Why Mining Teams Need to Start Talking to Each Other

Ever seen that cartoon where mining departments are stuck in their own little worlds, happily blaming each other when things go wrong?

It's funny because it's true - and it's hurting our industry.

The Silo Problem Is Real

I worked at a site previously where the geology team hadn't spoken to processing in months (maybe even years).

Seriously! And you know what happened? They were feeding material that the processing plant wasn't even equipped to handle efficiently.

And I was the process engineer who had to try and get the recoveries from whatever they sent.

Over time, a new processing challenge emerged and frequent plant shutdowns were required to recover emulsified solvent extraction circuits.

I had no rest. I was burning out fast.

Once I worked out what the issue was, I soon realised that this was a change in the ore feed based on mining lower levels than we had previously mined.

As a geologist in a former life, I got straight onto the phone with the mine geo (a super nice one at that) and I went down to have coffee and a chat. Over time we walked stockpiles, we looked in the pit and she came to see me in the plant.

Together, we worked out what we could do to manage the feed and she became my best-friend (at least during work hours).

Her KPI's - tonnes delivered to crushing - did not set me up for success. I may have slowed her down a bit as we needed to do more blending, but she quickly realised that the business wasn't going to succeed if she was the only one to meet her KPIs.

Where it was possible, I helped her to meet them. But together we could ensure that I met mine too.

And I got some rest......finally.

When teams don't talk:

• Information gets stuck (like that time-sensitive ore analysis that sat in someone's inbox for days)
• The blame game becomes the favorite sport ("It's not our fault processing can't handle the ore!")
• Great ideas die lonely deaths in departmental meetings
• Safety risks crop up in the handoff gaps

Why Do We Keep Doing This?

Let's be honest about why mining teams end up isolated:

Our expertise is super specialized. Each department basically speaks its own language. I remember my first day trying to translate both geologists and metallurgists in the same meeting - the benefit (or punishment) of being a geo before a metallurgist!

The hierarchy doesn't help either. When leadership stays in their lanes, teams follow suit. And the competitive nature can often be seen in business planning meetings! In fact, I have seen senior managers encourage this behaviour as they think ti will get the best out of everyone....(I don't get it personally).

And location can be an added complication. Let's face it - when the mine is two hours from the processing facility and corporate is in another country entirely, it's easy to forget we're all on the same team.

How Do We Fix This?

I've seen some companies totally transform their operations by breaking down these walls:

Talk to each other! One mine I worked with started "Mineral Mondays" where each department shared their weekly challenges over coffee. It sounds simple, but it solved problems that had been dragging on for months.

Reward teamwork, not just department wins. When your bonus depends partly on how well other teams perform, you start caring about their success too.

Get everyone on the same digital page. Modern mining operations need shared data systems where everyone sees the same numbers. No more "your data versus my data" arguments.

Leaders need to walk the talk. I've watched executives completely change company culture by regularly bringing diverse teams together to solve problems.

Learn to speak each other's languages. Using communication frameworks can help translate your concerns into terms other departments will understand and care about.

The Bottom Line

Mining is challenging enough without fighting amongst ourselves.

When geology, mining, processing, and R&D actually collaborate, amazing things happen - better recovery rates, safer operations, and innovations that wouldn't happen otherwise.

What about your experience? Have you seen departments successfully break down silos at your operation? What worked?

Last edited 3 minutes ago