Case Study

Large-scale Open-pit Coal Transformation

Sector

Open-pit Coal Mining

Geography

Indonesia

Duration

50%+ Production Uplift

01
Context

The Operation at Scale

One of the largest open-pit coal operations in the region, running across multiple pit areas with a workforce of several thousand across shifts.

Large-scale open-pit coal
Multi-pit operation
Several-thousand workforce
Multi-shift operation
02
Challenge

A Persistent Performance Gap

The operation was producing materially below planned targets. Truck and shovel productivity had drifted well below benchmark. Unit costs were trending in the wrong direction. Previous improvement initiatives had delivered short-term results that had not held after the program concluded.

03
Approach

The Phoenix Program in Action

The Phoenix Program was deployed following a structured diagnostic. Implementation focused on three areas:

  • Back-to-basics discipline across planning, scheduling, and shift management;
  • Enthusiastic Ownership through structured improvement workshops involving thousands of employees across the site;
  • Value Chain Partnership alignment between pit operations, maintenance, and the supply chain.
04
Outcomes

Transformation at Scale

50%

improvement in truck productivity.

30%

improvement in shovel productivity.

15%

reduction in unit costs over a two-year period.

25 million

manhours LTI-free achieved alongside the productivity transformation.

US$10 million

first-in-kind drill and blast innovation: the first application of its kind in the region.
Next Steps

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