Launching a New Lithium Mine

THE APPROACH

A five-day on-site review was conducted across site operations to build a baseline understanding of current management practices during the commissioning phase, identify gaps, and define improvement priorities for the transition to production. This activity included extensive dialogue with a cross-section of the workforce.

ORBIZ then facilitated a two-day onsite workshop with members of the executive team and operational leadership to review and refine the company’s strategic framework. The framework had been established earlier in the organisation’s history, but did not effectively reflect where the business was now heading. Inputs from the operational review were used to sharpen the strategic direction and set clear expectations for the wider leadership group.

The strategic framework, including vision, mission, values, behaviours, strategic objectives, key activities and KPIs, was then published as a Plan on a Page for the company.

A Management Operating System (MOS) was then developed to disseminate the vision, mission and values, and operationalise the strategic objectives, key activities and KPIs across the business. This MOS included a visual management system to provide delivery governance and performance management control across operational and project execution areas. The MOS also included a leadership team cadence designed to create alignment and drive the desired management behaviours.

THE SOLUTIONS

Visual Performance Centres (VPC) were established across the site to deploy the strategic objectives through a series of KPIs. These performance management forums serve as the focal point for daily and weekly team meetings, disseminating the strategy and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. All operational problems and underperformance are discussed during these meetings, and simple problem-solving methods are utilised for root cause analysis to implement robust improvement solutions.

VPC implementation engaged each team in mapping their value stream to build a shared understanding of how they create value. From this, the team developed KPIs to guide performance, aligned with the operational strategy. VPCs were installed at the site level and across the mining and HSEC departments, with the local team equipped to roll out further VPCs independently as the operation matured.

A Project Performance Centre (PPC) was also established to provide governance for the ongoing construction and commissioning activities during the project’s development phase. PPCs are utilised as daily and weekly meeting forums to manage project delivery by visualising project plans and associated KPIs, enabling stakeholders to monitor progress and performance effectively.

Finally, a Leader Standard Work (LSW) framework was developed across the site to structure the leadership team’s time and align everyone with their roles and responsibilities, as well as the various interactions required. LSW organises each leader’s time to ensure they are working on the right priorities and that nothing in their responsibility gets overlooked. It also establishes an effective site meeting cadence by aligning everyone’s working practices with their meetings, ensuring they are always prepared.

The first shipment of approximately 5,500 tonnes of on-specification 5.6% Li₂O spodumene concentrate was delivered on time. A subsequent shipment of approximately 13,100 tonnes completed the first sale of 18,500 tonnes to a long-term customer in China, fulfilling the initial offtake commitment on schedule.

The successful execution of these milestones provided the board with the confidence to approve A$45–50 million for underground mine early works — covering the box cut, site access improvements, and surface water management infrastructure.