Abstract
The extraction of minerals serves some fundamental purposes by supplying power generation inputs and manufacturing tools which benefit everyday life. The mining industry faces growing pressure from quick industrial development and rising population numbers to boost production levels. The sector needs to implement effective maintenance management programs and strategies to achieve equipment reliability and availability to fulfil this demand. This study examined effective maintenance strategies' influence on equipment reliability and availability at Rustenburg Underground Mine (RUM) in South Africa. The analysis of performance between two production sections (122 and 129) used Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), and availability metrics. Drill rigs operating in Section 122 reached a 94.6% reliability rate, and Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) machines reached 88.4% during nine months of operations. Higher MTBF values (56.47–70.33 hours) combined with balanced redundancy led to superior drill rig and LHD machine reliability. Section 129 experienced lower reliability because its drill rigs achieved 83.7% and LHDs reached 86.1% while dealing with regular equipment failures and prolonged maintenance periods. Availability levels in Section 122 reached 57% compared to Section 129 which operated at 52%, thus revealing the importance of efficient maintenance practices. SAP Planned Maintenance (PM) data served as the foundation for evaluating current maintenance approaches. The organization relied on reactive maintenance through PM02, but they had opportunities to strengthen their preventive (PM01) and predictive (CBM) maintenance approaches. The RCM analysis pinpointed vital failure modes that occurred in hydraulic systems, together with engines and booms. The RCA tools, Fishbone Diagrams, solved recurring issues while Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles focused on operator involvement and continuous improvement. Optimizing spare parts inventory management was the first recommended step, followed by efforts to reduce MTTR through efficient repair procedures and OEM collaboration for design enhancements and the implementation of diagnostic techniques such as oil condition monitoring and vibration analysis, and non-destructive testing (NDT). Equipment performance can be substantially improved through proactive maintenance approaches, which require data-driven decision-making to achieve lower operational costs and reduced downtime. This research delivered practical recommendations for RUM to meet the 70% industry standard availability target while securing ongoing operational stability.