“We’re not nearly mining – we’re about pushing boundaries and making a sustainable future for the business by considering huge and driving change.”
It is a assertion from the MasterMined Innovation web site; a website that’s affected by logos from a few of the largest mining corporations on the planet and has a lot of operational photographs of Tony Sprague, CEO and Founding father of the corporate, that signifies he might match his SCSR to his belt in below a minute.
Sprague, a mining know-how advocate who has labored everywhere in the globe and in operational and headquarter-based roles, has been driving change on this sector for a while.
Throughout his time at Newcrest Mining (now owned by Newmont), he helped progress a number of applied sciences by the know-how readiness degree stage gates and was not afraid to be a primary mover when it got here to making use of new innovation on the firm’s websites.
“I’ve at all times had a penchant for innovation and fixing issues and wanting to vary the business for the higher – and there’s a lot to be accomplished on that entrance,” Sprague tells IM near the MasterMined’s first-year anniversary as an organization. “That’s successfully how MasterMined was shaped.”
Up to now, Sprague’s capabilities have been leveraged throughout the likes of BHP, Vale, Newmont and Rio Tinto on the mining firm roster.
“A few of this revolves round what I might name ‘mine transformation uplift’ applications, the place others have concerned troubleshooting technical assist, strategic worth uplift research, in addition to extra standard professional advisory duties,” he says.
MasterMined can also be supporting BluVein to progress its next-generation dynamic trolley know-how (BluVein1 and BluVeinXL), which it sees as important to the achievement of highly-efficient electrified mining operations for each open-pit and underground mining.
Sprague’s expertise, plus the flexibility to work together with each mining corporations and know-how distributors, is permitting him to dealer conversations that may not happen with out his involvement.
“MasterMined is being perceived as not your conventional mining guide,” he stated. “We’ve got the technical understanding of mining proper right down to the face, in each floor and underground, in addition to the expertise of what it takes to convey an funding to board degree.”
Sprague additionally has a big telephone e-book of consultants to name on for particular initiatives that require a heightened degree of technical excellence. “If a consumer was to come back to me and ask for help on charge-up operations in thermally-active floor, I do know the suitable folks to go to; I can assemble a crew in brief order and carry this out,” he stated. “Likewise, we now have a lot of initiatives we’re engaged on in caving – one thing I’ve intensive expertise in from Newcrest.
“In both of those situations, I’m joyful performing as a guide for this mission and advising the consumer on the most effective consultants to select from to progress these initiatives ahead.”
A guide that is aware of the enterprise and is aware of how you can ‘promote’ one thing to the mining boardroom is a rarity.
“If we have a look at a few of these multi-billion-dollar mine design initiatives we’re concerned in, there’s a component the place these have stalled as a result of they’ve been left to the large consultants to progress,” Sprague stated. “By utilizing our mining knowhow and never-ending thirst for locating worth, we’re capable of set them off on the most effective trajectory.”
On this context, Sprague is eager to a play a job in accelerating initiatives by the event pipeline, finishing up peer critiques or examine assessments to make sure no worth is left behind and the design has been futureproofed.
Take electrification for example right here.
Sprague says: “There’s an enormous want for electrification; it’s simply nobody actually is aware of how you can do it but. In consequence, everybody’s nonetheless joyful to go and first purchase diesel fleets, however the issue with this strategy is you then set the mine up as a diesel system, after which you find yourself having main issues redesigning it for cost bays and elevated energy masses.
“The second concern with that’s you’ve possible designed the mine round loaders, which could not be the most effective fleet selection in all conditions. We name it an LHD – load, haul, dump – for a purpose. There ought to roughly be a 1:1:1 ratio between the three, however most of those machines immediately are in use for many of the shift as haulage autos on account of crushers having moved additional away from the drawpoints.
“On this state of affairs, somebody wants to face again and say, ‘Grasp on a minute, let’s really do the numbers and the evaluation. Are there higher methods we will do that that, one, delivers productiveness uplifts together with capex and opex reductions, and, two, eases the inevitable transition in the direction of fully-electric operation?’”
Sprague is very happy to take this attitude on for purchasers, and the mining neighborhood seems to be extra receptive to listening to it given his background.
“MasterMined, for no matter purpose, has been given a possibility to be a bit completely different from the big consultants,” he stated. “We’re rather more on the consumer facet, plus we work with inside tech and innovation groups and, in some regards, do stuff that even a few of these mining firm groups might not be capable to do.
“We’re linked to operations and get to cook dinner up precise options that ship immediately.
“I’m excited for what 2025 has in retailer for MasterMined and our purchasers!”
