By Jose Alberto Villa Mena, Chief Engineer, Peña Colorada and Ernesto Vivas, Principal Advisor, Hexagon
Imagine everything you interact with on a daily basis that is fully or partially made of steel. With 98% of iron ore being used for steel production, it’s not surprising that the world uses 20 times more iron than all other metals put together.
Peña Colorada, in Colima, Mexico, is a significant player in the iron ore industry, producing 30% of Mexico’s iron ore at an open pit mine in Minatitlan and a pellet plant in Manzanillo. At SME’s annual MINEXCHANGE conference in Denver, Jose Alberto Villa Mena, Chief Engineer at Peña Colorada, and Ernesto Vivas, Principal Advisor at Hexagon, will present “Capturing Value at Peña Colorada and Adding ESG to the Value Formula”.
The presentation will look in depth at the strategies and innovations driving the project’s success. Keep reading to learn more about how Peña Colorada is implementing new mining technologies to optimise its operations.
Uncovering Project Value
On February 24, 2- 5:40 p.m., Jose and Ernesto will join the “Mining & Exploration: Operations: Mine Planning & Optimization I (Surface Focused)” session at the annual MINEXCHANGE conference in Denver to present on the importance of resource modeling and strategic mine planning in uncovering project value. Key points will include:
- Resource Model and Ore Control Model: Increasing confidence and reliability in the mine planning process.
- Mine Planning: Creating strategic plans, life of mine plans, budget plans, and monthly plans to ensure the project’s success.
- Pit Design and Haulage Network Design: Crucial elements for feasible mine operations.
Capturing Project Value
Efforts to capture project value focus on lowering capital and operating costs. Technological innovations, such as the implementation of new mine planning software, such as Hexagon MinePlan for survey, geology, engineering and ore control, and fleet management systems, such as Hexagon OP Pro, have significantly increased production while reducing operational costs. Flexible mine plans are crucial for accommodating changes or delays due to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) constraints, such as environmental permits.
Adding ESG to the Value Formula
It is important to generate the best possible mine plan and monitor its execution to ensure the operation stays on track and achieves production milestones. Aligning mine planning with mine operations is critical to maximising project value. So, too, is adding ESG to the value formula because environmental permits can be delayed.
For example, Peña Colorada faced a 10-year delay for a rock dump permit, so mitigation plans, such as alternative dumping locations with temporary short hauls, were crucial in ensuring the project’s success. Additional mining capacity was realized by re-building haul trucks, which mitigated stripping delays.
These mitigation plans provided several benefits, such as flexibility and continuity of operations without significant interruptions. Similarly, dumping optimisation ensured the reduction of truck hours and associated operating costs. Additionally, the truck hours and truck count profiles were optimised to decrease the required number of trucks, resulting in lower capital investment.
Conclusion
Over the past decade, Peña Colorada has invested heavily in technological innovations such as MinePlan and OP Pro to improve its business practices. These efforts have resulted in substantial increases in production and sales, while also lowering operational and capital costs. Jose and Ernesto’s presentation will underscore the importance of flexibility in mine planning to account for ESG constraints and the need for continuous monitoring to achieve project goals.
We hope to see you at MINEXCHANGE in Denver where you can learn more about how Peña Colorada optimised operations through careful mine planning and technological innovation. Visit Hexagon at booth #1105 to speak with our experts about how Hexagon’s solutions are helping mines like Peña Colorada boost profits, enhance production, and navigate reaching ESG-related goals and compliance.
Throughout 2025 we’ll be blogging about the challenges facing the mining industry. Drawing upon insights from thought leaders in our customer community and from within Hexagon, we’ll share how trusted partnerships and proven technology are addressing those challenges, helping to improve safety and cut costs while balancing the demands of productivity and sustainability.