From mining operations to cost and investment decisions
Experience at Drummond and Minera El Roble connecting productivity, budgeting and financial analysis with real operating conditions.
Supervision of costs, budgets and indicators for operational monitoring.
Experience preparing budgets and evaluating investments at Minera El Roble.
Connecting operational efficiency, production variances and cost behavior.
Experience connecting fragmentation, haulage and production with economic decisions.
Fernán Esteban Feria Fortich is a Mining and Metallurgical Engineer from Universidad Nacional de Colombia with an MBA from Universidad EAFIT. His career connects mining operations with cost management, budgeting and performance indicators for decision-making. His experience includes operational financial control, technical consulting, applied research and project evaluation.
Since May 2023 he has been Cost and Budget Supervisor at Drummond in La Loma, Cesar. He monitors maintenance and repair costs, contributes to annual budget preparation and controls execution, preparing accounting cost reports and indicators for operational cost-performance analysis.
From October 2017 to May 2023 he was Cost and Budget Coordinator at Minera El Roble. He prepared annual OPEX and CAPEX budgets, monthly management reports, medium-term plans and weekly cost forecasts. He also supported investment evaluation, budget control and productivity indicators, linking operating variances to financial effects.
At iGNEA Parque Tecnológico he worked in mining research and consulting. He coordinated activities on blasting fragmentation and its effects on haulage and comminution, contributed production-control analysis to a Universidad Nacional–ANM project on oversight of strategic mining projects, and supported energy-project formulation for non-interconnected areas.
His technical background includes drilling and blasting research supervision with Davey Bickford at Cerrejón and documentary and field assessment of mining titles through Politécnico Jaime Isaza Cadavid. This background connects cost interpretation with the physical processes and conditions of an operation.
His MBA work proposed combining zero-based and activity-based budgeting, linking production indicators with finances and cash flow. Additional education covers strategic mining management, negotiation, geotechnical risk and cutoff-grade optimization. His profile brings together engineering, productivity and business management.
His industry experience and perspective on applied learning.
May 2023 – present
Monitors maintenance and repair costs, participates in annual budgeting and controls budget execution. Prepares accounting cost reports and indicators for cost-performance analysis.
October 2017 – May 2023
Prepared annual OPEX and CAPEX budgets, monthly reports for management, medium-term budget analysis and weekly cost forecasts. Supported investment evaluation, execution control and productivity indicators. Integrated operating variances with cost analysis, efficiency strategies and reductions in contractor standby payments.
May – July 2017
Conducted field inspections and reviewed mining-title files and PTO/PTI technical plans. Supported review of environmental impact studies, management plans and permits, and mining-activity monitoring.
August 2015 – November 2016
Coordinated research on blasting fragmentation and its effects on haulage and comminution. Contributed production-control analysis to a Universidad Nacional–ANM consulting project on oversight of strategic mining projects and supported energy-project formulation for non-interconnected areas with IPSE.
September – December 2014
Supervised research on drilling, blasting, fragmentation and productivity. The project examined drilling patterns and electronic-detonator sequencing to improve waste loading and haulage, identifying opportunities in fragmentation and borehole accuracy.
July 2012 – May 2013 / February – August 2014
Researched geotechnical and geomechanical models for mechanical excavation and blasting optimization. Conducted technology monitoring in rock mechanics and supported mining-formalization advice in Bajo Cauca.
A cost perspective incorporating operating, maintenance and investment decisions.
Minera El Roble · 2017–2023OPEX and CAPEX preparation, weekly forecasts, investment analysis and budget control. Integration of efficiency indicators and productivity variances into cost analysis.
Drummond · Since 2023Maintenance and repair cost monitoring, annual budgeting, accounting reports and execution-control indicators.
Learning connectionExamine how an operating variance can become a cost variance and how that information can inform decisions.
Operating, maintenance and repair cost monitoring.
Preparation, control and execution analysis.
Technical, economic and budget analysis for projects.
Indicators and variance analysis linked to costs.
Research on fragmentation and downstream processes.
Project evaluation, production control and technical oversight.
Universidad EAFIT · 2021–2023
Universidad Nacional de Colombia · 2014
Gérens Escuela de Posgrado · 2021 · 196 hours
Additional education in management and international negotiation, geotechnical risk, cutoff-grade optimization and advanced Excel.
MBA work · Universidad EAFIT
A proposal connecting production indicators with finances and cash flow in budget preparation.
iGNEA Parque Tecnológico
Research and consulting on blasting effects and production-control methods.
Davey Bickford · Cerrejón
Supervision of a project on drilling patterns, detonation sequencing and fragmentation.
Cost analysis becomes more meaningful when the processes, resources and indicators behind it are understood.
A perspective developed across mining engineering, budgeting and business management.
How does a productivity variance relate to operating costs?
Which operating assumptions should support an OPEX or CAPEX budget?
How can additional investment be compared with operational needs and constraints?
What information does management need to interpret a budget variance?
How does fragmentation affect downstream loading, haulage and comminution?
His experience relates closely to the themes of the program below.
Back to FacultyExtractive industries management through an applied perspective on operations, costs, investment and sustainability.
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