Structured project management in potash mining

Delivering large-scale mining projects in underground environments requires rigorous control over cost, schedule, scope, and quality. In this case study, a leading potash mining company faced the challenge of executing three complex, multi-year capital projects despite having limited project management maturity and a history of cost overruns, schedule delays, and unplanned changes.

By introducing structured planning, clear accountability, disciplined change control, and proactive quality management, the organization transformed its project delivery approach, achieving significant cost savings, predictable schedules, and improved collaboration with contractors across all three projects.

Company overview and potash mining context

The company operates in the potash mining sector and is recognized as one of the world’s largest soft rock miners and potash producers. Potash is the common name for a group of potassium-bearing minerals and is essential for plant and animal life. Its primary use is in fertilizers, with additional applications in animal feed and industrial products such as soap.

With decades of high-quality reserves and completed expansion projects, the company is well-positioned to meet long-term global potash demand.

Figure 1 – Potash mining activities

Within this operationally complex environment, the company was required to deliver three large-scale, high-risk projects, despite having limited prior experience in structured project management.

Project 1: Managing a complex underground water inflow project

The company was tasked with delivering a large, multi-year, technically complex project to address brine (water inflow) in an underground mine. Strict cost and schedule control were critical; however, the project scope was not initially defined, and no technical solution had yet been selected. The original project budget was $30 million.

Key challenges unveiled

A detailed assessment of past project performance revealed several structural weaknesses that consistently undermined cost control, schedule reliability, and execution efficiency. These root causes were common throughout previous projects and needed to be addressed to ensure successful delivery.

• Limited project management experience, resulting in inaccurate cost, schedule, and resource estimates and a history of projects running over budget and behind schedule.
• A limited project team approach, leading to miscommunication and costly changes or corrections during construction.
• No single point of contact, resulting in missed or inconsistent communication across the project.

Without addressing these fundamental issues, the organization risked continuing with projects that had a history of cost overruns and delays, particularly in complex underground mining environments.

The strategic transformation for success

To mitigate the identified root causes, a structured and disciplined project management approach was introduced, with a strong emphasis on planning, governance, and proactive risk and quality management.

• Dedicated sufficient time to project planning, including scope definition, evaluation of alternatives, and selection of the most appropriate solution.
• Established a well-defined scope and implemented strict controls on cost, scope, schedule, and quality, minimizing change notices.
• Planned and monitored quality proactively to address issues before they became costly to correct, including hiring a dedicated quality monitor with relevant technical expertise.
• Assigned a dedicated field coordinator to manage coordination between the contractor and the internal project team.
• Coordinated contractors across multiple site projects, enabling shared resources, reduced downtime, and lower mobilization time and fees.

This disciplined approach created clarity, accountability, and early visibility of risks, enabling the project team to shift from reactive issue resolution to controlled and predictable execution.

Tangible results, real impact

The implementation of structured project governance and improved collaboration delivered tangible operational and financial benefits, while also strengthening relationships with contractors and internal stakeholders.

• Open communication encouraged contractors to identify opportunities to improve both deliverables and delivery processes.
• A positive working environment motivated contractors to seek cost-saving opportunities actively.
• $300,000 in savings achieved through shared resources and reduced downtime.
• $500,000 in savings from shared contractor mobilization time on this project, with similar savings realized on a second project.
• Strict scope and change management, combined with cost-saving initiatives, resulted in total project savings of $5.4 million.

Beyond significant cost savings, the project established a more collaborative and disciplined delivery model, laying the foundation for improved performance in future capital projects.

Project 2: Safety-focused delivery through structured governance

The company was responsible for developing a fire evacuation plan for a previously constructed headframe control room. The project included design option analysis, infrastructure fabrication, and installation. Cost and schedule control were essential, yet the scope had not been clearly defined. The original project budget was $2.1 million.

Identifying the core issues

An initial assessment of the project highlighted fundamental gaps in governance, planning, and decision-making that increased execution risk and limited cost and schedule predictability.

• Limited project management experience, leading to inaccurate cost, schedule, and resource estimates.
• A limited project team approach.
• Failure to evaluate design alternatives early in the project lifecycle.

These root causes reduced early visibility of risks and constrained the organization’s ability to make informed decisions, increasing the likelihood of late changes and cost escalation.

Setting the foundation for success

To address these challenges, the project adopted a structured delivery model focused on early alignment, clear accountability, and disciplined control of scope, cost, and change management. Here are some of the implemented actions:

• Built a cross-functional project team with early involvement of all stakeholders.
• Engaged vendors early to ensure alignment with project deliverables.
• Assigned a designated project lead as a single point of contact to develop plans, coordinate with vendors, and oversee project tracking.
• Clearly and in detail defined the scope of work, schedule, and budget for each contractor work package.
• Implemented a strong change management process, holding contractors accountable and limiting approved change requests.

This approach established clarity, ownership, and control from the outset, significantly reducing uncertainty and strengthening execution discipline throughout the project lifecycle.

Impactful outcomes beyond expectations

The structured project governance model delivered measurable financial, operational, and organizational benefits while improving confidence in project execution.

• Cost tracking provided management with near real-time visibility into project health, eliminating surprises.
• The designated project manager improved management confidence by serving as the single source of project information.
• Change requests were strictly controlled, totaling less than $100,000 over the project lifecycle.
• Project delivered on schedule and under budget, with a final cost of $1.8 million.
• $300,000 in savings returned to the capital budget for use on other projects.
• The selected design met all safety requirements, incorporated direct input from affected employees, and was delivered without the use of contingency funds.

The project not only achieved its safety and delivery objectives but also demonstrated that disciplined planning and change control can consistently deliver predictable outcomes, even in organizations with limited prior project management maturity.

Project 3: Large-scale underground infrastructure delivered through planning and quality focus

The company was tasked with engineering, fabricating, and constructing all underground ore handling systems and infrastructure for a newly mined area. This was a large, multi-year, complex project, again initiated without a clearly defined scope.

The original project budget was $60 million, including $7.4 million allocated for fabrication activities.

Root causes identification

A review of previous project execution practices highlighted structural limitations that reduced predictability and increased the risk of late changes during construction and fabrication. Such as:

• Limited project management experience, resulting in unreliable cost and schedule estimates.
• A limited team-based approach, leading to miscommunication and costly changes during construction.

Without addressing these gaps, the project remained vulnerable to late-stage corrections, supplier-related risks, and cost escalation during fabrication and installation.

The implemented solution approach

To mitigate these risks, the project adopted a disciplined planning and execution model, with a strong focus on early decisions, procurement strategy, and quality assurance. The implemented solution included:

• Allocated adequate time for detailed project planning, scope definition, and development of a comprehensive procurement plan.
• Procurement activities were planned early, enabling the team to evaluate alternative and non-traditional vendors.
• Applied a Cost of Quality mindset by planning for and monitoring quality throughout the project, preventing costly downstream rework.
• Required a dedicated quality monitor to visit fabrication yards, report on quality issues, and track fabrication progress.
• Built an integrated project team that included both the fabricator and installer early in the process.

This structured approach improved decision quality, reduced uncertainty, and ensured that risks related to procurement, fabrication, and installation were addressed proactively rather than reactively.

Results that speak for themselves

The introduction of integrated planning, early collaboration, and proactive quality control delivered tangible execution and financial benefits.

• Open communication enabled collaboration between the fabricator and installer, leading to design improvements and cost savings.
• Advance planning allowed the selection of a new vendor offering better overall value.
• Quality monitoring identified fabrication issues early, enabling corrections before shipment and avoiding expensive field fixes.
• Regular progress reporting kept the master schedule accurate and up to date.
• Strict change control limited approved changes to just over $100,000, despite identified issues.

By embedding quality, collaboration, and disciplined change control into the project lifecycle, the organization delivered a complex underground infrastructure project with high predictability and controlled risk.

Achieving excellence against the odds

This case study demonstrates how adopting structured project management practices can deliver substantial value, even in organizations with limited prior experience, particularly in the demanding environment of underground potash mining.

Across all three projects, clear scope definition, disciplined planning, proactive quality management, integrated teams, and rigorous change control proved essential to achieving cost savings, schedule certainty, and sustainable operational outcomes.

We respect our clients’ confidentiality agreements. While names have been altered or omitted, the results are real.