LatestOPSundergroundStudi Kasus
21 Agustus 2026

South32 Cannington optimizes planning and execution with Deswik OPS.

South32’s Cannington team recognized an opportunity to enhance their planning and scheduling processes. With increasing complexity in mining sequences and a growing need for alignment across teams, they sought a solution that would enable greater transparency, improve collaboration, and support proactive decision-making.

Real-time visibility

Track progress as it happens.

Improved coordination

Connect planning and operations.

Better asset utilization

Maximize shift opportunities.

The Customer

Company: South32 

Location: Cannington Mine, Northwest Queensland, Australia 

Sector: Underground mining – Silver, lead, and zinc 

Operation: Cannington is one of the world’s largest producers of silver and lead. The underground mine uses long-hole open stoping across two mining zones and has recently introduced remnant and tertiary stoping, increasing operational complexity.

The Opportunity

South32’s Cannington team recognized an opportunity to enhance their planning and scheduling processes. With increasing complexity in mining sequences and a growing need for alignment across teams, they sought a solution that would enable greater transparency, improve collaboration, and support proactive decision-making. The goal was clear: growing their solid foundation into a more integrated, agile, and forward-looking planning environment.

The Solution

South32 implemented Deswik OPS in a phased rollout designed to support continuous improvement: 


  • Phase 1: OPS - Weekly planning 
  • Phase 2: OPS - Shift Execution and Data Capture 
  • Phase 3 (in progress): Operator App - Decision Support and Data Capture 

Deswik consultants worked closely with the Cannington team, embedding support throughout the rollout. The implementation included: 


  • Live scheduling and constraint visualization
  • Role-based workflows for short-term schedulers, daily schedulers, and short interval controllers 
  • Integration with South32’s Global Data Platform for reporting 
  • Custom views and layouts tailored to Cannington’s mining sequences

The Results

Improved Equipment Utilization 


  • Reduction in active fleet: from 14 to 10 trucks, 9 to 7 loaders, and 6 to 5 jumbos 
  • Maintained physical output with fewer resources 


Increased Productivity 


  • Stope turnover increased from 6–7 to 8–9 per month 
  • Engineers spend more time problem-solving, less time on admin 


Enhanced Planning and Execution Alignment 


  • Real-time visibility into constraints and priorities 
  • Supervisors spend more time underground, less time managing spreadsheets 
  • Shift sheets are now 70–80% complete before handover 


Positive Cultural Shift 


  • Improved collaboration between engineering and operations 
  • Greater buy-in from supervisors and planners 
  • Continuous improvement mindset supported by Deswik OPS

“What’s really encouraging is that in different levels in Cannington, we see OPS being used by the supervisors on a daily basis.”

Frikkie Sadie, Senior Operation Engineer.