Developing a Comprehensive Mobile Maintenance Strategy for an Underground Gold Mine
How a fully integrated maintenance framework, predictive maintenance model, and workforce readiness plan strengthened the technical foundation of a major mine development project.
Background
A major underground gold development project in North America was advancing through a definitive feasibility study (DFS) and required a future-ready operational model built on digital integration, automation, remote operations, and disciplined reliability practices.
The client engaged Outliers Mining Solutions to develop a comprehensive Mobile Maintenance Strategy and Plan that would support fleet availability, workforce readiness, lifecycle cost forecasting, and the digital infrastructure required for long-term operational success.
The strategy needed to be technically rigorous, aligned with industry-leading reliability practices, and robust enough to support feasibility-level planning and investment decisions. Outliers was engaged to design the complete maintenance model, spanning process architecture, organizational design, inventory strategy, and lifecycle costing to ensure reliable and predictable fleet performance from day one of operations.
Key Factors Shaping the Maintenance Strategy
- A standardized, telemetry-enabled underground fleet critical to production performance
- Challenging operating conditions, including long travel distances, deep mine access, and intensive equipment utilization
- Integration between enterprise asset management systems, fleet telemetry platforms, underground positioning technologies, and integrated operations monitoring tools
- The need for a predictive, condition-based maintenance program capable of supporting an increasingly digital operating environment
- Accurate staffing, costing, inventory, and infrastructure inputs to support feasibility-level financial modelling
Our Approach
Outliers designed a data-driven, fully integrated maintenance strategy that aligned maintenance processes, digital systems, workforce capability, and lifecycle costing into a single cohesive framework.
1. Designing the Maintenance Architecture
- Developed enterprise asset management workflows for planning, scheduling, execution, and performance analysis
- Integrated fleet telemetry, equipment health monitoring, and operational data sources
- Established preventive, condition-based, and predictive maintenance methodologies
2. Workforce & Organizational Modeling
- Developed a comprehensive labour model spanning underground, surface, electrical, and specialist maintenance functions
- Defined dedicated maintenance teams for production equipment, support fleets, field maintenance, component rebuilds, and structural repairs
- Created a competency development framework supported by structured mentoring and technical skills development
3. Inventory & Material Readiness
- Designed a multi-tier inventory strategy supporting surface facilities, underground operations, and mobile maintenance teams
- Developed standardized maintenance kits and critical spare parts strategies
- Introduced repairable component workflows and inventory optimization practices
4. Lifecycle Cost Modeling & Feasibility Integration
- Developed a multi-year lifecycle cost model using OEM data, operating assumptions, and maintenance best practices
- Modeled rebuild cycles, preventive maintenance requirements, corrective maintenance activities, labour demand, and sustaining capital requirements
- Provided feasibility-ready inputs for staffing, infrastructure planning, and capital allocation
5. ESG, Compliance & Safety Integration
- Embedded contamination control standards, fluid management practices, and waste reduction initiatives
- Integrated mandatory inspection and compliance activities into maintenance workflows
- Ensured alignment with industry-leading safety, environmental, and governance expectations
The Outcome
The engagement delivered a comprehensive, operationally grounded Mobile Maintenance Strategy that became a key component of the project’s feasibility study. Key outcomes include:
1. A Defensible Maintenance Framework
The final strategy provided a complete operating model covering staffing, facility requirements, process design, inventory management, digital integration, and lifecycle cost forecasting, supporting confident planning and investment decisions.
2. Clear Reliability and Cost Performance Expectations
- ≥ 85% fleet availability
- ≥ 90% preventive maintenance compliance
- 20–30% reduction in downtime through condition-based and predictive maintenance
- 5–10% lifecycle cost reduction through optimized maintenance and rebuild strategies
3. Predictive Maintenance Ready from Day One
The strategy incorporated telemetry-driven inspections, automated maintenance notifications, condition-monitoring triggers, and performance trending capabilities to support proactive maintenance execution and earlier failure detection.
4. Workforce & Digital Systems Aligned
The maintenance organization structure, competency development roadmap, and digital workflows were designed to support a modern, technology-enabled operating environment.
5. Improved Operational Readiness
The strategy reduced commissioning and ramp-up risk by defining clear maintenance processes, workforce requirements, inventory strategies, and infrastructure needs, helping the operation enter production with greater stability and predictability.
Outliers produced a comprehensive maintenance plan for the underground mobile fleet. We had a hard deadline to be able to include it in our Feasibility Study, so they only had a month to get it done. I was impressed.
– Director, Integrated Operations
Ready to Strengthen Your Maintenance Strategy?
Whether you’re developing a new operation, expanding an existing asset, or looking to improve reliability performance, Outliers Mining Solutions helps mining organizations build practical maintenance systems that improve equipment availability, reduce lifecycle costs, and support long-term operational success.
From maintenance strategy development and organizational design to reliability improvement, work management optimization, and digital integration, our team helps operations create sustainable performance improvements that deliver measurable results.