Your fleet is booked. The crew’s ready. The drilling schedule is locked in.

Then you get the call: “The pad isn’t ready.”

Your earthworks contractor is still logging Plods on paper. You’ve got your own separate copy in your system. At the end of the month, you’re stuck reconciling the two - trying to interpret what was scribbled down, matching it against what you remember from three weeks ago, and figuring out why this invoice is higher than expected.

Meanwhile, you can’t shake the feeling that productivity is slipping. Your timeline estimates keep missing the mark, costs are climbing, and you don’t know why.

You turn to the spreadsheet to piece together last month’s productivity and ask the contractor for their paper copies. But by the time you’ve gathered a clear picture of what happened, it’s already weeks later - too late to change anything. The costs are sunk. The schedule’s blown.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It happens on sites every day.

Why earthworks delays hit so hard

Earthworks often get treated like just another line item: cut the pad, build the track, move the fleet. But they’re usually the second-biggest cost after drilling, and when productivity isn’t maximised, you end up paying more to get less done. Those inefficiencies can quickly create costly gaps and delays in the drill program.

And the worst part? You usually don’t find out there’s a problem until it’s already too late to fix it.

A better way forward: CorePlan Earthworks

CorePlan’s new Earthworks module helps mining and exploration teams manage site prep, contractors, and costs in one place, so drilling programs keep moving.

No more chasing update
Contractors submit Plods digitally in the free Contractor Portal, even offline. You see progress in real time instead of waiting for spreadsheets.
Pads tracked from start to finish
Know exactly which pads are ready, which are in progress, and when the drilling crew can move in.
Automatic cost alignment
Plods link directly to digital contracts, automatically calculating earthworks costs with accuracy, so you know exactly what you’re being charged - and that it’s correct.
One platform for everyone
Supervisors, exploration managers, contractors, and finance teams all work from the same up-to-date information.

What this means for your team

With CorePlan Earthworks, everyone gets the visibility they’ve been missing:

Supervisors know the exact status of pads, tracks, and fleet utilisation without chasing contractors
Exploration managers can see earthworks spend against budget instantly
Geos and Ops managers spend less time copying data between spreadsheets
Contractors get faster approvals and payments
Finance teams reconcile invoices without endless back-and-forth

The result: fewer delays, less stress, and drill programs that stay on track.

Manage the entire drill program in one place

CorePlan brings site prep, drilling, and rehabilitation together in one connected workflow. Everyone works from the same plan, with the same information, in real time.

Better planning. Fewer idle fleets. Drill programs that actually run to schedule.

Download the checklist here

CorePlan vs Krux: What's the difference?

Explore powerful features that outperform Krux.

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Keep earthworks on budget to keep your drill program on track

Download the checklist here

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