You read "The Goal" by Goldrat, which made total sense! Now you wonder: How difficult would it be to implement these ideas at our mine?

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In the late 90s, Arrie van Niekerk embarked on a journey to implement the ideas from 'The Goal' on an open-cut iron ore mine. 
He quickly realized adjustments were needed, not because "The Goal" lacked brilliant insights but because mining differs in important aspects from manufacturing. Through safe-to-try experiments and with an open-minded GM in charge, they found ways to operationalize TOC in open-cut mining. Subsequently, these principles were tailored to all types of mining.

What sets mining apart is the exceptionally high levels of interdependency and variation that the industry grapples with. 

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Mine operating systems strongly focus on the parts' efficiency and cost management. This focus delivers value in the bottleneck departments but can be counterproductive when vigorously applied in other parts. 
Therefore, we must first show why the TOC alternative delivers better results. Then, we need to ensure that the cause and effect of all activities on production are visible every day, provide advance warnings of problems, and activate intrinsic motivation in employees and managers to embrace the change. These changes to the working environment need daily reinforcement; a successful implementation cannot happen without it.