Whether users are trying to raise finance, reduce costs, increase productivity, reduce debt, evaluate technology options, consider acquisitions, prepare for or deal with distressed situations, or evaluate strategic options in general, Whittle’s Integrated Strategic Planning process can provide information, insight and confidence for the decision-making in an increasingly volatile and competitive mining industry.

After 17 years of perfecting its core service of Enterprise Optimisation modelling, the Whittle Consulting team is making the benefits of its well-developed Integrated Strategic Planning process broadly accessible. Gerald Whittle, CEO of Whittle Consulting, explained the company’s core business: “We have now completed 140 successful Enterprise Optimisation models worldwide, large and small, in almost every commodity.”

The process involves applying activity based costing (ABC) and the understanding of geo-metallurgy, to develop a net value, or cash margin, view of the orebody. The complete system, from mineral resource to financial model, is modelled with particular attention to the constraints and flexibilities.

Sophisticated proprietary optimisation software (Prober E) is then applied to generate long-term business plans with outstanding economic and sustainability outcomes. The resulting strategies accelerate the flow of cash through the primary bottleneck in the system, typically increasing the cash flow of the overall system by 5-35% or more. The model can be readily adjusted so a range of possible futures can be evaluated quickly and consistently. Furthermore, the process facilitates cross-functional collaboration, critical thinking, and reveals deeper insights into the strategic drivers and constraints on business performance.