IM 2020 October 20 | Page 10

MINING CONSULTANTS

Consulting on change

Today ’ s mining consultants have a lot to consider in their day-to-day work including new technology , evolving ESG requirements and the need to build a diverse and inclusive workforce ( photo : Stantec )
The role may not have changed , but the expectations placed on mining consultants certainly has , Dan Gleeson discovers

Consultants are expected to provide expert advice on a specific topic or process . There is a perception from mining investors that these specialists are only called in for regulatory purposes to sign off a 43-101- or JORCcompliant document for Canada- or Australialisted companies , respectively , or when a specific problem or challenge occurs that requires a ‘ fresh ’ pair of eyes .

That view does not reflect reality , as Dr Vasilis Roubos , Director of International Mining Consultants at DMT Group , explains : “ The role of a consultant remains rooted in objectivity and independence , which means today ’ s consultants can add value at each stage of the mining process by optimising , innovating and finding new solutions .”
This potential value generation , plus the lack of in-house expertise present across the wider mining sector , means consultants have become a bigger part of day-to-day operations at mines , all of which has led to a change in service delivery , according to Philippe Baudry , RPMGlobal ’ s Executive General Manager – Advisory Services .
“ While I don ’ t believe the basic services requested of consultants has changed dramatically in the last decade , the approach we take in delivering these services in terms of service level and integration of technology continues to evolve ,” Baudry told IM .
Baudry has his own thoughts on the reasons behind this evolution , but it is hard to look past the swathe of layoffs in the mining consulting and contracting sector after the global financial crisis for an explanation .
Simplistically , a cooling of Chinese demand for metals and minerals , post-2011 , saw thousands of individuals laid off . Many of the job cuts were employees of mining companies , but contractors and consultants were also hit , with this industry rationalisation still being felt acutely today .
Christofer Catania , General Manager of engineering-focused consultancy MEC Mining , explains : “ During the last boom-bust cycle , the industry saw a large number of the workforce depart the industry – taking with them valuable inherited operational knowledge .
“ Unfortunately , the cyclic uplift did not see a return of this workforce or university enrolment numbers , and so the industry is currently faced with a short-term skill gap .”
This gap , plus memories of the layoffs , led to a change in mindset from the consultancy field .
Instead of coming back in smaller numbers in the same guise when commodity prices started to rise , mining consultants committed to making themselves invaluable to the clients they served .
They have been helped along the way by an evolving industry backdrop that they are taking advantage of .
Same role , different expectations
While the bulk of contributors IM heard from agreed with Baudry that the tasks being asked of mining consultants had not changed in the last decade , they did acknowledge that mining clients ’ expectations had altered .
Stantec ’ s Senior Vice President for Mining , Jon Treen , said the industry is demanding that the focus of projects is more “ holistic ”, taking into account costs , sustainability , the environment and impacts on communities .
“ The demand for a holistic approach means there is a lot of focus on environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) and sustainability as a means to manage both risk and change ,” he told IM .
The application of new technology also comes into this ‘ holistic ’ focus .
Terry Braun , Practice Leader at SRK Consulting in the US , acknowledges that most mining consultancies were not equipped to handle big data sets 10 years ago .
“ We relied on specialty software to interrogate and interpret resource models and mine plans ,” he told IM . “ These software packages required various , validated data inputs and produced massive data sets as outputs .”
Today , clients present mining consultants with a much wider array of data sets , along with new questions , according to Braun .
“ Advances in sensor technology offer new technical insights for virtually all aspects of an
operating mine ,” he said . “ This trend moved mining consultants and clients into the brave new world of big data management .”
SRK assists clients with data capture , data quality , interpretation and / or storage , Braun explained , with data scientists becoming a part of SRK ’ s traditional technical teams , providing critical know-how with respect to big data management .
Data analytics has also been a growth area for AMC Consultants alongside “ business improvement ” projects , according to Patrick Smith , Managing Director and CEO .
“ Clients are looking for expert assistance to help them best utilise the big data being recorded at their operating mines ,” he told IM . This is seeing data scientists play a greater role in fields like geo-metallurgy , he added .
While knowledge and experience have not yet been replaced by technology , using the right technologies well is “ increasingly critical to mining consultancy ”, Smith added .
The increased availability of data – and computing power to process it – has improved technical decision making within the consultancy field , according to MEC Mining ’ s Catania .
“ This has significantly improved the efficiency of our work and enabled a step change towards optimising production efficiency and improving ESG ,” he told IM .
The industry is also more readily looking forward , as opposed to back , when it comes to developing new mines or projects , according to RPMGlobal ’ s Baudry .
“ A decade ago , most mining studies would have planned to leverage the accepted mining methods and technology of the time ,” he said . “ This is no longer acceptable .
“ Requests for a mining study these days often come with the request to ‘ design the mine of five years from now ’ not the ‘ mine of today ’.”
This has driven RPMGlobal ’ s consulting team to stay abreast of all advances in technology such as electrification of underground fleets , automation , ore sorting technology and renewable power generation , among others , Baudry said .
The industry ’ s need to innovate , Baudry says , is primarily driven by : n Higher community expectations around ESG and health and safety ; n Global political and economic volatility ; n Tighter margins driven by lower grades and deeper or harder to recover resources ; n Challenging sovereign risk and governance in some areas of the world ;
8 International Mining | OCTOBER 2020