In the context of mining value chain optimization, specifically Mine-to-Mill (M2M), an expensive day in blasting can translate into a highly profitable day for the entire value chain. Now, lets "assume", we do a great job at the operational level and manage to sustain it over the Life-of-Mine (LOM). QUESTION: What impact can poor Strategic (Long-Term) Mine Planning, or 'SMP,' have on an operation's profitability over the Life-of-Mine (LOM)? A poorly developed SMP featuring sub-optimal pit limit, COGs, mining direction, pushbacks and production schedules can result in hundreds of millions of dollars lost over the LOM. This means that decisions about what to mine, how to mine it, and when to mine each block are far more critical to overall value realization than downstream performance in blasting, loading and hauling, milling, or flotation alone. If we fail at the Strategic Mine Planning stage, no matter how much is invested in metallurgical characterization, how well we do Drill & Blast, how intensively Mine-to-Mill optimization campaigns are conducted, or what new technologies are applied to enhance process plant KPIs; it won’t be enough. That is, the value loss resulting from poor upstream strategic decisions can rarely, IF EVER, be fully recovered. That is, an operation can’t optimize its way out of a flawed Strategic Mine Plan and unfortunately all the hard work and downstream investments can be completely undermined by poor LOM decisions. So, we should get the big decisions right first; a flawed mine plan ruins everything downstream.