We never take our eyes off the horizon

Mining for a Future is not just an empty mantra to us. It’s the foundation we build our business on. And while mining is never without challenges, we always have our eyes firmly fixed on the horizon; and it’s filled with opportunity.

Site clearing at Mintails has begun, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024. This project is expected to increase Group production by as much as 50 000oz per annum over a 20 year life of mine.

Evander 8 Shaft remains one of the lowest cost underground operations in Southern Africa, and the development of levels 24, 25 and 26 will ensure sustainable production from this long-life underground operation.

Since the implementation of continuous operations at our Barberton Mines we have seen a noticeable ramp up in production, with further increases expected in the near future.

Finally, Pan African continues to lead the way in terms of rapidly expanding our renewable energy footprint and reducing our dependency on Eskom. This strategy we believe will greatly benefit all of our stakeholders in the coming years.

All part of delivering a smarter, more agile and future-focused approach to mining.

www.panafricanresources.com

Artificial intelligence capabilities

safety.

Image processing

Objects, people, captions can be identified, written and understood

Planning

AI can produce a multi-step plan and weigh off different solution pathways

Discovery Patterns, abnormalities or segmentations can be detected in large volumes of data data around tailing dams to manage the risks around such facilities using AI algorithms.

“We try and get as much information as we can, we process it as quickly as possible, we run certain algorithms to compare that, and we dish up the plate of information as quickly as possible to management,” Lourens de Koning, Fraser Alexander’s COO, told Miningmx.

“What we find with this is that it is a key component to managing these things a lot better and a lot closer to real time. You can do a lot of data processing through this rather than having a guy in a bakkie [pickup truck] driving around a tailings facility and trying to measure all of these things.”

Predictive Maintenance

Much of this is about using AI and IoT devices to forecast potential issues, or what is called “predictive maintenance”.

“Planned maintenance” has been for decades central to the thinking of the mining industry and other sectors. It’s like what a car owner does with their vehicle, taking it in once a year for an oil change and other routine maintenance.

Predictive maintenance moves beyond that to detect a potential fault in advance that will require fixing. Even a regularly

Text comprehension

Spoken or written words and sentences can be understood, converted into a machine-readable format and further processed

Robotics

Devices and robots can grasp their environment using sensors

Predictions

Input dataset is used to deduce probabilities of one or more output variables occurring. Correlations, not casualities, are modelled serviced car can have an unexpected breakdown.

“The shift from planned to predictive maintenance is an area where AI technologies can excel. By analysing data from various detectors and monitors, AI algorithms can identify patterns and anomalies that indicate potential equipment failures. This allows for proactive maintenance, minimising downtime and optimising asset performance,” Van der Woude said.

This has clear gains for productivity and

“AI can analyse data from sensors on mining equipment, such as TMM (Trackless Mobile Machinery), to identify high-risk areas and optimise their use. This includes material handling and safety considerations, where AI algorithms can suggest the best and safest ways to perform tasks, improving operational efficiency and reducing risks,” he added.

Rise Of The Machines

The rise of AI is clearly unsettling. ChatGPT is certainly seen as a looming threat to many professions, including the journalists who produce this publication. High school teachers and university lecturers are bracing themselves for a wave of essays written by ChatGPT.

In the mining space, geologists, risk consultants and HR personnel among others are all in the firing line as AI looks set to perform many such functions.

For some, AI raises the disturbing prospect of a dystopian future like the one depicted in the Terminator movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When the machines rise, humanity falls.

And AI does not have the constraints of more conventional mechanisation, which has also boosted productivity, profits, health and safety while replacing human workers in mining operations.

For example, South Africa’s challenging geology has been a bottleneck to mechanisation in many platinum mines because of the narrowness of a reef defined by steep gradients that has made it difficult for machines to gain access to the ore body. That is why so much of the work has been done by human rock-drill operators (RDOs), and RDOs are still drilling rock faces with hand-held tools.

AI is not hindered by geology and the algorithms that inform it can address geological challenges, such as in exploration and prospecting as seen above.

In a mineral-rich country like South Africa, with glaring income disparities and an unemployment rate of close to 33%, the implications could be chilling. Having said that, AI is still not generally being applied directly to the production process even as it unlocks productivity.

“The focus is on adopting a people-centric approach to modernisation, where technology serves as an enabler rather than the sole driver. This approach acknowledges the importance of preserving jobs and minimising large-scale retrenchments, especially considering the high unemployment rate in the country,” Van der Woude said.

“AI and digital tools can be seen as enabling rather than threatening by labour unions. Instead of imposing rigid targets, these technologies help employees reach their targets and improve the overall work environment. They can contribute to better safety, health, environmental conditions, and social aspects of the mining industry, actively protecting workers.”

In that regard, AI can be seen as the latest in a long line of technological advances that have made mining far less dangerous as well as better paid while enabling operations to keep humans on their payroll.

The world as we know it is simply not possible without mining. You would not be able to read this story on an electron- ic device without mining, and the global energy transition away from the fossil fuels linked to climate change will not be possible without minerals and metals extracted from the earth.

And AI is going to be at the forefront of these trends and likely in ways that we have still not envisioned.

“I cannot see mining without AI in the future, but AI is not the only future of mining,” Wits researcher Mahboob said.

Ultimately, he noted, it’s about “being competitive” and the South African mining sector is widely perceived as a laggard in this regard. Despite its vast mineral endowment, which includes most of the planet’s known PGM and manganese resources, South Africa is hardly a magnet for mining investment.

South Africa is near the bottom of the Fraser Institute’s annual survey of investment attractiveness in mining jurisdictions and accounts for less than 1% of global exploration expenditure, a collapse from over 5% two decades ago.

A lot of that is attributed to a poor policy environment which is driven by politics. That is an all-too-human factor that AI cannot directly address.

But AI technology, applied properly, could have the potential to transform South Africa’s mining sector. The race is on worldwide and no one wants to be the farming family left with a horse after their neighbour acquired a tractor.

Creating a better future

Through The Way We Do Business

Developing and caring for our host communities

Caring for and supporting our environment

Creating value for all our stakeholders

Providing meaningful employment