Report estimates global metal and fertilizer miners spend nearly 10% more on reliability than global petroleum refiners
PASADENA, TEXAS (July 29, 2021) – Pinnacle, the largest reliability analytics company in the world, released its third Global Economics of Reliability Report today. The report, a follow up to Pinnacle’s Economics of Reliability Reports for the global refining and US water and wastewater treatment industries, examines the impact of reliability on metal and fertilizer miners.
“We found that miners spend about $55 billion on reliability initiatives, about 10% more than is spent by petroleum refiners” said Jeff Krimmel, Chief Strategy Officer at Pinnacle. “We estimate that for every $100 million in produced metals or fertilizers, miners spend about $7 million on reliability-related activities such as inspection, preventative maintenance, and other efforts aimed at ensuring assets operate as expected. While the pandemic dramatically suppressed demand for these commodities in 2020, the miners we studied responded capably to these disruptions, cutting costs by idling their least productive mines and other processing facilities to preserve their profitability. While this strategy allowed miners to generate 10% more operating profit on 12% less revenue, unfortunately, these drastic maneuvers have likely left holes in existing reliability programs that can negatively impact operational and financial performance going forward.”
The report’s analyses are based on data from a variety of sources, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and 15 large, publicly traded metal and fertilizer miners. The report dives into the production levels and corresponding economic value of individual metals and fertilizer components.
“Reliability will continue to play an increasingly critical role in the long-term profitability of mines,” said Sean Rosier, principal of asset management solutions at Pinnacle. “Leveraging multi-dimensional, system-wide analytical tools such as Quantitative Reliability Optimization (QRO) will help ensure miners focus their reliability spending and recognize the greatest return on their reliability investments.”
Download the report here.