Maximising shareholder value is a widely stated strategic goal of many mining companies. Mining projects can be capital intensive and achieving good returns is essential to encourage future investment in the industry. Despite the widely accepted importance of shareholder value, the minerals industry is often accused of providing relatively poor returns when compared to other industries. There are many recent and well publicised examples of minerals companies that have failed to deliver value to their shareholders._x000D_
There are numerous business improvement initiatives employed within the mining industry to assist mine operators improve performance. Some are more effective at creating value than others. Benchmarking is one technique that is commonly used to identify performance gaps and target and prioritise opportunities for improvement. However to be effective, Benchmarking must be used appropriately and result in actions that lead to measurable operational improvement._x000D_
When conducting a Benchmarking project it is important to remember that the aim should be to improve value. For this to be achieved, the strategic goals must be incorporated into the process._x000D_
This paper details a structured and comprehensive approach to conducting a successful Benchmarking project. Focusing on Benchmarking as a technique for measuring and improving operational performance in underground mines, the underlying drivers of best practice in underground mining are identified._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Hall, A J and Harper, P J, 2005. Benchmarking - a practical technique for measuring and improving operational performance, in Proceedings Ninth Underground Operators' Conference 2005, pp 93-102 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).