Mining
One Model. Four Mines.
A multi-site gold producer replaced four separate scopes with one parameterized model and took scenario-tested production risk, not averages, into its board meeting.
Read the case studyThe Question
Which equipment investment raises mine throughput the most?
Case study · Mining · Equipment investment
ConfidentialClient work product
Which machine to buy next
Client's brief · reconstructed excerpt · values held in confidence
(withheld) mines ore from an open pit, trucks it to a crusher, raises its grade through a chain of processing equipment, and loads the (withheld) concentrate onto trains. The plan is to nearly double throughput. That means buying mining machinery, which is very expensive, and every purchase has to raise the output of the whole chain, not just its own step. Equipment capacity varies, the grade of the ore coming out of the pit changes what the trucks do and how they feed the plant, and throughput swings whenever a machine goes down for maintenance.
Bars cover values SimWell holds and is not releasing. The released figures stand as printed.
§ 1
Which machine should we buy next, and in what order?
The one that raises throughput at the constraint, and a spreadsheet will not show you which one that is. Buy capacity at a step that is not the constraint and the money changes nothing at the train.
Equipment capacity varies, ore grade changes how the trucks feed the plant, and maintenance takes machines out of service, so the constraint moves. The variability and the risk made the question too complex to calculate statically. The company wanted evidence for each purchase before committing to a large investment program.
§ 2
How do you test an equipment purchase before you make it?
Model the whole chain and run the purchase through it. SimWell built a simulation of the entire operation, from ore in the ground to ore on the train: excavators loading trucks, waste rock handling, crusher feed, ore movement, and every upgrading step until loading. It takes the real mine plan as its input, along with hundreds of other parameters.
Planned and unplanned maintenance follow statistical distributions drawn from the company's own history, so a simulated day behaves like a real one. Users change the capacity or rate of any piece of equipment in an Excel input file, run the model, and compare scenarios in a Power BI dashboard.
Cleared for release
Results
The company now has a ranked list of equipment investments, ordered by their effect on throughput, and the confidence to choose the next machine on the way to doubling output. It has a clear tactical and strategic investment roadmap to share with its stakeholders.
SimWell helps operators make better decisions under uncertainty. We build simulation and optimization models that reflect operational reality, test scenarios before committing resources, and transfer capability so teams can run decisions independently.