Case Study: Holcim boosts limestone resources and cuts costs with Seequent Leapfrog Geo

How increasing geological understanding led to a dramatic increase in LafargeHolcim’s limestone resource, lower operational costs and increased sustainability

Holcim, through its LafargeHolcim operations in Colombia, faced a critical raw material shortage at its Nobsa Cement plant and risked shutting down production. The Nobsa Quarry’s geology was highly complex, making it difficult to model material quality, plan mining reliably, and fully use the deposit. Seequent’s Leapfrog Geo was introduced to improve geological understanding and support better mine planning.

Seequent used Leapfrog Geo, later extended with Leapfrog Edge, to rapidly reinterpret the deposit, update models dynamically, and better estimate resource quality and variability. This enabled Holcim to blend low-grade and high-grade limestone more effectively, reduce strip ratio from 7:1 to 1.5:1, increase the resource base from 2 years to 35 years, cut operating costs by USD 2.5 million per year, and save an additional USD 665,000 in 2015 by using material that had previously been wasted.

Holcim

Rodolfo Vargas Pedroza

Lead Geologist