Mobile Corrosion Assessment and Reliability Integration in Underground Gold Mining

Abstract Corrosion causes a persistent and costly threat to underground mining operations, particularly for mobile equipment exposed to aggressive environmental and operational conditions. To proactively manage this challenge, a structured Mobile Corrosion Assessment was implemented at an underground gold mining operation, integrating reliability data from the CMMS system, on-field inspections, and corrosion mechanism identification. The methodology combines a reliability-centered approach using Jack Knife Diagram (JKD) Logarithmic tools with visual and functional inspections across critical mobile assets. Findings were categorized by failure mode, and then evaluated in terms of chronic, acute, and chronic acute. Mechanism analysis included corrosion-fatigue, stress corrosion cracking (SCC), galvanic corrosion, and wear-corrosion interactions. The assessment revealed recurrent failure clusters affecting operational availability, often driven by design weaknesses, and maintenance inefficiencies. Field data highlighted high-risk components which directly contribute to unplanned downtime and increased maintenance costs. Based on these insights, a Corrosion Management Roadmap was developed, aligning reliability goals with Corrosion approach which emphasizes the importance of embedding corrosion engineering within asset reliability strategies to ensure sustainable productivity and safety in mining environments. The methodology offers a scalable framework for other operations aiming to transition from reactive to predictive corrosion control using cross-functional data and stakeholder alignment.