MINING CONSULTANTS
Augmented advice
In-demand expertise is being supplemented with new technology able to make consultants that much more efficient, Dan Gleeson reports
It is clear from checking the pulse of a spread of mining consultants: technology is not going to replace this expertise; it is going to improve and accelerate client outcomes.
Just how it will do this is becoming apparent, as IM learned.
Consulting with an operator mindset
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Wood has traditionally been discussed in EPC / EPCM circles as a firm delivering project builds for mine owners, but its growing advisory arm ensures its reach extends beyond the engineering and construction phase of projects.
Within Wood’ s 4,000 strong consulting business, this core mining advisory team now consists of around 15 individuals dedicated to the sector, with other relevant teams supplementing this group on relevant projects.
“ Our advisory and consultancy work commences in the early phases of engineering – typically prefeasibility and definitive feasibility studies – to support digital-, data-, emissions- and operations readiness strategies at the point where they can still be impactful and their cost( and benefit) can be factored into the overall project requirements and cost,” Jacek Narozny, Global Lead Partner – Digital – at Wood, told IM.
He said this team works together with Wood’ s EPC / EPCM teams to bring crosssector expertise and experience to the customers at early stages, continuing into execution and often into operations to provide ongoing delivery oversight and value assurance.“ This is particularly important considering our view that the best time to influence lifecycle value in mining is before the project is locked into delivery,” he said.
Wood is not alone in the sector when it comes to this cross fertilisation, yet there are some distinctions to be made between Wood’ s offering and its peers’.
“ Our geographical reach and long-term mining sector track record, combined with full asset lifecycle experience( from studies and detailed design engineering, through asset operations and maintenance, to late life and decommissioning), allows Wood to bring very much an operator / owner mindset to the customer challenges in mining,” Narozny said.
And what are these challenges? Narozny picked out several.
“ Capital efficiency, assured timetovalue( production), building in support for( greenfield) and pursuing( brownfield) operations transformation / operations excellence, including proven, responsible and organisationally appropriate use of technology, digitalisation and AI are all topical across our global customers in the mining industry.”
This is on top of the“ daily realities” miners face such as global supply chain
Wood’ s work on“ bridging the gap between mining operations and digital transformation” requires the ability to spot the value potential early before significant time and financial investment have been made, according to
Jacek Narozny
pressures, highly variable demand cycles, diverse emissions management regulatory environments, skills shortages and operating cost challenges in many producing locations.
He added on the company’ s differentiators:“ Combined with targeted strategic partnerships with global brands such as SAP and Databricks, we further bring multi-sector DNA and practitioner perspectives that are increasingly sought in the maturing mining sector.”
Narozny highlighted the company’ s“ cross-sector” delivery prowess when discussing the adoption of a safety-focused initiative with origins in the oil & gas sector by Australia-based global miners.
Viewed by the companies as an“ assetintensive industry best practice”, some of the methodologies were around performance standards and technical safety, with Wood providing its expertise and leveraging its knowledge of mining to contextualise that expertise and support global rollouts of these programs for the mining companies, Narozny explained.
Another key differentiator for Wood is its ability to bring mining domain expertise and technology SMEs together to deliver domain-led AI and digital innovations that“ bridge the vernacular gap” between mining clients and technology vendors to derive real value for clients.
In this regard, Narozny and his team are abundantly aware of the perceptions out there about digital innovations –“ 70 % of digital transformation initiatives fail outright, delivering no value, is typically reported” – so Wood looks to pair technology maturity
International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2026