It is a known fact that any mining operation heavily depends on expensive machinery and equipment, highly skilled personnel, and a watertight safety culture as well as the best governance structures. In order to optimize mining operations and limit equipment downtime, several methods are available while setting up a robust maintenance program. We highlight some of the prerequisites for such a program.
Condition-based and preventive maintenance
Unforeseen equipment shutdowns aren’t only disruptive to operations but they can also be very costly to fix at short notice. This is where preventive maintenance comes in. This periodic maintenance takes a proactive approach to detecting and fixing problems when they first emerge rather than waiting for a major failure to occur. If done correctly, preventive maintenance can make equipment failures few and far between.
On the other hand, condition-based equipment maintenance is planned based on the specific condition of the machinery rather than desired time intervals. For example, if the data on a given piece of machinery indicates that it has aged so much that maintenance needs to be done weekly without waiting for the scheduled preventive maintenance timeline, the machine will be attended to on a weekly basis. In this way, its service life may be extended and it can be safeguarded from frequent failures.
Cost and inventory tracking
It is also important to have a system in place to track the inventory and the costs associated with mining machinery and equipment. For example, if the available data indicates that certain parts keep wearing out quickly, replacements can be stockpiled to avoid lengthy downtime as procurement is done.
Additionally, tracking costs also helps to make accurate decisions regarding equipment upgrades and replacement in order to avoid spending more than can be justified on repairs for aging equipment.
Regulatory compliance
The mining sector is highly regulated, and equipment maintenance programs need to bear in mind all the regulatory compliance requirements expected by the authorities. A system must be instituted to provide reminders and track how these compliance requirements are being adhered to so that the firm isn’t found in breach of the existing standards.
Data accessibility
By now you may have realized that proper maintenance relies on data accessibility, such as maintenance records, parts availability and operating manuals. All this data needs to be centralized and readily accessible across different devices and platforms. For example, a maintenance technician should be able to use a smartphone to access any available reports about the condition of the equipment and machinery under their care.
All the above can be possible if mining companies acquire management and maintenance systems that are computerized instead of relying on outdated manual systems.
As mining companies step up their environmental, governance and sustainability (“ESG”) observance, entities such as Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) can be expected to continually improve their machinery and equipment maintenance programs as a matter of routine since doing so has been shown to have beneficial effects on the bottom line.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/UUUU
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