Mining - March 2022

Aggreko: Powers Smooth Energy Transition

March 2022 | miningglobal.com

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Ferrexpo: Fires Up Decarbonisation and Autonomy RG Gold: Progressing Well With 5Mtpa CIP Plant Construction

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FOREWORD

Rio Tinto report sends industry shockwaves It’s not only the mining giant which needs to take a close look at its worksite culture.

“The contents of the Rio Tinto report are an anathema in today’s era of DEI”

Rio Tinto’s report into its worksite culture – which lifted the lid on bullying, sexual harassment and racism – made for difficult reading. CEO Jakob Stausholm said the findings were deeply disturbing, and expressed his shame and enormous regret.

The extensive report raises two key questions.

How long will it take Rio Tinto to tackle the ‘systemic’ problems and repair its reputation; and if a company of its stature is struggling to instil the required standards, what does that say about the rest of the mining industry?

The contents of the report are anathema in today’s era of DEI, where empathy, transparency and accountability are paramount, and discrimination of any kind is abhorrent.

Rio Tinto must now demonstrate leadership, employ more women to address its ‘hierarchical male-dominated culture’, and ensure that any bad behaviour is not only called out but stamped out.

Rivals should see it as a warning to reassess their own cultures.

Enjoy the issue.

MINING MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

DOMINIC ELLIS

dominic.ellis@bizclikmedia.com

© 2021 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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5

CONTENTS

Our Regular Upfront Section: 10 Big Picture 12 The Brief 14 Timeline: Ontario Greenstone Mine 16 Trailblazer: Stephen Lautens 18 Five Minutes With: Scott levy

34

Digital Mining

Maximising Efficiency Through Digital Mining

22

42

Aggreko Powers Smooth Energy Transition

Ferrexpo Fires Up Decarbonisation and Autonomy

Aggreko

Ferrexpo

62

RG Gold

Progressing Well With 5Mtpa CIP Plant Construction

54

Industry X.O

Capitalising on Digital Twin Potential

74

Technology

Stronger at the Edge Computing

82

Supply Chain

How Best to Make the Spike in Commodity Demand Sustainability

90

Top 10

Earning Mining Executives

MA RCH8.COM

IS HERE Telling the stories of driven, ambitious women in business and society...

V I SIT NOW

E D U C AT E • M OT IVAT E • E L E VAT E

VI SI T NOW

BIG PICTURE

10

March 2022

Northern Goldfields Solar Project Australia

Work is underway on what BHP claims is one of the world’s largest off-grid mining solar and battery energy storage systems.

Under the Northern Goldfields Solar Project, TransAlta is building a 27.4 MW solar farm at Mt Keith, 10.7MW solar farm and a 10.1 MW battery at Leinster, which will be integrated into the remote power grid and result in an estimated reduction of 54,000 tonnes CO2-e per year.

Image credit BHP

miningglobal.com

11

THE BRIEF “Combining our advanced private network solutions with HERE services will give mining firms a head start on their digitalisation journey” Thomas Norén

Head of Dedicated Network and Vice-President, Ericsson  READ MORE

BY THE NUMBERS Can F1 technology reduce mining’s emissions?

Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has bought UK-based Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) for £164mn.

WAE will bring its race-bred critical battery technology to the table, which will enable Fortescue, one of the largest iron ore producers and a heavy carbon emitter, to realise its industry leading 2030 net-zero target.

The heavy industrial sector accounts for more than 20% of global carbon emissions.

“Companies are increasingly incorporating the Internet of Things into their plants. This and other equipment, including the use of digital twins, can actually make them more vulnerable to a wide variety of cyberattacks” Sebastian Reiter Partner McKinsey & Co.  READ MORE

“There are two parallel interconnecting goals – one is carbon neutral, the other is nature positive. A company developing a plan to address its footprint really needs to consider both” Marco Lambertini

Director General, World Wildlife Fund International  READ MORE

12

March 2022

Raw materials will be central to decarbonisation efforts Raw materials will be at the centre of decarbonisation efforts and electrification of economies and the mining sector will need to grow at an unprecedented pace in order to enable the required technological shifts, according to a new McKinsey report.

Find out more 

READ MORE

Wärtsilä decarbonising Suriname gold mine Technology group Wärtsilä will supply a 7.8MWh energy storage system to ‘a leading gold mining company’ to help achieve its climate targets and decarbonisation goals at a mine in Suriname.

Find out more 

READ MORE

Bullying and sexism ‘systemic’ at Rio Tinto worksites Background An eight-month study of Rio Tinto’s worksites, involving 10,303 workers covering online, audio and written submissions, found almost half of workers experienced bullying.

Who carried out the research? The report, from former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, also identified disturbing findings of harassment, racism and other discrimination.

What was the reaction? Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said it was “deeply disturbing” and felt “shame and enormous regret” to have learned the extent to which bullying, sexual harassment and racism are occurring.

How will it change the culture? Rio Tinto said it will implement all the report’s 26 recommendations and focus on three key areas – building a respectful and inclusive working environment; ensuring camps and facilities are safe and inclusive; and make it easier for people to call out unacceptable behaviours.

What happens next? In an era of heightened DEI and ESG awareness, it’s a PR nightmare and observers inside and outside the company will be watching closely to see evidence of change.

 O3 MINING O3 Mining will progress its 2022 drilling program with 73,000 metres planned at its Alpha and Marban projects.  LUMINEX RESOURCES Luminex Resources Corp. has increased its ownership interest on certain concessions within its Condor project from 90% to 98.7%.

W I N N E R S MAR22

 MC MINING Coal developer MC Mining is seeking a payment extension for the Makhado Project from Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).  DRC Mining companies targeting lithium in the Democratic Republic of Congo are warned of ESG, transparency and accountability risks, according to a Global Witness report.

L O S E R S miningglobal.com

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TIMELINE

NTARI GREENST NE MINE Greenstone Mine will be one of the largest gold mines in Canada, producing more than 400,000oz of gold annually for the first five years and more than 5mn oz of gold over its initial 14-year mine life.

2021

2022

2023

Early construction works underway. The mine will contain a 27,000 tonnes-perday processing facility and open-pit mining operation for the Hardrock deposit

Mining scheduled to start.

35% of construction capital due to be spent

14

March 2022

40% of construction capital to be spent

2024

2024 - 2038

first gold pour targeted

More than 360,000oz average annual gold production targeted over initial 14-year mine life

Remainder of construction capital spend (15%). The project anticipates two years of construction and six months of commissioning.

miningglobal.com

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TRAILBLAZER

STEPHEN LAUTENS

President at TRU Precious Metals Corp.

S

tephen Lautens has been appointed President of TRU Precious Metals Corp.

He is working alongside TRU's Co-Founder & CEO Joel Freudman as TRU advances its flagship Golden Rose Project in the prolific Central Newfoundland Gold Belt.

TRU is drilling for gold in the highly prospective Central Newfoundland Gold Belt and has an option with TSX-listed Altius Minerals to purchase 100% of the project.

Lautens has extensive experience as a mining executive and general counsel, in roles ranging from business development, corporate communications, writing, editing, compliance, and investor relations.

He has previously served as a key member of management teams during the growth and successful sale of public and private corporations, notably with a sevenyear tenure as Vice President of Corporate Communications & General Counsel with TSX-listed Inter-Citic Minerals, until its sale for $260mn to a large Chinese mining company.

Along with international experience and possessing strong internal and external communications and presentation skills, he brings unique problem-solving disciplines derived from broad experience and legal training.

Lautens also has a long history of senior board participation in a wide variety of charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

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March 2022

In his role as President, Lautens will work closely with TRU CEO Joel Freudman, supporting him in the Company's publicfacing activities on a day-to-day basis. He replaces Freudman, who continues to be active as TRU's CEO in order to focus his efforts on strategy and corporate initiatives for the Company.

Freudman said with a background in the resource sector and capital markets, and marketing and communication expertise, he is the ideal fit for TRU in our growth and development stage.

“Furthermore, Stephen has a solid track record in developing strategies and creating value in companies, and I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to unlock value for TRU shareholders.''

Lautens said he looks forward to the opportunity to bring his experience, contacts, and industry knowledge to TRU to assist in developing its Golden Rose Project.

“With a recently completed drill program and pending results, I believe this is an ideal time to build a more robust market awareness of TRU's district-scale gold project. Newfoundland has been described as experiencing a 'modern-day gold rush' and communicating to the market TRU's ideal position in the heart of the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt will be my top priority."

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

SCOTT LEVY CEO of Bedford Row Capital, reflects on the future of financing in the mining sector and considers the rise of precious metals streaming and royalty contracts

Q. TELL US ABOUT BEDFORD ROW CAPITAL?

» Bedford Row Capital is a global

non-bank structuring specialist and has evolved to serve a diverse range of businesses that want to raise debt finance. BRC provides issuers with a streamlined, efficient process that reduces costs and gives investors access to yield and liquidity. In the past six years, Bedford Row has executed nearly 100 transactions.

The company’s three core pillars are insight, innovation and integrity.

Q. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS INNOVATIONS IN THE MINING FINANCE SECTOR?

» Among the many innovations

occurring in the mining sector, one that is less spoken about is in the financing space. The rise of precious metals streaming and royalty contracts is helping mining companies receive capital through immediately monetising part of their future production, the impact of which could be colossal for the sector’s investment needs.

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March 2022

Q. WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF STREAMING ON THE MARKET?

» This has led to an increased role

The way it works is relatively simple. Streaming contracts focus on a specified amount of metal to be delivered – either the primary precious metal produced by the project or the by-product of a base metals project. Royalties contracts typically last for the life of the project and are based on the future project revenues – not precious metals specific, but just a percentage of revenue.

Q. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY?

» This is a significant shift, as mining companies have historically used a mixture of equity and debt to raise capital for the construction, expansion and development of their assets. In a highly liquid market this worked, with IPOs and project financing providing ample funds. However, In the last decade, those funding sources have been significantly constrained and, in some cases, dried up altogether.

for creative solutions from capital providers. Companies such as Franco Nevada, Silver Wheaton and Raptor Capital International have come into play – the latter mandated Bedford Row Capital to deploy a US$500mn investment in 25 gold financing projects, with the first tranche (US$30mn) coming to a close shortly.

The appeal of precious metals streaming and royalty contracts in comparison to equity is clear. There is no dilution to existing shareholders that have invested funds to get the project to the development stage. In addition, a listed mining company may be trading below net asset value which would make an equity deal even more dilutive.

Finally, streaming is especially attractive to mining companies with a by-product because it is not core to its investors.

Q. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OVER DEBT FINANCING?

» A mining company’s ability to finance

its project with debt is dependent on having a bankable feasibility study, which are expensive and for smaller projects they are prohibitively expensive. Streaming and royalty contracts are less risky than a debt arrangement because they are settled in the commodity itself rather than cash, so there is no exposure to metal price fluctuation, and it typically contains less covenants than a debt deal.

In short, precious metals streaming and royalty contracts have the potential to create win-win scenarios where both investors and mines thrive. miningglobal.com

19

DISCOVER WHO MADE THE CUT. Top 100 Companies in Sustainability Read Now

A BizClik Media Group Brand

Creating Digital Communities

AGGREKO POWERS SMOOTH ENERGY TRANSITION WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

22

March 2022

PRODUCED BY: BEN WIGGER

AGGREKO

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AGGREKO

24

March 2022

AGGREKO

For more than 60 years Aggreko has helped businesses manage their power demands – and now the focus is on doing so sustainably as LNG and renewables rise in stature

F

ar from its Glasgow HQ and the COP26 conference halls, around 150kms north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, Aggreko has been embarking on a new phase of industrial sustainability.

It has been integral to the development of a newly commissioned gas station at Ora Banda Mining’s Davyhurst Gold Mine, part of a broader global strategy to assist miners decarbonise their modular energy solutions.

Formerly running on diesel, the project – which provides around 8MW of power output – is believed to be the first to incorporate latest gas technology and involves a ‘virtual pipeline’ of gas being trucked over 650kms. It was installed in three months.

“We are very excited about this project,” said Rod Saffy, Global Head of Mining at Aggreko. “It’s going to save about 25,000 tonnes of CO2 and a great example of new technology coming to market, and miners having the foresight to commit to cleaner energy on site.”

Saffy says it now has similar projects up and running in four countries – two in Australia; two in Canada; one in Spain; and it is about to commission one in Chile. They are all between 6-10MW loads – five involve LNG truck gas and one is CNG compressed gas, and the distances are roughly the same, spanning between 500-1,000kms. miningglobal.com

25

AGGREKO

Aggreko powers smooth energy transition

Aggreko is on a mission to cut the amount of fossil diesel fuel used in customer solutions by at least 50% by 2030 and aiming to be net zero by 2050. The sustainable fortunes of its own business, and that of its clients, are very much entwined.

“LNG continues to be a strategically important option, and it’s certainly becoming more popular and providing a better option for our clients. Most mines that are running on diesel would prefer to run on gas,” said Saffy.

He foresees no reason why you can’t add a solar battery energy storage, and any other renewable, to this LNG arrangement.

“A good example would be our Granny Smith mine, where we have a gas-powered station and solar farm attached, and we’re looking at a wind option too,” he said, adding 26

March 2022

“ The Davyhurst project is going to save about 25,000 tonnes of CO2 and a great example of new technology coming to market, and miners having the foresight to commit to cleaner energy on site” ROD SAFFY

GLOBAL HEAD OF MINING, AGGREKO

AGGREKO

that it was one of the largest renewable microgrids in the world.

Power scale is a factor; if the loads get too high, nearing 30MW, then a lot of trucks are required as well as increased gas storage on site which means an increase in capital. “At this point it may make more sense to build pipeline infrastructure to the station, so it’s very situation dependent.”

Amid the transition from diesel to gas, renewables will continue to grow in stature, and batteries will reduce emissions further.

But access to gas can be a challenge.

“Not many mines have good access to pipelines, which traditionally has been a barrier to considering gas as a cost effective option.

However, we are seeing a trend where there are now more options available in the market to liquefying and transporting gas from the nearest pipeline,” said Whyte.

TITLE: GLOBAL HEAD OF MINING INDUSTRY: MINING LOCATION: GREATER SYDNEY AREA

EXECUTIVE BIO

Global knowledge at local level The advantage of global companies is when entering countries which may not be as developed, you can take established clean energy policies and commitments into these regions, added George Whyte, Managing Director, Australia Pacific and Global Mining Sector Leader at Aggreko.

“We are definitely the only true global company operating across all continents.

We apply global standards to mines, regardless of the country,” he said.

The company has seen rising demand in Africa, South and North America. It’s not only new mines which keeps Aggreko busy – mine expansions as well as scaling down a mine’s power needs is also important.

“There is an increasing trend, and definitely those running on diesel are looking to run on gas,” he said.

Aggreko is looking at alternate fuels, and as they become readily available, it will look

ROD SAFFY

Rod Saffy is the Global Head of Mining for Aggreko. Rod started with Aggreko in 2013 as an Area General Manager in the AusPac region, before quickly climbing the ranks to his current global position with the company. He is a business management professional with extensive experience in sales leadership, project management and engineering.

Having managed some extremely large teams of more than 250 employees, Rod has developed a high level of skill in people management, business and strategic management, sector deployment, complex matrix management and high performing teams.

With a Masters Degree in Engineering Business Management, and having worked for such companies as General Electric and Moog in previous roles, Rod has a strong background in the mining industry. His knowledge and experience are deeply ingrained, and he brings a deep understanding of the challenges and complexities of the mining sector to each project he engages in.

AGGREKO

GEORGE WHYTE TITLE: MANAGING DIRECTOR, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC AND GLOBAL MINING SECTOR LEADER INDUSTRY: ENERGY & MINING George Whyte became Aggreko AusPac’s Managing Director in 2013. He previously served as Sales & Marketing Director and Area General Manager, and has held various leadership roles within Aggreko since joining in 1999.

George brings extensive experience in the mining sector, having introduced the company’s Mine Cooling services and Life of Mine IPP contracts, and more recently solar hybrid solutions. Some of the company’s recent successes under George’s helm have included Gold Fields’ Granny Smith Gold Mine Power Station and Rio Tinto’s Amrun and Gove Power Stations. George’s recent focus has been to globalise Aggreko’s Mining Services with consistent standards of Quality, Technology and Expertise. He is very driven to support Aggreko’s customer base through its energy transition strategy.

George holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Deakin University.

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: GREATER MELBOURNE AREA

at technologies which will support these fuels.

He foresees thermal power will continue to play a key element in hybrid solutions.

“When you think about renewables, it’s going to be a combination of solar, wind and storage. To achieve a high penetration, you will need all three. Everyone has different targets. We would like to reduce emissions for our customers and have a pathway to that.”

Typically solar accounts for less than half of your thermal load, but Saffy believes that will rise as batteries become more efficient.

“Mines will be able to access more storage.” he said.

Aggreko is exploring how it can integrate green hydrogen into its fleet, and combine it with renewables and battery storage to build efficient and resilient hybrid systems, which will help customers achieve their sustainability goals.

“ It’s been a very busy year for us, and we’ve not seen the same issues in mining that we have in some of our other sectors” ROD SAFFY

GLOBAL HEAD OF MINING, AGGREKO

Targeted approach to partnerships Predominantly Aggreko operates independently, often executing the engineer, procure, construct and manage (EPCM) process themselves.

Although many peers offer renewable solutions, not many have the experience required when managing off-grid mine power.

“Occasionally we’ll partner with specialist providers,” said Saffy. “In Chile, we’re installing a power station at 4,500 metres above sea level and using specialist local contractors.

“We are also technologically ‘agnostic’, and prefer to design a bespoke solution which will include the best combination of renewable and thermal technology.”

While most sectors have been impacted by the pandemic, mining, with its remoteness and scale, has weathered it better than most.

“The mining sector is used to managing risks, and has a lot of controls in place,” added Whyte.

“It’s been a very busy year for us, and we’ve not seen the same issues that we have in some of our other sectors. We are miningglobal.com

29

1962

Year Founded

400+ Number of Employees (AusPac)

£1.365bn Revenue British Sterling (2020)

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March 2022

AGGREKO

“ I wouldn’t say it is for all companies but EaaS is a hot topic and increasingly miners are saying 'we do mining, you do energy' ” ROD SAFFY

GLOBAL HEAD OF MINING, AGGREKO

miningglobal.com

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DID YOU KNOW...

MINERS ADOPT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS Whyte said it is starting to see some companies adopt charging stations and believes hydrogen is definitely going to be a technology that presents itself in the near future.

“It feels that hydrogen is at the same place that wind and solar were 10 to 15 years ago - it’s a matter of time,” Saffy said.

“Whether it’s electric or hydrogen, it will mark a step change to ramping up green energy. Integration will be another game changing phase, not just the facilities but also the mobile equipment.”

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March 2022

OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS The greatest opportunities are the pace of change with the energy transition, and market expectations. “We’ve seen this sharp acceleration in customer collaboration, and need for ‘fast track’ options,” said Whyte.

The principal threat is the new technology, as it always carries investment risk, he adds.

“But the advantage of miners outsourcing it means they stick to their core business.

We are confident in our experience to manage the energy technology.”

AGGREKO

“ It feels that hydrogen is at the same place that wind and solar were 10 to 15 years ago - it’s a matter of time” ROD SAFFY

GLOBAL HEAD OF MINING, AGGREKO

very optimistic about the outlook in the next year or so, despite disruptions to the supply chain.

“We aim to replicate Australian mining standards globally for consistency, both in terms of energy technology and compliance.

A lot of developing countries are looking for the same standards, so that’s a unique offering being global. We’ve seen a great demand in the appetite among the global mining houses to engage with us.”

He said its key value propositions are its in-house technology and flexibility.

“Aggreko’s scale and access to equipment, as well as investment in technology, is a great platform to start with,” said Saffy. “We can meet customers’ early contact needs and as things change, we can bring in new technologies and deliver it under the same long-term contract.”

“We have committed to investing hundreds of millions of pounds a year to support our energy transition commitments towards becoming a Net Zero business by 2050.”

The mining sector needs more flexible solutions, and Aggreko focuses on mobile and modular and integrating them with technology. Aggreko is able to offer flexibility by leveraging its short-term contract business division, and its business model allows for low cost for upgrades / swap outs which reduces risk for miners.

Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) is also rising in importance. “I wouldn’t say it is for all companies but EaaS is a hot topic and increasingly miners are saying “we prefer to do mining and we leave energy to specialists such as Aggreko,” said Saffy.

miningglobal.com

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DIGITAL MINING

MAXIMISING

EFFICIENCY THROUGH

DIGITAL MINING New solutions and acquisitions point to efficiencies offered by digital mining WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

34

March 2022

T

here can be no doubt that digital is integral to mining’s future. But when it comes to maximising efficiency, it’s more complex, with automation, AI, VR, AR and drones all jostling for technological supremacy.

According to a 2017 white paper by the World Economic Forum (WEF), digitalisation in the mining industry has the potential to deliver over US$425bn in shareholder, customer and environmental value in the 10 years to 2025, which is equivalent to 3 to 4% of total industry revenue over that period.

Beyond balance sheets, the potential benefits of digitalisation in mining could see global CO2 emissions reduced by 610 million tonnes and over 1000 lives saved with enhanced safety measures.

Moreover, the demands arising from the energy transition, heightening demand for commodities, are placing unprecedented demands on productivity efficiencies.

For the potential to be realised, there is consensus that ‘old mining’ processes have to go – instead replaced by tech-oriented, pit-to-port supply chains, with data being as pivotal as the commodities themselves.

In its most recent report ‘Top 10 business risks and opportunities for mining and metals in 2022’ business consultancy EY sees digital and innovation as having been key tools in helping mines improve productivity and they expect to see greater use of data science, modeling and scenario planning.

Mining businesses are looking to shake up their operations massively using digital technology, with seven out of ten viewing it as an urgent priority according to Shell’s

“ With our private mapping capabilities, we enable mining companies to unleash the power of their location data in many important use cases” GINO FERRU

GENERAL MANAGER EMEAR AND SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT AT HERE TECHNOLOGIES

miningglobal.com

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DIGITAL MINING

“ Combining our advanced private network solutions with HERE services will give mining firms a head start on their digitalisation journey” THOMAS NORÉN

HEAD OF DEDICATED NETWORK AND VICE-PRESIDENT AT ERICSSON

latest research. But many of them are not quite sure how to do this. For example, 94% of mining leaders see rigid existing IT infrastructures and legacy systems as a barrier to progress in this area.

Similarly, sustainability in mining is seen as vital. Six in ten companies view decarbonisation as an urgent priority, and already have plans in place to address it.

However, these plans could be set back by a lack of in-house skills and expertise – the biggest barrier to decarbonisation according to 92% of mining leaders.

Digital transformation and decarbonisation go hand in hand Regardless of the barriers, there’s a need for swift change. And the important thing for mining leaders to remember is that they cannot afford to pick and choose between digitalisation and decarbonisation.

Far from being ‘nice to have’ objectives, both areas are intertwined and will be critical to a company’s future success. The good news is that many mining operators are investing in both areas. Post-pandemic, 59% plan to increase their digital transformation budgets, with 45% doing the same for decarbonisation.

And businesses are not alone in their efforts to accelerate the digitalisation and decarbonisation of mining. By working closely with trusted partners, operators can create a clear way forward – helping them to increase output to meet demand while meeting their environmental responsibilities. miningglobal.com

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“ Mine planning and operations management are key growth opportunities, and this complementary acquisition… will enable us to provide customers a more comprehensive suite of technologies” STEFAN WIDING

PRESIDENT AND CEO, SANDVIK

Shell has provided Shell LubeExpert services to 10 of the top companies over the last decade. Through its portfolio of end-toend solutions, it is helping mining businesses increase output without losing sight of their sustainability goals.

Shell has also invested in developing innovative offers for mining. This includes technologies like MachineMax, a digital equipment management platform for offhighway fleets; and OREN, the first B2B marketplace for the mining and industrial sectors, which offers solutions, software, and services to accelerate digital and sustainability transformation.

Full and half dome scans raise productivity This growing demand for more and intricate data and models means that for mining surveyors the pressure is on - even more than before - to deliver as efficiently as possible.

While developments in laser scanning have 38

March 2022

enabled high quality, comprehensive data, reducing collection time is a high priority for underground surveyors. Typically, mine surveyors will only require a scan in the forward direction, collecting as-built data of newly excavated areas, while the data behind them is irrelevant. The requirement to perform a Full Dome scan (scanning 360° around) can be time consuming, especially when only half the data is needed.

The latest version of the Trimble Access field software for topographic surveying, staking and control offers mine surveyors the possibility to limit the focus of their scan to the forward direction only by utilising the new Half-Dome Scan option. This new scanning method provides a critical boost for productivity, cutting scanning time by 50%. It is now possible to set the direction of the scan by aiming toward the face of the tunnel advance, and then scan only that which is in front of the scanner operator.

DIGITAL MINING

This leads not only to time savings in the field, but by capturing only that data which matters most to the workflow, surveyors end up with a more focused dataset, which saves processing time and provides a streamlined point cloud for fast delivery to stakeholders.

LAS Point Cloud export verifies progress Concurrent with the new half-dome scan option, users can now export point clouds directly from the field by choosing the LAS Point Cloud export option (valid LAS Export license required). This new export class enables surveyors to take their point cloud straight from Trimble Access Mines and deliver it immediately to mine design software. Here, mining engineers and geologists can rapidly inspect, review, and verify the mining progress and continue their design work to produce further deliverables as needed.

IntegratORE covers pit-to-port journey CSM Technologies, a Bhubaneswarheadquartered IT consulting firm, recently announced the roll-out of IntegratORE, billed as the first-of-its-kind integrated suite of digital mining solutions.

IntegratORE caters to every stage of the ore's pit-to-port journey. From ore extraction to processing, stacking, sampling, loading and its transportation to the final consumer touchpoint, this unified digital solution seamlessly tracks the movement of ore.

Priyadarshi Nanu Pany, President & CEO, CSM Technologies, said IntegratORE marks the culmination of over a decade of work in conceptualising digital mining solutions for governments and private enterprises.

“As the creator of this digital aggregator, CSM Technologies believes IntegratORE heralds a new wave of ground-level reforms in mining. Being location and

client agnostic, IntegratORE can serve all stakeholders,” he said.

As a homogenous, digital platform, IntegratORE connects all the critical constituents of the mining ecosystem, such as mineral excavation, stacking of ore with grade identification, stockyard management and weighment operations and multi-modal logistics.

It leverages data analytics and real-time reporting, crunching them in an intuitive dashboard to enable both the government machinery and mine owners to take prudent decisions.

For governments, IntegratORE is equipped with features like royalty assessment & collection, reporting & return filing, applications for permits & licenses,

Mining set for rapid modernisation The mining industry is in a rapid modernisation phase, with smart mining operations projected to increase threefold until 2025, according to Ericsson. A key driver of this transformation is the access to private cellular networks, enabling safer, more productive, and more sustainable mining operations, through reliable and low latency connectivity. miningglobal.com

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DIGITAL MINING

How AI and agile methods can boost efficiencies Freeport-McMoRan’s effort to increase copper production at Bagdad illustrated how to use agile methods and AI tools at its sites, where it can be difficult to alter accepted routines (click here). Here are a few of the key findings: • Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ product or solution to begin using it. Once it’s working well enough, implement it right away. Immediate action brings immediate results.

• Be willing to reconsider and discard longstanding assumptions and processes if you find better ways to do things. That means validating your new ideas through data analysis and fieldwork.

• Empower frontline teams to take risks.

That’s how testing and learning happens.

Set clear boundaries on what teams can try. Make it clear they won’t be blamed if their experiments come up short or incur extra costs.

• Use data science to catalyse decision making. Human judgment and intuition are hard to replace, but people can make better decisions when they’re informed by analytical findings.

• Once you create value with agile and AI, spread the word about what you did and how you did it. Showcasing success will attract interest in these capabilities and motivate colleagues to adopt them.

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integration with dispatch processes, realtime stock-keeping, and real-time and monthly reconciliations of receivables and payables.

It has many useful components for enterprise miners too; IoT-based productivity solutions for weighment and dispatch processing, AR/VR based mineral grade determination, digitalised logistics operations across all touchpoints, in-premise track and trace, and guidance systems, MIS reports and dashboards and despatch planning and scheduling.

Acquisitions and partnerships tap into digital potential In December, Sandvik signed an agreement to acquire Australian-based Deswik, which specialises in mine planning software. Deswik

DIGITAL MINING

will be part of a newly formed division Digital Mining Technologies within business area Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

By acquiring Deswik, Sandvik gains a leading supplier of integrated software platforms that support digitalisation throughout mine planning stages, with more than 10,000 current licenses. The transaction is expected to close during Q1.

“Mine planning and operations management are key growth opportunities, and this complementary acquisition and our new Digital Mining Technologies Division will strengthen our digital offering and enable us to provide customers a more comprehensive suite of technologies,” said Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik.

Elsewhere HERE Technologies and Ericsson have teamed up to provide the global mining industry with custom mapping capabilities.

The combination of Ericsson connectivity and HERE location services deliver smart mining capabilities, from mapping private terrain, to pinpointing and navigating assets in real-time. By using location data to build continuously updated private maps on the HERE location platform, mining companies can create a canvas to improve operational efficiency and safety.

The living map can then be used to search or track, and deploy routing, as well as custom-built applications and services.

Companies can deploy an on-premise cellular network for exclusive use. For mining, this includes facilities in very remote areas and underground tunnels, both of which are not typically within public cellular range, and Ericsson’s high-performance 5G private networks are purpose-built for mining operations.

“We are partnering with HERE because of the breadth of their location services – ranging from mapping to routing, positioning and asset tracking. Combining our advanced private network solutions with HERE services will give mining firms a head start on their digitalisation journey,” said Thomas Norén, Head of Dedicated Network and VicePresident at Ericsson.

“We look forward to increasing the productivity and safety of the mining industry by bringing location services to Ericsson’s customers. With our private mapping capabilities, we enable mining companies to unleash the power of their location data in many important use cases,” said Gino Ferru, General Manager EMEAR and Senior Vice-President at HERE Technologies. miningglobal.com

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FERREXPO

WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS PRODUCED BY: ASHLEY KIRBY

FERREXPO FIRES UP DECARBONISATION AND AUTONOMY

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FERREXPO

CEO Jim North is firmly focused on decarbonisation, renewables expansion and autonomous fleet development

F

errexpo CEO Jim North’s “big three” are probably not that dissimilar from many of his counterparts: growth, decarbonisation and technology.

But the fact that we spend the best part of an hour discussing them underlines their vital importance to the iron ore pellet company’s overall strategy.

North has been with Ferrexpo for seven years and interim CEO since 2020, and was recently appointed permanent CEO.. He speaks clearly and in an assured manner, which again is indicative of his focus.

As Group COO between 2014 and 2020, operational efficiency and discipline were priorities, but now as CEO, the task is how best to execute the growth and decarbonisation strategy for the Swiss-based commodity trading and mining company, listed on the London Stock Exchange, whose operations are in Ukraine; North is actually speaking to me from central Dubai, which seems strangely appropriate too for such an international entity (the Gulf city serves Kiev with two flights a day).

So to growth first. In its half-year results for 2021, revenues rose 74% to US$1,353 million, profit after tax came in at $661 million, and pellet production totalled 5.6 million tonnes; the pandemic-defying figures were attributed to a ‘multi-year investment programme in our assets’.

North remains humble though. “You never conclude business improvement – there are

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FERREXPO

Ferrexpo

“ Transitioning from a manned operation to autonomous is not just a case of buying the technology, bolting it onto the truck and letting them go. It’s about learning to live with autonomy” JIM NORTH CEO, FERREXPO

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different rates of implementation,” he reflects.

Operations and sustainability are now clearly two sides of the same coin.

Ferrexpo is aiming for 30% reduction in combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. After achieving 16% and 6% reductions in 2020 and the first half of 2021 respectively, North is confident it will get there “well before” the scheduled date.

“We’re well down the path to achieving 30%,” he said. “We have no intention of using carbon offsets – we want to do real carbon reduction. We like to be conservative and over deliver. As we progress, you need to put more work in to get smaller gains.”

There are substantial amounts of renewables in the Ukrainian grid already but that will only take the company part of the

FERREXPO

JIM NORTH TITLE: CEO INDUSTRY: MINING LOCATION: DUBAI Jim joined Ferrexpo in November 2014 and since then he has successfully managed the Company's operations and introduced world class operating practices. Previously, Jim was Chief Operating Officer of London Mining plc, where he was accountable for setting the company's operational and investment strategy around the world. Prior to this, he held a variety of senior operational management roles in multiple commodities with Rio Tinto and BHP.

EXECUTIVE BIO

way in addressing Scope 2, so it is targeting solar and wind as possible solutions. It is already trialling a 5MW solar plant, and so far North is happy with the performance.

“We want to run it for a period of time to test the seasonal variations before we do more internal investment in renewables.”

It is also developing a small hydrogen test plant, and initially use it to replace natural gas in one of four pelletiser lines. Construction and commissioning will start by the end of next year.

Green hydrogen, for Ferrexpo, has two uses: as a gas replacement in the pelletisation process, and possibly to provide an alternative power source for mining auxiliary fleet.

“In terms of the overall renewables strategy, there has to be a blend. It isn’t cost effective to use hydrogen for power generation.

“We don’t want to take on significant tranches of debt. The commodity price will determine the rate of implementation of our decarbonisation plans.”

Electrification and energy efficiency are increasingly key subjects, especially as its fleet of 86 trucks is forecast to grow to 134 units. It has set a deadline for the first diesel engine replacement by 2027, though no manufacturer has been selected yet, and he said the “expectation” is that its primary mining fleet will decarbonise by 2032.

Meeting its own emission targets is just one element in the sustainable equation, and there are many uncertainties in the wider steel industry.

“We recognise that steel industry will need to significantly reduce carbon inputs to meet their obligations. We’re seeing car manufacturers under pressure to have carbon-free steel by 2030, which will be tough – 2040 to 2045 may be more feasible.” He said the bigger question is

FERREXPO

“ As we expand our business, we need to add lab and analysis capacity, and robotics is well advanced in these areas” JIM NORTH CEO, FERREXPO

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FERREXPO

Autonomous trucks

how are steelmakers going to fund the transition from traditional blast furnace technology to processes with reduced carbon inputs?

“China has invested a lot in traditional steelmaking processes over the last 20 years – for them to scrap all that, and implement direct reduction processes, would be a significant cost. It's not yet clear how European steelmakers are going to fund decarbonisation – that’s going to be multiple billions of dollars. Ultimately the cost of this transition will be passed onto the end consumer and steel will be more expensive, but it’s clear it’s needed.”

Autonomous focus drives digital growth Autonomy is an increasingly core focus within fleet development, and currently six trucks (CAT-793, 220 tons) are self-driving. miningglobal.com

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FERREXPO

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FERREXPO

“We broke the project and robotics is well RISING TO EMISSIONS into two phases, the first advanced in these areas.”

CHALLENGES is six trucks, the second is With pellets firing nine. We’re holding off the at 1,400 degrees, AI is Currently, global steel deployment of the further also being courted to production accounts for 7% nine until we’ve operated measure variability in the six for a significant of global carbon emissions, off-gases to manage representing more than all of period,” he said. process variation. the emissions from the world’s “Transitioning from a “That will be a cars put together manned operation to significant advantage autonomous is not • Ferrexpo’s iron ore pellets for us in future. AI can reduce carbon emissions by 40% just a case of buying manage more variables for every tonne of sinter fines the technology, than a traditional control replaced with pellets bolting it onto the room operator.”

• Ferrexpo has invested over truck and letting He doesn’t envisage them go. It’s about US$2.9 billion in its operations in that jobs will go in the Ukraine since its IPO in 2007 learning to live new digital age, more • It invested $17 million with autonomy. that skills will evolve. in environmental projects The computer “A good example in 2020 doesn’t have any of this is we employ judgement – it will 12 surveyors who are only do what you ‘autonomous road tell it to do.” builders’ mapping the routes – that’s a Productivity is very important, role that didn’t exist before autonomy. and using robotics is going to play an We also have more network engineers increasingly key role. Jim says Ferrexpo in our business now to manage the is thinking about implementing communication networks – and if you’d robotics in its future mining labs. said to me 10 years ago we’d have a team “As we expand our business, we of drone pilots today, I wouldn’t have need to add lab and analysis capacity, believed you.”

“ I changed the leadership development programme, which was largely focused on hard skills, and now there’s a greater focus on cultural change” JIM NORTH CEO, FERREXPO

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INDUSTRY X.O

CAPITALISING ON DIGITAL TWIN POTENTIAL ON DIGITAL TWIN CAPITALISING From site exploration to CAPEX planning, digital twin is set to change the face of mining WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

D

igital twins are changing the face of mining. Besides site exploration, project development, CAPEX planning, timely and accurate construction, companies use virtual representations of their assets and running processes to maximise efficiencies.

Digital twins allow on-site workers to create simulations and develop digital training programmes that help new interns learn the ins and outs of the industry, the work they will be executing and what future possible scenarios they can expect, according to consultancy Challenge.org.

“Moreover, keep in mind that the simulation itself is not static. Meaning, 54

March 2022

although the virtual world will be strictly based on its physical twin, the object or area it has been based on, the workers will be able to change, alter and add elements to it, such as making necessary weather changes, creating emergency scenarios, simulating equipment problems so that workers could know how to deal with emergency errors right from the very moment they start working and so much more,” it notes.

Dassault Systemès GEOVIA employs bespoke modelling and mining engineering software to produce a 4D digital twin or simulated mine site. GEOVIA enables senior executives, survey teams and equipment operators, to see and touch the mine site.

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sustain peak performance.

Benchmark your actual process and asset performance data against your expected performance with Honeywell Forge for Industrial, for better decisions that impact reliability, safety and profitability.

For more information, please visit: www.honeywellprocess.com/iiot

INDUSTRY X.O

“ Platforms don’t need to be complicated or difficult to use, in order to be useful” MICHELLE ASH

CEO, DASSAULT SYSTEMÈS GEOVIA

“Platforms don’t need to be complicated or difficult to use, in order to be useful. Creating a bespoke 4D twin enables our clients to really experience their site and to run different scenarios in real-time and see what the impact of that might be to the company. Some of these scenarios might include where to mine, what the impact of introducing an electric fleet might be, or even whether diversifying out of one commodity might be beneficial to the overall company,” said Dassault Systemès GEOVIA CEO Michelle Ash.

Across industries, value chains are facing increasing uncertainty from climatic anomalies, market volatility, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors. Industries as diverse as agriculture, oil and gas, and mining face essentially the same problem: they need the ability to both run with increased efficiency and recover quickly from unforeseen or unexpected challenges.

But these two goals often conflict. If companies simply increase production levels, they’ll inevitably run into bottlenecks—and if failures occur that worsen those bottlenecks, the entire network can slow down and become less resilient, according to McKinsey.

“Increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technologies – such as miningglobal.com

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INDUSTRY X.O

Digital Twins in Practice | Coal Mining Summit 2021

“ Companies are increasingly incorporating the Internet of Things into their plants. This and other equipment, including the use of digital twins, can actually make them more vulnerable to a wide variety of cyberattacks” SEBASTIAN REITER

PARTNER AT MCKINSEY & COMPANY

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INDUSTRY X.O

advanced analytics-based forecasting, digital-twin supply-chain simulations, and supply-chain optimisation tools – can help companies improve the resilience-efficiency balance of their value chains,” it notes.

Digital twin cyber warnings McKinsey partner Sebastian Reiter believes the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities across the global value chain and pushed companies to prioritise risk management and operational resilience, against cyberattacks and other threats to supply chains.

He agrees that technology has a critical role to play in this, but also sounds a note of caution, warning that the digital transformation of supply chains itself carries a degree of risk.

“Companies are increasingly incorporating the Internet of Things (IoT) into their plants,” he says. “This and other equipment,

Industry driving digital twin growth As per the latest research report, Digital Twin Market by End-user, Deployment, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025, industry 4.0 and industrial IoT are notably driving digital twin market growth.

With 42% of the growth originating from North America, this region will record a fast growth rate during 2021 to 2025.

Over the projected period, the digital twin market in North America will benefit from rising demand for digital twins in the automotive and aerospace industries.

In 2020, the region dominated the worldwide digital twin market, and this dominance is likely to continue over the forecast period.

Both the US and Canada have welldeveloped IT and network infrastructure, providing the door for technological advancements and deployments. Due to the rising demand for digital twins in the automotive and aerospace industries, the digital twin market in the area is expected to rise significantly over the forecast period.

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INDUSTRY X.O

Digital twin benefits for ore processing plants Enhancing efficiency Exploiting a digital replica of an asset results in opening up a number of insights into operating inefficiencies that lead to deploying new operating models and allow for alternative decisions to be tested in a virtual environment. It also reduces the amount of downtime dispatching predictive maintenance, centralised record tracking and decision making.

Minimising operating expenses Ore processing plant’s energy consumption takes 20% of direct operating costs with transportation costs adding up another weighty lump to overall OPEX. Digital technologies empower management board to excel at optimising operations and ceasing underutilization of the facility.

Planning capital expenditures Long-term capital planning, weighing alternative investment options and selecting the lowest CAPEX scenario in the virtual

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realm reduce uncertainty of capital expenses choices and enable to commission operations more profoundly.

Ensuring on-site workers safety Digital replication of a real-world environment facilitates training process, allowing it to be done remotely and with maximum engagement. Real-time capture of the workers’ activity weaved in the virtual twin ensures safety-measures compliance and boosts crew efficiency.

Managing risks In-depth understanding of the asset and its operation, possibility to simulate and test various options increase the facility’s viability through uncertainty. Supply and production chains exposure can be run in a digital twin to quickly recover from unforeseen emergencies and change operations in a way that will correspond to the reconditioned environment.

SOURCE: BIM Machine

INDUSTRY X.O

But he agrees that, ultimately, increasingly sophisticated AI technologies – such as digital twin supplychain simulations, advanced analyticsbased forecasting and supply-chain network optimisation tools – will help companies “improve their value-chain resilience-efficiency balance”.

He stresses that the key is to use such technology “when and where it matters, in order to mitigate risks and build operational resilience.”

“ Increasingly sophisticated AI technologies can help companies improve the resilience-efficiency balance of their value chains” MCKINSEY & COMPANY RESEARCH

including the use of digital twins, can actually make them more vulnerable to a wide variety of cyberattacks,” he said, in a report

by Supply Chain Digital.

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RG GOLD

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RG GOLD

WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS PRODUCED BY: ASHLEY KIRBY

PROGRESSING WELL WITH 5MTPA CIP PLANT CONSTRUCTION miningglobal.com

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RG GOLD

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RG GOLD

RG Gold is busy developing its new CIP Plant project and maximising its existing operation in Kazakhstan

R

G Gold, the Kazakh gold mining and production company, operates one of the largest deposits of gold in Kazakhstan and is the third largest in terms of gold resources. The deposit is in the Burabay area of Akmola region, covering an area of 67.7 sq. km that consists of two pits: North and South.

RG Processing, set up in October 2018, was created to facilitate the engineering and design of the project for the construction of a carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant, that is expected to start processing 5 Mtpa of sulfide ore from Q3 2022. The KZT180 billion project includes building all necessary infrastructure objects such as tailings facility, new camp, water supply facilities and a new HV powerline.

Both companies’ shareholders – Kazakh private equity group Verny Capital and American group of private equity funds under common management Resource Capital Funds (RCF) – are actively involved into companies’ strategic and operational management.

Rossouw’s attention is now firmly fixed on the getting the new mine up and running. It is targeting 5 tonnes of gold per year, with 170 tonnes in resources and 99 tonnes in reserve.

The total construction cost is $425 million.

Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (a subsidiary of Baiterek Holding) provided a loan in the amount of up to US$300 million for nine years and the remainder will be provided by RG Processing at its own expense. miningglobal.com

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RG GOLD

“I’ve grown up with autocratic leaders most of my life, and I saw it was something that didn’t bear fruit, so I’m 100% the opposite” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

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RG GOLD

LAWRENCE ROSSOUW TITLE: CEO

“We brought AAEngineering Group on board in January,” explains CEO Lawrence Rossouw. “They are the major technologyEPC provider at the moment, and they will also be responsible for commissioning services in the ramp up to full production.

It’s been challenging, especially with the COVID situation. Some items got stuck at the Chinese border for several months, and

EXECUTIVE BIO

COMPANY: RG GOLD Responsible for the Company's operational management and the new 5 MTPA CIP Plant Project execution.

Certified mining metallurgist with 25 years of operational, construction and project management experience in various parts of the world. Professional with an extensive experience in delivering successful projects associated with extreme weather conditions and logistically challenging locations.

RG GOLD

Carbon in pulp plant in numbers

5 Mtpa of sulfide ore from Q3 2022 Targeting

5tonnes of gold per year

170tonnes In resources

99tonnes In reserve

$425mn project cost

that was frustrating. We had to re-organise our construction schedule to accommodate the late delivery of these items.”

Bullion will be sent to the Kazzinc refinery.

Kazzinc operates one of the largest gold producing operation in Kazakhstan, Altyntau Kokshetau in the Akmola Region.

Alongside the new venture, RG Gold is busy maximising its 2mtpa oxide ore treatment facility which it has been operating for the last 9 years.

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“The aim is to keep running that plant for the next two to three years. While we’re ramping up the CIP plant, we will have this plant in production as well. So, from 202325, we will be treating 7mtpa in total across both plants,” he adds. “Drilling results looks really good. We are expecting additional oxide resources close to surface, so the potential exist to keep the Heap Leach operation running for several years, maybe even longer.”

RG GOLD

RG Gold progressing well with 5Mtpa CIP Plant construction

“We brought AAEngineering Group on board in January. They are the major technologyEPC provider at the moment, and will also be responsible for commissioning services in the ramp up to full production” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

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RG GOLD

“In future, when we have an operating mine, we’ll use the new technology such as AI to manage the plant and monitor the processing parameters. But right now, the focus is getting the plant up and running in a very short period of time” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

Currently its workforce stands at 920 across mining, geology, processing and administration, but the plan is to add another approximately 300, to operate the CIP plant, growing total manpower to around 1,250 by the middle of next year.

“We’ve been very fortunate in that COVID hasn’t impacted our business in any severe way. We obviously applied the strictest preventative measures and protocols, it was costly, but it was worth it – and we weren’t affected from a production point of view, and the project team worked remotely.”

In terms of partners, RG Gold works closely with ASPMK, which has installed a new, 75km high-voltage overhead line, which will be commissioned in October this year; CPS, which built the tailings storage facility, and should be finished by the end of the year; and Fortinet protects its IT infrastructure.

“We’ve built up a lot of connections with other mines – we collaborate with Kazzinc and Altynalmas to use their operating facilities to train our people. They have processing plants similar to ours in terms of technology and throughput. We have an unofficial agreement with these companies that from March 2022, we will send personnel to their facilities for practical training purposes.”

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RG GOLD

RG Gold portfolio

920 Staff

67,7sqkm

territory in North and South Raygorodok

170tons

of gold reserves

JORC-compliant resources of

6Moz

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RG GOLD

“We’ve been very fortunate in that COVID hasn’t impacted our business in any severe way.

We obviously applied the strictest protocols, it was costly, but it was worth it” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

Mining - From design to implementation.

The activity of Mining and Ore Technologies LLP is the provision of production, technical and consulting services: surveying, drilling, blasting, excavation, transport work, outsourcing of production processes at the Ore mining Works in the field of open-pit mining.

The staff of the organization is formed of highly qualified specialists with experience in the mining industry from 3 to 25 years. The management team consists of specialists with higher education and more than 10 years of experience in the mining industry.

The fleet of mining and transport and drilling equipment is over 170 units of medium and heavy class - excavators with a bucket of 7m3 and 15 m3, dump trucks 91 tons.

Scope of works performed - more than 40 mln m3 per year Discover more

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RG GOLD

The company prefers to use firms in Kazakhstan – since Verny Capital is a local entity – but it does call on international assistance when needed.

“We start local, the villages around us, and that’s where the majority of our workforce come from. Training is a massive challenge. We spend a lot of time and money getting qualified people.

“We’ll use partners when the quality of service locally isn’t to international standards – AMC in Australia handle mine design and geological work, for instance.”

At a time when many firms are rapidly embracing new technologies during the digital transformation, RG Gold is taking a measured approach. Construction design was completed using 3D modelling.

“In future, when we have an operating mine, we’ll use the new technology such as AI to manage the plant and monitor the processing parameters. Those will be implemented as we go forward. But right

now, the focus is getting the plant up and running in a short period of time, as the timeframe is very aggressive.”

While the gold price may remain volatile, Rossouw is confident in the market’s future.

“At least in the next 10 years, I see a big future for gold.”

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TECHNOLOGY

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TECHNOLOGY

STRONGER AT THE EDGE COMPUTING The growth in Edge computing, 5G geolocation and predictive maintenance solutions are providing companies with competitive advantages WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

E

dge computing refers to computing that pushes intelligence, data processing, analytics, and communication capabilities down to where the data originates, that is, at network gateways or directly at endpoints.

The aim is to reduce latency, ensure highly efficient networks and operations, as well as service delivery and improved user experience. By extending computing closer to the data source, edge computing enables latency-sensitive computing, offers greater business agility through better control and faster insights, lowers operating expenses, and results in more efficient network bandwidth support.

Edge computing is establishing itself as a foundational technology for industrial enterprises with its shorter latencies, robust security, responsive data collection, and lower costs.

For enterprises, telecom operators are deploying private wireless networks to enable Manufacturing 4.0, automated mining, precision agriculture, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and other compelling use cases.

Mining operations are looking for any technological advantages to help them efficiently and cost-effectively adapt to production and market changes in a sustainable and environmental manner. miningglobal.com

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Change is hard. The truth is that many mining companies are still very hesitant about furthering their digital mining transformations in fear of cost of implementation, risk and uncertainty.

However, digital solutions from AVEVA can help mining companies reduce complexity and optimize business and operational performance. aveva.com @avevagroup linkedin.com/company/aveva

For more information, read our free E-Book on Digital Mining Transformation.

TECHNOLOGY

While these operations use many types of traditional equipment and established operating methods, there are many opportunities to realise benefits by embarking on a digital transformation, according to an Emerson white paper.

“Edge controllers are modern automation platforms for enabling digital transformation and effectively applying IIoT concepts.

Because mining operations are most often remotely located, any useful technologies must be suitable for these conditions and provide extensive communication options,” it states.

“Edge controllers are built for this OT environment, and have the latest and most secure IT computing and networking features … [they] are especially compelling for this service because they can gather and store data locally, process and analyse it, directly inform operational logic of optimal settings, and relay the most essential information to higher level systems.

“The result is more efficient, environmentally friendly, and safer operations for all types of mining and metals operations. These benefits can be realised by applying edge controllers to both new designs and retrofit applications.”

Emerson recently announced PACSystems Edge Solutions, a new portfolio of turnkey industrial edge hardware and software solutions which are designed to help OEMs, systems integrators, and end users significantly reduce the time spent integrating, developing and validating digital transformation projects.

From low footprint connectivity and computing to plantwide analytics and supervision, the portfolio delivers a scalable range of edge capabilities in fit-for-purpose packages. The solutions allow personnel in industrial machinery, renewable energy and

“ Edge controllers are built for this OT environment, and have the latest and most secure IT computing and networking features” EMERSON WHITE PAPER

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TECHNOLOGY

other industries to easily collect and visualise critical data and analytics locally, right where they work, enabling them to optimise and proactively maintain operations for maximum uptime and efficiency.

PACSystems Edge Solutions are fully licensed and optimised combinations of Emerson’s edge and IIoT software and computing hardware, which significantly reduce the time and complexity of selecting, configuring and supporting edge solutions.

End users gain faster access to insights from disparate and stranded data sources across the operation, minimising the time to achieve results. OEMs can securely and proactively monitor machine health, improve actionability and visibility into performance, and notify operators of potential issues before they become downtime events.

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“ Accessing critical data and analytics right at the point of generation empowers plant personnel to take fast, informed action to improve production” SABEE MITRA

EMERSON’S GROUP PRESIDENT FOR SYSTEMS AND SOFTWARE

TECHNOLOGY

“Accessing critical data and analytics right at the point of generation empowers plant personnel to take fast, informed action to improve production,” said Sabee Mitra, Emerson’s Group President for Systems and Software. “With PACSystems Edge Solutions, any industry application using PLCs can deliver immediate insights when and where operators need them most while maintaining easy scalability.”

Organisations can start with one application and build as future needs grow, easily expanding the value of solutions already in place. They include: • RXi HMI: Improves visibility into machine operation and performance and empowers operators with quick access to critical information.

• RXi Edge Computing: Harnesses data from any source to deliver real-time insights and machine learning that is immediately accessible to operators to improve decision-making.

• RX3i Edge Controller: Unlocks real-time process optimisation through highspeed, deterministic control and machine intelligence in a single device.

• RXi Edge Analytics: Simplifies access and visibility to plant productivity, performance and energy usage with intuitive, preconfigured analytics.

• RXi Supervisor: Connects plant assets and production data into a comprehensive, real-time view of production operations with anywhere-access visualisation.

Intersec has stepped up adoption of its 5G-ready geolocation platform by tier-one

WCH Technologies partners with DISH WCI Technologies has struck a partnership with DISH Wireless to market 5G services to enterprises, expanding a longstanding business relationship. WCI will sell, market and deliver systems integration services to enterprise customers while DISH provides access to its deep portfolio of licensed spectrum, RF design capabilities and 5G deployment expertise. The venture will target enterprise customers across oil and gas, health care, mining and other industries.

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" The arrival of 5G opens a wide range of geolocation use cases for mobile operators, public authorities, media, manufacturing, automotive, and transportation industries” YANN CHEVALIER INTERSEC CEO

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carriers around the world, enabling them to monetise new 5G positioning use cases, in compliance with data privacy regulations. The platform has already been selected by tierone telecom operators in France, Canada, Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.

"The arrival of 5G opens a wide range of geolocation use cases for mobile operators, public authorities, media, manufacturing, automotive, and transportation industries," said CEO Yann Chevalier. "Performance requirements in terms of accuracy, availability, latency, and reliability encourage operators to go beyond connectivity and capitalise on new revenue streams to seize sustainable growth opportunities.”

TECHNOLOGY

Qualcomm unveils purpose-built IoT modem Last year Qualcomm Technologies unveiled its first, purpose-built IoT modem solution equipped with 5G connectivity and optimised for IIoT applications. The Qualcomm® 315 5G IoT Modem-RF System is a comprehensive modem-to-antenna solution designed to support the IoT ecosystem in building upgradeable LTE and 5G devices for IoT verticals, accelerate the adoption of 5G connectivity for IoT, and expand the overall opportunity for 5G in the IoT industry.

Another tie-up has seen Telefónica Tech and Grupo Álava sign a strategic agreement to launch jointly a predictive maintenance solution that will provide industrial companies with an advanced data platform with which to optimise their activity by being able to anticipate possible faults or defects in machinery through a predictive maintenance plan.

The solution will allow industrial companies to digitise their maintenance processes by mass wireless and/or traditional sensing of all their assets in the production chain, not only those of high value (rotary engines, reciprocating machinery, electrical transformers).

The data generated will be collected by sensors, connected through Telefónica Tech’s LTE and 5G mobile networks, stored and processed in Industrial Edge Computing technology, and will be accessible through a platform, from which operators will have indications based on artificial intelligence capabilities to better manage the health of production process machinery, extending its useful life and optimising maintenance costs.

Yago Sanchez, Director of Alliances at Grupo Álava, said the combination of 5G technologies and predictive technology allows different industries to take a giant step forward in the digitisation of industrial processes.

“We understand that this union offers guarantees to our current and future customers to improve their competitiveness in the international market, thanks to the adoption of process digitalisation solutions, predictive maintenance of assets, digital twins, improvement of end product quality and a large number of other contributions that we can make to their business,” he said. miningglobal.com

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY

The energy transition is accelerating and mining companies find themselves at the centre of the supply-demand conundrum WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY

R

aw materials will be at the centre of decarbonisation efforts and electrification of economies and the mining sector will need to grow at an unprecedented pace in order to enable the required technological shifts, according to a new McKinsey report.

As we move from fossil fuels to wind and solar power generation, battery and fuel-cell-based electric vehicles (EVs), and hydrogen production, the required pace of transition means that the availability of certain raw materials will need to be scaled up within a relatively short time and, in certain cases, at volumes "ten times or more than the current market size," it notes.

Lithium mine supply would need to grow by around a factor of seven versus today’s required growth, while copper and nickel would require US$250bn to US$350bn cumulative capital expenditures by 2030.

Just as there are several possible trajectories through which the global economy can achieve its target of limiting warming to 1.5°C, there are corresponding technology mixes involving different rawmaterials combinations that bring their own respective implications, it notes.

"No matter which decarbonisation pathway we follow, there will be fundamental demand shifts — and these will change the metals and mining sector as we miningglobal.com

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY

“ If you ask me the one element we haven't got right yet, is a well thought out, inclusive of social environmental considerations, land use planning exercise on the ground” MARCO LAMBERTINI

generation, or the use of electricity in running a battery EV • Second, the emission intensity of each technology will depend, to a certain extent, on the choice of material (for example, steel versus aluminium in the case of vehicles).

• Third, even when using the same material, choice of supplier can make a significant difference, since the carbon footprint of the same commodity can vary greatly depending on its origin.

know it, creating new sources of value while shrinking others," it states.

For the fast-changing automotive sector, three key challenges are highlighted: • There are emissions derived from use of the technology throughout vehicles' life cycles, such as the burning of fossil fuels in power

Price incentives The trajectory toward materials availability will not be a linear one and McKinsey expects materials shortages, price flyups, and, given the inability of supply to react quickly, the need for technological innovation and substitution of certain metals (possibly at the expense of performance and cost of the end-use application).

DIRECTOR GENERAL, WILDLIFE FUND INTERNATIONAL

miningglobal.com

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY

Future Minerals Forum - 13th January Plenary - EN

"While raw-materials needs will grow exponentially for certain metals, lead times for large-scale new greenfield assets are long (seven to ten years) and will require significant capital investment before actual demand and price incentives are seen," it states.

At the same time, with increasingly complex (and largely lower-quality) deposits needed, miners will require significant incentives, for example, consistent copper prices of more than US$8,000 to US$10,000 per metric ton and nickel prices of more than US$18,000 per metric ton, before large capital decisions are made.

It believes commodities facing an upside in demand from the energy transition will follow one of three trajectories: 1. Supply responds to prices 2. Demand accelerates, prices react strongly, and materials substitution kicks in 86

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3. Demand accelerates, prices react strongly, and technology substitution kicks in Miners will need to (re)build a growth agenda, innovate for productivity and decarbonisation of operations, and embed themselves into supply chains.

In conclusion, companies will need to identify and distinguish between hard and soft constraints around technology rollout and then engineer raw materials that may be difficult or expensive to source.

"Irrespective of the strategy used, companies along the supply chain, such as cathode-active material producers, EV OEMs, and battery producers, will need to secure raw materials to enable aggressive growth plans, while also decarbonising their own supply chains.

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY

Four key steps to sustainability Mining companies should adhere to four key steps when devising their sustainability strategies, according to Marco Lambertini, Director General of the World Wildlife Fund International, speaking at the recent Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.

He said companies need to make an "honest and thorough assessment" of their carbon footprint and sustainability targets; secondly, commit to developing a plan that addresses their footprint and seeks to "avoid, mitigate and compensate"; thirdly, thoroughly implement the plan in terms of reporting and transparency; and finally, they should advocate within the sector, demonstrating their progressiveness in implementing sustainability agendas.

"It's important to say that any action, any commitment, is meaningful," he said. "There are two parallel interconnecting goals - one is carbon neutral, the other is nature positive.

A company developing a plan to address its footprint really needs to consider both.

Finally, we're beginning to stop taking nature for granted, and value nature."

Lambertini was speaking at a seminar entitled: 'How best to position the mining industry as a leader on sustainability and development partnerships?'. The mining industry is responsible for 4 to 7% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally.

"If you ask me the one element we haven't got right yet, is a well thought out, inclusive of social environmental considerations, land use planning exercise on the ground," he added.

Rohitesh Dhawan, President and CEO of the International

EnviroGold Global to develop nine projects by 2025 EnviroGold Global, a clean technology company accelerating the world’s transition to a circular-resource economy through the production of metals without mining, expects to acquire and develop nine major projects by 2025 with seven expected to achieve commercial metal production by 2025. The company – which announced a strategic tie up with Red Cloud, an IIROC regulated dealer and provider of financial services to the global mining sector in December – is strategically positioned to earn and maintain social license while capitalising the estimated US$3.4tn in valuable commodities residing in target waste streams globally.

“We know that minerals are critical but let's make a promise to mine them as if they're not” ROHITESH DHAWAN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON MINING AND METALS miningglobal.com

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY

The lithium conundrum Lithium mine supply would need to grow by around a factor of seven versus today’s required growth, while copper and nickel would require US$250bn to US$350bn cumulative capital expenditures by 2030.

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Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), echoed Lambertini's message, saying: "We know that minerals are critical but let's make a promise to mine them as if they're not."

Dr. Thomas Kaplan, Chairman, Electrum Group, speaking on a video link from New York, was effusive in his outlook for Saudi Arabia, a country with which he has had a 45-year working relationship, saying it was in the midst of an "epic, transcendent revolution".

“We have the key stakeholders here to start the journey to build sustainable practices” H.E. KHALID AL MUDAIFER KSA'S VICE MINISTER, MINING AFFAIRS

"The many reforms can't be seen in isolation - this is not your grandfather's Saudi Arabia. This is arguably the most important reform centre in the world today," he said.

"Those companies that engage with it are not coming to a country that's greenwashing.

One of the best pieces of news for mining in Saudi Arabia is you have Mark (Bristow) and Robert (Friedland) on that stage. If you are able to have practitioners of best practice in the sector, you will encompass all the aspects of ESG." In conclusion, H.E. Khalid Al Mudaifer, Vice Minister for Mining Affairs, said: "We are serious and ready, and have transformed ourselves in the last five years. We have the key stakeholders here to start the journey to build sustainable practices." miningglobal.com

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TOP 10

EARNING MINING EXECUTIVES A list of top earners covering leading CFOs and CEOs has been compiled by Bedford, which researched Board and Executive Compensation in the mining industry

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WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

TOP 10

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list of mining industry top earners, comprising leading CFOs and CEOs, has been compiled by The Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH. Compensation data and insights from 276 mining companies were analysed, including over 1,000 named executive officers and 1,700 board members.

"Despite being negatively impacted by supply chain issues, health & safety related disruptions, and other pandemicrelated market implications, mining is one of the few industries that came out of COVID-19 in excellent financial and operational shape," said Frank Galati, Managing Partner and Compensation Practice Leader.

"Throughout 2021, we observed significant upward pressure on mining executive compensation driven by the commodity bull market and the * All figures listed indicate annual compensation.

associated increase in demand for senior leadership and operational talent, combined with a shrinking labour pool."

Upward pressure on commodity prices and precious metals continued through the first half of 2021 and this was reflected in mining company valuations.

The top earning executive, Mark Rosenthal, the COO and former Chairman and CEO of MP Materials Corp, received $29,043,957, which is 16.8% higher than the top paid executive in 2020.

The commitment to greater diversity for board composition was evidenced in 2021. Females now represent 20% (compared to 16.3% in the prior year) of board composition and 10% of C-suite executive composition (compared to 8.2% in the prior year). miningglobal.com

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Ryan Corbett

CFO, MP Materials Corp.

$7,535,530.66 Ryan Corbett joined MP Materials as its Chief Financial Officer in 2019. Previously, he was a Managing Director at JHL Capital Group, an alternative investment management firm, where he focused on JHL’s investment in ML Materials.

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09 Kathleen Quirk

CFO, Freeport McMoRan

$8,181,211.03 Kathleen L. Quirk is the President and Chief Financial Officer of Freeport-McMoRan, with over 30 years of experience in the organisation, and is a senior member of its executive team.

She has been instrumental in the company’s strategic planning and responsibility for a broad range of financial and administrative functions. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University and serves on the Board of Directors of Vulcan Materials Company.

TOP 10

08 Stephen Pearce

CFO, Anglo American

$8,186,451.00 Stephen Pearce joined Anglo American and its Group Management Committee on January 30 2017, prior to joining the Board as an executive director and taking over as Finance Director with effect from April 24 2017. He was CFO of Fortescue Metals Group, the Australia-based and listed iron ore producer, since 2010, playing a major role in steering the company through a period of major investment and strong growth. In more recent times, he has worked through the challenges of the sharp decrease in iron ore prices via rapid cost improvement and significant debt reduction.

07

Graham Shuttleworth CFO, Barrick Gold Corporation

$9,155,262.20 Graham Shuttleworth joined Randgold as Chief Financial Officer and Finance Director in July 2007 and has been associated with the company since its inception, initially as part of its management team and subsequently as an adviser (Barrick Gold announced a merger with Randgold in September 2018).

As the New York-based head of metals and mining for the Americas for HSBC, he advised numerous mining companies on listings, accessing capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions. miningglobal.com

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TOP 10

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06 James D. Frias

CFO, Nucor Corporation

$10,444,962.88 James D. Frias has been Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Executive Vice President since January 2010. He previously served as Corporate Controller from 2001 through 2009, becoming Vice President in 2006.

He was Controller of Nucor Steel, Crawfordsville, Indiana from 1994 to 2001 and Controller of Nucor Building Systems, Waterloo, Indiana from 1991.

05

Jean-Sébastien Jacques

CEO (former), Rio Tinto

$16,835,216.00 ​​​​​​Jean-Sébastien Jacques agreed to step down from Rio Tinto by mutual agreement after the Juukan Gorge scandal, but the ousted mining boss still took home his biggest ever pay packet for his time as chief executive. He has been a board member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) since 2016.

miningglobal.com

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TOP 10

04

Richard C. Adkerson CEO, Freeport McMoRan

$21,135,690.19 Richard C. Adkerson is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Prior to joining the firm in 1989, he was Partner and Managing Director in Arthur Andersen & Co. where he headed its Worldwide Oil and Gas Industry Practice.

From 1976 to 1978, he was a Professional Accounting Fellow with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington DC. He currently serves as Chair of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

03 Mark Bristow

CEO, Barrick Gold Corporation

$22,915,401.03 Mark Bristow was appointed President and CEO of Barrick Gold Corporation from January 1, 2019, following completion of the merger with Randgold Resources.

Previously, since its incorporation in 1995, he was the CEO of Randgold following his pioneering exploration work in West Africa.

He subsequently led Randgold’s growth through the discovery and development of high quality assets into a major international gold mining business. He played a pivotal role in promoting the emergence of a sustainable mining industry in Africa, and has a proven track record of delivering significant shareholder value.

Lourenco Goncalves CEO, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

02

$23,398,415.92 Lourenco Goncalves has been Chairman, President and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs since August 2014. He designed and led the company through a major strategic initiative transforming ClevelandCliffs into a leading player in the US steel industry, starting with a complete financial turnaround, followed by growth initiatives in the metallics market and the entry into the steel business.

miningglobal.com

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March 2022

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“In Q3 2021 figures, revenue increased 143% year-over-year, driven by increases in the realised sales prices of rare earth oxide in concentrate as well as metric tons of REO sold” 100

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Michael Rosenthal

COO, MP Materials Corp

$29,043,956.90 Michael Rosenthal is a Founder of MP Materials and managed the Mountain Pass operation since the company acquired the site in 2017. Previously, he was a Partner at QVT Financial, an investment management firm, where he concentrated on investments in the global automotive sector and in China. Prior to QVT, he worked as a senior high yield credit analyst for Shenkman Capital Management.

MP Materials recently entered into a long-term agreement with General Motors to supply US-sourced and manufactured rare earth alloy and

magnets to power more than a dozen models using GM’s Ultium platform. The facility will produce NdFeB alloy and magnets with the potential to power approximately 500,000 EV motors per year, with a gradual production ramp expected to begin in 2023.

In Q3 2021 figures, revenue increased 143% year-over-year, driven by increases in the realised sales prices of rare earth oxide in concentrate as well as metric tons of REO sold. The realised sales price increase of 127% was due to higher demand for rare earths driving increased market prices.

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