How to Create a Mining Company Org Chart
Draw a mining company's structure: the group, its countries or product groups, operating mines and projects, with minority interests on each box, then check the chart against a safety investigation.
A mining company org chart shows where the group's mines sit, which are operating and which are projects, and who holds a minority share, grouped by country or by product.
The short version
- Choose the level under the group by how the company reports: country, product group or business unit.
- Draw operating mines as the leaves and keep development projects apart from them.
- Write minority interests in the subtitle of each mine instead of adding a box for the holder.
- Keep exploration and corporate functions at group level, not under a mine.
- Check the chart against a site process so every step has a mine-level owner.
Mines are the leaves of the chart
Mining groups are described by their assets. Whether a chart reads as countries, commodities or business units depends on how the group reports itself, so the first decision is the level directly below the group: country, product group or business unit. Use the level the company's own reports use, or readers will look for totals that do not exist.
Endeavour Mining reports each operating mine as its own segment and works in four countries, so a country level above the mines helps readers. Rio Tinto reports by product group and Anglo American by commodity segment, so there the product group or segment sits under the group and the mines sit beneath it. In every case the mines are the leaves, and a project that is not yet producing is drawn apart from the operating mines.
The chart below is the editable Endeavour Mining chart: a listed parent, four countries, five operating gold mines, two development projects and an exploration function. A second chart, a safety incident investigation, shows why the structure matters: the steps happen at the mine, so each step needs a site role to belong to.
Build a mining group chart by country in four stages
Watch the Endeavour Mining chart grow from one country and its mines to the full group with its projects and exploration function.
Start with one country and its mines
Burkina Faso holds two operating gold mines, Houndé and Mana. Each is a separate reporting segment for Endeavour, so each gets its own box under the country, with its 15% minority interest written in the subtitle instead of a separate box for the holder.
Add the next country, its mines and its project
Côte d'Ivoire has two operating mines, Ity and Lafigué, and the Assafou development project. Assafou sits beside the mines with a project subtitle, so nobody reads it as a producing asset, and each mine again shows its own minority interest.
Add the remaining operating country
Senegal has one operating mine, Sabodala-Massawa, with a 10% minority interest. A country with a single mine still gets its own box, because the country is where the mining code, royalties and minority holdings differ.
Finish with the project country and the group function
Mali has the Kalana development project, and exploration sits as a group function. Neither is an operating mine, and neither sits under an operating country, which keeps the five producing mines easy to count at a glance.
Check the structure against a real process: a safety incident investigation
A serious incident is investigated at the mine where it happened. Here is a safety incident investigation built in three stages, so you can check that each step belongs to a role on the chart.
Write the steps and decisions
Start with the first part of the investigation as plain steps: stop work, care for the injured person, make the scene safe, classify the severity and decide whether the regulator must be told. Without owners it is only a sequence, and the org chart is what gives each step a place.
Give each step an owner at the mine
Give each step a lane that matches a role at the mine, such as the site supervisor or the HSE adviser. If a step belongs to a role that does not appear below the mine on the chart, the chart is missing a site role or the process has no owner.
Complete the process with its handoffs
The full investigation adds an independent lead, evidence, cause analysis, controls and verification. Check that site leadership exists for each mine on the chart, and that a high-severity incident has someone senior to hand over to.
How it works
Pick the level under the group
Look at how the company reports. If each mine is a segment, group them by country or region. If the company reports by commodity, use the product group, and put the mines beneath it.
Add the operating mines as leaves
Add one box for each operating mine or operation. One box is enough: pits, plants and shafts belong in site documents, not on the org chart.
Draw projects apart from mines
Add development projects beside the mines with a project subtitle. A project that is not producing must not read as part of the operating count.
Write minority interests in the subtitle
Put the share held by a government or partner in the mine's subtitle, such as a 15% minority interest. Add a separate box only when the holder is part of the story you are telling.
Keep exploration and corporate at group level
Exploration and corporate functions serve the whole group. Attach them to the group, not to a mine or country.
Date the chart and name the source
Mine portfolios change through sales, closures and new projects. Write the as-of date and the report the chart is drawn from next to it.
Check it against a site process
Open a process such as a safety incident investigation and give each step a lane that matches a role at the mine. Fix gaps in the chart or in the process.
Mistakes to avoid
Mixing countries and commodities at one level
Putting Burkina Faso beside Gold on the same row makes totals impossible. Choose one grouping level under the group and keep to it.
Showing a project as a mine
A development project produces nothing yet. Give it a project subtitle and keep it apart from the operating mines so the producing count stays honest.
Giving every minority holder a box
A government or partner share belongs in the subtitle of the asset. A box for the holder makes it look like a business the group manages.
Copying another miner's grouping
Rio Tinto groups by product and Endeavour by country. Use the level your own reports use.
Editable organizational charts
Create your mining company chart
Open the editable Endeavour Mining chart, replace the countries and mines with your own, and write your minority interests in the subtitles.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Should I group mines by country or by commodity?
Use whichever level the company reports. A single-commodity miner with mines in a few countries often groups by country. A diversified miner groups by product group, with the mines below it.
How do I show a joint venture mine?
Draw it with a dotted line to the partner that reports it and write the share on the box. The dual-listed company and joint venture guide shows the pattern in detail.
Do I need a box for each pit or plant?
No. One box for each mine or operation is enough for an org chart. Pits, plants and shafts belong in site documents.
Where do host governments go?
Write a government's minority interest in the subtitle of the mine. Add a box only if the government itself is part of what you are explaining.