Mining operations across sub-Saharan Africa are losing between 10 and 20 per cent of their operational output to avoidable inefficiencies embedded in daily shift execution, according to new research from OIM Consulting, a business performance consultancy with extensive experience across Africa’s mining sector.
The findings, published by OIM Consulting Group Chief Executive Officer Arjen de Bruin, identify four recurring productivity taxes that silently erode output and revenue across mines, regardless of commodity prices or technology investment. At current commodity prices, the losses at a single operation can reach hundreds of millions of rands annually. A typical 12-hour shift, the research shows, delivers only 5.5 hours of effective production time.
The first is what OIM terms the Connectivity Tax: the cost of broken information flow between operational plans and the production face. Despite sophisticated dispatch and monitoring systems, many mines remain data rich but decision poor. Supervisors spend between 24 and 29 per cent of each shift in meetings and administration rather than on the floor, creating extended windows where no real-time observation, correction, or coaching takes place.
The Velocity Tax refers to the cost of slow and reactive decision-making. OIM assessments across multiple sites found that 91 per cent of supervisors operate reactively, addressing problems only after disruption has already occurred. At several operations, crews averaged 1.2 blasts per shift against a planned target of 1.5, a shortfall that translates into a 20 per cent reduction in face advance per shift across six crews. Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) at many operations also stretches to between 6 and 10 hours, against a world-class benchmark of 4 to 6 hours, with every delayed intervention permanently removing productive hours from the system.
The Resilience Tax captures the cost of a workforce unable to absorb disruption without losing operational discipline. OIM behavioural data shows emotional control scores averaging 53 per cent and resilience scores sitting at 61 per cent across surveyed operations. The Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) across some sub-Saharan Africa operations remains between 2.5 and 4.5 times above global benchmarks, with every serious incident generating not only human cost but lost production days and operational instability.
The fourth and most foundational tax is the Capacity Tax: the systemic cost of placing people in supervisory roles without equipping them to lead. Across OIM assessments, only 17 per cent of supervisors met the minimum competency threshold for the role. Planning and organising emerged as the single largest gap, while leading and developing others ranked as the second weakest competency.
De Bruin said the biggest losses in mining are rarely found underground. “They are hidden in the shift,” he said.
The research identifies a clear path forward. OIM’s Supervisory Development Programme (SDP), which combines structured classroom learning with direct on-the-floor coaching, lifted supervisory competency from 17 to 53 per cent within 16 weeks at participating operations, with mines subsequently recovering double-digit productivity gains through better planning routines and stronger shift management.
The findings carry direct relevance for Ghana, where gold, bauxite, and manganese production represent a significant share of national export earnings. With the West African Mining and Power Expo set to open in Accra on 3 June 2026, operational productivity and supervisory leadership are expected to rank among the sector’s most discussed challenges.
