By Sharyn Macnamara
With a deeper look into the application of digital technologies in mining, Nishal Nair – MD and Industry X lead for Accenture in Africa – sheds light on how technology can truly transform the industry, debunking the myth that digital technologies are not delivering their intended value.
Images supplied by Accenture in Africa
Digitalisation is proving to be the next frontier traversed to enable new scope to increase productivity, contain costs and improve overall profitability while enhancing safety and long-term sustainability for mines. In the tough global and local economic environments mines currently find themselves in, chief financial officers are looking to new avenues drive down costs while ramping up productivity to remain profitable and increase sustainability for all stakeholders. Mines have exhausted the traditional levers at hand to achieve this, and interestingly, says Nair, are now investing in digital transformation as the new lever to add value in their drive for sustainability.
Tech maturity and proven applications
“Over the past 10 to 15 years digital technology innovation has matured considerably. For example, levels of connectivity have improved substantially; sensors and devices are more sophisticated; cloud computing, predictive technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have evolved and are readily available, and importantly – are far more affordable now,” says Nair.
There is little doubt that digital technologies are delivering value in the industry – depending of course on the maturity of the digital journey the particular mining operation in question is at.
Efficiencies and cost saving
Despite initial scepticism and resultant caution when it comes to investing in digitalisation technology, the tide is turning as the business case for digitalisation is proven globally and locally by those who have taken the leap of faith and are able to show real business value.
According to Nair, some cases in point are: applications in the digital asset management and predictive maintenance space where significant benefit lies in avoiding downtime of major equipment and optimising their efficiencies to increase production output, an example being digitalised fleet management enabling fuel optimisation through management of terrain routes, optimised fill-up timing and pre-planning of maintenance increasing efficiencies while cost saving; and process optimisation specifically in the beneficiation space where advanced process control reinforced learning solutions have been applied very successfully, particularly in the oil and gas sector.
Nishal Nair – MD and Industry X lead for
Accenture in Africa.
Zero Harm
One of the most significant impacts, particularly in South Africa’s drive for Zero Harm, has been the gains digitalisation has afforded mines on the safety front, says Nair. He explains that the automation of operations is a key area where digitalisation has proved to enhance safety, save lives and maintain production uptime. “It is hoped that Collision Avoidance Systems (CAS) Level Nine Solutions will make an impact, particularly in South Africa where mine Zero Harm efforts are critical.”
In January 2023, the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE) gazetted Level 9 vehicle intervention for collision avoidance in trackless mobile machinery, both surface and underground. The law stipulates that all underground diesel powered trackless mobile machines must be provided with the means to automatically detect the presence of any pedestrian/machine within its vicinity. Upon detecting the presence of such, the operator/s of the trackless mobile machine/s and the pedestrian should be made aware of one another’s presence by means of an effective warning; and then states, that if no action is taken to prevent a potential collision, further means should be provided to slow the trackless mobile machine to a safe speed whereafter the brakes of the machine are automatically applied… without human intervention.1 Many mining companies are therefore now looking to adopt these CAS technologies as soon as possible in South Africa – which has been the first country to legislate on this level.
Digitalised solutions are also providing value in the prevention of Fall of Ground (FOG) in underground operations. Nair explains that using geoscience and a mine model with existing geological data on the makeup of the ore body and the ground surrounding it, together with real time vibration data gleaned from heavy machinery used underground in the mine, information can be built into AI models, which would then enable the prediction of where problematic underground cavities might reside. Mining and rock engineers are then able to work out plans to mine around those areas to avoid FOG that could potentially cause serious safety issues/injury or downtime for the operation.
It is a myth that the mining sector is not advanced enough in the digital technology adoption lifecycle, says Nair. The mining industry, particularly processing and beneficiation plants, has gleaned huge volumes of data over the years through digital sensor technologies that have been implemented over time, like DCS (Distributed Control System) and data historians. “It is the ‘mining of meaningful data’ out of the information-rich resource accumulated, which counts and creates impact for the mine, at the end of the day. Therein lies the substance of digital solutions, and using this relevant data decision makers are able to fast track decisions and reap real value.
Nair says, “There are those mining operations who have successfully implemented digital solutions and are currently reaping the benefits, while some have invested heavily and are still drilling down further to optimise or glean more value out of the investment. And of course, there are those who are still sceptical.”
Actionable insights and core strategies
He believes that the reason behind the scepticism lies in the fact that some companies have not implemented these technologies in a very pragmatic way. “Mining companies can better position themselves at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies and digital transformation by making conscious decisions to run their digital initiatives – not on the sidelines of their organisations, but as core, mainstream functions instead within the business. Appointing focused leadership and digital and technology innovation teams to drive and implement well thought-out digital strategies, backed by business cases which solve targeted organisational challenges, is key. Strong delivery methodologies and the ability to execute at pace with certainty are critical – taking successful proof of concepts and scaling them up into enterprise grade solutions.”
And then it is also about adoption, he says. “In some cases, we find technologies being adopted, but over time the value starts to deplete. Change management and adoption techniques must be cultivated and maintained to leverage sustained benefit over time.”
Tracking benefits over time is essential to prove ROI (Return on Investment) and a percentage of those profits should then be reinvested and channelled towards the next upgraded innovative tech investment – again, in a strategically planned and measured way – “Eventually the effect of the value of technology being implemented will start to expand exponentially,” says Nair.
Cybersecurity should also be a top priority. With digitalisation, comes increased risk and vulnerability and it is essential that the guardrails of cybersecurity are well maintained!
Talent management is also key to sustainability – there has been a global demand for talent in the digital and technology space and companies must also consider upskilling and reskilling in their strategy. There are several trends taking place simultaneously in the mining industry with an exodus of talent as new technologies develop – skills are being absorbed by global and regional competitors, where companies are prepared to pay higher salaries than their South African counterparts and a lack of replenishment of talent in the STEM fields, being a major factor.
“As mines digitalise and as job functions evolve, talent must be retained, retrained and reskilled as opportunities for people in new spaces using technology arise,” says Nair. He believes mining companies, hardware and software OEMs, technicians, system integrators and consulting companies like Accenture, together with academia must collaborate more to create relevant tertiary courses for the up-and-coming youth who see digitalisation as an exciting career opportunity. Apprenticeship programmes and skills advancement programmes for existing employees must also be devised.
Nair concludes, “There must be more collaboration to invest in the future for the sake of sustainability. Sharing lessons learned and use cases among peers in the industry is essential to fast track the digitalisation transformation for the good of all!” n