Thanks for exploring with GravelBedrock.

My interest in project management began when I was working for a large mining conglomerate and came to the realization that we “didn’t know what good looked like” when it came to project management.  Despite our professionalism and extensive mining backgrounds, we just “didn’t know what we didn’t know” in order to manage projects effectively.  After a thorough analysis of the marketplace, I quickly learned this was a common issue in the mining sector which inspired my quest for better and more effective project management knowledge for mining projects.

The average life cycle for a mining capital development project is between 3-10 years.  Not many professionals stick around from the start to the finish of a mining project, let alone have the ability to effectively carry forward lessons learned to the next project in order to deliver value.  In addition to the challenge of time; remote locations, long hours, hostile environments, low pay and career uncertainty have discouraged many of the best and brightest from joining and staying in the mining sector.

The recent past economic climate for project development in the mining sector was the perfect storm. The market correction appears to be past us and projects are being studied and initiated.

The purpose of this blog is to deconstruct my observations and those of others who are close to these projects in order to share the valuable lessons we learned.  What went well and what we would do differently.  Hopefully those who follow in our footsteps, including owners and investors, will glean ideas from these pages which will inspire success in the mining projects of the future.