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Digital transformation that’s
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When you meet one of our digital experts, their boots might look a
little worn out. That’s because their expertise is grounded in the
day-to-day realities of mining. We combine this first-hand experience
with tailored digital solutions to solve tough problems and deliver
real value. So whatever stage you’re at, we’ll work with you to create a
step-by-step plan to help you get where you want to be. Even if we
have to change our boots along the way.

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Contents
CREDITS 2
FOREWORD 3
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
i Discussion 6
ii Heat maps 8
iii
Infographic 10
2 REVIEW 13
i Commentary 14
3 NEW/UPDATED OPERATIONS 29
New/updated operations: Precious metals 29
New/updated operations: Base metals 45
New/updated operations: Other commodities 61
4 EXISTING OPERATIONS 75

This report is available online

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2 2022 edition
 Established
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Foreword

Beneath the surface: mining’s

technology transformation
By Andrew Milner, senior vice president and chief
transformation officer, Teck
Technology is changing the world. And few things are
changing as fast as mining.

This may sound like an oxymoron. From the outside,

mining can seem eternal and unchanging; after all,
it is humanity’s first and oldest industry. But look
closer, and you’ll see that technological advancement
is driving a sea change.

At Teck, one of Canada’s leading mining companies,

teams of developers, programmers, data engineers,
and data scientists have been deployed across our
operations, all leveraging digital technology to
enhance performance. The transformation this is
creating is so profound that we expect mining to
change more in the next 10 years than in the past 100.

This is happening for two main reasons.

Andrew Milner, senior vice president and
The world is racing to decarbonise all parts of chief transformation officer, Teck
society – homes, energy grids, transportation,
agriculture, everything. More than 70 countries, 9.8 billion. Many estimates suggest that 2.5 billion
including the biggest polluters, have set a net-zero more people will live in urban centres by then. That’s
target, covering about 76% of global emissions. equivalent to building a new city the size of Greater
Toronto every month for the next 28 years.
These are ambitious and important targets, which will
require a comprehensive transformation of things we Simply put: the world needs more metal not only to
rely on every day – everything from charging decarbonise, but also to meet the needs of a rapidly
infrastructure to solar panels and rapid transit. growing and urbanising global population.
Each one of these needs a lot of metal. The most illustrative example is copper, so crucial for
electrification and decarbonisation. Currently, the
For example, just one of today’s largest 13MW wind
world produces around 20 million tonnes per year.
turbines requires roughly 125 tonnes of copper,
By 2035 – just 13 years from now – the latest S&P
7t of zinc and 700t of steelmaking coal to produce. And
Global report forecasts copper demand increasing to
whereas the average gasoline-powered car has about
50 million tonnes, and to 53Mt by 2050. As S&P Global
20kg of copper, electric vehicles need four times that
explains, that’s “more than all the copper consumed
much. Those are just two examples of many.
in the world between 1900 and 2021”.
The race to net zero and the need for resources it
To give you an idea of how much of a shortfall that
creates is a massive driver of change in the mining
would be, Canada’s largest copper mine is Teck’s
industry, but there’s more to the story.
Highland Valley copper operations. The difference
All the investment, transformation, and metal required between current global production and projected
for decarbonisation needs to happen while the global 2050 demand is the equivalent of more than
population not only grows, but increasingly urbanises. 253 Highland Valley copper mines.

The numbers can be dizzying. By 2050, the United That’s the scope of the challenge. Our task is to
Nations projects that the world population will reach meet it, both responsibly and sustainably. At Teck,

2022 edition 3
 Foreword Established
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we know how we mine is just as important as Third, digital technology is giving new meaning to
what we mine. Our focus is on helping meet that the expression ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a
growing global demand with the smallest footprint pound of cure’, and using predictive maintenance to
possible. keep equipment out of the repair bay.

To achieve that goal – and to continue to improve A custom suite of tools uses real-time data to create
performance, sustainability, safety, innovation and proactive alarms and automate responses. Early
technology – will be crucial. intervention in asset maintenance and repairs could
result in an estimated $60 million savings each year –
That’s the idea behind our technology transformation not to mention mitigating the cascading effects of
programme, which we call RACE. It’s working. issues left unchecked.
Just three years in, RACE is expected to generate
$1.1 billion in annualised benefits. This is the Fourth, data science is also having positive effects on
equivalent of adding a whole other mine – out of sustainability. Teck is developing an Advanced Water
our existing operations. Dispatch System, which combines water-flow and
water-quality data to provide recommendations
How is that possible? Through innovations such for water management across the mine site. These
as advanced analytics, machine learning and advancements will mean better short and long-range
automation. Here are four short examples of how planning of water management.
RACE is driving change on the ground.
These are just some examples of the many ways
First, improved efficiency. Teck developed a train technology is improving how we mine. And while
loading system that uses radar sensors to maximise we’ve made great progress, the work is just beginning.
railcar loading. In the first month at Teck’s Fording
River operations, underloading was reduced by half, We have to keep pushing, asking questions, and
which meant shipping an additional 11,266t of finding new ways to be even safer, greener, and more
steelmaking coal. It also increased loading speed: efficient. That’s the only way to provide the essential
it now takes only about 40 seconds to load a railcar, resources the world is counting on to make life better,
a 41.5% increase. while caring for the people, communities and land
that we love.
Second, every mine uses a lot of heavy equipment,
like haul trucks, dozers, and loaders. This isn’t going These innovations will quickly become trends, and
to change anytime soon, and we’re always looking at trends will become industry standard practice –
ways to make operating this equipment more which, in turn, will make way for innovations and
efficient and, most important, even safer. new technology.

To that end, Teck has incorporated vehicle-to-vehicle These trends will not only continue, but keep
mobile proximity detection and warning systems, accelerating. This is why it’s safe to say that in the
which have already led to a 38% reduction in high- next 10 years, mining will change more than it did in
potential incident frequency. the past 100.

Photo: Teck

4 2022 edition


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
i Discussion 6
ii Heat maps 8
iii Infographic 10
1 Executive Summary Established
1909

Digitalisation moves from bit player

to key pillar of miners’ strategies
This third edition of the Mining Magazine Intelligence solutions sourced outside the traditional mining
Digitalisation Report has grown to its largest-ever space, helped to drive this expansion.
iteration, both in terms of project and geographical
Digitalisation programmes were underway
coverage, due to a rapid rise in digitalisation
in 26 countries this year, with products from
programmes getting underway across the industry.
56 technology suppliers being used. While the brands
This growth, which is showcased in this report, on show were dominated by established players such
underlines that digitalisation has evolved from being as Sandvik, Epiroc and ABB, telecommunications and
a buzzword thrown around at conferences to a pillar industrial internet of things (IIOT) providers such as
of miners’ future strategies. Orange Solutions, Cisco and Aveva are increasingly
making inroads.
The number of programmes has grown by 23% to
87 compared with last year, while the total mines Russia had the highest number of programmes
hosting significant initiatives has risen 18% to 170. underway at 15, while Australia was a close second
A trend of digitalisation permeating down from at just one fewer. Underlining the widening global
resource-rich majors to mid-tier players has accelerated, spread of programmes, Chile, with 10 programmes at
with over half of the programmes that started in this 10 mines, just pipped Canada to third place.
period launched by companies with a market cap
In terms of commodities, gold producers again have
under US$20 billion.
the highest number of programmes underway, with
Examples include large mid-tier Canadian gold 26% of the mines surveyed implementing digitisation
miner Agnico Eagle deploying a range of digitalisation schemes, followed by copper at 21% and coal at 10%.
products, including ABB Ability Performance The increasingly diverse list of technologies being
Optimisation for hoists, at its Kittilä gold mine in Finland. adopted at these locations encompasses everything
Another was South Africa’s Gold Fields adding a range of from collision-avoidance systems and 5G networks
fleet management and asset-health monitoring systems to artificial intelligence-led plant optimisation and
at its Salares Norte mine in Chile. remote operating centres.
Alongside the rise in mid-tier entrants, there has Both Gold Fields and Rossing Uranium have deployed
been a widening in the diversity of solutions being Hexagon’s Operator Alertness Systems for Heavy
adopted. Lower technology costs, and the arrival of Vehicles (OAS-HV) to drive more robust safety practices.

MMI digitalisation database timeline This ever-expanding range of transformative

technologies, and the growing geographical spread,
35
35 means it can reasonably be argued that only the
Number of new operations implementing

holistic overview given by research reports like this

30
30 give mining executives a genuinely full view of the
digitalisation technologies

complex digitalisation arena on the ground.

25
25

20
20 The real-time requirement
Both newer entrants and miners building out existing
15
15
digitalisation programmes cite analogous drivers for
10 transformation programmes, such as increased
10
efficiency, reduced downtime, and efforts to cut
55 energy consumption and accidents.

But some miners also are increasingly aware that

00
digitalisation is a journey in the truest sense: these
2008
2009
2012
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

companies are putting the solutions in place that will

be needed to enable more transformation down the

6 2022 edition
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Executive Summary 1

road by laying the foundation for next-generation Alongside networking technologies, IIOT and
high-speed digital technologies. fleet-management solutions are the most adopted
mission-critical technologies.
Faster networks and lightning-speed operational
intelligence tools rank high on the digitalisation Since deploying Zyfra’s OpenMine fleet-management
agenda because miners increasingly see a need to system, GV Gold says it’s seen an 11% year-on-year
visualise “whole site” mine operations and conditions increase in ore production, a 27% increase in
in real-time to enable timely decision-making and productivity of dump trucks, and a 7% decrease in fuel
forecasting at all parts of the value chain. consumption, as well as a reduced risk of accidents.
In the upstream segment, an example of this is Chile’s Minera Centinela, using Wenco’s fleet-
Russian phosphate miner Apatit’s deployment of management software, says it has helped to improve
10 autonomous production drill rigs at its Kirovsk mine, the overall management, productivity and efficiency
which are all controlled by one operator from an above- of the mining process while enabling a modern,
ground control room and one drill runner underground. centralised operation that can store, access and
It uses Epiroc’s 6th Sense solution to gather, analyse, manage large volumes of data remotely.
and communicate real-time machine health data and
performance status from the drilling rigs. Whether fleet management, autonomous drills or
the range of other solutions, it is notable that miners
Towards the midstream, Vedanta Zinc International can now provide hard statistics on the productivity
is using a smart-ore movement programme powered and safety gains facilitated by digitalisation. When
by GE Digital, integrated with MineRP 4.0, because it this is combined with the strong rate of growth and
wants real-time information about the state of the mine adoption – and the clearing of COVID-19-related
and ore quality, but also conditions of the processing supply chain blocks – we could expect digitalisation
plant and value of the output product. This includes live programmes to start at an even faster pace over the
calculations and optimisation of blending and grade. next 12 months.

Photo: iStock-Slim3D

2022 edition 7
 1 Executive Summary Established
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Percentage of Digitalisation database by location

5%
10%
-15%
-20%
-25%
-30%

0-5%

6-10%

11-15%

16-20%

21-25%

26-30%

8 2022 edition
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Executive Summary 1

2022 edition 9
1 Executive Summary Established
1909

Mining Magazine Intelligence database

Our Mining Magazine Intelligence (MMI) database holds key

information relating to 87 digitalisation programmes covering
more than 170 mines. The headline findings of the MMI 2022
Digitalisation Report provide deep insights into the progress of
digitalisation in the mining sector.

21%
of the MMI digitalisation database
is made up of copper operations

The MMI database shows a wave

of mid-tier entrants started programmes
in 2021-2022

37%
of the programmes featured are
pure open-pit plays

Russia kept its lead in the MMI database

for a second year, with 15 programmes
covering 33 mine sites

10 2022 edition
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Executive Summary 1

Mining Magazine Intelligence database

Our Mining Magazine Intelligence (MMI) database holds key

information relating to 87 digitalisation programmes covering
over 170 mines. Here, we review some of the key brands, hardware,
and infrastructure reported.

MMI identified
a growing number Sandvik, Epiroc, ABB
of operations and Mobilaris were
implementing the top software
fleet management vendors being used
technology

58
technology providers
30%
of operations are using
have been identified in sensors, making them the most
the MMI database commonly reported hardware

53% 44%
were the
most common 
investment 
Productivity drivers in Safety
the database

2022 edition 11
 Established
1909

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REVIEW
i Commentary 14
2 Review Established
1909

Electric mining data lake

By Noel Dyson This data can then be cleaned, and data pipelines run,
using various AWS services.
The Electric Mine Consortium has teamed up with
Amazon Web Services to create a data lake aimed at EMC co-founder Graeme Stanway said the platform
accelerating the electrification of mine sites globally. could help EMC members share sustainability insights
and analyse the outcomes of adopting electrified
EMC counts Gold Fields, South32, OZ Minerals, IGO,
mining infrastructure and sustainable operations.
Barminco, Evolution Mining, Blackstone Minerals,
Newcrest Mining, Dassault Systemes, 3ME, Slate, Nukon, He said the industry was crying out for tools to
Energy Vault, Epiroc, METS Ignited, Sandvik, Zenith decarbonise due to tightening government emission
Energy, Zero Automotive, Amazon, Vivopower and reduction targets; increasing environmental, social
Deswik as members. and governance pressure; and the industry being
responsible for 7% of the greenhouse gas
EMC will be using AWS’ services, including machine
learning, business intelligence and storage, to build emissions globally.
what it says is the world’s first mining data platform. “Like the electric vehicle industry, electric mines are
That platform will be used to capture real-time the future,” Stanway said.
information on mine decarbonisation from sites “Not only can they be safer through the eradication
globally. of diesel particulates, pollution, noise and vibrations,
Mining companies will be able to use it to measure they can also be more targeted, precise, and effective
energy storage levels and electrical infrastructure use when it comes to mining, and yield stronger results
from mines all across the world to accelerate the than traditional mines with minimal ground
uptake of electric mining equipment. disturbance.”

It is essentially a data lake using an AWS cloud- AWS head of mining and energy Australia Sarah
storage service that can securely hold thousands of Bassett said data capture and analysis was essential
data sets from EMC members’ mines. That includes to mining operations and AWS was helping EMC
data on energy consumption and renewable-energy members share their datasets and collective insights
infrastructure output. to drive digitalisation and evolution of the industry.

Photo: Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash

Article first appeared in MMI sister publication, Australia’s Mining Monthly, on May 22

14 2022 edition
 Established
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Review 2

Drones target a new space

By Craig Guthrie Delta Drone’s Rocketmine solution uses a fleet of drones
to digitise sites, including infrastructure, to gradually
Drones have seen rapid adoption in the exploration construct 3D models. Depending on the sensor
and planning stages due to their ever-expanding
deployed, whether RGB camera, thermal, or LiDAR and
range, mission flexibility and surveying capabilities.
multi-spectrum, it can also create unique data sets that
But operators are also increasingly adopting drones
fit into project workflows and business objectives.
for geospatial applications, such as stockpile-volume
measurements, cut and fill estimates, and even Looking upstream, Rocketmine can also carry
plant design. photogrammetric blasting survey and profiling
technology to further streamline the process of
Armed with the ability to fly over mine sites for hours
mapping sites before blasting takes place.
either autonomously or operated by a single pilot,
drones can generate geospatial data points for
operations that benefit everything from productivity Data is king
to emissions monitoring, as well as remove human
Michael Blake, product manager at senseFly, said
workers from risky work environments.
fixed-wing drones like those his company develops
“The primary advantage of drones from a geospatial are a good tool for geospatial data collection, as well
monitoring perspective is the speed, cost and as the production of more detailed maps, elevation
quantity of data acquisition, as well as the ability to models and 3D point clouds.
map previously inaccessible or dangerous areas,”
Christopher Clark, CEO of Delta Drone International, said. “Drones bring important value to a variety of
applications, including stockpile management,
“From a landscape perspective; geography and inventory and financial data capture, as well as
remote location concerns are eased, as drones can be helping to generate more regular management
deployed from remote locations and kilometres away. reports,” he said.
This is particularly useful in mountainous or jungle
locations in exploration and reclamation phases. “Drones offer real, tangible benefits in mining.
Moreover, you do not need to close down highways For example, by providing accurate and
or train tracks. Simply, you can capture data during comprehensive data of site conditions, they can help
an operation without an organisational overhead.” improve the overall efficiency of large mine and
quarry management – in a very short space of time.”
Using drones to create digital twins also enables the
remotely operated, autonomous mines of the future. SenseFly uses its eBee X drones, for instance, for
Essentially the pilot, if they are even human, can lend checking slope stability, taking note of warning signs
their expertise from anywhere on the planet. to prevent catastrophic failure accidents. They can

Photo: Brian Brown

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A survey of 138 mine sites, conducted by GlobalData

in late 2021 and early 2022, revealed that mines in
India and Canada were the most open to investing in
drone technology over the next two years, with 47%
and 44% respectively planning to do so. For Australia
and the US, only 29% and 21% of mine operators,
respectively, planned to invest in drone technology.

Despite the out-sized benefits given their adaptability,

small and mid-sized firms have also so far been slow
Photo: Delta Drone International
to adopt drones. Only 37% of the small and mid-sized
also help teams to make data-driven decisions firms have used the technology, according to a
regarding the movements of the slope. GlobalData report from 2019.

“Drones also support better co-ordination among “The mining sector is regulated, complex and involves
teams on- and off-site, offering dynamic oversight of many stakeholders,” Delta Drone’s Clark said. “While
all operations. And that’s just the beginning.” the sector embraces innovation methods to reduce
costs and create efficiencies, building new processes
According to Blake, capturing data with a fixed-wing and workflows does take time to be adopted as a
drone, like their eBee X, is up to 20 times faster than global industry standard.
with traditional ground-based methods.
“Drones provide an efficient cost-effective solution
“This technology also enables repeatability – not just and are increasingly the first point in the process of
for data quality or accuracy, but also to help improve digitising a mine. At this point, we have also seen a lot
flight workflows,” Blake said. “For example, one operator of acceptance on the technology and product and
flying a drone can replace 10 personnel on the ground. process maturity to such an extent that drones have
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) allow for easy data become a standard piece of equipment.”
collection at a continuous frequency, which best suits
Sensefly’s Blake argues that for mine sites that
the mining workflow as rapid data turnaround is key for
haven’t changed their data capture method in years,
operation management. This helps meet weekly and
introducing drones into workflows may seem like a
monthly KPIs.”
complex undertaking.
Drones can help make water and sediment
“For a time, more education was needed to raise
management much easier in hard-to-reach
awareness of the benefits that UAVs can bring to the
environments, especially around wet and dry tailings.
mining sector. Once the industry saw how the
For tailings facilities, satellite monitoring can be costly technology could improve the accuracy and reliability
and only offer updates at longer time intervals, while of their data, the uptake of drone technology has
ground sensors are limited to certain inputs. Drones steadily increased,” he said.
can be launched within minutes and give real-time
“We have worked with miners who are now exploring
status updates on tailings facilities, giving a holistic
different types of data too, adding even more value to
viewpoint and deploying their own sensors
their workflows. For example, by using multispectral
for geospatial analysis.
imagery they can monitor vegetation around their
“Here we can see data from the air that would not be mine sites, looking for leakages and ways to improve
possible on-the-ground, providing insights that can be environmental standards.”
used to reduce the environmental impact of operations.
Another key challenge for miners looking to adopt
In open-pit mining too, drones are crucial for monitoring
drones has typically been overcoming harsh
drill and blasting areas, enabling users to calculate
conditions on-site, such as sand and extreme wind,
extraction volumes more accurately,” Blake said.
but newer iterations of models are more rugged and
versatile, according to industry insiders.
Leap of faith
“It’s important to miners that the chosen drone
Despite their benefits, some jurisdictions have fallen solution can withstand this environment, without
behind in investing in drone use for operations. compromising accuracy or reliability,” Blake said.

This article was first published in MMI sister publication Mining Magazine on April 27

16 2022 edition
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Review 2

Maintenance booster
By Noel Dyson of excellence and, of course, our move to the cloud
more recently.
Matching machine learning with equipment sensor
data and a miner’s maintenance knowledge led to a “It makes a fundamental shift in leadership,
70% reduction of catastrophic failures at one of BHP’s organisational capability and employee
operations in one year. empowerment, and it is our most important lever
to build organisational resilience and grow value.”
That was one of the examples BHP chief technology
officer Laura Tyler used to highlight the opportunities Tyler said BOS had helped BHP carve out about
machine learning and emerging technologies can have. US$1.3 (A$1.9) billion in cost savings and revenue
uplift in the past year alone.
Tyler told the Bank of America’s Smart Mining 3.0
conference that it was a simple machine-learning “This includes more efficient maintenance practices
system that took data from sensors on equipment and higher productivity across the business.”
and alerted maintenance co-ordinators when it
The approach is two-fold. From a top-down view,
believed a catastrophic failure was imminent.
BHP has built a digital twin of each of its assets to
The system started out at BHP’s Spence copper model improvement along the value chain and
operation in Chile and, using the scalability the cloud identify bottlenecks. It is in the bottom-up approach
offers, has been expanded to across the 180 trucks in where BOS comes into its own, because it aims to
the BHP Minerals Americas’ ultra-class fleet. create 80,000 problem solvers across the business.

That is just one of the examples Tyler has of how “Many ideas on the front line start on the front line
technology was helping BHP improve its operations. with people who operate our assets every day,”
The technology approach boosts the BHP Operating Tyler explained.
System the company has been tinkering with
“They are the ones that are often best placed to work
since 2017.
out how to standardise the work processes and how
“Our goal was to create a way of working that makes to share the innovative ways of working. A great
improvement central to everyone’s role in the pursuit example is the standardised work tools that we have
of operational excellence, taking inspiration from the rolled out on any repetitive tasks across all of our
leading carmakers such as Toyota and the Toyota Australian and South American operations.
method,” Tyler said.
“We started in maintenance because of the sheer
“It builds on foundations that we have built over the significant spend there and the opportunity to put
previous decades, including the 1SAP implementation, it into the already structured nature of work that
which many of you will remember us going through, maintenance is. This benefits equipment availability
increasing digitisation, implementation of centres and reliability, or the mean time between failures,

Photo: BHP

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“Through standardising processes enabled by digital

solutions, standardised work activities have yielded
significant reduction in effort by driving consistent,
quality outcomes,” she said.

“We have also delivered about US$200 million in

value to BHP over the past two years through
reductions in maintenance costs and increases
in production brought by increased equipment
availability and mean time between failures.

“For example, the introduction of standardised work

on one of our Hitachi excavators has reduce labour
hours allocated to a 16-week service by more than
25%, from 90 hours to 65 hours.

“Redesigning and improving how the work is done also

means we can be more flexible and diverse in hiring for
these operational maintainer roles, as we eliminate
Photo: BHP [and] redesign tasks that have historically relied upon
physical strength.
both of which are material factors to achieve our
production targets.” “Given the safety, diversity and productivity
benefits delivered so far, we are deploying the
BHP has deployed an app that gives frontline
standardised work apps across all maintenance
maintainers and operators an interface to follow
areas and we are trialling it at our iron ore rail
instructions on how to do a particular activity.
operations to see how we can implement it
Take any aspect of truck maintenance. The app allows through production as well.”
the maintainer to upload the detailed equipment
Then there are the Total Equipment Strategies,
information as they execute a task. They can include
or TESs for short – as Tyler quipped: “It would not
photos and notes or whatever is going to be required
be BHP without yet another acronym.”
for future work. They can raise a maintenance
notification for follow-up and even put in improvement These TESs revisit the maintenance and asset integrity
suggestions while they are doing the task. Those are fed strategies for the critical pieces of equipment in BHP’s
back to site improvement teams. operations. These started out applied to mobile fleets
and are being extended to fixed plant.
Tyler said that allowed BHP to increase the speed of
continuous improvement right across its operations. “Based on a mathematical analysis of the breakdowns,
the maintenance patterns, the OEM [original
“BHP asset data is wired together through our 1SAP
equipment manufacturer] recommendations, it delivers
system so we can directly compare data and process
a recalibration of the maintenance strategies, resets the
improvement between, for example, the BMA
work orders in the systems, and assesses the critical
[BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance], the Escondida and the
parts listing with the intent to increase availability and
[Western Australian Iron Ore] fleets in real time so
reliability, and reduce maintenance and inventory
best practise can be analysed and spread quickly
between the assets,” she said. holding costs,” Tyler said.

“Through the in-field app, about 12,000 maintenance “As another example, at our Newman iron ore
activities are completed each month and more than operation in WA, the mobile TES project for excavators
2,000 improvement ideas are raised.” helped to extend the average life of equipment by
40% and delivered an availability uplift of 2%.
The app picks up those ideas and ways of working to
help improve the future way of working. “The outcome was 3.5 years of extra life for the
equipment, which may not actually seem like a lot
Tyler said this approach, wired through 1SAP, but helped to achieve capital productivity by deferral
was a competitive advantage for BHP. of US$80 million over five years.”

This article first appeared in MMI sister publication Australia’s Mining Monthly on July 22

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Ontario Mine Rescue

implements new software
By Jax Jacobsen This will eliminate the need for rescue volunteers to
ascend to surface and update rescue team members
Ontario Mine Rescue has recently signed a deal about the ongoing operation.
with Focus Field Solutions and Dräger Canada to
deploy new communications technology at its The digital tools also enable rescue teams to manage
operations. and add equipment used in the rescue operation in
real-time, eliminating communication snafus that
It is now implementing the communications could have disastrous consequences.
technology developed by Focus FS and, later,
Dräger Canada, vice president of Ontario Mine If the internet cuts out at any point during the use of
Rescue Ted Hanley told Mining Magazine. the software, the software will automatically apply
any changes made to the digital maps once
OMR took inspiration from companies installing connectivity is re-established.
WiFi and LTE into their operating mines to improve
production. The Focus FS software will also retain marked-up
maps, notes, and oxygen readings following the
The body approached Focus FS to develop a system completion of the rescue operation for investigations
that would allow rescue volunteers in mine sites to and reports.
communicate more easily with above-ground
decision makers, Hanley said. OMR has begun to deploy the technology across its
eight mining districts, starting with the Timmins region
Mine-rescue organisations and volunteers had been in northern Ontario earlier this year. Rollout across all
severely limited by the lack of communications districts will likely be completed by the March quarter
technology, he said. of 2023, Hanley said.
“During a mine fire, for instance, the atmosphere is OMR has been working towards technological
contaminated in the mine, so only trained individuals upgrades since 2015, Hanley said. It kicked off a
using breathing apparatus are allowed to enter the test project using a tablet in 2015, and continued
mine,” he said. it until 2018.

“That leaves a lot of important decision-makers on

the surface, not seeing or understanding what’s
going on.”

With the new technology, on-site mine rescue

volunteers will be able to communicate directly with
above-ground co-ordinators, and even send images,
he added.

Focus FS has designed a tablet, which is loaded with

Focus FS Emergency Response software, to improve
communications and enhance record-keeping in
rescue incidents.

Mine rescuers are able to share map-related data of

operations on mobile devices and computers, Focus
FS said.

The software also allows users to zoom in to areas of

the map, as well as add photos and notes to specific
areas of maps during the ongoing mission. Photo: Focus FS

Article first appeared on MMI sister publication Mining Magazine on July 20

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The human element is crucial

for digitalisation success
Danish multinational engineering company
FLSmidth has historically taken a lead in the digital
transformations of equipment across the mineral
processing value chain, but it has also forged a path
in using digitalisation to improve processes.

The company believes that when it comes to using

digitalisation to improve productivity and lower
energy usage, it is crucial to combine the power of
both digitalised physical assets and data-led decision-
making solutions.

Rebecca Siwale, global director of performance and

digital services at FLSmidth, said that this versatility
helped the company build out its digital services.

“Digitalisation as a service means we are focusing

on optimising a customer’s operations to improve
productivity, decrease costs, and deliver better results
Rebecca Siwale, global director of performance and
based on technical analysis and an understanding
digital services at FLSmidth
of their strategic goals and challenges,” Siwale said.
“What we see is a combination of digital and human
“FLSmidth has the knowledge, experience, technology,
capabilities. Local human capabilities provide great
connectivity and performance of the complete lifecycle
value.”
of products and systems. This leaves us well positioned
to help customers boost productivity, cut costs and She noted that FLSmidth took care to develop solutions
minimise their environmental footprint.” that can integrate with or incorporate a miner’s existing
platforms, instead of requiring that an entire system be
switched over to the FLSmidth solution.
Local knowledge
While digital transformation programmes depend on Deep integrations
global technologies and connectivity across vast
distances, Siwale noted that local experience and a This is particularly important for asset-wide digital
deep understanding of site-specific requirements transformation programmes, said Siwale.
were crucial aspects of any customer’s journey.
“Historically, the focus in mining has been on individual
“No two mine sites are the same. Each mine location pieces of equipment and process islands. But significant
has different characteristics, commodities and benefits come from combining data from an entire
requirements. And each business has different needs operation or site. This is where you can unlock the
based on its priorities and levels of digital maturity.” massive potential of optimisation in process efficiency
and in resource use, such as water and energy, which
“Because of this, developing a close collaboration with will help cut costs and reduce environmental footprints.
the knowledge partner is essential, and our service
“When we talk about process-optimisation solutions
expertise can bring the most efficiency out of a
and how excellent they are at decreasing energy
solution’s development and deployment. Our regional
consumption in minerals and across concentrators –
structure is crucial, we have positioned ourselves close
through the advanced and intelligent control of these
to the customer, we can not only fault find in our
technologies – it really makes sense for us to run this
equipment, but can advise on maintenance strategies
across the entire plant.”
and spare parts optimisation, and ensure better
reliability and lower overall operational costs. Siwale said three significant trends were combining

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and accelerating to convince miners to speed up which as an example, on a single mill at a Peruvian
digital adoption: a growing talent supply gap, supply- copper mine, resulted in increased production of
chain automation and sustainability goals. 11%, reduction in power consumption of 2.3%, and
an increase in energy efficiency (KWh/tonne) of 14%.”
“On skills and talent, in the mining industry, the
growing maturity of digital and the socialisation of “There are also carbon savings from using this
mining operations are attracting different skill sets and technology on the mill. In a year, it was equivalent to
a younger generation. Predictive maintenance, offsite removing the greenhouse gases of about 8 million
monitoring, process control and remote operations are miles driven by an average passenger vehicle.
all increasingly common. Mining employees can work
“Another example is in advanced process control.
remotely, away from some tough locations.”
Our ECS/ProcessExpert (PXP) solution has an insights
“We could also spin this onto gender and diversity, analytics module that automatically converts your
with women being the primary caregivers and some of operational benefits into meaningful KPIs. For example,
the mine locations are extremely remote – digital can your CO2 footprint benchmarks.
have a great impact.”
“These KPIs are then visualised using a predefined
On supply-chain automation, Siwale said mining’s dashboard delivered with the solution; the solution also
digitalisation is playing catch-up with other sectors calculates and compares the KPIs when the system was
but that the potential for progress is significant. in operation versus when it wasn’t. In doing so, you can
clearly show how PXP enables a more sustainable
“Supply-chain automation is already a reality in
operation. Additionally, a key benefit of PXP is through
many industries. And in mining, it is starting to speed
process optimisation; it has been shown to reduce the
up. Digital provides a great opportunity to streamline
consumption of energy and fuel by 3-5%.
your purchasing and supply processes. For instance,
in recent years, we completed our first touchless “These are ready solutions with proven value and
delivery of parts to our customers, providing performance gains, I think they are low-hanging fruits
enhanced lead times and more accurate order that miners can quickly take advantage of.”
handling. So, this is just an example, but we are also
Mining still has vast potential to tap into the power of
seeing our customers move quicker in that space.”
digital transformations across an entire enterprise,
She added that digitalisation was speeding up Siwale said.
because miners were looking at both the short
“Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found in a recent
and long-term when it came to sustainability.
study that the metals and mining industries are
“Regarding innovation and R&D, new technologies are approximately 30-40% less digitally mature than
starting to deliver the productivity and sustainability other industries. BCG highlighted several reasons for
those companies need. But many need more time this discrepancy, ranging from a phasing out of
before they can reach the market. They need to be customised solutions, to a lack of agile methods to
tested, upscaled and piloted.” deploy digital skills to the remote location of mines,
and therefore, poor network bandwidth. But also, a
“Digital solutions can offer quick wins; they’re
general cultural resistance.
easier to implement, even for an existing operation.
So, most miners are also quickly moving to digitalise “Truly, these are valid points. From my perspective, a
some of the existing technology, instead of moving lack of collaboration is maybe the fundamental
into a different area of technology.” weakness, yet this is the key to unlocking digital value.

“Cross-party collaboration has been vital in other

Rapid real-life wins industries in creating a digital ecosystem and
standardisation, and miners, through working with
This feeds into the notion that ‘low-hanging fruit’ in
FLSmidth, can develop a long-term strategy and
mining operations are prime candidates for a quick
develop a holistic approach that covers and
digitalisation process.
integrates the entire process flow sheet. This full flow-
“Examples of this are advanced process control, asset sheet approach compounds the benefits from each
health and asset-optimisation solutions,” Siwale said. area. A fully digitalised, integrated and data-
“In asset optimisation, for instance, we have specific optimised mining flow sheet should be the ultimate
solutions, like the LoadIQ [Smart sensor technology], goal for miners. And we can make that happen.”

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ABB on pillars for stronger

digitalisation platforms
Given the mountains of data generated by modern “In our industry, the retiring workforce raises a serious
mining solutions, it is more important than ever to issue in terms of sustainability. How can we transfer the
ensure digital-transformation programmes have clarity, knowledge of people that have been in the industry
pace and control. To help companies navigate the for 20 or 30 years to Generation Z or Millennials?
complex landscape and pursue programmes that
deliver on value, ABB has developed a digitalisation “We need to be able to fast track their learning,
roadmap that rests on five areas, or “value pillars”. because that all translates into the safety of operating
equipment and learning about the key processes.”
ABB aims to leverage these pillars alongside its
strengths as a provider of physical and digital Another important concept of digitalisation is to
solutions – the company works closely with everything promote greater collaboration among different
from mining robots and trolley-assist systems to AI and areas of the value chain. The value pillars must all
augmented reality. ABB´s vision is that automation, be connected to maximise plant benefits.
digitalisation and electrification must go hand in hand As an example, predictive maintenance has a solid
for real digital transformation, and deliver on the
connection to the sustainability pillar and production.
values of sustainable and efficient mining operations.
A reliability engineer, who needs to work closely with
The company said that it chose the five solution areas – the production manager, may sometimes face a
sustainability, asset performance (AI/ML), process decision that involves running a piece of equipment
performance, operational excellence and a connected close to a failure curve, even though that could result
workforce – because together they can be used to in higher energy consumption.
provide demonstratable evidence that digital
In the end, for a holistic optimisation of the value
transformation strategies are working.
chain, digital needs to serve as a basis for collaborative
There is also a horizontal layer, which is cyber security working, instead of an old siloed way of operating.
and is critical across the five pillars. For ABB, it is a
Marcos Hillal, global product line manager for
significant area of focus, but it is something that the
automation and digital at ABB, added that integration
company expects to be there as a standard.
was a critical part of progress in digitalisation.
Sanjit Shewale, vice president and global head of
“With data, it is essential to remember that if we can’t
Digital, Process Industries Division at ABB, explained
measure, we can’t control. Advanced algorithms can’t
that while the five areas are based on both long-held
make the right predictions if the basics aren’t right.”
customer needs and the company’s solutions and
domain expertise, they also reflect massive changes in “For a complex and important project such as cost
mining in recent years. reduction, we can dig into millions of data points, but it
“If you look at process performance and operational still needs to be correctly processed, ingested and
excellence, these aren’t new concepts, but asset managed to extract the right value from operations.”
performance management has become much “Most of the time spent in data-driven projects is
stronger because of artificial intelligence, machine still around preparing the data correctly, cleaning
learning and other advances that have evolved up outliers. That’s a big hurdle, and mining is no
significantly over the past 20 years. There were asset- different.
management solutions 30 years ago, but they can’t
be compared with today’s – with predictive analytics “Correct usage of the technology associated with the
for improving reliability and uptime,” he said. right domain expertise, those are the crucial factors to
enable data integration and the five value pillars.”
Sustainability and success
Asset models
Shewale explained that sustainability was chosen
not just for the obvious reasons, such as energy A nuanced and streamlined integration of data then
management and emissions or water management. enables digitalisation to bring more value by

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preventing downtime for today’s increasingly complex have to understand where the gaps are, the critical
and costly assets. pain points to the operations, and prioritise the plan.
Near the beginning, we have to define the quick wins.”
“Like other industries, there’re a lot of existing or legacy
solutions in mining,” Shewale said. “Most of them have
asset data – whether from enterprise-management Change management
systems or newer ‘Internet of Things’ sensors. This incremental, structured and layered process is
“Even discounting the newer, connected assets, we can critical in terms of developing an internal readiness
now bring in data from everywhere, from all assets, to start the digital transformation, particularly in the
and, importantly, take a platform-based approach and area of change management.
use a standard interface. Crucially, this allows us to get “When people started talking about digitalisation in
the data in one common area.” 2014, all the companies thought ‘yes, let’s do this’,”
Once this data is in a common area, asset models can said Shewale. “So, they built digital teams, hired CTOs
be created. (chief technology officers), and it was seen as a project.

“In mining, we have unique assets and unique “But the thing is, that this is continuous. It’s a constant
digital journey. It’s always evolving.
processes, which we can help define the asset models
and algorithms. As we develop these, we will start to “With change management, it is good to start with
see more predictive maintenance and prescriptive what are the initial things, as every customer has
analytics being applied to the industry. different requirements. What is their low-hanging fruit?
What do they start with that’s small, because that’s the
“If I go back 10 years, it was still disparate systems.
most important thing?
We couldn’t integrate assets into one common platform.
Now, with the added horsepower of leveraging the “The biggest mistake you can make is getting into a
cloud, or edge analytics, that changes everything. very complicated digital-transformation plan’s initial
phase, and then the project fails – companies can
“What’s more important, it’s not doing predictive
waste over a year if this happens.
maintenance just on one asset, or process area, there
are many assets in the value chain of production, and “For change management, it is far better to take
having a holistic and integrated approach is what will small steps and get the quick wins to show use cases.
bring the value of the digitalisation.” Once you’re able to do that, the change management
becomes a bit easier, because people are recognising
An important tool the company uses as part of its
that this is something of value.
transformation programme is its Digital Maturity
Assessment. This online tool uses on-site surveys and “There must be a vision that is communicated clearly
interviews to evaluate a customer’s existing practices, to the entire company; if somebody is put in a role
including its digital and IT/OT capabilities. that’s trying to be an evangelist, it’s extremely difficult.
Unless the whole organisation is on board, you will
The tool provides a report pinpointing where the never get change management right.”
company is on the digital transformation journey with
respect to industry best practices and its strategy. To find out more, read ABB’s playbook for
digitalisation at scale: [Link]
Hillal said the tool is essential because it helps miners mining-automation-ebook-2
know their digital transformation “definitely is not
going to happen overnight”.

“This is really a ‘journey’ and it’s not an easy journey to

take, especially when we talk about brownfield sites.
You may have to convert how you operate the plant,
and sometimes it takes years to achieve this. The first
aspect that we have to take care of is to understand
the company’s digital-transformation goals.

“In ABB we developed a structured approach to digital

transformation. That starts by creating, together with ABB’s digital solutions provide operator visualization via
the customer, the end goals for the programme. We connected devices

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Epiroc roots digitalisation

future in its past
Epiroc’s strategy to support mining companies
on digitalisation journeys has evolved rapidly
over the past year, with the Swedish original
vehicle manufacturer (OEM) stepping up its
acquisitions of technology firms that bolster the
already robust portfolio in its Digital Solutions
division.

Some 11 acquisition moves were launched over the

past 12 months, representing an investment
of SK1.2 billion (US$109 million). But these were
dominated by companies that brought something
important to the digitalisation table.
Mikael Ramström, vice president of digital business
MineRP, for instance, is a software company that
specialises in increasing productivity for mines “On the other hand, Mobilaris focuses a lot on safety
through integrated planning, execution and and productivity, and this starts with the positional
analytics. Epiroc also acquired the remaining share information that you can pick up from your
of Mobilaris MCE, which provides advanced infrastructure, and you complement this with your
situational awareness solutions that optimise production data, so customers use their assets in a
operations. much more optimal way – as well as have full control
Mikael Ramström, vice president of digital business, over all their assets in an emergency, such as a fire or
said that the acquisition strategy is shaped by the where you have to evacuate your mine.”
company’s trailblazing involvement in digitalisation
from the ground floor – from when the phrase wasn’t Customer-centred strategies
even used in a mining context.
Ramström noted that the company’s strong roots in
“Interoperability and collaboration have been key the history of digitalisation give it an edge in terms
initiatives since the early 2000s. We were heavily of designing customer-focused strategies – whether
involved in one of the first initiatives in this area, the project is large or small, and whether the miner is
when mining companies and machines suppliers at the start or the middle of a digitalisation journey.
found that we needed to standardise data exchange
between assets,” he said. “Epiroc has experience with both huge and minor
projects. We sit down with the customer and talk
“Since then, we have pushed hard on this, and if you through what are the priorities for them. What is it
look into our major investments or acquisitions in that they want to focus on? Is it productivity? Is it
digitalisation, that area of interoperability was the safety? Is it sustainability?” Ramström said.
first step.
“With digitalisation, it is good to take small steps to
“MineRP, for instance, has an enterprise integration identify infrastructure needs, so that you start in the
solution that helps our customers to integrate – that’s right way, and that is our approach.”
the interoperability part – what they already have.
We don’t come in and replace [assets] the customer Ramström said that his company had taken a hard
has already invested in, but we help them to integrate look at the state of analogue versus digital-ready
better. infrastructure in the mining market, and the results
were, perhaps, surprising.

“Epiroc has been looking at which customers

Interoperability have the infrastructure that can be converted to
is in our genes digital in a short time frame, and the answer is,
it’s relatively few.

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“Up to less than a quarter of the customers are

ready now. So, we have to start with investment in
the infrastructure, looking at what assets are smart
already, and what progress you can make with the
other assets to make them a little smarter”.

ESG enabler
“Then how will all this plug into your data-
management system? Then after that, only then
can you start to deliver value in digitalisation.”

The challenge is considerable, but he noted that

Photo: Epiroc
digitalisation would be critical in miners’ meeting
their ESG objectives. industry took off in this, but we were prepared, we
were waiting, and we were eager to supply.
According to consultancy McKinsey, the mining
industry is currently responsible for 4-7% of global “During that period, we developed solutions built on
greenhouse-gas emissions. But in 2021, the world’s machine data, where you make the information and
top miners, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto and data available to the customers from the Epiroc
BHP, all committed to a goal of net-zero direct and intelligent machines.
indirect carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.
“Now, this is not limited to only our machines. Now
“We see that digitalisation as an enabler or a with MineRP, we can integrate all types of devices
precondition to achieving those ESG objectives,” because of the interoperability – this is in our genes.
Ramström said.
“Adding to that, but investing in Mobilaris, we have
“You might think that reducing carbon dioxide, added more machine information, positional data
energy use, water use and pollution, and so on, is and time aspects, so that you now have a complete
your focus when working with ESG – and also, being view of your assets in the mine.
careful about using or overusing your assets.
“And now it’s not just Epiroc; it’s all assets in the mine
“But you are working blind if you don’t have you can track with this. You’re more efficient in your
digitalisation to give you insights around all these operation.
factors. Without correct and updated information,
this blindness leads to promises made without “The next step up in the pyramid that can be taken
value. with MineRP does not include [only] the classic assets
that Epiroc and other OEMs work with, but also the
“What Epiroc is doing and what we have, for instance, process and planning data, and all these come
with the MineRP solutions, is creating actual tools together into the minority solutions.
where you can plan, where you can monitor, optimise
and deliver on these ESG objectives.” “So for us, it is a layered approach. This approach
enables us to partner with customers in digitalisation
in the same way we are a partner in mechanisation,
Structured approach automation and electrification.”
This ESG-focused strategy has been central to
a digitalisation plan that rests on the company’s
historical role as an OEM.

“We are an OEM supplier to our customers. And if

you start on that, like a pyramid, all these assets are
already smart – we have been working on this since
the late 1990s, when we introduced computers into
all these machines,” Ramström said.

“We worked with integration and interoperability

since the early 2000s. It’s not until, like, 2015 that the Photo: Epiroc

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Digitalising the way to net zero

through collaboration
“I think digitalisation often is an enabler,”
Tarja Strahlman, Venture Lead, OREN for Shell, said.
“You’re utilising
data better to then drive better action.”

Using data to drive action is, in part, the philosophy

behind OREN, a venture created in collaboration by
Shell and IBM, which leverages the OREN Data
Platform to bring together innovative third-party
technologies to provide mining customers with
bespoke solutions to their digitalisation challenges.

In particular, more and more mining operators are

beginning to see how digitalisation, alongside the
improved collection and analysis of the reams of
data they produce, can enable them to meet their
decarbonisation ambitions.

“We know that mining companies are under pressure Tarja Strahlman, Venture Lead, OREN for Shell
to decarbonise,” Strahlman continued. “Net-zero
that are implemented at customer sites on
targets have to be met [but] we also know that rare
a SaaS (software as a service) basis. “These are
earth minerals are critical to power the energy
then the solutions that actually solve problems
transition [and that] the pressure from customers,
or the challenges that the customer has around
investors and society is pretty clear to extract these
decarbonisation,” Strahlman explained.
minerals in the most sustainable way possible.
Finally, OREN works with existing, proven technologies
“That said, processes are actually becoming more
that are carefully curated by the OREN team to
energy intensive and expensive: mines are deeper,
complement the newly developed Intelligent Solutions.
the ore quality is worsening, and the cost of capital
can be 20 to 25% higher for companies with lower All three parts of the OREN offer focus on better and
ESG scores. more refined use of data to help solve the individual
problems that clients present, with decarbonisation
“So, you have this kind of triple threat of increasing
a common and recurring theme.
demand, increasing operational costs, and net-zero
targets. To meet those three challenges, we believe that “We are seeing that customers are moving from
you need to adopt innovations in and modifications to building decarbonisation strategies to starting pilots in
current processes, and one of the fastest ways to the next two to three to five years. And we’ve spoken
address all three is actually through digital solutions.” to the industry and we know that across the value
chain 80% of the mining customers’ pain points are
A threefold solution actually very similar, in that they need to decarbonise
and they want to adopt digitalisation as an enabler,”
The OREN value proposition, as described by Strahlman said.
Strahlman, is also threefold. First, there is the OREN
“The reason that we in OREN are focusing on digital
Data Platform, which has been built alongside IBM.
This platform solutions, [rather than] emerging technologies, is that
“ingests, integrates and processes data, pretty much digital is relatively quick to implement, and is available
from any source of any quality, to help automate that in the short term, while the technical readiness levels
and really even having supply and manufacturing at
process and give better insights that support better
scale of some of the other decarbonisation technologies
decision making,” according to Strahlman.
can take time – for instance, the electrification of
On top of that foundational data platform sits mine operations or hydrogen as an energy source.
the suite of OREN Integrated Solutions, or ‘apps’,

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And second, digital solutions can actually enhance and

enable that transformation journey for the mining
customer.”

An example of how this approach helps is with the

electrification of mining sites, something that large
numbers of OREN customers are grappling with. In
practice, this involves large parts of a mine’s legacy
infrastructure – such as haul trucks – needing to start
communicating with the grid and with energy-
management systems on-site. “The way you ensure
energy usage and supply is balanced is actually by Photo: OREN
integrating new sources of data and operational activity
to the mine-management systems, and again digital Fitting individual customer need
platforms are the way that you do that,” Strahlman said.
If the customer is looking for bespoke capability or
Reducing manual activity complex solutions, OREN also leverages the IBM
Garage Methodology when working with customers.
OREN offers two ready-made solutions for customers
This includes a detailed visualisation phase, where it
that highlight the improvements in processes the
works with customers to identify ‘as-is’ and ‘to-be’
OREN Data Platform can bring about. These solutions
scenarios relating to the specific process that is being
focus on tailings storage facility management and
redesigned and digitised.
emissions management. On top of tracking and
improving on ESG metrics, both solutions target Strahlman said this approach, which is a longstanding
operational efficiencies using data collection and methodology at IBM, is crucial to producing
analytics tools to greatly reduce manual activity – meaningful results: “The overarching benefit of OREN
by around 20% in the case of the OREN Tailings is the kind of modularisation and customisability I’ve
Storage Facility solution and 30% for the OREN talked about. And what that means is that we can
Emissions Management solution. really get quite deep into understanding what the
problem areas are to make sure that the solution
With emissions, collecting data in a more targeted really hits exactly what the customer needs.
and efficient way is the first – and possibly most
important – part of the process of reducing them. “So rather than getting something off the shelf that
As one OREN mining customer put it: “Everyone says may meet 80% of their needs, we really can ensure
we need to reduce our emissions, but no one knows that it’s 100%.”
what they are.”

While improving and automating data collection

processes is one part of OREN's approach to emissions,
another is that this data can then be used to help
a mining operator continue its decarbonisation journey.

Strahlman said: “The other tangible benefit is that once

you know where those emissions hotspots are, we can
either recommend operational efficiency solutions
through OREN or alternative technologies through
Shell, such as switching to a low-carbon fuel, building
access to renewable-energy sources if that’s what they
want – there’s a whole selection of solutions.”

To de-risk and streamline the adoption of new

technology for the customer, OREN is offering to
sponsor free customer pilots to implement custom
dashboards for either emissions or tailings-storage-
facility management to give a dynamic view of past
performance and projection against targets, saving Photo: OREN
up to US$100,000 in implementation fees.

27
2022 edition
 LET’S DELIVER
NET ZERO, DIGITALLY
Data and digitalisation are at the heart of the
mining sector’s decarbonisation journey.

Discover how OREN’s digital solutions can

help you meet your net-zero ambitions.

PILOT For a limited time, OREN are offering you the opportunity
to implement a digital solution based on your data for free*.
OFFER Head to [Link] to learn more.
*Terms and conditions apply


NEW/UPDATED OPERATIONS: PRECIOUS METALS

i Cadia 30
ii Dalgaranga 32
iii Detour Lake 34
iv Fosterville 36
v Kittilä 38
vi Damang 40
Photo by CSIRO

vii Stillwater and East Boulder 42

3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Cadia

Photo: Newcrest Mining

PROFILE

Newcrest’s Cadia gold-copper operation can be control around the development firings at the
found on the east coast of Australia, just outside the project. Data collected by this industry-first machine
regional town of Orange, and is an underground will improve operational performance and the
block-cave mine. understanding of cycle times of development.
A fully operational digital twin of the Cadia In another collaborative project, Epiroc and Newcrest
underground workings and key associated have delivered semi-autonomous load and haul
infrastructure will be developed by Newcrest. This will capabilities via the Scooptram ST18 Automated
allow real-time visibility on mining activities. This Loader project. This phased automation project has
bespoke solution has been developed with input from so far delivered continued semi-automated
several digital specialists, including Willow and Versor. production to a singular area of the active cave.
The value this will add for the operations will, in turn, In line with automated underground operational
drive improved production performance of the mining areas, the business has commissioned and built a
operation by allowing real-time data collection from unique inspection robot for the Cadia operations.
key working areas. One such example is utilising a The SmartHog Underground Inspection Vehicle
model that predicts available capacity in underground
utilises multiple sensors and systems in tandem to
crushed-ore bins and prevents the bins from overfilling.
plan, execute and inspect areas of the mine when
The operation announced this year that it will be the required. This not only ensures the safety of personel
first global test bed for the Epiroc and Orica Avatel in the area, but allows for ongoing monitoring of
system. This cutting-edge technology utilises wireless mine workings in key operational areas.
explosives and a specialised, semi-autonomous rig to
The internal development of the SmartHog, an
load and charge underground development cuts.
impressive solution for the most modern of
This will not only remove operators from potentially underground mines, underlines the commitment
hazardous areas, but will ensure ongoing quality that Newcrest has made to digital applications.

30 2022 edition
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New/updated operations: Precious metals 3

OWNERSHIP NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Delivery of wind farm in 2024 to produce 40% of

Newcrest Mining electricity power generation for the project

♦ Battery electric vehicles to replace mobile diesel

LV fleet
THE BASICS
♦ Exploring additional renewable energy sources for
MINE TYPE Underground
power generation.
COMMODITY Gold, copper
PROJECT LOCATION
LOCATION New South Wales, Australia

Gold: 764,895 ounces

2021 PRODUCTION
Copper: 106,402 tonnes

EQUIPMENT

♦ Microsoft Azure, a cloud-

computing service for
building and managing
DIGITALISATION digital applications
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Versor, data analytics
SOFTWARE
♦ Willow, visual and
interfacing of digital twin
♦ Orica and Epiroc, Avatel.

♦ OSIsoft PI System
INFRASTRUCTURE Photo: Newcrest Mining
architecture.

♦ Epiroc & Orica Avatel semi-

autonomous charge rig
HARDWARE
♦ Epiroc Load & Haul
Automation.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The scale of the Cadia operations has allowed

Newcrest to heavily invest in new applications and
technologies to improve safety and production
outcomes. It has progressed beyond its Australian
underground peers in both digital applications and
automation.

COMMENCED 2018
The internal development
of the SmartHog underlines
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
the commitment that
♦ Safety outcomes
Newcrest has made to
♦ Higher productivity and more throughput
digital applications
♦ Less downtime and fewer production delays.

2022 edition 31
3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Dalgaranga

Photo: Gascoyne Gold

PROFILE

Gascoyne Resources operates in the gold mining The MaxMine system collects data from various points
province directly north of Perth, Western Australia. and machines, predominately the open-pit mobile
The Dalgaranga operations focus on a medium-sized fleet. Then downstream this data is processed
open-pit mine, which is being developed in automatically, allowing for intra-shift optimisation,
conjunction with mining contractor NRW Holdings. comparison and refinement.
Further plans for additional satellite pits feeding the This data is further interrogated when utilised as part
mill have been outlined by the business. of a digital twin, allowing for operational supervisors to
In collaboration, Gascoyne Resources and NRW visually intermesh data and mining models to optimise
and be spatially aware of emerging, potential
Holdings have enlisted the input of the South Australia-
production issues within the open pit.
headquartered MaxMine. MaxMine’s integrated fleet-
management system was selected for the project as it NRW Holdings recently expanded its internal-analytics
allows tangible data-driven optimisation across mining capability, and the advanced fleet-management system
activities. at Dalgaranga was the natural progression of this.

32 2022 edition
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OWNERSHIP NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Explore MaxMine Carbon, a new-to-market

Gascoyne Resources 100% product, that will assist in the reduction of carbon
emissions at mining projects.

THE BASICS PROJECT LOCATION

MINE TYPE Open pit

COMMODITY Gold

Mt Magnet region,
LOCATION
Western Australia

2021 PRODUCTION 71,153 ounces

EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION
♦ MaxMine fleet-management
PRODUCTS/
and data analytics.
SOFTWARE

♦ MaxHub, online digital twin

interface for interrogation of
data
INFRASTRUCTURE Photo: Gascoyne Gold
♦ MaxCube, AI driven, cloud-
based server for cleansing
and sorting data.

♦ MaxEdge, hardware sensors

HARDWARE capturing data when
attached to plant.

DIGITALISATION
Not available
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Gascoyne Resources has worked with its mining

contractor, NRW, to deliver project-specific digital
infrastructure. The foundation for this is the
MaxMine fleet-management system, which allows
for data collection, digital-twin creation and
downstream analytics.

COMMENCED 2021

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

MaxMine’s integrated
♦ Reduce emissions
fleet-management system
♦ Optimise mine productivity
allows tangible data-driven
♦ Maximise equipment utilisation
optimisation across
mining activities
♦ Increase production rates.

2022 edition 33
3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Detour Lake

Photo: Agnico Eagle Mines

PROFILE

In January 2022, Kirkland Lake Gold and Rogers dashboard to improve efficiencies and productivity
Business announced the launch of a 5G wireless at the site.
private network (WPN) at the Detour Lake mine,
the second-largest gold-producing mine in Canada. To enable a fully operational WPN at the mine, Rogers
Detour Lake, which is now owned by Agnico Eagle deployed five cellular network towers with its full range
Mines following the February 2022 Agnico Eagle of spectrum frequency bands to support a diverse set
Mines-Kirkland Lake Gold merger, is reportedly of use cases and applications throughout the site.
the first mine in Canada to be fully connected over The network was built with a full failover backup
a 5G WPN. system across the site. This provides always-on,
The WPN provides enhanced coverage, end-to-end private access to the network across the entire
reliability, full redundancy, and a low latency network Detour Lake mine operations.
across its 80sq km operation.
Also announced in January, in collaboration with
It was established to enable a truly scalable network Rogers, was a plan to build eight wireless cell towers to
powering “thousands of new solutions”, according cover more than 180km along Highway 652 between
to the initial Kirkland Lake Gold announcement. Cochrane, Ontario and Detour Lake. The public network
These include tele-remote operations, industrial IoT was planned to be almost all off-grid, with seven of the
sensors to provide real-time insight into operations, eight towers primarily powered by wind and solar
drones that can deliver supplies to the bottom of energy. It was planned to be completed and fully
the mine, future autonomous haulage vehicles, and accessible by summer of 2022, with the aim of providing
exploration work. All of these applications will be local communities with improved service reliability and
monitored and managed through a digital close connectivity gaps.

34 2022 edition
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OWNERSHIP NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ The technology will lead to industrial IoT sensors

Agnico Eagle Mines and drones that can deliver supplies to the bottom
of the mine.

THE BASICS PROJECT LOCATION

MINE TYPE Open pit

COMMODITY Gold

LOCATION Ontario, Canada

2021 PRODUCTION 712,824 ounces

EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION
♦ Industrial IoT sensors,
PRODUCTS/
drones (planned)
SOFTWARE

♦ 5G wireless private network

across an 80sq km
INFRASTRUCTURE
operation, with full backup
system.

♦ 5x cellular network towers

on-site
HARDWARE
♦ 8x public wireless cell
towers off-site.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Detour Lake recently became the first mine in

Canada to have a to have a 5G wireless private
network. The network was set up to enable digital Photo: Agnico Eagle Mines
and autonomous solutions.

COMMENCED 2022 To enable a fully operational

WPN at the mine, Rogers
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS deployed five cellular
♦ Connectivity network towers with its
♦ Communication
full range of spectrum
♦ Safety.
frequency bands
Sources: Mining Magazine, company data

2022 edition 35
3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Fosterville

Photo: Fosterville Gold Mine, Facebook

PROFILE

Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville project, the largest gold The system also directly contributes to Australia’s
mine in Australia’s southeastern Victoria province, 2030 carbon-emission reduction targets, since it
is home to Howden’s cutting-edge Ventsim Control allows the mining project to optimise its ventilation
system, which has vastly improved scheduling and based on fully remote vehicle and personnel
flow control at the asset and, in turn, greatly enhanced monitoring.
the operability and flexibility of its ventilation system.
According to Howden’s Asia Pacific (APAC) regional
In a first for Australia’s mining industry, in addition to president, Camille Levy, Level 4 - Ventilation on
paying for itself in only six months, the mine’s tracking Demand (VoD) is the process of adjusting a mine’s
system will soon be integrated to Ventsim Control air flow in real-time based on the positions of vehicles
Level 4. This will allow real-time feedback on the and personnel.
vehicle locations for Ventsim Control, which will adjust
the ventilation automatically based on demand. Moreover, Levy added, Ventsim Control yields an
“on demand” solution for project ventilation. Software
The contract for the Fosterville complex is significant tied to hardware devices monitors, controls, and
for Australian mining and Howden since it represents automates airflow remotely. This technology creates
the country’s first Ventsim Control Level 4 system – safer, more productive and cost-effective ventilation.
commissioned remotely – as well as being a first in the In addition, the Control solution offers a 3D-modelling
Asia Pacific region. The success of the operation and capacity within the software, which helps users
the level of power it saves serve as a test case for better predict and control air flow based on the
further installations of Ventsim Control globally. simulation evidence.

36 2022 edition
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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Supporting low-cost production strategy

Agnico Eagle ♦ Enhancing safety

♦ Time-saving benefits.
THE BASICS
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
MINE TYPE Underground
♦ The Fosterville project is trialing one of the first
COMMODITY Gold four Sandvik Battery Electric Loaders operating
in the world. This trial is the first step towards a
LOCATION Victoria, Australia
gradual transition to a fully battery electric loader
2021 PRODUCTION 509,601 ounces fleet. Being an early adopter of BEVs, its batteries
are sustainable mining outperformers in reaching
EQUIPMENT their end of life. However, batteries aren’t dead
when they come to the end of their useful life.
♦ Howden’s Ventsim Control
BEV batteries are typically replaced after they lose
system, which has improved
DIGITALISATION around 20% of their capacity, meaning they
scheduling and flow control
PRODUCTS/ retain up to 80% capacity and that can be used
at the asset and enhanced
SOFTWARE for stationary storage applications.
operability and flexibility of
its ventilation system.
PROJECT LOCATION
♦ The mine’s tracking system
will be integrated to Ventsim
Control Level 4, which will
provide real-time feedback
INFRASTRUCTURE
on the vehicle locations and
adjust the ventilation
automatically based on
demand.

♦ Ventilation on Demand
HARDWARE (VoD) to adjust mine air flow
in real time.

♦ The Control solution offers

a 3D-modelling capacity
DIGITALISATION within the software to
INVESTMENT predict and control air flow
based on the simulation
evidence.

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Underground mining takes place via a conventional

fleet of trackless diesel equipment including
development jumbos, production drills, loaders,
trucks and ancillary equipment. Open-pit mining
(when necessary) is conducted using a conventional
fleet, including excavators and trucks with the
mining fleet and workforce being contracted.

COMMENCED 2019 Photo: CSIRO

2022 edition 37
3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Kittilä

Photo: Agnico Eagle

PROFILE

Some 900km north of Helsinki, 150km north of the Industry 4.0 usage cases, including high-precision
frigid Arctic circle in northern Finland, lies the Kittilä positioning in autonomous vehicles and group
mine, Europe’s leading primary gold producer. communications, to help improve operational
reliability, safety, and quality.
At Kittilä, Nokia, Finland’s global telecommunications
company, is collaborating with mobile operator Telia According to Kittilä mine general manager Tommi
and its partner Digita to provide a private wireless Kankkunen, the agreement helps “deliver capabilities
network for Agnico Eagle Finland Oy, which operates for the next phase of our digital transformation
the Kittilä project. Under the deal, the network journey. We want to innovate by using the latest
supports advanced Industry 4.0 use cases at the mine technologies and will leverage the Nokia 5G SA
to accelerate its digital transformation. private network to enhance operational efficiency
and support the highest level of safety for teams
Supporting above and below-ground operations, the working at the mine.”
Nokia 5G SA network will reach depths up to 1km.
By covering an extensive tunnel system, meanwhile, it Nokia’s industrial wireless technology can be
will connect sensors, devices and vehicles with people deployed in the most remote locations, making it
and equipment to link the low latency capabilities of 5G. ideal for mining operations’ digital transformation.

Deployment of the network is underway in phases, Mine owners can use Industry 4.0 applications
and completion is anticipated by October 2022. that enable new levels of automation to better
manage changes in demand while enhancing
Real-time data processing at the network edge will productivity, operational efficiency, and, above all,
benefit Kittilä by supporting important business worker safety.

38 2022 edition
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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Supporting above and below-ground operations,

Agnico Eagle Mines the Nokia 5G SA network will reach depths up to 1km.
By covering an extensive tunnel system, meanwhile,
it will connect sensors, devices and vehicles with people
THE BASICS and equipment to link the low latency capabilities of 5G.
MINE TYPE Underground
Deployment of Nokia’s network
COMMODITY Gold
is underway in phases, with
LOCATION Lapland Region, Finland completion anticipated by
COMMENCED
2021 PRODUCTION 239,240 ounces October 2022. Mineshaft and
ABB Ability were commissioned
EQUIPMENT
in 2021.
♦ Range of digitalisation
products, including Nokia’s
DIGITALISATION DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
advanced Industry 4.0 use
PRODUCTS/
cases and ABB Ability’s ♦ Enhance operational efficiency
SOFTWARE
performance optimisation
♦ Support the highest level of safety.
for hoists.
♦ WiFi network NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
♦ Ongoing collaboration with
Nokia and mobile operator ♦ Kittilä has a focus on ongoing improvement
Telia and its partner Digita to optimisation and improvement of its assets.
provide a private additional One element is using connected equipment and
wireless network for Agnico real-time data to enhance decision-making.
Eagle Finland Oy, which Agnico said it could achieve this goal by installing
operates the Kittilä project mobile equipment underground
♦ Nokia’s industrial wireless ♦ Real-time data processing at the network edge will
technology can be benefit Kittilä by supporting important business
deployed in the most Industry 4.0 usage cases, including high-precision
remote locations, making it positioning in autonomous vehicles and group
INFRASTRUCTURE
ideal for mining operations’ communications, to help improve operational
digital transformation. Mine reliability, safety, and quality.
owners can use Industry 4.0
applications, which enable PROJECT LOCATION
new levels of automation to
better manage changes in
demand while enhancing
productivity, operational
efficiency and worker safety
♦ Ongoing investigation of
potential deployment of
an LTE network.
♦ Friction-type production
hoist with 2.5MW motor
HARDWARE
♦ 1.2MW single-drum
personnel hoist.

Over $11 million in ABB’s

production and personnel
DIGITALISATION
hoists, including ABB Ability,
INVESTMENT
within a $186 million mine
expansion that began in 2018.

2022 edition 39
3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Damang

Photo: Gold Fields

PROFILE

Digitalisation is at the core of Gold Field’s group-wide Other digital initiatives brought in at the Damang
modernisation programme, which aims to increase project include the installation of high-precision GPS
efficiency, while reducing the environmental impact of hole-navigation systems on drill rigs and a collision-
its mines and improving safety performance. Digital avoidance system on its fleet of mining vehicles.
infrastructure advancements are being rolled out across
the group’s portfolio of gold-mining projects, including These improvements are part of the ‘Horizon 2’
the upgrade of wireless systems and deployment of stage of Gold Fields’ three-part global modernisation
mobile devices to collect and report production data. programme. Horizon 1 focused on using data to help
plan what approach to take on each of Gold Fields’
At the Damang mine in Ghana, 2021 saw the projects, while Horizon 2 is the transformational
installation of technology company Hexagon’s stage, during which systems are installed, integrated
Operator Alertness System Heavy Vehicles (OAS-HV) and modernised.
fatigue management software on 35 vehicles.
The system improves safety by responding to threats It is anticipated that Horizon 2 should be completed
posed by fatigue and the distraction for operators by 2025. After that, Horizon 3 will focus on delivering
of heavy and light machinery. future modernisation and digitalisation programmes.

40 2022 edition
 Established
1909
New/updated operations: Precious metals 3

OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Gold Fields’ modernisation programme is driven by

Gold Fields 90% the need to improve production efficiency, reduce
cost, limit environmental impacts, and improve safety
Government of Ghana 10% performance. The group has an overall target of
reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030.

THE BASICS
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
MINE TYPE Open pit
♦ The continuation of the second phase of the
COMMODITY Gold modernisation programme – Horizon 2 – which
will take between three and seven years on all
LOCATION Ghana Gold Fields assets.
2021 PRODUCTION 254,000 ounces
PROJECT LOCATION
EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION
PRODUCTS/ Not applicable
SOFTWARE

♦ Across the Gold Fields

Group, a number of digital
infrastructure advancements
are being rolled out. These
INFRASTRUCTURE
include mobile devices,
similar to iPads, which will
collect and automatically
report production data.

♦ Hexagon’s Operator
Alertness System Heavy
HARDWARE
Vehicles (OAS-HV) deployed
at Damang Mine in 2021.

DIGITALISATION
Not applicable
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Modernisation and digitalisaton at the Damang

Mine is part of a global programme to improve all
of Gold Fields’ projects. This programme has three
stages, or ‘Horizons’: Photo: Gold Fields
♦ Horizon 1 uses real-time data to plan the
approach for future implementation;
♦ Horizon 2 is the transformational stage during
which processes and systems are integrated and
optimised;
♦ Horizon 3 will be focused on delivering future
modernisation programmes.

COMMENCED 2021

2022 edition 41
3 New/updated operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Stillwater and East Boulder

Photo: Sibanye-Stillwater Limited

PROFILE

In 2017, shortly after acquiring two polymetallic, cab of underground vehicles such as scooptrams and
underground platinum mines in Montana, Shibanye- loaders.
Stillwater began working with Montreal-based
Newtrax to implement its proprietary OptiMine Vehicle operators have a virtual view of any nearby
Collision Avoidance System (CAS) technology. pedestrians, as well as a warning system that
escalates as the distance between them diminishes.
Since then, Shibanye-Stillwater has invested
$17 million in the technology, which is designed to If a vehicle-pedestrian accident is imminent, the
increase productivity and improve safety by reducing OptiMine system overrides the operator and the
or, best case scenario, eliminating accidents involving vehicle automatically reduces its speed, then comes
pedestrians and vehicles. to a controlled stop.

Mine-wide implementation of Newtrax’s OptiMine The technology is also designed to improve vehicle-
CAS technology was scheduled to be completed in to-vehicle safety, as well as collisions involving
2022 at the Stillwater and East Boulder mines, which vehicles and locomotives.
are located 85 miles southwest of Billings, Montana.
OptiMine not only improves safety and enhances
The OptiMine system integrates telemetry, tracking underground operation, but, equally importantly, aligns
and proximity-detection technology. The system links with Sibanye-Stillwater’s CARES values of commitment
intelligent cap lamps to a warning system inside the to safety, accountability, respect and sustainability.

42 2022 edition
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New/updated operations: Precious metals 3

OWNERSHIP PROJECT LOCATION

Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd

THE BASICS

MINE TYPE Underground

COMMODITY Platinum group metals

LOCATION Billings, Montana, USA

2021 PRODUCTION 570,400 ounces

EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION ♦ Newtrax OptiMine Collision

PRODUCTS/ Avoidance System (CAS)
SOFTWARE technology.

♦ Telemetry, tracking,
proximity detection
INFRASTRUCTURE
technology, slow-to-stop
control technology.

♦ Intelligent cap lamps,

warning systems inside the Photo: Sibanye-Stillwater Limited
HARDWARE
cab of underground mobile
equipment.

DIGITALISATION
$17 million
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Sibanye-Stillwater’s investment in OptiMine CAS

aligns with the company’s CARES values of
commitment to safety, accountability, respect
and sustainability.

COMMENCED 2017

Shibanye-Stillwater has
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS invested $17 million in
♦ Enhanced worker safety and increased productivity. the [CAS] technology,
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK which is designed to
♦ The OptiMine system will be used as the
increase productivity
digitalisation platform for real-time operations and improve safety
management.

2022 edition 43
United. Inspired.
United. Inspired.

The mining of tomorrow starts today

The mining of tomorrow starts today
The mining industry is changing. Digitalization creates better ways to run a mine,
The mining industry is changing. Digitalization creates better ways to run a mine,
all the way from the site to the control room, to the boardroom. Epiroc is here to
all the way from the site to the control room, to the boardroom. Epiroc is here to
be your productivity partner for the long haul. Our ecosystem approach helps you
be your productivity partner for the long haul. Our ecosystem approach helps you
forge your own path to the future. With interoperability, advanced data analytics,
forge your own path to the future. With interoperability, advanced data analytics,
and digitized work processes, we help you take the right steps towards improving
and digitized work processes, we help you take the right steps towards improving
safety, productivity, and sustainability. Start your digital transformation journey today.
safety, productivity, and sustainability. Start your digital transformation journey today.
Learn more at [Link] [Link]
Learn more at [Link] [Link]


NEW/UPDATED OPERATIONS: BASE METALS

i Onaping Depth 46
ii Oyu Tolgoi 48
iii Kansanshi 50
iv Centinela 52
v Freeport Grasberg 54
Photo by Michał Milczarek

vi El Teniente 56
vii Radomiro Tomic 58
3 New/updated operations: Base metals Established
1909

Onaping Depth
Photo: iStock RHJ

PROFILE

The Onaping Depth copper-nickel project is an of smaller tunnels. Both of these improvements
ambitious plan in the Sudbury district of Ontario to will in turn allow the company to use a smaller
construct what Glencore calls “the mine of the future”. ventilation plant, saving further construction and
The company hopes that by introducing a variety of operating costs.
modern techniques it will be able to mine deeper
underground than ever before. “With the commitment to battery electric vehicles,
it creates a significant reduction in the amount of air
“Our key clarifying criteria for [the] innovation that we require underground. So, we need a much
programme is a mine designed for depth,” Peter Xavier, smaller opening, much smaller fans, which saved us a
Glencore’s vice president of Sudbury Integrated Nickel tonne of capital dollars and will greatly reduce our
operations, said in a project presentation. operating costs,” Glencore’s director of technical
The mine will go down to 2,400-2,600m underground. services and innovation at Sudbury Integrated Nickel
It is being built under the existing Craig mine, and by operations, Kevin McAuley, said.
using automated and remotely operated machines, A WiFi backbone will be installed throughout the
the company plans to reduce the number of workers mine to support the technology at the project.
below the surface, which improves safety.
“Without the digital backbone to deliver wireless
“If we’re operating these machines, we don’t worry
communication to the face, [the project] is
about protecting a person because no person is
unachievable,” Greg Maybee, Glencore project
there,” NextGen Mining director Adrian McFadden
manager at Nickel Rim Depth Sudbury Integrated
said in the same presentation.
Nickel operations, said in the presentation. “You cannot
The proposed project will improve efficiency by move people from the face of the mine to the surface
reducing the amount of time miners spend travelling to run tele-remote equipment or to monitor
to below 1,500m in depth and by allowing the mining autonomous equipment without that backbone.”

46 2022 edition
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New/updated operations: Base metals 3

OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The programme will help the mine move deeper

Glencore 100% underground (below 1,500m) by reducing emissions
from vehicles, improving ventilation management,
and allowing people and equipment to be tracked,
THE BASICS reducing accidents. The plan includes remotely
operated and autonomous machines.
MINE TYPE Underground
COMMENCED 2015
COMMODITY Copper, nickel

LOCATION Sudbury, Canada DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Reduced costs
2021 PRODUCTION Not applicable
♦ Improved safety
EQUIPMENT ♦ Smaller environmental footprint/reduced
CO2 emissions.
♦ Real-time remote
DIGITALISATION NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
management,
PRODUCTS/
monitoring and control
SOFTWARE Continuation of project development.
from surface.
PROJECT LOCATION
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ WiFi network

♦ Epiroc has been selected

for the primary fleet of
23 machines, including
Scooptram loaders,
Minetruck haulers,
Boomer face-drilling rigs,
Boltec and Cabletec rock-
reinforcement rigs, and
Simba production-
drilling rigs
♦ MacLean’s EV Series
HARDWARE
explosives charging,
secondary reduction,
shotcrete spraying,
concrete transport and
Photo: iStock RHJ
utility vehicles
♦ Ventilation and air-cooling
systems will be equipped
with digitally controlled
sensors to keep track of
the movement of
equipment and workers.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

2022 edition 47
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Oyu Tolgoi

Photo: Oyu Tolgoi

PROFILE

Oyu Tolgoi’s owners have explored multiple digital location and tracking, while allowing data feeds to
applications to improve safety and production at be sent in near real-time to the operations centre.
the block-cave mine. A growing team of technology This provides visibility to operators that will prevent
specialists at Oyu Tolgoi work with original accidents, while simultaneously enabling traffic-
equipment manufacturers (OEM) to deliver digital management and schedule optimisation.
and automation projects.
At Oyu Tolgoi Vuzik, smart glasses are used to
The ‘Chandmani’ operations and service centre acts enable experts based anywhere in the world to
as the digital hub for Oyu Tolgoi. It uses an remotely give advice. The technologically advanced
Evans management system, which can monitor eyewear allows for real-time visual inspection and
underground airflow, heating systems and power communication with off-site experts who can
consumption. The centre also hosts an electronic guide the local workforce.
tag-board system panel that allows for the tracking
of personnel across the underground operation. Two Sandvik LH514 Auto-Mine enabled loaders are
used at Oyu Tolgoi to improve production rates.
The interconnectivity of the operations is These autonomous loaders operate in the block
underpinned by Cohda Wireless and its vehicle-to- cave’s draw-point areas to remove material safely for
everything (V2X-Locate) technology. The technology haulage to surface. Utilising Sandvik’s AutoMine
can connect over 200 mining vehicles and up to automation technology allows for the operation to
2,000 personnel using V2X-Locate compatible cap continue loading across shift changes, when
lamps. This integrated network delivers sub-metre historically production would cease.

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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Safety of workforce
Government of Mongolia 34% ♦ Consistent production requirements
Turquoise Hill Resources 66% ♦ Traffic management
(Rio Tinto owns 50.8% of ♦ Schedule optimisation
Turquoise Hill Resources) ♦ Transparency of operational work fronts.

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
THE BASICS
♦ Oyu Tolgoi will remain one of the world’s largest
MINE TYPE Open pit/underground mining operations for decades to come and it is
likely that Rio Tinto will continue to push the
boundaries in underground mining technologies.
COMMODITY Copper and gold

PROJECT LOCATION
LOCATION South Gobi Desert, Mongolia

Copper: 163,000 tonnes

2021 PRODUCTION
Gold: 468,000 ounces

EQUIPMENT

♦ Sub-metre underground
personnel and fleet tracking
DIGITALISATION
♦ Advanced semi-automated
PRODUCTS/
haulage systems
SOFTWARE
♦ Integrated planning-process
system.

♦ Codha Wireless vehicle-to-

INFRASTRUCTURE
everything technology.

♦ Sandvik Load and Haul

HARDWARE
utilising AutoMine.

DIGITALISATION
Not available
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Oyu Tolgoi is one of the largest mining operations

on Earth, with scale and mine life beyond most
projects. From the outset, this project was devised
using a cutting-edge planning approach that was
created in partnership with ProudFoot, a leading
global operations consultant. This integrated
planning process vastly improved safety and
project outcomes, allowing working schedules to
be finalised many shifts in advance of requirement.

COMMENCED 2012 Photo: Oyu Tolgoi

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Kansanshi

Photo: First Quantum

PROFILE

With the expansion of the facility approved earlier on-site vehicles. Using these ‘digital twins’ will
this year, First Quantum Minerals has begun to deploy help prepare operators for emergency situations,
more advanced digitalisation tools to improve the improve safety performance and deliver greater
operation of its flagship Kansanshi copper and gold efficiencies.
mine in Zambia.
The company has also been using a wireless land
The expansion of the asset will see the incorporation acquisition nodal system, developed by French
of new electrical loading and drilling equipment exploration specialist Sercel, to acquire nine months’
and the extension of the electric trolley assist worth of passive seismic data at Kansanshi and the
infrastructure. The aim is produce more than adjacent Soilwezi basement dome. The WiNG system
400,000 tonnes per annum of copper anode for its is lighter and esier to deploy compared with
remaining life, up to 2044. conventional seismometers, allowing for better
detection of weak signals.
FQM is aiming to increase safety at the mine
through the use of some of the world’s most These improvements come as part of FQN’s
realistic and sophisticated simulators, on which it stated ambition to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2
will train both new and existing cab operators. greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2025, and
ThoroughTec’s Cybermine 5 simulator cabs will its absolute and intensity of emissions by 50%
replicate the look, feel and operation of the by 2030.

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OWNERSHIP PROJECT LOCATION

80% First Quantum

20% ZCCM Investment Holdings

THE BASICS

MINE TYPE Open pit

COMMODITY Copper, gold

LOCATION Zambia

Copper: 202,000 tonnes

2021 PRODUCTION DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
Gold: 129,000 ounces
Mine expansion approved in 2022 with new electrical
EQUIPMENT loading and drilling installed with the aim to increase
production to 400,000t/y of copper anode for the next
DIGITALISATION 20 years.
PRODUCTS/ Not available
SOFTWARE
COMMENCED 2022

INFRASTRUCTURE Not available

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
♦ ThoroughTec ‘s Cybermine
♦ Digitalisation aimed at improving efficiency to aid
5 simulator cabs; Sercel’s
HARDWARE ambitious decarbonisation plans and the
WiNG land acquisition nodal
system. reduction of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas
emissions by 30% within three years.

DIGITALISATION NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

Not available
INVESTMENT
Not available

Photo: First Quantum

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Centinela

Photo: Antofagasta

PROFILE

Antofagasta’s majority-owned Centinela mine is an The Integrated Remote Operations Centre

open-pit operation located 1,350km north of the city occupies eight floors covering a total of 1,710sq m.
of Santiago, in the Antofagasta region of Chile. The Forty per cent of the 137 people employed at the
operation produces copper concentrate, copper centre are women. Nearly half are from the region
cathodes, gold and molybdenum. and were largely recruited from the existing
workforce. Those employees benefitted from
In 2022, Antofagasta inaugurated two major
digitalisation projects that represent the fulfillment of retraining programmes that significantly upgraded
an innovation strategy and digital roadmap launched in their skill sets.
2017. The company’s goal is to introduce best-in-class Centinela operates six open pits, a concentrator
existing digital technology and advanced analytics to to process sulphide ores and two hydrometallurgical
improve operating performance.
plants to process oxides. As of April 2022, the
Company officials say that the Nokia wireless network IROC was monitoring and managing Centinela’s
will improve mining operations in a safe, efficient mine operations, concentrator and the port
manner and will help the company meet growing in Michilla from which it ships concentrates.
world demand for copper. The network reliably and The remaining installations were scheduled to
securely connects a variety of sensors, devices, be integrated into the centre in the second half
equipment and vehicles in above-ground operations. of 2022.

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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The network will accelerate the mine’s digital

Antofagasta Minerals SA transformation and automate its vehicle fleets.

COMMENCED Planning began in 2017.

THE BASICS

MINE TYPE Open pit DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Improve the management, productivity and

COMMODITY Copper, gold, molybdenum
efficiency of the mining process, providing a
modern operation able to centrally store, access
LOCATION Antofagasta region, Chile and manage large volumes of data remotely.

Copper: 274,000 tonnes NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

Copper concentrate:
184,500 tonnes ♦ Antofagasta plans to replace diesel-power haul
2021 PRODUCTION trucks with trucks powered by green hydrogen in
Copper cathode: 88,000 tonnes
order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Gold: 199,000 ounces
♦ Antofagasta has committed to the use of
Molybdenum: 1,300 tonnes
autonomous trucks at the new Esperanza Sur pit.
EQUIPMENT
The pit will open in 2022 and is expected to increase
annual production by 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes.
DIGITALISATION ♦ Industrial-grade private
PRODUCTS/ wireless network designed PROJECT LOCATION
SOFTWARE and deployed by Nokia.

♦ Integrated operations
centre (IROS) was officially
inaugurated in April 2022.
IROC will enhance safety
INFRASTRUCTURE and productivity and allow
employees located in the
city of Antofagasta to
manage operations at its
Centinela mine.

♦ The industrial-grade, private

wireless network includes
Nokia AirScale radio
equipment, mobile
HARDWARE
packetcore, IP/MPLS service
aggregation routers and
Wavence microwave
transmission.

♦ The start-up of the

integrated operations centre
DIGITALISATION covers a total investment of
INVESTMENT $66.2 million including the
digitisation of equipment
and applications on site.

Photo: Antofagasta
Sources: Company data, supplier data, third party media

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Freeport Grasberg
Photo: Freeport-Mcmoran

PROFILE

The Freeport Grasberg operation is one of the systems have allowed for the removal of personnel
largest underground projects active globally. from the possibly dangerous caving areas of the
The scale and delivery of the project has allowed underground mine.
for advances in digital technologies within the
underground mining sector. In late 2021, a RCT enabled, tele-remote secondary
breakage fleet was introduced. This removes
The project, which is partially owned by the operators from block-cave draw points, some of the
Indonesian government, made national news when most dangerous parts of the operational activities
it launched an underground 5G network to deliver at Grasberg. The use of Getman and Elphinstone
wireless coverage across the operations. This high- water cannon trucks and mobile rock breakers by
speed communications network, the first of this kind operators on surface allows for ongoing production
underground in Asia, allows for improved digital in the safest possible manner.
outcomes across various parts of the workings.
RCT, which has serviced the project for over 30
Utilised in conjunction with a digital-twin mining years, is deeply embedded in the project and its
model, this network allows the project to simulate interconnected mobile fleet. RCT’s systems allow for
changes in the mining environment before they remote operations and semi-automated workflows
are made in the real world. Ventilation, traffic across the wide range of OEM fleets at Grasberg. The
management and intra-shift plans can be systems allow Freeport the ability to select the best
modelled ahead of time, improving outcomes for machine for the job, rather than being pinned to
the underground crews and allowing production one supplier for all underground fleet requirements.
to flow smoothly.
Further industry-leading automation can be seen
The Mile Post 72 Remote Operating Room, in the purpose-built underground rail networks for
which sits on the surface above the underground ore haulage. The network improves production rates
workings, also uses the network. It houses multiple and reduces diesel emissions and underground
machine officers that are now able to safely operate traffic from load and haul activities. This further
mining machinery from a fleet of RCT control units. showcases the capital expenditure being invested
These wireless, semi-autonomous tele-remote in digital technologies at the project.

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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The project was the first in Asia to utilise a fully

PT Freeport Indonesia underground 5G network, acting as the backbone for
(government authority) via digital communication. This lays the foundation for
multiple other high-speed digitial technologies.
Indonesia Asahan Aluminium This delivers automation and interconnectivity across
and PT Indonesia Papua Metal & the vast project’s multiple mining fronts. Digital and
Mineral 51.23% automation projects have been deemed critical from
the project outset, to improve safety outcomes and
Freeport-Mcmoran 48.76% increase productivity. Multiple cave drawbells are now
also semi-automated via integrated load-and-haul
technologies, removing operators from dangerous
THE BASICS locations while improving production rates.

MINE TYPE Underground 1990s (RCT first project at

COMMENCED
Grasberg @ DOZ Underground)
COMMODITY Gold, copper and silver

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

LOCATION Papua, Indonesia
♦ Safe production
Copper: 1,336 million pounds ♦ Improved production rates
2021 PRODUCTION Gold: 1.37 million ounces
Silver: not disclosed ♦ Removal of operators from potentially dangerous
working environments.
EQUIPMENT
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
♦ Mile Post (MP) 72
Tembagapura Remote Not available
Operating Room (ROR)
PROJECT LOCATION
♦ Caterpillar MINESTAR
DIGITALISATION Command for Underground
PRODUCTS/ ♦ RCT ControlMaster –
SOFTWARE providing automation for
mixed CAT, Getman and
Elphinstone mobile fleet
♦ RCT Haul Truck Operator
Assistant (HTOA).

♦ Telkomsel 5G underground
network
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Granitor (formerly Midroc)
remote fibre optics and
automation.

♦ Automated underground
ore trains
HARDWARE
♦ Automated mobile rock
breakers.

DIGITALISATION
Not available
INVESTMENT Photo: Freeport-Mcmoran

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El Teniente

Photo: Codelco

PROFILE

El Teniente is the world’s largest underground copper secure system to house strategic data. Employees will
mine, thanks in part to the 2011 construction of the be able to monitor and control the electrical grid
New Mine Level (NML), which gave it access to more remotely from a new data centre in the city of
than 2 billion tonnes of ore reserves lying around Rancagua, which is 70km from the mine.
350m below the previous undercut level of the mine.
The innovative centralised deployment of the SCADA
El Teniente has some 4,500km of underground system facilitates fault detection and problem resolution
galleries and an extensive electrical grid comprising in real time by digitising the entire El Teniente electrical
27 substations, seven of them on the surface and the network. As well, with MicroSCADA X, Codelco will be
other 20 underground. Codelco is in the process of able to deploy web-based solutions, making it possible
upgrading and modernising its energy-automation to control the electrical system from a tablet or even
system by implementing Hitachi Energy’s supervisory from a mobile phone.
and data-acquisition system, known as MicroSCADA X.
The system can also be expanded to meet future
With MicroSCADA X, Codelco will have better access requirements and demands to incorporate renewable
to virtualised information, which will allow a more energy solutions.

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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Reduce the mine’s carbon footprint

Codelco ♦ Enhance sustainability of the mine.

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
THE BASICS
♦ Codelco is aiming to incorporate more digital
MINE TYPE Underground technology in its mining processes and
administrative areas each year. It is pursuing a
COMMODITY Copper digital transformation focused on automation,
remote operation and data analysis to achieve
LOCATION O’Higgins, Chile improvements in productivity and security.

2021 PRODUCTION 458,817 tonnes PROJECT LOCATION

EQUIPMENT

♦ Hitachi Energy’s advanced

DIGITALISATION
supervisory and data-
PRODUCTS/
acquisition system,
SOFTWARE
MicroSCADA X.

♦ 27 electrical substations,
seven on the surface,
20 underground
INFRASTRUCTURE
♦ Data centre in the city of
Rancagua, 70km from
the mine.

♦ Remote terminal units

♦ Browser-based user
interface provides access
HARDWARE from control room to
mobile devices
♦ Advanced data
visualisation tools.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

El Teniente is the world’s largest underground

copper mine, with more than 4,500km of
underground galleries.

Implementation of
MicroSCADA X started in the
COMMENCED
spring of 2021 and is expected
to be finished by 2024.

Photo: Codelco
Sources: Company data, supplier data

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Radomiro Tomic

Photo: Codelco

PROFILE

Any number of factors, including congestion, to train operators of the 40 small trucks and other
pedestrian traffic, blind spots, distraction, ancillary vehicles at the mine, as well as contractors
operator fatigue and slope instability, can cause permitted to enter the pit.
accidents or near misses in an open-pit
operation as large as Codelco’s Radomiro Tomic With its advanced software and sensors,
mine in northern Chile, which is the 15th-largest HxGN MineProtect integrates data from the
copper producer in the world as measured by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), the
annual output. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the European
radionavigation and positioning system, Galileo,
In order to reduce mishaps, enhance safety and to provide operators with a real-time record of
optimise production, Codelco is in the process the exact location, the direction of travel and the
of implementing HxGN MineProtect, a collision- speed of other vehicles.
avoidance system developed by Hexagon’s Tuscon,
Arizona-based mining division. Each cabin is equipped with a non-intrusive display
unit that provides operators with a 360-degree view
To date, operators of the mine’s 100 haul trucks of nearby vehicles and equipment. The technology
and 14 loaders, as well as dispatch personnel and also alerts operators to the proximity of other vehicles
headquarters staff, have been trained on the use of through a series of audio signals that escalate as
HxGN MineProtect. In the next phase, Codelco plans an oncoming vehicle approaches.

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OWNERSHIP PROJECT LOCATION

Codelco

THE BASICS

MINE TYPE Open pit

COMMODITY Copper

LOCATION Northern Chile

2021 PRODUCTION 326,456 tonnes

EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION ♦ HxGN (Hexagon)

PRODUCTS/ MineProtect Collision
SOFTWARE Avoidance System (CAS)

♦ This advanced technology

integrates the Global
Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) through the Global
INFRASTRUCTURE
Positioning System (GPS)
and the European
radionavigation and
positioning system, Galileo.

♦ Non-intrusive cabin display

units provide 360-degree Photo: Codelco
HARDWARE
awareness for operators and
mine managers.

DIGITALISATION
Not applicable
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

HxGN MineProtect integrates sensors, software

and autonomous technologies to allow efficient
dispatch of vehicles and operation of a fleet that
include 100 heavy haul loaders, 14 loading units
and 40 ancillary vehicles.

COMMENCED Not applicable

In order to reduce mishaps,

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS enhance safety and optimise
♦ Improving safety by reducing or eliminating production, Codelco is in the
collisions involving heavy haul trucks, loaders
and ancillary vehicles. process of implementing
HxGN MineProtect,
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
a collision avoidance system
♦ Installation of the technology in ancillary
vehicles and operator training.

2022 edition 59
Go below the surface Established
1909

The launch of the Mining Magazine Intelligence (MMI) suite

of research reports is a natural progression for Aspermont
into the research space, leveraging Mining Magazine’s 110-year
history and following the trail blazed
by the Mining Journal Intelligence unit.

The MMI research focuses on the key technology and innovation proliferating
the mining space, focusing on the leading mines, miners and suppliers.
As with Mining Magazine, MMI will take a global view of the market.

The inaugural Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report provides a

comprehensive review of automation within the mining industry. It collates interviews with
industry leaders and profiles on mines at various stages of automation to help stakeholders
understand the operators and suppliers at the leading edge of this technology.

The Digitalisation Report will be a comprehensive review of the software, hardware and
infrastructure in place across the leading mines and development projects in the industry
and will attempt to quantify how these technologies are being deployed, how they are
changing operations, the next steps for innovation and, wherever possible, how much is
being invested.

For its Future Fleets Report, the MMI research team is building a database of the most
innovative and advanced mobile fleets either in action or planned for delivery. The report
will take a particular interest in the energy requirements of an evolving fleets market that is
feeling the pressure from its clients to assist in meeting increasingly strict emissions targets.

The Exploration Report will take a wholistic view of the exploration space, reviewing the
latest technology and innovation in play for both greenfields and brownfields exploration
to see what that tells us about the nature of the challenge for modern-day explorers and
build a picture of the solutions.

Mining Magazine Intelligence Reports are included Register at [Link]/subscribe

in your premium subscription. For non-premium
subscriptions@[Link]
readers, you can upgrade or purchase each annual
report individually. +44 (0)208 187 2330


NEW/UPDATED OPERATIONS: OTHER COMMODITIES

i Roy Hill 62
ii PIIO 64
iii JSC Karelsky Okatysh 68
iv East Preston Uranium Project 70
v Rossing 72
3 New/updated operations: Other commodities Established
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Roy Hill

Photo: Roy Hill

PROFILE

Roy Hill operates a custom-built, state-of-the-art improves the visibility of components that could
remote operations centre (ROC) that services its cause safety and production issues.
operations from Perth, Western Australia. This allows
Automated Haulage Systems have been delivered
systems, processes, and technologies to maximise
at the Roy Hill operations by Epiroc and ASI Mining.
project outcomes from a remote location. This not
Initially delivered to a small portion of the 77-strong
only boosts mining production, but also delivers
haulage fleet in 2020, the systems have now been
transparency on downstream processing and rail
fully embedded across the fleet of CAT and Hitachi
haulage to port. heavy-haulage mining trucks.
Safety underpins the Roy Hill digitalisation This automated approach has also been adopted for
programme, and Roy Hill’s pioneering Lightning Roy Hill’s blast hole drilling fleet, which in 2019 was
Protection System (LPS) allows staff to safely outsourced to the Perth-based remote operating
continue working in category red storms. The system centre. The team works closely with site supervisors
was designed and delivered by nVent ERICO, which to control drilling activities via multiple Epiroc
installed a mesh of elevated devices to assist in Pit Viper 271 production drill rigs.
lighting management. This system delivers improved
safety for staff, but also reduced downtime on plant Roy Hill has also partnered with Voxel Farm to build
and equipment, which can occasionally be damaged a digital twin of the Roy Hill ore deposit and terrain
in storms. using Voxel-based procedural gaming engine
technology, which is combined with advanced
The visibility of train components in remote locations analytics, visualisation and programming capabilities.
has been improved by the Roy Hill team through the
The digital twin is built from the orebody and terrain
use of LynxRail’s ATEx (automated train examiner)
up and fuses key operational data assets into a
technologies. ATEx incorporates multiple monitoring
geospatial-temporal-logistical digital simulation that
points across a rolling stock’s moving parts, as well as
can look backwards and forwards in time.
an acoustic bearing monitor, which ‘listens’ for faulty
wheel bearings. The system, which relays information It provides a detailed, precise multi-dimensional view
via a series of nodes around the rail line, dramatically of Roy Hill’s mining operation.

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OWNERSHIP DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The Roy Hill project uses a wide range of digital tools

Hancock Prospecting across its operations to refine, monitor and deliver
continual production. Operational mining infrastructure,
Pty Ltd 70%
rail haulage and safety system have been modernised
Marubeni Corporation 15% to deliver the best outcomes for staff and the wider
business.
POSCO 12.5%
China Steel Corporation 2.5% COMMENCED 2011

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Drive greater efficiencies, deliver a safe work
environment and optimise operations
COMMODITY Iron Ore ♦ Work closely with suppliers and involve them early

♦ Share business challenges openly to work together

LOCATION Pilbara, Western Australia
effectively to design fit-for-purpose solutions.

2021 PRODUCTION 57.5 million tonnes

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
EQUIPMENT ♦ Explore and leverage new technologies, build
intelligent business practices and integrate business
♦ Remote operating centre systems and processes to maximise efficiency
(based in Perth, WA)
♦ Voxel Farm digital-twin ♦ Continue to progress the digital-mine initiative to
technology enhance operational performance by optimising
DIGITALISATION
each component of the pit-to-port value chain
PRODUCTS/ ♦ LynxRail ATEx rail
SOFTWARE through the development and extensive use of
monitoring
orebody knowledge.
♦ Epiroc and ASI Mining
automated-haulage PROJECT LOCATION
system.

♦ Remote operating centre

♦ Lighting-protection system
INFRASTRUCTURE (nVent ERICO)
♦ Rail prediction system
(LynxRail ATEx).

♦ Automated-haulage
systems with integrated GPS
sensors and driverless
HARDWARE technologies
♦ Automated-drilling systems
utilising Epiroc production
drill rigs.

DIGITALISATION
Not available
INVESTMENT

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Pilbara Integrated Iron Ore Operations

Photo: Rio Tinto

PROFILE

Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Iron Ore Operations are run from its The heavy mobile equipment (HME) warehouse is the
Perth operations centre, which gathers data from home to four automatic-guided vehicles (AGVs)
sensors and tags on various units every few seconds. designed to handle pallet frames. The introduction of
A combination of in-house and original equipment AGV’s to the warehouse will reduce manual handling
manufacturer (OEM) software solutions allows the and improve safety through the introduction of laser
automation of haulage, drilling, loading and rail
obstacle scanners and auto-stop functions.
operations. That software processes the data, which
can then be visualised to aid decision making. The digital assets created for the Gudai-Darri project
Artificial intelligence is used across the entire system will enable team members to remotely ‘navigate’ the
and Rio employs a “dynamic system optimisation” asset, plan their work using a 3D model and view or
process.
download associated technical data and documents.
In June 2022, Rio Tinto opened its most technologically The same data is used to provide a feature-rich,
advanced mine, Gudai-Darri. To optimise mine safety interactive 3D environment for virtual-reality training.
and drive production, the project has been designed
with digital-driven applications at its core. Robotics Renewable Energy Sources have been underpinned
are used for traditionally manual tasks, such as ore by one of the world’s largest microgrids, which
sample processing and mechanical parts picking in reduces emissions from the Pilbara operations by
the state-of-the-art warehouse facility. approximately 30%.

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OWNERSHIP EQUIPMENT

♦ Intelligence Contract Platform

Rio Tinto 100% Hammersley Iron: (ICP): Developed by Chinsay to
digitise iron-ore contract
Hope Downs JV: Rio Tinto 50%, lifecycle management,
including pre-trade processes,
Hancock Prospecting 50%
contract drafting and approval
Robe River JV: Rio Tinto 53%, DIGITALISATION
workflows. The associated
contract can be integrated with
Mitsui 33%, Nippon Steel 14% PRODUCTS/
other operational systems,
SOFTWARE
Bao-HI Ranges JV: Rio Tinto 54%, functions and processes.
Baosteel 46% ♦ Bulk Expert Train Loader:
FLSmidth automated material
handling system
THE BASICS ♦ Cat MineStar Command for
autonomous operations.
MINE TYPE Open pit
♦ Centres of Excellence
COMMODITY Iron Ore (established in 2016)
LOCATION Western Australia, Australia focused on analytics,
automation, asset
2021 PRODUCTION Iron ore: 319.7 million tonnes management, energy and
EQUIPMENT climate change, orebody
knowledge, underground
♦ MAS: The internally mining, surface mining and
INFRASTRUCTURE
developed mine-automation processing
system operates like a
♦ Perth Operations Centre
network server application,
hosts visualisation and
pulling together data at 98%
collaboration tools to
of Rio Tinto sites, and then
provide real-time
mining it for information.
information across the
MAS allows different
demand chain.
autonomous-haulage
systems for different ♦ Across Pilbara mine
manufacturers to work operations the total
together. haul fleet is 447 trucks,
♦ RTVis: The internally of which 347 are autonomous
developed data- ♦ Caterpillar has delivered
DIGITALISATION representation software the world’s first automated
PRODUCTS/ works alongside more water cart for smart dust
SOFTWARE conventional operational- suppression. The vehicle’s
type dashboards with intelligent on-board
graphs, charts and tables. It HARDWARE system detects dry and
integrates geology, dusty conditions on site,
geotechnical, drill and blast, triggering the application
production, and planning of water to roads to
data. The software has a 3D keep them in good condition
gaming engine to help “see
inside” operations, ♦ Automatic guided vehicles
visualising surface and sub- (AGVs) designed for the
surface features. Some handling of pallet frames and
1,700 Rio Tinto employees using obstacle scanners and
are engaged with RTVis and auto stop functions.
more than 4,000 vehicles DIGITALISATION
Not available
are tracked globally INVESTMENT

2022 edition 65
3 New/updated operations: Other commodities Established
1909

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Iron Ore Operations digital ♦ Operational excellence

applications blend OEM platforms with in-house ♦ Perth operations centre optimises mining,
capabilities and have allowed digitalisation to maintenance and logistic activities across the Pilbara
advance across most facets of the operations.
♦ Specific benefits attributed to RTVis:
• More accurate drilling and blasting
COMMENCED 2008
• Reduced explosive use
• Better waste classification, which improves the
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS waste:ore ratio in each

♦ Assure the safety of people and assets ♦ Specific benefits attributed to ICP:
• Reduces the time taken to create, issue and
♦ Whole-system visibility for system-wide integrated approve commodity contracts from several days
planning and scheduling to under two hours
♦ Improved access to information • Allows the automation and delivery of post-trade
efficiencies through linking front, middle and
♦ Manage major hazard risks back-office functions 

Photo: RIo Tinto

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DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS PROJECT LOCATION

♦ Specific benefits of Bulk Expert Train Loader:

• Reduce load times
• Reduce transport costs
• Reduce operator requirements
• Eliminate overfilling risk.

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Innovation challenge, Charge on Innovation, in

conjunction with other mining majors. Funding
research and innovation in the use of
reneweable energies for traditionally diesel-
powered fixed and mobile plant.

♦ As a first step in replacing its diesel locomotive

fleet, Rio Tinto has purchased four battery-electric
locomotives, and is working with Caterpillar and
Komatsu on zero-emissions haulage solutions.

♦ One Gigawatt of solar and wind power from the

Pilbara region.

Photo: RIo Tinto

2022 edition 67
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1909

JSC Karelsky Okatysh

Photo: Severstal

PROFILE

Severstal has committed significant resources Network solution, which includes the cloud-based
to increased digitisation as a means to improve packet core of the Ericsson network.
efficiency and data gathering across its projects.
The project’s next stage will involve the development
The installation of a commercial LTE/5G-ready private of automated processes for the extraction,
network at its iron ore mining and processing plant, transportation and processing of ore, as well as the
JSC Karelsy Okatysh, allows for the more efficient storage and visualisation of production data.
implementation and integration of industrial
automation projects, as well as video analytics and Karelsky Okatysh is also implementing its cyclical-
personnel location. The network also provides faster flow technology in the mining complex, specifically
and more secure data collection, which it is hoped an in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) system
will enhance the quality of data analysis and drive (referred to as the CPT) for which the total investment
efficiencies, particularly with regard to managing is Rb11 billion (US$180m). The launch of the complex
the transportation fleet.
is scheduled for 2023. The CPT includes two main
Under an agreement with Russian telecommunications crushing and conveying transport complexes for
and digital services provider Mobile TeleSystems, ore and waste overburden, as well as a dry magnetic
the network has been built on the Ericsson Dedicated separation (SMS) unit.

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OWNERSHIP NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Severstal has created an artificial-intelligence and

Severstal 100% machine-learning division, which includes a data-
analysis department. This has been expanded to
provide 24/7 support. It has allowed the company
THE BASICS as a whole to improve its assets’ energy efficiency
and the performance of key components.
MINE TYPE Open pit

COMMODITY Iron Ore PROJECT LOCATION

LOCATION Republic of Karelia, Russia

2021 PRODUCTION 11.6 million tonnes

EQUIPMENT

♦ Commercial 5G-ready
DIGITALISATION
private network built and
PRODUCTS/
installed on the plant by
SOFTWARE
Mobile TeleSystems.

INFRASTRUCTURE Not available

HARDWARE Not available

DIGITALISATION
Not available
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Karelsky Okatysh is implementing the largest project in

the history of the operation – it is applying cyclical-flow
technology in the mining complex – specifically an
in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) system referred to
as the CPT, for which the total investment amounts to
Rb11 billion (US$180m). The launch of the complex is
Photo: Severstal
scheduled for 2023. The CPT includes two main crushing
and conveying transport complexes for ore and waste
overburden, as well as a dry magnetic separation (SMS)
unit. The rock mass will be transported by dump trucks
along optimally short intra-pit routes. Crushed ore and
overburden will be lifted to the surface by inclined belt
conveyors. From the pit perimeter, the ore will go to the
transfer and storage warehouse, and the overburden
to the dump. The use of conveyors instead of dump
trucks will reduce the cost of transporting the rock mass,
as well as reduce emissions of exhaust gases from heavy
equipment into the atmosphere.
The project’s next stage will
involve the development of
COMMENCED Not available
automated processes for the
extraction, transportation
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
and processing of ore
Not applicable

2022 edition 69
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East Preston Uranium Project

Photo: Azincourt Energy

PROFILE

Azincourt Energy Corp is a Canadian junior mining Having amassed a plethora of data on the property,
company that is in the early stages of exploring and Azincourt, last September, entered into a consulting
developing its East Preston property, which may host agreement with Vancouver, BC-based Fobi AI, a global
high grade and perhaps world-class uranium leader in providing real-time data analytics through
deposits. artificial intelligence.

East Preston is located in the western province of Fobi will assist Azincourt in the development of a
Saskatchewan. To date, the company has spent in data and operational intelligence platform. This
excess of $4.7 million on, among other things, platform will apply artificial intelligence and data-
airborne and ground electromagnetics, radon, soil, mining techniques to analyse large amounts of
silt, lake sediment, and geological mapping surveys, aggregated data.
as well as two exploratory drill programmes.
The objective is to detect patterns and consistencies
The company has conducted diamond drill that may not be readily apparent otherwise. This
programmes over the past three winters. Azincourt should make Azincourt’s drilling programme more
completed 1,195m in five drill holes in 2021 in a season effective and support the company’s goal of making
cut short by an early spring breakup. This past winter discoveries and delineating a resource at its East
the company drilled 19 holes for a total of 5,004m. Preston property.

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OWNERSHIP PROJECT LOCATION

Azincourt Energy

THE BASICS

MINE TYPE In development

COMMODITY Uranium

LOCATION Saskatchewan, Canada

2021 PRODUCTION Not applicable

EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Artificial intelligence.
SOFTWARE

Photo: Azincourt Energy

INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed

HARDWARE Not disclosed

DIGITALISATION
$250,00
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Azincourt has entered a data consulting agreement

with Vancouver-based Fobi AI to develop an
operational intelligence platform.

COMMENCED September 2021

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ East Preston is an exploration and development

project. Azincourt plans to use an artificial intelligence [Fobi AI’s] platform will
platform to analyse data and detect patterns in order
to improve drilling operations and results. apply artificial intelligence
and data-mining techniques
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
to analyse large amounts of
Not disclosed
aggregated data
Sources: Company data, supplier data, third-party media

2022 edition 71
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1909

Rossing

Photo: Rossing Uranium

PROFILE

The Rossing uranium mine, which is owned by tool was brought in as a limited ‘proof of concept’
Rossing Uranium, completed the installation of initially, but it is expected to be expanded to include
Hexagon’s MineProtect Operator Alertness System reporting areas such as contractor spend and
Heavy Vehicle (OAS-HV) on all primary mining attendance.
vehicles to further bolster the facility’s impressive
recent safety record. These moves towards further digitalisation of one
of the world’s oldest uranium mines comes as the
OAS-HV is an integrated fatigue and distraction facility was granted a 15-year extension, taking its
detecting and reporting system that helps operators prospective decommissioning date to 2036. A final
maintain concentration through long shifts, providing investment decision is yet to be made, but approval
real-time risk statuses to colleagues. The deployment would likely see an extension of the tailings-storage
comes on the back of a year during which the facility and processing plant, as well as complementary
mine achieved its lowest injury frequency rate in infrastructure upgrades that would sustain production
15 years and recorded zero fatalities or permanent beyond 2030.
disability injuries.
On the processing side, the Rosssing board will
During 2021, Rossing also introduced a Business consider the refurbishment or replacement of the
Intelligence (BI) analytical dashboard for its existing plant, as well as new technology that could
light-vehicle KPIs. The dashboard tracks elements improve productivity and reduce cost. These include
such as tyre cost and tracking, battery cost and Horizontal Belt Filter (HBF) and Heap Leach (HL)
tracking, service cost and fuel consumption. The BI technologies.

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OWNERSHIP NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Next steps dependent on investment decision with

China National Uranium regards to extension of mine to 2036. Extension
Corporation 68.62% has been approved by the Ministry of Mines and
Energy (MME) in July 2021.
Iran Foreign Investment
Company 15.29% PROJECT LOCATION
Industrial Development
Corporation of South Africa 10.22%
Government of Namibia 3.42%

THE BASICS

MINE TYPE Open pit

COMMODITY Uranium

LOCATION Swakopmund, Namibia

2021 PRODUCTION 6.4 million pounds of U3O8

EQUIPMENT

♦ Hexagon’s MineProtect
Operator Alertness System
DIGITALISATION Heavy Vehicle
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ Business Intelligence (BI)
analytical dashboard for
light-vehicle KPIs.

INFRASTRUCTURE Not available

HARDWARE Not available

DIGITALISATION
Not available
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Advanced anti-fatigue detection system introduced

for all operators; more innovation could follow if
investment decision is agreed to extend life of the
mine to 2036.

Anti-fatigue system
COMMENCED
installed in 2022

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Drive to maintain historically good safety record

Photo: Rossing Uranium
achieved in 2021.

2022 edition 73
 A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF CURRENT EXPLORATION RATES,
TRENDING EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES, A RANKING OF
TOP DRILL INTERCEPTS AND A CATALOGUE OF 2021 INITIAL
RESOURCE ESTIMATES AND RECENT DISCOVERY SUCCESSES.

The Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report (feat. Opaxe data)

analyses the processes and technologies delivering discovery rates, alongside
recent discovery success stories.
The report is divided into three sections: the findings from our first Exploration
Survey with commentary and analysis from other leading providers
of exploration research; a technology review; a ranking of top intercepts
released in 2021, maiden resource publications, and then technical profiles
of the 10 most distinguished recent success stories.

KEY POINTS

A survey of some A review of

170 MINING-INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGIES
PROFESSIONALS AND TECHNIQUES
to gauge the current state that could help improve the
of exploration discovery rate

Technical profiles
A ranking of
UNPACKING
2021 DRILL
THE EXPLORATION
INTERCEPTS
PROCESSES
and a library of maiden
behind the latest and
resource statements
greatest discoveries

Established
1909
SPONSOR:
£995 OR FREE FOR
PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS
[Link]/exporation2022


EXISTING OPERATIONS
i. Amandelbult76
ii. Casa Berardi 77
iii. Finsch78
iv. Goldex79
v. Granny Smith 80
vi. Hemlo81
vii. Kensington82
viii. Kibali84
ix. Kimberley85
x. Lomonosov86
xi. Mogalakwena87
xii. Nevada Gold Mines 88
xiii. Nordgold90
xiv. Olimpiada91
xv. Salares Norte 92
xvi. Sunrise Dam 94
xvii. Syama95
xviii. Toka Tindung 96
xix. Ugakhan97
xx. Verninskoye98
xxi. Yakutia operations 100
xxii. Bagdad101
xxiii. Batu Hijau 102
xxiv. Chelopech104
xxv. Chuquicamata105
xxvi. Gamsberg106
xxvii. Garpenberg107
xxviii. Kemi108
xxix. Kevitsa109
xxx. Las Bambas 110
xxxi. Los Bronces 111
xxxii. Ma’aden (Saudi Arabia operations) 112
xxxiii. Nexa Resources 113
xxxiv. Nornickel114
xxxv. Nova115
xxxvi. Punta del Cobre, Mantos de Cobre and Granate mines 116
xxxvii. Rampura Agucha 117
xxxviii. Sierra Gorda 118
xxxix. Totten119
xl. Zinkgruvan120
xli. Aquila121
xlii. Belfast122
xliii. Black Rock 123
xliv. Cherepovets steel mill 124
xlv. Chichester & Solomon Hubs 125
xlvi. Dongtan126
xlvii. Eramet127
xlviii. K+S128
xlix. Kachkanarsky GOK 129
l. Kirovsk130
li. Lac à Paul 131
lii. LKAB132
liii. Marcona133
liv. Moranbah North 134
lv. PGG (multiple mines) 136
lvi. Raspadskaya137
lvii. Solntsevsky138
lviii. South Flank 139
lix. Verkhnekamskoye141
lx. Vorkutskoye & Vorgashorskoye 143
lxi. Yakovlevsky144
4 Existing operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Amandelbult

Photo: Anglo American Platinum

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Predicting equipment failure
COMMODITY Platinum group metals
♦ Reducing operating costs
LOCATION Limpopo province, South Africa
♦ Improving safety.
2021
Not available
PRODUCTION NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
OWNERSHIP Anglo American
♦ Anglo American is planning to invest heavily in
EQUIPMENT digitalisation at the corporate level, including a
focus on leveraging machine learning and
♦ Wabtec Digital Mine with
artificial intelligence.
GE Transportation’s Asset
DIGITALISATION Performance Management
PRODUCTS/ (APM) suite PROJECT LOCATION
SOFTWARE
♦ Sts3d – virtual-reality mining
simulation.

INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed

♦ VR training centre includes

HARDWARE motion-capture cameras and
rear projectors.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Amandelbult is a significant platinum mining complex,

consisting of the Tumela and Dishaba underground
mines, as well as three concentrators. It is investing
heavily in digitalisation, including digital twins for the
purpose of monitoring equipment and VR for training
and simulation.

COMMENCED 2018

Sources: Company data, supplier data

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Casa Berardi

Photo: Newtrax

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground/open pit With this solution, Hecla Mining is able to monitor
COMMODITY Gold brakes, tire pressure, and other parameters in real
LOCATION Quebec, Canada time to see when tests are being performed correctly.
2021 The solution enables technicians to identify problems
134,511 ounces when a machine is brought in, as well as monitor
PRODUCTION
equipment to avoid problems before they develop
OWNERSHIP Hecla Mining
into something serious.
EQUIPMENT
DIGITALISATION COMMENCED 2017
♦ Newtrax Mobile Equipment
PRODUCTS/
Telemetry (MET) solution.
SOFTWARE DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
♦ 15 WiFi access points,
2 EXTEND mobile hotspots, Improve productivity by reducing maintenance
and dedicated data server costs.
♦ The Newtrax project was built ♦ 30 minutes saved per shift thanks to fewer delays
on top of communications
♦ 10% reduction in over-speeds on transmission
infrastructure already in place
INFRASTRUCTURE at the mine ♦ 50% drop in transmission abuse
♦ WiFi deployment ♦ 7.8% reduction in maintenance costs for every
underground has continued, hauled tonne 
expanding the underground
♦ 8% increase in LHD availability.
communications network
and supporting everyday use
of Newtrax. NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
♦ Remote onboard data ♦ Hecla is working with Newtrax to provide data
measurement/recording security and information system protections at
equipment, including Casa Berardi. In other technology, ventilation
HARDWARE
sensors and tyre-pressure on demand is being pursued using low-tech,
monitoring system, installed
low-cost solutions, such as fan-motor timers that
on 13 loaders and 11 trucks.
provide benefit without significant investment. 
Approved capex 2017-2018 for Hecla is currently updating the long-term mine
DIGITALISATION
Newtrax totalled C$972,000 plan for Casa Berardi, including future technology
INVESTMENT
($715,000). deployment.

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Finsch

Photo: Petra Diamonds

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground The MineRP Spatial Integrated Digital Twin and
COMMODITY Diamonds analytics software enables Petra to track performance
LOCATION Northern Cape, South Africa of machines, engineering infrastructure and
operators, track the completion of various tasks,
2021
1,237,219 carats and minimise potential delays and the re-assigning
PRODUCTION
of resources during the shift. OptiMine’s predictive
Petra Diamonds 74% maintenance model also enables Petra to do
Kago Diamonds 14% predictive maintenance on loaders.
OWNERSHIP
Itumeleng Petra Diamonds
Employee Trust 12% COMMENCED 2015
EQUIPMENT
Core products: DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
♦ MineRP Spatial Integration
Platform ♦ Reduce costs
DIGITALISATION ♦ Sandvik OptiMine ♦ Increase productivity
PRODUCTS/ ♦ In conjunction with these ♦ Improve safety
SOFTWARE solutions: Schneider Electric ♦ Make smarter decisions.
Ampla; Motorola Turbonet;
Epiroc smart rigs; Milestone NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
video-monitoring system.
♦ After implementing MineRP at Finsch, Petra
♦ Industrial Moxa WiFi network
intends to roll the solution out at its other
(1GB/second)
diamond operations.
♦ Leaky feed network
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Bluetooth active beacons
PROJECT LOCATION
♦ Purpose built operations
centre, high-capacity
(1GB/second) Ethernet LAN.
♦ Screens and tablets (used for
autonomous operation, other
HARDWARE mine operations and to provide
real-time coverage of autonomous
operations underground).
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

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Goldex

Photo: Agnico Eagle Mines

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Machine-learning solution picks up billions of data points,

COMMODITY Gold then uses AI and machine learning to predict engine
problems at least two weeks in advance. The MET solution
LOCATION Quebec, Canada predicts tyre and equipment problems.
2021
134,053 ounces COMMENCED 2015
PRODUCTION

OWNERSHIP Agnico Eagle Mines

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
EQUIPMENT
♦ Reduce maintenance costs.
♦ Newtrax machine-learning
DIGITALISATION solution built especially for
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
PRODUCTS/ the Goldex mine
SOFTWARE ♦ Newtrax Mobile Equipment ♦ Agnico Eagle has not disclosed any additional
Telemetry (MET) solution. investments in digitalisation.

♦ Wireless Internet of
PROJECT LOCATION
INFRASTRUCTURE Things-enabled sensor
network.

♦ Newtrax sensors installed on

HARDWARE various underground mining
equipment.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

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Granny Smith

Photo: Gold Fields

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Corded and cordless cap
COMMODITY Gold lamps with high-brightness
LOCATION Western Australia, Australia light and other safety
HARDWARE
features
2021
279,000 ounces ♦ Tablets have been installed on
PRODUCTION
all heavy and light vehicles.
OWNERSHIP Gold Fields
EQUIPMENT DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT
Newtrax solutions, including:
♦ Evacuation and rescue
♦ Lone worker safety DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
♦ Mobile equipment telemetry
system Wallaby is the operation’s active mine, with mining
Mobilaris solutions, including: administration and maintenance located nearby.
The mine has more than 80km of tunnels and at least
♦ Mobilaris Onboard
100 people underground at any time, making it
DIGITALISATION ♦ Mobilaris Situational Awareness
particularly challenging from a safety perspective.
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Ventilation on demand
SOFTWARE ABB Ability Operations
Management System COMMENCED 2017
♦ Daily Shift Scheduler Software
♦ Fleet Management Software
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
Module
Aveva solution, includes: ♦ 5-15% increase in productivity is expected with
♦ Inventory Management System the introduction of autonomous equipment,
(Ampla). remote operations and digital solutions
♦ Fibre network – 48 core fibre ♦ Improve safety
backbone and fibre switches ♦ Reduce operating cost
♦ Wireless access points on ♦ Increase sustainability.
operating levels
INFRASTRUCTURE
♦ LTE and VHF voice NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
communications
♦ BLE location beacons ♦ Future digitalisation goals include full IT/OT
throughout the mine. integration, seamless data and process
integration, and machine learning for predictive
Sources: Company data, supplier data maintenance.

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Hemlo

Photo: Barrick Gold

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Includes RFID tags on mobile
HARDWARE
COMMODITY Gold equipment.

LOCATION Ontario, Canada DIGITALISATION

Not disclosed
2021 INVESTMENT
150,000 ounces
PRODUCTION
OWNERSHIP Barrick Gold DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
EQUIPMENT
Barrick recently transformed Hemlo into a purely
♦ PBE Vantage – tracking underground operation in order to modernise and
underground personnel & refocus the mine to secure its continued viability.
mobile equipment Barrick’s objective is to upgrade Hemlo to a tier-two
underground asset and extend its life of mine.
♦ Newtrax – mobile equipment
for proximity detection, ♦ Hemlo’s digital transformation
maintenance telemetry and took off in 2016 with an
DIGITALISATION production data COMMENCED upgrade of the PBE leaky-
PRODUCTS/
♦ Deswik Scheduler – feeder system to track RFID
SOFTWARE
long-range & mid-range tags.
planning
♦ Fewzion Mining Software –
short-interval production- DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
plan management
♦ Enhance productivity
♦ Orica WebGen – wireless
production blasting. ♦ Improve safety
♦ Modernise the mine.
♦ A high-bandwidth, single-
mode-fibre-optic network
through all primary NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
underground workings allows
INFRASTRUCTURE communication between ♦ Hard-rock underground mining specialist
networking hardware supplied Barminco provides mining services at Hemlo
by Cisco and allows for a full- under a three-year contract that began in 2020.
speed business network to be Under the deal Barminco will bring industry-
accessed underground. leading technology and productivity to Hemlo
in support of Barrick’s goal to modernise and
Sources: Company data, supplier data improve the performance of the mine.

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Kensington
Photo: Coeur Mining

Photo: Gold Fields

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Underground wireless
COMMODITY Gold network
♦ Database server
LOCATION Alaska, US
implementation and mine
2021 network infrastructure were
121,140 ounces
PRODUCTION designed, engineered, and
OWNERSHIP Coeur Mining INFRASTRUCTURE deployed in a secure manner,
enabling safe collection and
EQUIPMENT storage of data that is
♦ Sandvik OptiMine – to support transmitted from the
implementation of AutoMine vehicles as they pass through
♦ Groundhog – form digitisation, the mine
paperless processes, load count ♦ Secure, local data repository.
and cycle time tracking
♦ OptiMine functionality was
♦ MST – vehicle and personnel built into the Sandvik fleet
tracking, ventilation on demand infrastructure (including
♦ Power BI/Tableau/Alteryx – BI two autonomous-ready
and Data analytics tools for LH514 machines and
DIGITALISATION visualisation of digitised data four autonomous-ready
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Intelex – for safety, HARDWARE LH410 machines) via
SOFTWARE environmental, and project- onboard computers and
accounting data entry wireless devices
♦ Zoho MDM (Mobile Device ♦ Configuration, updates, and
Management Solutions) – allows programming changes were
for rapid deployment, required, but no additional
management and tracking of an hardware was installed.
ever-increasing fleet of mobile
devices needed to facilitate
DIGITALISATION
employee access to digitisation Not disclosed
INVESTMENT
platforms.

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DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

The mine is accessed by a horizontal tunnel and ♦ Following the successful implementation of a local
utilises conventional and mechanised underground data repository, Coeur Alaska is now focusing on
mining methods. migrating mine production data into the repository.
This work began in late 2021 and extended
The most recent iteration of into 2022.
COMMENCED OptiMine was implemented
in 2020. PROJECT LOCATION

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

♦ Improve productivity and efficiency

♦ Reduce costs
♦ Improve safety
♦ Improve decision making.

Sources: Company data

Photo: James Brooks/[Link]/photos/jkbrooks85

2022 edition 83
4 Existing operations: Precious metals Established
1909

Kibali

Photo: Barrick Gold

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit/underground DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
COMMODITY Gold INVESTMENT

LOCATION Haut-Uélé province, DRC

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
2021
366,000 ounces
PRODUCTION First gold was poured in 2013 from open-pit
Barrick Gold 45% operations, while full underground
OWNERSHIP AngloGold Ashanti 45% commissioning was completed at the end of
Societe Miniere de Kilo-Moto 10% 2017. Up to five LHDs operate autonomously,
750m below surface, within the same 6x6m
EQUIPMENT
production drive, while utilising designated
♦ Sandvik OptiMine and Material passing bays to maintain traffic flow.
Handling System, to support
use of AutoMine ♦ Newtrax solution was
DIGITALISATION commissioned in the
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Newtrax solution, predominantly
March quarter, 2020
SOFTWARE for Short-Term Interval Control
and assisting operations to COMMENCED ♦ First phase of Sandvik
have a real-time view of the AutoMine was
status of the underground mine. commissioned in the
♦ Kibali uses wireless Internet December quarter, 2017.
of Things to gather data
on machines, people, and the DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
INFRASTRUCTURE
underground environment. The
network uses a combination of ♦ The main driver for the Newtrax solution was
fibre optic backbone and WIFi. the power saving from having automated
control of the secondary ventilation fans.
♦ Newtrax solution is being
implemented on people and
HARDWARE machines, including five NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
autonomous Sandvik LH621
♦ The focus is on continuous improvement in
21-tonne underground loaders.
utilisation of the Newtrax system.

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Kimberley

Photo: iStock

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Increase productivity
COMMODITY Diamonds ♦ Increase safety.
LOCATION South Africa
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
2021
Not available
PRODUCTION ♦ The aim of the trial was to test the software
OWNERSHIP Ekapa Mining and hardware in the 150-year-old Kimberley
EQUIPMENT
mine. Ekapa Mining has now approved the
system and is planning a rollout to all active
DIGITALISATION areas of the mine.
♦ Epiroc’s Mobilaris Mining
PRODUCTS/
Intelligence.
SOFTWARE PROJECT LOCATION
♦ Fibre-optic internet in mine
shaft
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ WiFi supplied by Northern
Lights Technology in
underground trial area.
♦ Mobile devices were
attached to each machine
HARDWARE (LHD trucks, dump trucks and
drill rigs) in the area where
the trial is being conducted.
Not disclosed (but according to
DIGITALISATION
Ekapa Mining, it has delivered a
INVESTMENT
‘clear’ return on investment).

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The software tracks assets (people, Epiroc

machines and non-Epiroc machines) and makes
all the information searchable and accessible in
real time. In the trial period, it has been applied
to one production area in the underground mine.

System was commissioned in

COMMENCED
July 2019 on a trial basis.

This profile covers the Kimberley underground mine, incorporating the Bultfontein, Dutoitspan and Wesselton kimberlite pipes

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Lomonosov

Photo: By Юрий Солдатенков - Panoramio, CC BY 3.0

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Alrosa has begun using unmanned vehicles to
COMMODITY Diamonds survey the open-pit mine, dump, ore storages
and other bulked land objects.
LOCATION Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia
2021 COMMENCED 2018
3.6 million carats
PRODUCTION
OWNERSHIP Alrosa
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
EQUIPMENT
♦ Improve speed and accuracy of obtaining data
♦ Geoscan Planner,
DIGITALISATION accompanied by Agisoft ♦ Reduce labour costs compared with typical
PRODUCTS/ Metashape Professional surveying methods
SOFTWARE (for photogrammetric image ♦ Improve safety.
processing and 3D modelling).
♦ Geoscan 101 Geodesy NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
unmanned aircraft with:
autopilot, inertial navigation ♦ In 2020, Alrosa announced that it intends to
system, payload controller, pursue digitalisation in the following areas:
digital radio link for command/ digital simulation, use of big data for process
telemetry transmission and
INFRASTRUCTURE optimisation, virtual reality, introduction of
high-precision Topcon geodetic
GNSS receiver drones and unmanned aircrafts.
♦ Geoscan 401 Geodesy
unmanned quadcopter with PROJECT LOCATION
Topcon GNSS receiver with dual
band antenna.
The Geoscan package came with:
♦ Radio link modem for
connection with UAV
HARDWARE
♦ Charging station in transport
container
♦ UAV transport container.
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

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Mogalakwena
Photo: Anglo American Platinum

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Reduction in haul-cycle times.

COMMODITY Platinum group metals NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

LOCATION Limpopo province, South Africa ♦ Anglo American says P101 has helped it
move up the productivity curve since it ran a
2021 self-assessment in 2017, which put it around
1.2 million ounces
PRODUCTION the 60th percentile compared with its peers.
It says the foundation is now strong and
OWNERSHIP Anglo American
confidence levels were high that it would “close
EQUIPMENT the gap to benchmark and beyond” between 2021
and 2023.
DIGITALISATION ♦ Haul road digital twins
PRODUCTS/ PROJECT LOCATION
SOFTWARE ♦ Processing optimisation.

INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed

HARDWARE Not disclosed

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Mogalakwena is Anglo American Platinum’s

flagship mine and has been a staging ground for
various aspects of parent company Anglo
American’s P101 programme.

COMMENCED 2020

Sources: Company data

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Nevada Gold Mines

Photo: Barrick Gold

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground and open pit ♦ Introducing redundancy and

increased stability for links to
COMMODITY Gold allow the mine sites more
confidence when using
LOCATION Nevada, US digitisation
2021 ♦ Partnering with Cisco for the
2 million ounces company’s Wide Area Network
PRODUCTION
to ensure a robust connectivity
Barrick Gold 61.5% to data centre facilities where
OWNERSHIP
Newmont 38.5% data aggregation for business
reporting is done
EQUIPMENT
DIGITALISATION ♦ Utilising several Cisco Security
♦ Short Interval Control (SIC) PRODUCTS/ products to protect the
system in underground SOFTWARE company’s critical data and add
operations to comprehensive defence
♦ Leveraging Cisco’s LTE product strategy
suite to bridge the gap ♦ Mobilaris Mining Intelligence is
DIGITALISATION between WiFi and NGM’s large- used for real-time positioning
PRODUCTS/ scale outdoor coverage and 3D visualisation of assets
SOFTWARE requirements for mobile and people in zones within
equipment connectivity the mine
♦ Cisco for WiFi based ♦ SAP S/4HANA Cloud –
deployments for intelligent ERP system
autonomous and semi- with embedded AI and
autonomous systems machine learning.

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EQUIPMENT PROJECT LOCATION

♦ Cisco Aironet Series Wireless

Access Points have been
configured throughout the
mine. These access points
INFRASTRUCTURE connect to Cisco Industrial
Ethernet 2000, 3000, and
4000 Series Switches, built to
function in harsh
environments.

♦ Sensors on equipment
(eg, Cat 795 haul trucks),
HARDWARE
machinery, workers, and
locations.

Barrick spent approximately

$100 million on its partnership
DIGITALISATION with Cisco Systems in 2016-
INVESTMENT 2017. Its total investment in
digital transformation has not
been disclosed.

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) comprises eight

mining operations that include 10 underground
mines, 12 open-pit mines, and numerous
processing facilities.

COMMENCED 2019

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

♦ Better productivity (eg, Short Interval Control

has enabled NGM’s Cortez mine to increase
throughput by 10%)
♦ Reduce production costs (Barrick predicts digital
mining will drive Cortez production costs down
5-10% between 2017-2021).

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Barrick and Nevada Gold Mines have funded

scholarships, donated equipment, and
supported a variety of programmes for
students at local universities. NGM is also
providing training opportunities for
employees on the various aspects of
digitisation throughout the company.
Photo: Barrick Gold
Sources: Company data

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Nordgold

Photo: Nordgold

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

HEADQUARTERS London, England INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed
LISTING Private HARDWARE Not disclosed
MINE TYPE Open pit & underground operations DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
COMMODITY Gold INVESTMENT

Nine mines in four countries – Russia,

LOCATION
Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso and Guinea. DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
2021 Focus areas of Nordgold’s digitalisation programme
1 million ounces
PRODUCTION
include: baseline systems and implementation,
EQUIPMENT data collection and conversion into digital format,
Data collection systems:
dashboards and visualisation, and new technologies
and advanced analytics.
♦ Mining: Deswik planning and
design applications; Wenco
dispatch system; LAS/ COMMENCED 2017
Omnicomm fuel management
systems
♦ Processing: Wonderware/Citect DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
SCADA systems; LIMS for assay
♦ To optimise the collection and usage of production
DIGITALISATION laboratories; [Link]
data in order to improve the speed and quality of
PRODUCTS/ systems
decision making across key functions.
SOFTWARE ♦ Maintenance: SAP PM, VHMS/
VIMS/MineStar
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
♦ Geology: Datamine/Micromine;
Leapfrog; IMAGO drill-core Nordgold says key areas for further development
images browser; Ore Pro 3D for include:
blast movement.
♦ Self-service analytics and digital skills
Dashboards developed from
PowerBI, SAP Analytics Cloud, and ♦ Advanced-analytics project development
IBM Planning Analytics. ♦ Quality infrastructure development in remote
locations where internet speed is currently
Sources: Company data an obstacle.

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Olimpiada

Photo: Polyus

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Receiving equipment
COMMODITY Gold HARDWARE comprises a server, monitors,
and control chair.
LOCATION Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
2021 DIGITALISATION
1.11 million ounces Not disclosed
PRODUCTION INVESTMENT
OWNERSHIP Polyus
EQUIPMENT DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
♦ RCT equipped the excavators
As part of a transition to remote-controlled mining,
with remote control and
digital capabilities. Other Polyus implemented a sensor-enabled monitoring
DIGITALISATION equipment, including the system that helps it decide which pit areas to go to for
PRODUCTS/ drilling machines, have further mining.
SOFTWARE in-built digital remote-control
SmartRoc system on-board
COMMENCED 2018
and digital software from
various manufacturers.
♦ Technology currently runs on DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
WiFi. In the coming years
this will be replaced by ♦ Improve safety levels at the facilities
INFRASTRUCTURE
Infinet, a data-transmission ♦ Improve efficiency of machinery.
technology with more
accurate parameters.
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
♦ Machinery comprises:
five trucks, power shovel, ♦ Polyus intends to establish a separate control
bulldozer, seven drilling rigs centre outside the open pit, near to the mine
HARDWARE ♦ Machinery is equipped with: site, upgrade the existing data transmission
computer connected to the system and upgrade the remote-controlled
fleet control system, tracking machinery by adding cameras and special
cameras, and radio transmitter equipment.

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Salares Norte
Photo: Gold Fields

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Nokia private LTE/4.9G
COMMODITY Gold, silver network in mine and plant
area (implementation phase)
LOCATION Atacama Region, Chile
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Fibre-optic network
2023 throughout plant
First production
PRODUCTION ♦ VHF communications
OWNERSHIP Gold Fields network across site.
EQUIPMENT ♦ The private network uses
150 sensors for operational
Fleet management:
processes, monitoring and
♦ Wenco fleet-management system accident prevention
HARDWARE
♦ BenchManager (high-precision ♦ Tablets procured for
machine guidance)
digitalised maintenance
♦ Wenco’s ReadyLine asset health- practices in plant area.
management system.
Processing control: DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT
♦ ABB Ability 800xA DCS including:
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ Asset Vista Condition
Monitoring DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
♦ Electrical Control System.
Process simulator:
The project is in the construction phase and
pre-strip phase and is expected to be completed
♦ Andritz IDEAS/ABB 800xA Plant
and operational by 2023.
Simulator under development
(to be used for training and
process simulation). COMMENCED 2023 (operational)

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DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS PROJECT LOCATION

♦ Increase productivity in a safe and sustainable

manner
♦ Reduce unplanned downtown and extend the life
of equipment
♦ Reduce exposure of personnel to harsh climatic
conditions.

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Salares Norte is in the process of designing a

Remote Monitoring Center in Santiago. This will
enable real-time monitoring of the working areas,
which allows for improved decision-making
♦ The private 4.9G will be used to support the
potential automation of fleet in the future and
the introduction of drones, communications and
support the wireless network for digitalised
activities in the plant area
♦ Asset-management systems (planning and
scheduling, document management, reliability)
were tendered during the December
quarter, 2021
♦ PIMS in final tendering stage. OT systems will
report into the PIMS platform and the PIMS will
incorporate an AI application. The award of the
PIMS was due to be completed during the
September quarter, 2021.
Sources: Company data, supplier data, Mining Magazine

Photo: Gold Fields

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Sunrise Dam

Photo: Calistemon/CC BY-SA

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Underground mining, conducted by contract miner

Barminco, is now the primary source of ore following
COMMODITY Gold
the cessation of mining in the open pit in 2014.
LOCATION Western Australia, Australia A substantial exploration programme is underway
to increase the underground ore reserve and
2021
229,000 ounces support development of additional mining areas.
PRODUCTION

OWNERSHIP AngloGold Ashanti COMMENCED 2018

EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

♦ RCT Bridge communication
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Support autonomous mining
network.
SOFTWARE
♦ Stepping stone to full digital communications.
♦ RCT Bridge transmits and
receives data at 526MHz NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
from the machine radio, then
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Following the initial phase, additional loaders were
integrates to a PC in the
automation control centre set to be equipped with RCT Bridge technology.
at the mine surface.
PROJECT LOCATION
♦ In the first phase, three of
the site’s loaders were
equipped with RCT’s Bridge
HARDWARE technology. Some hardware
was also installed at the
above-ground automation
control centre.

Not disclosed. (Investment

DIGITALISATION
was ‘minimal’ in comparison
INVESTMENT
to a full-scale digital network.)

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Syama

Photo: Resolute Mining

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Delivering a world-class underground mine
COMMODITY Gold ♦ Providing a safe working environment
LOCATION Sikasso region, Mali ♦ Achieving industry-leading productivity.
2021
193,000 ounces NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
PRODUCTION
Resolute Mining 80% ♦ Resolute says it is looking outside the mining
OWNERSHIP
Government of Mali 20% industry to find the technology it needs to run
EQUIPMENT its operations.
♦ Sandvik OptiMine
DIGITALISATION PROJECT LOCATION
(including Mine Visualizer)
PRODUCTS/
♦ Orica WebGen – wireless
SOFTWARE
system for initiating blasts.
♦ Underground fibre backbone
INFRASTRUCTURE and mine-wide wireless
network.
♦ OptiMine solution enables
monitoring of a fleet of Sandvik
HARDWARE
trucks, loaders, rigs and rock
tools.
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Syama is a sublevel caving operation. It commenced

production in 2019, becoming the world’s first
fully automated underground mine, according to
Resolute Mining.

COMMENCED 2018

Sources: Company data, supplier data

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Toka Tindung

Photo: Rajawali Corpora

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Help the mine expand while improving
COMMODITY Gold sustainability and efficiency.
LOCATION North Sulawesi, Indonesia
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
2021
225,000 ounces
PRODUCTION ♦ The phased deployment was expected to be
OWNERSHIP Archi Indonesia
completed by October 2021.

EQUIPMENT PROJECT LOCATION

Hexagon Mining has provided:
♦ Fleet-management system
DIGITALISATION
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Operator alertness
SOFTWARE ♦ Blast monitoring
♦ Enterprise analytics.
INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed
HARDWARE Not disclosed
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Toka Tindung is one of the largest gold mining

operations in Southeast Asia. Hexagon is rolling
out a multi-solution project at the mine.

COMMENCED 2021

Sources: Supplier data

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Ugakhan

Photo: GV Gold

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

MINE TYPE Open pit Results have included:
COMMODITY Gold ♦ 11% year-on-year increase in ore production
LOCATION Irkutsk Oblast, Russia ♦ 27% increase in productivity of dump trucks
2019 ♦ 7% decrease in fuel consumption
75,600 ounces
PRODUCTION
♦ Reducing the risk of accidents.
GV Gold
OWNERSHIP
(also known as Vysochaishy) NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
EQUIPMENT
Not disclosed
DIGITALISATION
♦ Zyfra OpenMine fleet
PRODUCTS/ PROJECT LOCATION
management system (FMS).
SOFTWARE
INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed
♦ Sensors on excavators,
HARDWARE mining trucks, dozers and
other equipment.
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The FMS collects and manages real-time

information from mining equipment, helping
optimise driver haul routes.

COMMENCED 2021

Sources: Supplier data

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Verninskoye

Photo: Polyus

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit As part of this project,

additional devices and controls
COMMODITY Gold were installed, including:
♦ MillSlicer – a set of vibration
LOCATION Irkutsk Oblast, Russia analysis sensors installed on
the MPSI cylinder
2021
292,200 ounces ♦ RockSense – on-line particle
PRODUCTION
analyser system that uses
robust 3D laser-imaging
OWNERSHIP Polyus DIGITALISATION technology to measure the
PRODUCTS/ particle sizes of ores
EQUIPMENT
SOFTWARE
♦ FrothSense – sensor system
Advanced Process Control (APC)
that measures the essential
software and hardware complex
properties of froth appearance
in the grinding, flotation and
DIGITALISATION thickening departments. ♦ Cynoprobe – a NaCN
PRODUCTS/ Advanced process-control system concentration analyser in
SOFTWARE made from standard application addition to the currently
software tools including: Siemens used TAC1000 analysers
(Step 7), ProfitSuit, ProfitSensor ♦ С2 Meter – analyser of coal
and ProfitOptimiser. concentration.

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EQUIPMENT NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Local area network (LAN) ♦ Polyus plans to continue to implement the
♦ Remote density metres and APC software and additional instrumentation.
flow metres, dashboard The company has a contract between the Natalka
HARDWARE
cameras, process equipment, mine and SGS to install APC software for its biggest
sensors and instrumentation. SAG mill and grinding circuit. Polyus now has a
DIGITALISATION plant to continue APC implementation at the
Not disclosed Krasnoyarsk business unit as a part of brownfield
INVESTMENT
projects for Blagodatnoye and Olimpiada mine and
for a new factory.
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
PROJECT LOCATION
At the Verninskoye mill, Polyus has introduced
digital solutions to enhance the monitoring and
control of various technological processes.

COMMENCED 2019

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

♦ Polyus has set a target of a 2% increase in processing,

and + 0.1% in extraction. The preliminary results of
the APC shows the target will be achieved after
implementation is completed
♦ An important driver is to reduce the level of
involvement of plant operators in the process.
Polyus is consistently increasing the level of
automation of its production facilities to target
minimal participation of personnel. This will make
production more sustainable and safer.
Sources: Company data

Photo: Polyus

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Yakutia operations

Photo: [Link]/Ekaterina Lutokhina

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

Underground, open pit, and placer ♦ Strengthen preventive planning
MINE TYPE
mining
♦ Reduce downtime and unscheduled repairs
COMMODITY Diamonds
♦ Improve safety and quality of operations.
LOCATION Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia
2021 NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
28.79 million carats
PRODUCTION
♦ Alrosa expects the reform of its maintenance
OWNERSHIP Alrosa system will deliver a $43 million return on
EQUIPMENT investment in five years.

DIGITALISATION ♦ SAP Plant Maintenance module

PROJECT LOCATION
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Wenco dynamic dispatching
SOFTWARE system.
♦ Integrated Service Centre at
INFRASTRUCTURE each mining and processing
division.
HARDWARE Not disclosed
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Alrosa has launched a large-scale reform of its

maintenance system that centralises all functions into
an Integrated Service Centre and concentrates all data
in the SAP Plant Maintenance module. This approach
enables the use of digital twin technology to forecast
equipment repairs.

COMMENCED 2020

Sources: Company data

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Bagdad

Photo: Freeport-Mcmoran

THE BASICS NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ After a successful trial at Bagdad, Freeport
COMMODITY Copper and molybdenum has implemented similar solutions across most
LOCATION Arizona, US of its operations across the Americas and is
building internal capabilities with data science
2021  opper: 83,400 tonnes
C
in its staff to further expand as the company
PRODUCTION Molybdenum: 9 million pounds
evolves
OWNERSHIP Freeport-Mcmoran
♦ Freeport is advancing towards its target to increase
EQUIPMENT output by 90,000 tonnes per annum using machine
♦ Machine Learning programme
learning at its mines
DIGITALISATION (developed by Freeport-
PRODUCTS/ Mcmoran and McKinsey) DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
SOFTWARE
♦ Maptek Point Studio.
The company uses multiple software applications 
♦ The operation has Mesh to augment a variety of mining and safety
Network Radios connected processes.
INFRASTRUCTURE to a wireless network, and
systems in the mine and A digital twin of a concentrator was used with
processing facilities. machine-learning algorithms to improve productivity
♦ Sensors, GPS, radars, drones, and decrease bottlenecks.
HARDWARE
cameras, and mobile tablets.
DIGITALISATION COMMENCED 2018 (pilot initiated)
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS  NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

♦ Improve safety ♦ The major continues to combine its culture

♦ Increase productivity with an integrated network of digital tools,
♦ Improve efficiency including drilling, fragmentation, mine
♦ The digitalisation efforts initially focused only planning, operator performance and
on the digital and technical solution aspects, processing. Freeport envisions “an integrated
but the company quickly saw the value uplift system of digital tools supporting our
when combining with a new mindset and people every day to safely drive value
culture for employees. across the value chain”.

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Batu Hijau

Photo: iStock

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ DAMM and systems

partner Wellracom has
COMMODITY Copper, gold INFRASTRUCTURE upgraded the old analogue
system to a digital TETRA
West Nusa Tenggara province, communication system.
LOCATION
Indonesia ♦ DAMM: Five 2-carrier DAMM
Outdoor Base Station
2021 BS421s, for voice and data
Not available
PRODUCTION communication; DAMM
TetraFlex Group Bridge,
Amman Mineral Internasional 82%
OWNERSHIP enabling seamless integration
Pukuafu Indah 18%
between digital and analog
HARDWARE systems
EQUIPMENT
♦ FET: Sub-Atlantic brand
♦ DAMM Cellular Systems: Super Mohawk II ROV
Digital TETRA communication system, equipped with two
DIGITALISATION solution five-function manipulator
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Forum Energy Technologies: arms for complex
SOFTWARE remotely operated vehicle for underwater procedures.
seabed analysis and data DIGITALISATION
collection. Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

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DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW PROJECT LOCATION

Batu Hijau is the second-largest copper-gold mine

in Indonesia (after Grasberg). Ore is extracted with
excavators and electric shovels, then transported to
the crushing area by a fleet of more than 110 haul
trucks. Disposal of tailings from the processing
operation takes place in the ocean (about 10km
from the mine site).

COMMENCED 2019

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Guarantee secure communications 24/7,

minimising disruption to operations
♦ Improve environmental stewardship.

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

♦ Communications will eventually become

fully digital.

Photo: Amman Mineral Internasional

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Chelopech

Photo: Dundee Precious Metals

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Dundee Precious Metals collects millions of datapoints
COMMODITY Copper, gold, silver in minutes in GPS-denied environments using exynAI
solution and drones. The Smart Centre processes
LOCATION Sofia province, Bulgaria
real-time data to improve decision-making and
2021  old: 177,000 ounces
G decrease bottlenecks.
PRODUCTION Copper: 16,700 tonnes
OWNERSHIP Dundee Precious Metals ♦ 2009 (digital transformation
process began)
EQUIPMENT ♦ 2012 (tablets introduced)
COMMENCED
♦ exynAI (software that controls ♦ 2018 (Smart Centre opened)
the drones) ♦ 2019 (first scans of production
♦ Sandvik OptiMine stopes completed).
(fleet management)
DIGITALISATION ♦ GEOVIA GEMS (mine planning
PRODUCTS/ software) DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
SOFTWARE ♦ Matlab (provides statistical ♦ Improve the quality of mapping data.
analysis and algorithms for With traditional surveyor techniques roughly
forecasting) 50,000 data points are collected, while the drones
♦ Amazon Web Service and Power collect millions of data points that create a much
BI (reporting software). more realistic scan of the area
♦ 100% WiFi coverage ♦ Improve safety as operators spend less time
underground
underground
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Increasing operational efficiency by relying on
♦ Phase one of implementing LTE
real-time data collection to make decisions.
network completed.
♦ Exyn Technologies: Advanced NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
Autonomous Aerial Robots (A3Rs).
Each robot has 3D LiDAR, ♦ The company has completed phase one
cameras, and inertial sensors of LTE network implementation underground.
HARDWARE ♦ Tablets: operators use tablets The next step involves working on the proof
underground of concept
♦ Sensors collect telemetry ♦ Looking to implement a software that will
data from underground combine data from all the different sources
equipment. (OptiMine, Matlab, GEOVIA GEMS)
♦ Natural next step for the drones would have
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed them be controlled and operated from the
INVESTMENT
Smart Centre.

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Chuquicamata

Photo: Codelco

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground* ♦ Gas sensors in the ventilation
COMMODITY Copper circuits
HARDWARE ♦ Presence detector that accounts
LOCATION Antofagasta region, Chile
for personnel in the event of an
2021 emergency or evacuation.
319,280 tonnes
PRODUCTION
DIGITALISATION
OWNERSHIP Codelco Not disclosed
INVESTMENT
EQUIPMENT
♦ Mining TAG – MT Onemine DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
system to manage and control
Codelco has transformed Chuquicamata from
underground production
DIGITALISATION an open-pit operation into an underground mine
♦ Sandvik OptiMine and using the block caving method. The mine has been
PRODUCTS/
AutoMine – digital and divided into 35,000sq m macroblocks, with a 30m
SOFTWARE
autonomous solutions
pillar between each macroblock to prevent any
♦ Rockwell Automation – geomechanical problems.
various digital solutions.
♦ WiFi network COMMENCED 2019
♦ Operations centre has
INFRASTRUCTURE operation consoles and screens
with real-time tracking of KPIs DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
of different systems (LHDs,
crushers, ventilation, etc). ♦ Enabler of underground mining
♦ Sensors embedded in ♦ Improve productivity, safety and reliability of
equipment systems
♦ Cameras for traffic control ♦ Improve asset utilisation.
HARDWARE ♦ Ventilation on demand,
allowing control and NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
optimisation of electrical
energy consumption ♦ Codelco announced plans to partner with
Microsoft on advanced analytics, infrastructure
Sources: Company data, supplier data migration, and company culture and employee
*Began transitioning from open pit to underground in 2019 training.

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Gamsberg

Photo: Vedanta Zinc International

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Programme provides real-time information
COMMODITY Copper, lead, zinc about the state of the mine, ore quality,
conditions of the processing plant, and value
LOCATION Northern Cape, South Africa
of the output product. This includes live
250,000 tonne per year calculations and optimisation of blending
CAPACITY
concentrate and grade models. End result is that it guides
Vedanta Resources 69.6% the contracted fleet, provides early warning
Exxaro Resources 24.4% to the plant, and allows for minute-by-minute
OWNERSHIP
Employees stock ownership adjustment of blending strategy to ensure
plan 6% constant feed grade to plant.
EQUIPMENT
♦ Smart-ore-movement COMMENCED 2019
DIGITALISATION programme powered by
PRODUCTS/ GE Predix industrial IoT
SOFTWARE platform and integrated with DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
MineRP 4.0 product set.
♦ Help on-site teams to work more efficiently and
♦ WiFi network effectively.
INFRASTRUCTURE
♦ GE Predix Private Cloud.
HARDWARE Not disclosed NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

$4 million spent on digitalisation ♦ GE Predix forms the integration layer for

in a 3-year period from 2017-2019, smart movement and future initiatives such as
DIGITALISATION
as part of a $400 million capital cybersecurity, asset performance management
INVESTMENT
investment in phase one and operations performance management
of mining.
solution.

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Garpenberg

Photo: Hindustan Zinc

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Ore is mined from 500m to more than 1,200m
COMMODITY Polymetallic below ground level, primarily by sublevel stoping.
LOCATION Dalarna, Sweden The ore is processed at two crushing plants located
700m and 1,100m below ground level. After
 re milled: 3.1 million tonnes
O
crushing, ore is hoisted to surface and transferred
Zinc conventrate: 204,000t
by belt conveyor to storage and from there to a
2021 Copper concentrate: 6,000t
grinding circuit.
PRODUCTION Lead concentrate: 53,000t
Gold in concentrate: 661kg
COMMENCED 2014
Silver in concentrate: 275kg
OWNERSHIP Boliden
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
EQUIPMENT
♦ ABB System 800xA control ♦ Improve productivity
DIGITALISATION and automation platforms ♦ Improve efficiency
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Sandvik OptiMine, ♦ Reduce costs
SOFTWARE complementing Sandvik
♦ Enhance safety.
AutoMine.
♦ Wired and wireless NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
communication network,
with WiFi access points ♦ According to Boliden, Garpenberg is the company’s
throughout the mine most profitable mine.
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Low latency IoT network with
Cisco industrial switches and PROJECT LOCATION
access points to help
automate and optimise
mining operations.
♦ Thousands of sensors track
every worker and a mixed
(mainly Epiroc and Sandvik)
HARDWARE
fleet of 31 pieces of equipment,
sending data to the above-
ground control room.
In 2011, Boliden budgeted a
SEK3.9 billion (US$450 million) in
DIGITALISATION
Garpenberg’s expansion, including
INVESTMENT
IT infrastructure to enable
digitalisation and automation.

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Kemi

Photo: Outokumpu

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Improve productivity
COMMODITY Chromium
♦ Enhance decision making.
LOCATION Lapland, Sweden
2021 NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
Not available
PRODUCTION
♦ The OptiMine deal was announced in
OWNERSHIP Outokumpu February 2020. Outokumpu named digital
EQUIPMENT transformation one of its six ‘must-win battles’.
♦ Sandvik OptiMine, integrated
DIGITALISATION PROJECT LOCATION
with tag-based personnel and
PRODUCTS/
vehicle-positioning solution
SOFTWARE
from Newtrax.
♦ Outokumpu Digital Platform,
based on Microsoft Azure cloud
INFRASTRUCTURE
computing services (at stainless
steel production sites).
♦ OptiMine is being integrated
with all Kemi machines,
HARDWARE
including Sandvik and non-
Sandvik equipment.
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

A key element of digitalisation at Kemi is to allow the

operator to visualise mine operations and conditions
in real time, enabling well-timed decision making and
forecasting.

COMMENCED 2020

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Kevitsa

Photo: Boliden, Tomas Westermark

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Kevitsa was developed by First Quantum Minerals,
and went into production in 2012. Boliden acquired the
COMMODITY Polymetallic
mine for $712 million in 2016. Ore is processed at the
LOCATION Lapland, Finland nearby 9 million tonne per annum processing facility, then
transported to Boliden’s smelting plant in western Finland.
 re milled: 9.5 million tonnes
O
Nickel concentrate: 145,000t
COMMENCED 2020
2021 Copper concentrate: 118,000t;
PRODUCTION Production of metal in
concentrate: Gold: 637kg DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
Platinum: 1.45Mt, Palladium: 1Mt
♦ Optimise haulage
OWNERSHIP Boliden
♦ Improve loading accuracy
EQUIPMENT ♦ Increase equipment availability.
Modular Mining (wholly owned
Komatsu subsidiary) installed NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
the following solutions:
♦ Boliden anticipates an eventual transition to
DIGITALISATION ♦ DISPATCH fleet-management autonomous operation, so the fact DISPATCH can be
PRODUCTS/ systems integrated with Komatsu’s FrontRunner Autonomous
SOFTWARE ♦ ProVision machine-guidance Haulage System influenced the buying decision.
system
♦ MineCare asset-health PROJECT LOCATION
monitoring.

♦ Boliden private LTE network,

INFRASTRUCTURE comprising 7 LTE 2600 MHz
cells.

♦ Solutions were integrated

with mixed-manufacturer
HARDWARE
fleet comprising more than
30 pieces of equipment.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

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Las Bambas

Photo: MMG

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Digital, automated, and remote solutions are helping
Copper with gold, silver and build a risk-free business that safeguards employees.
COMMODITY Real time information, machine learning and artificial
molybdenum by-products.
intelligence are a few examples of the types of
LOCATION Apurimac region, Peru
technologies being deployed at Las Bambas.
2021  opper: 339,681 tonnes
C
PRODUCTION Zinc: 249,767t 2019: Las Bambas Digital
MMG 62.5% Transformation programme
Guoxin International COMMENCED approved
OWNERSHIP 2020: 4G network was
Investment 22.5%
CITIC Metal 15.0% commissioned.

EQUIPMENT
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
Several digitalisation initiatives
have been implemented; ♦ Improving productivity, safety and efficiency.
♦ Maptek Vulcan – mine-planning
DIGITALISATION
software NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
PRODUCTS/
♦ MICROMINE’S GEOBANK –
SOFTWARE ♦ Assessing the potential use of autonomous
geological data management
♦ Modular Mining’s DISPATCH – trucks at Las Bambas
fleet-management system. ♦ MMG’s Intelligent Mine 2030 vision – ‘the evolution
of the Digital Mine’ – is the mid-term target.
♦ 4G LTE network
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Digital Operation Centre (DOC)
PROJECT LOCATION
in Lima.
♦ Sensors
♦ Radio P25
HARDWARE ♦ 124 video cameras operating
on the mining truck fleet
(two cameras per truck).
♦ $4.2 million for LTE system
♦ $1 million for radio P25 project
DIGITALISATION
INVESTMENT ♦ $2.5 million for integrated
management of geotechnical
monitoring.

Sources: Company data, Mining Magazine

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Los Bronces

Photo: Anglo American

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground DIGITALISATION

Not disclosed
INVESTMENT
COMMODITY Copper

Santiago Metropolitan
LOCATION DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
region, Chile

2021 Staff use a digital model of the mine and 700 cameras

327,700t to monitor geomechanics, drilling, loading and
PRODUCTION
transportation, mine services, crushing, grinding,
Anglo American 50.1% flotation, and the operations of the pulp
OWNERSHIP Codelco-Mitsui JV 29.5% transportation system and cathode plant.
Mitsubishi 20.4%

EQUIPMENT COMMENCED 2021

Technologies include:
DIGITALISATION
♦ Advanced process control
PRODUCTS/ DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
♦ Digital models
SOFTWARE
♦ AI and augmented reality. ♦ To make the company’s world-class assets even
more competitive.
♦ Remote Operation Centre
INFRASTRUCTURE located 55km away in
Santiago. NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

HARDWARE ♦ 700 cameras. ♦ In May 2021 Anglo American unveiled VOXEL,

which it says is the mining industry’s first digital
Sources: Company data transformation platform for data-driven decisions.

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Ma’aden (Saudi Arabia operations)

Photo: Al Jalamid

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit/underground As of 2020, Ma’aden and

DIGITALISATION
subsidiaries have invested in at
Copper, silver, gold, INVESTMENT
COMMODITY least 27 different digital projects.
bauxite, phosphate
LOCATION Saudi Arabia
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
 oncentrated phosphate rock:
C
5 million tonnes per year Ma’aden is rolling out a range of digital solutions
Dry weight bauxite: 5Mtpa across its Saudi Arabia operations. This includes an
CAPACITY Alumina: 1.8Mtpa agreement with GE to provide digital transformation
Copper: 60 tonnes in 2019 advisory and applications as well as leadership and
Gold (2019 from the 6 mines): training opportunities for employees.
643,000 ounces
OWNERSHIP Ma’aden COMMENCED 2018
EQUIPMENT
Range of software solutions, DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
including:
DIGITALISATION
♦ GE Digital Predix ♦ Increase productivity and efficiency across operations
PRODUCTS/
♦ Hexagon J5 safety and operations ♦ Improve ore grades
SOFTWARE
digital worker platform ♦ Reduce fuel and energy costs and usage
♦ K2 Robotic Process Automation. ♦ Improve equipment reliability and availability
♦ Oracle Generation 2 cloud ♦ Reduce maintenance costs.
infrastructure
INFRASTRUCTURE
♦ OSISoft PI and Asset Framework NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
for operational data warehouse.
♦ Ma’aden says its digital investments will give
♦ RCT Control Master Teleremote it deeper insights across the value chain to realise
control system delivery at Al-Amar value now and into the future. It sees Physical
HARDWARE
♦ Phantom series drones Asset Management 4.0 as an area of focus where
♦ Scorpion2 creeper robots.
investment will generate strong returns.

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Nexa Resources

Photo: Nexa Resources

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

HEADQUARTERS São Paulo, Brazil
HARDWARE Not disclosed
LISTING NYSE, TSX
Underground & open-pit DIGITALISATION
MINE TYPE Not disclosed
operations INVESTMENT
COMMODITY Zinc, copper, lead, silver, gold
Five polymetallic mines in DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
two countries – Peru and Brazil.
LOCATION
Ramp-up activites at the Aripuana Nexa’s Digital Mining Project aims to facilitate the
mine in Brazil began in July 2022. application of digital technologies in underground
mining and apply concepts from IoT, autonomous
 inc: 320,000 tonnes
Z
2021 Copper: 30,000t
operation, asset management and process control
PRODUCTION Lead: 46,000t in mine operations.
Silver: 8,808 ounces

EQUIPMENT COMMENCED 2017

♦ ABB Ability System 800xA –

operations platform to support DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
all technology upgrades
DIGITALISATION
♦ On-demand ventilation ♦ Increasing operational efficiency
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ Collision prevention system ♦ Reducing operating costs

♦ Manufacturing Execution ♦ Improving safety.

System (MES).
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
♦ Secure, cloud-enabled digital
INFRASTRUCTURE
IT infrastructure. ♦ Nexa plans to partner with IBI-Tech, an Israeli fund
investing in early-stage innovative startups, to help
Sources: Company data, supplier data it identify new mining technologies.

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Nornickel

Photo: Nornickel

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

HEADQUARTERS Moscow, Russia Technological Breakthrough 2.0 will focus on the

implementation of remote equipment control
LISTING MOEX, LSE systems, big data analysis, AI-assisted decision making
and unmanned operation technologies.
Underground and open-pit
MINE TYPE
operations
2015 (Digital Transformation
COMMENCED
COMMODITY Polymetallic programme introduced).

Operations and assets are located

LOCATION DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
in Russia and Finland
♦ Improve operational efficiency
 ickel: 193,006 tonnes
N
2021 Copper: 406,841t ♦ Improve safety
PRODUCTION Palladium: 2.61 million ounces ♦ Technological Breakthrough programme boosted
Platinum: 641,000oz output by 7%, productivity per employee up by 15%
♦ Dedicated in-house software increased mine
EQUIPMENT
planning accuracy to 90% while also cutting losses
DIGITALISATION in equipment productivity by 5% and reducing the
PRODUCTS/ ♦ In-house software systems. labour intensity of collecting primary information
SOFTWARE by 70%.

♦ Fibre-optic network and a wireless NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

INFRASTRUCTURE data-transmission system
♦ Operational control centre. ♦ The company is developing drones capable of taking
video deep inside a mine without GPS guidance
♦ Tracking tags worn by personnel ♦ Nornickel is developing a robotic system fitted
HARDWARE and mining equipment for laser scanning and autonomous navigation.
♦ Video cameras underground. The robot can conduct high-quality 3D mine
surveying, including hard-to-reach areas, and the
DIGITALISATION results can be integrated into the MGIS
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT ♦ The economic effect from the Technological
Breakthrough programme and related projects
Sources: Company data, third party media is expected to exceed $400 million by 2030.

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Nova

Photo: Independence Group

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ MICROMINE installed touchscreen

tablets on Nova’s fleet, including
COMMODITY Nickel, copper, cobalt HARDWARE
three autonomous Sandvik LH517
LOCATION Western Australia, Australia loaders.

 ickel: 26,675 tonnes

N IGO has spent more than $2 million
2022 on the underground fibre optics
Copper: 11,483t DIGITALISATION
PRODUCTION and WiFi, which it says is a core
Cobalt: 982t INVESTMENT
enabler of its digitalisation and
OWNERSHIP Independence Group (IGO) automation efforts.
EQUIPMENT

Nova has deployed a range of DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

smart solutions, including:
Shallow underground via decline with open stoping
♦ MICROMINE’s Pitram Mobile with paste backfill and contract mining by Barminco.
fleet management and mine
control system COMMENCED 2018
♦ MST Global underground
DIGITALISATION tracking system
PRODUCTS/ DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
♦ Autonomous loaders
SOFTWARE
♦ Primary and secondary fan ♦ Improve safety
remote control and monitoring ♦ Increase productivity and short interval control
♦ Live monitoring of and ♦ Identify areas of improvement in mine operations.
face-to-face connectivity
with refuge chambers NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
♦ Drone technology.
♦ IGO is continuing to invest in smart digital
♦ Fully redundant fibre-optic solutions. Contract miner Barminco plans to have
cable backbone throughout a dedicated 24/7 operating centre in Perth,
INFRASTRUCTURE the underground mine
1,000km from the Nova site. It is working with
with WiFi connectivity to
IGO to establish a permanent link between the
majority of the mine.
centre and Nova.

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Punta del Cobre, Mantos de Cobre

and Granate mines

Photo: Pucobre

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE All underground The total investment in RMD over

the nine-year contract period
COMMODITY Copper is likely to reach $60-70 million,
DIGITALISATION including machinery, spare parts,
LOCATION Atacama region, Chile INVESTMENT and technology. There have also
been major time investments
2021
Not available in training and change
PRODUCTION
management.
Sociedad Punta del Cobre
OWNERSHIP
(Also known as Pucobre)
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
EQUIPMENT
Pucobre and Epiroc are implementing their
From Epiroc: Rapid Mine Development solution in four stages,
with the aim of achieving automation and
♦ Rapid Mine Development
DIGITALISATION digitalisation goals.
(RMD)
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ 6th Sense, including Mobilaris
Scheduler the Certiq telematics COMMENCED 2017
solution.

♦ Mining operations centre and

INFRASTRUCTURE DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
control tower.
♦ Goals include improving productivity by 40% and
♦ Epiroc has supplied a fleet reducing costs by 25%.
of Scooptram loaders, Minetruck
HARDWARE haulage vehicles, Simba
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
production drill rigs and Boomer
face drilling rigs. ♦ Pucobre is planning the progressive
procurement of 29 Epiroc machines over a
Sources: Supplier data period of nine years.

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Rampura Agucha

Photo: Hindustan Zinc

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Rampura Agucha has a number of advanced systems,
including two loaders that undertake teleremote
COMMODITY Zinc, lead
mining in open stopes, autonomous drill rigs utilised
LOCATION Rajasthan, India alongside the loaders in shift changeover hours,
 inc refined: 688,286 tonnes
Z and wireless sensors in the autonomous drill rigs to
2020 reduce downtime. The Mobilaris solution provides real-
Lead refined: 188,458t
PRODUCTION time 3D situational awareness based on people and
Silver refined: 647t
asset tracking.
Vedanta Resources 64.9%
OWNERSHIP Indian government 29.6% COMMENCED 2019
unknown 5.5%
EQUIPMENT
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
Selected products from Epiroc’s
Goals include:
DIGITALISATION Mobilaris Mining Intelligence
software suite, including: ♦ Reducing cost of production by 10%
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ Mobilaris Situational Awareness ♦ Increasing equipment utilisation by 10-15%
♦ Mobilaris Onboard. ♦ Improving employee safety, process efficiency,
and production.
♦ WiFi network enables
communication with
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
INFRASTRUCTURE autonomous equipment,
equipment tracking and ♦ Hindustan Zinc says it is pursuing end-to-end
equipment health telemetry. automation and digitalisation at Rampura Agucha.
♦ MMI is a tech-agnostic
software solution that
integrates with the Vedanta subsidiary Hindustan
HARDWARE
operator’s own infrastructure Zinc has been aggressively
and hardware, as in the case
pursuing automation and
of Rampura Agucha.
digitalisation at its flagship
DIGITALISATION
INVESTMENT
$15 million Rampura Agucha mine

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Sierra Gorda

Photo: KGHM Polska Miedz

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Optimise the fuelling process
COMMODITY Copper, molybdenum ♦ Improve results in all the mine´s key operational
LOCATION Antofagasta region, Chile indicators.

2021  opper: 189,800 tonnes

C
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
PRODUCTION Molybdenum: 14.9 million pounds
KGHM Polska Miedz 55% ♦ KGHM 4.0 is an internal programme involving
OWNERSHIP Sumitomo Metal Mining 31.5% implementation of Industry 4.0 concepts, such
Sumitomo Corporation 13.5% as digitalisation, automation, and IoT within
various parts of KGHM’s operations.
EQUIPMENT
♦ Wenco Fuel Dispatch, PROJECT LOCATION
an automated fuel dispatching
DIGITALISATION
system
PRODUCTS/
♦ Kom-Expert, Komatsu’s big data
SOFTWARE
and analysis digital solutions
system.
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Cisco Unified Wireless Network.
♦ System installed on full fleet of
HARDWARE 58 Komatsu 930E mining
trucks.
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

Sierra Gorda entered commercial production in 2015.

Production consists of a truck-and-shovel operation
utilising a fleet of 58 heavy haul trucks.

COMMENCED 2015

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Totten

Photo: Vale

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground Vale invested approximately

$760 million to develop Totten
COMMODITY Nickel, copper
DIGITALISATION over a period of seven years,
LOCATION Ontario, Canada INVESTMENT including ABB solutions.
It budgeted $1.5-2 million
2021 per mine for LTE deployment.
Copper-nickel: 256,000 tonnes
PRODUCTION

OWNERSHIP Vale
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
EQUIPMENT
The Totten mine is one of five active Vale mines in
Solutions include: Ontario’s Sudbury Basin and seven in Canada overall.
♦ ABB LM80 laser level gauges Totten entered commercial production in 2014 and
DIGITALISATION ♦ ABB 800xA control system has an expected 20-year mine life.
PRODUCTS/ with Extended Operator
SOFTWARE Workplace (EOW) solution COMMENCED 2014
♦ Mobilaris Mining Intelligence
(contract signed in 2020). DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
♦ LTE wireless network was ♦ Optimise performance
rolled out at Totten and
other Vale Sudbury mines in ♦ Reduce the cost of production
INFRASTRUCTURE
2018-2019, alongside ♦ Improve safety for employees.
existing WiFi and leaky
feeder cable infrastructure. NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
Hardware supplied by ♦ Vale Canada is working to digitise every stage of
ABB included: ore production, from exploration through to
♦ LM80 laser level gauges market, and to do so “at the right cost”.
installed on crusher jaws
HARDWARE ♦ Two mine hoists (double
drum skip-cage hoist, single
drum auxiliary cage hoist) Prior to ABB’s solution, there was a
♦ Other advanced machinery case where it took nine hours to
at Totten includes a teleremote unclog ore stuck in the crusher
drill and autonomous scoop.

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Zinkgruvan
Photo: Lundin Mining

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground HARDWARE Not disclosed

COMMODITY Zinc, lead, copper and silver DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
LOCATION South-central Sweden INVESTMENT

 opper: 37,941 tonnes

C
2021 Zinc: 66,031t DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
PRODUCTION Lead: 5,419t (11.36Mlb)
Silver: 1.64 million ounces Zinkgruvan has been in continuous production
since 1857, with mining now conducted at depths
OWNERSHIP Lundin Mining of up to 1,300m. Together with Mobilaris,
EQUIPMENT Zinkgruvan has implemented a seamless
positioning service that tracks the movement of
Mobilaris Mining Intelligence personnel, vehicles and equipment when moving
platform, including: between underground, surface and indoors.
♦ Mobilaris Virtual Tag – seamless
DIGITALISATION
tracking of vehicles, equipment COMMENCED 2019
PRODUCTS/
and personnel
SOFTWARE
♦ Mobilaris Situational Awareness –
displaying position of assets on DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
3D user interface.
♦ Improve safety, efficiency, and productivity.
♦ LTE network and WiFi access points
♦ Private cellular network from NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
INFRASTRUCTURE
Telia, powered by Athonet’s 4G
and 5G Core. ♦ The new 4G/5G network from Telia will serve as
a platform for digitalisation and streamlining of
Sources: Supplier data Zinkgruvan’s operations.

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Aquila

Photo: Anglo American

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Tablets will capture and share real-time production,
COMMODITY Metallurgical coal safety and environmental monitoring information
with operators, ensuring critical information is
LOCATION Queensland, Australia
readily available to key personnel and removing
CAPACITY the need for paper records.
5 million tonnes
EXPECTED
Cameras and sensors will collect the data to
OWNERSHIP Anglo American underpin remote longwall operations from
EQUIPMENT surface.
♦ Not disclosed, though our
2019 (redevelopment
understanding is Anglo
DIGITALISATION COMMENCED started ahead of operations
American has in part
PRODUCTS/ in 2022)
developed its own software
SOFTWARE
solutions to integrate and
present data collected.
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
♦ The company has worked
with UK-based technology ♦ Improve safety
company Silixa to deploy ♦ Improve sustainability 
distributed sensing
♦ Improve productivity.
technology, which uses
a single fibre optic circuit,
INFRASTRUCTURE several kilometres long, NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
enabling continuous real-time
metering of mine water flows ♦ Working on developing the mine as a remote
across multiple points longwall operation, expected to be completed
throughout a mine area by this year (2022)
♦ WiFi. ♦ In the future, operations across Anglo American’s
♦ Introduced tablets that can underground metallurgical coal mines will be
be used underground primarily done from the surface, with more
HARDWARE operators removed from the face of the mine
♦ Cameras
♦ Anglo American was building its internal
♦ Sensors.
capabilities to deliver more complex integrated
$226 million was to be spent automation solutions, which had the capacity
DIGITALISATION rejuvenating the mine, which to create safer working conditions for its people
INVESTMENT would include advanced and drive the next level of performance at its
technology solution.
underground mines.

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Belfast

Photo: Rocketmine

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ Drones (operated by
COMMODITY Thermal coal Rocketmine, a South African
HARDWARE
subsidiary of French company
Mpumalanga province,
LOCATION Delta Drone Group).
South Africa
2021 Exxaro budgeted ZAR3.3 billion
2.52 million tonnes
PRODUCTION DIGITALISATION ($200 million) on construction
OWNERSHIP Exxaro Resources INVESTMENT of Belfast, including digital
solutions.
EQUIPMENT
♦ Exxaro worked with more
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
than 50 technology partners to
build digital solutions for Belfast,
The mining method is strip mining
including a digital twin (virtual
DIGITALISATION (doze-over, truck and shovel).
replica of the mine)
PRODUCTS/
♦ Software deployed at Belfast
SOFTWARE Mine construction began
includes Trimble Stratus, which
uses drones to map, measure and COMMENCED in 2017. First production was
share accurate information about achieved in 2019.
the mine.
♦ Belfast has an integrated DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
operations centre where staff can
oversee the entire operation ♦ Exxaro’s goal is to achieve 25% productivity
♦ Belfast has underground WiFi with improvement using digitalisation and
connected machines to allow innovation.
managers to see what is
happening underground and do NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
INFRASTRUCTURE
proactive maintenance and
problem solving ♦ Exxaro says it has a vast amount of
♦ The company it also looking at technical IP and is co-developing custom
OEMs that offer devices with solutions with technology providers.
advanced sensor technology that Furthermore, Exxaro is upskilling its
would become part of the mine’s workforce to be able to manage in a data-
IoT infrastructure.
driven organisation and systems.

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Black Rock

Photo: iStock

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground MMI provides a 3D information model that presents
COMMODITY Manganese ore the position of machines, vehicles and personnel, as
well as further data on shift planning, machines and
LOCATION Northern Cape, South Africa production.
2021  anganese ore: 4 million tonnes
M
PRODUCTION Ferromanganese: 362,000t COMMENCED 2019
African Rainbow Minerals 50%
OWNERSHIP
Assore 50% DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
EQUIPMENT
♦ Increase productivity
DIGITALISATION ♦ Improve machine utilisation
♦ Epiroc’s Mobilaris Mining
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Increase safety.
Intelligence.
SOFTWARE
♦ Control room transformed NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
by MMI into real time
production data and will ♦ African Rainbow Minerals, joint owner of
INFRASTRUCTURE combine planning, task Assmang, is working on a number of digital
dispatch, machine telemetry initiatives, including implementation
data and mobile operator of Oracle’s JD Edwards Enterprise One, a fully
clients. integrated ERP software suite that runs on
the Oracle cloud.
♦ MMI is a tech-agnostic
software solution that
integrates with the operator’s
HARDWARE
own infrastructure and The installation was completed
hardware, as in the case of in 2019, making Black Rock the
Rampura Agucha. first mine to utilise a room and
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed pillar operation to integrate MMI
INVESTMENT

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Cherepovets steel mill

Photo: Severstal

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Not applicable Cherepovets mill is an integrated steelworks that

has a full production cycle that intergrates major
COMMODITY Steel process units, from iron ores and coals processing to
finishing operations where products are produced.
LOCATION Vologda region, Russia

S teel: 11.6 million tonnes COMMENCED April 2019

CAPACITY
Crude steel: 10.96Mt
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
OWNERSHIP Severstal

EQUIPMENT ♦ Advanced computer vision experiment found 244%

more real defects and 11% fewer false defects than
Below are the key projects that the previous system
contributed to significant
♦ NTA-3 was accelerated by more than 6.5%, which
progress in the areas of energy
efficiency and production growth corresponds to more than 100,000t of additional
in 2020: steel production annually
♦ Advanced computer vision (СV) ♦ The specific energy consumption of the compressors
for improving the accuracy of was reduced by 2.5%, which corresponds to more
steel defects detection and than 15.3GWh of saved electric power per year
DIGITALISATION quality of the steel sheets
PRODUCTS/ and a corresponding decrease of about 8,400 tons
♦ Boost production at continuous of CO2 emissions per year
SOFTWARE pickling line №3 with the use of
artificial intelligence ♦ In 2020, digital solutions at Severstal resulted in
♦ Reduce the electric energy the production of more than 150,000t of additional
consumption of the air finished products, and 1.4 billion roubles in
compressors at Cherepovets additional profits.
steel mill
♦ Productivity boost of mill 5000 NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
using machine learning.
♦ In 2020, Severstal Digital created a center for
INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed artificial intelligence and machine learning,
including a data analysis department and a
HARDWARE Not disclosed
department of computer vision. It has expanded its
♦ Severstal planned to invest architecture and design team, and now provides
DIGITALISATION 24/7 support. In 2021, the department supported
9.1 billion roubles in IT and
INVESTMENT
digital projects in 2021. the company’s focus on increasing the energy
efficiency of industrial equipment, as well as
Sources: Supplier data increasing the performance of key components.

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Chichester & Solomon Hubs

Photo: Fortescue Metals Group

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Fortescue Metals Group uses sensors and GPS locating
COMMODITY Iron ore technology to automate its fleets at both the Solomon
and Chichester hubs. Both Komatsu and Caterpillar haul
LOCATION Western Australia, Australia
trucks are controlled by the Cat MineStar Command
I ron ore (mined): AHS, with operations run from a remote centre in Perth.
2022
226.9 million tonnes Fortescue Hive, the expanded, purpose-built remote
PRODUCTION
Iron ore (processed) 188.6Mt operations facility was opened in 2020 and includes
OWNERSHIP Fortescue Metals Group FMG’s planning, operations and mine control teams,
together with port, rail, shipping and marketing teams.
EQUIPMENT
♦ Caterpillar MineStar Command
COMMENCED 2012
used for Autonomous Haulage
DIGITALISATION
System (trucks)
PRODUCTS/
♦ Flanders ARDVARC used for DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
SOFTWARE
Autonomous Drill System
(platform drills). ♦ AHS at Solomon returned a 30% productivity
♦ WiFi 802.11 network improvement.
♦ Sepura’s mobile
INFRASTRUCTURE SRG3900 terminals NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

♦ Integrated operations centre, ♦ Plans to extend industrial wireless network

Perth. capabilities to ongoing operational technology
♦ Hand-portable Sepura applications.
STP8000 TETRA radios
provide voice
HARDWARE
communications, ‘Man-Down’ FMG’s Train Control Centre
emergency features, and GPS opened in 2009, we were the first
location capabilities.
operation in WA to control a
DIGITALISATION
INVESTMENT
Not disclosed railway from outside the region

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Dongtan

Photo: iStock

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Increase output
COMMODITY Coal ♦ Reduce shutdown times.
LOCATION China
2013 NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
Raw coal: 8.1 million tonnes
PRODUCTION
♦ Yanzhou Coal Mining intends to extend the
OWNERSHIP Yanzhou Coal Mining Company concept to cover up to 20 mine hoists located
EQUIPMENT hundreds of kilometres apart from each other at
Dongtan and its five other coal mines.
DIGITALISATION
♦ Solution based on Siemens
PRODUCTS/
WinCC Open Architecture. PROJECT LOCATION
SOFTWARE
♦ Cloud platform can be accessed
by users on local PCs in the
INFRASTRUCTURE enterprise network, or using
remote PC or smart phone/
tablets via the Internet.
HARDWARE Not disclosed
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The solution is initially drawing data from four mine

hoist systems, enabling Yanzhou to centrally monitor
production, analyse, and respond to insights in
real time.

COMMENCED 2019

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Eramet

Photo: Désirey Minkoh & Afrikimages

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

HEADQUARTERS Paris, France ♦ Includes information systems,
LISTING XPAR drones and connected sensors
HARDWARE
at the group’s 39 industrial
MINE TYPE Open pit
sites.
Manganese, nickel,
COMMODITY
mineral sands DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
39 industrial sites worldwide – INVESTMENT
LOCATION includes mines in Gabon, Senegal,
New Caledonia and Indonesia.
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
 ickel ore: 19.4 million tonnes
N
2021 Manganese ore: 7Mt Eramet and partner Capgemini Invent have developed
PRODUCTION Mineral sands: 804,000t AI applications across all of the group’s mining and
TiO2 slag: 209,000t metallurgical activities.
EQUIPMENT
The group has numerous COMMENCED 2017
digitalisation projects across its
industrial sites, including:
♦ Data science-backed DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
application to improve mineral
DIGITALISATION sands mining processes ♦ Improving productivity, metal recovery and
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Prediction of track wear and commercial performance in order to accelerate
SOFTWARE tear in order to optimise rail its energy and environmental transition.
operations
♦ Predictive information on NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
production quality and
economic performance at high- ♦ Eramet says the results of its digitalisation
temperature nickel furnaces. programme are visible in the productivity of its
♦ Infrastructure varies at each mines and plants. It will work with Capgemini
INFRASTRUCTURE site, eg, private LTE network Invent over the long term to deploy a high-
at Moanda mine. performance data strategy in co-construction that
is adapted to the challenges of the rapidly
Sources: Company data, supplier data changing industry.

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K+S

Photo: K+S

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

HEADQUARTERS Kassel, Germany K+S is the world’s fifth-largest producer of potash

products by sales volume. With its new site in
LISTING XETRA, FRA
Bethune, Canada, K+S has increased its share of
Underground, open-pit, global operational capacity to about 8%.
MINE TYPE
and solution mining
COMMENCED 2020
COMMODITY Potash

Six mines in two countries –

LOCATION DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
Germany and Canada.

Potassium chloride: 5.2 million ♦ Cost optimisation.

2021 tonnes from all salt deposits in
PRODUCTION Europe and 1.9Mt from Bethune NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
(Canada)
♦ K+S says opportunities for cost optimisation,
EQUIPMENT including digitalisation of processes in the
underground mines, are being intensively
DIGITALISATION
♦ GHH inSiTE digital analytics examined on an ongoing basis and – where
PRODUCTS/
solution. appropriate – implemented.
SOFTWARE

♦ The GHH solution is PROJECT LOCATION

INFRASTRUCTURE supported by a cloud-
based WLAN system.

♦ GHH inSiTE is being rolled

HARDWARE out on 150 machines,
including GHH LF-14 LHDs.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT

Sources: Company data, third party media

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Kachkanarsky GOK
Photo: Image not from site

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ $1.23 million in VIST Group

DIGITALISATION
system; investment in GEOVIA
INVESTMENT
COMMODITY Iron ore system not disclosed.

LOCATION Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

 rude steel: 13.6 million tonnes

C Two-way integration of the VIST and GEOVIA Surpac
2021
Iron ore products: 14.4Mt systems enables the use of data obtained from the
PRODUCTION
Raw coaking coal: 23.3Mt VIST system for operational planning and design
of mining operations, as well as control of the
OWNERSHIP Evraz production process at the level of the line manager
EQUIPMENT
and the excavator driver.

♦ VIST Group – automated COMMENCED 2017

DIGITALISATION dispatching system
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ GEOVIA Surpac – geology
and mine planning software. DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ Improve equipment efficiency

♦ WiFi network and
INFRASTRUCTURE
communication towers. ♦ Reduce costs.

♦ Sensors, navigation antennas

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
HARDWARE and smart displays in drivers’
cabs. ♦ Evraz estimates that its various digitalisation
projects will generate a total return on investment
Sources: Company data, supplier data of $150 million between 2021 and 2023.

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Kirovsk

Photo: PhosAgro

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Underground Kirovsk has 10 autonomous production drill rigs
COMMODITY Phosphate rock controlled by one operator from an above-
ground control room and one drill runner
LOCATION Murmansk Oblast, Russia
underground. The Epiroc solution gathers,
Apatite concentrate: analyses, and communicates machine health
2021
10.6 million tonnes data and performance status from the drilling
PRODUCTION
Nepheline concentrate: 1.1Mt rigs in real-time.
OWNERSHIP PhosAgro
Trialled with three drill rigs
EQUIPMENT COMMENCED in 2018, expanded to 10 rigs
in 2019.
DIGITALISATION
♦ Epiroc 6th Sense (equipment
PRODUCTS/
monitoring and health).
SOFTWARE DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ WiFi. Automation and digitalisation have together
♦ Integrated sensors on the rigs delivered:
♦ Remote-controlled high- ♦ Improve performance – productivity up 18.4%
HARDWARE definition video cameras
♦ Improve work quality – utilisation factor up from
mounted on the rigs
70% to 85%
♦ GPS.
♦ Reduce safety risks – number of rig operators
Adding automation/digitalisation down 40%.
capabilities to the Simba drill rigs
required 20% more capex than
DIGITALISATION NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
using the drill rigs manually.
INVESTMENT
The biggest single investment ♦ PhosAgro is introduced four Epiroc automated
component was building of the
drill rigs with 6th Sense-enabled smart features at
IT (WiFi) infrastructure.
the nearby Rasvumchorrsky mine in 2020.

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Lac à Paul

Photo: Arianne Phosphate

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Commercial production is expected to begin

COMMODITY Phosphate in 2024. The project will produce 3Mtpa of
phosphate concentrate. It will consist of an
LOCATION Quebec, Canada open-pit mine with conventional truck & shovel
Expected production of operation, a concentration plant and deep-water
PRODUCTION phosphate concentrate: port facilities.
FROM 2025 3 million tonnes per annum
at 40% P2O5 Digitalisation was incorporated
COMMENCED into the engineering phase
OWNERSHIP Arianne Phosphate
in 2020.
EQUIPMENT

♦ RPMGlobal HAULSIM mine DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

DIGITALISATION simulation tool
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Quantifying the impact of alternative haulage
♦ AI-powered geomatic and
SOFTWARE route scenarios to select the optimal haulage 
remote sensing tools for
future tailings facility.
route.

INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ Under feasibility. NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

HARDWARE ♦ Under feasibility.
♦ By modelling, analysing and enhancing
DIGITALISATION different ‘what if’ scenarios for the ideal haulage
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT network, Arianne Phosphate is now able to
invest with confidence in its mine-to-port
Sources: Company data, supplier data haulage route.

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LKAB

Photo: Fredric Alm - LKAB

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

HEADQUARTERS Luleå, Sweden LKAB is Europe’s largest iron ore producer. It is pursuing
a large-scale “industrial transformation”, which will
LISTING Government-owned
include investments in digitalisation and automation.
Underground & open-pit
MINE TYPE
operations COMMENCED 2020

COMMODITY Iron ore

DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
LOCATION Three mines in Lapland, Sweden.
♦ Reach environmental and productivity goals.
2021
Iron ore: 37 million tonnes
PRODUCTION
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
EQUIPMENT
♦ LKAB says collaboration, innovation and
Partnerships include: technological development will enable it to
♦ IFS – cloud-based enterprise continue its operations and contribute to
asset-management system substantial reductions in carbon emissions.
DIGITALISATION
♦ Predge – predictive monitoring
PRODUCTS/ PROJECT LOCATION
of conveyor belts
SOFTWARE
♦ Minalyzer and Sentian –
AI-enabled solutions for
exploration drilling analysis.

INFRASTRUCTURE Not disclosed

HARDWARE Not disclosed

♦ LKAB says its industrial

transformation plan will require
DIGITALISATION
SEK10-20 billion ($1.15-2.3 billion)
INVESTMENT
per year in investments for the
next 15-20 years.

Sources: Company data, supplier data

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Marcona
Photo: [Link]/supapornss

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit DIGITALISATION

Not disclosed
INVESTMENT
COMMODITY Iron ore

LOCATION Ica region, Peru DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The company has installed Marcona is the only large-scale iron ore mine
CAPACITY currently in operation in Peru and was one of the
production of 7.5 million tonnes
first mines acquired by Chinese steelmakers outside
OWNERSHIP Shougang Hierro Perú of China as part of a strategy aimed at securing
their own supply. It is operated by contract miner
EQUIPMENT Cosapi Minería.

DIGITALISATION ♦ Zyfra Mining – fleet-

PRODUCTS/ monitoring and control- COMMENCED 2019
SOFTWARE management system.

♦ Mesh WiFi communications DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

INFRASTRUCTURE
network. ♦ Optimise and reduce operation costs.

HARDWARE ♦ Sensors on mining equipment.

NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

Sources: Company data, supplier data Not disclosed

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Moranbah North

Photo: Anglo American

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ The company has worked

with UK-based Silixa to
COMMODITY Metallurgical coal deploy distributed sensing
technology, which uses a
LOCATION Queensland, Australia single fibre optic circuit,
several kilometres long,
2021 enabling continuous real-
3.05 million tonnes
PRODUCTION time metering of mine-water
flows across multiple points
Anglo American 88% throughout a mine area
Private joint-venture partners 12% ♦ WiFi connects all underground
Anglo American is in the process operations and allows the use
OWNERSHIP
of equalising ownership of an intrinsically safe tablet to
across its Moranbah-Grosvenor aid maintenance staff in
complex. INFRASTRUCTURE connecting with surface.
An extensive camera network,
EQUIPMENT including area cameras and
marker-band-detection
♦ Not disclosed, though our cameras, allow operators to
understanding is Anglo manage the longwall from
American has in part developed the surface
its own software solutions to ♦ Telstra will build an initial
DIGITALISATION integrate and present data 6.5km-long underground
PRODUCTS/ collected network using a private,
SOFTWARE ♦ Komatsu had supplied the virtualised core and
underground longwall software LTE radio technologies
at the adjacent Grosvenor mine, distributed over leaky feeder
but the major was trialling a cable using LTE-capable
new supplier for Moranbah. bi-directional amplifiers.

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EQUIPMENT DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

♦ Introduced tablets that can be An improving array of cameras and sensors collect the
used underground. The tablet data that underpins remote longwall operations from
devices were developed with surface.
manufacturer Bartec, and
certified by the Queensland
HARDWARE Government’s Safety in Mines
Testing and Research Station COMMENCED 2016
(SIMTARS)
♦ Cameras
♦ Sensors.
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT ♦ Increase sustainability 
♦ Improve safety
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW ♦ Reduce lost production time 
Tablets capture and share real-time production, ♦ Improve communication/information
safety and environmental monitoring information sharing.
with operators, ensuring critical information is
readily available to key personnel, and removing NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
the need for paper records.
They also provide direct access to the Safety Health ♦ Anglo American is aiming to operate most of the
Management System and can be used as a portable longwall from surface by improving the control
video communication device [via Skype] to instantly software and physical digital infrastructure such
access personnel working at the surface level. This as cameras and sensors. The Aquila mine, also in
will accelerate trouble-shooting and can also be Queens land, will be automated and remotely
used as a live video link in case of emergencies. operated.

Photo: Anglo American

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PGG (multiple mines)

Photo: iStock

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Mainly Underground DMD is an information database containing
COMMODITY Coal (thermal & metallurgical) information about mine workings, geology,
LOCATION Poland ventilation, mining hazards, etc. The ABB solution
comprises a suite of digitally connected products,
2021
Not available services and solutions, which include digital
PRODUCTION
technologies for remote services, predictive
Polska Grupa Gornicza maintenance tools and solutions for upgrades
OWNERSHIP
(PGG – Polish Mining Group) and retrofits.
EQUIPMENT
♦ ABB Ability MineOptimize COMMENCED 2008
DIGITALISATION
PRODUCTS/ ♦ Digital Model of the Deposit
(DMD), a suite of engineering
SOFTWARE
applications.
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
DMD is enabled by:
♦ AutoCAD Civil 3D, a graphical ♦ Improve specific production processes at mine sites
environment that enables ♦ Increase efficiency and optimising the costs of hard
integration with relational
coal production
INFRASTRUCTURE databases
♦ Oracle Spatial, a relational ♦ Maintain high standards of environmental
database software in a spatial protection and employee safety.
format that enables browsing of
maps from a web browser. NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
HARDWARE Not disclosed
♦ By integrating the ABB solution, PGG hopes to
DIGITALISATION improve its ability to react to new market demands
Not disclosed
INVESTMENT and conditions.
The profile covers mines across Silesia region in southern Poland

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Raspadskaya

Photo: [Link]/agnormark

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground/open pit DIGITALISATION

Not disclosed
INVESTMENT
COMMODITY Coking coal

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
LOCATION Kemerovo Oblast, Russia
The Raspadskaya complex comprises
2021 a group of enterprises including three mines
Raw coal: 23.18 million tonnes
PRODUCTION (one underground, one surface/underground,
and one open pit) and a wash plant. The new
OWNERSHIP Raspadskaya IoT solution from Orange Business services
tracks the unloading process to prevent mixing
EQUIPMENT
of different grades of coal.
DIGITALISATION
♦ Orange Business Services –
PRODUCTS/ COMMENCED 2021
bespoke IoT solution.
SOFTWARE

♦ Base station – serves as a hub DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

INFRASTRUCTURE
for outdoor WiFi hotspots.
♦ Making sure different grades and types of coal are
not mixed.
♦ Telemetry sensors and real-
HARDWARE
time tracking (RTLS) systems.
NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

Sources: Supplier data Not disclosed

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Solntsevsky

Photo: Image not from site

THE BASICS DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

MINE TYPE Open pit Solntsevsky mine is an open-pit operation and

mining is currently focused at the Yuzhnuy-1 and
COMMODITY Thermal coal Yuzhnuy-2 sites.

LOCATION Sakhalin, Russia Zyfra system was installed

COMMENCED
in 2019.
2021
Not available
PRODUCTION DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

OWNERSHIP East Mining Company ♦ 33% increase in production reported in the first
half of 2020 due to equipment modernisation and
EQUIPMENT the introduction of digitalisation
♦ Zyfra OpenMine Fleet ♦ Reduce routine downtime and increase the load
Management System (Formerly of specialised equipment
DIGITALISATION VIST Group, Karier) ♦ Zyfra’s system resulted in a 10% increase in haul
PRODUCTS/
♦ PULSE programme – online truck capacity and helped reduce fuelling time
SOFTWARE
monitoring of mining per unit by 2.5 times in the first nine months
equipment. ♦ PULSE programme has resulted in a 14-24%
decrease in downtime for trucks, 32-42% reduction
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ WiFi. in excavators downtime due to lack of equipment,
with average downtime for excavators reduced
♦ Onboard sensors by 10-13%
HARDWARE
♦ Body dashcams (safety).
♦ Improve safety.

DIGITALISATION
Not disclosed NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
INVESTMENT
♦ EMCO planned to connect the digital platform to
Sources: Company data, third party media remaining equipment at the mine and port in 2021.

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South Flank

Photo: BHP

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Open pit ♦ 23 fully equipped ‘smart

modules’, including conveyor
COMMODITY Iron ore HARDWARE shuttle modules, sample
station, pump skids, train
LOCATION Western Australia, Australia loadout and feeder modules.

FISCAL 2022 The Civmec contract is worth

67 million tonnes
PRODUCTION approximately A$48 million
DIGITALISATION (US$35 million). Total
Mt Goldsworthy joint venture: INVESTMENT expenditure on digitalisation
OWNERSHIP
BHP 85%, ITOCHU 8%, Mitsui 7% initiatives at South Flank has
not been disclosed.
EQUIPMENT

DIGITALISATION PROJECT LOCATION

PRODUCTS/ ♦ Civmec smart modules.
SOFTWARE

♦ BHP is reportedly building

a private LTE network in
order to enable automation
at all WAIO operations
INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ South Flank will be connected
to BHP’s integrated remote
operations centre in Perth,
where banks of monitors
display real-time video and
data from all WAIO mines.

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DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 

Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) is an integrated ♦ BHP sees South Flank as an opportunity to
system of four joint ventures in the Pilbara region, advance its goal of becoming a fully integrated
connected by more than 1,000km of rail and highly automated business by 2025.
BHP plans to eventually open a digital factory
infrastructure and port facilities. The A$4.5 billion
in Western Australia – similar to the one it
(US$3.3 billion) South Flank project, an extension of opened in Brisbane, Australia, in early 2020 to
the Mt Goldsworthy JV’s Mining Area C, will produce support coal operations – which would create
80 million tonnes per annum over a 25-year mine a ‘unified community of practice’ among
life, making it BHP’s single largest iron ore mine. technical roles.

Production at South Flank

COMMENCED is expected to commence
in 2021.
South Flank will
incorporate many of the
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS  digital processes already in
♦ BHP’s strategy is to have the best assets, in the use at other BHP mines
best commodities, with the best capabilities.

Photo: BHP

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Verkhnekamskoye

Photo: Uralkali

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

MINE TYPE Underground ♦ Mining-Geological Information

System (MGIS)
♦ Third-party software, including
ArcGIS, QGIS, and MapInfo, for
COMMODITY Potash
analysis of spatial data and
development of reporting and
generalising maps
DIGITALISATION
LOCATION Perm region, Russia ♦ Leapfrog GEO (Seequent)
PRODUCTS/
programme is used to generate
SOFTWARE
geological models of mine
fields
2021 KCl (total Uralkali):
PRODUCTION 12.3 million tonnes ♦ SUBP-1P, an alert system for
mine personnel
♦ SPGT-41, a system for
positioning personnel and
OWNERSHIP Uralkali vehicles in mines.

2022 edition 141

 4 Existing operations: Other commodities Established
1909

EQUIPMENT DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS

♦ MGIS was developed on client- ♦ Ensure the safety of mining operations.

server architecture using
INFRASTRUCTURE PostgreSQL database, which NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
stores geometric and tabular
information. ♦ The immediate goal of MGIS is to improve data
exchange with design and scientific institutes, to
♦ Uralkali has provided surveyors ensure the possibility of risk assessment during
with electronic laser mining, to simulate the operation of combine
tachometers. Employees of complexes, and to launch new software modules
the mine surveying service, for the mining and geological departments,
who carry out work on the as well as the production and human resources
surface, are equipped with laser directorates. In the future, technologies for the
tachometers, levelling lasers design and planning of mining operations based
and geodesic GPS receivers on up-to-date geological models will be
developed and implemented.
HARDWARE ♦ Mine geologists are
provided with laser tape
PROJECT LOCATION
measures with protractor.
MGIS specialist’s computers
were upgraded to be
compatible with the system.
The server equipment and
local area network were
established.

Uralkali’s investments in
DIGITALISATION
digitalisation amount to
INVESTMENT
$10 million.

DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

The MGIS, alert system for mine personnel and

system for positioning personnel and vehicles
ensure the safety of mining operations, which is
the main priority of the company.

COMMENCED 2020

Sources: Company data

Photo: Uralkali

142 2022 edition

 Established
1909
Existing operations: Other commodities 4

Vorkutskoye & Vorgashorskoye

Photo: Severstal

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

Two deposits divided into Severstal committed

four longwall mines, Rb5.7 billion ($82 million) to
MINE TYPE
one open-pit mine, capital investment on digital
and one concentrating mill. DIGITALISATION and IT projects in 2019, some
INVESTMENT of which was invested at
COMMODITY Coal (thermal & metallurgical)
Vorkutaugol operations. It plans
LOCATION Komi Republic, Russia to invest Rb6.7 billion in digital
and IT in 2020.
2022-2023 Coacking coal concentrate:
PRODUCTION 5.4 million tonnes
DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW
OWNERSHIP Severstal
The Strata system monitors the aerogas environment
EQUIPMENT
(methane, gasdynamic phenomena, coal dust, etc),
Strata advanced monitoring controls the location of personnel and mechanisms
system: at 20m accuracy, and identifies and alerts mine
DIGITALISATION personnel to dangers.
♦ Predictive maintenance
PRODUCTS/
SOFTWARE ♦ Gas detection
COMMENCED 2018
♦ People and proximity
detection.
DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS 
♦ Special modules provide
the WiFi connection ♦ Improve safety
underground, enabling ♦ Manage technological processes more safely.
INFRASTRUCTURE
the use of explosion-proof
smartphones within NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK 
the mine.
♦ In 2020 Severstal brought full WiFi network coverage
♦ Strata comprises a set of
to Vorkutaugol operations, extending coverage to
hardware devices for data
HARDWARE more than 60km. This meant that all smartphone
collection, transmission,
functions and tools are accessible, even in the most
and processing.
remote workings.

2022 edition 143

 4 Existing operations: Other commodities Established
1909

Yakovlevsky

Photo: Severstal

THE BASICS EQUIPMENT

Underground mine and surface

MINE TYPE
crushing plant In 2021 Yakovlevsky mine
DIGITALISATION
plans to invest Rb273 million
COMMODITY Iron ore INVESTMENT
in digitalisation.
LOCATION Belgorod region, Russia

2021
Not available
PRODUCTION DIGITALISATION OVERVIEW

OWNERSHIP Severstal Pitram will control all the technological parameters

of each piece of equipment: location, loading and
EQUIPMENT
unloading, route of movement, the volume of ore
DIGITALISATION ♦ MICROMINE’s Pitram – transported.
PRODUCTS/ real-time fleet management
SOFTWARE and mine control.

INFRASTRUCTURE ♦ WiFi. COMMENCED 2021

♦ 35 loading and delivery

machines, 15 self-propelled
drills, 16 combines and DIGITALISATION INVESTMENT DRIVERS
five electric locomotives will be
equipped with sensors ♦ Increasing efficiency – operators can respond
to problems in a more quick and efficient manner
♦ The mine workings will be
HARDWARE equipped with RFID tags, 19 ore ♦ Decrease downtime.
outlets will be equipped with
technological video surveillance, NEXT STEPS/SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK
55 additional cameras will
be installed on the surface ♦ 24 loading and delivery machines, nine self-
infrastructure and 98 cameras propelled drills and five electric locomotives
will be installed in the mine. are already equipped with necessary sensors.
Severstal planned to finish the pilot testing by
Sources: Company data the end of 2021.

144 2022 edition

Digital solutions that
deliver greater productivity
and lower resource use
Digitalisation is the key to achieving profitable, sustainable and socially
acceptable mining. Because, with the right digital solutions, improved
sustainability and better productivity go hand-in-hand.

Digitalisation is delivering clear benefits across But the best data-driven digital solutions, like
the mineral processing flowsheet. Process FLSmidth’s ECS/ProcessExpert V8.5, also deliver
optimisation, remote maintnance and predictive optimised resource use. That means lower
modelling are just some advances making mine OPEX, a smaller footprint and higher profitability
sites more efficient by maximising throughput - or, what we call, “sustainable productivity”.
and minimising downtime.
[Link]/digital-AI
 Established
1909

The second annual Mining Magazine Intelligence The 2022 report includes: Executive summary:
Digitalisation Report provides a comprehensive Review of profiles and digitalisation database.
review of digitalisation within the mining industry.
It collates interviews with industry leaders and Commentary: Articles discuss the importance of
profiles on mines at various stages of digitalisation digitalisation, where the industry is heading and
to help stakeholders understand the operators and where it falls short with technology.
suppliers at the leading edge of this technology.
This report also contains company profiles that Profiles: A review and breakdown of operations
analyse and describe digitalisation strategies at a that use digital technology, alongside company’s
corporate level. digital strategies.

IN THE SAME COLLECTION

The Mining Magazine Intelligence The Mining Magazine Intelligence The Future Fleets Report is a
Automation Report provides a Exploration Report analyses the comprehensive review of the most
comprehensive review of automation processes and technologies delivering innovative fleets in place across the
within the mining industry. It collates currently underwhelming discovery leading mines and development
interviews with industry leaders and rates, alongside recent greenfield and projects in the industry. It attempts
profiles on mines at various stages of brownfield success stories. to quantify how this equipment is
automation. being deployed, how it is changing
operations, the next steps for
innovation and, wherever possible,
how much capital is being invested.
122 pages – £995 96 pages – £995 140 pages – £995
July 2022 April 2022 January 2022

© Aspermont Media 2022

Cover photo (bottom):
Established [Link]/gorodenkoff, Funtay
1909
[Link]
2022