Mining in focus
the industry – and the communities where
they operate – as a whole,” Gibson says.
For example, the Brumadinho dam disaster
in Brazil resulted in a massive loss of life,
affecting the community for a long time.
Incidents such as these can harm the industry’s
reputation, and make it difficult for mines
to maintain their social licences to operate.
“Mines have the opportunity to increase
collaboration to work towards improving
environmental health and safety,” Gibson said.
In addition, Gibson referred to the
International Council on Mining and Metals
(ICMM) which represents 27 of the world’s
mining companies to enhance sustainability
in mining. Created in 2001, the ICMM’s role
is to improve the social and environmental
performance of the mining and metals
industry. “ICMM determined rules and
principles for mining operations with the goal
of increasing collaboration across a number
of critical areas,” Gibson says. The growing
adoption of digital technology will make
information sharing and collaboration between
mining companies even more possible in
important areas such as sustainability.
According to Gibson, an increased
collaboration across the industry would
also save costs when it comes to building
infrastructure such as water and power,
required to operate a mine. “It is expensive for
mines to individually create water and power
sources of their own, and in the interest of the
broader environment, shared infrastructure is
going to be critical in this regard,” he says.
However, there are certain areas where mining
companies would rather not collaborate
and share information – such as with the
use of patented technologies or proprietary
algorithms – in order to maintain a
competitive advantage.
Opportunities for digitisation in
mining
Digital infrastructure comes with many
opportunities for the mining industry,
including contributing towards diversity
among mine employees. According to Gibson,
this has been a big shift over the past couple
of years towards improving diversity and
inclusion in the mining industry.
Historically the mining industry was
predominantly male — mainly due to the
physical labour requirements that women
could not meet. Digital technology facilitates
a reduction in the physical requirements
and thus creates equal opportunities for
gender diversity in the industry. “The use
of the Internet of Things (IoT), tablets, cell
phones, and electronic equipment is certainly
facilitating women being able to come in and
be treated equally to men,” Gibson says. He
adds that there are exciting opportunities for
women in mining as most mining companies
are looking to improve their ratio of women in
the industry. Digital technology also makes it
possible for people with disabilities to work in
the mining industry.
Digital technology is also paving the way
for the younger generation to get involved.
Gibson says young people are set to benefit
They can also remotely operate mining plants
that are thousands of kilometres away. It brings a
whole new pool of talent into the mining sector that
would not necessarily have been there before.
the most from digitalisation because of their
interaction with phones and computers
from an early age. “They are used to playing
games, and now instead of playing they can
use these skills to operate haul trucks. They
can also remotely operate mining plants
that are thousands of kilometres away. It
brings a whole new pool of talent into the
mining sector that would not necessarily
have been there before.” On the opposite end,
digitalisation should not be seen as a threat
by the older generation, because it creates
opportunities for upskilling.
Africa has the youngest population globally
and in the age of digitalisation with the IoT
and the 4IR, Africa with its young population
is in a good position to capitalise on digital
infrastructure.
As a developing continent, Africa became
exposed to technology later than the rest of
the world, which was beneficial because the
continent leapfrogged with certain types
of technologies. “In Africa, for example,
where there are a lot of mobile and cellular
systems, the continent is on par, and in certain
instances, in advance of the rest of the world
when it comes to sophisticated systems such
as monetary transfers using digital banking
systems,” said Gibson.
From a mining perspective, late exposure
to technology in Africa presents many
opportunities for mines. Gibson points out
that many international mining companies
have a presence in Africa, and as these
companies continue to capitalise on the
latest digital technology and use it to design
new mines, many mines are being developed
in Africa with the best digital technology
available on the market.
Gibson mentions that “if it’s not grown,
it's mined” so to continue with our way of
life means that mining is needed to provide
our essential non-grown needs. He adds that
these are exciting times, with improvements
of technologies advancing at a rapid pace.
He concludes that it’s important not be
deterred by challenges, but to investigate how
advances in technology can help overcome
these new challenges and ensure a successful
future for mankind.
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[24] MINING MIRROR JUNE 2019
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