African Mining July 2023 | Page 20

• TECHNOLOGY

Supplied PwC

CEOs and executive teams are being deliberate Verhaeghe discussed the first insight noting that the digitalisation and transformation conversation has expanded across enterprises and there are several shifts taking place simultaneously . A “ topdown approach ” has been replaced by a “ bottom up ” and an “ across the board ’’ approach in companies currently . CEOs and executives have had to embrace a new level of trust as they have onboarded specialists in the field of digitalisation who hold the knowledge . Roles such as a chief data officer , unheard of five years ago in mining have emerged , and the entire management team is now driving the digitalisation agenda . The report notes that the CEO now “ guides as the strategic steward , while the C-suite searches for value .”

Since the onset of the digitalisation phenomenon and the previous survey , it is no longer about the ‘ why ’, but now is about the ‘ what and how ’ and there is an understanding that digitalising involves a journey of around 5 to 8 years , with roadmaps being essential to plot the vision and manage the targets of the executive . Tracking data in order to measure benefit is accepted as difficult at this point , as most of these projects and platforms initiated in the past two years will only come online between 2025 and 2027 .

The 20 companies interviewed were all at different stages in their journey maturity . There has been an evolution in the industry since the previous study , where mining companies were categorised according to their level of digital development , namely the Digital Novice , the Digital Follower , the Digital Innovator and the Digital Champion . Verhaeghe explained that it was very difficult to assess where companies were in terms of their maturity journeys within this very simple categorisation because digitalisation is not linear , it affects all parts of the business simultaneously as multiple projects , in different stages of development , which are inter-linked and integrated . ( See Figure 1 .)

Figure 1 : A comparison of the levels of digital maturity between the survey in 2020 and the survey in late 2022 .

The current survey shows that two years on , Novices have graduated into Digital Followers – now the largest group and are watching , learning and experimenting . There has since been a growth in Digital Innovators from 13-36 %, with a strong emphasis on visualisation in real time , while Digital Champions now make up 8 % of respondents . The survey also indicated that there has been a step change in the type of digital programmes the more advanced innovators have undertaken since the previous survey , taking them from a point solutions focus using digital to create dashboards and visibility of operations in 2020 , to larger , data centric , strategic programmes that take many years to come to fruition . Per the report , “ The C-suites are now focusing on enabling architectures , economies of scale and getting the best value for money out of operational and information technology systems available .

“ Mines indicated in the survey that it is necessary to develop standards for connecting enterprise architectures , which relates back to the need for economies of scale to contain costs . Developing the right culture , setting up the right enabling environment , and trusting the leadership team is the key to success and adopting these tools .”

Technology is being applied where it has the greatest measurable benefit Verhaeghe commented on trends like open cast , surface operations and plant processing , having proved easier to transform and digitalise versus underground mines – which is important as it directs the focus needed for the future . Processing is leading in digitalisation advancement , having grown from 50 % previously to 80 %, while open caste mines are at 40 % and underground mines at 30 %. On the other hand , new mines are being designed upfront with embedded digitalisation , while older mines struggle with legacy systems and a lack of qualified and skilled resources . Notable adjustments and implementations are being made in the integration of core mining processes , logistics , supply chain , HR systems and skills development . What is clear is that respondents want digital and ESG to be embedded in everything across the mining value chain .

“ We are still defining value when it comes to digital transformation ,” he noted , but three core factors were clear value adds : visibility and transparency , a reduction of bureaucracy and ultimately the ability to make better decisions was the biggest benefit seen in 3-5 years .

The hunt for value requires cooperation and compromise Mackay noted that mining houses want to measure the value that they get from investments in digital because these initiatives are fighting for capital , and there is a great effort to keep the balance . Cost containment is still king per the latest survey – “ With an emphasis on measurable returns , executives are focusing on cost leadership , efficiency and profitability .” Although ROI and hard metrics are important , respondents noted that sometimes decisions require a leap of faith in the digital space , as measuring the indirect value of 4IR initiatives is a challenge . He explained , “ Some see digital as an enabler of future value , which is also a challenge to quantify prior to execution .”

Executives have noted that the part of the digital program delivering the most value is the information management system itself . The most frequently mentioned value for money investments in order of popularity , were : safety , security , surveillance , supply chain , payroll , which is functional automation , reporting , community sentiment tracking – so predicting protests , for example – and maintenance .

Only about 40 % of respondents could supply a full set of stats when asked what their expectations were for the next five years in terms of throughput , cost , efficiency and safety gains forecast . “ The drivers

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