African Mining May 2023 | Page 29

TECHNOLOGY • operational efficiency , smart energy consumption , and almost zero waste ,” said Moffitt . This is backed by the IDC ’ s ( Industrial Development Corporation ) research which shows that industrial companies that strategically pursue sustainability combined with a long-term , funded , and committed digital transformation agenda outperform their competitors . ⁴

‘ Most local of global organisations ’ Schneider Electric has a presence in over 115 countries globally including manufacturing and R & D facilities , making it an ideal partner in the sustainability journey for mines . “ We always talk about being ‘ the most local of global organisations ’, with a strong local presence reducing our supply chain and where we are directly involved in the communities in which we operate ,” Moffitt pointed out . The company had revenues of EUR34-Billion in 2022 and typically invests over 5 % of revenue annually in R & D , which as an example resulted in over 1 000 patents registered globally in 2021 . About 43 % of these revenues are generated in emerging economies .

“ The result is a technology focused organisation with a very broad global oversight across multiple industries including Mining , Metals , Minerals , Water , Wastewater , Food and Beverage , Life Science , Energies and Chemicals , Power & Grid , Mobility and Smart Buildings as examples with a presence no matter where one operates . The best practice knowledge sharing across these diverse industries adds huge value to our offering ,” Moffitt explained .

Walking the sustainability talk “ There are huge opportunities for collaboration to affect change and reduce emissions . Schneider Electric has a track record of more than 15 years , in terms of what we ' ve been doing on a sustainability level internally as a company , and we share those practices with our customers . Sustainability is an integral part of our ethos and culture .”

In 2021 the company was voted the world ' s most sustainable company by Corporate Knights and it continues being rated among the top sustainable companies through to today – with over 206 zero waste to landfill sites – up from 30 in the year 2014 ; reduced energy consumption by more than 35 % since 2009 ; reduced water consumption by more than 30 % since 2007 ; more than 51 Net Zero sites globally ; 80 % of electricity utilised being renewable – up from just 2 % in 2017 ; and company executives being measured in terms of sustainability targets .

State of play – criticality of minerals In conclusion , although solutions are available and miners will make headway in their decarbonisation targets , Moffitt noted that there are more challenges ahead , quoting the IEA ( International Energy Agency ) which points out that in the transition to clean energy , the world requires up to six times more critical minerals by 2040 than that available today . The dilemma we face is that the existing pipeline of projects for the supply of critical minerals could fall short by as early as 2025 . ⁵ Battery and minerals supply chains will have to expand ten times to meet government EV ambitions , for example , thus considerably more exploration , innovation and collaboration is required , in addition to innovative tech and the move to digitalise , “ We will need to educate the investment and finance markets on the importance of critical minerals for the energy transition to attract new sources of capital to make it possible ,” said Moffitt . •

References :

1 . https :// hbr . org / sponsored / 2017 / 07 / digital-transformation-isracing-ahead-and-no-industry-is-immune-2 #:~: text = Research % 20 shows % 20that % 20since % 202000 , commerce % 2C % 20 enterprises % 2C % 20and % 20individuals

2 . EcoStruxure is the IIoT ( Industrial internet of things ) architecture , which is an open framework enabling seamless and cybersecure linkages of smart devices , edge control and software analytics . As a result , end users can generate more precise and more profitable operational decisions , ensuring optimised production and operations . It offers a wide range of products and solutions , from energy management to industrial automation , which are scalable and interoperable with open standards to allow for integration with thirdparty systems and devices , enabling users to access data on premise or via the cloud . For more information go to https :// download . schneiderelectric . com / files ? p _ Doc _ Ref = 998-21044465 &_ ga = 2.174572711.444453187.1677663605-1244707664.1677663605 AVEVA Production Management , Schneider ’ s integrated mining operations software is an example of this type of integrated solution . It is a modular software suite with specific mining functionality that supports mine operations from extraction and processing , to blending and storage , all the way through to shipping logistics . It enables value chain visibility and optimisation , by collecting data automatically from multiple plant and business systems or through manual data entry , and establishing a single trusted source of information , which can be collaboratively used to drive efficiency , reduce cost and make better business decisions . https :// transformsa . co . za / 2018 / 02 / 12736 /

3 . MMM Industries of the future : Sustainable , efficient , agile , resilient – a presentation by Rob Moffitt , president MMM Schneider Electric . 4 . https :// www . bloomberg . com / press-releases / 2021-07-16 / mining-andmetals-companies-accelerate-focus-on-sustainability 5 . https :// www . iea . org / reports / the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-cleanenergy-transitions / executive-summary