Mining - November 2021 by Mining Global

November 2021 | miningglobal.com

Custom Persona-Based Industrial IoT Hitachi Vantara’s Siddharth Verma and Andrew Mudford discuss the company’s Industrial IoT journey and the benefits of custom, persona-based solutions

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EDITOR'S LETTER

Making the BOOM Sustainable “Global stock markets are generally being propped up by two sectors – technology and mining”

MINING MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

At time of writing, global stock markets are generally being propped up by two sectors – technology and mining. It’s a good time for the industry as it rides the crest of the latest boom cycle, fuelled in no small part by the disruption of global supply chains and soaring demand for metals in increasing demand for the technology boom accelerated by the pandemic. It’s a perfect storm that so far has positive repercussions. While both sectors are currently enjoying the good times, combining the latest technology with mining expertise could make that situation more sustainable. From attempting to reap the potentially game-changing rewards of space mining to implementing existing tech to improve efficiency, boost production and reduce risk – together the future looks even brighter.

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CONTENTS

Our Regular Upfront Section: 08 Big Picture 10 The Brief 12 Five Minutes With: Paul Gruner

Digital Mining

Hitachi Construction Equipment: Automate Sustainable Mining

Custom Persona-Based Industrial IoT

Industrial Cybersecurity: More Critical Than Data Security?

Hitachi Vantara

Ferrexpo

Industry X.0

Space mining: Sustainability and Profitability Combined

RG Gold

Progressing Well With 5Mtpa CIP Plant Construction

Supply Chain Operations

Outliers Mining Solutions Efficiency through technology

Top 10

Global Sustainable Brands in the Mining Industry

BIG PICTURE

November 2021

Showcasing a new era of mining equipment Las Vegas, US

Reopened in September, the MINExpo became home to some of the most innovative machinery in the mining industry. As leading organisations strive for more sustainable practices and autonomous systems, renewably-powered engines took centre-stage at this year’s MINExpo conference at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. Caterpillar Inc. introduced prospective customers to the latest array of renewable power systems and machines that will drive sustainable change in the mining sector, while delivering visible operational benefits.

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THE BRIEF “Hitachi Construction Machinery is becoming a more digital technologiesoriented, solutions-focused business, which will help us provide the solutions to meet industry needs” Andrew Martin

General Manager International Operations, Global Mining Group, Hitachi Construction Equipment 

BY THE NUMBERS Growing demand for batteries leads to lithium carbonate price increase (per tonne)

US$28,305 October

US$14,176

US$18,765 September

August

US$13,894 July

“Mining other large celestial bodies, such as the moon or Mars, are nearer technical viability, as ongoing rover missions illustrate” Clay Killingsworth

Research Analyst & Senior Consultant, Guidehouse  READ MORE

“One thing that’s unique about Outliers is that we provide a high level of continuous improvement and business improvement support” Adam Hewitt

Chief Operating Officer, Outliers Mining Solutions  READ MORE

November 2021

Rio Tinto supports vaccine roll out for the mining workforce Rio Tinto sets up vaccination hubs to support the roll out of Covid-19 jabs across the Western Australian workforce. READ MORE

Orica commits to net-zero emissions for its mining products A new approach to manufacturing allows Orica to decarbonise the supply chain and production of its mining explosives. READ MORE

Anglo American furthers its adoption of hydrogen fuelling Anglo American has identified nine pilot projects for hydrogen fuelling applications, decarbonising its transport, construction and industrial sectors. READ MORE

PROMINENT MINING INDUSTRY TRENDS IN 2021 Covid-19 has left long-term impressions on the mining industry and companies are now faced with different challenges than they were over 18 months ago. Technology plays an important role in meeting current mining strategies as leaders set their sights on the reduction of costs, emissions and productivity. Technology drives mining strategy implementation Automation and digital control are prominent in many business strategies. From all-electric solutions to haulage and other mining operations, to the implementation of digital applications to provide a predictive view of mining infrastructures. Leveraging digital tools, organisations are also tackling common concerns of carbon-emissions reduction, ESG compliance, and so on. Innovating for a circular economy While waste reduction is a key area for improvement, encouraging circulareconomic innovation is crucial for optimising the use of mined resources. After all, there is a limited supply. Technology allows groups to minimise their waste, but further innovation—like turning raw materials into plant fertilisers—is required to prolong the lives of precious materials.

 RIO TINTO The leading mining corporation has invested US$35mn in Carbon Capture Inc. for a stake in its innovative Direct Air Capture (DAC) machines that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

 ALBEMARLE CORPORATION Its acquisition of a lithium processing plant, which has potential capacity of 25,000 metric tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent and supports the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide.

 SOUTHERN COPPER Southern Copper’s US$1.4bn Tia Maria mining project received further development delays, deemed unfeasible by the Peruvian president Pedro Castillo.

 CHINA China struggles to manage its demand for electricity in line with the climate, with power shortages spreading to 20 provinces in the country.

W A Y U P NOV21

W A Y D O W N

miningglobal.com

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

Paul Gruner President and CEO of Det’on Cho Management LP. Over the past 10 years, Paul Gruner has been involved in the Indigenous business space which is rapidly evolving in Canada, with latter work directly in the mining sector through support services; including construction, logistics, and camp catering.

Q. TELL US ABOUT DET’ON CHO’S ROLE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY?

» “Det’on Cho Management LP is the economic arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and is one of the key suppliers to the local diamond mining industry in Northwest Territories, Canada. We provide a variety of services including labour supply, construction, logistics, camp catering and several other critical support services. We are proud to be one of the largest private employers of local people. We place a large emphasis on employing and developing our own members which is part of our mandate as a community owned corporation.”

Q. WHAT TECHNOLOGY DO YOU THINK WILL CONTRIBUTE MOST TO MINING IN 2021?

» “Currently the COVID pandemic

has driven a lot of innovation through the need to keep people safe, particularly with rapid testing and monitoring onsite. This will continue to be a key driver in the industry outside of the impacts of COVID, the biggest technological impact to mining in 2021 is the consistent push for making the industry greener. This is being driven through renewable energy, lower operating footprints, automation and more. This will continue to be a large push within the industry for many years to come.” 12

November 2021

“ What better than to have an Indigenous led reclamation consortium to take advantage of this opportunity” Q. HOW DO YOU FEEL CULTURAL DIVERSITY HAS CHANGED IN YOUR INDUSTRY?

» “Cultural diversity has brought

a more worldly view to the mining space in Canada’s North. We have multinationals operating in the Arctic where we are based and with that comes a very diverse workforce with different views. It has increased the level of sophistication of business for the area in a good way. We also have a high percentage of the

Indigenous population particularly in Northwest Territories and Nunavut. That has brought Indigenous culture into the mining operations from environmental, traditional knowledge, language, foods and more. Ultimately that creates a richer experience for everyone involved in the space.”

Q. HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR INDUSTRY EVOLVING?

» “I see the mining sector

increasingly involving Indigenous [communities] within all aspects of their business. We will see more Indigenous involvement at Governance level—participating on boards of directors, and Indigenous ownership on projects throughout the supply chain. We have seen several Indigenous groups in Canada that have invested in major aspects of the supply chain for resource miningglobal.com

“ Cultural diversity has brought a more worldly view to the mining space in Canada’s North” 14

November 2021

projects. As capital becomes more readily available and Indigenous business increases in sophistication, the trend of big business transactions will continue.”

Q. IS THERE A PARTICULAR ACHIEVEMENT YOU ARE PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER?

» “I take a great deal of pride in being a leader that helps build cultures

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

part of the Det’on Cho team to be recognised with this.”

Q. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO DO MORE FOR THE CANADIAN MINING INDUSTRY?

» “I am personally inspired to be

a part of economic reconciliation for Indigenous people in Canada. I have been blessed to be surrounded by some incredible Indigenous political and business leaders that are focused on maximising value for their communities and all Indigenous people across Canada. I truly believe that all Canadians benefit from having Indigenous groups actively building the Canadian economy. A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Q. WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU IN THE NEXT 12-18 MONTHS?

» “Our biggest focus over the next

where employees enjoy coming to work. I feel we have done just that at Det’on Cho Management LP. This past year we were successful in being honoured with Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Culture award. We are the first company to win this award from the three territories and one of only three Indigenous corporations to win, ever, across the country. It’s amazing to be a

12 – 18 months will be ensuring that Det’on Cho is well positioned to navigate a changing economy in our traditional territory. Historically Det’on Cho has relied on an active diamond mining sector. We know that the largest operation (Diavik Diamond Mines) will be ceasing operations in 2025. An emerging reclamation economy is forming both in Northwest Territories and across Northern Canada. What better than to have an Indigenous led reclamation consortium to take advantage of this opportunity. That will require new companies and partnerships, retrained staff and collaboration among Indigenous groups in the North. Det’on Cho is intent on taking the lead in this exciting new space.” miningglobal.com

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Custom Persona-Based Industrial IoT 18

November 2021

HITACHI VANTARA

WRITTEN BY: GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY: MIKE SADR miningglobal.com

HITACHI VANTARA

Hitachi Vantara’s Siddharth Verma and Andrew Mudford discuss the company’s IIoT journey and the benefits of custom, persona-based solutions

ith experience spanning more than 20 years each, both Siddharth Verma, General Manager Manufacturing Division and Andrew Mudford, Account Director at Hitachi Vantara both began their careers in 2000. Specialising in manufacturing, mining, and technology, these two executives reflect on Hitachi Vantara and its journey since they joined the company. “Hitachi Vantara is a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd,” begins Verma, “with over 110 years of industrial expertise, and 60 years of IT experience.” “Hitachi is a world leader in areas from manufacturing to automotive to power grids and more, but a lot of how we deliver value is through IT and helping our customers digitally transform their operations for data-driven outcomes,” adds Mudford. “Our particular division is tasked with solutions across the IT spectrum, and a big part of that is trying to empower Hitachi's vision around social innovation and the digital connection of our physical world.

November 2021

HITACHI VANTARA

miningglobal.com

HITACHI VANTARA

“Like many companies, we continue to evolve as a business and the key thing for us is that we have strong leadership driving our agenda around the modern connections of people, places and things to discover new insights that drive innovation. We are focused on the core tenets of data, and how you leverage that data to provide insights and value to customers, whether that’s at the underlying IT infrastructure level or targeted insight for specific industries or verticals such as manufacturing or mining.” Hitachi Vantara’s Industrial IoT Journey “Industrial IoT (IIoT) means lots of different things to different people. At its most core for us, IIoT is about understanding the information and data that customers have access to, and how they can get insights from the data?” explains Mudford. 22

November 2021

“ Like many companies, we continue to evolve as a business and the key thing for us is that we have strong leadership driving our agenda around the modern connection of people, places and things to discover new insights that drive innovation” ANDREW MUDFORD

HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, INDUSTRY SOLUTION PRACTICE, HITACHI VANTARA

“The biggest thing we've found is that customers - depending on what particular part of manufacturing they are operating in - are all at a different stage when it comes

HITACHI VANTARA

Improving manufacturing and mining operations with Industrial IoT “Industrial IoT applications can help manufacturers across almost all of their domains. We can create a rich amount of contextual data from what each process is actually doing. What is the process

SIDDHARTH VERMA TITLE: GENERAL MANAGER MANUFACTURING DIVISION LOCATION: CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES Sid leads the IIoT and the Industrial Solutions division for Hitachi Vantara in digital transformation and Industry 4.0 operating models, supply chain control towers, asset performance management, manufacturing operations, and quality and predictive maintenance. Sid helps customers create smart, connected factories and intelligent products. He also manages the industry leading Lumada Manufacturing Insights portfolio of products on behalf of Hitachi Ltd. Previously, Sid led the practice for Siemens Advanta and Deloitte Digital IIoT with a focus on IoT-enabled growth and operation improvement in the Industrial and Energy sectors.

EXECUTIVE BIO

to digital transformation. Some of our customers are at a more basic level, meaning that they may just want to convert paper and manual processes to digital. At the other end of the spectrum, we're dealing with mature customers, for example in the automotive sector we require more advanced analytics and machine learning type techniques. “The practices that we use have been operating in factories for a long time. Just digitising those allows customers to be a lot more progressive and that's where we start. “We've been on this journey for a little while now, and there's still a long way to go. The industry as a whole is not that digitally mature yet and there are lots of people capable of contributing to digital progress. Some of them are going to be partners, some of them are going to be competitors, and hopefully all of them in some capacity or another are going to be our customers.” Echoing Mudford’s comments, Verma says, “Our biggest challenge is trying to move forward with the capabilities that we have in place and in a format that the client can actually understand and appreciate. Over time options have grown. There are now too many options and vendors. A secondary challenge for us is to differentiate the competition at every step and think about what is and isn’t possible.”

miningglobal.com

HITACHI VANTARA

Title of the video

“With IoT, our customers can start collecting quality data to help them automatically detect a lot of the defects that were previously only visible by a person or a process at a later stage. It gives them a lot more insight into how a process can be done and on a faster scale. The quality is measured at a much higher speed and a much higher level. One of the biggest use cases in this is around maintenance failures. We can use IoT technologies to reduce catastrophic failure, which means we can predict failures in advance, and the maintenance schedules can be optimised to the way items are used, which will overall reduce the cost for the manufacturer and ensure they meet their commitments,” adds Verma.

“ A lot of solutions at the moment are trying to besqueeze into a one-size-fits-all solution. For us, with persona-based approaches, we can be very targeted when solving problems specific to those industries” ANDREW MUDFORD

HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, INDUSTRY SOLUTION PRACTICE, HITACHI VANTARA

contributing? What are people contributing? And once we’re able to see the data across the board, we start to see potential and ask the following questions: What if I changed this product? What if I produce a few more of them? And what will happen if I change this step? What if I do these shifts? With a digital twin, we can simulate these different scenarios and actually help our customers plan their manufacturing operations,” explains Verma. 24

November 2021

HITACHI VANTARA

Commenting on the benefits of Industrial IoT, Mudford explains that it ultimately depends on the digital maturity of the customer. “However, at the most principal level, we’re talking about yield and production. We’re talking about the ability to produce units faster and at a more cost effective price for the customer.. “A lot of the hype around Industrial IoT is that our customers think that it’s a different operating model. In principle, however, I don’t think it is. What we're really doing is trying to provide insights and put them into the hands of operators - to accelerate the decision making process that they may have been unable to make before. This could include the planning of activities, the automation of assets, or even something as simple as ensuring that operators have the insights to make the right product.” Mudford continues, “we've put the insights into the hands of operators in their core system of engagement, which from a change management perspective reduces the amount of time it takes for an operator or the business to take advantage of these activities. And if you look at the history of innovation, manufacturing has been an innovative industry for a long period of time, but engineers have been solving the problems. When these groups of engineers solve problems, they then move on to the next issue. After a period of time the gains that were made start to erode. One of the benefits that we see from our approach to Industrial IoT is that we can basically embed all of these changes to

ensure that they become sustainable. That's the fundamental difference. As opposed to just throwing sensors or dashboards at people, it's about embedding sustainable change into the operations of a business.” The benefits of custom solutions and developing them on a large scale “Customisation means different things to different people, but for us at Hitachi Vantara, it’s about being able to tailor a solution to the needs of our customers while using repeatable building blocks. That’s where the productisation part of our business comes into it,” says Mudford. “Sometimes you can have a solution bespoke to the customer's needs, but as the customer or the industry evolves, the tailored solution is too unique to evolve with them. We want to get the balance between

solutions that are targeted to a specific customer, industry, or problem that can also be scaled and productised. This is our general philosophy and where we see the greatest amount of benefit.” Adding to Mudford’s comments, Verma explains the two extremes when it comes to miningglobal.com

HITACHI VANTARA

solutions and solving problems. “The first extreme can happen when we deploy a custom solution which is built for a certain client, with their particularities and needs. These solutions tend to require a lot of system integrations and hence, become

ANDREW MUDFORD TITLE: HEAD OF PRODUCT MGMT, INDUSTRY SOLUTION PRACTICE INDUSTRIES: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, IOT, SOCIAL INNOVATION, INFORMATION & ANALYTICS

Andrew Mudford heads Industrial Solutions at Hitachi Vantara and focuses on enabling success with digital transformation, IoT, social innovation, data management and analytics for customers within manufacturing and mining industries. With almost 20 years’ experience, Andrew has been involved in the introduction of several world-leading solutions, including the development and implementation of image capture and facial recognition technologies, laser engraving technologies for enhancing the efficiency and security of passport issuance systems and travel documents, smart meters for utilities, and the introduction of NFC technologies for contactless and mobile payments.

November 2021

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: NSW, AUSTRALIA

expensive in nature, and over time, very difficult to maintain. On the other extreme, we have a cookie-cutter solution business which is pure software. The idea is the company will adjust itself to the customer needs, resulting in a much larger shift from the company. “What we have done at Hitachi Vantara is bring in concepts that enable us to build a solution that gives us economies of scale with lots of features that can be customised at any time. We are inspired by what we call mass customisation and the concept of itemisation which allows software frameworks to be highly monetised. This allows us to leverage a lot of features, but the cost is very low due to them being mass-produced.” Industry-specific personabased solutions and KPIs Being one of the largest manufacturing companies in the world, Hitachi is fortunate to be able to think along the same lines as the customers it serves. “We have built the solutions and designed our technologies while thinking about what happens on the shop floor. We take into consideration everything that the quality manager, the maintenance manager and the health and safety manager does in his / her role. This is what we refer to as a persona-driven solution. We have built this expertise outside of the beta and into a user interface that is easily understood and flexible. “The data transforms into an insights calculation and generates KPIs which feed into the dashboards. The user interfaces allows for the health and safety officer or maintenance officer to access the KPIs or data points directly to enable them to change the way people do their jobs.”

HITACHI VANTARA

When it comes to industry-specific KPIs (key performance indicators), Verma adds that these are important to the way that the manufacturing industry works. Working on a set of KPIs, allows manufacturers to be data-driven in their work, as they know that quality work is being produced. “So, as I was saying before, industryspecific persona and the KPIs of a particular industry or subindustry is quite important. Generally speaking, people in the industry talk about manufacturing as one holistic industry area. But when you start breaking it down and consider industries such as mining, medtech, food and beverage, agriculture, paint and chemicals - all of these industries come under the manufacturing umbrella,

although they don't always adhere to the same KPIs. This is why industries need their own specific KPIs, and we need to adhere to these KPIs rather than reinvent them,” continues Verma. Adding to Verma’s comments Mudford says, “This is an area we pride ourselves on. A lot of solutions are trying to squeeze

“We can use IoT technologies to reduce catastrophic failure, which means we can predict failures in advance, and the maintenance schedules can be optimised” SIDDHARTH VERMA

GENERAL MANAGER MANUFACTURING DIVISION, HITACHI VANTARA miningglobal.com

November 2021

HITACHI VANTARA

“Our biggest challenge is trying to bring forward the capabilities that are there and in a format that the client can actually understand and appreciate” SIDDHARTH VERMA

GENERAL MANAGER MANUFACTURING DIVISION, HITACHI VANTARA

into a one-size-fits-all solution. For us, with persona-based approaches, we can be very targeted when solving problems specific to these industries; for example, from the subindustry we are able to provide a solution to a manufacturer that specifically addresses the maintenance manager's needs. With a one lens approach we’re very strong, but it becomes even more powerful when we get into the sub-industry. From this point we can be even more targeted. “Manufacturing is a very broad term and what's appropriate to a steel manufacturer is different to an automotive manufacturer and an aerospace manufacturer. And so, for us, we pride ourselves on driving personas, not only to the maintenance manager, but the maintenance manager working in steel manufacturing. We talk in their language and about things that resonate with them. We provide value in a faster space of time which we are ultimately going to get measured on. Our customers don't have the time or energy to take on science based projects, and this allows us to demonstrate relevant proof of value.”

miningglobal.com

DIGITAL MINING

HITACHI CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT: Automate

Sustainable Mining Andrew Martin explains Hitachi Construction Machinery’s autonomous haulage system and autonomy for operational efficiency and sustainability in mining 30

November 2021

WRITTEN BY: TOM SWALLOW

DIGITAL MINING

ining processes are moving far beyond tradition. As technology and artificial intelligence are commonplace in most industries, the mining sector has responded well to the demands of both the climate and the advancement of technology. Each week new stories surrounding the application of technology in mining emerge, ranging from the electrification of machinery to the autonomous operation of heavy haulage vehicles. Within such a fastpaced industry, which continues to break down barriers, it's difficult to fully comprehend the limitations of technology

and, consequently, where the areas for development remain. While mining companies are looking for more efficient methods of working, issues with sustainability have come to light over recent years, providing them with further incentives to automate their operations. Sustainability initiatives have never been so prominent in leaders’ minds and technology organisations play vital roles in allowing the industry to adapt for the better. The mining industry is one where both efficiency and sustainability innovation must marry for positive change among organisations and the communities that surround them. miningglobal.com

sustain peak performance.

Benchmark your actual process and asset performance data against your expected performance with Honeywell Forge for Industrial, for better decisions that impact reliability, safety and profitability. For more information, please visit: www.honeywellprocess.com/iiot

DIGITAL MINING

“ HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY IS BECOMING A MORE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES-ORIENTED, SOLUTIONS-FOCUSED BUSINESS TO MEET THE SUSTAINABILITY NEEDS OF THE MINING INDUSTRY” ANDREW MARTIN

GENERAL MANAGER INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS, GLOBAL MINING GROUP, HITACHI

Key areas for development in mining Where do organisations start? Before miners can visualise the journey ahead, they first have to consider a few factors. Without a clear idea as to whether they require improved operational efficiency, safety precautions, reduced carbon emissions, or to address ESG, businesses will struggle to optimise their automation technologies. Operational efficiency is an area that can be addressed through partnership, which is something that

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. has focused on as it engineers smarter machinery and advanced autonomous solutions for mining applications. “Hitachi Construction Machinery manufactures ultra-large hydraulic excavators and rigid dump trucks to overcome the challenging environments of some of the world’s largest open-cut mines. Our areas of expertise and innovations extend far beyond just the production of mining machinery though. Through the use of cutting-edge technology and services, we are able to generate further added value for our customers’ operations,” says Andrew Martin, General Manager – International Operations, Global Mining Group at Hitachi Construction Machinery. miningglobal.com

DIGITAL MINING

“ AUTONOMOUS EQUIPMENT IS ONE OF THE RECENT MAJOR TRENDS, TO INCREASE SAFETY, PRODUCTIVITY AND PREDICTABILITY” ANDREW MARTIN

GENERAL MANAGER INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS, GLOBAL MINING GROUP, HITACHI

November 2021

DIGITAL MINING

Complementary solutions drive mine efficiency As a well-established equipment manufacturer, Hitachi Construction Machinery has engineered some of the most sophisticated machines to break real-world barriers in open mine settings. The EX8000 mining excavator – with an operating weight of over 800 tonnes – is one of its latest engineering triumphs, along with its range of EH AC-3 rigid dump trucks, both designed to work seamlessly with each other. The EH AC-3 series truck has been developed for optimal speed and fuel consumption as it encounters varying terrains on-site. “The Hitachi rigid dump truck with trolley configuration has the capability of switching its power source from diesel to overhead electric power for uphill haul roads, to achieve around twice the speed of a conventional diesel-powered model, or on flat haul roads to help reduce diesel consumption, which leads to reduced carbon emissions and life-cycle costs,” says Martin. Hitachi Construction Machinery also leverages its subsidiaries’ solutions for effective use of its vehicles, such as the Fleet Management System supplied by Wenco International Mining Systems Ltd. “The fleet management system provided by Wenco is an integrated suite of solutions to support the digital transformation of the mining industry,” Martin explains. The fleet management solution can pay dividends in terms of mining efficiency, by ensuring that machines are optimised for transport speed and continuous operation. It also leverages data analytics and other technologies to allow for predictive maintenance, increasing the life-cycle of individual vehicle components and mitigating as much potential downtime as possible. miningglobal.com

DIGITAL MINING

“ TECHNOLOGY IS CONTINUING TO BE FURTHER DEVELOPED IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, AND ACHIEVE NETZERO EMISSIONS WITHIN THE MINING INDUSTRY” ANDREW MARTIN

GENERAL MANAGER INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS, GLOBAL MINING GROUP, HITACHI

“Autonomous equipment is one of the recent major trends, to increase safety, productivity and predictability. Hitachi Construction Machinery has developed the ZCORE system platform, which will help further facilitate the development of autonomous excavators, wheel loaders and rigid dump trucks,” says Martin. Safety is a major priority for mining companies. When looking at the safety aspect of the fleet management and autonomous haulage systems, allowing heavy machinery to move across mines without human operators on board may seem like a contradictory solution. The adoption of technology such as Hitachi AHS, however, can enhance safety and provide more productive operation across haul operational areas within high-risk environments and even mixed operational fleets. Hitachi Construction Machinery’s AHS embeds Hitachi technologies used in railway signalling safety systems, providing the ability to control the movement of vehicles around open-pit mines. Its applied object detection functionality identifies and directs the autonomous trucks to avoid potential collisions, and has the capability to manage and control operation when non-AHS vehicles are present, offering maximum site safety. Martin says “our Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) is an enhanced 36

November 2021

system that delivers safety benefits and a streamlined mining solution to boost productivity, by enabling the unmanned autonomous operation of mining dump trucks. The deployment of Hitachi’s AHS is already underway with a focus to help customers realise greater value through higher fleet utilisation, increased operational efficiency, improved productivity, safety and cost performance.” How does the Autonomous Haulage System integrate? According to Martin, “technological advancement through IoT, automation, AI and the effective use of data platforms are extremely relevant in mining. Hitachi

DIGITAL MINING

various customer challenges through interoperability, open innovation and integrating technologies with a ‘One Hitachi’ approach,” Martin says.

Construction Machinery’s strategic investment as a digital technologies-oriented, solutions-focused business, is transforming mining operations and industry opportunities.” Utilising refined IT and IoT solutions, Hitachi Construction Machinery is able to integrate its autonomous haulage system with the current technology functions of its customers. Hitachi Construction Machinery equipment leverages technology that is system agnostic to further develop its own and have its products up and running much faster. “Solution Linkage is a Hitachi Construction Machinery ICT/ IoT solution. By leveraging and integrating advanced technologies from across the business group, we are able to help solve

Automating sustainability into mining practices As a principal partner of COP26, Hitachi has a crucial role to play in decarbonising the industry and supporting the development of society. With its commitments in mind, the technology developer is working towards net-zero status by 2050. How will the company achieve this? The group hopes to achieve its goal through careful management of carbon emissions throughout its entire value chain and leverage strategic partnerships and procurement management, to pursue steps in a more eco-friendly direction. “Partnerships such as the recent agreement between Hitachi Construction Machinery and ABB to develop a full battery dump truck, by utilising the advanced AC-3 trucks system capabilities with the addition of the optional trolley system and the integration of ABB’s technologies indicate how the industry can collaborate to provide future effective solutions for the industry,” Martin explains. Community support is also an area in which mining has a serious effect and one that Hitachi Construction Machinery is pleased to address. With growing concerns in some countries—especially where mining is disruptive to people’s livelihoods—there is a significant expectation from mining organisations to bolster communities surrounding its operations. “Hitachi Construction Machinery prioritises environmentally friendly activities that protect our global environment and the sustainability of society. The purpose of miningglobal.com

DIGITAL MINING

our initiatives is not to just produce or sell machinery, but to continue to supply the appropriate machinery and solutions for our customers that help develop countries and regions, maintain production activities and maintain social activities.” While automation does not directly affect a corporation’s ability to support its locality, the positive action that Hitachi Construction Machinery has witnessed could suggest that developing mining efficiency has a rippling effect as organisations find themselves 38

November 2021

with more breathing room for innovative thinking and social collaboration. Through materiality (corporate social responsibility) initiatives, Hitachi Construction Machinery can contribute to and invest in social causes and community programmes aimed at building skills and knowledge in technologybased areas to help support the growth of the digital mining age. “As a result, towns and nations prosper, and people’s lives are enriched. In response to climate change and decarbonisation trends around the world,

DIGITAL MINING

“GREATER VALUE THROUGH HIGHER FLEET UTILISATION, INCREASED OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY, IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY, SAFETY AND COST PERFORMANCE” ANDREW MARTIN

GENERAL MANAGER INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS, GLOBAL MINING GROUP, HITACHI

Hitachi Construction Machinery will, as a customer partner, propose viable products and solutions so that customers can actively achieve their goals.” The effects of technology development can be seen beyond their direct implications in the mining sector. While organisations can benefit from more efficient operations, sophisticated tech has the ability to make open-cut mines much safer, more sustainable and more efficient. Hitachi Construction Machinery leverages its

current technologies from other industrial applications and injects further innovations to develop its mining solutions. Knowledge is key when it comes to digital transformation, and many industry leaders are joining forces with partners to leverage their combined expertise and experience to provide huge benefits and cutting-edge solutions for the mining industry. Increased efficiency allows miners to focus their attention on reducing emissions, by electrifying their machinery, for a more sustainable industry. miningglobal.com

FERREXPO

DEVELOPING A WORLD LEADING IRON ORE COMPANY

November 2021

WRITTEN BY: DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY: GLEN WHITE

FERREXPO

miningglobal.com

FERREXPO

Jim North, CEO of Ferrexpo, reveals how the Ukrainian mining business is embracing digital transformation, expanding its global sales footprint and future-proofing operations with its sustainability goals

errexpo’s priorities are to position for growth and further optimise its operations while ensuring disciplined governance. Ferrexpo’s strategy is to produce and export high-quality pellets to premium steel mills around the world that produce sophisticated steel products. It aims to be a low-cost efficient producer of iron ore pellets with a reliable logistics infrastructure. A global player in the steel industry Since Ferrexpo listed in 2007 its focus has been on improving the quality of the iron ore pellets it produces (now a high grade 65%+), transforming facilities for a broadened portfolio outlook, and growing its customer base with Tier 1 steel producers. “We now have a first-class sales book and have become a global player in the raw materials supplying the steel industry in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US”, explains Interim CEO & Executive Director, Jim North. “We've continued that quality journey in the last couple of years, and been broadening into the DR market, which is where we see a large proportion of our growth in production going in the future. We've been doing trial cargoes since 2018, and in 2020, we sold saw a substantial amount, just over 300,000 tonnes of material, into the DR market, and we would see a larger proportion of our sales portfolio moving that way going forward”.

November 2021

Jim North, Interim CEO & Executive Director, Ferrexpo

FERREXPO

miningglobal.com

FERREXPO

Expansion “We've been planning how we want to grow our business with a high-quality, long-life resource in Ukraine. One of the challenges we have with that resource is the amount of options, but what is the actual highest value-add path forward?", asks North. “We’ve been working on answering that and we've now started executing. We're into the detailed design and execution of our growth programme. 44

November 2021

We've informed the market we intend to double our production over time. We can incrementally grow the business by expanding our brownfield activities. Two years ago, we started the development of our third open-pit mine, Belanovo. We’ve started stripping activities and are gradually expanding. We are timing this to come online when we'll need a more high-grade material as we expand our concentrator and pelletiser footprint”.

FERREXPO

JIM NORTH TITLE: INTERIM CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMPANY: FERREXPO

1960

Year Founded

Resources Industry

$1.7bn Revenue

EXECUTIVE BIO

Jim North joined Ferrexpo in November 2014 as Group Chief Operating Officer. In February 2015, Jim was appointed the Non-executive Chairman of Ferrexpo Belanovo Mining. On 28 May 2020, Jim was appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ferrexpo plc, and was appointed Executive Director for the Board of Ferrexpo plc on 5 July 2020. Jim joined Ferrexpo in November 2014 and since then he has successfully managed the Company's operations and introduced world class operating practices. Previously, Jim was Chief Operating Officer of London Mining plc, where he was accountable for setting the company's operational and investment strategy around the world. Prior to this, he held a variety of senior operational management roles in multiple commodities with Rio Tinto and BHP.

Zeppelin is a Caterpillar Dealer since 1954. Zeppelin International responsible for construction and mining equipment business in several countries in the CIS. In the CIS Zeppelin has a strong footprint in the mining industry. We create solutions to meet the expectations of our mining customers in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and in Uzbekistan. Reliable Caterpillar machines and operational excellence are essential for sustainable success. Zeppelin supports mining companies with professional 24/7 on-site service support, with preventive maintenance solutions to reduce downtime and maximize profit, with adopting best practices and with financing solutions. Highly qualified operators and technicians are crucial for utmost equipment performance. Therefor Zeppelin pays high attention to the training of customer personnel and to knowledge transfer by its own training centers. Digital solutions such as an Asset Management Tools enable a proactive maintenance approach and lead into low ownership costs. Sustainability, focused on social responsibility, environmental management and economicgrowth is one of the core values of Zeppelin and Caterpillar. Caterpillar has been always

investing in new technologies to be ready to meet the future needs of our customers. One focus is on energy and emission reduction in the own business, and helping customers decrease their carbon footprints through technical solutions that contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Fuel reduction technologies, alternative fuels, diesel-electric machines, and trolley assist are widely used today. Autonomous vehicles are a strong trend in the mining industry. About 350 autonomous Caterpillar mining trucks are running today with a high milage. Customers experience productivity increase in the rage of 30%. More than 3 billion tonnes of material are moved by Cat® autonomous trucks using Cat® MineStar™ Command for hauling since first in operation. Electrification is another area in which Caterpillar is investing heavily to meet future customer expectations. For about 100 years Caterpillar has been helping our customers building a better world, making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent.

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Embracing transformation in Ukraine

“ We live and work in a cyclical industry; the commodity prices vary considerably year on year, so we’ve chosen a conservative but very solid program for expansion” JIM NORTH

INTERIM CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FERREXPO

November 2021

Ferrexpo has four pellestiser lines of pelletisers with investments planned in each line followed by incremental expansion of concentrated production with more crushing and grinding equipment. “We’ll be growing out production slowly over the next 10 to 12 years”, confirms North. “I think that's the best strategy for us and it de-risks the business. We know we live and work in a cyclical industry; the commodity prices vary considerably year on year, so we’ve chosen a conservative but very solid program for expansion”. Decarbonisation Decarbonisation is gathering pace so the DR market is the key to future growth for

FERREXPO

UKRAINE OPERATIONS Ferrexpo’s resource base is situated along a 50km mineral deposit in the Ukraine, which allows for the efficient expansion of production through brownfield developments. As of 1 June 2020, the company has estimated proven and probable ore reserves of 1.7 billion tonnes classified according to the JORC Code. These Ore Reserves are included in Ferrexpo’s mMineral Resources of resources approximately 6.1 billion tonnes. In addition, as of 1 June 2020, the company had estimated resources of 13.1 billion tonnes under the FSU Classification.

Ferrexpo. “There’s a lot of talk about green steel”, says North. “If we want a green steel industry, blast furnace technology either needs to substantially change or will eventually be phased out. Traditionally, our standard pellets feed the blast furnace market. For a green steel product, you need to move away from the traditional technologies that use coke and filament gas for fuel, and towards electric arc furnaces and the DR processes. As we work on our growth programme we're modifying our technology to allow us to produce a higher-grade, ultimately carbon-neutral pellet needed for the green steel process”.

Ferrexpo’s ore body has been classified into nine deposits of which the first three have been developed into two open pit mines: • FPM exploits the GPL deposits. The FPM mine has consistent geology and a long-life production profile beyond 2040, based on annual mining output of approximately 30 million tonnes. • FYM exploits the Yerystivske deposit. The development of the FYM mine fully utilises known and existing technology and infrastructure. FYM has an approximate mine life beyond 2055 based on current annual output

miningglobal.com

TO BE THE NO.1 SYSTEM SOLUTION PROVIDER

Sumitec, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, has been providing engineering and technical support for mining equipment and Komatsu shovels and trucks since 2003, when its working partnership with Ferrexpo began. Well established in Ukraine, Sumitec is the official representative for Komatsu construction and mining equipment as well as Toyota material handling and lifting equipment and works with a host of mining multinationals, including ArcelorMittal and Metinvest.

Trusted technical support

“We provide 24/7 in-house technical support for Ferrexpo with a maximum reaction time of one hour,” explains Sumitec

Director Alexander Scherbakov. “Our people are trained by Komatsu Germany’s mining division and in Japan. We also work closely with our Canadian sister company SMS Equipment which has 60 years of industry experience. “We aim to reduce downtime of the equipment and, despite the limitations of Ukraine’s infrastructure, meet international standards. For example, we’ve replaced conventional lifting with jack systems which have reduced repair time down from 20-28 days to just 5 days.” Sumitec manages rebuilds of all components: final drives, engines, transmissions, differentials. “We can also rebuild hydraulic cylinders and manufacture hydraulic hoses at our in-house facility,” adds Scherbakov. “We’ve always got the right parts in stock to put machines back into operations as fast as possible.”

Digitalization

Digitalization is driving efficiencies for both maintenance and operations at Ferrexpo. “We’re looking at introducing more automatic equipment on site,” adds Scherbakov. “We can design the workflow and work with Ferrexpo much faster with a digital approach that also allows for the introduction of new autonomous equipment. We can receive projects and download them on to our machine and take control of daily operations progress. This enables us to ensure everything is done on plan and controlled remotely to guarantee quality and reduce time.”

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FERREXPO

MAINTAINING A LICENSE TO OPERATE “We’re proud of the charitable activities in our CSR program,” asserts Ferrexpo’s Interim CEO & Executive Director, Jim North. “Maintaining a social license to operate is important for Ferrexpo. Our foundation, the Poltava Charity Fund, typically receives investment of around 1% of EBITDA from the previous year into its community projects. We invested $6mn last year, of which $2.5mn was related to the Covid-19 response effort. It's targeted expenditure, we’re not just investing into the community. We're thinking about the next generation of miners, so we want the community to have the facilities that they have. We're a rural community, far from any large city, so we want the children to have good sporting and education facilities. We invest in health programs, and improve the local environment so we have a more engaged workforce.” “Education is very important to us,” he adds. “I don't think that the Ukraine is any different to what you're seeing globally; urbanisation across the globe presents challenges. We actually want to help people understand the important role of mining in actually developing the modern world. For the renewables industry to expand, it actually needs mining to provide the raw materials. We want to be a good corporate citizen, so part of our CSR program is supporting our communities, but also, the focus is on the younger generation. We want people to understand that mining is important and interesting. The technology driving it is a window into the future: autonomy, AI, drones, robotics… We want to help inspire the next generation of miners to join our industry.”

November 2021

FERREXPO

Digital transformation supporting sustainability and safety Ferrexpo is on the journey towards decarbonising its mining fleet by implementing mine electrification, transitioning to renewable energy sources for electricity, and making the move away from using natural gas in its pelletisers with hydrogen the most likely solution. “Automation will also play a role in the future”, adds North. “It delivers efficiency and lowers cost inputs. So, if you're thinking about the carbon journey, with lower inputs into your process you're generally going to use less carbon too”. Ferrexpo is continuing its fleet autonomy journey with Epiroc. “We first began automating our drills back in 2017”, recalls North. “We currently have three semiautonomous drills being operated via a tele-remote process from our mining control room – we call the process teleremote. The driller now can come to work, sit in front of a computer screen with a joystick, almost like a Sony PlayStation, and get to operate the drill from the office. This removes our drillers from the mining hazards of the pit. They don’t work in a highvibration environment. There's no dust. And you're removing people from that person/ machine interface, which is removing the potential for accidents to occur”. North also notes the spike in productivity when shift changes are minimised with continuous operation. “We've been running continually since 2017, and the intention is to move to fullautonomous drilling as we expand the business. Once we're comfortable with the technology and our workforces have adopted fully, we'll move to the point where one driller can operate two or three drills at one time”. miningglobal.com

At Outliers Mining Solutions, we elevate productivity at mines around the globe. We deliver lasting solutions in mining operations, asset management and mine technology. So, when you need an advisor and implementors with a distinguished track record and deep industry experience, Outliers is a miner’s major advantage.

Outliers: improving mine performance and efficiency Operational consulting and implementation expertise across a range of mining-specific services to increase productivity and reduce costs Outliers Mining Solutions is a multidisciplinary operational consulting firm serving the global mining industry. Outliers CEO & Co-founder Salar Javid leads an innovative consulting and value delivery approach across the mining space. “In partnership with our clients, we deliver end-to-end solutions to improve productivity and efficiency. We use data from mining operations to analyze past performance and implement sustainable solutions that lead to effective decision making to improve productivity and efficiency,” says Javid. Outliers’ unique approach to consulting and operational improvement results from their expertise in technology and a deep understanding of the challenges mining operations face, delivering rapid improvements over short periods. “Our consultants use their breadth of experience in technical, leadership and management roles in the industry and can also leverage the latest innovations in mine technology and delivery solutions,” assures Javid. “We don’t need to rely on external technical expertise. We have the agility to go into organizations to diagnose problems and correct them with a small team. More than

just consultants, we strive to deliver lasting solutions in mines by increasing the capability within our client’s workforce.” Building partnerships to bridge the gap “The needs of industrialisation have created a niche for specialists, but they can’t always communicate with each other, so the value these specialists provide can be lost. As a result, generalist consulting groups have emerged to service the sector,” explains Javid. “We consider ourselves as ‘bridgers’ of that gap in the mining industry to help companies effectively implement and take advantage of innovations like automation.”

Outliers Mining Solutions supports companies like Ferrexpo so they can maximise their investment in tech and innovation. “At Ferrexpo, we were able to quickly close the gap that existed in the knowledge, capability and capacity of their people. This allowed them to effectively utilise the technology they already had in place. We helped analyse their data and operations and gave the team the tools to make more effective operational decisions in real-time. This improvement delivered an increase of over 22% in truck productivity.”

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FERREXPO

“ For a green steel product, you need to move away from the traditional technologies that use coke and filament gas for fuel, and towards electric arc furnaces and the DR processes” JIM NORTH

INTERIM CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FERREXPO

Drones Ferrexpo implemented drone surveys in 2019 at its seond original Ukrainian mine in Ukraine called Yeristovo, and is now in a position to roll out the process at its original mine, Poltava. “What took three surveyors two weeks to do, we can get done now in around two days using drones”, reveals North. “Some of our surveyors have trained to become drone pilots; taking place positions and feeding 56

November 2021

that digital information back to the office to convert into a data file and load into our planning systems. It’s dramatically improved the efficiency with which we can do surveying and mapping of the mine and, obviously improves the accuracy, because you're taking that chance for human error out of the equation. And we’re also improving safety by taking workers out of the hazards of the person/machine interface in the mine”.

FERREXPO

Autonomous evolution of the mining workplace North highlights the misconception around autonomy. “People think we're driving it because we want to reduce roles and the number of people deployed in the process”, he says. “Generally, that’s not the case. Pushing processes to be more efficient can result in less people involved, but not significantly. Mostly what we see happen is the role, instead of sitting in a truck drill

or dozer, transitions into a technician supporting the processes required. For example, the communications networks that actually run all this technology are extensive and need to be maintained. That creates new roles that didn't actually exist before”. Ferrexpo is partnering with ASI Mining, an American robotics company with decades of experience working with the likes of Ford and Toyota that were also part of the team delivering autonomous solutions miningglobal.com

Humanize. Optimize. Digitize.

S VALUE

BUSINES

VED.

N. ACHIE

CREATIO

At Proudfoot, our people are ‘all-in’ working with your people to deliver lasting value.

We work shoulder-to-shoulder, engaging your teams to assess, design, implement, and accelerate improvement and transformation, building capabilities at every level along the way, and delivering measurable bottom line impact.

g tin ra pe tO

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FERREXPO

PUTTING A HUMAN FACE ON CHANGE Two Proudfoot sr. executives discuss the Covid driven surge in demand and how they’re helping clients meet digital and operational change to achieve hard-results while focusing on people. JJ Van Pletzen and Jon Wylie are veteran mining experts at Proudfoot. They have almost sixty years’ experience between them. Van Pletzen says they’ve come a long way. ‘Our focus is far more about people now, aligning company operating systems with strategy and bringing all that together in a digital world.’ Wylie agrees. ‘The challenge in the digital world is to put people at the centre of any company strategy. Change happens on an individual basis.’

to meet growing demand. That stretches an organisation and that requires new skills and systems to meet those demands.’ Proudfoot specializes in helping clients focus on adopting technology and optimising that through the right operating model while engaging people – all the stakeholders. Making the most of work processes across the entire value chain and identifying and releasing the hidden millions in the operation. ‘When Jon talks about digital transformation, it’s all about helping clients humanize this process in addition to optimizing. That’s down to the way you manage. And, of course, you have to optimise before you digitise,’ says Van Pletzen.

‘Many think there is resistance to change in a business. There isn’t. There is resistance to how change is being led and created.’ Global mining faces huge geographical and cultural challenges and the pandemic has meant solutions to those challenges and the changes needed have been accelerated with once unimaginable speed. Wylie sites Proudfoot’s work with the Ukrainian based iron ore mining company Ferrexpo as a good example of how the obstacles of a Covid/climate change age are being met. ‘In a Covid world we are seeing pent-up consumer demand,’ says Wylie. This is sparking significant growth. ‘Mining companies such as Ferrexpo, providing raw materials, will be going through that demand cycle.’ There is a surge in new capital projects… a move to build new mines and expand capacity

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TWITTER FACEBOOK LINKEDIN INSTAGRAM

www.proudfoot.com • info@proudfoot.com

FERREXPO

Experts in Training and Consultancy Services – Worldwide TTE International delivers high quality technical training and consultancy services to clients in the energy, engineering, process and mining sectors – delivering instruction either at our first-class UK facilities or on location at client operational locations across the world. Flexible and prepared to travel, our experienced trainers have delivered training in Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Oman, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

We can work with your business to complete skills matrices, design and carry out training needs analysis and competency assessments. Supporting you with new training, upskilling or re-skilling your workforce, our programmes are accredited by internationally recognised awarding bodies and supported by externally audited quality systems and procedures.

Clients we work with: • Ferrexpo • Anglo American • BP • Shell • Marathon Oil • ICL • Lucite

Tel: +44 1642 462266 • Email: gts@tte.co.uk

AUTOMATION RETROFIT LEADERS ASI Mining is the leading non OEM automation retrofitter in the mining industry. Since our first automation retrofit in 2006 with CAT 777s, we’ve continued to mature and scale. Today, we’re deploying AHS on 3 continents and have expanded our scope to provide autonomous solutions in multiple areas of the mine.

OEM Agnostic

ASI’s core mission has remained the same- to help mine operators improve safety and get more out of their mobile equipment assets through automation.

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As an independent technology provider, we offer true OEM agnostic, retrofittable solutions, with more interoperability and scalability than any other AHS provider.

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November 2021

Retro-fit your existing equipment, no matter what make or model.

Interoperable Compatible with Legacy FMS and participating OEMs. Designed as a platform to manage automation for the entire mine. Automated over 90 different vehicle models (and counting). Collaborated on mining automation projects on 3 continents with partners and customers since 2006. Worked with dozens of leading OEM partners.

FERREXPO

“We've been running continually since 2017, and the intention is to move to fullautonomous drilling as we expand the business. Once we're comfortable with the technology and our workforces have adopted fully, we'll move to the point where one driller can operate two or three drills at one time” JIM NORTH

INTERIM CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FERREXPO

miningglobal.com

FERREXPO

“ What took three surveyors two weeks to do, we can get done now in around two days using drones” JIM NORTH

INTERIM CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FERREXPO

Reduce energy consumption and improve recovery rates? How vertical grinding mills helped Ferrexpo achieve both Partner for positive change.

November 2021

FERREXPO

and our concentrators. And we've recently signed a deal for Weir to provide highpressure grinding rolls; the HPGR units, which we're going to use to expand our concentrator capacity and improve our crushing and grinding capability.” Allied to these key partners, Sumitec provides high-quality metal cutting tools, machine accessories and engineering equipment to meet the demands and challenges of the market and Outliers deliver mining optimisation and consulting services to improve mine performance efficiency.

for NASA’s rovers. “Working with ASI has allowed us to deploy an OEM-agnostic autonomous solution, so we can work with any truck across our operations”, explains North. “ASI can also help us make that truck autonomous truck. Caterpillars, Hitachis, Komatsus, Liebherrs… ASI can deliver the solution to get them to interact and work together and we don’t need to change out the entire fleet”. Partnering for success Part of Ferrexpo’s CSR programme involves developing local suppliers and supporting the communities it operates in. Allied to its local reach, a global focus on producing high-quality iron ore pellets requires leading tech partners like ASI (who bring skills to the site and help train local workers building the in-house skillset) and major OEMs like Komatsu. “Metso has been key to our development”, adds North. “They offer process technology for both our power lines

Green Steel “We, as an organisation, need to think about what COVID's taught us”, believes North. “If you think about health and safety and the well-being of people, we've been quite fortunate that we haven't been heavily impacted. I think it's taught us a lot about thinking outside the box. What are the issues you might not have in your risk register that could play out and impact your business? It's taught us to think more broadly in terms of impact”. With the increased move online via remote working and tech adoption, cybersecurity is critical. “Moving forward, to understand how we can protect the business with its data online while using online tools to communicate, we need to develop systems to protect ourselves from external sources”, pledges North, who notes the same care must be taken to avoid attacks on the environment with the push towards carbon neutrality. “Ferrexpo is well placed to increase production in a way that can produce the green steel of the future”.

miningglobal.com

INDUSTRY X.0

16 PSYCHE ASTEROID

November 2021

SPACE MINING:

Sustainability and Profitability Combined Clay Killingsworth, author of a new report for Guidehouse, explains the incredible opportunities and challenges associated with space mining WRITTEN BY: SCOTT BIRCH

rom Jeff Bezos to Captain Kirk, hypersonic missiles to concerns about climate change – space is out there in a way not seen since the Moon landings. According to recent analysis in The Planetary Science Journal, two near-earth asteroids could contain precious metals worth US$11.65 trillion – more iron, nikel and cobalt than exists on earth. If that doesn’t get you excited, how about 16 Psyche, an asteroid that NASA intends to visit in 2022, worth an estimated US$10,000 quadrillion. According to Forbes, the entire net wealth on planet Earth in 2021 stands at less than half a quadrillion dollars. Little wonder then that mining organisations the world over may be interested in the opportunities, and realities, of space mining – outlined in a new report from Guidehouse. The report titled ‘Space Mining Can Enable Sustainable Travel Both On And Off Earth’ was written by research analyst Clay Killingsworth, and he spoke exclusively with

Mining Global about how space mining can provide this sustainable future while also looking at the complexities, challenges and super-rich opportunities. Q. The title of the report is making travel sustainable on and off earth – explain what that means? A. The title refers to the applications of two of the prime targets for space mining operations: water and rare earth elements (REEs). Rare earths are metals that are critical to manufacturing, among other things, highefficiency batteries and computer chips. Demand for electric vehicles, utility-scale electricity production and storage, and the Internet of Things can only be met with increased REE production. While REEs are found throughout Earth’s crust, these elements are characterised by ready dispersion into surrounding materials such as soil and water, unlike other metals such as copper or gold that aggregate into veins. Because REEs are present only in low concentrations on Earth, mining them is often prohibitively costly. However, these elements may be present in much higher concentrations on asteroids or other celestial bodies where chemical and mechanical forces cannot dilute them. Substantial amounts of REEs also exist in Earth’s orbit in discarded rockets, scrapped space stations, and end-of-life satellites. These elements are already in near-usable miningglobal.com

INDUSTRY X.0

“Once resource values become more certain, the competition among both commercial and public space agencies will be fierce” CLAY KILLINGSWORTH RESEARCH ANALYST, GUIDEHOUSE

forms, unlike the ore-bound deposits in asteroids and other bodies. Extraterrestrial mining thus presents the possibility of greatly increasing the supply of REEs and other precious and semiprecious metals on Earth. Increasing supplies of these resources would facilitate the adoption of sustainable means of travel by driving down the often-prohibitive costs associated with distributed electricity storage and generation.

Water plays a key role in making space travel sustainable and economical. Electrolysis of water produces elemental hydrogen and oxygen, which together can be used as rocket propellant. The value of producing propellant in space lies in not needing to launch it from Earth’s surface, as increasing a rocket’s mass necessitates exponentially more fuel to reach the same destination; every kilogram of fuel put into miningglobal.com

INDUSTRY X.0

Why the Moon?

“The Apollo missions first sampled the lunar regolith in 1969, and the Hayabusa spacecraft collected asteroid samples that were returned to Earth in 2010” CLAY KILLINGSWORTH RESEARCH ANALYST, GUIDEHOUSE

November 2021

low earth orbit, for example, requires at least 5 kilograms of additional fuel burned to get it there. Thus, a mining operation on the moon that could produce liquid rocket fuel, even at a sizable multiple of the cost to do so on Earth, would dramatically reduce the cost of expeditions to Mars, the asteroid belt, and beyond. Q. Space mining sounds like science fiction, how realistic is it, and how far in the future? A. The Apollo missions first sampled the lunar regolith in 1969, and the Hayabusa spacecraft collected asteroid samples that were returned to Earth in 2010. Scientific missions collecting samples provide a technical proof of concept, but commercial operations still face significant technical and economic hurdles. Mining other large celestial bodies, such as the moon or Mars, are nearer technical viability, as

INDUSTRY X.0

ongoing rover missions illustrate. The challenges here are more economic; spaceflight remains a costly and hazardous venture. But, with space launch costs falling due to the increasing reusability of launch vehicles and with growing interest in long-duration missions (e.g., Artemis) in space, mining operations beyond Earth could become viable in the next 20 years.

primarily in the permanently shadowed polar craters, About as well as on comets and Guidehouse asteroids. Estimates of Guidehouse is the only just how much water ice is scaled consultancy in the present in either asteroids world to fully integrate or the moon, however, are commercial and public or imprecise, with estimates government businesses of lunar water prevalence – from Wall Street to ranging from as little as 11 Washington, from the million tons to more than a European Union to India. billion tons. The firm has more than REE and metal deposits in 12,000 employees and asteroids are marginally subject matter experts in 55 more certain, with NASA Q. What would we mine for, global markets. estimating there to be at and do we know it exists? least 80,000 iron- and How much is there? nickel-rich objects in the A. The prime targets are water, REEs, and asteroid belt that are more than 1 km in metals like nickel, iron, and platinum. diameter. Assuming all of these objects Water ice has been detected on the moon, were mined, the value of the extracted miningglobal.com

November 2021

INDUSTRY X.0

metal could be more than $100 quadrillion. Alternatively, capturing and recycling space junk found in low-earth orbit, such as discarded rocket motors and end-oflife satellites, could provide smaller but far more certain returns. Q. How can a mining operation on, say, the moon, be commercially viable, and how would it be operated? A. The approach that is presently nearest commercial viability is one that targets lunar water, especially as a means of creating propellant for return trips to Earth or to refuel spacecraft bound for points distant. Such an operation would likely be based near the rim of one of the Moon’s polar craters where ice is relatively abundant but sunlight for solar power is still accessible. Q. What are the main challenges facing any mining operation on the moon, or in space? And how can they be addressed? A. The main technical challenges lie in dealing with the inhospitable environment for long durations. Equipment and workers must operate in a low-gravity, high-radiation vacuum subject to temperature swings of more than 500° F. On the moon, the low gravity and fine, dusty soil complicate locomotion, and the microgravity environment of most asteroids presents even greater challenges. For operations beyond the moon, distance becomes a rapidly growing challenge, as control and communications signals can take several minutes to travel from Earthbased command centres to spacecraft in the main asteroid belt. Addressing the technical challenges is a matter of producing ruggedised equipment, robust contingency planning, and multiple operational and safety redundancies. miningglobal.com

Economic challenges include the need for substantial upfront capex, payoff uncertainty, and time. Organisations aiming to mine in space must develop and produce equipment, train crew for the mission(s), and fund the launch, delivery, support, and possibly even return of assets before any return on investment is realised. While missions to the moon require comparatively little travel time, reaching even nearEarth asteroids takes years. Addressing these challenges is, as most economic barriers to space are, accomplished by partnering with government space agencies whose deep pockets and long time horizons can sustain operations that might not achieve positive ROI for many years. 72

November 2021

“A mining operation on the moon that could produce liquid rocket fuel would dramatically reduce the cost of expeditions to Mars, the asteroid belt, and beyond” CLAY KILLINGSWORTH RESEARCH ANALYST, GUIDEHOUSE

INDUSTRY X.0

Q. Are we in danger of experiencing a war for space? A. The value of space resources is potentially quite great, but for now uncertainty about their value remains high. Coupled with the substantial technical difficulty and exorbitant price of spaceflight, the uncertain payoff means that only the most highly capable and wellfunded space programs can attempt to exploit space resources at present. Once resource values become more certain, however, the competition among both commercial and public space agencies will be fierce. Q. Who owns space and these valuable resources? A. The short answer is that it’s not clear. The UN’s 1967 Outer Space Treaty, signed by the US, UK, and Soviet Union, declared outer

space as “the province of all mankind…not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation”. The 1979 Moon Agreement supplements the Outer Space Treaty and calls for establishing “an international regime” to govern the exploitation of resources on the Moon and elsewhere beyond Earth. The Moon Agreement, however, was not signed by any major spacefaring (at the time) country. Together with the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, which unilaterally grants US companies greater freedom to collect and keep nonliving materials from space, international consensus on the ownership of space resources appears unlikely. The most likely answer, given the value at stake, is simply whoever gets there first. miningglobal.com

RG GOLD

November 2021

RG GOLD

WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS PRODUCED BY: ASHLEY KIRBY

PROGRESSING WELL WITH 5MTPA CIP PLANT CONSTRUCTION miningglobal.com

RG GOLD

November 2021

RG GOLD

RG Gold is busy developing its new CIP Plant project and maximising its existing operation in Kazakhstan

G Gold, the Kazakh gold mining and production company, operates one of the largest deposits of gold in Kazakhstan and is the third largest in terms of gold resources. The deposit is in the Burabay area of Akmola region, covering an area of 67.7 sq. km that consists of two pits: North and South. RG Processing, set up in October 2018, was created to facilitate the engineering and design of the project for the construction of a carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant, that is expected to start processing 5 Mtpa of sulfide ore from Q3 2022. The KZT180 billion project includes building all necessary infrastructure objects such as tailings facility, new camp, water supply facilities and a new HV powerline. Both companies’ shareholders – Kazakh private equity group Verny Capital and American group of private equity funds under common management Resource Capital Funds (RCF) – are actively involved into companies’ strategic and operational management. Rossouw’s attention is now firmly fixed on the getting the new mine up and running. It is targeting 5 tonnes of gold per year, with 170 tonnes in resources and 99 tonnes in reserve. The total construction cost is $425 million. Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (a subsidiary of Baiterek Holding) provided a loan in the amount of up to US$300 million for nine years and the remainder will be provided by RG Processing at its own expense. miningglobal.com

RG GOLD

“I’ve grown up with autocratic leaders most of my life, and I saw it was something that didn’t bear fruit, so I’m 100% the opposite” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

November 2021

RG GOLD

LAWRENCE ROSSOUW TITLE: CEO

“We brought AAEngineering Group on board in January,” explains CEO Lawrence Rossouw. “They are the major technologyEPC provider at the moment, and they will also be responsible for commissioning services in the ramp up to full production. It’s been challenging, especially with the COVID situation. Some items got stuck at the Chinese border for several months, and

EXECUTIVE BIO

COMPANY: RG GOLD Responsible for the Company's operational management and the new 5 MTPA CIP Plant Project execution. Certified mining metallurgist with 25 years of operational, construction and project management experience in various parts of the world. Professional with an extensive experience in delivering successful projects associated with extreme weather conditions and logistically challenging locations.

RG GOLD

Carbon in pulp plant in numbers

5 Mtpa of sulfide ore from Q3 2022 Targeting

5tonnes of gold per year

170tonnes In resources

99tonnes In reserve

$425mn project cost

that was frustrating. We had to re-organise our construction schedule to accommodate the late delivery of these items.” Bullion will be sent to the Kazzinc refinery. Kazzinc operates one of the largest gold producing operation in Kazakhstan, Altyntau Kokshetau in the Akmola Region. Alongside the new venture, RG Gold is busy maximising its 2mtpa oxide ore treatment facility which it has been operating for the last 9 years. 80

November 2021

“The aim is to keep running that plant for the next two to three years. While we’re ramping up the CIP plant, we will have this plant in production as well. So, from 202325, we will be treating 7mtpa in total across both plants,” he adds. “Drilling results looks really good. We are expecting additional oxide resources close to surface, so the potential exist to keep the Heap Leach operation running for several years, maybe even longer.”

RG GOLD

RG Gold progressing well with 5Mtpa CIP Plant construction

“We brought AAEngineering Group on board in January. They are the major technologyEPC provider at the moment, and will also be responsible for commissioning services in the ramp up to full production” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

miningglobal.com

RG GOLD

“In future, when we have an operating mine, we’ll use the new technology such as AI to manage the plant and monitor the processing parameters. But right now, the focus is getting the plant up and running in a very short period of time” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

Currently its workforce stands at 920 across mining, geology, processing and administration, but the plan is to add another approximately 300, to operate the CIP plant, growing total manpower to around 1,250 by the middle of next year. “We’ve been very fortunate in that COVID hasn’t impacted our business in any severe way. We obviously applied the strictest preventative measures and protocols, it was costly, but it was worth it – and we weren’t affected from a production point of view, and the project team worked remotely.” In terms of partners, RG Gold works closely with ASPMK, which has installed a new, 75km high-voltage overhead line, which will be commissioned in October this year; CPS, which built the tailings storage facility, and should be finished by the end of the year; and Fortinet protects its IT infrastructure. “We’ve built up a lot of connections with other mines – we collaborate with Kazzinc and Altynalmas to use their operating facilities to train our people. They have processing plants similar to ours in terms of technology and throughput. We have an unofficial agreement with these companies that from March 2022, we will send personnel to their facilities for practical training purposes.” 82

November 2021

RG GOLD

RG Gold portfolio

920 Staff

67,7sqkm

territory in North and South Raygorodok

170tons

of gold reserves

JORC-compliant resources of

6Moz

miningglobal.com

RG GOLD

“We’ve been very fortunate in that COVID hasn’t impacted our business in any severe way. We obviously applied the strictest protocols, it was costly, but it was worth it” LAWRENCE ROSSOUW CEO, RG GOLD

Mining - From design to implementation. The activity of Mining and Ore Technologies LLP is the provision of production, technical and consulting services: surveying, drilling, blasting, excavation, transport work, outsourcing of production processes at the Ore mining Works in the field of open-pit mining. The staff of the organization is formed of highly qualified specialists with experience in the mining industry from 3 to 25 years. The management team consists of specialists with higher education and more than 10 years of experience in the mining industry. The fleet of mining and transport and drilling equipment is over 170 units of medium and heavy class - excavators with a bucket of 7m3 and 15 m3, dump trucks 91 tons. Scope of works performed - more than 40 mln m3 per year Discover more

November 2021

RG GOLD

The company prefers to use firms in Kazakhstan – since Verny Capital is a local entity – but it does call on international assistance when needed. “We start local, the villages around us, and that’s where the majority of our workforce come from. Training is a massive challenge. We spend a lot of time and money getting qualified people. “We’ll use partners when the quality of service locally isn’t to international standards – AMC in Australia handle mine design and geological work, for instance.” At a time when many firms are rapidly embracing new technologies during the digital transformation, RG Gold is taking a measured approach. Construction design was completed using 3D modelling. “In future, when we have an operating mine, we’ll use the new technology such as AI to manage the plant and monitor the processing parameters. Those will be implemented as we go forward. But right

now, the focus is getting the plant up and running in a short period of time, as the timeframe is very aggressive.” While the gold price may remain volatile, Rossouw is confident in the market’s future. “At least in the next 10 years, I see a big future for gold.”

miningglobal.com

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

Efficiency through

TECHNOLOGY Outliers Mining Solutions Director of Mining Brad Jewson and COO Adam Hewitt on creating world-class mining operations by investing in tech and people WRITTEN BY: SCOTT BIRCH

November 2021

ometimes you can struggle to work out what a company actually does. You trawl their fancy corporate website, get dazzled by the design, but don't actually come away with the purpose. Not so with Outliers Mining Solutions. Under the bold headline 'Who We Are & What We Do' sits a line that encompasses their proposition: 'We turn mines into worldclass operations'. So, how do they do that? Adam Hewitt is the COO of Outliers Mining Solutions. He manages the mining operations, asset management and training divisions within the company. In conversation with Mining Global, Adam explains how Outliers delivers operational improvement to both open pit and underground mining operations through a combination of technology services, leadership coaching, process improvement, and training. He and his colleagues work with front-line teams to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of mining fleets, maintenance departments and all areas across the mining value chain. One of the biggest challenges mining clients face is finding the right people to fill critical roles.

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

miningglobal.com

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Empowering safer, more sustainable mining As energy costs fluctuate, high-grade ores become scarcer, and profit margins tighten, productive mines recognize that technology is essential to their success. Companies must be smarter, safer, and quicker to respond to change. Their future depends on it. Hexagon recognizes that the competitive edge of its customers depends on empowering an autonomous future by integrating, automating, and optimizing critical workflows. This means smart mines that are efficient to operate, maximize safety and minimally impact the environment.

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

"There is a general shortage of skills within the industry," says Hewitt. "More specifically, there's a lack of experienced mining operations leaders in the labour market. We developed our OMS LEAD leadership program to help our clients develop their the next wave of leaders from within their organisation." Outliers OMS LEAD program is a leadership program designed for frontline supervisors through to management level. OMS LEAD focuses on six critical competencies of effective leaders. Safety, Visible Leadership, Performance Management, Communication, Time Management, Management Systems and Acting as a Coach and Resource.

Adam Hewitt

Brad Jewson

TITLE: COO

TITLE: DIRECTOR OF MINING

COMPANY: OUTLIERS MINING SOLUTIONS

Adam is an experienced mining professional with a passion for continuous improvement. As the COO of Outliers you are more likely to find him in the field with supervisors than in the boardroom. Adam thrives working with front-line teams coaching on best practices, facilitating practical problem solving and teaching operations team on how to use real-time data to guide good decision making.

Brad is an experienced Engineering professional with technical and mine operations experience across all commodities and continents. As Director of Mining for Outliers Mining Solutions, Brad is responsible for shaping the direction and growth of Outliers. He has a passion for process improvement. Brad leads the execution of operational improvement work at client’s sites and is responsible for developing Outliers’ miningspecific Lean Six Sigma training programs. miningglobal.com

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

The program provides role clarity for leaders and helps break down silos to improve collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving. The result is an effective leadership group where leaders are working at their appropriate level. "One of our previous clients, in the mine operations department, had combined experience across all of their supervisors and superintendents of just 33 years – and one individual had 16 of those years," recalls Hewitt. "Our facilitators have a combined 130 years of experience in the industry. They've held GM, VP, and COO positions throughout their careers. Where they find they can continue to add value to the industry is helping develop the next wave of mining leaders.” Brad Jewson, Director of Mining at Outliers Mining Solutions, says many front-line leaders typically come from the operations ranks and while they showed an aptitude and understanding of mining, they would not necessarily have received any specific training on how to lead teams and how to manage people. Hewitt agrees and says the demands and requirements for this new wave of leaders is growing. "Not only do you need operational expertise to drive best practice, but you also need to become competent in the technology that's supporting all of these processes," says Hewitt. "Often we find these front-line leaders don't have a background that lends them to be naturally comfortable with mine technology." In addition to embracing technology, Hewitt echoes Jewson's thoughts on lack of leadership and management experience with first-time leaders. He says most mining companies don't have programs in place to address the behavioural 90

November 2021

“ We developed our OMS LEAD leadership program to help our clients develop their the next wave of leaders from within their organisation” ADAM HEWITT

COO, OUTLIERS MINING SOLUTIONS

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

aspects of leadership. Those ‘soft’ skills necessary to manage people are the key to creating high-performing teams, along with providing clear expectations of their role as a front-line leader in a mining operation. One of the mining industry's inherent problems is the boom and bust cycle, which impacts the flow of new mining technical professionals and operational leaders into the sector. As Hewitt put it, the industry is always lagging behind the latest boom or bust cycle. A period of low metal prices means that fewer people are entering the mining field. When the industry inevitably

recovers, experienced people aren't available to fill essential roles. "We also see a lag in enrolments in technical programs – mining engineering and other technical fields that support mining," says Jewson. "There are these bursts of enrollment and interest in mining during good times and then long periods where universities aren't churning out a lot of mining engineers. We see the impact today in that there is a real dearth of people with 20-25 years of experience to train the new engineers and the new leaders. "It's further exacerbated by the fact that the older, more experienced leaders in mining are getting close to retirement age and may not have experience with the technology that has become a standard part of modern mines. "We're training our clients’ young engineers and technical people on what good looks like in mine planning, in terms of interactions with operations and in fleet management systems and other mining technology." Typically clients approach Outliers Mining Solutions looking to improve their mine performance – and any improvement program must include coaching for their people and a focus on upskilling their existing workforce. For production gains to be sustained, there must be an investment in people. "One thing that's unique about Outliers is that we provide a high level of continuous improvement and business improvement support," says Hewitt. "All of our people are subject matter experts and have spent time at mining operations living these roles." One of the core service offerings provided by Outliers is rehabilitating and maximising the value from mine technology. Hewitt cites the example of fleet management systems – technology that has been around for 30 miningglobal.com

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

years yet isn't used effectively by many mining operations. Clients bringing Outliers in are looking for a rapid improvement and a step-change in performance. "The performance management system that we've developed delivers that," says Hewitt. "It delivers improvement by using all of the data generated by the mine technology and making it visible and useful to the front line leaders where decisions are made." "So instead of supervisors managing by look and feel, or what they hear on the radio, they have access to information that drives data-based decision making. Dispatchers in the control room have the full picture of what is happening in real-time. A dispatcher can detect when the operation is going off track and take action quickly, well before the end of the shift." 92

November 2021

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

“ We wanted to be different. We wanted to take experienced miners and teach them how to be consultants not take consultants and teach them how to be miners” BRAD JEWSON

DIRECTOR OF MINING, OUTLIERS MINING SOLUTIONS

Perhaps surprisingly, both Hewitt and Jewson agree that most senior managers are open to how technology can help improve efficiency rather than seeing it as a threat. "These are result-driven people. This approach delivers better business results," says Hewitt. Continuous improvements For clients looking to improve the performance of their operation and invest in their people, Jewson recommends a focus on continuous improvement, built on a Lean Six Sigma program and specific to the mining industry. "We have a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program where we train individuals from all areas of the operation – finance, human resources, mine operations, maintenance, engineering," says Jewson. "And we teach them the Lean and Six Sigma methodology for continuous improvement. So rather than hiring a continuous improvement expert, who may not understand mining, you have 15 people across your organisation implementing improvement projects in their area that deliver real value in terms of cost savings, production increases, or reduction in risk. "This also creates a common language for improvement and it creates a site-wide culture of continuous improvement. We've had single programmes deliver tens of millions of dollars of value in terms of increased production and reduce costs while making a real investment in the development of their people. "We had a mining partner in Canada that trained 24 of their people in our Lean and Six Sigma program. The result was a group of accredited Green Belts delivering improvement projects in all areas of the business. The combined value of the projects delivered was over US$60 million in just two years." miningglobal.com

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

How it works The unique aspect of Outliers' Lean and Six Sigma program is that it is based in a mining environment. The data is from real mines, and the case studies are from mining operations. Outliers also run the training on site, identifying and highlighting opportunities for improvement. In addition to the training, clients get coaching and mentoring from experienced mining professionals on how to deliver that program. When it comes to their performance management program, it's bespoke because mining is dynamic and every mine is unique. "We come in and do an assessment and we identify specifically the actions that will increase performance or reduce costs," says Jewson. "We normally see a jump in performance within the first four to six weeks. Depending on the areas of focus, we generally see the bulk of the improvement around the three to four-month mark. "The remaining months are the sustainability phase where we ensure that everything is properly handed over to the client, that all the processes are truly embedded, and the owners of these systems are fully trained. Typically, when we come in, we identify improvement opportunities in the range of 11 to 23% increase in production without capital spend. Our record shows we’ve been able to deliver and sustain those gains. "When we began our business we saw how other consulting firms worked and we wanted to be different. We wanted to take experienced miners and teach them how to be consultants not take consultants and teach them how to be miners." Hewitt agrees and says 'consultants' can be viewed as a dirty word in any industry. He says a lot of resistance comes from 94

November 2021

generalist consulting firms trying to apply concepts that don't necessarily fit with the mining industry. "A key point of feedback from our clients is just that we understand their business," says Hewitt. "They don't take the action and execute and implement the recommendations because the consultants are telling them to do it, they do it because they actually believe it's going to work and they see the value."

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS

“ A key point of feedback from our clients is just that we understand their business” ADAM HEWITT

COO, OUTLIERS MINING SOLUTIONS

miningglobal.com

TOP TEN

Global Sustainable Brands in the Mining Industry Mining Global looks at ten brands that are leading innovative developments and making lasting changes for a more sustainable mining industry 96

November 2021

TOP TEN

ustainability is high on the agenda for global players in the mining industry. But with many areas to address, innovative decisions are required to provide a lasting impact on the environment, health of the workforce, and the efficiency and productivity of mining operations. The mining industry supplies many organisations that are coming up with innovative solutions to climate change, but this list looks at how mining corporations are taking charge of their emissions and consumption, as well as some of the innovators that are enabling these changes.

WRITTEN BY: TOM SWALLOW

miningglobal.com

TOP 10

10 Komatsu

Komatsu—the Japanese equipment provider, is continuously developing its offerings for the mining industry in the forms of an all-electric underground haulier, loading equipment and various forms of power for its long-distance haulage trucks. The company is also investing in further initiatives to promote sustainability, in regards to environmental leadership and increasing profitability and productivity for its customers. The company is actively developing solutions to improve upon current environmental factors with a long-term emissions reduction high on its agenda.

09 KGHM

Through strategic partnerships, KGHM—producer of copper, silver and other natural metals— has implemented changes to reduce its carbon-intensity across its operations. The Polish company has built relationships with various organisations, resulting in more sustainable access to raw materials, and even signing deals to introduce nuclear reactors as means of producing clean, renewable, and more affordable means of energy generation. The company could potentially hold access to the largest nuclear installation, of its types, in the mining industry.

TOP 10

Kamoa Copper Kamoa Copper is powered by clean, renewable hydro-generated electricity, and is projected to be among the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters per unit of metal produced. In addition to the recently completed refurbishment of the Mwadingusha hydropower station (78 MW), Kamoa Copper’s sister company, Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC, recently extended the existing financing agreement with DRC’s national electricity company, La Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL), to refurbish turbine 5 at the Inga II hydropower complex. Turbine 5 will produce 162 MW of renewable hydropower, raising Kamoa Copper’s total renewable energy availability to 240MW.

07 Exxaro

Exxaro—a South African resources company, is a black-empowered company that carries out its own sustainability agenda. Through its subsidiary company, Cennergi, it is in the process of developing a 70MW solar project in Lephalale to supply renewable energy to coal mining operations run by Exxaro Coal. As a company in a country that is a high producer of carbon emissions, the company is certainly achieving a lot in terms of decarbonising across its functions. miningglobal.com

Change is hard. The truth is that many mining companies are still very hesitant about furthering their digital mining transformations in fear of cost of implementation, risk and uncertainty. However, digital solutions from AVEVA can help mining companies reduce complexity and optimize business and operational performance. aveva.com @avevagroup linkedin.com/company/aveva

For more information, read our free E-Book on Digital Mining Transformation.

TOP 10

Caterpillar

Frey New Energy

Working alongside industry leaders like Rio Tinto and BHP, Caterpillar is responsible for driving the adoption of zero-emission mining vehicle developments and the adoption of new autonomous mining technologies. Caterpillar machines are made to last and the company takes pride in demonstrating the value of this to its customers, as well as developing low-emissions machines, leveraging its diverse range of electric power solutions and protecting mining personnel with state-of-the-art mining technologies.

Frey New Energy is a manufacturer of lithiumion batteries with sustainable priorities. The company is committed to making sure that its batteries are utilised in the underground mining sector, without fault, for at least three consecutive years. With sustainability high on the agenda for many mining organisations, knowing that Frey is committed to the high-quality and longevity of its batteries will surely put the manufacturer at the forefront of their electrification strategies. miningglobal.com

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04 Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is committed to influencing long-lasting change within the industry and going beyond the legal requirements to support communities surrounding its operations. The group has taken major steps towards adopting renewable energy solutions, including a large-scale solar development at its site in Queensland, Australia, equivalent to removing 3,750 cars from the road. A recent Memorandum of Understanding with Caterpillar Inc. will also provide the company with zero-emissions haulage for its mining projects.

03 BHP

BHP is involved in the production of a vital resource for sustainable food growth, Potash. It is responsible for the exploration of 9,600 square kilometres of land for the Jansen Potash Project in Saskatchewan, Canada. While its profits increased, positive contributions continue to roll out with a strong focus on people and their occupational safety, as well as its total community investment and emissions in scopes one and two. 102

November 2021

Anglo American

Anglo American is responsible for the mining of precious materials in various locations around the world, including diamonds, copper, platinum group metals, iron ore, nickel and manganese. The global mining enterprise is making moves towards decarbonisation with the implementation of hydrogen fuelling stations in Chile, trialling and implementation of marine biofuel for vessels travelling between Singapore and South Africa, and adopting smart mining technologies to protect its employees. And then there are the figures. Anglo American reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 34% last year and intends on taking this further with another 22% reduction. The need to reduce water withdrawal has also been noticed, along with mitigating environmental incidents and energy consumption.

miningglobal.com

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TOP 10

We are Glencore

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TOP 10

I am proud of the rapid response we have put in place at Glencore, to adapt our business and protect and support our people and communities - Tony Hayward, Chairman Glencore With an estimated worth of US$43bn, Glencore is a prominent force in the mining industry and its commitments to sustainability are certainly to scale. The company has received great coverage for its contributions, in particular, its investment of £2.6bn (US$3.54bn) in the Britishvolt gigafactory this year, resulting in a long-term partnership that will sustain the demand for cobalt in battery production. Glencore is also working on some innovative ideas to reduce its dependence on other resources. The company is currently working on a smelter method that utilises seawater, in an effort to reduce the level of water withdrawn from conventional pipelines. Steps have also been taken to reduce emissions year-onyear, as occupational health is of utmost priority to the organisation.

miningglobal.com

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