For years, the supplier had enjoyed a reliable payment rhythm from one of the largest mining operations in their region. In good years, invoices were paid early. In average years, they were paid on time. Even during occasional dips in demand, payments never drifted more than a week or two.
But this time was different.
Invoices that once cleared in 20–25 days stretched to 45.
The next cycle moved to 60. Then a few passed 75 days with no communication at all.
The mine hadn’t stopped operations. They hadn’t changed vendors. They hadn’t disputed any bills. They were simply… slowing down.
And in mining, a slowdown is almost never about the invoice itself. It’s about the cycle behind the invoice.
A Supplier’s Story: When the Market Dips, Payments Disappear
When iron ore prices dipped 14% in a single quarter, the supplier’s client quietly restructured its payment strategy.
Not officially. Not publicly. Internally.
The vendor later learned that the mining company had implemented three cost-control measures:
- Priority payments to essential production vendors
Equipment maintenance, diesel, explosives, and transportation all moved to the front of the payment line. - Extended approval cycles
Senior-level sign-offs were required for any non-core expense. - Tightened cash reserves
The CFO initiated a liquidity hold to prepare for potential sustained volatility.
None of this was communicated to the supplier. But the signals were there:
- Calls returned slower
- Partial payments offered instead of full amounts
- More “processing delays”
- A request to “combine next month’s invoices” (a red flag in mining AR patterns)
This was not a billing issue. It was a cash flow triage response triggered by market pressure.
Why Traditional 30/60/90 AR Approaches Don’t Work in Mining
Mining payment behavior is different from most sectors because the industry operates on:
- Project-based billing
- Large invoice volumes
- Capex-heavy operations
- Commodity-dependent liquidity
- Slow operational cycles
In mining, financial strain rarely shows up as immediate non-payment. It shows up as payment drift—a slow extension of terms that grows month after month.
Caine & Weiner’s data shows:
Early-stage intervention (before 60 days) can increase recovery by 55%
Waiting past 90 days decreases success by more than half
The timing is everything. Mining companies don’t respond well to aggressive escalation, but they do respond to structured, professional third-party involvement—especially when their internal teams are stretched during downturns.
The Bottom Line
Mining operates in cycles—boom, bottleneck, recovery, repeat.
You can’t control the cycle, but you can control how early you act when cash flow starts tightening.
In this industry, the warning signs appear long before a customer stops paying:
- Delayed responses
- Smaller partials
- Extended internal approvals
- Quiet restructuring
- Longer freight windows
- Drifting payment intervals
These aren’t nuisances. They’re signals.
Signals that a mining customer’s cash flow is tightening. Signals that payment risk is increasing.
Signals that taking the right action today protects revenue tomorrow.
For mining suppliers, success isn’t about avoiding the cycle—it’s about staying ahead of the bottleneck.