6 February 2014
Almaty Office, Kazakhstan
-16°C Sunny
In addition to the YouTube Presentations posted earlier, an overview presentation has now been published:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q1cV3EbhQk
Our Facebook page is Chris Brodie Consulting
Our Twitter site is @chrisbrodieconsulting
I will also post blogs from time to time on my Chris Brodie LinkedIn connection:
uk.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrodieconsulting
My last blog identified 4 strategic mining supply chain stages. The first is during mine development and construction. There are 3 aspects to this.
1. Supply Chain participation and contribution during feasibility studies.
Materials, consumables and equipment requirements during operations will cost between 20-50% of operating mine costs depending on the type of operation and location. Careful strategic consideration is required at this early stage concerning the supply chain vision so that project and operational costs are accurately included.
2. Supply Chain activity during the construction phase
Whether mine owners decide to handle this phase in-house or employ EPCM specialists, supply is directly affected by scheduling and planning and some long lead-time plant will be purchased very early on. Materials and equipment must arrive in time for planned construction and a strong project procurement team is required, as well as on site warehousing and handling resources. There must be no waste at the end of construction, and transferring unused materials and purchases made for later use (project or operations) must be coordinated carefully. Perhaps Local Content is a requirement.
3. Coordinating future operating supply chain needs
Identifying wear and spare parts, service kits and critical spares required during operations and may be included at the time of the equipment purchase. Because simple ‘one-year (or two-) spares lists’ are supplier-generated, the details of these must be reviewed so that any capitalised spares are meaningful. This is one of the biggest causes of inventory overstocking in future years and is an issue that must be coordinated between projects and operations carefully. Additionally, harmonised equipment selection will reduce inventory and purchasing needs later on.