MAC Copper Limited

Transforming Drilling Operations at MAC Copper Limited with Krux Analytics

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About the Company

MAC Copper Limited (now part of Harmony), headquartered in Western Australia, operates a single underground mine and has built a reputation for agility and innovation in its operations. With a lean team and a commitment to digital transformation, MAC Copper Limited has embraced technologies that streamline workflows and improve data visibility.

The team run between 4 and 6 drill rigs across both surface and underground environments. As a smaller operation, the company faces unique challenges in resourcing, data management, and maximizing operational efficiency.
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The Challenge

Before adopting Krux Analytics, MAC Copper Limited relied on traditional, paper-based processes and electronic plod systems for daily drilling data capture and reporting.

Manual and inconsistent plod data capture leading to error-prone workflows: Manual and inconsistent data entry created error-prone workflows that were both time-consuming and inefficient. Contractor-submitted plods often required extensive validation and manual rework before being transferred into departmental spreadsheets for performance tracking and cost reconciliation. This fragmented approach limited visibility, delayed reporting, and increased the administrative burden on operational teams.

Fragmented systems and limited visibility: Operational data was dispersed across spreadsheets and multiple platforms, making it difficult to consolidate, analyse, or share insights across departments. This lack of integration limited transparency and hindered data-driven decision-making

Reactive decision-making: Delays in data verification meant that issues such as underperformance, equipment downtime, or deviations from plan were often identified after the fact, reducing the team’s ability to respond proactively.

Resource constraints: As a small, single-asset company, MAC Copper operated without a dedicated data or analytics function. Operational staff were required to manage data collection and reporting “in the background, diverting attention from core field and production activities.

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“The administrative load on a small operations team was significant, and the lack of standardisation resulted in poor data quality and lengthy reconciliation processes. Ultimately, we weren’t capturing a clear or timely picture of what was actually happening in the field.” – Tristan Kay, Exploration Manager

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The Solution

In late-2024, MAC Coper Limited adopted Krux Analytics, coinciding with a change in drilling contractor. The new contractor, DRC Drilling, implemented Krux across their business, enabling seamless integration with their operations.

Key improvements include:

Automated, standardized data capture:  “The benefits were immediate, we removed the need for geologists to double-handle data and copy it into spreadsheets, replacing that with a streamlined, auditable approval process that takes only a couple of minutes and all the tracked metrics are updated instantly.”

By automating plod entry and standardising workflows, MAC Copper eliminated manual data rework and reduced the potential for human error. Data now flows seamlessly from field entry to reporting, ensuring accuracy and consistency across the operation.

Real-time visibility and contract alignment: “Being able to spot issues as they happened, whether it was shift overlaps, delays, or reporting errors, and having that real-time view tied directly to our contract and charge rates completely changed how we managed performance and provided consistency across drill crews”

Streamlined approvals and reporting: “Previously, our end-of-month process could take hours, now takes under five minutes, it’s amazing. The contractor sends us the cost report exported directly from Krux, we compare it and we’re done, we haven’t had a single discrepancy since Krux’s implementation.”

Automated reconciliation and reporting functions have dramatically reduced administrative workload and eliminated manual errors, ensuring a fast, transparent, and auditable approval process.

Enhanced collaboration and accountability: By centralising data access, Krux enabled better communication between site and office teams, strengthened contractor accountability, and promoted a culture of transparency and shared ownership over performance outcomes.

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Results

Time savings:

Implementing Krux has mean less back-and-forth with contractors, and streamlined end of month reporting.

“All up it probably would have saved maybe half an hour to an hour per day” on data entry and reporting alone. Our end of month process… would be under 5 minutes, compared to hours previously."

Cost control:

Real-time validation and contract alignment have eliminated discrepancies and improved cost tracking.

“The real-time visibility allows the team to see the financial benefit or impact of their decisions. Having daily visibility of productivity and cost data has really strengthened contractor management, we can now spot straight away when charges don’t quite match actual drilling performance.”

Operational insight:

MAC Copper Limited now have real-time visibility into drilling performance across all drill rigs and site as a whole

"Data-driven decision making, allowing supervisors to identify bottlenecks and optimise shift planning and provide accurate forecasts. If we can identify and address the causes of standbys in the mining environment, we can easily lift our metres drilled per shift and over the course of a year, that translates to a significant increase in total metres drilled."

User Experience & Change Management:

Easy onboarding: “The programme as a whole is really intuitive., the approval process is quick and easy… Onboarding was just a training session for all our end users, which was fantastic… it’s been a really smooth transition and received a positive uptake from the team.”

Happy contractors: “At the end of the day, nobody likes paperwork… It saves everyone time and headaches.”

Scalable impact: MAC Copper contractors, DRC Drilling, rolled out Krux across their entire business after seeing the benefits at the CSA Mine.

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Looking Ahead

With Krux Analytics, MAC Copper Limited is now positioned to:

• Analyze downtime and improve rig utilization, especially in challenging underground environments.

• Empower all team members—from junior staff to management—to access and act on real-time data.

• Continue evolving their processes for greater efficiency and cost control.

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Tristan sums it up:
“The amount we’re saving in admin easily outweighs the price of using Krux… Even if we saved an hour a day, it’s covering probably more than 80% of the cost of Krux for the year.”