How Lhoist uses DirtMate to boost operational efficiency by 22%

The problem: Untracked idle time and production bottlenecks

Changes in the mineral deposit structure made mining operations at Amargosa increasingly complex. On paper, they had the necessary resources to move the material efficiently—but in reality, they were barely getting by.

Martin’s shortlist of challenges included:

• Untracked idle time: Without real-time data, Lhoist couldn’t measure how effectively their scrapers were moving material.
• Manual workflows: Operators manually recorded load counts, creating discrepancies in volume tracking and inconsistent cost estimates.
• Unclear utilization: Lhoist lacked an autonomous process to track mining progress or clock how efficiently their scrapers were operating.
• Engineering backlog: Offsite engineers spent lots of time manually processing requests for progress updates, stockpile data, and production scheduling, which slowed onsite decision-making.

Before DirtMate, we had a basic spreadsheet where we took load counts and assumed a fixed volume. We could never get these values to reconcile and didn’t have our true cost structure as developed as we do for other areas of our operation. In retrospect, it was a very haphazard way to run the mine compared to how we operate today.” —Martin Dillon, Senior Business & Operations Manager

The solution: Real-time productivity data

Martin learned about DirtMate by chance after sitting next to another Propeller customer on a flight. After a bit of research, making the business case to Lhoist’s leadership was an easy feat. They quickly deployed DirtMate across their scrapers and dozer.

Now the team doesn’t just have the data they need to adapt as a site’s geology changes—they’re operating more efficiently than ever. Real-time machine utilization lets them track every load, haul cycle, and idle minute so they can train quarry leadership and equipment operators to work smarter.

DirtMate’s universal compatibility has given Lhoist the OEM-agnostic solution they needed across their mixed fleet of equipment, some of which can’t be retrofitted with newer systems.

We saw ROI on our productivity in less than a month. It was approximately four weeks on idle fuel savings alone.” —Martin Dillon, Senior Business & Operations Manager

Lhoist’s favorite features and workflows

• Real-time equipment location: Lhoist can monitor the real-time location of any machine on-site, making sure operators and productivity are where they need to be. 
• Machine productivity: With real-time telematics, Lhoist can track machine runtime, idle time, and utilization. Out-of-the-box reporting makes it easy to spot trends, which they use to train new operators, reduce idle time, make haul routes more efficient, and maximize equipment lifespan.
• Daily production volumes: Instead of waiting weeks for engineers to measure progress, Lhoist gets daily production volumes to better track site activity and understand exactly how much material remains in each pit.
• 24/7 support: “Propeller’s Customer Success team has been incredibly valuable in training and empowering our onsite team to use a new cloud-based platform,” Martin said.

With DirtMate, we can actually schedule and have a high degree of certainty regarding how much we’ve extracted and how much volume is left to go from our imported isopatch models.” —Martin Dillon, Senior Business & Operations Manager

The results: 22% more operational time in the same number of labor hours

Since adopting DirtMate, Lhoist has gained unprecedented visibility into their quarry operations, helping them make significant changes. Cutting idle time has effectively increased operational time by 22%, and fuel savings alone paid for their annual DirtMate subscription in less than four weeks. 

With a lighter offsite engineering workload, improved maintenance costs, and more efficient extraction, DirtMate has completely changed the way their Amargosa Valley quarry operates. 

Another site challenge was mysterious ore grade degradation in their stockpiles. Propeller, powered by Dirtmate and drone data, helped Martin pinpoint the issue: operators were accidentally digging into bedding material, contaminating the clay. 

By closely and confidently tracking material movement, Lhoist reduced stockpile conversion loss from 15% to under 3%, preserving valuable graded ore.

Before DirtMate, this was absolutely maddening to the site and management teams. Ore was downgrading for no apparent reason. Getting back that 10-12%+ of ore that’s not being wasted is huge.’” —Martin Dillon, Senior Business & Operations Manager