Rolling out efficiencies

摘要

Miners have been investing to ramp up production to meet huge demand, mainly from China, at an unprecedented rate. However, the fluctuating price of dry bulk commodities, particularly iron ore, is forcing producers and their supply chain partners to cut back on capital expenditure and they are desperately seeking ways to slash operating costs to appease shareholders. Maintenance is an obvious target for cost control, but maintenance is not just a matter of fixing equipment when it goes wrong. Good maintenance costs no more to perform than bad or misguided maintenance (but not lack of maintenance), yet is one of the most cost-effective methods of reducing operating costs without massive capital outlay.