Posted by Paul Moore on twentieth August 2024
Richard Roberts, Editorial Director at Beacon Occasions, just lately interviewed some key figures at Hexagon forward of its participation on the IMARC occasion in Sydney in October 2024.
Wendy Hodgetts, Security Supervisor on the Rosebery zinc-copper mine in western Tasmania, gave a warts-and-all deep dive on the historic mine’s introduction of a state-of-the-art operator alertness system (OAS). Senior Gold Fields operations chief, Michael Place, offered equally eye-opening insights into the gold main’s digital and automation journey in Australia.
Hexagon’s Mining division Asia Pacific Vice President Ben Rogers says the openness of the business’s leaders in the present day – on show on the know-how firm’s current regional mining discussion board in Perth, Western Australia – is value savouring.
“The willingness of our prospects to speak brazenly and to share data and supply suggestions in these boards, precisely as you noticed in Perth, and as we noticed later in Almaty [Kazakhstan], shouldn’t be one thing I’ve been used to in my profession,” says Rogers, who spent greater than a decade in senior know-how administration roles at Rio Tinto.
“The place mining homes wouldn’t beforehand need to discuss this know-how, be it productiveness or security, we’re seeing organisations share an increasing number of with a view to study and develop. It’s much more accepted now. I feel the opposite takeaway for me from these boards is that the know-how distributors – and I joined Hexagon as a result of it has know-how that spans the entire mining and metals worth chain – are much less about product focus and extra about delivering a price proposition. How can know-how be utilized to drive enterprise worth?”
Mining’s have to speed up studying and remedy materials issues – many with assistance from software program, automation and probably synthetic intelligence – is little question a key issue within the business’s surging connectivity.
Dave Goddard, Appearing President of Hexagon’s Mining division, sees usually larger ranges of technological literacy as one other issue. “There’s familiarity with the assorted applied sciences that maybe wasn’t there prior to now,” he says. “There’s plenty of mobility within the mining business. Individuals are shifting round from firm to firm and getting expertise with completely different options and there may be in all probability extra basic settlement on the worth of the options. I feel that migrates extra readily into an open discussion board.”
Rogers and US-based Goddard, who will share their experiences and insights at IMARC in Sydney in October, have had completely different vantage factors however have each watched the mining know-how panorama change considerably prior to now decade.
Main worldwide mining tools producers have been massive consumers of area of interest mining tech companies. Hexagon and Canada’s Constellation Software program have constructed massive mining tech stacks. The likes of Australia’s Imdex and Orica have additionally been distinguished gamers within the M&A enviornment.
There’s a race among the many main mining tech gamers to combine merchandise and place themselves for a long-term uptick in digital and automation know-how adoption.
“The imaginative and prescient now we have is a relentless give attention to worth for the shopper,” Goddard says. “How can we assist our prospects function in the best and most protected method? “Essentially, mining hasn’t modified. It’s making the massive rock smaller. You may have bigger machines to be able to decrease your labour value per tonne and you’ll enhance your throughput with a view to meet the commodity calls for of a rising world. However basically, the method hasn’t modified. The fee drivers have developed with the arrival of know-how. It’s a must to be extra environment friendly. The best way you do that’s by including know-how to remove the waste – each the wasted motion and the wasted course of – and achieve this in a way that gives a protected surroundings.”
He added: “One of many benefits of being a know-how firm and never an iron producer is that we’re much more agile. We’re in a position to present options which have worth to the shopper in a shorter time frame.”
Rogers stated: “That agility extends to Hexagon AB, the broader mother or father firm. Hexagon is a know-how firm in a number of sectors and industries, with the power to carry to bear different applied sciences that will sit in different industries in an agile format, to mining. I feel that provides us an amazing benefit as we work to ship worth throughout mining and metals provide chains.”
As Australia’s largest and most important mining occasion, IMARC attracts over 9,000 decision-makers, business leaders, policymakers, traders, commodity consumers, technical specialists, innovators, and educators from greater than 120 nations. For 3 action-packed days, attendees will have interaction in cutting-edge studying, forge invaluable offers, and expertise unparalleled networking alternatives.
