Mining Supply Chain Design

Client Issue

Client was developing a new mine to serve the export market. A supply chain had to be designed to move product from the mine to the ports. We assisted the client in better understanding its supply chain options through flow-based, fault-based simulation modeling.

Project Approach

  • Developed flow-based, fault-based model to analyze the product flow from the mine onto the ship and out to open water
  • Conducted primary and secondary research to determine capacity and throughput rates of various supply chain components
  • Determined potential planned and unplanned outage/delay frequency and duration ranges
  • Ran model simulations to determine required capacity for:
    • Mine storage
    • Railcar fleet
    • Rail loadout throughput
    • Rail holding tracks
    • Port storage
    • Ship loading throughput
  • Assessed trade-offs between capacity, operating cost, and CapEx
  • Developed options for launching the business under various combinations of production levels, operating expenses, and CapEx

Client Results

Client is moving forward with developing the mine, including mine-based storage, railcar fleet, rail loadout, track infrastructure, port storage, and ship loading.