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Could you check whether there is anything excessive or missing in the structure below for the investment decision case?

The client is a gold-mining company. The question is whether to purchase the technology (no info) that increases the processing plant efficiency.
 

1) Financial attractiveness (Revenue, Costs changes, Investment required)

2) Operational aspects 

1) Technology characteristics (lifespan, capacity, etc)
2) Technology within production process (bottlenecks, available place and compatibility)

3) Feasibility 
1) Integration complexity 
2) Postintegration risks

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Profile picture of Kevin
Kevin
Coach
on Jan 16, 2026
Ex-Bain (London) | Private Equity & M&A | 12+ Yrs Experience | The Reflex Method | Free Intro Call

That’s a solid, functional starting point for an investment case, but to lift it into the MBB tier, you need to elevate "Operational Aspects" to include the crucial Strategic context and sharpen the risk section.

The core structure (Value, Fit, Risk) is there, but your current Level 2 points are too descriptive and don't force evaluation. Here’s the reality: When evaluating a $100M+ technology purchase, the Partners need to know more than just the tech's lifespan; they need to know if this purchase locks in a long-term advantage or just delays inevitable decay.

I would pivot your framework to be:

1. Economics & Return: This should be your NPV/IRR analysis, but immediately flag the key sensitivities. In mining, that means stress-testing the ROI based on fluctuating Gold Price stability and the actual achievable Yield increase (which is rarely 100% of the theoretical max).

2. Strategic & Operational Fit: This is where you bring in the competitive view. Is this technology table stakes (i.e., are competitors already using it?), or does it provide a genuine competitive edge in cost per ounce? Crucially, you must confirm the processing plant is the true production bottleneck—you don't want to optimize one part of the value chain just to have the smelter or logistics cap the output instead.

3. Implementation & External Risk: Fold your "Feasibility" section here. Focus on integration complexity as downtime risk (every day the plant is offline is huge cost). For a gold company, always include the regulatory/ESG angle: Does the new tech impact water use, tailings, or energy consumption? This is a growing operational risk that affects long-term license to operate.

Make sure you prioritize the discussion around the few, highly leveraged drivers (gold price, uptime, actual yield increase) rather than spending time on details like the exact dimensions of the equipment.

All the best!

E
Evelina
Coach
on Jan 15, 2026
Lead coach for Revolut Problem Solving and Bar Raiser l EY-Parthenon l BCG

Hi there,

A cleaner and more MECE way to structure this investment decision could look like:

• Financial attractiveness
– Incremental impact on cash flows and profitability
– Investment required and payback or returns
– Sensitivity to key assumptions (e.g. gold price, throughput)

• Implementation feasibility
– Technology fit with existing production process
– Capacity and bottlenecks
– Integration complexity and timeline
– Operational reliability and post-integration risks

• Strategic and risk considerations
– Alignment with long term strategy and competitiveness
– Scalability and future optionality
– Regulatory, safety, and environmental risks

This keeps the focus on the decision while avoiding overlap between operational and feasibility topics.

Best,
Evelina

Profile picture of Ashwin
Ashwin
Coach
on Jan 28, 2026
Ex-Bain | 500+ MBB Offers

Your structure covers the main areas well. A few quick thoughts:

Consider adding strategic fit and market timing. Does this align with their broader goals? What's happening with gold prices?

Think about alternatives. Is buying the only option? Could they lease or partner instead?

Your operational and feasibility buckets overlap a bit. Integration complexity and compatibility are closely related. You could combine them to keep it tighter.

Otherwise, solid foundation. Just tighten and add strategic context.

Profile picture of Benjamin
on Jan 15, 2026
Ex-BCG Principal | 8+ years consulting experience in SEA | BCG top interviewer & top performer

Don't forget that while it is important to have a MECE structure - it's also arguably as important to be able to talk about it with good business judgment. In this case, there needs to be some elaboration around how the technology could actually effect cost and/or revenues and how you would investigate it.

Profile picture of Alessa
Alessa
Coach
on Jan 15, 2026
Ex-McKinsey Consultant & Interviewer | PEI | MBB Prep | Ex-BCG

hey there :)

Your structure is already solid and not excessive, I would just make sure financial attractiveness clearly captures incremental profit and payback logic, and that feasibility also briefly covers organizational readiness and regulatory or safety constraints which matter a lot in mining; otherwise this is a clean and interviewer friendly way to approach the case, happy to help refine it further if you want. best, Alessa :)

Profile picture of Cristian
on Jan 17, 2026
Most awarded coach | Ex-McKinsey | Verifiable 88% offer rate (annual report) | First-principles cases + PEI storylining

It's virtually impossible to give you a high quality answer based on this high level description. 

Your areas are relevant, but the devil is in the details. How will you develop the bullet points? How do you connect the areas? How do you present? etc. 

If you're looking for an in-depth assessment, do reach out and I'm happy to help.

Best,
Cristian

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Stan
Coach
on Jan 15, 2026
ex-McKinsey who exited to CEO-3 of $12B company; Free 15m Intro, New Coach Promos expiring soon!

People impact is missing, even if you thought about them in the profitability question as a number

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Jenny
Coach
on Jan 16, 2026
Buy 1 get 1 free for 1st time clients | Ex-McKinsey Interviewer & Manager | +7 yrs Coaching | Go from good to great

Hi there,

Overall the key buckets seem to be covered. Small point, but you may want to include opportunity costs if the client has limited resources.