When it comes to operational technology adoption such as AI and automation, the mining industry generally moves carefully. From the outside, progress appears slow; however, this is due to factors including cultural issues and the practicalities, risks and costs of mining equipment. All of this overlays with technical requirements that rule out off-the-shelf technologies.

With only three percent of haul trucks automated, mining remains a largely manually controlled industry, and with slow technology deployment, sites very often lack the data they need to advance efficiency and productivity. Capital costs are high, and mining equipment tends to have a long lifecycle.

The industry is also heavily regulated, and any new technology must comply with strict safety and environmental standards, often with lengthy and complex approvals. There’s also a lack of skills in the workforce when it comes to adopting advanced technologies.

However, mining urgently needs to advance and adopt new technologies to address many of its challenges.

Challenges for the industry

The make-or-break factors that will shape Australia’s mining future are:

1. Declining ore grades

Ore grades for many minerals are declining rapidly, meaning that much more rock needs to be dug up to meet existing requirements for ore, let alone meet future needs. The move toward decarbonization and electrification shows a huge increase in annual copper demand.

But there’s already a gap with current production rates, with a 6.6-million-metric-ton shortfall anticipated by 2031. The higher demand and declining grades would require miners to increase the volume of ore processed by 44 percent, with an additional one billion metric tons of ore per year on top of recently announced expansions.

2. Social license

Clearly, the mining industry needs new deposits, but getting access and new mines approved is challenging. This is a global problem – if we can’t mine more copper, we won’t have the energy transition we need to meet decarbonization goals.

There are certain places we shouldn’t be operating where the environmental risk is higher. Deposits also take 15–30 years to mature, making the situation increasingly urgent. We don’t currently know where the material we need will come from.

3. Safety concerns

Safety is a primary concern in mining, and there is a lot of investment going into improving safety. Mining is an inherently risky activity with big kit, big holes, big rocks and a lot of movement. In recent times, there have been serious accidents in Australian open-cut mines. Ultimately, to reduce accidents, we need better data on why they occur.

4. Improving productivity

Because of declining ore grades, mine sites need to improve productivity to control costs. If the cost of raw materials rises because we have to dig more rock without increasing productivity, it will have an inflationary impact on the entire global economy.

Consider that when you look around the building you’re in, the room you’re in, the clothes you’re wearing, the vehicle you’re using – if it’s not grown, it’s mined. So, productivity is a global imperative.

Recycling may be part of the solution, but will not provide more than 30–35 percent of the materials we need. The average age of recycled steel is 40 years, which means that steel is now coming back from the economy of 1984 – a much smaller economy.

5. Decarbonization challenge

All industries, including mining, have ambitious decarbonization goals. Many sectors can fairly easily electrify and run plants using renewable or nuclear energy. In mining, the machines used to crush rocks are all electric, and we’re well-progressed in running renewable energy into those systems.

For example, BHP’s Olympic Dam copper mine is investing in wind, solar energy and batteries, which will eventually meet half of its electricity needs.

The problem for mines is with load and haul, which uses diesel-powered equipment. A truck on the highway might flatten its battery once a day. A mining truck will flatten a battery 20 times a day and is also operating in high-temperature environments where battery life is further reduced.

The challenge is that new low-carbon motive technologies that meet the unique challenges of the mining sector have not yet been commercialized. System topologies, battery chemistries and fleet configurations are yet to be trialed and proven in full mining operation.

The answer? Better data

The application of technology, driven by data, is absolutely central to helping address all of the above factors. This means having granular insights into how mines and their equipment are operating, and quality data to measure safety and sustainability.

Currently, data is scarce in mining, with many mines still running on paper. Many of those who are starting to collect data are still at a very early stage, without analytics teams, or even experience in managing data. Sites with good data collection often do not have fully developed data processing, flexible data stores, analytics teams or a developed capability to integrate data-driven tools into daily operations.

As a result, sites often still run with limited data-enabled operational intelligence. The data collected – generally through human input rather than sensors – is typically of poor quality, error-prone and incomplete.

There is a huge opportunity for the mining sector to embrace data by collecting accessible and immediate information, which can provide staff at all levels the insights to improve their performance and productivity.

For example, driving performance is highly diverse, with some drivers being safer and more efficient than others. By capturing data on individual drivers, we can demonstrate ways that they can improve their own driving – such as selecting the best gears and speed for each section of the road they’re traveling on.

We then use gamification with league tables to motivate them to compete with colleagues on specific KPIs. This has been a highly effective strategy in changing individual behavior.

It’s also a highly effective way to decarbonize. By improving diesel fuel efficiency, the average open pit mine could reduce its carbon Scope 1 footprint by up to 20 percent – about 30,000 metric tons of CO2 – equivalent to over 809 hectares of forests preserved in one year.

As the mining industry looks to the future, data and AI solutions will be integral to helping Australia to maintain its position as a leading sustainable and productive mining nation.