Introduction of Innovative Equipment in Mining: Impact on Productivity

Abstract

In this era of increased competition and rapid change, mining companies must remain attentive to all opportuni-ties to gain an advantage over competitors. Acquisition of innovative equipment is often viewed as a way of de-creasing operating costs, for example, by increasing machinery reliability. The objective of this paper is to ex-amine the impact of new equipment on productivity in underground mining. Ten projects were examined using three indicators: the cost per meter drilled, the cost per hour of use and the equipment availability ratio. The re-sults clearly show that the introduction of new equipment with technological innovations does not necessarily improve productivity. In some cases, performance indicators even dropped. We suggest that future research should focus on identifying the mechanisms and conditions that ensure the increases in productivity following the introduction of the latest innovations in mining equipment. Successful introductions of such equipment likely depend on the conditions surrounding it.