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Five Truths. One Purpose: What Best-Practice Mine Reconciliation Really Looks Like

November 20, 2025

Guest article by Rayleen Hargreaves – Product Owner, Reconcilor | Vela Industries Group

Mine reconciliation is more than an end-of-month exercise. It is the compass that tells you whether your mining operation is performing as expected. When reconciliation is done well, it becomes the foundation of predictability, confidence, and continuous improvement across the entire mining value chain.

After years of working across underground, open pit, and processing environments, one pattern stands out. High-performing mining operations share a common mindset. They treat reconciliation as a learning system rather than a reporting requirement.

Below are the 5 Truths that underpin best-practice mine reconciliation.

1. Reconciliation is not a report. It is a reality check.

A reconciliation report is only useful when it reflects what actually happened. The goal is not simply to generate a table of numbers. It is to compare expected outcomes with real operational behaviour and understand the story behind any variance.

Good reconciliation challenges assumptions and tests whether the mine plan aligns with how the orebody and the processing plant are performing in the real world.

2. The numbers are not the goal. The insight is.

Variance on its own does not improve performance. Insight does.

The real value of mine reconciliation comes from understanding why something did not go to plan. When reconciliation highlights patterns such as dilution trends, recovery inconsistencies, or shifts in grade distribution, teams can refine models and make better decisions.

Numbers inform. Insights transform.

3. Conformance is not compliance. It is learning.

Mine reconciliation should never be about judging variance or assigning blame. It is about learning from operational behaviour and feeding that learning back into planning.

This shift in mindset is powerful. When teams see reconciliation as a tool for growth, the conversation changes. Variances become opportunities for improvement rather than indicators of failure.

4. Reconciliation connects teams, not just data.

Effective reconciliation does not sit within a single department. It creates alignment between geology, mining, planning, processing, and leadership.

When everyone shares the same understanding of what actually occurred, operations become more cohesive. Decisions improve. Communication becomes clearer. Accountability is shared.

Reconciliation is not just a technical process. It is a cultural one.

5. Predictability is the ultimate outcome.

At its core, mine reconciliation is about building confidence.
Confidence in the orebody.
Confidence in the plan.
Confidence in the results.

When reconciliation feeds the PLAN → DO → CHECK → ACT cycle, each new plan becomes more accurate than the last. Variance reduces. Surprises decline. Forecasts become more reliable. Operations move from delivering results to delivering predictable, repeatable, and defendable results.

The truth behind the Five Truths

Successful reconciliation does not happen because a team works harder. It happens because a team commits to learning.

Great reconciliation is deliberate. It is disciplined. And it is the foundation of confident mining.

If you are interested in how technology can support best-practice reconciliation, you are welcome to contact the blog author, Rayleen Hargreaves, to explore how Reconcilor can help streamline data handling, improve transparency, and strengthen your reconciliation workflow. Rayleen is always happy to discuss practical applications and answer any questions you may have.
📧 Contact: Rayleen.Hargreaves@dataminesoftware.com
🔗 www.dataminesoftware.com

If you would like to strengthen reconciliation capability within your team, we offer a practical 1-day Mastering Mine Reconciliation: Getting From Estimated to Actual training course. You can find the details here: https://snowdenoptiro.com/events/mastering-mine-reconciliation/, or contact us at training@snowdenoptiro.com for more information.

Snowden Optiro is a resources consulting and advisory group that provides independent advice, consulting and training to mining and exploration companies, their advisors and investors.

We help mine developers to advance their projects, mining companies to improve their operations and their professionals, and investors to de-risk their investments by the provision of quality advice, training and software in the field of Mineral Resources and Mineral/Ore Reserves.

contact@snowdenoptiro.com