Saving the Mining Industry $2,000,000 per Month
Mining environments are typically harsh and unforgiving. Commodity price volatility and increasing operating and capital costs necessitate mines to aggressively drive financial discipline more than ever. Adopting a pit to port to customer approach, mines typically identify cost reducing components at enterprise and functional levels, improve asset and process efficiency through analytics, and streamline the supply chain. To effectively achieve this, mines need to accurately monitor, analyse, and manage consumption and production data.
With mines using up to 20 million litres/month, diesel fuel costs represent a significant portion of mining operating costs, particularly on open-pit mining operations. Savings of 8-10% on diesel usage can easily translate into millions. On a mining site fuel is either being stored in tanks and bowsers, or being used by plant or equipment, or being misused through wastage, leakages, or theft. To effectively improve usage efficiency and mitigate misuse, the location and authenticity of every litre need be monitored automatically, from the moment it enters the mine. Efficient fuel management is a serious business in the mining industry across Africa. Smart mines know this and employ automated Fuel Management Systems (FMS). Smart mines also know that, if incorrectly designed or indifferently maintained, any FMS becomes redundant.
For an FMS to be truly effective, accurate data needs to be acquired in real-time and integrated, or at least interfaced, with the mine’s ERP platform. Failing this, the numerous benefits provided by an FMS, namely, reduced misuse losses, reduced vehicle mismanagement, improved preventative maintenance, increased productivity, and extended engine life, will not be realized.
“An effective FMS integrates, or interfaces, with mine ERP systems.”
From savings through improved efficiencies and reduced wastage, a well-designed, appropriately implemented, and properly maintained FMS typically ‘pays back’ the initial investment in a period of months. There are many suppliers of fuel management systems, few however, accommodate the common operational challenges found in Africa. Our experience shows that systems designed for African conditions, by Africa-based companies, are far better suited to local and regional environments.
The PetroMan FMS engages with numerous ERP systems and has been successfully implemented in over 150 projects and/or maintenance sites throughout Africa, spanning from South Africa to Egypt. Over the last 22 years PetroMan fuel management systems have managed ±5,3 billion litres of diesel across Africa at an average accuracy of >99,5%. Currently PetroMan fuel management systems save the African mining industry around $2,000,000 per month.
In a recent FMS functionality audit of the leading seven FMS suppliers in Africa, conducted by a global oil company, PetroMan SA was ranked as the foremost FMS supplier across seven significant categories. PetroMan SA was the only FMS service provider to be rated at 100% in six of the categories and at 95% in the seventh category. The seven categories were software, hardware, global positioning systems, automatic tank gauging, vehicle fitting, data accuracy and data integration with ERP systems. PetroMan welcomes this ranking.
PetroMan SA has made it their purpose to develop world-class hydrocarbon management systems that are both cost-effective and user-friendly. As an OEM, PetroMan SA markets its unique fuel management solutions under the PetroMan® brand, providing meticulous, real-time, measuring, and reporting that allows clients to intricately control hydrocarbon quality and usage. PetroMan SA continually develops and implements robust and up-to-date hardware and software platforms and has supplied FMS solutions to the mining sector, across Africa, since the 1990s.
For world-class fuel management solutions in mining visit www.petroman.global
