Abstract:
Operations success and competitive advantage in the high-stakes mining trade depend
on teams with outstanding performance. Although high-performance teams offer great
value, their effectiveness over time may be difficult, especially with knowledge
management challenges. The study works towards exploring knowledge management
techniques that can support the mining industry’s high-performance teams in staying
financially sustainable.
This paper addresses certain aspects of knowledge management, including creativity,
retention, and information sharing, that promote adaptability and resilience in the area of
mining highly performing teams. Using a qualitative research approach, semi-structured
interviews helped to collect information about well-performing teams of Impala
Rustenburg Operations. Using the thematic analysis method, repeating themes and
patterns in the answers showed what particular obstacles these teams face and the
impact effective knowledge management makes in beating these obstacles.
The results reveal that safeguarding team performance in the face of high turnover and
irregular employment conditions, as well as technological advances change, requires the
use of organised knowledge handling techniques, such as the development of a sharing
information culture and effective expertise retention.
The research contributes to a small amount of material on knowledge management in
the mining industry and gives important suggestions for mining organisations seeking
techniques to sustain the high performance of teams and productivity over time.
This paper emphasises the advantages of establishing robust knowledge management
systems specifically for the mining sector, which provide an outlet allowing businesses
to not only preserve but significantly raise the value of top-performing teams. This study
also points to future research issues, especially on how current technologies like artificial
intelligence and data analytics may perhaps improve methods for managing knowledge
in the mining industry.
