https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ Notes on getting mining paperwork off paper, written by a mining engineer. Every number cited to the page it came from. en Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/powder-factor-calculation.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/powder-factor-calculation.html Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Powder factor is explosive mass divided by rock volume. Work a 6.5 in bench blast to 0.91 lb/yd³, then check it against SME ranges and development rounds. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/cost-plus-contract.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/cost-plus-contract.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 A cost plus contract pays your costs plus a fee, but only costs you can document. Here are the records, the math and the gaps that delay payment. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/back-charges-in-construction.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/back-charges-in-construction.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 A back charge in construction can erase a month of margin. Daily reports are your best defense - here is exactly how to document, dispute, and settle fast. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/digital-timesheet-field-crews.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/digital-timesheet-field-crews.html Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 A shift entry gets written four times before it hits an invoice. The timesheet has to reconcile three other records. Here is what breaks when it does not. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/excel-to-invoice-contractors.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/excel-to-invoice-contractors.html Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 How to turn your running Excel cost sheet into a construction invoice without retyping the numbers - and attach the backup in the same step. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/construction-daily-report-template.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/construction-daily-report-template.html Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 A copyable construction daily report template covering crew hours, equipment hours, quantities, and delays, with a direct mapping to each invoice line. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/job-costing-software-construction.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/job-costing-software-construction.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Heavy civil contractors lose margin when field data lacks cost codes, standby splits, and wear item tracking. Here is what your job costing software needs from shift. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/double-data-entry-contractors.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/double-data-entry-contractors.html Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 How many times does a field number get retyped before the invoice? For a 3-rig operation: 1,296 times a week. Where errors enter and what they cost. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/job-cost-report-contractors.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/job-cost-report-contractors.html Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 How to calculate cost variance from daily field reports each week, what a mining contractor's job cost report must show, and how to act before month-end. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/cost-codes-construction.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/cost-codes-construction.html Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 The crew writes what they did. The office assigns the cost code. A clean code list is what turns those daily reports into a unit cost you can manage. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/construction-job-costing-contractors.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/construction-job-costing-contractors.html Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Track what a mining or heavy civil job actually cost against your bid using five direct cost lines and field data you already collect every shift. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/why-automate-contractor-admin.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/why-automate-contractor-admin.html Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Before any vendor pitch, size what the manual reporting chain costs your operation today. Here is the arithmetic from your own rig count and billing rate. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/drilling-cost-per-meter.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/drilling-cost-per-meter.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 How to build the true drilling cost per meter from rig time, bits, steel, fuel, and labor: why your quoted rate rarely matches what you actually spend. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ai-safety-management-underground-mining.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ai-safety-management-underground-mining.html Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Development meters, tons hoisted, ground support, ventilation: what underground contractors record, bill, and where an AI agent reads first. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/what-can-be-automated-mining-contractor.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/what-can-be-automated-mining-contractor.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 The paperwork chain from daily report to invoice can be automated. Ground conditions, crew decisions, and contract disputes cannot. Here is the honest line. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ai-use-cases-in-mining.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ai-use-cases-in-mining.html Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Where AI earns its keep in a mining contracting business: daily reports, MSHA records, and invoice reconciliation before any autonomous machine. https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ai-for-mining-contractors.html https://www.bigdogmining.com/blog/ai-for-mining-contractors.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Before AI touches a blast pattern, it can read your dailies. Here is where it actually fits in a mining contracting company and the first step that pays.