Mining Global August 2020

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2020

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FOREWORD

W

elcome to the August edition

company has introduced - including

of Mining Global!

artificial intelligence and machine

In this issue we step inside Oren,

learning - to keep Eramet ahead as the

designed by Shell and IBM as the

digital era transforms the mining industry.

world’s first B2B marketplace platform

As the world’s largest gold mine steadies

for the mining industry. In a wide-

itself after the impact of new ownership,

ranging interview, Shell’s Global

our latest ‘Top 10’ feature gives a profile

Marketing Vice President Carol Chen

of the world’s biggest mines.

talks about Oren’s vision, and the

I hope you enjoy reading! To suggest

power of data integration.

a feature for an upcoming edition of

We also speak with Thorsten Scholz,

Mining Global, feel free to get in touch

CTO of Forwood Safety, about

with me before our next issue.

how his company is harnessing

Would you like to be featured in the

new technologies to transform the mining industry’s safety culture, and eradicate workplace fatalities.

Elsewhere in the magazine, Ludovic Donati, CDO of Eramet, introduces

magazine? Get in touch at jonathan.campion@bizclikmedia.com Enjoy the issue!

Jonathan Campion

the innovative technologies that his

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03

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PUBLISHED BY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jonathan Campion EDITORAL DIRECTOR

Matt High CREATIVE TEAM

Oscar Hathaway Erin Hancox Sophie-Ann Pinnell Sophia Forte

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

Daniel Weatherley

PRODUCTION MANAGER

James White

Owen Martin DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

Kieran Waite Sam Kemp

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Jason Westgate CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Stacy Norman

DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

Shirin Sadr

PRESIDENT & CEO

Glen White

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Leigh Manning

www.miningglobal.com

10 NOZOMI NETWORKS:

ACHIEVING CYBERSECURITY IN DIGITAL MINING

RÖSSING URANIUM: HELPING POWER NAMIBIA’S FUTURE

22

HOW SATELLITEENABLED IOT IS DISRUPTING MINING

36

52

WOMEN IN MINING

84 Shell & IBM introduce the Oren marketplace

68

BIGGEST MINES IN THE WORLD

102 Eramet Group

114 Forwood Safety

128 MST Global

138 New Century Resources

156 CRC ORE

178 IBM Industry Academy

D I G I TA L M I N I N G

10

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

NOZOMI NETWORKS: ACHIEVING CYBERSECURITY IN DIGITAL MINING WRITTEN BY

ANDREA CARCANO

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11

D I G I TA L M I N I N G

Andrea Carcano, Co-Founder & CPO of Nozomi Networks, discusses the growing cyber threats facing the mining industry as it is digitally transformed Digitalisation, automation and IoT devices are fuelling operational efficiencies in the mining industry. However, increased connectivity within operational technology environments has exponentially expanded the threat surface. Cyber threats against mining operations are real and 12

those tasked with protecting against these attacks are faced with an arduous task.

Traditionally, legacy industrial control systems (ICS) were air gapped from broader IT systems, which protected these systems from IT security threats. However, growing pressure to improve profitability and operational efficiencies has resulted in an explosion of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies. This has led to the convergence of IT and OT systems, eliminating the protections provided by air gapping. These once isolated operational systems are now connected to a mine’s entire enterprise network and, as a result, are exposed to numerous new cyber threats.

Furthermore, the integration of IT and OT has revealed the visibility challenges associated with operational technology (OT).

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

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D I G I TA L M I N I N G

Nozomi Networks and Enel: Securing a Global Power Generation Network CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:32

14 Attackers are taking advantage

The cyber attack against Norsk

of these newly exposed weaknesses

Hydro, one of the largest aluminium

and by exploiting a vulnerability in a

producers in the world, crippled its

mine operator’s IT system, they can

computer networks and forced the

often take down both the IT and OT

company to isolate plants and return

network. A recent EY Global Infor-

to manual operations. It cost the com-

mation Security Survey revealed that

pany up to $70mn.

54% of mining and metal companies

Furthermore, in 2016 a hacker target-

suffered a significant cybersecurity

ed Canadian mining company Goldcorp

incident in the last year. A cyber at-

Inc and remained undetected in its sys-

tack can have devastating impacts

tems for months whilst stealing 15GB of

on revenue, market value and repu-

personal and customer data, which was

tation: a successful attack can put

subsequently posted online. These two

mining operations, equipment, data

attacks highlight the devastating impact

and people at risk.

a cyber attack can have on a business.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“ Increased connectivity within operational technology environments has exponentially expanded the threat surface of the mining industry” — Andrea Carcano, Co-Founder & CPO, Nozomi Networks

gold mine of information, such as, details on location and value of natural deposits, the extraction and processing technology used and business strategy. All this information could be leveraged in M&A negotiations or be used to gain competitive advantage. For example, Global mining company BHP Billiton became a victim of a cyber espionage campaign in 2011, with attackers

It’s fair to say that attackers show no sign of slowing down, and with

targeting the company to gain access to market pricing for key commodities.

15

such high stakes, mine operators need to take the necessary precau-

PHISHING ATTACKS

tions to protect their business.

Phishing attacks are becoming an increasingly common infection vector

CYBER THREATS: UNDERSTANDING WHAT’S AT STAKE

in the mining industry. According to

The first step for mining operators

Report, more than 38% of email users

looking to protect themselves from

in the sector were hit with such an

these new cyber threats is to develop

attack in the last year. These types

the 2019 Internet Security Threat

an understanding of where these threats come from. The top three threats observed in the mining industry include:

CYBER ESPIONAGE For nation-state sponsored threat actors, mining organisations are a mi ni nggl o b a l. com

D I G I TA L M I N I N G

DETECTING CYBER RISKS AND THREATS

16

Nozomi Networks takes a multi-pronged approach to identifying suspicious activity – whether it’s accidental or intentional. Through behaviorbased anomaly detection and multiple types of signature and rules-based detection, the solution identifies unauthorised activity such as: remote access, downloads, log file deletions, controller logic changes, configuration changes, edits to PLC projects and more.

All threat detection results are correlated with operational context for detailed insight. For example, the solution checks baselines for network peculiarities such as VPN access and IP ranges assigned to known asset

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

vendors. If activity occurs outside those ranges, an alert is triggered. When suspiciousactivity is identified, the solution sends high-priority alerts to mine security and operations staff, who can then execute the incident response plan to contain or eradicate the threat.

Nozomi Networks’ Guardian is deployed by four of the top ten global mining companies.

Guardian offers industrial strength OT and IoT security and visibility, delivering advanced threat detection capabilities that help proactively identify unauthorised access to OT networks while reducing forensic efforts and response time.

TESTIMONIALS “Teaming up with Nozomi Networks, our customers immediately gain OT network monitoring and threat detection technology that is fully integrated with key IBM security services and platforms such as QRadar.”

“Working with Nozomi Networks allows us to take advantage of their artificial intelligence-powered software to map, monitor and identify threats in some of the largest industrial installations around the world.”

– CHRIS MCCURDY, VP WORLDWIDE, IBM SECURITY

– JEROME SANDRINI, HEAD OF BIG DATA AND SECURITY, ATOS NORTH AMERICA

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D I G I TA L M I N I N G

“ A recent EY Global Information Security Survey revealed that 54% of mining and metal companies suffered a significant cybersecurity incident in the last year” — Andrea Carcano, Co-Founder & CPO, Nozomi Networks

PROTECTING THE MINING INDUSTRY Mine operators need to detect and evade cyber attacks before they disrupt production, result in potential danger to life, damage equipment or cause a loss of Intellectual property (IP). However, the convergence of IT and OT systems has eliminated the security blanket of a fully air-gapped system. As a result, operators need to

of campaigns are designed to trick

take a massive step up to implement

users into downloading malware or

defences that will detect and manage

divulging confidential information.

cyber threats.

18

OT network segmentation can be

THIRD-PARTY ACCESS

used to mitigate risk and prevent in-

Third-party vendors often provide

tentional or accidental OT cyber

support services for mining

incidents from spreading. However,

companies, such as equipment

effective segmentation requires full

assembly or maintenance. However,

visibility into the network and insight

unless properly managed and audited,

into where vulnerabilities are.

third parties can pose a significant threat to operations. For example, a third party could provide an entry point for malicious software or create system vulnerabilities through weak credentials. Therefore, organisations need to vet their third-party vendors and ensure they follow standard cybersecurity practices before allowing access to internal systems.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Therefore, to reduce risk and build operational resilience, mines must

19 implement real-time visibility into

These solutions can determine be-

their IT and OT networks. An accu-

havioural baselines, detect anomalies

rate inventory of all network assets is

and alert operators to deviations,

a critical aspect of practicing good

which mine operators can utilise to

cyber hygiene, and these assets

mitigate or eradicate the threat be-

should be monitored in real time to

fore damage is done.

detect anomalous behaviour.

The threat of cyber espionage

People are often the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. There-

means that keeping private corporate

fore, staff should be taught to spot

information and intellectual property

cyber threats, such as malicious

(PI) confidential is critical for mining

emails, and report them to the ap-

companies. To achieve this, they

propriate security team. Simply

should implement behaviour-based

raising employee awareness of the

anomaly detection and multiple types

cyber threats an organisation faces

of signature and rules-based detec-

can contribute massively to enhanc-

tion to identify unauthorised activity.

ing its security. mi ni nggl o b a l. com

D I G I TA L M I N I N G

20

NOZO M I N E T WO R KS

• 3.4mn+ OT, IT and IoT devices monitored • 2,300+ installations worldwide • Six continents with deployments • 400+ global partner ecosystem • 500% growth year on year • 100% customer retention

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“ Mine operators need to detect and evade cyber-attacks before they disrupt production, result in potential danger to life, damage equipment or cause a loss of Intellectual property (IP)” — Andrea Carcano, Co-Founder & CPO, Nozomi Networks As mining operators continue to integrate IT and OT networks to enhance efficiencies, the threat of cyber attacks will only continue to grow. Fortunately, the gravity of the cyber threats facing them is dawning on the industry and operators are beginning to take the necessary steps to build IT-like resiliency and defend their systems.

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

21

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

22

RÖSSING URANIUM: HELPING POWER NAMIBIA’S FUTURE WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHT MORE

AUGUST 2020

23

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

How Rössing Uranium’s vertical integration with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is set to transform the Namibian mining giant

U

ranium was first discovered in the Namib Desert in 1928, but it was only following intensive exploration in the late 1950s

that the mining industry’s interest was piqued. Rio Tinto originally secured the rights to the low-grade Rössing deposit in 1966. A decade later in 1976, Rössing Uranium, Namibia’s first commercial 24

uranium mine, started production. Today, Namibia has two significant uranium mines (Rössing Uranium and Swakop Uranium) which together provide 11% of the world’s uranium oxide output in 2019; in 2019 Rössing Uranium produced 3.9% of that total. The mine has a capacity of 4,500 tonnes of uranium oxide per year and, by the end of 2019, had supplied a total of 137,537 tonnes of uranium oxide to the world.

The mine is located 12km from the town of Arandis, which lies 70 km inland from the coastal town of Swakopmund in Namibia’s Erongo Region. Walvis Bay, Namibia’s only deep-water harbour, is located 30km south of Swakopmund. The mine site encompasses a mining licence and accessory works areas of about 129.79 km2, of which 25 km2 is used for mining, waste disposal and processing.

AUGUST 2020

25

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

“ We have a 44-year-old plant, so we’re looking at new technologies to address leaching efficiency and improve extraction and recovery processes. We’re thrilled about the appetite for a new life of mine extension” — Liezl Davies, General Manager, Operations, Rössing Uranium

2019. Liezl Davies, General Manager: Operations, explains that the move by CNUC represented a new lease of life

Mining is done by blasting, loading and

for the mine which was facing the threat

hauling from the open pit before the

of early closure. “Since CNUC took over

uranium-bearing rock is processed to

as the majority shareholder, we are now

produce uranium oxide.

part of a vertically integrated nuclear

26

business because its parent company,

A NUCLEAR OPTION

CNNC (China National Nuclear Corpora-

A depressed global uranium market

tion), is a major supplier of nuclear power

might have been a challenge for Rio

in China. Now we need to consider plant

Tinto but it presented a golden opportu-

readiness for possible mine life exten-

nity for China’s CNUC (China National

sion. The past two years there was a lack

Uranium Corporation) taking over

of capital investment in the operation

in Namibia as the 68.62% majority

and since we now have a new lease of

shareholder at Rössing Uranium in July

life, we need to catch up on this backlog and get ourselves set up for the future to survive this depressed uranium market.”

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT After two years of uncertainty during the build-up to CNNC’s takeover, Davies and her team are now busy planning a way forward at Rössing to innovate AUGUST 2020

27 and build a path for optimisation. “We

including precipitation optimisation

have a 44-year-old plant, so we’re

of the existing filtration equipment.

looking at new technologies to address

“We are working very closely with

leaching efficiency and improve

them and are excited to move

extraction and recovery processes,”

forward with feasibility studies on

she says. “We’re thrilled about the

getting newer technology into the

appetite for a new life of mine extension

plant,” confirms Davies. “We’ll be

as the business case for this becomes

leveraging our new connections

more viable.”

in the Chinese market to improve

The team at Rössing is working with

efficiency across our operations.”

the CNNC owned Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Metallurgy, investigating opportunities

“Our workforce was relieved when

for various improvements in the plant

CNNC came on board, because it

in terms of uranium production,

ended a long period of uncertainty,” mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

T H E R Ö SSI N G FO U N DAT I O N

The Rössing Foundation was established in 1978 through a Deed of Trust as a vehicle to oversee and implement many of Rössing Uranium’s corporate social responsibility activities in Namibia.

The Foundation implements programmes and projects under the following mandates:

28

• T o further the education of all Namibians in order to achieve greater national productivity and enhance lifelong learning.

• To encourage the creation and/or to create opportunities for people to use their education.

• T o promote the advancement of the living standards of all the people in Namibia.

• T o carry out any act or accomplish anything, which in the opinion of the Trustees, shall benefit Namibia or any or all of its inhabitants.

To align programmes and projects, the Rössing Foundation focuses mainly on the following identified targets:

AUGUST 2020

• t he improvement of primary and secondary education through the implementation of various teachers’ and learners’ support programmes; • t he diversification and strengthening of the local economy through support to small- and medium-scale enterprises; and •w orking hand-in-hand with local authorities to strengthen their capacity and facilitate the development and implementation of their strategic plans.

The Rössing Foundation has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture on an education development programme since Namibia’s independence in 1990. The partnership aims to strengthen the capacity of teachers and learners, develop leadership and management programmes and promote resource sharing.

Teachers’ support programmes are conducted either at a centre or through the mobile unit on

29

school visits to rural areas as part of the Foundation’s national outreach programme. Learners’ support programmes are provided at the Foundation’s English, Mathematics and Science centres in the towns of Arandis and Swakopmund in the Erongo Region, and in Ondangwa in the Oshana Region. During 2019,

the mobile laboratory assisted the Kahenge Combined Secondary School in English, Mathematics and Science. This programme supported 992 learners and 23 teachers throughout the year.

The Rössing Foundation also offers library services as part of its community outreach.

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

30

says Davies. “We now have more opportunities for the future. One of the first things CNNC did was to bring their senior leadership to the site and to carry out sessions with all of our employees and contractors across the group, allowing everyone’s questions to be heard. It was very well received and left

1976

Year founded

22.4mn

Tonnes of rock were mined during 2019

our team keen to build for the future.”

Davies is cognisant of the fact that, in the context of Namibia, Rössing is a relatively mature operation with the legacy of generations that have worked at the mine. “We need to utilise AUGUST 2020

1,000+ Number of employees

“ We have a new lease of life and a reason to be excited for the future as we keep our people working for Namibia’s people” — Liezl Davies, General Manager, Operations, Rössing Uranium 31

their experience and integrate that

THE RÖSSING FOUNDATION

with the expectations of our new

“We’re very pleased CNNC has commit-

majority shareholder and their vision

ted to continue to support our Rössing

for the company,” she says. “We

Foundation, which was established for

have a strong performance culture at

our community outreach work already

Rössing and a committed and dedicat-

in 1978,” reveals Davies. “Because of the

ed workforce, so we’re aiming to keep

synergies within CNNC and their plans

them on board with the future plans

for continued operation, we can

for the company. I always joke that

continue to be a strong contributor to

nothing is new at Rössing, everything

the economy of Namibia for longer

has been tried before, if you just ask

than would have been possible before

the right person. We need to go build

the takeover.”

on that, and leverage the wealth of

Davies explains that the company’s

experience we have in our workforce.”

foundation is one of the oldest commumi ni nggl o b a l. com

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

32 DI D YO U KN OW?

• 8.6 million tonnes of rock were uranium-bearing • 13.3 million tonnes of rock were waste, compared with 11.5 million in 2018 • 2,449 tonnes of uranium oxide were drummed in 2019, compared 2,479 in 2018 • 137,537 tonnes of uranium oxide supplied to the world since 1976 • 3.9% of the world’s uranium oxide output provided

by Rössing Uranium in 2019 AUGUST 2020

nity outreach programmes of all the mines in Namibia. “Along with the Namibia Diamond Mining Company, we have the most active programmes running,” she highlights. “Rössing’s focus is mostly on education. We feel it’s a very strong lever that we should pull in supporting future generations.

We’re also proud to have broken the mould. Normally across Namibia these types of programmes, even legislatively, are only in the area of a company’s operations but the Rössing Foundation operates programmes nationally, which has now become the standard.”

PARTNERING FOR A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE IN NAMIBIA

founding member. “We’ve always

Rössing Uranium has strong ties with

aimed to make a positive impact on the

Namibia’s government and is also

nation as a whole,” says Davies who

working closely with the Chamber of

has continued in her role as General

Mines of Namibia, of which it is a

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Liezl Davies Title: General Manager, Operations Industry: Mining

Company: Rössing Uranium

Location: Namibia

“I’ve had a very uncommon career progression in mining,” says Liezl Davies, Rössing Uranium’s General Manager, Operations. “With my human resources background (Davies spent seven years working in HR at De Beers in Namibia) going into the operations arena without the typical engineering or geology degree is unusual.”

While she concedes she may not bring the technical skills, Davies is a champion team builder and having worked at Rössing Uranium for almost a decade, including eight years in a variety of management roles for previous majority shareholder Rio Tinto, she understands how to promote positive performance and translate this back into individual contributions that lead a team to success.

“I always say we need to operate with each other in mind,” she adds. “It doesn’t help if the mine runs full blast and the plant is standing still. It’s a beautiful synergy and everyone needs to work together and have that drumbeat of that smooth running of the plant machine, and the drums being produced, guiding what they do. My focus has been on keeping up the energy and motivation of our workforce during a challenging two-year transition period to where we are now with the support of CNNC. My industrial psychology background has been hugely helpful here. Team spirit is vital as we work together to build a greater Rössing.”

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

33

S U P P LY C H A I N & O P E R AT I O N S

“ Since CNUC took over as the majority shareholder, we are now a vertically integrated nuclear business, because its parent company, CNNC (China National Nuclear Corporation), is a major supplier of nuclear power in China” 34

— Liezl Davies, General Manager, Operations, Rössing Uranium

Manager, Operations following eight

and nationally. We need these alliances

years working for Rössing’s previous

to be strong to achieve our goals for

majority shareholder Rio Tinto. “We’re

the future.”

working with CNNC to ensure we

Davies is excited about the potential

continue to contribute towards taking

for the introduction of new technolo-

our country forward. Just as important

gies to improve the company’s bottom

as these board level partnerships are

line and support opportunities for life

those we forge with our employees

of mine extension. “We need to get

and the wider community, both locally

our business more cost efficient so

AUGUST 2020

es for thinking as well as physical work.

We’ll also be looking at ways we take certain risks out of the business and make it an even safer place for our people to work at. Our focus will turn to the online monitoring of equipment and operations, using real time data for more reliable information, which in turn will help take our employees out of more risky environments. We’re proud of our safety record at Rössing; in 2017 our safety performance was the best in the mine’s 44-year history, while last year we were again among the safest mining operations in Namibia, winning the Chamber of Mines’ Safety Award for the second year running.”

The goal now for Davies and her team is to ride the current fluctuations of the uranium market and, with CNNC’s help, reposition Rössing we can fast track these plans,” she

Uranium for growth in the years to

adds. “If we can bring in our product

come. “We have a new lease of life

at a lower price there will be a bigger

going forward and a reason to be

appetite for future investment from

excited for the future as we keep our

CNNC. We must leverage the techno-

people working for Namibia’s people.”

logical advancement that’s happening in the world, and use it to our benefit.

We’ll be looking at ways to mine more efficiently and use our human resourcmi ni nggl o b a l. com

35

TECHNOLOGY

36

HOW SATELLITEENABLED IOT IS DISRUPTING MINING WRITTEN BY

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

DAN BRIGHT MORE

37

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

Inmarsat’s Director of Mining Innovation, Joe Carr discusses satellite-enabled IoT solutions, developing automated mining and drilling as a service

I

nmarsat was established in 1979 by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a United Nations body, to provide a satellite communications network that

would protect the lives of mariners anywhere at sea. It was the first satellite operator to meet the stringent requirements of the

38

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for global safety communications. Today its satellite communication services save lives, empower people and communities, enable business and trade, and support humanitarian work in the most remote and challenging locations across a range of industries from aviation to mining.

“Much like the maritime industry, mining battles the elements in remote locations where there’s no communication,” says Inmarsat’s Director of Mining Innovation Joe Carr.

“There’s a synergy here and that ability to provide remote communications anywhere on the planet is the founding requirement of Inmarsat across all the industries we serve.”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

39

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

Carr highlights that Inmarsat has been working with the mining industry since its inception in the 70s. “We continue to be its leading provider of global mobile satellite connectivity.

So, it doesn't matter where you go, you can take a phone and the internet with you and you have access to those comms, whether you're in Africa, South America, the CIS region or a remote part of Australia. This really is the core founding principle of how Inmarsat started.” facilities. My role as Director of Mining

TAILINGS DAM MONITORING

Innovation is to identify ideas like this

Carr’s role is to build on Inmarsat’s

and then find other digital systems and

expertise with communications and

solutions that companies need. We

develop new offerings such as the

work with both OEMs and mining com-

company’s award-winning tailings

panies to develop new technologies

dam monitoring solution. “That grew

and solutions inside the industry.”

out of a conversation with our engi-

Following the tragic events in

neers when we asked, ‘How can we

Brumadinho in Brazil last year, Carr

do this better?’” he recalls.

believes it’s more important than ever

“It links back to Inmarsat's heritage

to address the issue of monitoring

in terms of safety. We looked at it as

tailings dams across the world in real

a problem we could solve and with our

time. “Taking readings manually is not

safety mandate it was a project close

efficient,” he notes. “If we want to know

to our hearts. We wanted to build an

what's happening on the dam, it's

innovative solution that allowed com-

easier to get on a plane and fly there

panies to better monitor their tailings

than it is to try and get the information mi ni nggl o b a l. com

41

TECHNOLOGY

A B O U T I N MARSAT

42

Inmarsat is the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications. It owns and operates the world’s best global portfolio of satellite networks, specifically designed for customer mobility, and holds a multi-layered, global spectrum portfolio, covering L-band, Ka-band and S-band, enabling unparalleled breadth and diversity in the solutions it provides. Inmarsat’s global distribution network includes not only the world’s leading channel partners but also its own strong direct retail capabilities, enabling end to end customer service assurance.

The company has an unrivalled track record of operating the world’s most reliable global mobile

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

satellite networks, sustaining business and mission critical safety & operational applications for over 40 years. It is also a major driving force behind technological innovation in mobile satellite communications, sustaining its leadership through a substantial investment and a powerful network of technology and manufacturing partners.

Inmarsat operates across a diversified portfolio of sectors with the financial resources to fund its business strategy and holds leading positions in the Maritime, Government and Aviation satcoms markets, operating consistently as a trusted, responsive and highquality partner to its customers across the globe.

40 years of innovation CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:29

43 on site. We live in the 21st century, it's

Though lamenting that the mining

crazy! Mine tailings audits are typically

industry can be slow to implement

carried out at infrequent intervals, with

change, Carr emphasises that there

employees and third-party consultants

has been great work done with min-

making long distance trips to collect

ing’s commitment to zero harm. “The

data and audit the status of the dams.

accident frequency rate across the

Our tailings dam monitoring solution

industry is falling. How we better monitor

makes data available between site vis-

tailings facilities, tackle the problem

its to any accredited users, anywhere

and take forward new standards and

in the world. In this way, we support

principles in terms of IoT, better gov-

the mining industry’s commitment to

ernance tools and real time monitoring

zero-harm, while enabling our custom-

is going to be the direction that the

ers to minimise environmental risk

industry is driven. All of our social

and achieve high levels of safety and

license to operate is driven from that.

operational success.”

If people will allow us to mine, build mi ni nggl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

tailings and other facilities, then we

semi-annual or annual site visits with

can mine the basic resources needed

recommendations based on these

to tackle issues like climate change.”

visits,” explains Richard Elmer, Regional Manager for Knight Piésold UK.

44

COLLABORATION

“Instrumentation data is often collected

Partnerships are vital for Inmarsat as

on-site and mining companies are largely

it seeks to exploit synergies across

reliant on human activity for the collec-

the industries it serves. Integral to the

tion, storage and analysis of the data.

development of its tailings dam moni-

Our collaboration with Inmarsat provides

toring solution has been an alliance,

our clients access to the latest and best

dating back to 2017, with innovation

available technology for real time data

partners Knight Piésold UK (KP),

collection and analysis. We see this as

a member of the international geo-

a game changing improvement in how

technical, tailings management and

companies monitor their current tailings

engineering consulting group.

storage facilities.”

“The current tailings auditing and management business consists of

“ New standards and principles in terms of IoT, better governance tools and real time monitoring is going to be the direction that the industry is driven” — Joe Carr, Director of Mining Innovation, Inmarsat

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

45

“Working with the likes of KP adds

Inmarsat is also an active leader-

a whole other level of capability,” con-

ship member of the Global Mining

firms Carr. “They're able to instruct

Guidelines Group (GMG) - a network

on the best instruments to use and the

of representatives from mining com-

most flexible approach to analysis. It

panies, OEMs, OTMs, research organi-

helps us provide a very rounded capa-

sations, consultants and regulators

bility for the end customer. We look at

around the world who collaborate to

partnerships like these across spec-

tackle challenges facing the industry.

trum; from small suppliers of LiDAR

“Our membership allows us to sit at the

digital sensors for survey mapping,

table with major mining organisations,

to agritech companies with expertise

including Barrick, Anglo American and

in water monitoring and crop yields.

BHP,” says Carr. “We help agree the

In relationships like these we see

standards and frameworks for strate-

Inmarsat technology as an enabler.”

gies that will protect the safety of the mi ni nggl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

“ Automation could be quite disruptive for the mining industry and potentially allow it to utilise drillingas-a-service” — Joe Carr, Director of Mining Innovation, Inmarsat

46

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

workforce, combat climate change and

our head of solutions, architecture and

ensure interoperability. It allows us

enterprise, who was working with IoT

to take our knowledge and capability

technology on a water dam in Australia

and give back to the industry to tackle

to measure things like water levels and

some of its biggest challenges.”

piezometric pressure. That was the genesis of our approach and shows

INNOVATION

what you can achieve with our syner-

“Inmarsat is a company where you can

gies across the military and aviation

run into rocket scientists; I’m just the guy

sectors and their use of drones and

that’s used to drilling holes,” jokes Carr.

autonomous systems.”

“The tailings dam monitoring solution

Carr reveals Inmarsat is currently

came about from a conversation with

looking at how drills could be run via 47

D I D YO U K N OW?

How real-time tailings dam monitoring works In collaboration with Knight Piésold UK, Inmarsat is delivering remote tailings dam monitoring with real-time analysis.

Inmarsat’s satellite-enabled IoT (Internet of Things) solution collects data from a range of industry standard sensors via edge connectivity such as LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network), before it is transferred across Inmarsat’s L-band satellite network to a single cloud dashboard.

This enables mining companies and national regulators to gain a comprehensive view of the status of their dams with granular metrics such as pond elevation, piezometric pressures, inclinometer readings and weather conditions displayed in one place, no matter where the mine is located. The solution also features sensor-agnostic capabilities, so it can work with both existing sensors and new devices.

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

satellite. “If you were to remove the

industry,” says Carr. “That's why

need for any onsite network on a

when we're working, we try to do

mine and could run that drill autono-

things that aren't just focused on

mously via a satellite network you

the cost; we want to make sure

could put the drill anywhere on the

that ultimately we're providing real

planet without flying people around

value. We face the same challenges

the world to set up a new system.

as any innovator. When you've got

This could be quite disruptive for the

a new idea, you're always going to

mining industry and potentially allow

face the response: ‘This is the way

it to utilise drilling-as-a-service.”

we've always done things’. We’re used to that because we work in the

48

CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO

military and aviation where anything

“The commodity cycle is always

new takes years to get passed by

going to be a big macro focus for the

regulators.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“However, a lot of the challenges

SETTING THE TREND

within the mining industry come from

Carr notes a sea change in the way that

how we embrace the adoption of new

the mining industry, through organi-

technologies. Autonomous drilling is

sations like the GMG, PRI (Principles

a great example. It's very compelling,

for Responsible Investment), ICMM

yet when you talk to a lot of mining

(International Council on Mining

industry companies, they are always

and Metals) and the UNEP (United

going to be hesitant because they’ll

Nations Environment Programme),

want to know how we ensure success.

is looking at CSR through global,

It's why they like proven technology

not just regional, standards. “It’s

which has been around for 10 years or

the first time the industry has been

more. But it doesn't necessarily mean

pushed on a global issue so it will

that it's the most innovative, cutting

be interesting to see how these

edge technology available.”

standards progress.”

49

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

“ Our tailings dam monitoring solution makes data available between site visits to any accredited users, anywhere in the world” — Joe Carr, Director of Mining Innovation, Inmarsat

50

Automation is another key trend

Globally, we still have a lot of sites

Inmarsat is watching closely. “I think

that do not benefit from automation.

the trick will be to expand automation

They either don't have the technology

beyond the majors,” says Carr. “We

and skills, or the cost is prohibitive.

all know they’re doing great work in

We need to look at how we produce

the Pilbara with automated trucks.

more connectivity for less. How can

The next level is going to be how we

we be more efficient and trickle

take those systems and make them

down the automation lessons learned

cost effective for mid-tiers and oth-

over the past decade to the rest of

ers across the industry as a whole.

the industry?”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“Much of the industry is holding fire as to what they want to do. There’s likely to be a big acceleration of work when it is published.” (Publication was due in Q2 2020 but has been delayed due to the impact of COVID19).

“The next big challenge is to really help the mining industry understand satellite, the way it does LTE,” says Carr. “We want to bring it more into the mainstream and bust some of those myths around what ‘satellite’ is. We want to ensure we can do things like automation projects and drive industry uptake and capability. It’s our big mission throughout 2020 and beyond to expand the industry’s skill set and scope providing capabilities to the regions and companies that need to level up to make mining ready to

2020 VISION

resource the future.”

The big goal for Inmarsat this year will be setting the direction for its tailings dam work with the agreement of a framework from the UNEP, ICMM and PRI for an international tailings standard. “We’ve been communicating with the various stakeholders and believe the outcome of that standard will be extremely positive,” says Carr. mi ni nggl o b a l. com

51

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

WOMEN IN MINING WRITTEN BY

52

DAN BRIGHT MORE

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

53

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Mining Global speaks with a quartet of leading women from across the mining industry to discuss challenges and future opportunities for women LIEZL DAVIES, GENERAL MANAGER, OPERATIONS, RÖSSING URANIUM Liezl credits her background in industrial psychology, and time working in HR for De Beers, as vital to her role dealing with change management during a decade working at Rössing in Namibia, first for Rio Tinto and now for new majority shareholder CNUC 54

(China National Uranium Corporation) a part of CNNC (China National Nuclear Corporation).

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A WOMAN IN THE MINING INDUSTRY? Liezl Davies: “The typical ones of not being the technical expert, so not necessarily having the experience or expertise in a technical area, so why would any team be led by you if they know things better? That’s the challenge I faced. The way I approached it was to say, ‘well, yes, you may know better than me in one area, but I have experience in a different area that can compliment what you do and help us bring Rössing to success’.

“I think it is being open and honest, and straightforward, and not trying to pretend that I know something I don’t, being authentic about it.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

55

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

It’s also important to call out when

trucks are running on, employees

I’m faced with obstacles and say, you

who can design the pit lay out, and

need to get on board, you need to

the cycle the trucks need to hang on.

be a team player, everyone needs

It just opens a completely different

to get into the game and pull together

world where everyone can be there

to pull Rössing up through the

and from all walks of life and physical

depressed uranium market and

ability. The underground mining

into the future.”

environment is now a place where all our workers can contribute.”

56

WHAT IS NEEDED FROM AN INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY STANDPOINT TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN INTO THE INDUSTRY?

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WOMEN CONSIDERING A CAREER IN MINING?

Liezl Davies: “When we get to a phase

Liezl Davies: “We are seeing a growing

now in our technological develop-

number of women being interested in

ment where we have autonomous

the mining disciplines that weren’t

vehicles you don’t necessarily need a

there previously. I think we’re doing

haulage truck operator, but you need

quite a bit to encourage them at

a more intelligent approach. We need

Rössing so they are motivated to

workers who can operate the

actually study more in the mining

controls, or design the operating

disciplines that they see other women

system, the control room or the

succeeding in; it gives them hope. You must not be fooled, it is a tough environment, but all jobs are stressful, so you need to find your happy place, your place in the sun, and this is the type of environment that spoke to me, and that I feel I could actually thrive in, as long as you are a team player, and you can get the job done.”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

A conversation with Florence Drummond – AusIMM Bulletin October 2019 CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:41

57

WHAT DO YOU THINK, AND HOPE, THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR WOMEN WORKING IN THE SECTOR?

FLORENCE DRUMMOND, FOUNDER, INDIGENOUS WOMEN IN MINING AND RESOURCES AUSTRALIA (IWIMRA)

Liezl Davies: “We have now moved

Florence began her career in

to a stage where we have women in

mining as a machine operator at

a host of very important roles - at

Rio Tinto’s Weipa operation in

almost all of our levels there are

Queensland, Australia; she currently

women in operational areas. I tell our

works at BHP in Perth as Project

women they have a responsibility not

Supervisor – Indigenous Engage-

only to themselves but towards the

ment Strategy. Florence founded

girls who will be the women of the

IWIMRA in 2017 to provide a plat-

future to create a mining environment

form for the voices of Indigenous

filled with opportunities. They can be

women in mining and resources

the ground-breakers for the next

across Australia to be heard.

generation to come.” mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

“ We have now moved to a stage where we have women operators, and we’ve got women foremen, women fitters and turners, geologists, metallurgists, engineers, managers and now a general manager” — Liezl Davies, General Manager, Operations, Rössing Uranium

that are impactful for women who are currently participating in the industry.

Traditionally, as a time-poor demographic, how can we as women integrate time on-the-job, to advance in the value we hold as a team member and contribute towards a richer workforce?”

WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE FROM AN INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY STANDPOINT TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN INTO THE INDUSTRY? Florence Drummond: “As an Indig-

58

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A WOMAN IN THE MINING INDUSTRY?

age practices to be integrated into

Florence Drummond: “There is a lack

operations to allow for a culturally safe

of women of colour in leadership roles.

workplace. This not only enables a

It’s important for women to have role

celebration of culture, but a deeper

models to learn their stories and give

respect and understanding of the

us the opportunity to evolve and to

significance of land, history, tradition,

continue to refine our narrative.

collaboration and rehabilitation.”

enous woman, I would like to encour-

I strongly believe in ‘you can be what

pools for in-demand professions.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WOMEN CONSIDERING A CAREER IN MINING?

A self-sustaining cycle of mentorship

Florence Drummond: “For women

and learning can really positively nourish

considering a career in this industry,

quality participation and retention.

or any traditionally male dominated

you can see’ so, it is excellent to see many more initiatives to create talent

“There needs to be accessibility to professional development opportunities S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

industry, it’s important to be proud of who you are, keep yourself and your

team safe, and always remember your

strongly to which many are working

own reasons why you want to progress

tirelessly towards. I would also like to

to sustain you. There are long days,

ensure that we as an industry are

uneven rosters, unfamiliar situations,

also celebrating our male champions

physical challenges, industry culture and

who walk alongside us towards

bugs to deal with! Yes, it is changing, but

gender parity.”

it takes time. Enjoy the experience, remain curious to learn more and travel widely within your global operations.”

LIEZL VAN WYK, DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS EXCELLENCE, SSR MINING Liezl has over two decades of

WHAT DO YOU THINK, AND HOPE, THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR WOMEN WORKING IN THE SECTOR?

likes of Rio Tinto and Diavik Diamond

Florence Drummond: “The future of

Mines before taking up her current

women in the industry is developing

position with SSR in 2017.

experience in mining across various management roles working for the

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

59

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

60

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A WOMAN IN THE MINING INDUSTRY?

else. I did encounter that one had to

Liezl Van Wyk: “I’ve worked in the

safety and conduct, which are good life

power, construction, shipping and

skills. There is a lot more awareness

mining sectors; there are many

around women and their place in the

similarities between these capital-in-

mining workplace. Alignment of

tensive outdoor industries featuring

company values and greater diversity

large scale equipment and still with a

of the workforce have reduced the

primarily male workforce. My upbring-

challenges of earlier days.

ing and interests, combined with my

pay a lot more attention to personal

“I experienced that males in these

technical acumen, made entering

industries can feel uncomfortable with

these industries natural for me. From

women in their workplaces, taking on

my perspective it was more an

non-conventional roles. My approach

intellectual challenge than anything

has always been that if people are

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“It’s important for women to have role models to learn their stories and give us the opportunity to evolve and to continue to refine our narrative. I strongly believe in ‘you can be what you can see’” — Florence Drummond, Founder, Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources Australia (IWIMRA)

61

you do that. Earlier in my career I did

WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE FROM AN INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY STANDPOINT TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN INTO THE MINING INDUSTRY?

find I had to work quite a bit harder and

“Opportunity draws people. Saying you

be more assertive to get my point

are welcome here and we are open for

across. These traits of persistence

business will attract more women.

develop good skills, so meeting a

Communicating clearly what the areas

challenge developed a strength. You

for growth and value add are means

learn how to read the environment a lot

people, can understand and internalise

better with a multi-faceted response

the opportunity, and determine if the

needed for leadership. As they say,

barriers to entry are low enough for them

challenges are often the seeding

to participate. To my mind it’s no different

ground for opportunities.”

to Porter’s Five Forces Model for getting

unsure how to deal with you, then show them how. You take the lead. People tend to quickly get comfortable when

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Michelle Ash on innovation in mining CLICK TO WATCH

|

6:03

62 more women into the mining industry. We

are influenced by what they see, what

have rival industries, threat of substitutes,

they hear, what they read. If we want to

barriers to entry, and supplier/buyer

attract more women into our industry

(workforce/employers) tensions. Mining

we need to communicate exactly that.

is such a broad and diverse spectrum

The underlying bias that mining is not a

industry and a fantastic business to grow

welcoming place for women compared

in; it’s compatible with several adjacent

to other industries needs to be broken

industries, which makes it quite fluid for

by sharing inspiring success stories to

people to move into (and out of).

empower women.”

“My career did not start in mining but

women. It comes down to companies

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WOMEN CONSIDERING A CAREER IN MINING?

and managers to make those connec-

“I would always advocate for women

tions and plug the women in. People

to join the industry. Some sectors are

my skill set was totally transferable and I believe this is the case for many other

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“ The underlying bias that mining is not a welcoming ed but mining is in the process of structural, not just incremental change. place for women compared to other industries needs That brings new approaches and the to be broken by sharing need to widen the demographics, inspiring success stories providing opportunities for women to empower women” already very mature and quite congest-

across the whole mining value chain.

“Women need to be professional, connect with other women in the industry they respect and the male

— Liezl Van Wyk, Director, Operations Excellence, SSR Mining

managers championing women in mining. Sit at the table, use your brains and your craft to bring your transfer-

mining hierarchy. No more dry joints

able skills and insights from other

and open circuits – there’s full connec-

industries – they are needed and will

tivity and opportunity to contribute

add value. Network and seek both

wherever your skills and career

guidance and mentorship. Be focused

roadmap fit. The greater inclusivity of

on the positive challenge of problem

women will correlate with greater

solving and improving the business.

deployment of technology and

Move around if you can, it’s a big plus in

innovation, environmental and commu-

the resources industries.”

nity stewardship, changes in risk management and governance,

WHAT DO YOU THINK, AND HOPE, THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR WOMEN WORKING IN THE SECTOR?

stakeholder relationships, energy and

“The mining employment mix has

Obviously, these changes are not

already started to change; a demo-

uniquely tied to women, but the

graphically more representative future

inclusion of women is having a very

is upon us. I see women now in all

positive impact on these elements and

disciplines and sectors across the

it can only keep growing from here.”

climate change responses, and the push towards more circular economies.

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63

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

MICHELLE ASH, CEO, GEOVIA (DASSAULT SYSTÈMES)

family. I was a general manager

Michelle is the former Chief Innovation

wanted to spend quality time at home.

Officer at Barrick and the outgoing Chair

Nowadays it’s good to see men taking

of the Global Mining Guidelines Group

a bigger role in family life but unfortu-

(GMG). A skilled technology transforma-

nately, they also face that trade off with

tion leader, she took up her role as CEO

the pressures of work.

at mining engineering software leader GEOVIA in October 2019.

spending a lot of time on site but I also

“I’ve had comments in the past from colleagues, and even team leaders, asking how I can abandon my family for

64

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A WOMAN IN THE MINING INDUSTRY?

that a woman would make that choice.

“For me, as a woman in the industry, it

Emotionally it’s difficult to accept such

was important to keep that work/life

judgemental behaviour and the

balance, especially as I got older and

implication that for a woman to succeed

my son was born. I was lucky to be able

she must have sacrificed something.

to progress with my career thanks to

my career and saying it’s ‘interesting’

“One of the big advantages I had was

help from family and a carer, but a lot of

that I was able to meet and maintain the

women don’t always find the support

confidence of a series of male leaders

structure they need. It’s difficult for

who wanted to ‘take a chance’ on

women because we end up torn

putting me in my next role. Whether that

between career progression and

was in my first job in mining as a blasting engineer, later on as the superintendent of a truck shop without a maintenance background, or when I was appointed as the general manager of a petrochemical business because of my culture change experience. A big challenge for many women is being able to clearly present your skills as transfer-

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

able, showing your ability to learn from

I’d been the COO of Acacia and the GM

one role to the next. This is a male

of a petrochemical business. I believe

dominated industry so you do some-

there’s still this unconscious bias that

times need good sponsors prepared to

women face. Are we going to be tough

show faith in you to progress. Part of

enough? Will we be experienced

that problem is that when you look at

enough? Will investors accept us? Years

how many women are in CEO positions

ago, I was knocked back for a customer-

across the industry, just six worldwide, it

facing GM position and the rationale was

highlights the lack of role models for

that their customers weren’t ready to see

women who can sponsor the next wave

a woman running the business.”

of women into leadership roles.

to me that I had great financial and

WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE FROM AN INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY STANDPOINT TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN INTO THE INDUSTRY?

business improvement experience but

“The tide is turning. We’re seeing a lot

was light in operations. Yet this was after

more women at GM level which is

“I’ve experienced why there is a lack of women at the top because a few years ago I went for a CEO role and they said

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

65

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

“ The mining industry has changed so much in the 30 years I’ve been part of it. When I started out there were barely any women’s toilets let alone a variety of opportunities.

Now, there is a real desire to develop a more diverse workforce” — Michelle Ash, CEO, GEOVIA (Dassault Systèmes)

66 fantastic and vital if we’re to attract

However, again it requires a number

more women into the industry. Tradi-

of sponsors, men in the industry on

tionally, on executive teams, we’re

boards and in chairman roles, even in

seeing women in HR and finance roles

recruitment, who are prepared to

but how many do we see in operations

actively seek out good candidates and

and exploration? Companies might be

get more women into senior roles. It’s

well meaning but there needs to be an

that visibility that will show women the

examination of the underlying bias that

mining industry is open to them.”

still exists. We can all have them for

on boards. It’s 28% now which helps

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WOMEN CONSIDERING A CAREER IN MINING?

because more women are becoming

“For young women, it’s about taking a

involved in the executive and the

chance on yourself and being pre-

recruitment process for CEOs.

pared to put yourself into a role you

different reasons.

“We’re certainly seeing more women

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

that it offers a bit of everything; we do construction and literally help build communities while implementing the latest technologies.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK, AND HOPE, THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR WOMEN WORKING IN THE SECTOR? “Hopefully as more women reach higher levels across the mining sector it will become even more apparent that there is a clear pathway for women to find rewarding careers. The mining industry has changed so much in the 30 years I’ve been part of it. When I started out may not be 100% for, but are a good fit

there were barely any women’s toilets

for in terms of knowing the gaps you

let alone a variety of opportunities.

can work on. This is where the role of

Now, there is a real desire to develop a

sponsors can be really important.

more diverse workforce. There are still

“The industry has a variety of roles

challenges to overcome because by

available and the great thing now is

definition bringing in diversity means

that you can take a less traditional path

you’ll have people with different

and find something that you’re

opinions to your own which can be

passionate about and interested in. In

quite confronting and makes you

my career I’ve not only had the

examine your own thinking.”

opportunity to work on site but also in strategic roles, with communities and governments while contributing to safety and risk management projects.

What I love about the mining industry is mi ni nggl o b a l. com

67

T O P 10

68

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

BIGGEST MINES IN THE WORLD Mining Global examines 10 of the world’s largest mines around the world, in no particular order WRITTEN BY

MARCUS LAWRENCE

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

69

T O P 10

Copper BHP Operator

1,135 Annual yield (kilotonnes)

70

By NASAThe original uploader was Seth Ilys at English Wikipedia.

Main ore

10Escondida, Chile Found in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, the Escondida mine’s ownership is split between BHP (57.5%), Rio Tinto (30%), and a Mitsubishi-led joint venture (12.5% combined). In 2016, the mine accounted for 5% of the world’s copper production, although in recent years its yield has begun to diminish. BHP said in its FY2019 report on the mine’s efficacy that Escondida’s copper production had dropped by 6% over the previous financial year to 1,135kt, although this was an expected decline given the firm’s prediction of a 12% slip in copper grades. In 2018, BHP opened the Escondida Water Supply desalination plant which, at the time, was the largest in Latin America. The plant has been gradually scaling up operations, with desalinated water making up 40% of water used at the site at the end of FY2019, and an expansion of the desalination plant was due to begin delivery during the first half of 2020.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

09Mir, Russia Formerly the Soviet Union’s largest diamond mine, the Siberian Mir mine is one of the biggest excavation pits on the planet and is credited as having been the keystone of the Soviet diamond industry.

The open-pit mine was operational from 1957 to 2001, closing officially in 2004, before reopening in 2009 with operations shifted below ground. It is estimated to have produced US$17bn’s worth of rough diamonds by its 2001 closure. Now operated by Alrosa, Russia’s largest diamond company accounting for 95% of the nation’s diamond output, the mine is capable of yielding 2,000kg of diamonds per year. Having reopened in 2009, the mine is predicted to remain operational until around 2059. The mine is certifiably enormous, cited as one of the largest excavated holes on Earth, with the open pit reaching a depth of 525m with a diameter of 1.2km.

Diamond

By Staselnik – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Main ore

Alrosa Operator

2,000 Annual yield (kilograms) mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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T O P 10

08Boddington, Australia The Boddington Gold Mine is the largest open cut gold mine in Australia, surpassing the famed Super Pit (Fimiston Open Pit) after reopening production in 2009. Located on Australia’s west coast, around 120km away from Perth, the mine was initially opened in 1987 before closing in 2001. Following a three-way joint venture between Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, and Newcrest, Newmont bought out AngloGold’s share in 2009 to become the sole owner and operator.

The mine also produces copper sulphate, and reached its first million ounces of gold produced in March 2011 after just two years.

Newmont launched its forestry carbon offset project at Boddington in 2009, and has planted 800,000 mallee tree seedlings across New South Wales and Western Australia. The firm expects the trees to capture around 300,000 tonnes of carbon over a 30 to 50 year period, alongside boosting soil salinity and local biodiversity, and supporting Australia’s Clean Energy Act and Carbon Farming Initiative.

Gold Main ore

Newmont Operator

703 Annual yield (kilograms) S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

By Calistemon – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Iron Main ore

LKAB Operator

26.9mn Annual yield (tonnes)

07Kiruna, Sweden

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Located in a hotspot for viewing the Northern Lights, the Lapland-based Kiruna mine is the largest iron mine in the world. Having first opened in 1898, the mine is now operated by state-owned LuossavaaraKiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), a Swedish mining firm with an additional operation at Malmberget. The size of the Kiruna mine led to the decision in 2004 to relocate the town centre as it was at risk of subsidence. The move began in 2014, with the town centre set for re-establishment by 2022. In May 2020, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake in the mine’s footwall was triggered by mining activity. The quake’s epicentre was at a depth of around 1.1km, as measured by the mine’s seismic monitoring system.

As the quake resulted from human activity, the system’s sophistication does not enable it to predict such events.

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T O P 10

Red Dog Mine – 25 Years CLICK TO WATCH

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06Red Dog, US Found in an Arctic region of Alaska, the Red Dog mine is the largest zinc-producing mine in the world. Operated by Teck Resources, the mine also produces lead and silver. The mine, which contains the biggest zinc deposits on Earth, produces around 10% of the world’s zinc and is expected to operate until 2031. The mine has been criticised for its environmental impacts, with a report from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stating that the facility releases more toxic materials into the environment than any other US facility. While the release of treated wastewater into river networks is permitted by law in Alaska, Teck faced legal action in 2016 for alleged pollution in the Wulik river. The EPA has nonetheless permitted the State of Alaska to remove the nearby Red Dog Creek and Ikalukrok Creek from its list of most-polluted waterways.

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05 Carajás, Brazil Carajás is the world’s largest iron ore producer, and it is estimated to contain iron reserves of around 7.2bn metric tonnes. The mine’s power is sourced from the nearby Tucuruí hydroelectric dam, one of Brazil’s most prolific power generators and the first hydroelectric project completed in the Amazon Rainforest. Its operator, Brazilian metals and mining specialist Vale, is the largest producer of iron ore and nickel in the world, and operates nine hydroelectric facilities. Tucuruí is not under Vale’s remit, however. Carajás is the jewel in Vale’s crown, with its rocks containing 67% iron and thus offering the highest quality ore available. The facility covers 3% of the National Forest, and Vale is committed to protecting the remaining 97% through a strategic partnership with ICMBio and Ibama. Among other sustainability projects, Vale has developed an ore reuse system that has enabled the firm to reprocess 5.2mn metric tonnes of ultrafine ore that had been deposited

By NASA Earth Observatory – Public Domain

in tailings ponds.

Iron Main ore

Vale Operator

104.88mn Annual yield (metric tonnes) mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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T O P 10

Main ore

PT Freeport Indonesia Operator

33,000 Annual yield (kilograms)

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04 Grasberg, Indonesia Known as the largest gold mine in the world, the Grasberg mine’s reserves had been deemed as near-insignificant in the mid-1980s before an exploration in 1988 by PT Freeport Indonesia discovered the incredible reserves that are still mined to this day. Its reserves are estimated to hold a value of around US$40bn, and it is majority-owned

by Freeport-McMoRan in partnership with Rio Tinto, one of the world’s foremost mining giants. PT Freeport Indonesia operates the mine, with Freeport owning 48.74% of the company and the majority of the remaining stake being owned by the Indonesian government through Indonesia Asahan Aluminium and PT Indonesia Papua Metal & Mineral.

Part open-pit and part underground, around 75% of production came from the former as of 2016. In 2022, Freeport-McMoRan aims to finish installing a new smelter at the facility.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

By Richard Jones – grasberg pano, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Gold

03Debmarine, Namibia Not your typical mine, Debmarine Namibia is a series of offshore mining operations driven by the Debmarine Namibia company, a 50/50 joint venture between the De Beer Group and the Namibian Government. The operations take place off the south coast of Namibia, with the company deploying a five ship fleet for diamond recovery. In May 2019, it was announced that the JV will develop and launch the world’s first custom diamond recovery vessel, with the ship due to begin operations in 2022 at a cost of US$468mn.

Debmarine Namibia claims that this is the most valuable single investment ever made in the marine diamond industry. The mining operation is conducted through two key technologies: an airliftdrill and crawler mining tech. Each vessel in the fleet is capable of tracking, positioning and surveying the ocean floor, leveraging

Debmarine Namibia Š

state-of-the-art drill technology to maximise yield.

Diamonds Main ore

Debmarine Namibia Operator

1.4mn Annual yield (carats) mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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orenmarketplace.com

orenmarketplace.com

T O P 10

By TJBlackwell – Own work. Original copy is available in its full resolution at this address., CC BY 3.0

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02 Morenci, US

Located in Arizona, Morenci is one of the world’s largest copper ore producers with an estimated reserve of 3.2bn tonnes of ore containing 0.16% copper. The mine is majority-owned by Freeport-McMoRan, with Sumitomo owning 28% across various business units. Since 1939, the mine has undergone continuous operation with the open-pit operations producing around 102mn kilos of copper ore per year. The mine was initially underground, with a transition to open-pit operations beginning in 1937. Morenci was a pivotal component of the US’s wartime operations, with its production almost doubling during the Second World War. Its two historial smelters have been discontinued and reclaimed, and the second smelter ceased operations in 1984. A mill expansion project was completed in 2015, boosting mill capacity to around 115,000 metric tonnes each day. The mine is expected to run until 2044.

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Freeport McMoRan Industrial Railroad Morenci, AZ CLICK TO WATCH

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Copper Main ore

FreeportMcMoRan Operator

102mn Annual yield (kilograms) mi ni nggl o b a l. com

T O P 10

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01

Mponeng, South Africa Located around 65km west of Johannesburg and extending almost 4km beneath the surface of Gauteng province, the South African Mponeng gold mine is the deepest in the world from ground level.

With temperatures in the mine’s rockface reaching around 66, ice slurry is pumped underground to reduce air temperature to below 30. In May 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak closed the mine after it had resumed operations following a national lockdown in March of the same year. The mine leverages electronic tracking technologies to maximise miner safety, and this tech was instrumental in quickly and effectively notifying close contacts of those who tested positive for the coronavirus. AngloGold Ashanti owns and operates the mine, but it agreed to sell the facility to Harmony Gold in February 2020.

As of June 2020, Harmony Gold has raised over US$200mn to fund the acquisition of AngloGold’s Mponeng assets.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Gold Main ore

By JMK – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Harmony Gold Operator

350,000 Annual yield (ounces)

Searching for gold in South Africa’s abandoned mines | Unreported World CLICK TO WATCH

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Shell & IBM introduce the Oren marketplace WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

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minin gl o b a l . c o m

OREN

Shell and IBM have joined forces to create Oren, the first B2B digital solutions marketplace platform for the mining and industrial sectors

S

hell is a leader in energy and lubricants products and services with a strong heritage and longstanding relationship

with players across the mining and industrial ecosystems. It has more than 100 years’ experience in energy operations and a global integrated 86

value chain. IBM is a pioneer in cloud, AI, data and analytics solutions. Offering proven mining and industrial digital services, the company has been on a quest for new technologies and global innovation throughout its 100+ year history.

It’s no surprise when the two combined their considerable strengths to create Oren, a B2B digital marketplace for the mining sector, that the result would be a groundbreaking approach to supporting the acceleration of digital and sustainability transformation across the industry.

DIGITAL PIONEERS Shell’s Global Marketing Vice President Carol Chen tells Mining Global that the company’s “digital backbone” is vital for such a huge operation, with a diverse range of global businesses that need S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

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minin g gl o b a l . c o m

OREN

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Carol Chen

a data-driven approach to ensure customers can access digital tools to track their orders. “Digitilisation can

Title: Global Marketing Vice President

truly transform the way we do business,”

Company: Shell

she says. “We can make it more efficient, effective, and fit for purpose.

Carol Chen established her skills across many different markets in the B2C domain while working in a series of diverse roles across two decades for Procter & Gamble.

“My experience has given me the ability to understand a client’s frictions and 88 then progress to delighting the customer. It’s something that’s been integrated in Oren. We’ve done around 350 interviews to truly understand our customers’ pain points and target what it is they’re actually looking for.” Chen believes that being on a continuous journey with your customers is a major form of collaboration.

“We employ a range of digital professionals from developers and robotics engineers, through to experts in 3D printing and augmented reality,” adds Chen. “We have 180 data scientists across our businesses who build sophisticated machine learning algorithms and the systems needed to run them. We also team up with the entrepreneurs of high-tech startups and build strategic collaborations with innovative technology companies to deploy the latest market standard technologies. This lets us focus on generating value today and developing technologies that create a competitive advantage for tomorrow.”

The Oren marketplace represents Shell’s response to the opportunities possible with new digital business models, where business is expanding from products to solutions, and from physical to digital. This all leads towards what Chen identifies as a

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Shell LubeExpert CLICK TO WATCH

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89

multichannel experience. “Oren fits

on traditional ways of selling. “We’re

really nicely in terms of how a platform

seeing the way we interact with our

provides a whole range of solutions

B2B customers – through webinars,

to a customer,” she adds. “Customers

live streams and virtual services –

and sellers no longer need to rely on

really taking off. The more we embrace

traditional ways of driving business

that, the more we can make our busi-

and can access a multichannel,

nesses resilient.”

multi-solution, multi-revenue-stream approach that we believe will help

OREN’S EVOLUTION

businesses become more resilient for

Shell and IBM surveyed more than 350

the challenges ahead.”

mining customers to gain a deeper

Chen notes that the COVID-19

understanding of the pain points

global pandemic has accelerated B2B

experienced with a view to introducing

digital trends due to the restriction

digital innovations to help solve frictions minin g gl o b a l . c o m

OREN

90

SHELL & IBM A COLL ABORATION DRIVING TRANSFORMATION

Shell and IBM have the domain expertise to offer mining customers products and services that bridge technology transitions and industry pivots, assisting their customers to address both challenges and new opportunities. “It’s an obvious synergy for a leading energy company, and the leading technology and business services company, to come together for this mining marketplace initiative with Oren,” says Shell’s Global Marketing Vice President Carol Chen.

Oren is planning to offer 100+ solutions on the platform, addressing customers’ needs in operations, sustainability, safety and production.

“We have chosen the mining industry as a starting point because it has a similar value chain model as the energy industry and shares many of the same challenges, including how to manage operations in remote locations,” adds Chen. “That said, we feel that the energy industry is further ahead in its digital transformation journey, and the solutions we have available can help accelerate innovation in mining.”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“ Sustainability has to be the key focus for the solutions we bring.

Safety, along with cost savings and operational efficiency, are the other big needs. COVID-19 has made all of this so much more important.”

— Carol Chen, Global Marketing Vice President, Shell encountered across value chains -

mining is a sector that finds it difficult

everything from operations and safety

to convert intention into action.

to sustainability and supply chain.

Depleting ore reserves and declining

Research found those customers

ore grades in existing operations

reported 80% of the same pain points:

mean that companies have to mine

including difficulty to aggregate data

deeper to reach new deposits, which

to make actionable insights; siloed

in turn increases costs – problematic

organisations; managing the energy

when Industry 4.0 often requires high

transition; and how to deploy autono-

up-front investment. “This is where

mous technology in a way that doesn’t

we believe that Oren can help mining

impact the safety of employees.

companies not only understand what

Chen notes that while there is

their underlying pain points are, but

optimism around the uptake of In-

also identify solutions to address this

dustry 4.0 and its long-term benefits,

pain quickly,” pledges Chen. minin g gl o b a l . c o m

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OREN

“ Our vision is for Oren to serve as the ‘go-to’ mining and industrials innovation platform for digital transformation at scale” — Carol Chen, Global Marketing Vice President, Shell

Bringing together Shell and IBM’s expertise, Oren not only offers field-proven solutions but also pilot opportunities for pioneering technologies.

Tailored to specific mining use cases meeting the latest industry challenges, expert support is available to help users build a roadmap of solutions that will enable a full digital journey at their own pace following a logical strategy.

“Our vision is for Oren to serve as the ‘go-to’ mining and industrials innovation platform for digital

92

transformation at scale,” explains

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Photo: MachineMax Sensor

OREN: A SAFE AND SECURE PL ATFORM FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Buyers and sellers on a B2B platform need to trust that their data and transactions are safe and secure, and treated in accordance with Global Data Protection Regulations. Oren is based on open software standards and development environments to maximise secure sharing of data. From the very beginning, the platform has been designed with the principle that ownership and permissions of usage of data will remain with clients at all times. All data management is compliant with GDPR. The Oren platform on IBM Cloud™ leverages market-leading data protection capabilities and offers continuous security with built-in isolation, access management and integrated security posture.

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Chen. “It offers choice and ease of

THE POWER OF DATA INTEGRATION

access to software, services, and

Oren has focused on providing

digital solutions from the globe’s

solutions that enable efficient mine

most innovative companies, a true

planning and remote control of data

digital solutions marketplace. Mining

and analytics. Chen explains this is

customers can find, learn, procure,

in direct response to the challenges

use and integrate solutions relevant

shared by mining companies facing

to their industry in one place.

up to everything from integrating

Oren delivers solutions for essential

huge amounts of data from disparate

automation and cloud-enabled

sources, to having a single source of

services to drive deep digital

‘truth’ and aiming for real-time data

transformation, modernisation, cost-

insights to make calculated business

efficiency, sustainability, and safety.”

decisions. “As the platform expands, customers will be able to extract minin g gl o b a l . c o m

OREN

insights related to technology trends being applied across the industry,” she says.

Shell and IBM’s vision for Oren is to constantly curate new solutions from third party companies as well as to develop an ecosystem amongst buyers and sellers to co-create intelligent tools and integrated workflows for the mining lifecycle through interaction and engagement with customers.

“The issue with IoT technology is that currently it is very siloed,” warns Chen. “Only when integration happens 94

and solutions are smartly connected in a coherent workflow can they really bring insights and add value to areas of operations, and increase productivity, safety and sustainability. With business processes that are better informed by data and AI, people can make better decisions and change the way they work.” Chen is excited by the possibilities: “Imagine if you could link a predictive maintenance tool, such as Shell’s RemoteSense, together with a fleet efficiency solution, like Shell spin-off MachineMax, and a parts stock management program like IBM’s MRO. Suddenly you have three solutions developed S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

by different companies and for different use cases delivering a more holistic and automated approach to your maintenance program and your procurement process at the touch of a button.”

RESPONDING TO A POST-COVID WORLD “These are challenging times for everyone and this COVID-19 pandemic could have a lasting impact on how individuals will procure, pilot and engage with technology,” notes Chen. “We could see fewer large industrial events and traditional in-person meetings with technology solution providers. As one customer expressed to us: ‘Oren will allow me to digitalise and streamline the procurement process and enable my team to assess and benchmark technology in one place’.”

Chen explains that the pandemic has increased the need for compliance with investors now demanding certain environmental credentials for companies to secure long-term funding. “We’ve identified that sustainability has to be the key focus for the solutions we bring,” adds Chen. minin g gl o b a l . c o m

95

OREN

“Safety, along with cost savings and

ability to meet the core goal of more

operational efficiency, are the other

efficient delivery of metals, minerals,

big needs. COVID-19 has made all of

energy, and other natural resources

this so much more important.”

across the globe,” confirms Chen.

Following the increased adoption

“When employees become better

of digital capabilities, new roles in

equipped they can identify needs and

the industrial workforce will emerge.

take prompt actions that increase

Chen believes these roles can evolve

safety, efficiency and productivity.”

and workers will be able to add value

At the operational level Chen sees

by focusing on quicker access and

a trend for more work to be done

actionability from data and analytics.

from control rooms rather than in the

“Empowering them with real time sta-

mine itself. Oren accelerates that

tus detail and alerts will enhance their

push towards automation and remote

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S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

operation. “The ability to procure

interactive and immersive experience.

solutions from a B2B platform will

With this solution SME’s and non-

mean that mining companies can

technical stakeholders can visit a

try new solutions in their daily work

digital version of their project site any

and integrate them to their current

time; past, present or future.”

systems,” says Chen. “With this in mind we are looking to bring the full

NET-ZERO AMBITION

experience of a site visit to any home

Shell’s ambitions for Oren align with

office. BGC Engineering, another

the company’s overarching goal of

solution partner on Oren, has

meeting a net-zero emissions target

developed the Ada platform, which

for the manufacture of its products

allows the holographic visualisation

by 2050. Supporting its customers

of a mine site through a realistic 3D

quest to achieve similar targets is key to 97

“ It’s our ambition and our passion to support decarbonisation through services and solutions that will make a hugely positive impact on communities and society as a whole” — Carol Chen, Global Marketing Vice President, Shell minin g gl o b a l . c o m

OREN

How Oren can improve the way mining works •T he positive impact of AI and situational awareness technologies, like IBM’s Health & Safety Insight, offers improved monitoring of health, safety, and environment.

98

• M achineMax can support reduced carbon footprint and emissions with more efficient f leet operations, supporting mining team members to better serve their communities.

• IoT remote sensing (like Shell RemoteSense) and new wearable technologies can reduce incidents and maintenance issues.

• Remote expert and AR technologies enable the workforce to offer safer and quicker problem resolution and faster time to repair.

the further development of Oren. “Oren is the starting point for how we help our mining customers to decarbonise,” affirms Chen. “It’s our ambition and our passion to support decarbonisation through services, solutions, and products that will make a hugely positive impact on communities and society as a whole. Collaborating with customers, our partners and with the startups in a very joined up way offers the opportunity to make the world a better place.”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

99

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

didn’t know where to begin its digital

Revealing that the response to Oren

transformation. On the back of that

from the mining industry has been

engagement Oren has developed

overwhelmingly positive, Chen

a new digital audit service – Oren

stresses this offering from Shell and

RM – to help identify gaps in mining

IBM has tremendous value that can

companies’ digital transformation

be trusted as Oren is committed to do

strategies and provide a roadmap

due diligence with credible solutions

of solutions based on their priorities,

that deliver on their promise before

budget and timing constraints.”

adding them to the platform. “We’ve

Chen admits meeting Shell’s goals

been able to listen to the pain points

will not be easy. The key will be col-

from the industry. For example,

laboration through services, solutions

a mining company in South Africa

and targeted products. “We need minin g gl o b a l . c o m

OREN

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“ We’re able to demonstrate a clear progress path year on year to help with cost savings, decarbonisation and digital transformation. We’re here to play our role and support that shared goal” — Carol Chen, Global Marketing Vice President, Shell

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

to bring win-win value,” she affirms.

“We know our customers need to meet their financial aspirations while targeting greater efficiency and sustainability for the long term. We’re able to demonstrate a clear progress path year on year to help with cost savings, decarbonisation and digital transformation. We’re here to play our role and support that shared goal.”

To find out more about the Oren marketplace visit: www.orenmarketplace.com Oren in association with Mining Global is running a unique webinars series this year. You can register here.

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

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103

A UNIQUE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DEANE

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

ERAMET GROUP

Ludovic Donati, CDO at Eramet, discusses the French mining giant’s use of drones, AI, ML and other cutting-edge technologies in order to overcome unique challenges and thrive in a new digital age

A

global digital transformation is underway.

New digital solutions, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML),

the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data analytics and augmented reality (AR) are driving a digital revolu104

tion. Across every industry, companies are facing new challenges and exploring new opportunities.

But digital transformation is more than the simple adoption of cutting-edge technology; those companies that wish to reap the largest rewards are the ones that look to transform more than their software solutions. “We’re not guided by new technology, but by the new applications of that technology and the new ways of thinking and operating that it enables,” says Ludovic Donati, Chief Digital Officer at French mining and metals giant Eramet Group.

Operating since 1880, Eramet is a leading global player in the extraction of metals like nickel and manganese, as well as the processing and manufacture of high-value alloys such as high-speed steels, high-performance steels, superalloys, and S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

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mi ni nggl o b a l. com

ERAMET GROUP

“ We’re not guided by new technology, but by the new applications of that technology and the new ways of thinking and operating that it enables” — Ludovic Donati, CDO, Eramet

US$4bn in 2018. The company’s main operations include mines and process-

aluminum and titanium alloys. “We

ing plants in Europe, Africa, Oceania,

also produce special alloys for differ-

Asia and North and South America.

ent sectors like aerospace, nuclear,

106

After obtaining a PhD in chemistry,

defense, and so on. For instance, when

Donati joined Eramet in 2011 and spent

you travel in a plane made by Boeing or

three years in the company’s R&D

Airbus, you are traveling with Eramet,

department as a research engineer.

because we produce a lot of very

In 2014, he moved over to the corpo-

important parts for those companies,”

rate strategy department and, in 2017,

Donati explains. “Eramet is an interest-

was asked by senior leadership to

ing organisation because it’s both a

conduct a study of what exactly the

metallurgical and mining company;

digital transformation of a mining and

we are present all the way up the

metallurgical company like Eramet

value chain.” Eramet employs around

would look like.

13,000 people across 20 countries and reported revenues of more than

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

As the global business landscape is reshaped by the digital revolution,

Eramet, exploring our world CLICK TO WATCH

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2:58

107 a shifting political zeitgeist and a

demand for lithium in things like elec-

worsening climate crisis, Eramet is

tric vehicle batteries, smartphones,

undergoing a unique digital trans-

etc. and, to produce it in quantities

formation in order to employ new

that meet our customers’ needs, we’re

mindsets and technologies to over-

going to use digital to drive efficiency

come new and evolving challenges.

wherever we can.”

“We started by making some proof of

In order to effectively transform

concepts that showed good results.

Eramet’s operations using technology

Then, we decided it was necessary

ranging from IoT and drones to digital

to create a new digital transformation

twins and advanced data analytics,

department,” recalls Donati. “Today,

Donati and his team need to overcome

the crux of Eramet’s strategy is to use

several challenges that are unique to

digital to support being a leading pro-

a company like Eramet. “So the first

ducer of nickel, manganese and also

problem is: how do you digitalise a

of lithium. We’re predicting exponential

mine when it’s in the middle of mi ni nggl o b a l. com

ERAMET GROUP

“ It’s very important for our operations to be connected, in real time, to our experts” — Ludovic Donati, CDO, Eramet

108

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

a rainforest? Or the middle of the pacific ocean? That’s a challenge,” he reflects.

The second challenge is that mining is a relatively old industry, and the skills required by Eramet are set to shift dramatically. “If you’re a miner or a geologist today, tomorrow you’re also going to need to be a data scientist and a drone pilot,” Donati says. “In order to align ourselves, we held a workshop with people from our operations in New-Calédonia, Gabon, Senegal, Norway, Paris — you name it. We sat down with everyone and worked together to define our vision for Eramet 4.0 using three axes.”

SAFETY In locations with environmental threats, Eramet is using IoT and drones to check equipment and monitor operations with mi ni nggl o b a l. com

109

ERAMET GROUP

110

1880

Year founded

more accuracy and speed. “In New Caledonia, cyclones are quite common, and you need to run regular checks to make sure equipment hasn’t been

€3.825mn

damaged,” says Donati. “Previously, we’d send a car with two people in it to

Revenue in euros

check and hear back in three to four

12,705

to three hours.” The company has also

Number of employees

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

days if everything was ok. Now, with a drone, we can reduce that down to two begun implementing AI-powered collision avoidance technology in its truck fleet, as well as overseer software to prevent fatigue-based accidents.

OPTIMISATION

says Donati. “With all this data, we’re

In addition to reducing fuel consump-

actually building a digital twin of the mine

tion across its entire operation, Eramet

in New Caledonia, so we will soon have

is using AI-powered data analytics to

the possibility to run different scenarios

manage its fleet and process topo-

based on, for example, fluctuations

graphical modeling data gathered by

in the price of nickel.”

drone surveyors. “We’re using drones to do these topographical measure-

REMOTE EXPERTISE

ments and, in 2019, we mapped more

As a way of solving the problem

than 300,000 acres, which is about 100

of changing skill needs, Eramet is

times more than the previous year,”

investing heavily in an operational

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

111

Ludovic Donati Title: Chief Digital Officer

Company: Eramet Group

Industry: Mining and Metallurgical

Location: Paris

Since 2018, Ludovic has been the Digital Correspondent of the French Mining and Mellurgy Sector and a board member of the Afnet association. A normalien with a PhD in chemistry, Ludovic joined the Eramet group in 2011, where he held various positions in R&D, investor relations and strategy (CEO’s office). Ludovic was appointed Group Chief Digital Officer at Eramet in 2017 in order to provide the company with a strong, coherent and sustainable vision for digital transformation and to launch concrete achievements from proof of concept to industrialisation in the fields of Mine 4.0 and Plant 4.0. He was nominated for the Next Leader Awards of Les Echos French newspaper in 2018 and won the “Grand Prix de l’Acélération Digitale BFM Business” for Eramet in 2019.

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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Empowering safer, more sustainable mining As energy costs fluctuate, high-grade ores become scarcer, and profit margins tighten, productive mines recognize that technology is essential to their success. Companies must be smarter, safer, and quicker to respond to change. Their future depends on it.

Hexagon recognizes that the competitive edge of its customers depends on empowering an autonomous future by integrating, automating, and optimizing critical workflows.

This means smart mines that are efficient to operate, maximize safety and minimally impact the environment.

hexagonmining.com

“ If you’re a miner or a geologist today, tomorrow you’re also going to need to be data scientist and drone pilot” — Ludovic Donati, CDO, Eramet

70 people, 50 of whom are focused on data science and engineering and now we’re working on AI, data sci-

transformation of the way it delivers

ence and ML projects. Our algorithms

expertise to remote locations. “We’re

implemented in our ferronickel or sili-

using remote expertise powered

comanganese furnaces are learning

by AR,” explains Donati. “It’s very

and, every day, they’re becoming more

important for our operations to be

and more accurate.” At the end of a

connected, in real time, to our experts.

successful year of small-scale imple-

We’re collecting all the data from our

mentations and proof of concept tests,

mines and plants and in 2020 we will

Eramet is at a tipping point. Looking

implement remote operations centres

to the future, Donati acknowledges

across our operations.” This, Donati

that the coming year will be one of

explains, allows the company powerful

monumental change for Eramet. “We

insight into the processes of its facili-

did a great job in 2018, running proof

ties, helping to drive efficiency on

of concepts and tests. This year, we

a global scale and enabling Eramet to be

industrialised and deployed a lot of pro-

more reactive to changes in the market.

prietary solutions,” he says. “Next year, in 2020, we will be aiming for full scale

THE FUTURE

deployment.”

This transformation has been defined by its speed and scale. “A year and a half ago, we had no competencies in data science, cloud, analytics etc.,” recalls Donati. “Since then, we’ve built a digital transformation team of about mi ni nggl o b a l. com

113

114

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Eradicating workplace fatalities through technology WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

KRISTOFER PALMER

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

115

FORWOOD SAFET Y

Thorsten Scholz, CTO, explains how tech innovation, solid partnerships and a focused approach can transform safety culture in industry

W

hilst an element of risk may always be inherent to some specific workplaces or roles, there is no reason why this should remain

cause for severe injury or loss of life. Tackling this issue with the steadfast attitude that all work-related deaths can be prevented, Forwood Safety has been on a mission to change the standard of safety within 116

mining and oil and gas through applied technology since 1995. Growing from a small enterprise to a genuine leader, the company continues to focus on solving some of the most significant and enduring challenges facing the modern industrial sector: delivering best-in-class performance that doesn’t compromise safety standards and relegating workplace fatalities to the archives of history.

Taking on the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in late 2015, Thorsten Scholz came across Forwood Safety whilst working as a consultant within the mining industry. Whilst listening to a presentation on the verification method used by Forwood to improve performance of critical controls, he experienced an epiphany that he could help make an even greater impact on the safety of frontline workers

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

117

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

FORWOOD SAFET Y

“ I actually walked up to Steve Wood (CEO of Forwood) after the meeting and said, ‘I need to get involved in this” — Thorsten Scholz, CTO, Forwood Safety

118

which empowers employees within non-hierarchical structures across the company, always centred on the idea of delivering success to clients. For Scholz, his approach to IT can be summed up in one word: Quality. “We’ve implemented Agile first in the product team and then

by joining the endeavour, which he did

across the rest of the business. Now,

shortly afterwards. “I actually walked

we can really scale and standardise our

up to Steve Wood (CEO of Forwood)

products, from content development

after the meeting and said, ‘I need to

to marketing while never losing focus

get involved in this’,” he says. With previ-

on the business value of the outcome for

ous IT roles at large mining operations

our clients” he explains. From a techno-

in Australia and project experience

logical standpoint, he credits the advent

in high risk industries globally, Scholz

of cloud-computing as totally revolution-

understands the challenges of risk

ising the ERP computing which prevailed

management and safety well – an under-

at the beginning of his career. “When

standing which has valuably contributed

I look at the IT sector, I can say with

to his approach at being a CTO.

certainty that the cloud’s introduction

The drive and determination to excel

was a catalyst for digital transforma-

at pace stems from Forwood Safety’s

tion. We could never deliver large scale

emphasis on a corporate culture

enterprise safety and risk management solutions at such great value without the cloud and without a partner like Amazon Web Services (AWS).”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

PART N ER

A truly critical partner for Forwood Safety, Amazon’s importance to the company’s daily operations cannot be overstated. Scholz has this to say on their relationship: “We regularly collaborate with Amazon on strategic initiatives, most recently with one of our key clients to further progress the SaaS use cases of the Amazon QuickSight offering, a very powerful business intelligence (BI) tool. We’ve been involved with AWS for a number of years now, we continue to provide feedback on behalf of our large enterprise clients directly to

product management, which goes into their product roadmap.

QuickSight allows you to run data analysis on any type of device, including browsers and phones at a data volume and scale which is unprecedented. As a safety and risk management firm, we don’t want to invest in building reporting platforms, that makes no sense.

Instead, we want to build data models and get insights into the data using an established, managed service like Amazon QuickSight.

This approach helps us to focus on what we’re good at: providing deep insights into fatality prevention.”

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

119

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Enable deeper insights from data QuickSight empowers your users to gain deeper insights through ad-hoc analysis and machine learning capabilities such as anomaly detection, forecasting, and natural language queries. In addition, users can author, publish, and share their own dashboards and reports to get specific answers to their customized questions.

These capabilities provide you with new ways of monetizing and differentiating your applications.

Pay only for what you use QuickSight’s pay-per-session pricing model means you only pay when your embedded dashboards are being used. You don’t have to worry about expensive userbased licensing especially when providing analytics capabilities to a large number of users (e.g., public websites, enterprise portals).

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27,000 Tons delivered in 17 months

Furthermore, the utility of working

arise, Forwood Safety was able to

with AWS and using its products con-

integrate new protocols for COVID-

tributes another factor to Forwood

19 risk management in record time.

Safety’s agility, namely mitigating

“Within weeks, we had specific

the need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ for

COVID-19 content deployed globally.

every tech need that might arise.

In that time, we developed compre-

Using Amazon as a one-stop provider

hensive critical control checklists

of vital compute solutions, Scholz

for COVID-19, and deployed these

says that the company can instead

to over 250 sites and in seven

focus on their true mission: applying

languages, including Icelandic,

technology in creative ways to save

Mongolian, Spanish and French,”

lives. Able to adapt to new threats

he explains. “Without the cloud that

and working conditions as they

would have not been possible.”

121

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Thorsten Scholz Title: Chief Technology Officer Company: Forwood Safety Industry: Fatality prevention

Location: Australia

Thorsten Scholz is an agile leader with more than 25 years’ experience designing innovative technology solutions in the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) sector. Having worked with clients around the globe, he understands the complexities of real-world operations. Highly skilled in delivering game-changing technologies, Thorsten is well positioned for his current role as Chief Technology Officer at Forwood Safety. As a vital member of Forwood’s Executive Team, Thorsten is pivotal in ensuring this dynamic company’s success by leveraging technology innovations to find new ways of preventing fatalities around the world.

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

FORWOOD SAFET Y

122

Currently offering three primary

view of critical risks in the workplace

products – Critical Risk Management

this helps to quickly identify areas

(CRM), SafetyApps and Enterprise

where workers could get harmed

Risk Assurance (ERA) – agility

and creates actionable insights to

often combines with innovation at

prevent this.” This is again indica-

Forwood Safety, with collections of

tive of Forwood Safety’s distinct

core proprietary technology (drones,

approach to risk management and

satellites, etc) utilised for special-

safety: collaboration between par-

ised tasks. “We have a geospatial

ties is essential and the company

platform integrated into our prod-

strives to combine its tech platform

ucts which allows clients to upload

with methods and relevant content

custom maps in a self-service

in order to produce a transformative

manner. If you give the people in

solution for clients. “It’s about work-

control of operations a bird’s eye

ing together to achieve an outcome;

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“ When I look at the IT sector, I can say with certainty that the cloud’s introduction was a catalyst for digital transformation. We could never deliver without the cloud and without a partner like Amazon Web Services (AWS)” been a crucial partner in achieving this, but one other company Scholz identi-

— Thorsten Scholz, CTO, Forwood Safety

fies for special praise is Base2Services.

building a good safety culture must

developed a reputation in Australia as

be a partnership,” Scholz emphasises.

being one of the most respected cloud

Working closely with its channel

Founded in 2005, this company has

development/operations companies

partners and clients, Forwood Safety’s

in the market. Having itself partnered

critical risk management platform

with AWS for more than a decade,

analyses failures before they can turn

Base2Services is an expert in operat-

into fatalities and provides capabilities

ing superlative cloud environments.

to predict hotspots and blackspots.

“Base2Services focuses on DevOps,

It follows the pattern that establishing

DevOps automation, cyber risk,

a strong tech infrastructure is imperative

cybersecurity and helps us to make

for implementing sustainable technolog-

sure that all the ‘nuts and bolts’ are

ical change with great value for clients.

in place and any warning signs are

Amazon, as already mentioned, has

monitored, reviewed and addressed straight away. They provide us with 24/7 infrastructure support across the globe in a ‘follow the sun’ model. In terms of scalability, flexibility and value delivered, this has really helped us to focus on what is important to us: helping to save lives.” minin g gl o b a l . c o m

123

FORWOOD SAFET Y

Digital automation through artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most exciting trends across several industries right now and Scholz declares that Forwood Safety is firmly at the forefront in its sector.

Not satisfied with using a preexisting solution in this regard, the company instead developed its own by hiring a team of data scientists to analyse the most effective way for AI to enhance safety. The breakthrough came via the revelation that using 124

binary safety-related questions with choices of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ provided very fertile ground for algorithmic optimi-

1995

Year founded

1,200+

Using our global benchmark critical control verification process

50

Number of employees

sation. “90% of the time the answers are very straightforward. If you

out practical applications which will

have a good set of questions, which

benefit workers in the field. Both

can be answered consistently and

will require thought and attention,

always with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, it helps

as well as close collaboration with

your machine learning (ML) model

partners and clients to pilot new

gather data and form predictions

approaches directly in the work-

based on patterns.” Considering the

place. “From my perspective, ML

topic of AI-based automation more

and its applications for analysing

generally, Scholz states there are

both still photos and video are going

two aspects of importance to its

to be critical in the future of safety

development with regards to safety:

technology,” he adds.

1) support via improved decisionmaking capabilities; and 2) working S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

With a five-year strategic roadmap in place and solutions for

125

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

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The Cloud Services People

“ We believe all workplace fatalities can be eradicated”

127

— Thorsten Scholz, CTO, Forwood Safety health-related crises like COVID-19

the years to come,” he concludes.

already natively established in the

“Forwood Safety has the partner-

company’s products and services,

ships and the cultural alignment to

Scholz is confident that Forwood

execute that vision. Ultimately, we

Safety will continue to thrive and

believe all workplace fatalities can

establish the next generation of

be eradicated.”

safety principles which will endure and become industry standards.

“We want to leverage technology, as well as our expertise, to make a big difference in fatality prevention in minin g gl o b a l . c o m

128

TRANSFORMING SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY IN MINING WRITTEN WRITTENBY BY

WILLIAM WILLIAM SMITH SMITH PRODUCED PRODUCEDBY BY

RICHARD RICHARD DEANE DEANE

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

129

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

MST GLOBAL

Haydn Roberts, CEO of mining technology company MST Global, reveals the integrated, platform approach futureproofing mines worldwide

M

ining technology firm MST Global can trace its origins back some 30 years to an urgent need for improved commu-

nications in a mining setting. Inspired by a tragic mining disaster at Moura colliery, the company was involved in pioneering a form of through-the-earth 130

communication known as PED. “It provided the ability to communicate through the rock and send a one way message to trapped miners,” says CEO Haydn Roberts. “From there the company started out of Sydney and grew into offering other types of technologies and solutions, all focused around underground coal and hard rock mining linked to voice or data communications and the tracking of people. We’ve really built a whole digital ecosystem around that initial offering.”

When he joined four years ago, Roberts brought years of experience in the mining industry, as well as a passion for technology. “When I was very young, around 1980, I got my first computer – a Sinclair ZX80. I had a passion for computing and technology from a very early age, and right when the worldwide web was taking off I moved S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Below: Corey Nesbit Systems Engineer and Nick Miller Senior Solutions Architect, Underground in a mine

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131

MST GLOBAL

“ Technology is going to change over time, and whatever we put into the underground space has to be upgradeable” 132

— Haydn Roberts, CEO, MST Global

to the US and worked for a surface mining company in California. I got quite involved in the technology side of mining at this particular open-pit surface mine with things like fleet dispatch, GPS and mine planning.”

Roberts’ career has seen him involved in a number of technological advances in the mining industry, including the introduction of autonomous trucks back in the mid-90s.

Digital transformation has perhaps an even more critical aspect in an industry such as mining, with lives potentially on the line in the harsh environment of an underground mine.

“Communication’s very difficult, you can’t see each other that easily, you’re working in different parts of the mine and so forth,” emphasises Roberts.

“So by definition you’re a very distributed workforce in a very risky environment.”

Gone are the days, however, when miners had to rely on canaries for safety. “Digitalisation lets you build a digital ecosystem where everything is connected. You have the ability

1989 Denis Kent with MST founder Gary Zamel and Voest Alpine founder Chris McGuinn Newstan Coal Mine S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

to track people and equipment, you have the ability to put in sensors that can detect methane and different

MST GLOBAL: AXON Product Launch Video CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:00

133 poisonous gases, you have the ability

time, and whatever we put into the

to detect movement of the rock. All of

underground space has to be upgrade-

this can be converted into data in real

able. That’s a key differentiator versus

time and acted upon.”

other vendors out there.” The company

This sense of integration character-

is able to combine solutions thanks

ises MST’s approach to its offerings.

in part to its vertically integrated

“We’re technology agnostic in terms

model. “We do our own manufacturing,

of wireless technologies and tracking,”

design, development of software and

Roberts emphasises. “We don’t just

hardware, and then direct selling and

bat for LTE or wifi. We realise that, in

support. That’s a very important part

an underground situation, you’re going

of it all, the service that goes around

to be using Bluetooth, you’re going

deploying it and supporting it. We’re

to use LoRa, you’re going to use wifi

very much focused on that.”

for certain things and LTE for others.

Technology is going to change over

Another differentiator is the company’s AXON platform. “We’ve just launched mi ni nggl o b a l. com

MST GLOBAL

our latest smart infrastructure or smart network platform,” says Roberts.

“We realised that our older platform, Impact, wasn’t as easy to upgrade when new technologies came along.

With AXON, we knew we had to take a different view on that. We designed it so that it could be in a mine for 10, 15, or 20 years, but have the ability to be upgradeable as different technologies come along.” With an eye on upgrades comes an openness to integrating emerging technologies into the 134

platform. “We work with Microsoft quite closely and we designed AXON to use elements of Microsoft Azure.

Within Azure there’s things like voice

also need the ability to be tracked,

and video recognition. For instance,

just like people. Using wearables you

we plan to pick up certain phrases that

can track where people are in a mine,

the Azure module will allow us then

and then, for instance, if they go into a

to act on and turn on a fan or send a

certain area, secondary fans will turn

request for a piece of equipment to

on to make sure that those areas are

go down to a certain end.”

ventilated. The automation of fixed

Automation has a part to play across

assets underground is something that

the full spectrum of technologies

excites us – it’s a more sustainable

deployed in mines. “Automated vehicles

and safer way of mining.”

need real-time communications, so

Considering his experience in the

they need a platform like AXON that

mining industry, Roberts views the

can connect high bandwidth wirelessly

community as a family, a stance

to those vehicles,” says Roberts. “They

MST extends to the work it does with

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

partners. “With all of our customers, we take a long-term partnership view,” he says. “There’s probably 30 mining companies in the world that mine 80% of the minerals. The truth is that it’s a very small industry when you compare it to something like automotive. We do business with about 300 mines. Every one of those needs to be a special relationship and a partnership.” MST Global’s work with gold-mining firm OceanaGold is one such example.

“From the very get-go we sat down and worked out how we could share

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Haydn Roberts Title: CEO

Company: MST Global

Haydn is the CEO of MST Global. Haydn commenced his career in underground gold mines in South Africa before joining Rio Tinto, with roles in manufacturing, smelting and mining in the UK and USA. He has held senior leadership roles with Groundprobe and Komatsu Modular Mining Systems based in the US and Australia.

Prior to MST Global, Haydn was the CEO of Leica Mining and COO of Hexagon Mining. He has extensive experience in executive management, mining technology and best practice. Haydn has a Mining Engineering degree from Cardiff University, Wales and a Master’s Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. mi ni nggl o b a l. com

135

MST GLOBAL

136

“ It’s incumbent upon all of us to accept the reality of global warming and to do something about it” — Haydn Roberts, CEO, MST Global S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

A tunnel project to access a gold ore body at a new gold mine in Australia

our roadmap with theirs and identify the common alignment. We had workshops where they listened to what we felt about the strategic vision for the technology in this space, and then we started to deploy solutions at their various mines. They’ve been a great partner.”

As for the future, Roberts is clear that one challenge facing MST and the wider industry above all others is sustainability. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to accept the reality of global warming and to do something about it. What I seek for MST is to ask: ‘how do we address sustainability?’ How do we bring youth into the discussion and get their feedback on how we can improve the business? To me, that’s probably the most important external factor that we have to address in a meaningful way.”

While there’s a long way to go, MST is on the path and encourages fellow industry members to do the same. “It’s a journey of a thousand steps, but you’ve got to make that first one.”

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

137

A VISION FOR SUSTAINABLE MINING THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DEANE

138

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

139

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

How New Century has delivered economic mine site rehabilitation to the Century deposit and maintained the social license to operate while building for future growth

T

he first mining lease in the region of Australia’s North West Queensland was issued way back in 1890. However, it was

not until 100 years later when Rio Tinto’s exploration arm completed the discovery of “big zinc” that 140

large scale mining become possible, hence they named it the Century deposit. This was sold on to Pasminco, which took the open cut zinc, lead and silver mine into production in 1997. While the pipeline and port facility could handle a million tonnes per annum of concentrates, a slow floating ore body meant that Pasminco was faced with metallurgical challenges to optimise production and maximise returns from the operation. The choices available were to increase available residence time through building additional floatation capacity or increase throughput at the sacrifice of recoveries. The latter was chosen due to the lower capital requirements and the large resource available.

This ultimately led to the substantial mineral resource in the tailings dam, and the opportunity for New Century.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

141

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

“We were able to convert the tailings dam at Century into what was at the time, and still is, the 14th largest known mined zinc reserve in the world — 77mn tonnes of tailings, containing 3% recoverable zinc with homogenous grade distribution” — Barry Harris, Chief Operating Officer, New Century Resources During initial operations, Century 142

was one of the world’s largest base metal mines, churning out an average 475,000tpa of zinc and 50,000tpa of lead in concentrate products over its history. Pasminco went into voluntary administration in 2001 due to numerous corporate issues and the Century asset transferred into a new entity Zinifex.

Zinifex did extremely well when the zinc price skyrocketed in 2006 before being part of a merger that created OZ Minerals which, in turn, was acquired

by MMG. The latter went on to run the Century mine site through until the exhaustion of the main ore body in 2016.

Explaining Century’s chequered past, New Century Resources’ Chief S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

New Century Zinc | New Century Resources (ASX:NCZ) CLICK TO WATCH

|

8:20

143 Operating Officer Barry Harris says the

together we could maintain our collec-

company was drawn to the asset when

tive social license to operate.”

it came into care and maintenance.

By March 2017 New Century had

“Prior to this, our Managing Director

taken on the previous care and mainte-

Pat Walta had engaged with MMG over

nance allowances, and proceeded to

a number of years discussing a novel

get the project developed and opera-

approach, that being an economic

tions started through the remining

mine site rehabilitation strategy,” he

and subsequent reprocessing of the

says. “Partnering with New Century

tailings ore body, these activities are all

Resources (formerly Century Bull) was

part of the overall rehabilitation works

the best option for MMG to fulfil all of

and provide revenues to complete

their obligations with the rehabilita-

works required on the mine lease, while

tion of the mine, returning it to a state

generating returns for shareholders.

where it could be handed back to

With AUS$70mn already spent by on

the community, and making sure that

waste dump rehabilitation, MMG had mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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EXCLUSIVE

145

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

146

developed a best in class waste dump

had gone into the tailings since first

cover system for semi-arid environ-

ore. However, “The first step for New

ments that New Century can apply

Century when we took over was to

to the remaining dumps.

convert the tailings dam into an ore

MMG also carried out substantial

body,” recalls Harris. “We needed to

proof of concept test work prior to the

do that in order to achieve a JORC —

transaction, determining that a sale-

compliant ore reserve.”

able zinc product could be produced

“We drilled out the tailings, using a

from the tailings, proving the viability

quarter of the core for assaying to get

of the project.

a clear picture of what the whole ore

New Century was fortunate to have

body looked like, and what the grade

tailings sample results for the whole life

profile was throughout the entire lay-

of mine, and so were able to determine

ered deposition in the dam,” reveals

to a certain level of confidence what

Harris. “The other three quarters of

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

that core were sent off and used to

the world — 77mn tonnes of tailings,

complete a large pilot program; a test

containing 3% recoverable zinc with a

work plant was ran to see how we

homogenous grade distribution.”

could further optimise the actual

Harris explains that, though hydro

operations of the plant to extract as

mining is well established globally,

much zinc as possible. Between those

it’s a method rarely used in Australia.

two approaches, we were able to con-

“We’re innovating with rehabilitation

vert the tailings dam at Century into

of the mined land through the use of

what was at the time, and still is, the

economic rehabilitation,” he explains.

14th largest known zinc deposit in

“By making rehabilitation a profitable

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Barry Harris Title: Chief Operating Officer

147 Company: New Century Resources

Barry Harris is a resource industry professional qualified in mining engineering, mineral economics and corporate compliance with experience in operational mine management, compliance, and the technical and financial aspects of the resources industry. Graduating from the University of Queensland with an honors degree in Mining Engineering, Barry has gone on to complete post graduate studies including a Master of Science (Mineral Economics), and the AICD’s and MIoD Company Directors courses. Barry’s experience within the mining industry includes varied roles in both coal and metalliferous mining, during which he gained First Class Mine Managers certification for all four of the Australian jurisdictions he worked in. He is applying all this experience to his current role as the COO of New Century Resources assets, focused on leading the company in all facets of the restarting of operations; again establishing Century as a significant world zinc producer. mi ni nggl o b a l. com

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

enterprise through what we’re doing, we’re carving out a niche in the industry, we see this as the future for improved environmental outcomes in the mining industry.

We’re utilising the best methodology to leveraging the sunk capital and time spent on world class infrastructure, approvals and permitting as well as the very ore body itself to monetise the value left behind in the tailings dam. After remining we’re reprocessing it, and then using sub148

aqueous (below water) deposition to put it beneath the lake in the original pit shell. “Historically, aging mine sites have presented a long-term challenge in Australia and overseas jurisdictions. Our approach shows that mine sites no longer meeting the investment brief of top tier mining companies can still provide opportunity for more focused agile mining companies to come in and extend the economic life, while extracting a lot more value through the process of rehabilitation.”

The recommencement of economic activity at Century has involved significant engagement with and S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

2017

Year founded

$300mn Revenue in australian dollars

350

Number of employees cooperation from the local community surrounding Century’s operations.

“The traditional owners will continue to receive benefits associated with the Native Title agreement that would have otherwise ceased with the closure of Century by its previous owner,” explains Harris. “More widely the local governments will continue to receive premium benefit through rates, and other industries will gain through Century engaging with local businesses buying services and products from them.”

Meanwhile, through its port operations mi ni nggl o b a l. com

149

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

Normanton and Mornington Island, which is assisting with sustainable community development goals identified by the community representatives themselves. “We took a different approach to how this was done previously,” explains Harris.

“Previous owners used to spend a lot of that money training up people to be truck drivers, grader operators and other mining specific skill sets on the actual mine lease.What we have done differently is engaged with the 150

local communities, and asked them what they actually want, which will mean more sustained benefit to the local communities, rather than just creating employees for the mining to support the mine’s infrastructure

operation itself”. This scheme is being

New Century is dredging up the chan-

spearheaded by Shane Goodwin,

nel at its Karumba facility, opening up

our Head Of Stakeholder Relations

economic opportunities to the sports

and Community Engagement, which

and fishing industries, which otherwise

has been recognized through the

would have been compromised by the

Aboriginal Enterprises in Mining,

silting up of the river.

Energy, and Exploration (AEMEE)

Currently employing 350 people, New Century is also rolling out a AUS$1.8M per annum training

Awards, and more recently the Prospect Mining Awards.”

The main focus for 2020 remains

and development program for the

ramping up operations to 12mn tonnes

local communities in Doomadgee,

per annum of tailings throughput

AUGUST 2020

through the existing infrastructure. To

up to 2026 and gives us a platform to

support this goal, New Century have

then further define and bring into the

embarked on a programme of infra-

life of mine the known in-situ resources.

structure refurbishment to upgrade the

Everything that we do, be it open pit

hydro mine and processing plant. What

mining or underground, the final clo-

are the plans for realising the future

sure and/or rehabilitation of the land

potential of zinc and lead resources at

post any mining activities will be at the

Silver King, South Block, and the East

forefront of all the mine design and

Fault Block? “Future mineral resources

planning decisions made up front.”

across the mine leases will be the sub-

Forging strong alliances has been

ject of an executable feasibility study

key to the progress made so far at

during 2020,” reveals Harris. “The

Century. “We partnered with National

potential to restart traditional mining

Pump & Energy and Paragon Tailings,

operations at Century will be investi-

who assisted in the development of

gated further for economic viability, it’s

our hydro mining operation, getting

then a matter of optimising when these

those off the ground and training

resources fit best into the life of mine

up the workforce in how to actually

ore feed. Our current mine life extends

carry out hydro mining operations,”

“Zinc prices will rise and Century will be well-placed to meet the demand for mine supply thanks to the investment we’ve made in expanding our facilities” — Barry Harris, Chief Operating Officer, New Century Resources w w w.mi ni nggl o b a l. com

151

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

152

Meeting the demands of the zinc market Zinc is a commodity very much driven by industrial demand which has remained strong, however with the current global trade disputes, sentiment around that demand has been muted. New Century Resources’ Chief Operating Officer Barry Harris expects to see this sentiment turn once these are resolved. “The zinc market globally is about 14n tonnes of refined metal per annum, with mine supply and the mining capacity fairly well matched in recent history,” he S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

notes. “What happened is that China went from focusing on quantity of tonnes, to quality of tonnes. Over the last few years they’ve been tightening up on their environmental compliance, and with that about 1.3mn tonnes per annum of refining capacity was actually turned off, because those smelters had to put in additional environmental compliance works to get up to a standard that the Chinese government are happy with. That’s why the refined metal stocks dropped

off to a point where right now there’s only about 50-60,000 tons of refined metal on the LME stockpiles.”

Alongside this demand thematic, more mine supply than smelting capacity has led to the current record high treatment charges. “It’s an interesting conf luence of events,” observes Harris. “With the smelting capacity in China now turning back on, those charges will start to drop.

Those record high treatment charges have meant, combined with a relatively low zinc price, that mining companies take home has been squeezed dramatically from historic average.

What you then see happen is quite a lot of marginal supply from mining concentrate suppliers has been turning off. We believe we’re about to see a major turnaround in this balance, as smelters work their way through the build up in concentrate supply, and all the additional smelting capacity comes back on. You can see it in the numbers, the month on month Chinese refined metal outputs are growing substantially, as those smelters are coming back online.

This restarting of capacity will result in a drawdown on the current concentrate build up, which will then require a supply response, however we are seeing that there’s not actually the additional mine supply available to feed into this drawdown. The other key factor you need to see to drive a step change in the zinc price, is for global sentiment around the trade disputes to settle. If one or both of these occur, we anticipate a substantial increase in the zinc macro environment” Harris believes that when the US and China come to an agreement, demand will take off again for industrial metal. “We’ll see a huge demand for copper and associated base metals do to expected increased economic activity,” he says. “Zinc prices will rise and Century will be well-placed to meet the demand for supply, thanks to the investment we’ve made in expanding our facilities which will increase our output while lowering our operational costs to make our business more resilient through any price cycle and ready to take advantage of higher pricing.” mi ni nggl o b a l. com

153

NEW CENTURY RESOURCES

154

says Harris. “We also partnered with

time. Allied to this, we’re working with

Sedgman, which gave us a strong

Murray Engineering, which supplies

partner for the refurbishment, and

and maintains our mobile fleet, while

with the operations and maintenance

P&O operates our 5,000 tonne trans-

of our processing facilities both at

shipment vessel, the Wunma, out of

Lawn Hill and Karumba. Sedgman is

Karumba.”

a well-known processing plant infra-

Operating for just over 14 months,

structure company here in Australia,

Century is now among the top 15 zinc

bringing a wealth of experience to the

producing mines in the world and

full refurbishment and helping us to get

pushing for the top 10. “We’ve man-

the project up and running in record

aged to attract a great team of people

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“The traditional owners will continue to receive benefits associated with the native title agreement that would have otherwise ceased with the closure of Century by its previous owner” — Barry Harris, Chief Operating Officer, New Century Resources

155

and have been working hard to foster a

opportunity to see mining through a

culture where our people enjoy coming

different lens, not only here in Australia,

to work and share the values driving

but throughout the world.”

our success,” affirms Harris. “As we stabilise operations at Century, and look at ways to extend the mine life, we want to be an example to other mining companies of the great things that can be achieved through economic rehabilitation and hope to see the process repeated elsewhere. It’s a huge mi ni nggl o b a l. com

156

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

157

CRC ORE: PROMOTING COLLABORATION ACROSS THE MINING INDUSTRY WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DEANE

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

CRC ORE

How the Cooperative Research Centre for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE) is improving the productivity, energy and water signatures of mining operations

T

he Cooperative Research Centre for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE) is part of the Australian

Government’s Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. It is co-funded by seven mining majors - Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, BHP, Glencore, Newcrest, Teck and Sumitomo. It also 158

includes the support of ten research institutions and seven major METS - Metso, Orica, Hatch, Imdex, Sodern, JKTech and METS Ignited.

Originally established in 2010, CRC ORE is a not for profit co-creation partnership, which received its second phase of funding in 2015 (A$34 million from the Australian Government and the remainder from its partners, mostly the miners). It is focused on “improving the productivity, energy and water signatures of mining operations”.

Chief Executive Officer Dr Ben Adair notes: “To meet our Commonwealth funding requirements, we had to raise some A$114 million over our sixyear term. With 18 months left and we will have raised in excess of A$160 million — a consequence of the traction and support we’ve gained, from our mining company sponsors in particular.”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

159

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

CRC ORE

“ We must find better ways of extracting value that requires less water and energy. We need to generate lower volumes of much coarser waste by-products, which we can dry stack and recover all the water from. Ultimately, these will be cheaper processes, which will actually produce more metal” — Dr. Ben Adair, CEO, CRC ORE

“We are seen as independent, trusted

advisors by the Mining companies, to the point that we are now often used to manage their site-based gangue rejection strategies on their behalf.”

160

OPTIMISING RESOURCE EXTRACTION Dr Adair explains that CRC ORE’s commitment to optimising resource extraction (ORE) is underpinned by two suites of technologies: Grade Engineering® and the Integrated Extraction Simulator (IES). The former focuses on extracting metal more efficiently by separating ore from waste before it enters comminution. The latter is a cloud-based simulation and optimisation platform across the mine to mill value chain. Grade Engineering therefore involves the implementation of practical gangue rejection technologies at production scale on sites.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

CRC ORE - Impact to Date - 2019 CLICK TO WATCH

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0:58

161 IES provides the opportunity to optimise

this material is in itself less than 10%

downstream processing performance

energy efficient in breaking rocks

from this newly engineered feedstock.

and collectively consumes 3% of the

Dr Adair urges that, to reduce the

worlds’ electricity — enough to keep

mining industry’s energy and water foot-

the lights on in Germany each year!”

prints, it’s important to take a “helicopter view” of where the sector is today.

“We get delusional about the current

Dr Adair adds: “We also over-grind the material to extract the target minerals, way beyond what is necessary

status quo,” he says. “The fact is that

to efficiently separate and recover the

for base and precious metal opera-

metal. Consequently, we generate

tions, we still mine huge volumes of

enormous volumes of ultra-fine waste.

rock and send it into a process plant

Current process plants are also water

where 99% or more of this mate

intensive and these waste streams are

rial has no value whatsoever. Further,

too fine to self-drain. As a result, we

the comminution process used on

store waste in wet tailings dams and minin g gl o b a l . c o m

accept the challenge of continuously improving to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency in our work

CRC ORE

164

struggle to recycle the water effi-

design and operation of new energy

ciently. This brings another set of

and water efficient process equipment

challenges — poor levels of water

and circuits. This will require the reali-

recycling and wet tailings dams

sation of co-creation partnerships

that are a safety hazard across

between selected miners and suppli-

the Industry”.

ers to implement these solutions

Dr Adair’s conclusion, and where he

quickly. Nothing less than a complete

believes CRC ORE can have an impact

step change in energy reduction and

with its research and solutions, is that

close to full recycling of water will suf-

effective pre-concentration in the mine

fice”. Ironically, he also states that this

is required to dramatically reduce the

will actually increase metal production

volume of treated material that has

at sites, with cheaper capital and operat-

no value. “We then need to apply the

ing expenditures proclaiming that

principles of gangue rejection into the

“sustainability really isn’t a cost!”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

SUCCESS WITH SUMITOMO

approaches in optimising process per-

Sumitomo is a major producer globally

formance, combined with world class

of Zinc, Lead and Silver from their

water and energy conservation.”

Minera San Cristóbal (MSC) operation

Located in the south-western

in Bolivia. “It’s a fascinating place,”

Bolivian province of Nor Lípez, and

explains Dr Adair. “It operates with

operating since 2007, the mine pro-

a head grade of around 1.7% Zn where

duces around 1,500 metric tons of

traditionally Zinc/Lead/Silver opera-

Zinc-Silver and Lead-Silver concen-

tions would be looking at an equivalent

trates each day. To achieve this result,

of >7% Zn or more. In spite of this,

MSC needs to move a daily average

the operation is one of the world’s

of 150,000 tons of rock, 52,000 tons

most profitable thanks to remarkable

of which goes to the process plant 165

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Ben Adair Title: CEO

Company: CRC Ore

Dr Ben Adair has three decades’ experience in the mining industry.

Splitting his time between roles in applied R&D, and working for majors such as Rio Tinto, he joined CRC ORE in 2015. Prior to this he worked at the University of Queensland, both as Director of the JKMRC and then running an industry funded Ore Sorting Centre.

“I’ve been able to bring a skillset to CRC ORE which has been honed on the practical challenges facing the industry,” says Dr Adair. “The experiences I’ve had at processing plants, auditing mining sites and at innovation labs in R&D, have given me the ability to see whether a particular approach can be practically implemented or not. There are many wonderful ideas out there, but can they stand up to the industrial process? That’s why the work we do at CRC ORE is so important.” minin g gl o b a l . c o m

CRC ORE

C O M PA NY FACT S 166

• Comminution processes consume 3% of the world’s energy • 99% of the material processed in base and precious metal operations has no value • Existing technologies properly applied can reduce plant power consumption by 25% • Runtime can be increased to 97% • You can recycle 90% of the water used in processing using today’s technology

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

for treatment. “To become more productive and lower costs, this operation deploys highly sophisticated mill sensors and integrated control systems which defy conventional thinking in the comminution process. Acoustic sensors linked to infra-red imaging are used to control both the SAG and Ball Mill circuits.” reveals Dr Adair.

“As a consequence, over the past five years the site has reduced absolute power consumption within their SAG (Semi-Autogenous Grinding) mill circuit by 26%, while increasing throughput of material through the comminution circuit by over 35%! In the process, they’ve also decreased consumables (liners and grinding media consumption) by 40%. Best in class effective run time in mineral processing circuits globally is around 95%. At MSC it is 97%.

In short, they have achieved substantial reductions in energy with increased metal production using conventional off the shelf technology. Why can this not be repeated elsewhere in the Industry?”

Furthermore, the site is located in an arid region of Bolivia, where access minin g gl o b a l . c o m

167

CRC ORE

168

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

EXTR A FACTS

The Innovation Hub The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mining Innovation Hub is a CRC ORE initiative, jointly developed with our research participants Curtin University and MRIWA. It is operating as a node of CRC ORE. It focuses on nurturing innovations which will add significant value to the burgeoning minerals industry in West Australia.

The Hub’s purpose is to: • P romote collaboration between all industry groups (Research, METS, Miners, Community, Government) in the region, to solve common problems within the mining sector that ultimately improve the economic viability of the industry • Demonstrate new technology and innovations in a non-commercial independent environment

• P rovide customised professional development to all levels in industry • P rovide a pipeline of technologies and methodologies to deliver direct value to operations, suppliers and the community • Facilitate other technology developments other than those initiated by CRC ORE • A ssist with promoting and streamlining access to alternative government funding sources (e.g. MRIWA, METS Ignited, City of Kalgoorlie Boulder etc.)

“The hub is an extremely useful way for us to interface with smaller, or more nimble miners, and expose CRC ORE to a varied range of commodities,” says President Dr Ben Adair

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

169

CRC ORE

“ One of the exciting things about Grade Engineering is that when people hear about it, they think that it’s what we can do with the mine that we have. But we’re also thinking outside the box by applying the techniques to very low-grade material to offset mine closure costs in advance with ‘Waste Engineering’. It gives you much more opportunity to think about other applications to Grade Engineering besides what it was originally intended for” — Dave King, Operations Director, Sumitomo

GRADE ENGINEERING The Australian-born ingenuity of CRC ORE has been put to the test by

170

to water is at a premium. Dr Adair

Sumitomo during a successful full-

highlights that Sumitomo has cou-

scale production trial of Grade

pled its energy efforts with a

Engineering techniques at MSC.

substantial reduction in water con-

“Sumitomo asked us a fundamental

sumption from external sources

question,” notes Adair. “Is there any

— from 30% five years ago, down

way to reduce the amount of barren

to just 19% today. “They’re now

material that you send into a process

pushing towards a 90% plus level

plant in the first place?”

in water recycling” he says, “all

CRC ORE’s Grade Engineering

of it done by integrating existing

solutions deploys a range of waste

technology, albeit in a novel and

rejection technologies that integrate

sophisticated way. Surely there

with a suite of separation technologies

is a message here for what can

relevant to ore specific characteristics.

be achieved for the sector — the

This leads to a deeper understanding

outcome of which is a more sustaina-

of the orebody, supporting the ability

ble operation that actually makes

to exploit inherent ore deposit hetero-

more money!”

geneity and variability. Describing

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171

the application of this approach at MSC as a ‘co-creation partnership’, Dr Adair underlines the need to work intimately with mining companies and their suppliers to form a genuine alliance: “Ultimately, you need supply companies of scale and mining companies with vision. In this case CRC ORE worked with the MSC site and another of our participants, Metso, to engage in a full-scale production trial of Grade Engineering.”

The outcome of this trial was the ability to reject 75% of barren components minin g gl o b a l . c o m

CRC ORE

in material that was originally designated as mineralised waste (not even ore feed). A 450 tons per hour Metso Loko-Track mobile screening plant was deployed on site to assist in the production scale testing. The trial focused on upgrading this and other waste targets from the pit to determine if a metal-rich stream could be generated that could be economically combined with Run of Mine (ROM) feed to the concentrator.

“So far, results show that by applying 172

Grade Engineering to areas previously designated as ‘mineralised waste’, 25% of the material has a feed grade to the mill some 2.5 times higher than ROM ore,” says Dr Adair. “There is now the potential to convert this waste material into high grade ore-feed, with associated opportunity to increase metal production and reduce process power and water intensities. We’re now in the process of operationalising the process for the site going forward.”

MSC Operations Director Dave King believes the opportunity for the mine is huge. “One of the exciting things about Grade Engineering is that when people hear about it, they think that it’s ‘what S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

173

EXTR A FACTS

Grade Engineering Explained Grade Engineering is being developed and implemented by a consortium of over 20 mining companies, equipment suppliers and research organisations. Emerging results from collaborative site activities demonstrate potential for generating significant value which can reverse the trend of decreasing production due to declining feed grades.

Opportunity for Grade

Engineering is based on five rock based ‘levers’ linked to combinations of screening, sensor-based sorting and heavy media separation. These involve: •P referential grade deportment by size •D ifferential blasting for grade by size • Sensor based bulk sorting • Sensor based stream sorting • Coarse gravity

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

CRC ORE

174

we can do with the mine that we have’.

But we’re also thinking outside the box by applying the techniques to very low-grade material to offset mine closure costs in advance with ‘Waste Engineering’. It gives you much more opportunity to think about other applications to Grade Engineering besides what it was originally intended for.”

Dr Adair points out that Sumitomo’s culture and approach to innovation S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

2010

Year founded

$147mn+ Cash contributions in Aus dollars

175

has been the key to success. “The

modular scenario, they can quickly

site adopts a modular and flexible

test new opportunities without

approach to rapidly test and deploy

impacting production. A technology

new innovations. It’s very much a plug

can be quickly implemented or

and play philosophy, more analogous

rejected if it’s not working. It’s a ‘lean

with what Japanese industry in other

pivoting’ approach.”

sectors does like Toyota, for example.

(MSC) have in their operation is bris-

RISING TO THE COLLABORATION CHALLENGE

tling with sensors. They measure

Dr Adair points out that historically

what they do and because of the

there’s been something of a standoff

Every piece of equipment that they

minin g gl o b a l . c o m

CRC ORE

between mining companies and their suppliers. “The landscape is changing,” he says. “It’s a lot more collaborative and we’re seeing more joint strategic thinking that will benefit the industry as a whole. It needs to be a win-win situation with the mining company/supplier relationship. Suppliers need to be able to sell their services and products out of co-creation partnerships. Equally, however, the mining companies are entitled to some form of competitive advantage as co-creators. Traditionally, 176

it takes around 15 years in the sector to implement an innovation from ideation to industrial deployment.

Co-creation can cut this to less than five years.”

FUTURE PROJECTS CRC ORE deploys a variety of levers for different approaches to gangue rejection. “We’re doing a lot of work with fusing sensor technology,” confirms Dr Adair. “This goes way beyond the promotion of point solutions by individual companies, so common in the industry today. Our experience has shown we need more integrated solutions. There is no silver bullet with S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“ Our experience has shown we need more integrated solutions. There is no silver bullet with any one approach; it’s important to integrate with the best of the best” — Dr. Ben Adair, CEO, CRC ORE

177

any one approach in gangue rejection;

pre-concentration and taking advan-

it’s important to integrate the best

tage of heterogeneity are common

of the best.”

to all. Our goal at CRC ORE is there-

CRC ORE is working towards this

fore to make a significant contribution

goal on a multinational basis in a series

towards a genuinely more sustainable

of initiatives with mining majors in

industry going forward.

Australia, Chile, Brazil, South Africa and other parts of South America.

“We’re working across different commodities and a multitude of diverse ores and waste types. It is interesting that many of the principles of minin g gl o b a l . c o m

178

CHANGING THE GAME FOR ENERGY AND RESOURCES WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DEANE

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

179

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

IBM is helping mining companies solve problems from connectivity through to autonomous solutions, as well as harnessing data to drive the industry towards the digital mines of the future

“

echnology, in its various stages of evolution, is our business at IBM,” reflects Manish Chawla, Global Managing Director for Energy & Natural Resources. “We’ve been involved in mining for decades, and just like in any other industry

180

we’ve re-invented our offerings to add services, software, data handling, cloud and AI capabilities. Our focus has progressed from IT and core functions to meet the needs of business transformation projects such as SAP implementations or process outsourcing, to support the mining industry in managing data as a strategic asset; helping the industry to capture, monetise and secure it.”

IBM’s portfolio features a set of offerings targeting enterprise & operations transformation, outsourcing, SAP implementations, and helping clients use their data to their specific strategic advantage. “Look at technologies such as blockchain for traceability in the supply chain,” Chawla adds. “Today, we are a full-service partner focused on the employee experience, while using technology for transforming various functions across a mining organisation.”

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

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mi ni nggl o b a l. com

IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

Chawla notes a recognition from the mining industry that technology can now solve specific problems from

182

make the industry attractive to a new generation? Technology holds the key.”

A recent study by the World

connectivity through to autonomous

Economic Forum forecast that over

solutions. “Now we’re able to har-

the next decade the mining industry

ness the data, the C-suite can see the

will create further value of $190bn

importance of digitisation and how it

from additional transformational

will drive the business in the future,” he

measures. “When these strategies are

says. “A technology-savvy and enabled

executed in a more integrated fashion,

mining enterprise is critical for attract-

inside-out and outside-in transforma-

ing and supporting the workforce of

tion, we believe businesses will be at

the future. How do you get people

a great advantage from humans and

out of the unsafe conditions of under-

machines working together,” explains

ground mines in remote areas and

Maxelino Nelson, Senior Executive for

“ A technologysavvy and enabled mining enterprise is critical for attracting and supporting the workforce of the future” — Manish Chawla Global Managing Director for Energy & Natural Resources, IBM S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

Sandvik: putting IoT to work for the manufacturing industry CLICK TO WATCH

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183

Industry Innovation, Global Solutions, & Business Strategy at IBM. “This will outperform humans or machines working on their own. It’s a great opportunity for us and our mining clients to solve some of the societal challenges relating to sustainability while developing the mining sector’s ecosystem to partner with IBM to truly transform the business in a more holistic way.”

Nelson notes that over the past 5-10 years the digital transformation journeys IBM’s clients have taken have been characterised by AI and mi ni nggl o b a l. com

IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

184

experimentation with customer-facing

With the initial trends of the first

apps; activities that have been driving

chapter maturing, Nelson maintains

the cloud during chapter one of a digi-

we’re on the cusp of the next big shift

tal reinvention.

in the business architecture. It will

What will chapter two hold? “We

be driven by the pervasive applica-

believe industrial businesses are ready

tion of AI and cognitive technologies,

to move towards business reinvention:

combined with data, to the core pro-

scaling digital and AI and embedding it

cesses and workflows across mining

in the business. It’s about hybrid cloud,

organisations alongside important

moving mission critical applications

functional areas such as finance,

from experimentation to true end-to-

procurement, talent and supply

end transformation. The key to winning

chain. The results of this revolution-

is centred around what we at IBM call

ary change will be defined as the

the ‘Cognitive Enterprise’.”

Cognitive Enterprise.

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“Companies that get this journey right are on the way to being a Cognitive Enterprise,” affirms Nelson. “In our

not necessarily replaced, through technology.”

How is IBM helping companies

experience, critical areas for natural

embrace Mining 4.0 and support the

resources industries to get right on this

move towards the digital mine of the

journey are openness and collabora-

future? “We’ve developed a data-driven

tion, integration, intelligent workflows

productivity platform with Sandvik, a

and cultural skills. In a time of continued

leading supplier of underground min-

volatility and disruption, open innova-

ing equipment. This partnership has

tion and co-creation are vital to be able

seen us connect their assets, their

to partner across ecosystems and

equipment, to our cloud to be able to

learn from other industries to achieve

pull data off. The value proposition to a

fundamental transformation as 90%

mining company is not only to get data

of the jobs in mining are changed,

from the Sandvik equipment, but also

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Manish Chawla Title: Global Managing Director for Energy & Natural Resources Company: IBM An ecosystem thinker, Chawla is an experienced Global Manager with a demonstrated history of leading and scaling technologydriven businesses in the energy & resources, industrial and construction, sectors. His passion is helping companies leverage exponential technologies (AI, IoT, Blockchain, Industry 4.0, AR/ VR, 5G etc) to fundamentally re-imagine their enterprises in the platform economy to survive (and thrive) in the face of the three climate changes - environment, globalisation and technology mi ni nggl o b a l. 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.

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from other vendor feeds,” explains

an AI centre of competence,” Chawla

Chawla. “Interoperability as well as

reveals. “We’re doing an extensive set

the open data standard is critical for

of use cases with them, including route

a mine operator. They get visibility

optimisation for trucks, testing safety use

to production information, help with

cases and optimisation of smelters.” IBM

equipment, maintenance analytics and

is also working with Newmont Goldcorp

improved uptime.”

to help them better understand their

Built on IBM technologies, Sandvik

ore body, allowing them to reduce the

offers a platform for underground mine

time spent by geologists in analysis |and

optimisation, both for production and

data collection to determine where to

data/maintenance related aspects.

guide the next drilling campaign. “We’ve

“We’re also the primary data analytics

reduced inaccuracy by 95% with the

platform and AI software services

geology data platform that we call ‘cogni-

partner for Vale for where they have

tive ore body discovery’,” says Chawla.

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Maxelino Nelson Title: Senior Executive for Industry Innovation, Global Solutions & Business Strategy, Company: IBM “As a global industrial leader for mining I’m part of IBM’s leadership committee that oversees the strategy and development of worldwide mining industry practice and other natural resources industries.”

An entrepreneurial business leader with two decades’ multinational experience, including the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, China, India, Russia, and Australia, Nelson is a leader in the global industry for manufacturing and resources and leverages industry ecosystem partnerships to help clients take solutions from idea to reality. mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

IBM is committed to supporting the sustainability efforts of mining operations across the globe. “By using intelligent workflows on the blockchain to address social sustainability in the context of the entire supply chain, miners can demonstrate social responsibility and also begin to build a culture of innovation,” believes Chawla. “The work we are doing on the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) with RCS Global allows businesses to track cobalt from industrial and min188

ing companies to ensure that they are working responsibly, whether it’s in the Congo or other parts of the world, across the supply chain from mine to smelter to battery manufacturers and to automotive OEMs.” IBM are seeing many automotive OEMs joining the platform along with key industrial scale miners operating cobalt mines in Congo who wish to augment their use of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) responsible supply chain guidelines.

The company is looking to extend the network to other metals such as tin, tantalum, and gold, which are S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

all important to the new economy emerging for minerals associated with electronics and EVs. Chawla notes the demand, driven by the rise of EVs and electronic brands, for an active, working and open democratic network to ascertain responsible sourcing and support artisanal miners to be able to operate safely in a fairtrade manner.

IBM is also working with Minehub – a mining and metals trading platform – helping it streamline operations with various business partners across the mining ecosystem. “The MineHub platform is not a market-maker; it allows buyers and sellers to agree on trade. It comes to play once the trade has been set and the terms have been agreed,” explains Chawla. “This helps to improve the operational efficiencies, logistics and financing, while concentrating the supply chain from the mine to the buyer.”

MineHub has been working in collaboration with IBM and other industry participants across a value chain that includes the likes of ING Bank, leading precious metals firm Ocean Partners and Capstone Mining. Minehub also features clearing houses, refiners, w w w.mi ni nggl o b a l. com

189

IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

FACTS

IBM on mining trends

190

“Sustainability has become a crucially important vector,” asserts Manish Chawla, Global Managing Director for Energy & Natural Resources at IBM. “This is allied to a bigger focus on mixing the recovery of the minerals and metals that will support the technology of the mines of the future.

Meanwhile, operating them in a remote and autonomous manner will force mining companies to develop network connectivity with the ability to manage assets and equipment to move the needle, leveraging AI and data analytics in a much more profound and highly integrated way.”

Chawla adds that similar efforts must be made to support the culture change required to drive the benefits of innovation.

IBM are keen for mining companies to learn from the construction sector and implement digital twins. “It allows you to investigate how a mine asset is performing and functioning at any given moment,” explains Chawla.

“Monitoring via a digital twin ref lects not only the way the mine was designed with autonomous equipment

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

but also how it’s being operated.

Technology starts to guide action, and can intervene so that safe and reliable operations can continue. The expectation is that data and connectivity become ever-present and omnipresent, guiding autonomous agents to perform functions rather than humans.”

Maxelino Nelson, Senior Executive for Industry Innovation, Global Solutions, & Business Strategy at IBM, sees an increased urgency from mining companies to establish an integrated road map as an important step in bringing strategy operations and IT together. “They use a road map to understand business drivers with technology requirements, all incorporated, so the entire enterprise will be moving forward in an integrated manner. It’s more common now to see business and IT coming together in collaboration, trying to determine which projects can deliver the most value and can easily be scaled from the pilot site.”

IBM — Cognitive Mining Solutions Geological Intelligence

Equipment Intelligence

Improve Orebody discovery and geological activities to ultimately recover more ore, deliver accurate ore budgets and support rapid mine planning to optimise drill, block and blast activities for consistent fragmentation and recovery.

Improve maintenance planning, efficiency, and effectiveness to reduce time, effort, and cost of both scheduled and unscheduled work (e.g. implement to advanced predictive condition-based maintenance models).

HSSE & Worker Safety Intelligence

Supply Chain Intelligence Mine-to-Port supply chain delivery and rapid mine planning improved plant operations can better connect the demands of the market to your suppl.y Optimise supply chain and resupply operations by predicting and consolidating requirements across multiple locations and driving down facility operation and sustainment costs.

Production Intelligence To improve production via managed and optimised mobile f leet operations; optimise control processes; predict and avoid process interruptions, slowdowns, stopwpages and under or overruns; and accelerate operator issue-resolution to sustain higher uptime levels of normal operations.

Analyse historical incident data, workforce data (qualifications, experience, performance, etc), environmental data, and work conditions to identify changes in risk profile or potential issues before they become incidents.

Optimise emergency response to mitigate risk, enhance outcomes, and accelerate return to normal operations Enterprise Intelligence Risk mitigation and resource allocation in capital projects, aimed at minimising impacts to production plan commitments.

Push greater efficiencies in legal and procurement functions and sure compliance to core polices, commercial practices, and legal & regulatory obligations.

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

smelters, financiers and other providers like Kimura joining along with royalty holders and streamers such as Lincoln. A tier one miner is also set to trial the platform. Chawla notes they are all benefiting from the efficiencies of the platform, all providing key pieces of information to these transactions.

When it comes to digital innovation across the mining panorama, Chawla says it’s still a challenge to ensure all parties are aligned so that everyone benefits. “It’s important to get centre192

led IT and overall C-suite leadership both working towards the improvement of operating assets,” he says.

“ We believe industrial businesses are ready to move towards business reinvention: scaling digital and AI and embedding it in the business” — Maxelino Nelson Senior Executive for Industry Innovation, Global Solutions & Business Strategy, IBM S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

“With much of the work we do, we also think hard about the experience of frontline employees and incorporate this into the design of the solutions to ease adoption. We’ve taken this approach with Sandvik where we’ve done design sessions at the mine site with shift supervisors, truck drivers and mine managers.”

A key obstacle to overcome in order to successfully integrate digital innovation is access from a network perspective and being able to capture

193

the data. “Many companies are

ourselves can leverage in partnership?

upgrading their networks and 5G is

This complex ecosystem becomes a

exploding,” notes Chawla. Allied to this

challenge. If it’s approached in col-

he believes measured interoperability

laboration with interoperability in mind,

is vital. “Mining companies operate

then you can accelerate. But that is a

differing fleets from a range of vendors

continued two steps forward, three

with equipment right across the value

steps back kind of situation.”

chain. Each vendor is pitching their

IBM is pushing forward in 2020 to

own solutions. Do they go with one of

meet its goals around driving innova-

the vendors? Or do they go with devel-

tive solutions for the energy and natural

oping their own platform? And then,

resources industries. “We want to

will the vendors open up and share

infuse more data and AI capabilities

the data that the mine operators and

into their operations to take them live,” mi ni nggl o b a l. com

IBM INDUSTRY ACADEMY

1911

Year founded

$79.59bn+ Revenue in US dollars

350,000 194

Number of employees

S U M M E R /A U T U M N 2 0 2 0

pledges Chawla. “We will be continuing our work on three specific new platforms to further enhance the idea of ecosystems coming together to drive tangible outcomes for our clients in all the vectors of mining.” Chawla’s team also plan to nurture and scale IBM’s cybersecurity offering to secure operating technology and systems. “As more plants, more mines, and more equipment get connected, the cyber threat increases, so we’re pleased with the tremendous progress we’re already making to secure operations as they grow.”

Nelson confirms IBM is currently working with a large oil and gas supermajor for potential partnership to co-create a digital mining services integrated platform. “This platform is tendered around developing a different model for how mining companies consume digital solutions and services, and how mining providers and solutions developers can make them available to the industry. It is a game changer and it shows how upbeat and interesting the mining industry has become to wider industries.”

mi ni nggl o b a l. com

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