MasterMined is designed to deliver transformational change today

“We’re not just focused on mining – we aim to push the boundaries and create a sustainable future for the industry by thinking big and driving change.”

This is a statement from the MasterMined Innovation website; The site is filled with the logos of some of the world’s largest mining companies and contains a number of operational shots of Tony Sprague, the CEO and founder of the company, suggesting that he can mount his own SCSR on his belt in less than a minute.

Sprague, an advocate for mining technology who has worked around the world and in operational and headquarters roles, has been driving change in the sector for some time.

During his time at Newcrest Mining (now owned by Newmont), he helped advance several technologies through the technology readiness level stage gates and was not afraid to be the first to move when it came to implementing new innovations at the company’s sites.

“I’ve always had a flair for innovation, fixing problems, and a desire to change the industry for the better — and there’s a lot more to be done on that front,” Sprague says. I Close to MasterMined’s first anniversary as a company. “This is effectively how MasterMined was formed.”

To this point, Sprague’s capabilities have been leveraged across the likes of BHP, Vale, Newmont and Rio Tinto in the list of mining companies.

“Some of this revolves around what I would call ‘scale up mine transformation’ programmes, others include technical support troubleshooting, strategic value-lifting studies, as well as more traditional expert advisory tasks,” he says.

MasterMined is also supporting BluVein to develop next-generation dynamic cart technology (BluVein1 and BluVeinXL), which it considers essential to achieving highly efficient electrified mining operations for both open pit and underground mining.

Sprague’s experience, combined with his ability to interact with both mining companies and technology vendors, allows him to mediate conversations that might not take place without his involvement.

“MasterMined is seen as not your traditional mining advisor,” he said. “We have the full technical understanding of mining, both surface and underground, as well as the experience of what it takes to bring investment to board level.”

Sprague also has a large telephone directory of experts to contact for specific projects that require a high level of technical excellence. “If a customer comes to me and asks for help with shipping operations in thermally active terrain, I know the right people to turn to; I can assemble a team in a short time and get it done.” “Similarly, we have a number of projects we are working on in caving – This is something I have extensive experience with from Newcrest.

“In either of these scenarios, I would be happy to serve as a consultant for that project and advise the client on the best experts to choose from to move these projects forward.”

An advisor who knows the business and knows how to “sell” something to a mining board is a rarity.

“If we look at some of the multi-billion-dollar mine design projects that we are involved in, there is an element where these projects have stalled because they have been left to the senior consultants to progress on,” Sprague said. “By using our mining expertise and never-ending thirst to find value, we can set them on the best path.”

In this context, Sprague is keen to play a role in accelerating projects through the development pipeline, conducting peer reviews or study evaluations to ensure that no value is left behind and the design is secured for the future.

Take electricity as an example here.

“There is a huge desire to electrify electricity,” Sprague says. But no one really knows how to do that yet. As a result, everyone is still happy to go and buy diesel fleets first, but the problem with this approach is that you then set up the mine as a diesel system, and then you end up having major problems redesigning it for charging bays and increased power loads.

“The second problem with that is that you’ve probably designed the mine around loaders, which may not be the best choice for the fleet in all situations. We call it LHD — loading, hauling, unloading — for a reason. There has to be about a 1:1:1 ratio.” Between the three, but most of these machines today are in use for most of the shift as transport vehicles due to crushers moving away from the intake points.

“In this scenario, someone needs to step back and say, ‘Wait a minute, let’s do the numbers and analysis.’ Are there better ways we can do this to, one, achieve increases in productivity combined with reductions in capital and operating expenditures, and second, Facilitating the inevitable transition towards all-electric operation?

Sprague is happy to take this perspective to clients, and the mining community seems more receptive to hearing it given his background.

“MasterMined, for whatever reason, was given the opportunity to be a little different from the senior advisors,” he said. “We’re focusing more on the customer side, plus we’re working with internal technology and innovation teams, and in some ways, we’re doing things that even some mining company teams might not be able to do.

“We are connected to operations and create real solutions that succeed today.

“I’m excited about what 2025 holds for MasterMined and our customers!”