Our Insights

Article

Advanced analytics can help achieve fuel optimization in open-pit mining

– Fuel efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions in mining have become much more distinct possibilities as data collection and advanced analytics have evolved.
Commentary

Digging deeper: Trends in underground hard-rock mining for gold and base metals
– While underground mining methods show higher cost than open pit, their complexity almost always means that there is opportunity... in both productivity and cost improvement.
Commentary

Refractory gold ores: Challenges and opportunities for a key source of growth
– High-grade refractory gold reserves offer the potential for lower costs per ounce despite higher capital and operational costs.... A focus on three action areas can help maximize the opportunity.
Article

How AI-powered solutions can help optimize smelters
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Article

Gold industry M&A: Riding the new wave buoyed by lessons from the past
– While M&A trends may be poised to accelerate, gold industry players will need to keep past lessons in mind or else risk repeating... previous mistakes.
Article

The right tools for every job: Lean and agile in maintenance
– Why tomorrow’s maintenance function will combine the strengths of lean and agile organizations.
Article

The potential of advanced process controls in energy and materials
– Optimizing advanced process controls can create significant value for critical industrial processes. Maximizing that value requires... a comprehensive approach across people, processes, and technologies.
Article

Optimizing water treatment with online sensing and advanced analytics
– Overlaying real-time advanced analytics on data from online sensing can help to stabilize operations and increase capacity in... water-treatment facilities.
Article

Remote operating centers in mining: Unlocking their full potential
– As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates innovative working practices, mining companies are reimagining their operating models to... provide more productive and enjoyable remote work locations for employees.
Article

The mine-to-market value chain: A hidden gem
– Enhancing end-to-end performance of the mine-to-market value chain can be a major source of value creation—yet fragmented... responsibilities often cause companies to lose sight of the big picture.
Commentary

COVID-19’s impact on the global gold industry: Implications for the next normal and beyond
– The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the gold-mining industry and its workers. Production and costs could hinder what should be... near-record profits, and how each company reacts will determine its long-term success.
Interview

Buckets of innovation: How digital has transformed a mining company in Indonesia
– Hanifa Indradjaya, the president director of PT Petrosea, discusses how digital can drive sustainability, efficiency, and operational... excellence.
Commentary

How clean can the nickel industry become?
– Global demand for Class 1 nickel could skyrocket, especially for use in electric vehicles. Can the industry meet these needs—and... sustainability goals?
Commentary

Desalination is not the only answer to Chile’s water problems
– Understand the implications for copper mines in the region.
Article

Engaging employees to use analytics: How mining companies solve the adoption challenge
– Advanced analytics can drive value only if employees use them to make decisions. But adoption is often the biggest stumbling block... in analytics initiatives. Here’s how to get it right.
Commentary

MineLens survey confirms the significant impact of COVID-19 on mining operations
– New findings from a survey of mining operators offer an early indication of how the pandemic is reshaping the industry’s next... normal.
Article

Lessons from the past: Informing the mining industry’s trajectory to the next normal
– What can previous crisis periods teach us about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mining sector, and what can we expect... going forward?
Article

Through-cycle investment in mining
– Mining is notoriously cyclical, with volatile equity prices and investment patterns as a result. As the COVID-19 crisis affects... the medium-term pricing outlook in many commodities and puts pressure on planned investments, mining CFOs have a unique opportunity (and imperative) to review their capital-expansion strategies.
Article

How artificial intelligence can improve resilience in mineral processing during uncertain times
– Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, mineral-processing companies were grappling with profound uncertainty. Those that took steps... to harness the power of AI improved agility and operational resilience.
Commentary

Mining companies’ response to coronavirus
– Mining companies enduring the first wave of COVID-19 effects on their operating models need to think about responding across five... horizons.
Article

How procurement leaders can bring metals and mining up to speed
– Procurement is critical to manage the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. Assertive and resourceful leaders can help mining companies... address immediate imperatives and prepare for a quick recovery.
Commentary

Has global mining productivity reversed course?
– New analysis of the Mining Productivity Index shows a gradual increase in mining productivity since 2013.
Impact Story

Inside a mining company’s AI transformation
– How copper-mining giant Freeport-McMoRan unlocked next-level performance with help from McKinsey data scientists and agile coaches.
Article

Optimizing mining feasibility studies: The $100 billion opportunity
– With mining and metals projects becoming increasingly complex, more rigorous feasibility studies help prevent cost and schedule... overruns, and maximize value.
Article

Avoiding mistakes of the past: A CEO’s checklist in a commodity upswing
– Having recovered from a downturn, miners are ready to build again. These nine core actions can improve the industry’s poor... project-delivery track record.
Article

Building a great data platform
– Five insights into building a great data platform can help energy, chemical, utility, and basic-materials companies get it right.
Article

Productivity across the global mining sector is starting to improve
– Our latest data show an upward trend—from a low base.
Article

The missing link in mining-company productivity: People
– To address its productivity challenge, the mining industry has invested heavily in technology. New evidence shows that it also... needs to pay more attention to its people.
Interview

Mining for leadership with lean management
– Three executives at one of the world’s most unusual mining operations describe how even in a highly unpredictable context,... lean management improves not just productivity, but also how people lead.
Report - McKinsey Global Institute

How technology is reshaping supply and demand for natural resources
– The ways we consume energy and produce commodities are changing. This transformation could benefit the global economy, but resource... producers will have to adapt to stay competitive.
Article

Productivity at the mine face: Pointing the way forward
– Many mine operators could learn from industry leaders that are pursuing productivity-enhancing approaches.

INFOGRAPHICS

January 2020

Better measurement leads to better operating performance

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June 2019

Improving spot time

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February 2019

Reducing the 5-15 percentage point gap

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January 2019

Improving tire life

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September 2018

Ultra-class haul trucks efficiency

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June 2018

Boosting process stability and output

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March 2018

Cost reduction through static benchmarking

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January 2018

Worldwide mining performance at a glance

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September 2017

Improving five major delays

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June 2017

China steel scrap supply

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April 2017

Imbalance in the mining industry

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March 2017

Equipment uptime

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May 2016

Link between operating efficiency and equipment capex

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