Abstract
Lean Manufacturing is a way of thinking and conducting operations in a way that focuses on
value addition and waste elimination in the corresponding processes of a given operation. It
was originally developed in the automobile manufacturing sector and has widely spread to
other non – manufacturing sectors such as banking, aviation, and healthcare sectors. This is
because of its implementation results in tangible advantages that increase organisational
effectiveness in terms of metrics like quality, performance, profitability, and several others.
However, adoptions of lean practices in the mining sector have been minimal, particularly in
Africa, as evidenced by limited reports on the subject matter in literature. As such, the aim of
this research study was to develop a lean implementation framework for mining organisations,
making use of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine as a case study.
Systematic review of literature was used to identify steps that have been used to implement
lean practices. Qualitative methodologies that include conceptual framework analysis,
inductive coding and inductive reasoning were utilised to generate a conceptual lean
implementation framework. Using the Delphi Technique, the conceptual framework was
subjected to scrutiny for adequacy by a panel of lean experts, resulting in a consensus – based
framework which was then submitted to a group of purposively selected Freda Rebecca Gold
Mine employees for further scrutiny of adequacy and ease of implementation in the context of
the organisation. Further to this, semi – structured interviews were held with the same group
of employees to establish their understanding of lean practices, lean tools application and
factors that influence the success of lean practices within Freda Rebecca Gold Mine.
The outcomes of this research were the lean implementation framework under the operating
environment of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, establishment of the factors that influence the
implementation of lean practices and initiatives and the possibility of extending the life of mine
after successful implementation of the lean practices. The study aids to the minimal published
literature on lean implementation in the mining industry, particularly in Africa. It also serves
as a way of demonstrating the possibility of implementing lean in mining industry because, as
established in this research work, some mining professionals do not know much about lean and
its potential to transform mining business operations.