The pathto the digital mine

By Mike Brooks*

During times of economic uncertainty, mining organisations like many others permit themselves to take stock of how their mines operate, and where they can improve to ensure that they are running as efficiently as possible should any economic downturns occur. There are companies doing excellent work when it comes to involving local communities and local stakeholders, even in remote locations.

BCG’s Digital Acceleration Index (DAI) suggests that metals and mining businesses are approximately 3040% less digitally mature than comparable industries. Challenging economic environments call for rapid, impactful responses and an ability to deliver quick return on investment, which is where the implementation of advanced, AI-driven technology becomes highly attractive.

Deriving insights from data and aggregating that data to deliver a view of how changes in one part of the mine affect another underpin the degree of success any operation will gain from digitalisation. The mechanisms and tools by which data is moved from one part of the value chain to the next fundamentally influence the efficacy of an operation’s digitalisation strategy. Consequently, a more efficient way of managing data is critical to digitalisation and data-driven planning, control and decisionmaking that will create the intelligent mine. Difficult decisions are made every day by various departments and the tendency for