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Energy & Utilities ERP

ERP Software for Mining

Mining companies operate in some of the most demanding environments in the world — from deep underground hard rock mines to remote open-pit operations — with ERP requirements spanning ore production accounting, mine fleet maintenance, stockpile and grade management, long-range mine planning integration, and complex environmental and permitting compliance. The right ERP platform connects the mine plan to financial performance with the real-time visibility needed to manage costs, safety, and regulatory obligations across every stage of the mining value chain.

Compare ERP Systems for Mining

Select up to 4 ERP vendors to compare side by side. Filtered to show systems with strong mining capabilities.

Key Challenges for Mining

1

Managing mine production accounting including ore tonnes, grades, recoveries, and metal content from mine to mill to market

2

Maintaining high-cost, remote mining fleets — haul trucks, excavators, drills, and underground equipment — with complex planned maintenance programs

3

Tracking ore stockpile inventories, blending requirements, and grade reconciliation from mine face to processing plant

4

Complying with environmental permits, tailings management requirements, and mine closure obligations with long-term financial provisioning

5

Managing remote and fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workforce logistics, camp management, and contractor coordination

6

Coordinating procurement of long-lead consumables — grinding media, reagents, explosives — across remote supply chains

7

Integrating mine planning software (e.g., Datamine, Vulcan, MineSight) with ERP financial and operational data

Best Mining ERP for SMBs

Recommended for companies with $10M–$250M revenue and 10–200 employees.

IFS Cloud

mid-range

IFS Cloud's deep enterprise asset management, maintenance, and project management capabilities serve mid-size mining companies managing complex mobile equipment fleets and processing plant infrastructure.

Best for: Mid-size mining companies with significant equipment fleets

Infor ERP

mid-range

Infor's industrial ERP capabilities in maintenance, procurement, and financials support mid-market mining and quarrying operations with complex MRO inventory and asset management needs.

Best for: Mid-size mining and quarrying operations

Sage X3

mid-range

Sage X3 provides accessible financials, inventory management, and procurement for smaller mining and quarrying companies that need more capability than basic accounting but are not ready for enterprise ERP.

Best for: Small to mid-size quarrying and extraction companies

NetSuite

mid-range

NetSuite's cloud financials provide flexible multi-entity management, project accounting, and inventory management for junior mining companies and mineral exploration companies.

Best for: Junior miners and mineral exploration companies

Bravura

mid-range

Bravura offers energy and resources sector ERP covering asset management, financials, and operational reporting relevant to mining and resources extraction companies.

Best for: Mid-size resource extraction companies

AVEVA ERP

mid-range

AVEVA's integrated operations and ERP capabilities are relevant for mining companies seeking tighter integration between process control systems, production accounting, and enterprise financials in processing plant environments.

Best for: Mining companies with complex mineral processing plants using AVEVA technology

Best Mining ERP for Enterprise

Recommended for companies with $250M+ revenue and complex multi-site operations.

SAP S/4HANA

enterprise

SAP S/4HANA is the dominant enterprise ERP for major mining companies, supporting mine-to-market production accounting, mobile fleet maintenance, mine closure provision management, and complex multi-commodity, multi-jurisdiction financial consolidation.

Best for: Large diversified mining companies and major producers

Oracle ERP Cloud

enterprise

Oracle ERP Cloud delivers strong project accounting, supply chain management, and financial consolidation for large mining companies with complex capital project portfolios and multi-country operations.

Best for: Large mining companies with major capital programs

IFS Cloud

enterprise

IFS Cloud's enterprise asset management and maintenance capabilities rival SAP and Oracle for mining companies that prioritize equipment uptime and operational efficiency over financial reporting complexity.

Best for: Large mining operators prioritizing equipment fleet management

Infor CloudSuite Industrial

enterprise

Infor's enterprise capabilities in maintenance, procurement, and manufacturing support large mining processing plant operations with complex production workflows and materials management requirements.

Best for: Large mining companies with complex processing plant operations

Essential ERP Capabilities for Mining

Mine production accounting with ore tonnes, grades, recoveries, and metal content tracking from mine to mill

Mobile equipment fleet maintenance management for haul trucks, excavators, drills, and underground vehicles

Stockpile inventory management with ore blending, grade tracking, and reconciliation to mine plan

MRO inventory management for grinding media, reagents, explosives, and long-lead consumables at remote sites

Mine closure provision management with actuarial cost estimation and long-term financial liability tracking

Environmental compliance management for water permits, tailings management, and land rehabilitation obligations

Capital project management for mine development, shaft sinking, and processing plant expansions

Workforce and camp management for fly-in fly-out (FIFO) operations and contractor coordination

Integration with mine planning systems (e.g., Datamine, Vulcan) for production data reconciliation

Multi-commodity, multi-currency financial consolidation for diversified mining portfolios across multiple jurisdictions

Mining ERP Cost Ranges

SMB

$40,000–$220,000

10–50 users

Implementation: $80,000–$350,000

Mid-Market

$180,000–$900,000

50–250 users

Implementation: $350,000–$2,000,000

Enterprise

$700,000–$8,000,000+

250+ users

Implementation: $2,000,000–$25,000,000+

Implementation Considerations

1

Remote site connectivity is a persistent challenge for mining ERP implementations — systems must function reliably with intermittent or low-bandwidth satellite connections, and mobile or offline capability is essential for pit and underground operations.

2

Integration with mine planning software (Datamine, Vulcan, Surpac) and fleet management systems (Modular Mining, Wenco) is critical for connecting operational production data with ERP financials and cost systems.

3

Mine closure provisioning requires long-term financial liability modeling that must be configured with actuarial assumptions and discount rates aligned with IFRS 37 or local GAAP requirements — a specialized accounting requirement that many ERP partners lack experience with.

4

Consumable and spare parts procurement for remote mine sites involves long lead times, specialized suppliers, and critical spares management that demands sophisticated inventory optimization configuration beyond standard ERP defaults.

5

Multi-jurisdiction mining operations face highly complex tax structures including resource royalties, windfall profit taxes, and local content requirements that require country-specific tax engine configuration and ongoing monitoring as fiscal regimes change.

Frequently Asked Questions

What ERP capabilities are most important for mining companies?

The highest-priority capabilities for mining companies are mine production accounting (ore tonnes, grade, recovery), mobile equipment fleet maintenance, MRO inventory management for consumables at remote sites, mine closure provision accounting, environmental compliance tracking, capital project management for mine development, and integration with mine planning and fleet management systems. The relative priority varies by mine type and company stage.

How does ERP handle mine production accounting?

Mine production accounting captures ore movements from blast and dig operations through crushing, grinding, and processing to final product (concentrate, dore, or refined metal). ERP systems track tonnages and grades at each stage, calculate recoveries and losses, reconcile actual production against mine plan, value in-process and product inventories, and generate production reports for management and regulatory disclosure. Integration with mine operations systems and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) is typically required.

How do mining companies manage equipment maintenance in ERP?

Mining companies use ERP plant maintenance or enterprise asset management modules to manage equipment master records, maintenance plans, work orders, and spare parts consumption for their mobile and fixed plant fleets. Critical processes include condition-based maintenance triggers from fleet management systems (e.g., Modular Mining's DISPATCH, Wenco), rebuild project management for major component exchanges, and life-of-component tracking for haul truck tires, GET, and powertrain components.

What is mine closure provisioning and how does ERP support it?

Mine closure provisioning is the process of estimating and financially accruing the long-term costs of rehabilitating a mine site after operations cease — including tailings facility closure, water treatment, land rehabilitation, and demolition. Under IFRS 37 (IAS 37) and most national GAAP standards, mining companies must recognize these obligations as provisions on the balance sheet. ERP systems support this by maintaining closure cost estimates, applying discount rates to calculate present values, and recording annual unwinding of discount as finance charges.

Which ERP systems are most commonly used by major mining companies?

SAP S/4HANA is the most widely deployed enterprise ERP among major mining companies globally, with large implementations at BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, and many others. Oracle ERP Cloud is also used by large mining companies. IFS Cloud is gaining ground among mid-size and large operators prioritizing asset management. For junior miners and exploration companies, NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are common choices.

How do mining ERP systems handle remote site connectivity challenges?

Remote mine sites often rely on satellite connections with limited bandwidth and occasional outages. Mining ERP implementations address this through local caching and offline transaction capabilities, edge computing nodes at remote sites for local data processing, VSAT satellite infrastructure with quality-of-service prioritization for ERP traffic, and mobile applications that queue transactions for synchronization when connectivity is restored. Cloud ERP implementations must carefully assess latency and throughput requirements at each remote site.

How should mining companies approach integration between ERP and mine planning software?

Mine planning software (Datamine, Vulcan, Surpac) generates production schedules and resource models that drive ERP procurement, maintenance, and financial planning. Integration is typically achieved through scheduled file-based or API-based data transfers that import planned production volumes into ERP for budget creation, compare actual production against plan, and feed ore reserve changes into financial impairment assessments. Custom integration middleware is commonly required as standard connectors are rare.

What are the biggest risks in a mining ERP implementation?

The most significant risks are: remote site connectivity failures disrupting go-live operations; integration gaps between ERP and mine operations systems (fleet management, LIMS, mine planning) leading to manual workarounds; incorrect configuration of mine closure provisioning and resource royalty tax calculations; and insufficient mobile and offline capability for underground or open-pit operations with poor connectivity. Selecting an implementation partner with prior mining ERP experience at comparable operations is the most effective risk mitigation.

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