How to Achieve Operational Excellence in Mining and Successful Employee Engagement – With Mike Cox

In the mining industry and metallurgy, performance is often measured in tons, metric precision, and downtime percentages. But behind every successful operation is something even more critical, the people. And at the core of operational excellence lies employee engagement and integrated leadership. When mineral resources and human systems are properly aligned, businesses don't just run, they lead.

In this episode of The Best Business Podcast, Daryl Urbanski talks with Mike Cox, the Chief Operating Officer of West Wind Elements Inc. and a non-executive director at Canada Nickel Company. With over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, Mike Cox shares insights on operational transformation, acquiring world-class performance status, and how environmental responsibility weaves into mineral independence. From managing international mining companies in Japan, China, and the UK to adopting lean strategies that became a benchmark for innovation, Mike Cox' journey is one you can surely learn from.

Gain access to practical frameworks to improve operations, boost team performance, and navigate the delicate intersection of technology, leadership, and resource scarcity. Whether you're in industrial operations, interested in renewable technologies, or one of mining leaders looking for inspiration, this episode is a roadmap for your success in the mining industry.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

• Gain insight into the connection between operational excellence and employee engagement from a seasoned global industrial leader.
• Understand how mineral independence plays a crucial role in the future of electric vehicles and the global technology infrastructure.
• Learn scalable leadership strategies inspired by Japanese lean practices, applied in some of the world’s most complex industrial ecosystems.

Resources

• Westwin Elements Inc: Website
• Canada Nickel Company: Website  
• Mike Cox: LinkedIn
• “Leading with Respect: A Novel of Lean Practice” by Michael Ballé: Book
• "The Goal" by Eliyahu Goldratt: Book
• Best Business Podcast with Daryl Urbanski - Where you can find more insightful interviews like this one.

Episode Highlights

The Global Operating Playbook of Excellence

• Daryl opens the episode by welcoming Mike Cox, Chief Operating Officer of Westwin Elements Inc., noting his prestigious 30+ year career in the mining sector spanning multiple continents.
• Mike has worked his way up from the floor of a Welsh nickel refinery to executive boardrooms in Asia and North America, making him a rare voice who speaks both corporate and mining operations language fluently.
• The conversation focuses on three essential themes: the power of employee engagement, the often-overlooked connection between mineral processing and tech innovation, and how operational excellence impacts productivity, sustainability, and long term success.
• This episode's depth comes not just from knowledge, but from Mike's lived experience across global industrial battlegrounds—where data-driven decisions and resilient systems make the difference

Roots in Welsh Soil, Wings in the East

• Growing up in the historically rich mining region of South Wales, Mike’s career began at a local nickel refinery, eventually acquired by global behemoth Vale—one of the world's largest mining companies.
• His early years involved customer service tasks, primarily with Japanese companies like Panasonic and Sanyo, where he first encountered the power of lean manufacturing and team ownership.
• These experiences shaped how Mike would later lead mining industry employees—focusing on engaging employees and elevating the work environment through mentorship programs, clear metrics, and a shared mission.
• Exposure to world-class Japanese factories shifted Mike’s worldview: true excellence demanded employee engagement, not just capital investments. Where leaders foster a work environment that equally support employees.

From the UK to Asia: Building Global Perspective

• Mike’s career took off with international opportunities, particularly a pivotal corporate role in Toronto and later a senior leadership position managing INCO’s joint ventures across China and Southeast Asia.
• With industrial growth surging in Asia, Mike had a front-row seat to the complexities of aligning multinational stakeholders amidst rapid urbanization—sometimes building towns that never got populated.
• Leadership in China came with both cultural learning curves and strategic insight into global mineral demand, refinery logistics, and sustainable methods.
• From his Shanghai base, Mike developed not just operations, but vision—mining leaders must adapt, provide access to research and data-driven insights, and support local employees, even in remote locations. One of his long-standing goals was to improve career development opportunities even outside the main office hubs.

Turning a Refinery into Career Development and Benchmark of Excellence

• Returning to the UK, Mike took the reins of the same refinery where he began his career. This time, he had a mission: make it world-class or risk closure.
• Facing the threat of corporate downsizing in a cyclical industry, Mike aligned his team around a transformative mission: optimize without relying on capital.
• Visualizing a future-driven refinery, Mike and his team wielded nothing more than determination, refinement of processes, and employee engagement to rise up the Shingo model standards.
• Their dedication earned a Shingo Silver Medallion, affirming that strong workplace practices, regular check-ins, and high employee well-being can result in productivity—even in cyclical industries.

Why Bottlenecks Matter in the Mining Sector

• An essential part of the transformation involved identifying the plant’s true bottleneck—a concept businessman and author Eliyahu Goldratt describes in his book "The Goal."
• By focusing on this constraint, the team minimized safety incidents, support workers, maximized output, consider factors such as health and safety, and encouraged job satisfaction.
• Reinforcing safety protocols and ensuring all teams were trained to follow safety protocols became a non-negotiable. Health and well-being became top priorities.
• Operational tools like OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) were used not as end goals, they were part of a broader strategy to engage employees and foster relationships that drive measurable progress.
• Mike’s narrative makes it clear: technological complexity means nothing without proper employee engagement.

From Lean Tools to Shifting Culture of Mining Companies

• Mike reflects on how most organizations wrongly apply tools like Kanban and 5S without understanding the why behind them.
• Leadership must go beyond using principles and ensure every worker understands their role in the bigger picture. From managers to floor staff, alignment came through specific feedback, walkabouts, and shared accountability.
• Continuous improvement efforts were no longer scattershot. Every project aligned with a bottleneck, a business metric, and a behavioral shift.
• Transformation happens when mining industry employee engagement wasn’t just a policy—it became the culture. Employees felt encouraged, heard, and involved in decisions.

Reimagining Mining Industry for a Greener Tech Future

• Mike discusses his current work with Canada Nickel and West Wind Elements—two massive initiatives aimed at building sustainable, domestically situated nickel processing in North America.
• The conventional view of mining is under intense public scrutiny.
• With growing EV markets and rising geopolitical tensions, mineral independence has shifted from an economic concern to a national security imperative.
• Groundbreaking processes like carbon-absorbing tailings from Canada Nickel’s Timmins project hint at a future where mining plays a positive impact in the climate.
• Mike emphasizes that operational strategy must account for environmental, social, and revenue-impact metrics in equal measure.