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hlourens6
Mar 92 min read
The mystery of the Hidden Capacity
Over decades and in more than 90 projects, Stratflow has found that most mines can achieve substantially better production within 3-5...
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hlourens6
Feb 222 min read
The Modern Mine Executive: Drowning in Data
With many commodity prices under pressure again, mine executives and superintendents are doubling down on efforts to meet operational...
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hlourens6
Feb 83 min read
Mine Managers: Does Your Job Feel Like You're Rolling Rocks Uphill?
There seems to be an ever-growing list of stakeholders and KPIs to satisfy. With many commodity prices under pressure, the need to...
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hlourens6
Jan 141 min read
Welcoming Lindsay Maw to the global Stratflow team.
Lindsay Maw With over 20 years of mining industry experience and an impressive academic background including a Master's in Geology and an...
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hlourens6
Jan 141 min read
How an Australian Mine Boosted Coal Production by 33% Using Existing Resources
In a challenging 2024 marked by declining coal prices and adverse geological conditions, our Australian longwall client achieved a...
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hlourens6
Dec 17, 20243 min read
A Surprising Approach to Psychological Safety and High Performance
In the mining industry, psychological safety isn't just a "nice-to-have" – it's deeply linked to the bottom line and operational safety....
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hlourens6
Dec 10, 20242 min read
Transform your workplace from firefighting to purpose and calm within a few months.
Have you ever observed the following scenario (or more likely, less extreme versions of it)? A new manager has been brought on board...
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hlourens6
Nov 2, 20244 min read
Unleash your Continuous Improvement department for breakthrough results
According to a 2019 survey, most miners believe that business improvement improves productivity, but up to 30% believe they could be more...
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hlourens6
Oct 23, 20246 min read
Safety 2 and Systems Thinking to Quickly Boost Safety and Productivity in Mining
Overview After years of promises, costly safety initiatives, and productivity-boosting programs, the reality is grim: safety progress has...
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hlourens6
Sep 19, 20243 min read
When Your MOS Doesn't Dance: Overcoming Rigidity in Dynamic Mining Environments
Management Operating Systems (MOS) are crucial for coordinating all processes in a mining operation to meet daily and weekly targets....
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hlourens6
Aug 31, 20242 min read
Why "The Goal" is Just the Beginning for Mining Success
You read "The Goal" by Goldratt, which made total sense! Now you wonder: How difficult would it be to implement these ideas at our mine?...
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hlourens6
Aug 21, 20242 min read
Debottlenecking: Are You Sacrificing ROI?
When the mine delivers good financial performance, miners attempt to increase production by adding more capacity. They achieve this by...
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hlourens6
Aug 7, 20242 min read
You have pinpointed the bottleneck- now comes the hard part
Identifying the bottleneck is not enough: Finally, you've pinpointed the bottleneck's location and your colleagues agree. You feel pretty...
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hlourens6
Aug 6, 20242 min read
Should we reduce the mine targets or request more capital? -there's a more profitable solution
The Problem: The orange curve is the production norm for most coal mines, whereas the blue curve is the goal for any coal mine. With such...
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hlourens6
Jul 24, 20243 min read
Beyond "Safety-I": A New Paradigm for Mining Productivity & Safety
Miners are under constant pressure to improve Safety. After years of fatality reduction, progress is now stagnant. We are in a difficult...
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hlourens6
Jul 24, 20243 min read
A Step Change in Mining Safety: Expanding the Safe Production Edge
In our last poll we asked:" Which strategy is more likely to enhance mining safety while mitigating legislative pressure." The answers...
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hlourens6
Jun 22, 20241 min read
Exceptional Longwall mine performance by an Australian client during 2023.
Our Australian Longwall client increased production operating time by 33% in 2023, which translated into a significant increase in sales...
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hlourens6
Jun 22, 20241 min read
Leadership Lessons That Saved a Mine (and May Transform Yours)
"The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths so strong that it makes the system's weaknesses irrelevant."-Peter...
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hlourens6
May 20, 20243 min read
A step change in operational excellence, by Hendrik Lourens
When we think of operational excellence, we usually think about maximising the efficiency of all the parts of our operation. We attempt...
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hlourens6
Mar 29, 20241 min read
Why does ROM (Run of Mine) production run well below budget?
We observe an interesting phenomenon when looking at various mines and their ROM production. The ROM production average is always below...
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