Technology Innovation in the Mining Industry

As some commodity prices continue to hit historically low levels, mining companies are struggling to recalibrate. It doesn’t help that the industry faces a host of unresolved challenges—from tumbling demand and declining grades to mounting stakeholder expectations and a lack of financing. At the same time, miners must contend with a range of constantly mutable issues, including the innovation imperative, shifting regulatory realities and the rising risks associated with both physical and cyber security.

Challenges are nothing new to the mining industry. However, the stakes have increased as a result of the pandemic. Prior to it, project delays happened as a progression of business with initial budgets often devastated by cost overruns. Larger companies with money to burn can be an advantage, but today’s environment is different, more challenging, and uncertain.

Regardless of size, companies need to rein in and control costs better.

Considering that mining projects are multifaceted and time-consuming, how can companies during a pandemic better manage capex during the construction and development phase of a mine?

Capital allocation is typically fragmented across an organisation, making it difficult for asset owners to link capital spends to expected financial and non-financial returns.

With so many elements to consider when running a mine, smaller mines can’t afford to spend frivolously. Like any size operation, smaller mines need to create a connected mining enterprise that’s integrated with operational technologies and business processes.

Meanwhile the evolution of technology, from advanced analytics to artificial intelligence (AI), has always presented companies and owners with a potential to significantly transform the industry. According to Deloitte, the following are the starting points for mining companies to optimise their digital journeys and unlock sustainable value:

• Understand the effort required to clean up data and upgrade technology infrastructure.
• Integrate operations and governance by bringing planning and execution together in a closed loop system and integrating data across the entire value chain.
• Understand the staffing and skill requirements in moving toward integrated operations centers.

With a cloud-based technology and a templated solution, we’re providing small, mid-size and enterprise mines with what they need, and helping them gain deep insights in an affordable way.

This relentless focus is translating into enterprise-level productivity improvements, with virtually all the players targeting towards millions to billions of dollars in embedded cost savings through improve control within Mastt.

To improve decision making, Mastt allows companies to tie capital allocation to strategic priorities—by, for instance, emphasising only high-quality, long-life assets; shifting decision-making around sustaining capex; or focusing more on higher-grade brownfield exploration.

By embedding Mastt’s excellence into corporate culture, companies can more effectively link their financial and operational drivers back to shareholder value.

Mastt’s cloud-based solution allows organisations to get up and running quickly, whether on a project or at an enterprise level so that benefits can be experienced immediately. Contact us on hello@mastt.com for more info or request a demo.

‍