The mine of the future will be less visible, more compact, use less water and energy and have a limited impact on the environment.
Future hubs will become more productive and extract minerals more efficiently thanks to a mass application of new innovations.
Some of the technologies driving this transformation include blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, where resource-intensive processes are being replaced by autonomous operations.
Here are some of the emerging technologies that will transform mining in 2022.
Blockchain in mining
Revolutionary blockchain technology has been digitally transforming every industry with its ground-breaking encryption and digital ledger that enables secure storage and facilitates the transfer of any digital asset.
“Imagine being able to securely and irrevocably verify the provenance of the raw materials in a new car or jewellery. Or digitally trade geotagged cubic metres of gold ore – while it’s still in the ground,” ponders the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Mining leadership team.
To date, blockchain’s prominence in mining has been linked to tracking and tracing supply chains in the resources sector.
The decentralised technology can demonstrate the provenance of materials to ensure minerals are not sourced using child labour, or while violating human rights and environmental regulations in one form or another – and that’s where this kind of innovation can really shine.
“There’s even the futuristic idea of leaving the gold underground, in its “natural vault”, so to say, and selling tokens of unmined, but well-outlined, reserves,” explained Kamini Chain Ltd director Tanya Matveeva.
Big data
The mining industry is a multi-player, data-heavy industry, where large-scale transactions involving materials and money take place 24/7.
Across one site alone, stakeholders can include the mining company, governmental agencies, local communities, transport companies, contractors, suppliers and, eventually, the consumers.
Consequently, the data generated from each of these different entities and processes need to be logged, retrieved, processed and managed efficiently – and this is where big data analytics comes into play.
Big data, if used effectively, can monitor all operations in the mining industry in real-time and help the company achieve a competitive and operational advantage.
To put it simply, if blockchain is the engine, big data is the fuel.
Matveeva describes this synergy as a bid to “connect everything to everything”.
“In one network, every transaction will trigger every node to certify it’s correct and thus, what truly is and truly moves will be visible to all,” she explained.
“That is not a small change. And it is already happening.”
Artificial intelligence
Multinational professional services firm Deloitte believes AI has a big role to play in the resources sector of the future.
“While artificial intelligence is still an emerging suite of advanced and practical technologies, AI is enabling mining companies to become insight-driven enterprises that utilise data to derive key benefits,” the Big Four accounting firm explained.
While Blockchain can provide immutable, secure network infrastructure, and big data can collate and provide a large pool of data, delivering insights quickly and acting upon them in real-time without human intervention is vital to the AI and machine learning process.
If done right, all processes — from deciding the menu in the cafeteria to operating excavators in the field — can be done autonomously.
Looking ahead, AI technology will shift mining from a people-oriented operation to a process-oriented one, which is critical to ensure appropriate health and safety conditions for the mineworkers, a high level of accuracy, error elimination, and a faster decision-making process.
