JUNE 2018
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THE PEÑASQUITO MINE G O L D C O R P P R O V E S T H AT C O M B I N I N G E F F I C I E N C Y, S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y, A N D D I G I TA L LYE N A B L E D P R O C E S S E S C R E AT E S A N I N N O VAT I V E LE ADER IN THE MINING INDUSTRY
PRECEPTO Using drones for mining
INCLUSIVITY in the mining industry
GREATLAND GOLD explorers of tomorrow
T O P 10 G O L D M I N E S I N T H E W O R L D
10-11 July 2018, Santiago, Chile
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2018 ADVISORY BOARD AND SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Javier Aguilar Senior Mining Specialist The World Bank
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The most exciting new projects in the region from 50+ mining companies
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WELCOME TO THE June issue of Mining Global Magazine. What makes Greatland Gold the “explorers of tomorrow”? We speak with to the company’s CEO and Chief Geologist as they detail the world class Ernst Giles project as well as exploration opportunities across Australia. More and more mining companies are turning towards automated systems to enhance both productivity and safety. What role will automated drone systems play in defining the future of over ground and underground mining? We speak with drone solutions provider Percepto to find out. Gender equality in mining is centred around diversity and the International Women in Mining continues its pursuit of creating a more diverse and equal work place in mining. With more than 10,000 members to its name, it shows no signs of slowing down – see our interview with the organisation’s founder to see what the future holds. Our exclusive report with Yamana Gold looks at how technology continues to redefine the mining industry, and how the advent of a conflict free “G-Coin” could revolutionise the supply chain of mining. We also look at Goldcorp’s Peñasquito mine, and how it shows what an efficient, sustainable, and digitally-enabled mine should look like. We sincerely hope you enjoy the issue, and as always, please tweet your feedback to @miningglobal
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LATIN AMERICA
TE C HNOLOGY
DRONES IN MINING
A Q&A with Percepto
L EA DER S H I P
Explorers
of tomorrow 4
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O PE RATI O NA L E X C E L L E N CE
60 INCLUSIVITY IN MINING
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SUSTAINABIL TOP 10 ITY
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INSIDE
GOLDCORP’S MINE OF THE FUTURE Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Richard Deane
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INNOVATING AT EVERY STAGE OF THE MINE LIFECYCLE, GOLDCORP’S PEÑASQUITO MINE HAS GROWN TO BECOME A SHINING EXAMPLE FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY, SHOWING WHAT AN EFFICIENT, SUSTAINABLE, AND DIGITALLYENABLED MINE SHOULD LOOK LIKE
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Historically, mining remains one of the last industries to be disrupted by technology,” observes Tim Kahl, General Manager of Operations at Goldcorp. “It’s ironic, because mining provides the raw materials for modern economies to work, but we’ve been slow to apply some of the technologies we’ve had a hand in creating. “Over the past few years, there’s
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been a fundamental shift. At Goldcorp, we want to promote disruption in the mining sector and we’re focusing on digitisation. We’re trying to change the image of mining and to make use of what the rest of the industrial world is doing digitally. I think in this way, Goldcorp is really leading the pack.” With every industrial revolution, businesses have evolved to create something unlike anything
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that has come before. Traditionally, the mining industry has been sluggish in its uptake of new technologies – but not at Goldcorp. Keen to disrupt the mining sector, the Canadian mining giant is zeroing in on emerging technological trends including automation, data analytics and even drone technology to redefine the way it does business. In doing so, Goldcorp is ushering
in a new era of digital transformation and operational excellence.
A MASSIVE OPERATION In the state of Zacatecas in Mexico, Goldcorp’s flagship mine is a mammoth operation to behold. Extraordinary in both its scale and production, the Peñasquito mine stands as the fifth largest silver mine in the
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world and the second largest in Mexico. “Peñasquito is by far the biggest open pit in Goldcorp’s portfolio,” Kahl says. “It accounts for 30-40% of all of Goldcorp’s production in terms of total metal output and it provides about 33% of the company’s total revenue. “We also have a lot of personnel and contractors on site,” he adds. “Therefore, we’re not just seeing how digitisation can increase our productivity, we’re also using technology to enhance safety and the more human elements of mining.” Across the mining sector, fluctuating metal prices can wreak havoc on a company’s bottom line; as a polymetallic mine, Peñasquito circumvents this issue. Producing gold, silver, lead and zinc, Goldcorp can adapt its strategy and focus on the most in-demand metal on the market.
A MULTI-METAL STRATEGY This also involves adapting its strategy and Kahl says this is where digitisation can be critical. “Depending on the market price for metals, we can either be focused on gold or zinc but this involves different strategies,” Kahl explains. “Digitisation can really help us determine what metal we should focus on and what operating model we need use. There are so many different technologies we can use – devices, apps, cloud technologies, next-generation analytics, robotics, smart sensors, virtual reality and artificial
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TIM KAHL General Manager of Operations at Goldcorp Tim Kahl is an executive with 24 years of experience in multinational mining companies working throughout North and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico focusing on operations that include gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper processing technologies. Operational experience includes open pit mining, flotation, heap leaching, crushing, sizers, wet and dry grinding, CIL/ Tails/Strip/Refining, refractory ore processing (whole ore autoclaving, roasting and their respective off-gas handling systems), and bioreactors. Kahl possesses a unique combination of experience including operations and maintenance, engineering, commissioning and start-up of complex plants through to full production, and multicapital project management. His expertise includes mine and plant operation and maintenance strategies, and also representing the owner’s team during the design, construction, and commissioning phases to deliver a functional operating plant that is also maintenance friendly. Key accomplishments include a strong record of delivering process plants within tight schedules and budgets for on-time production (important for maintaining shareholders’ trust and support), rapid plant rampup to name plate capacity, O&M optimization, cost reductions, and vastly improved safety performance.
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Chemours Mining Solutions Innovation and reliability for the mining industry.
Š 2018 The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Chemours™ y el Logo de Chemours son marcas de The Chemours Company.
Providing Technology, Innovation and Safety to the Mining Industry. Chemours Mining Solutions is committed to safe and reliable supply of sodium cyanide and enabling the continuity and success of our clients’ operations.
In our Mining Solutions division, we are global leaders in the production of solid sodium cyanide and the market leader in its distribution in Mexico. By partnering with us, you’ll benefit from a 60-year legacy of reliable supply, innovative packaging solutions, and industry-leading safety practices that continually add value to our customers. We develop lasting partnerships with our customers and strive for an unparalleled level of interaction so we can better understand their needs. We also work with them to establish the best safety standards and procedures for product transportation, facilities to unload the product and training of personnel. A standout example of this partnership can be seen at Minera Peñasquito, Goldcorp’s largest producing gold mine, proudly located in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. Chemours and Goldcorp share a mutual commitment to safety and care for the environment. Our history with Peñasquito began in 2008, when we supported them with the design and commissioning of their cyanide circuit. In the same way, we verified that their operations were ready to work safely. Since then, we’ve earned and enjoyed ten years of safe uninterrupted supply to the mine. Likewise, we’ve supported Peñasquito by helping them obtain and sustain certification by the International Cyanide Code (ICMI) - of which we are founding partners - and in providing the required training to their technical and operational staff for the safe handling and management of sodium cyanide.
We have the capacity, experience and dedication you’re looking for in a service provider. We are committed with the communities where we operate. Our leading edge technology, our safe delivery systems, and our unique support in the industry have one objective in mind: Your SuCCeSS! We are committed to the safe and responsible production, distribution, and handling of sodium cyanide. Our safety practices comply the guidelines established by the ICMI. We are currently working to improve the packaging and management of our product to offer a better experience; we are achieving it by using innovative packaging, preselected routes, and certified personnel on site.
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intelligence, for example. “These are quickly influencing and challenging our conventional business model. Therefore, we have to be adaptive and really understand how we can transform our business model going forward. “While digitisation gets the right data to the right people to make decisions more quickly, we haven’t limited innovation simply to digitisation. Goldcorp’s ambitious Towards Zero Water strategy is one example. Through both continuous improvements on our recycling rates and breakthrough innovation,
the target is to reduce freshwater consumption to zero. We’re fundamentally re-thinking every aspect of our business to be safer, more productive and more responsible.” The team at Goldcorp have ambitious plans for the future. Last year, it launched an impressive plan to increase its production by 20%, lower all-in sustaining costs by 20%, and grow its reserves by 20%, all by 2021. Undoubtedly this goal wouldn’t be possible without the concerted efforts of its digital strategy. “I truly feel that the next wave of productivity gains are going to
“ Digitisation can really help us determine what metal we should focus on and what operating model we need to use” TIM KAHL General Manager of Operations at Goldcorp
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be primarily driven by technology and digitisation,” Kahl notes. “It’s even more important to recognise this if you’re a multi-national company like Goldcorp.”
AN INTEGRAL MANAGEMENT OPERATING SYSTEM Instilling a culture of continuous improvement is something which Kahl is fiercely passionate about. That’s why he says the company’s management operating system (MOS) is the cornerstone of its successes. “I’ve worked on many international mines from Argentina, Chile and Peru, to the Dominican Republic,” recalls
Kahl. “What’s a common thing that’s missing at a lot of the operations? A management operating system. “It’s kind of a playbook: it’s a guide which shows our standards, procedures, how we run and operate our business,” he explains. “We use our MOS to really stay on top of our operations and monitor how we’re doing. “Short interval control is critical,” he continues. “We really found that we can get large productivity gains by having short interval control installed. At all levels – from metallurgy to mine operations, processing, and even on the administration side – we’ve got
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VIDEO: The story of Peñasquito
MOS installed and I think it’s really the cornerstone of Peñasquito. It’s helped us turn a corner in terms of our productivity numbers, and continuous improvement projects.”
TAPPING INTO AUTOMATION From automated drills to self-driving trucks, automation is bringing the world of mining to new heights and it is an area where Goldcorp is seeing promising results. “We’re currently trialling
autonomous drilling and, although it’s still in its infancy, we’ve had great successes,” says Kahl proudly. “The productivity gain has been incredible. We’ve seen approximately a 25% improvement in our total productivity from the autonomous drills. Now we’re looking to convert and replace drills as we retire them with autonomous alternatives.” Often referred to as the ‘new oil,’ big data is also helping Goldcorp address the barrage of
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challenges that the mining industry faces today. To reap the benefits of data analytics, the Canadian firm has teamed up with leading data management companies to unlock the potential of the Mexico mine. “We need new technologies to provide analytics for real time decision making,” notes Kahl. “In the last couple of years, we have been working closely with companies like OSIsoft to integrate thousands of sensors, collect data from all areas of the mine, and together unlock the power of data analysis and process control. It’s about using this data to more accurately forecast our performance plan and to drive improvements through short interval control.” This is just the beginning, Goldcorp is also partnering with technology giant IBM to develop new ways to analyse geological data. “By utilising IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence and machine learning
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1994 The year that GOLDCORP Inc. was founded
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“In the last couple of years, we have been working closely with companies like OSIsoft to integrate thousands of sensors, collect data from all areas of the mine, and together unlock the power of data analysis and process control� TIM KAHL General Manager of Operations at Goldcorp
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system, we expect to improve our success and velocity in exploration.�
THE HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS Health and safety is a huge talking point in the mining sector and it is here where the true value of data and technology really shines. At its pioneering PeĂąasquito mine, Kahl explains how Goldcorp is employing digital monitoring systems and Light Detection and Ranging
(LiDAR) to monitor any potential harmful events or conditions. Zooming across the skies of its deep open pit, Goldcorp has also tapped into the use of drone technology to monitor its pits, its roads, and more. On top of this, his team is also exploring collision avoidance technology to help reduce equipment damage and the number of metal on metal contacts. Working alongside KPMG and Finger Food, Goldcorp is also
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exploring using augmented and mixed reality technologies to provide operators real time data right at the machine interface to improve operator efficiency and safety. “We’re making great strides in our technology but it’s not just about productivity, it’s also about protecting our people,” Kahl says. Yet, whilst Kahl highlights the remarkable digital transformation Goldcorp has undertaken, he doesn’t underestimate the talent and expertise of his team who helped make this vision a reality.
INDUSTRY-LEADING EXPERTISE Offering a positive work culture means that the Canadian firm has been able to attract, and more importantly retain, some of the best talent in
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14,094 The number of staff working for GOLDCORP Inc. (2017)
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the industry and, by hiring locally and supporting local business wherever possible, 73% of today’s workforce at Peñasquito is from the local Zacatecas region. “Typically, a mine isn’t going to be near a large urban area and so it can be a challenge to attract good, young expertise,” notes Kahl candidly. “It is difficult, but we have been able to attract some very talented people. Ultimately, what it comes down to is that there’s got to be a good challenge for that individual, we have to be flexible with their work schedule, and we have to make sure it’s right for them.” With such a root-and-branch transformation of its digital offering,
Goldcorp has completely redefined its daily operations. Yet with such vast changes, Kahl says there has definitely been a cultural shift within the company to help promote this use of innovative technology. “We’re also trying to make our workforce more digitally-enabled,” adds Kahl. “In a portion of the pit, we’ve already implemented an electronic operator scorecard and in conjunction with this, we are aiming to more effectively utilise our work order management system. “I think in general it’s going to help us reduce our costs,” he continues. “Some of the issues we face on a dayto-day basis are fairly complex, and by utilising this we can really drive our
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“ Some of the issues we face on a day-to-day basis are fairly complex, and by utilising this we can really drive our value chains. In the end, I think it’s going to improve our safety, our costs, and improve our productivity” TIM KAHL General Manager of Operations at Goldcorp
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value chains. In the end, I think it’s going to improve our safety, our costs, and improve our productivity.” Keen to promote collaboration within the sector, Goldcorp has also formed strong relationships with industry-leading companies including Gruas del Norte, Alchisa (Aceites Lubricantes de Chihuahua S.A), Permex, Komatsu, FLSmidth, Fluor, and Orica. In doing so, the Canadian firm has gained the expertise and knowledge it needs to raise the bar in the mining sector.
OVERCOMING HURDLES AND ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Goldcorp has completely reinvigorated its digital strategy with diligence and ingenuity. Yet this hasn’t
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3.42BN
Revenue for GOLDCORP Inc. (2017)
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come without its challenges. “I think having an effective, functional network is always tough,” reflects Kahl. “As you get more connectivity points and your usage goes up, it becomes more and more critical. As you go down in the pit it gets harder to get signal and that’s been one of the biggest challenges we have faced – getting full coverage throughout our pit operation. We’re working diligently to tackle this and we have implemented a few architectural changes to strengthen our connection backbone.” Technological innovation
has created riptides in almost every industry and it’s been no different in the world of mining. Peñasquito is an exemplary mine which clearly demonstrates the true value digitisation can provide in terms of a mine’s operational excellence, safety, and financial standing. Yet, for Kahl, it seems this focus on digitisation and innovation isn’t simply about collecting new software and gadgets, it’s about seeing continuous improvement and creating meaningful change in the sector. “When I started out my career in
“ In 2018 we’ve committed to gain $25mn in additional revenues through cost savings, production and productivity factors at Peñasquito. I really think continuous improvement and digitisation are what we need to achieve this” TIM KAHL General Manager of Operations at Goldcorp 36
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the mining industry, the environment promoted continuous improvement and fostered new ideas at all levels of the organisation,” he says. “When I was a young metallurgical engineer I used to think that continuous improvement was just additional documentation, but I quickly realised that it’s what transforms your business, and what makes it profitable. It’s a part of our operations, our atmosphere and our culture and it makes work so much easier. “I think it’s incredibly important, and everywhere I go I try to instil that continuous improvement culture
because it’s really been instilled in me since I started in this industry. In the late 1990s or early 2000s the gold market value fell to levels of around $250 per ounce. I think it was continuous improvement which distinguished which companies remained operable or not. “In 2018 we’ve committed to gain $25mn in additional revenues through cost savings, production and productivity factors at Peñasquito. I really think continuous improvement and digitisation are what we need to achieve this.”
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Explorers
of tomorrow
LEADERSHIP
Mining Global catches up with Gervaise Heddle, Chief Executive Officer at Greatland Gold PLC (GGP) and, Callum Baxter, Geologist, to discuss the challenges of exploration, its current portfolio and tech within the mining sector Wr i t t e n b y D A L E B E N T O N 41
LEADERSHIP GERVAISE HEDDLE: Our primary goal is taking assets up the value chain from very early stage exploration properties where they’re worth relatively little to late-stage exploration properties, where you’ve identified a major new mineralised system and something that’s worth a lot. Like most exploration companies, we’re looking to identify and ideally want to prove these major new finds, and that’s our major mission. But it is a process. It takes time to prove those things out. Callum Baxter: It’s creating shareholder value through discovery of large deposits, and we’re in the early stage of the game. And we find good assets and, as you said, bring them up the value chain, and our shareholders have been rewarded so far.
The current portfolio of Greatland Gold? Heddle: We’ve got six key projects, even though a couple of those projects are big enough that you could probably break them up into two or three projects, but we say at the moment we’ve got six major projects. All of those projects are 100% owned by us. For me, 42
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that’s a key point of differentiation between us and many other junior explorers. There’s no royalties or other payment coming on them, and so that puts us in a great position. Now in terms of six projects that are primarily focused on gold, we have four projects in Northern Australia, two in Tasmania. The key flagship project at the moment is Ernest Giles, where we’re exploring for gold. Baxter: Our flagship project at the moment is Ernest Giles. It has been for a number of years. It covers a very large area in the eastern gold fields of Western Australia which host fairly large deposits, and our Ernest Giles project hosts a green stone sequence that’s undercover. Consequently, it’s never been explored in any great detail in the past. So, it’s just a matter of finding where the gold is and because it’s undercover, it has a few challenges, but we’re managing to push through those and employ some modern geophysics and drilling techniques. Heddle: It had virtually no exploration work at all when Callum realised that there was large potential right there. It was essentially ‘look, I think this is potentially another district that could host major gold deposits’.
It’s taken a few years to get there, but I think the results that we have published speak for themselves. This could be something very significant and it’s all down to Callum’s vision six or seven years ago.
What are the challenges facing an exploration company?
“ It is very important to build relationships with the leading pros in the industry, as evidenced with the agreement with Newmont” CALLUM BAXTER Geologist at Greatland Gold PLC
Heddle: Obviously we have the same problem as all exploration companies, which is that it’s very hard to find this stuff, even with all the latest scientific methods, and I think that we can rightly claim that we’re at the first round of applying some of the latest science to what we do. It’s still very challenging to actually find economic deposits, and then you have the other challenges of the capital markets themselves which sometimes support the type of things we do and other times are under supportive. And then you add in other challenges such as the weather; at the moment there’s been a lot of rain out in the northwestern part of Australia, and that can make planning programmes very difficult and leads to a lot of deferrals and potential roadblocks. Baxter: Operating in capital markets and the availability of contractors
sometimes is a challenge. When the industry is going very well, it’s difficult to find good people and get things done at a reasonable cost. At the moment we’re in a fortunate position that we’re not in peak period for the industry, so it’s relatively easy to get good people and carry out sensible work at a reasonable price.
How do you prepare for the challenges? Heddle: There are many elements to that. We have to do a lot of forward planning and always be thinking about the 12- to 18-month view. 44
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That encompasses everything, the availability of capital, the availability of these contractors, the drilling seasons themselves, because there’s several months a year in Australia that you can’t drill in certain areas, because it’s just too hot or too wet. So, it is a question of planning and also having plans in place for the upside and the downside. Whether it’s the project itself or the capital markets. At the moment we’re in a very fortunate position. From a financing perspective, we have a really good position. That should be enough to see us through most of the next two years.
“ There’s been a lot of advances over the last 25 years that I’ve seen, such as airborne geophysics. Airborne geophysics is a fantastic tool, and these days it’s very cost effective”
LEADERSHIP
CALLUM BAXTER Geologist at Greatland Gold PLC
We’ve also got very good people. We’ve been investing in our people and we believe we have a very solid and stable team. But then also investing in all the external relationships as well to make sure that if we do need to get something done that we’ve got good contacts and we can actually get things done. Because when the industry really heats up, it can be very difficult to actually mobilise drill teams in a timely fashion, because everyone is just so busy.
How do you ensure you work with the right contractors
and the right people? Baxter: Our drill team is run by people we know very well and any contractors that are engaged are supervised at all times by the Greatland management. So, we can see if something is going to go sideways pretty quickly, and we pride ourselves in operating to high industry standards. We know the good operators. We’ve managed to control costs, and we haven’t had any losttime injuries over many years. I think if you look at our programs that we’ve carried out in the past all the way from just basic soil sampling and mapping through the fairly comprehensive 45
LEADERSHIP drill programs, they’ve all been very cost effective. Costs have never blown out for us, and all the data is clean, which is what we like to see.
How technology is redefining the industry and redefining Greatland Gold? Baxter: The science is evolving and the techniques are developing as well. There’s been a lot of advances over the last 25 years that I’ve seen, such as airborne geophysics. Airborne geophysics is a fantastic tool, and
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these days it’s very cost effective. Probably 25 years ago, airborne magnetics would have cost about $150 per line kilometre. Now you can get it for about $11 per line kilometre and it’s very powerful. It helps us look under cover, so we can see geology through cover sequences and big structures and combine that with ground gravity work – which has also come a long way. You can get a box the size of a briefcase into the field and the data that’s collected from those blended
with the airborne geophysics is quite powerful, and that’s what’s helped us a lot at Ernest Giles. Drilling is getting cheaper as well. I would have liked to have seen more advances in drilling. I don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sure it will do in the next five or 10 years. Drilling rates are probably comparable to what they were 15 years ago, so we’re getting a bit more bang for our buck with drilling these days.
Technology incites change, change breeds risk? Heddle: As a small company we need to embrace the technology because the technology makes it possible for us to compete. Drilling is the gold standard, but it’s expensive and so we need to look at everything we can before we actually go out and spend money on drilling to get us the advantage. We’re very prepared to embrace the new technology.
Where you are with the Ernest Giles project and what does the future hold? Baxter: The project has been through a sequence of airborne geophysics and targeting. We outlined a couple
of targets through 50m or so of cover as well as some earlier scout drilling programs and intersected quite wide veins of mineralisation, sulfite mineralisation and alteration. Heading into ‘16, we did a comprehensive drill program at one area. The drill spacing we had was 1,600m by 800m vertical IOC holes. I think we covered an area of roughly 30 square kilometres, and more than half of those holes hit mineralisation. We’ve got gold up to two grams to the tonne in that drilling and with the spacing of the drill holes, it really suggests that we’re onto something big. That’s when we got some interest from some of the larger parties around the world, including Newmont. We put together an agreement with Newmont which allows them to carry out proprietary surface geochemistry over the prospect. But now we’re still very much in the early stages of exploration and we’ve planned a second drill programme for the property that’s likely to be completed within the next 12 months.
How important is it as a company to strike these partnerships? What work do you do to attract, 47
LEADERSHIP negotiate and foster those relationships? Heddle: It is very important to build relationships with the leading pros in the industry, as evidenced with the agreement with Newmont. It’s important as an exploration company if you can get those companies in to assist you with exploration. That’s great. We have done that. We’ve gotten some very valuable information from the agreement that we have with Newmont. I think we’re in a very good
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June 2018
position, where we could easily continue on our own but obviously we’re always in conversations with various parties about ways we could cooperate together. We got some fantastic information from Newmont and some fantastic new targets from the work they’ve done, which we’ll be going out and drilling. Having those relationships speaks to the seriousness of the work that we are doing and the quality of the work that the team does.
Where does the future of Greatland Gold lie?
“ I’d like us to be
considered one of Australia’s leading exploration companies. We were one of the best performing on the stock exchange in 2017, but I’d like to think that we’ve had success on the exploration side”
GERVAISE HEDDLE Chief Executive Officer at Greatland Gold PLC
Heddle: I’d like us to be considered one of Australia’s leading exploration companies. We were one of the best performing on the stock exchange in 2017, but I’d like to think that we’ve had success on the exploration side. We want to continue to add value to our projects and monetise some of that success for our shareholders. Baxter: We’d like to be regarded as one of the better exploration companies globally and increase shareholder value through discovery. Heddle: I think I’ll just finish by saying that we are very close to the team that we have the projects that we have. We’re in a very strong position in terms of our financing now, and I think also the market has, in the past five, six months, focused very much on the Ernest Giles project, which is a great project. But we also have several other projects which I think are really key projects so I think people probably underestimate the strength and the cross section of the projects we have. And I certainly believe that people underestimate the strength of our team and the relationships that we have. 49
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HAVE YOU SEEN OUR OTHER TITLES?
DRONES IN MINING A Q&A with Percepto
Mining Global catches up with Ariel Avitan Chief Commercial Officer at Percepto to discuss how the company’s drone technology is transforming the mining landscape.
TECHNOLOGY
Writ ten by DALE BE NTON
53
TECHNOLOGY So, Ariel, how is mining benefitting from automated drone use? Mining was one of the first real relevant applications for drones, especially when you look at pile inspection. Having the ability to look at your facility from above gives you a lot of access to data that I believe is not something that you can get on a needs basis. A lot of companies are service-based, meaning someone will use the drone in starting to understand the scale of the mining facility, and then using third party analysis tools to provide data like pile inspection and 3D modelling and so on. Mining as an industry needs drone use for increased data. The question becomes a case of where it finds the gap because of the variety of mine types that creates different use cases. But not everything can be drone as a service. It requires different kinds of systems. What kind of systems are they? For example, when you use drones for mining, sometimes you want to send a drone into a specific pit hole for 3D mapping or to send a drone for sensors on gas control. There are different drones required for different 54
June 2018
purposes. The second thing is how you connect the drone as another sensor or another flying data collection system to the rest of the mining data collection. The industry is moving toward fully autonomous mining facilities or mining facilities that collect constant data and so you have to be agile to that. Another example is safety. At Percepto, we provide drones that are hands free from the pilot and connected to the systems that are already in the mine field to enable the drone to react and be a responsive tool. Gas sensors, smoke sensors for a fire, even security sensors or cameras, you’d send the drone to get an immediate visual confirmation of what’s going on there, so the human factor can react much better to these events. But when it’s not in security and safety, it constantly collects data from the different points of interest within the mining field. That enables you, when you have a system there readily available 24/7, it enables you to have constant ore inspection, heavy utility or heavy machinery inspection, and so on. You will profit because the system is already there. How has the emergence of
“Mining was one of the first real relevant applications for drones, especially when you look at pile inspection� Ariel Avitan, Chief Commercial Officer at Percepto 55
TECHNOLOGY drones changed the technology conversation in mining? The conversation is shifting. The larger companies of the world are very similar in their safety approach – safety is number one. Everybody has their own challenges, but a lot of these challenges can be visually inspected.
I’ll give you an example. We have a mining company that is looking for us to create a visual application that will assist if someone doesn’t have a helmet. We can in real time detect and let the client or the operator know that there’s someone without a helmet,
“The conversation is shifting. The larger companies of the world are very similar in their safety approach – safety is number one. Everybody has their own challenges, but a lot of these challenges can be visually inspected” ARIEL AVITAN Chief Commercial Officer at Percepto
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June 2018
or if you have X amount of people in a specific location. We can use different kinds of algorithms to identify the number of people that have gone missing, for example. There are specific applications that we can develop and deploy that increases the safety of facilities and that’s a core capability.
VIDEO: Percepto offers advanced aerial functionalities to large scale enterprises looking to improve their security, reduce human risk and operational costs
Is the mining industry slower to adopt technology than other industries? With drones, industries began to look for took a tool that is better than a camera. I’ll give you an example. One of the things that made us move from an application-based company to a platform is the fact that we talked to people from Siemens and they told us, ‘look, today drones are used basically to replace. It’s a tool for people to replace ropes’ because they use drones for wind turbine inspection. They basically replace the rope with a drone. Apply that to mining. They replaced walking around the stockpile with using a drone as a tool to do the assessment, but it can be much more than that. It can be an integral part of the whole operation of the system when it’s ongoing. That’s the difference here, I think, in the mindset and I think that difference starts to trickle down in specific companies. There’s an understanding now that we’re not only looking at drones as just another component, another wrench in your tool box, but as full systems that can provide value to the security team, to the 57
TECHNOLOGY safety team, to the inspection team, to the operations team, because it can do different kinds of ongoing missions. How does Percepto turn data into real value? There are a lot of companies that know how to take different kinds of videos and provide the analytics for pile estimation or change detection. I think that the main gap in the world, in our specific world, is the data collection and the ability for the drone to fly very accurately and collect the right data so that the machine learning applications can process and provide the value. We focus on real-time machine vision to get that accurate data. We want to be collecting the data in big facilities on an ongoing basis so that our offering or indeed a third-party solution can analyse the data and provide the value from the data. Does automation and drone use remove the need for the physical human element? Ultimately, drones cannot fix anything. They’re just a good system for alerting on different kinds of risk and situations that need to be alerted of. They’re much faster. They’re much more 58
June 2018
“Mining was one of the first real relevant applications for drones, especially when you look at pile inspection. Having the ability to look at your facility from above gives you a lot of access to data” ARIEL AVITAN Chief Commercial Officer at Percepto
accurate, and they provide data in real time for roles in decision making. If there’s a gas leak, somebody needs to get there and adjust the gas leak, so it doesn’t replace people. It just provides a better way of addressing different issues within the site that increases the productivity of the site and the facility.
What will the future of drone use in mining look like? I think that mining companies are starting where it’s obvious that there’s value for drone use. They’re waiting for specific technology and applications that will help them do more. But as we develop new software applications that can build on top off
the platform and provide that real visual data and analysis, it will increase the efficiency of these companies which, we all know, is a main goal for them because of the reduction in income. Slowly, but surely, we’ll see more and more use of these systems offer more routine applications that we have today. 59
INCLUSIVITY IN MINING Barbara Dischinger and Camila Reed from International Women in Mining discuss the organisation’s tireless work to promote and build inclusion in the industry Writ t en by N E LL WA LK E R
CSR
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CSR
SINCE ITS CREATION in 2007, International Women in Mining (IWiM) has never wavered in its pursuit of increased diversity. It was formed to provide a solution for several gaps in the industry that Barbara Dischinger, founder and Director of the group, saw at the time, among the most important being that there were very few mining groups for women. IWiM acts as a bridge for them to be able to get to know about and speak to each other and pursue projects to help women get ahead in the sector. 62
June 2018
IWiM also represents women not affiliated with local Women in Mining (WIM) chapters giving them a voice. Dischinger is proud to have well over 10,000 members of the group and fully expects that to continue expanding. As if to complement what IWiM does the industry has, of course, evolved. Increased levels of automation have created more jobs and opportunities for women in mining, and legislative rules around female mining professionals have changed. “It depends on which country
‘ TO BOOST ITS IMPACT ON INCREASED DIVERSITY IN MINING FURTHER, IWIM LAUNCHED THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN IN RESOURCES MENTORING PROGRAMME BACK IN MARCH – A SIXMONTH PROGRAMME SPONSORED BY A NUMBER OF ORGANISATIONS AND COMPANIES LIKE RIO TINTO, LUNDIN MINING AND AGNICO EAGLE’ Artisanal miner walking home. Photo credit: Rosey Perkins
you’re in,” says Camila Reed, Head of Social Media. “In some nations it’s been illegal, or been seen as bad luck, for women to be underground and that’s changed in some places since we began in 2007. Then there have been other important changes, like having some female CEOs at the helm of mining companies, and many more mining companies are becoming focussed on getting women onto boards and executive committees. A number also have targets and bonuses linked to diversity KPIs.
Plus, we now have members in 100 countries and there are women in mining groups quite literally all over the world – that in itself is a big change.” These are the women that IWiM strive to shine a spotlight upon, profiling them regularly on the organisation’s website, and it has also highlighted the role of underrepresented artisanal women miners, who are often almost invisible. Securing better rights for them and legislative changes for all women in mining is a priority. 63
The winning photo from IWiM’s international competition, photo credit: Elsa Nielson
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June 2018
CSR Alongside this, IWiM strives to create real change in the working conditions and opportunities offered to women, help form a pipeline of women in senior positions and the ability to connect with other women in mining around the world. “We do this via our projects and our liaison roleWomen with local WIM chapters all at the overmentorship the world,”launch says Dischinger. An important component of developing the discussion around women in mining is having role models for women and girls to aspire to. Many women come to mining never having seen another
woman do the job they are engaged in. IWiM’s photo gallery showcases how women are everywhere in the mining sector from truck drivers to mining engineers to executives in the boardroom. “By showing women in a variety of jobs we can help inspire girls into the sector,” says Reed. There are distinct advantages to having increased diversity in mining – advantages that International Women in Mining is vocal about communicating. “There is a very strong economic case for it,” says Reed. “The McKinsey study shows that there are enormous
Muza Gondwe, Photo Project Lead. She is is responsible for coordinating activities of the Mining and Energy for Development global community, maintaining ongoing alumni engagement through M4DLink, the online community of practice; following up alumni return to work plans and providing alumni with further opportunities for training and capacity building.
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CSR monetary benefits to having more women in the boardroom. Some mining companies, like BHP and Rio Tinto, have worked that out for themselves, and another plus is that you get an increased breadth of ideas when you involve women. There is so much more creativity flowing when you have diversity of thought brought in by people with different backgrounds.
“ THERE IS A VERY STRONG ECONOMIC CASE FOR IT. THE MCKINSEY STUDY SHOWS THAT THERE ARE ENORMOUS MONETARY BENEFITS TO HAVING MORE WOMEN IN THE BOARDROOM” CAMILA REED Head of Social Media, International Women in Mining 66
June 2018
Gender is only one component. Those two things speak loudly enough.� To boost its impact on increased diversity in mining further, IWiM launched the International Women in Resources Mentoring Programme back in March – a six-month programme sponsored by a number of organisations and companies like Rio Tinto, Lundin Mining and
Agnico Eagle. Some 42 women in the industry from across 16 countries have been paired with their mentors. The programme has been well received by everyone so far and a new intake is being planned for next year, launching at Indaba in February 2019. “Normally something like this would be regional or national, but this is international with mentees
The first female Furnace Superintendent in 44 years of the operation, who leads a 50-strong team and 2nd runner up. Photo credit: Candy McKenzie, Nickel West, Australia
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Women at the mentorship launch
and mentors from everywhere,” says Dischinger. “That makes all the difference for the mentors as well. They are all very senior in their careers, but they might have only worked in one country – now they’re being matched with someone from another country. So, it’s enriching for mentors as well as mentees, possibly in a wider way than other programmes.” IWiM always wants to do more, and its only real limit is time. In terms of ambition, new projects for the organisation are always 68
June 2018
being thought up and planned out. As well as planning for next year’s mentorship programme, it is making substantial changes to its research team, boosting the numbers and areas of research and collaborating with more partners like Adam Smith International and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Research is critical as many countries don’t collect data around women in the sector, which makes it more difficult to impact legislation, benchmark progress and make their
LEADERSHIP
“ THERE IS SO MUCH MORE CREATIVITY FLOWING WHEN YOU HAVE DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT BROUGHT IN BY PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. GENDER IS ONLY ONE COMPONENT. THOSE TWO THINGS SPEAK LOUDLY ENOUGH.” CAMILA REED Head of Social Media, International Women in Mining
lives better. Hence, this is a priority for the organisation, alongside helping set up more WIM groups, highlighting role models and expanding its board to include more voices. “We also have the IWiM SpeakUp programme,” says Reed, “which is about getting more women speaking at conferences not just about ‘gender issues’ but as mining experts. The drive now is to actually work with companies and help them to position their women, or be more flexible about letting their women take speaker opportunities. The final thing we’re launching is a corporate membership scheme, in order to get more sponsorship for our projects.” One has to hope that this inspirational drive to achieve greater inclusion in mining will pick up pace. “We have a cohort of champions – women and men,” says Dischinger. “There’s nothing specific in terms of expanding that conversation of inclusion that’s different to other STEM sectors, or to business generally. It’s about talking to people. We have men on our board and are looking for more, and diversity is a conversation that we have day-to-day.”
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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
MANAGING
RISK VIA SPECIALISTS As mining operations face an increasingly complex risk landscape, specialist insurance policies are crucial to safe, efficient and successful projects
W r i t t e n b y M AT T H I G H
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y IT’S HARDLY A revelation to say that the mining industry is one in which risk is inherent. And yet, beyond the more obvious dangers that are associated with operational practices in a mining environment, the risk landscape for operators is becoming increasingly complex. Today, miners face frontier environments, issues with social licences to operate, potential impacts of climate change policies and local governments, costmanagement challenges and issues around access to infrastructure, as well as softening commodity markets. In some respect such a list belies the true extent of any one of these issues to a mining operation but, should any one of the above impact day-to-day operations the subsequent business interruption (BI) – or worse – can have significant implications. For that reason, as well as extensive loss planning, risk assessment and management programmes and scenario testing, mining companies need to ensure that they have the right insurance to cover any loss. Instances of high loss incidents are relatively few but they are significant if they occur, making insurance that covers the entire lifecycle of a project essential. 74
June 2018
Mining insurance is, for good reason, a specialist area of cover protecting business, property, employees, equipment and contractors from a myriad of potential risks. Typically, specialist mining insurance providers offer a broad range of services that can cover such things as property and business interruption, damage to plant and machinery – as well as innovative new technology such as drones and remote equipment – global life and accident insurance and special high-risk coverage policies. According to specialist broker and risk management solutions provider, Marsh, rates for mining risks declined globally in 2017. In its mining market update report, Marsh outlines the impact of natural catastrophe events last year to mining – operators with mines in high-risk areas prone to earthquakes, storms and hurricanes that occurred last year, for example, are likely to face higher scrutiny from insurers throughout this year. More generally, 2018 was predicted to see an increase in insurance capacity provided to mining operators. “Increases in business interruptions declarations will require
Mining insurance is, for good reason, a specialist area of cover protecting business, property, employees, equipment and contractors from a myriad of potential risks 75
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
“ Increases in business interruptions declarations will require the insurance market to accept a general growth in risk exposure for the first time in five years” MATTHEW GOODA Global Mining Practice Leader, Marsh
the insurance market to accept a general growth in risk exposure for the first time in five years,” said Global Mining Practice Leader, Matthew Gooda. Insurers, says the report, will also closely scrutinise areas such as impoundments and tailings facilities, cyber security liability and the rising risk of terrorism cover. The nature of modern mining operations means that companies typically face some of the most remote 76
June 2018
and inhospitable locations in the world, making them far more susceptible to risk. That risk can extend from the sheer difficulty of operating a stretched and disparate supply chain or the distance from urban centres, and thus medical aid and so forth, through to dangers such as political instability or the risk of kidnap. “Remote environments increase the risk of things like kidnap and ransomrelated events in particular, which
makes the security of employees and assets a major concern,” says Samantha Holland, Partner at multinational law firm, Gowling WLG. “In terms of insurance, that risk can be mitigated to a degree through things like kidnap and ransom policies, which are now relatively well established but increasingly more comprehensive in scope than in the past.” According to Holland, a typical policy will cover “kidnap, extortion
(including cyber or products extortion), hijack, wrongful detention, threat, disappearance, a hostage crisis and child abduction indemnifying the policyholder in particular for any ransom as well as the costs of transporting the ransom and securing the ransom drop team. It is also possible to recover associated financial losses including personal accident, salary cost, medical and legal fees, PR 77
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y costs and counselling/rehabilitation costs. It is even possible to extend cover to, for example, tiger kidnappings (when one person is kidnapped in order to exert pressure on another to perform a criminal act) as well as business interruption losses and product recall expenses arising as a result of cyber or product extortion in particular.” Beyond cover, such an extensive policy can also cover such things as access to – and payment of the costs of – independent crisis management and response advisers and even specialist negotiators that are trained in such incidents. Holland says: “Insurers usually offer access to a global team of security advisers with the policy including, in some cases, pre-incident support and risk management comprising, amongst other things, cyber and security risk assessment and crisis management planning.” The increased use of advanced technology in mining operations has seen insurers place considerable emphasis on risks associated with cybersecurity of late. This is particularly prudent in light of increased use of network systems, particularly in remote operations, and also systems used to monitor technology, handling operations and processing facilities. A recent study by software organisation Symantec, for example, identified mining companies as the most at risk for cyber ‘spear phishing’ attacks. To give a practical example, in 2012 oil company Aramco was hacked by political activists with a relatively simple spear phishing attack that resulted in more than a week of network downtime at significant cost. 78
June 2018
An extensive policy can also cover such things as access to – and payment of the costs of – independent crisis management and response advisers and even specialist negotiators that are trained in such incidents 79
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y Other risk factors that can frequently escalate operationally and thus influence insurance policy and indeed complicate claims include supply chain distribution and growing regulatory scrutiny. The latter is most notably in relation to environmental and health and safety issues, but there is a general sense of governments,
regulatory bodies and local communities paying greater attention to licences to operate for mines. While all of the aforementioned risks can inevitably cause disruption to operations if they come to fruition, insurers offer specific business interruption policies to mining operators. These form a
“ Remote environments increase the risk of things like kidnap and ransom-related events in particular, which makes the security of employees and assets a major concern� SAMANTHA HOLLAND Partner at Gowling WLG
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key component of a company’s business continuity plan and are specifically designed to compensate for any financial impact caused by the interruption or interference to business that results from damage to insured property. Simply put, they exist to return the business to the financial position it would be in had
the incident in question not occurred. Interestingly, business interruption cases can prove the most difficult settle despite their often being the largest due to difficulties in tangibly measuring ‘loss’. The impact of such interruption, though, is readily apparent. For example, a whitepaper from insurance provider JLT cites an instance of one mining operator suffering business interruption and property damage to the tune of $70mn as a result of a worker not using accepted precautions when welding. Similarly, a fire in the kitchens of a Canadian gold mine in Nunavut caused operator Agnico-Eagle to shut down activities for one month and reduce annual production target from 360,000 to 310,000 ounces. Mitigating mining risk is undoubtedly a complex and demanding operation that requires specialist services. While past incidents show that stopping those risks is near-on impossible – as is the case in any industry or sector, after all – ensuring that the correct insurance is in place is a fundamental aspect of any mining operation to not only cover equipment and personnel, but also the business itself.
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ozmine 2018
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Mining and Engineering (M&E) Indonesia 2018 is a B2B exhibition, which delivers signiďŹ cant opportunities for local and international suppliers to enhance your business proďŹ le, launch your latest products, technologies and services and network with mining professionals from Indonesia and the surrounding region. For visitors, the event is a dedicated platform to network, source, and gain insights.
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MINING & NGINEERING ONESIA 2018
MININGINNOVATION HUB
ngindonesia
Gold Sponsor
In modern times, ‘a gold mine’ is more commonly known as an idiom for a spectacularly profitable business, innovation or idea. But what of the actual gold mines of this world? Behold the below sites that are, in the most literal of senses, worth their weight in gold Writ te n by: S A M R O W E
TOP 10
KALGOORLIE SUPER PIT G O LD P R OD UCED:
75 8,0 00 O U N C E S
The largest open-pit gold mine in Australia – and one of the world’s biggest – the Super Pit is so vast, it can be seen from space. One of only a few mines open for business as a tourist attraction, the pit is more than two miles long, a mile wide and 2,000 ft deep; with building-sized machines used to excavate the dirt. By 2021, the depth will be closer to 2,500 ft.
www.superpit.com.au
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June 2018
BODDINGTON G O L D PROD UCED:
87 8,3 00 OU N C E S
Another mammoth mine in Western Australia, Boddington is 120km from Perth and produces both gold and copper concentrate. Mining behemoth Newmont became sole owner in 2009, and the one million ounces of gold produced in 2011 saw Boddington surpass the Super Pit as the nation’s largest producer of the precious metal.
www.newmont.com
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TOP 10
OLIMPIADA G O LD P R OD UCED:
89 6,0 00 O U N C E S
Opened in 1996 and located in one of Russia’s most lucrative gold mining provinces, Olimpiada is the jewel in the crown of its owner, Polyus Gold, accounting for more than half of its entire gold output. With 30.01 ounces of proven and probable reserves, the mine enjoyed a surge out production in 2016, with an additional 135,900 equating to a jump of almost 18%.
www.polyus.com
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June 2018
CARLIN G O L D PROD UCED:
94 4,0 00 OU N C E S
Owned by Newmont Mining, Carlin is part of much larger operation that spans Nevada in the United States of America – including the Twin Creeks, Long Canyon and Phoenix mines. In addition to its prodigious output, at the end of 2016 Newmont reported 15mn ounces of gold reserves.
www.newmont.com
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TOP 10
LIHIR
G O LD P R OD UCED:
99 1,0 00 O U N C E S
Housed within a volcanic crater in Papua New Guinea – which has the third largest gold reserves on the planet – Lihir has produced upwards of 10mn ounces of gold since 1997. Along with the obvious economic benefits that come with gold production, some 4,500 people are employed at Lihir, with 90% of these Papua New Guinean nationala.
www.newcrest.com.au
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June 2018
CORTEZ HILLS G O L D PROD UCED:
1.0 6MN OUN C E S
Found in the Nevada desert, Cortez is a focal point for Barrick Gold, and reported proven and probable gold reserves of 10.2mn ounces in late 2016. Aside from a 6% surge in production from 2015 to 2016 – and similar increases predicted – the mine maximised profit by streamlining its all-in sustaining costs (AISC) by 14% year on year; to $518 per ounce.
www.barrick.com/operations/barrick-nevada
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TOP 10
GRASBERG G O LD P R OD UCED:
1.0 61 MN O U N C E S
The single largest gold mine on the Earth (and second largest for copper), Grasberg is jointly owned by the Indonesian government and Freeport-McMoRan, and situated near the Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua. A recent dispute over contract terms saw mass resignations and layoffs, yet in early 2018 Freeport looked likely to yield a controlling stake to the state.
www.fcx.com/operations/indonesia
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June 2018
GOLDSTRIKE G O L D PROD UCED:
1.1 MN OU N C E S
Located within the epic Carlin Trend in Nevada, the Goldstrike property comprises the Rodeo and Meikle underground mine, as well as the Betze-Post open-pit. Owned by Barrick Gold, the firm foresees a bright future – with plans until 2023 for underground mining, 2027 for open-pit and 2032 for processing operations.
www.barrick.com/operations/barrick-nevada
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TOP 10
PUEBLO VIEJO G O LD P R OD UCED:
1.2 8MN OU N C E S
A joint venture between Barrick Gold and fellow Canadian mining firm, Goldcorp, Pueblo Viejo is found in the Dominican Republic. Since 2009, the two firms have poured $4bn investment into the mine, which equates to the largest single foreign investment in the nation’s history. It has reaped rewards – there is 13.48mn ounces of proven and probable gold to speak of, with a massive 23% boost in gold production from 2015 to 2016.
www.barrick.com/operations/pueblo-viejo 94
June 2018
MURUNTAU G O L D PROD UCED:
2.1 9MN OUN C E S
Taking the crown at a canter, Muruntau produces almost double the gold of Pueblo Viejo, and belongs exclusively to the government of Uzbekistan. That said, the government is notoriously secretive about the specifics of production, meaning the above figure is more an educated guess than indisputable fact. Incredibly, the reality might be even more impressive. The world’s largest open-pit mine, it is also the fifth deepest. Its gold reserves – which are, again, estimated – are said to be around 170mn ounces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muruntau_mine 95
E V E N T S & A S S O C I AT I O N S
Events The biggest and best events and conferences from around the world‌ Writ te n by STUART H O DG E
E V E N T S & A S S O C I AT I O N S Symposium 2018 on Mines and the Environment Rouyn-Noranda, Canada
25th World Mining Congress 2018 Korme Exhibition Center, Kazakhstan
17–20 June
19-22 June
The Université du Québec en
The World Mining Congress is the
Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) and
largest industry event in MMC,
the Canadian Institute of Mining,
which takes place every two to three
Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)
years. The WMC is composed of
are hosting the ‘Symposium 2018
world experts and scientists from
on Mines and the Environment’,
49 countries. The first Congress
which is the result of a collaboration
was held in September 1958 in
between the Research Institute
Warsaw (Poland). The World
on Mines and Environment
Mining Congress 2018 will be held in
(RIME) UQAT-Polytechnique,
Astana, in the Congress Center on
the Unité de Recherche et de
the territory of “EXPO 2017”. In the
Service en Technologie Minérale
programme of the 25th anniversary
(URSTM), and many governing
World Mining Congress there is a
individuals and bodies and mining
number of specialised sessions that
companies. The organisers say:
cover the range of topics of MMC:
“The objectives of the Symposium
from exploration and production to
are to share recent knowledge
enrichment, from risk assessment to
and research developments and
attracting international financing.
to discuss common practices
In parallel with the conference
to find solutions that reconcile
there will be an international
profitability and environmental
specialised exhibition of equipment
protection.” Registration for the
and technologies for the mining
event opened in February 2018.
industry, and a number of industrial
http://rouyn-noranda2018.cim.org/en
excursions to familiarise participants with scientific institutions and industrial enterprises of Kazakhstan. https://wmc2018.org/en/
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Investing in LatAm Mining Cumbre Santiago, Chile 10-11 July Following a successful launch in 2017, Investing in LatAm Mining Cumbre is returning to Santiago this July with even more mining companies, investors and government representatives. Meet over 400 of the key voices from across the Latin American mining sector, and discover what projects are in the making across the continent. •Learn about the latest policy and regime changes affecting the mining industries in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and elsewhere from governmental representatives and ministers. •Network with 50-plus global investors looking for new investment opportunities and all the key stakeholders in the Latin American mining industry •Examine commodity growth trends and investment prospects in the region including demand for battery metals ahead of the electric vehicle revolution •Hear from CEOs of leading mining companies on the biggest challenges faced by the region and innovative solutions to them. www.miningcumbre.com
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2018 Energy Conference Las Vegas, USA 16–17 July At this event, researchers and experts from different areas of the mining landscape come together to give a global overview of the latest progress on renewable and non-renewable energy. The ‘Energy Workshop’ is a platform for academicians, researchers, engineers, as well as industrial professionals from all over the world to exhibit their research results and development activities in energy. The Energy Conference, meanwhile, will be focused on new green technologies to establish clear, reliable and affordable renewable and non-renewable energy supplies. It also facilitates an opportunity to exchange information, experiences and best practices by making together adept, investors and other multi-stakeholders. Organisers say: “Deliberating the world, global warming suppression is a compelling matter. Coping with these issues, we are developing new projects involving renewable energy using innovative ideas in the renewable and non-renewable energy conference and by open presentation and discussion in the Energy Meeting about ongoing research.” www.meetingsint.com/conferences/energy
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Mining the Territory 2018 Darwin, Australia 5–6 September Going down under now to Australia for Mining the Territory, which is Northern Australia’s leading mining conference held annually in Darwin as a part of the Regional Resources Week. The event brings together key industry decision makers, opinion
Electra Mining Africa
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mining, industrial, electrical and power industry sectors. Electra Mining Africa delivers a great return on investment for exhibitors and provides a world-class event for visitors keen to see the latest innovation in products, services and technology developments. Over 850 local and international exhibitors say “yes” to this opportunity every two years. www.electramining.co.za
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SEG 2018: Metals, Minerals, and Society Keystone, USA 22–25 September The SEG 2018 Conference looks ahead at the metals and minerals required to meet the demands of society. This year’s event will feature some fascinating plenaries on breakthroughs in economic geology; integrating geology, geochemistry, and geophysics; integrating mineral and petroleum systems approaches to sedimentary basins; and the implications for society. The wider focus of the event, which also incorporates field trips, technical sessions and workshops is on the state of knowledge in important ore deposit types and the future of research, education, and exploration. www.seg2018.org
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Operational Excellence & Risk Management London 2-4 October The Operational Excellence & Risk Management Summit is Europe’s only event dedicated to operational excellence in hazardous industries. Taking place in London 2-4 October, this executive level conference will bring together over 100 Heads of Operations, HSE, ORM and Operational Excellence from manufacturing, energy, chemicals, resources, transportation and more – all industries facing high levels of operational risk. At the event you’ll be able to hear from over 40 world class innovators, all presenting at the event and there to show you how to adopt the culture, systems and processes of the world’s Highest Reliability Organisations. www.opexsummiteurope.iqpc.com
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MINING FOR A GREENER FUTURE ACROSS THE STEEL INDUSTRY Written by Catherine Sturman Produced by Richard Deane
Paulo Misk, President of Largo Resources Brasil, discusses the long-term potential of vanadium with Mining Global
O
ne of the leading mineral exporters worldwide, rich in bauxite, niobium, manganese and iron ore resources, the abundance of raw materials and high levels of vanadium (V205) has led Largo Resources to establish the Vanadio de Maracás Menchen Mine project in Bahia State, Brazil. Gaining up to $91mn in revenue in 2018’s first quarter (a 210% increase over Q1 2017), the project will aim to cater to global demands for stronger and lighter steel, as well as high quality vanadium, required by aerospace and chemical industries. “This was a very challenging project, but Largo Resources have made it happen. We are very happy with the results considering all the developments and improvements we have made to deliver operational excellence,” explains Paulo Misk, President of Largo Resources Brasil. “Demand for vanadium is growing across the automotive, aerospace
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industries and use of batteries. It also helps the environment, where in just one kilogram of V2O5 in one tonne of steel, its strength is increased by 30%. “We call this a green metal, where you don’t need to use as much vanadium, reducing environmental impacts. If vehicles are lighter, for example, they will consume less fuel. Huge improvements have also been made in the aerospace industry, with regards to consumption.” PRODUCTION CAPABILITIES Largo Resources has been keen to unlock the vanadium open-pit mine’s potential. Mining the ore and sending the mineral to a crushing plant, it is here that the company works to upgrade the vanadium content through dry magnetic separation, where all crushed material is fed into the milling process. “After milling, we move to the wet magnetic separation stage and
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Paulo Misk Paulo Misk, President of Largo Resources Brasil
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“Demand for vanadium is growing across the automotive and aerospace industries. In just one kilogram of V2O5 within one ton of steel, its strength is increased by 30%” – Paulo Misk, Presidente de Largo Resources Brasil
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produce our magnetic concentrate, which is 3.2% vanadium. It’s much better than any other magnet concentrate in the world. It’s about 60% higher when you compare our competitors,” observes Misk. “Once we have the magnetic concentrate, it is placed in a rotary kiln, where sodium is added, producing sodium vanadate. We then remove the solids and all the vanadium in the pregnant solution goes through precipitation, where we produce the ammonia meta vanadate (AMV). “We fuse it dry and remove the ammonia in another furnace,” he continues. “Whilst we have V2O5 already, we can then provide it as a powder, or we could melt it in a fusion furnace and produce flakes. “The three products that we have after this process are standard-grade V2O5 flake, a high-purity V2O5 flake and a high-purity V2O5 powder.” To meet increased demand, Largo Resources has also sought to ramp up production across its operations. Producing 903 tonnes in December last year, with a production record
of 2,539 tonnes, the company has one of the lowest costs in the world. “Our ability to produce vanadium at low cost gives us a lot of competitiveness. Our recovery from ore to product is 79%, which is one of the highest in the world,” says Misk. “These are the main targets we have been working on: higher production, lower unit cost and very high recovery. To achieve high levels of production, we are increasing our capacity by 25%. We have a very high cost control and improved maintenance performance. That’s the way we unsure excellence results and also take full advantage of the recent high vanadium prices.” LONG-TERM COMMITMENT Providing a boost to employment figures and the country’s economy, Largo Resources seeks to encourage and support workers across its operations. With everyday training and a range of different programmes, 77 employees are presently undertaking scholarships which the company is financially supporting. “Everything is being achieved
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FACTS AND FIGURES • Largo Resources has reported a net income of $45.8mn ($0.09 per share) in Q1 • Revenues of $91mn in Q1 2018, a 210% increase over Q1 2017 • Total production of 2,214 tonnes of V2O5 in Q1 2018, a 7% increase over Q1 2017 • Average V2O5 price of ~US$13.60/ lb V2O5 in Q1 2018 • Cash balance at March 31, 2018 of $50.2mn and restricted cash of $4.4 million
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by a very good team. The main goal is to keep improving our team and developing their skills, getting them more involved each time, more committed and engaged,” Misk passionately adds. “Each employee must have the right skills in order to be aligned with the purpose of the company – it is essential.” “We have charted the highest requirements regarding quality, but our team makes our project and operation unique. They are
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very engaged, committed to the company, and make it happen. We work together and the collaboration among us is very clear.” Such commitment extends towards Largos’ strong relationships with its suppliers, which play a key part in its drive to lower ongoing costs. “We believe that if we have the right partners who look for excellence, we are going to be much more likely to succeed by working together to achieve a good result and a good performance,” Misk says. FUTURE GROWTH The company’s production of vanadium has been certified by all major producers of master alloys for the aerospace industry outside of China, as well as producers of vanadium master alloys who supply the western titanium industry. Additionally, Largo Resources
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has also been approved to supply vanadium to redox flow battery developers and electrolyte producers in North America, Europe and China. But where does Misk believe the company and the Vanadio de Maracás Menchen Mine project to be headed long-term? “Our project, it’s unique considering the quality of our ore, the reaches, the grade, the technology that we have, and the product that we produce. We have the best quality in the world,” he says. “We also are doing an exploration programme in order to increase our reserves, and we are developing our product in order to be able to supply all the vanadium needs regarding quality and regarding volume, now and in the future.”
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“We call this a green metal. If vehicles are lighter, for example, they will consume less fuel� Paulo Misk, President of Largo Resources Brasil
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YAMANAGOLD
and the
DIGITISATION of ETHICAL
GOLD SOURCING
Through the advent of the G-Coin, backed by a blockchain supported Responsible Gold solution, Yamana Gold is transforming the sourcing of gold Written by Dale Benton Produced by Glen White
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CANADA
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YA M A N A G O L D
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he world of mining is changing. Historically known as an industry lagging behind when it comes to the implementation and deployment of technology, over the course of the last five years the mining conversation has turned towards innovation. One of the biggest conversations in mining, throughout history, surrounds the sourcing and supply of raw material, and now a number of companies are investing into technology solutions in order to track, trace and ethically manage its mineral supply chain. One such company that looks for innovative solutions to mining challenges is Canadian gold producer Yamana Gold. The company’s vision states its intentions clearly – to mine precious metals profitably and responsibly. It is this focus on responsible mining that has driven the company to partner with Emergent Technology Holdings to implement an innovative blockchain solution for the responsible sourcing of gold, making it the first in the industry to
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partner with the American firm. “We are not the only ones working on supply chain solutions in the gold sector, but in our view, this solution, in particular, is unique; it adds significant value to both us, as industry participants, and more so to people in communities where we mine and buyers, consumers and investors of precious metals. On the one hand, it leverages blockchain technology to execute supply chain contracts between miners, refiners, logistics providers and buyers in what has historically been a very manual and inefficient process with data recorded across disparate systems and several industry participants. This solution is certainly an improvement. And, perhaps more importantly, it leverages this technology to track and trace the provenance of gold from mine to vault, providing virtually absolute assurance that the gold produced through this supply chain solution is responsible gold, complying with the strictest due diligence standards including the World Gold Counsel’s Conflict-Free Gold Standard. There’s a market for that. We are starting to see pent
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up demand for responsibly-sourced gold from jewellers, electronics manufacturers and even fund managers who have long been driving and promoting socially conscious and responsible agendas. With Emergent, and other supply-chain participants, we have developed an ecosystem to essentially guarantee that production flowing through it is 100% responsible
gold. Now, we and Emergent, hope to populate this ecosystem with as many supply chain participants as possible” says Tony Cina, Senior Vice President, Business Administration, Yamana Gold. “This is an industrywide solution. It is not exclusive to Yamana. If a participant contributes to responsibly-produced gold, then we encourage their participation.”
“Through this ecosystem, we will continue to
mine gold ethically and responsibly with the benefit of more efficiently ensuring that all of our gold is conflict-free” – Tony Cina, Senior Vice President, Business Administration, CPA, CA, ICD.D
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“Tracing gold from the mine site right into a vault, and then ultimately to a currency that you can spend across the world or to transfer money. That, for me, solves a real problem” – Tony Cina, Senior Vice President, Business Administration
“So ideally that means every miner, every refiner, every logistics partner and everyone in the entire precious metals supply chain joins the ecosystem; and Emergent is talking to all the major market players aiming to secure their participation. It is in everyone’s best interest to have one ecosystem that buyers, consumers and investors can depend and rely on. This is a unique opportunity for the gold sector to band together to further contribute to the improvement of social and humanitarian conditions in remote areas” Yamana Gold will utilise Emergent’s Responsible Gold Platform, the
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only permissioned blockchain that tracks responsibly sourced gold from its origin through to the end buyer. Along with supply chain partners, Yamana Gold will use a secure mobile network that scans smart chips in tamper-proof seals to record transfers of custody and other data on the Responsible Gold blockchain. “We had a unique interest in the supply chain element of gold production,” Cina says. “We saw the potential to employ an innovative solution to an industry challenge and we recognized the benefit in developing that solution through collaboration.”
CANADA
Yamana Gold first worked with Emergent Technology back in 2016, and this partnership is part of a larger strategy whereby the company has sought out new ways of implementing technology and innovation to refine its operations. As technology continues to shape the world of tomorrow, Joe AbiDaoud, Vice President, IT at Yamana Gold, understands that the very nature in which a mining company must operate is changing. “It’s no secret that every company in the world is becoming a technology company,” he says. “We work in a very cyclical industry that will forever
go through ups and downs, and what we’ve begun to see in recent years is companies understanding that in order to stay competitive, they need to start doing things differently.” And doing things differently is exactly what Yamana Gold has been doing as it undergoes a significant technology transformation. But, as AbiDaoud notes, innovation and technology not only change the practical, physical element of mining, such as the automation of equipment, but innovation is almost driving the strategic thinking and direction of organisations. “The industry as a whole has
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H OCH S CH I L D M IN IN G
SPROTT MINING INC
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been undergoing a significant transformation for quite some time,” says AbiDaoud, “albeit at its own pace and perhaps a little slower than others. This comes down to the cyclical nature. Gold prices plummeted in 2013, and it forced everyone to rethink our operating model. “Technology is one component of that, it’s not the only component but over time it has become more and more integral to the way in which Yamana Gold achieves success and will continue to deliver value.” AbiDaoud entered Yamana Gold in 2017 with a core mission to drive innovation and seek out opportunities to leverage technologies to provide value and to support the overall vision of the company, which is to mine precious metals profitably and responsibly. For AbiDaoud, three core pillars define innovation: people, process, and technology. When organisations think of innovation, they often focus largely on the technology aspect, while AbiDaoud believes the people and the processes are more important. “For some they seem to fail to
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recognise the important impact and role that people and process have to play in helping your organisation innovate,” he says. “Technology can’t move forward if the people and processes don’t move forward with it, so it becomes fundamentally about changing the way we work and the way we operate. Technology in the end is just a tool to do that.” The people element to innovation should not be understated, especially in an industry that has largely operated in the same manner for decades. Technological innovation breeds a cultural change, but as any transformation has shown, cultural change is no walk in the park. Part of that challenge is communication. Yamana Gold approaches this a little differently. “We actually don’t have a technology conversation,” says AbiDaoud. “When you’re speaking about innovation, or doing things differently, we don’t even talk about technology. It’s about talking about business outcomes in a language that’s understandable and relevant
CANADA
to the end user’s business. That’s how you get a much more engaged partner at the end of the day.” As VP of IT, AbiDaoud has lived and breathed technology throughout his entire career and so it may be easier for him to say that due to his extensive experience. But it is a feeling shared by Cina, as he sees Yamana Gold’s approach to technology centred much
more around efficiency and effectivity, rather than seeking out problems. “We work with our operations and exploration teams to better understand what challenges they face and together consider whether there are operational or other technologies that could be deployed to resolve those challenges. Our approach is targeted. We do not introduce
“The industry as a whole has been undergoing a significant transformation for quite some time, albeit at its own pace and perhaps a little slower than others” – Joe AbiDaoud, Vice President, IT
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RESPONSIBLE GOLD BLOCKCHAIN SUPPLY CHAIN TECHNOLOGY BY EMERGENT TECHNOLOGY
solutions and then look for problems for which to solve. The solutions are very specific. They either solve a problem or create an opportunity” says Cina. “That’s why we try not to have discussions focused entirely on technology. It’s about how we can become more efficient; how can we produce more ounces both profitably and ethically. It’s about working with our strategic partners and seeking out areas of opportunity, to which we then work collaboratively to find a solution.” The partnership with Emergent Technology and the implementation
of the company’s Responsible Gold blockchain platform is but one shining example of Yamana Gold’s approach to technology, but it is not the only one. Yamana Gold has invested in Emergent’s “G-Coin”, a digital token backed by physical gold sourced from the Responsible Gold supply chain platform. “The conversation started a few years ago from a group consisting of technology experts, fintechs legal experts and gold market participants to look at the possibility of digitising gold,” says Cina.
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“We were invited as the only gold supply-chain representative.” “While initially we were not clear on where the discussion would lead, we quickly caught on to the concept of a digital gold currency that was backed, and had its value supported by, conflict-free gold.” This was a novel concept a couple of years ago. Today it’s a lot more real. And tomorrow even more so. G-Coin, first and foremost, is not a cryptocurrency, it is digital gold. It provides a digital certificate of ownership to physical gold stored in a secure vault, opening access to responsible gold as an investment, wealth transfer vehicle and payment mechanism.
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As AbiDaoud admits, it’s not an answer to a business problem, it’s an opportunity to open up efficiency and profitability, all the while remaining committed to responsible, ethical gold sourcing. Cina adds: “It is not the only digital token of gold in the world, but what makes it different is that it is more than just a digital store of value. It
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can actually be used as a medium of exchange to settle transactions or transfer value. That’s where it’s unique. I don’t know of anyone else that’s using responsible gold to back a viable digital currency. “Tracing gold from the mine site right into a vault, and then ultimately to a currency that you can spend or transfer to individuals and businesses
across global markets - that, for us is innovative.” Cina went on to say that “since the beginning of time, gold has been a store of value. With blockchain technology, gold can now be digitized; you can own it in your digital wallet and no longer have to hold physical gold. But what does the digitization of gold really solve if all you have done is alter the form in which wealth is stored?” Cina argues, “not much. But when you introduce the ability to spend and transfer gold as if it were cash, instantly,
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with zero transaction fees and in the smallest of denominations - that is a real solution. That’s innovative” Cina believes that the case for G-Coin is especially feasible in emerging markets, where currencies are more sensitive to inflation and currency devaluation and in some cases subject to currency controls. “The introduction of a gold-backed digital currency becomes extremely appealing to individuals and businesses in those markets”. Users will now have the ability to convert their local currency into the G-coin and protect their wealth and purchasing power. Through the Responsible Gold platform, and the advent of G-Coin, the mining landscape is well and truly on the cusp of great change. The demand for conflictfree gold has already begun to surge over recent years, with more and more participants looking to change the way in which they purchase and acquire gold. But what does the future truly hold for the ethical sourcing of gold? Cina feels that, in actual
fact, we could see a whole new gold asset class. “In 5-10 years, or perhaps less, as demand for responsible gold continues to increase, responsiblegold emanating from this ecosystem may become a new and distinct asset class, demanding a premium to gold otherwise produced. This bodes well for the sector, its participants and for the people in areas where we mine precious metals.” This is why we got involved: good for gold and good for society – profitably and responsibly.” Yamana Gold started this journey of digital transformation in 2016, but with technological innovation there is never truly an end to that journey. The official launch of G-coin is targeted for the third quarter of 2018, with the back-end technology already in place, but where does Yamana Gold go from here? “With everything in place with regards to that launch date, the goal for Emergent is to introduce and integrate G-Coin into payment walls and wallets in those emerging markets,” says Cina. “Emergent expects to process approximately $2
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“There is great opportunity for us as an industry to become much more collaborative and unified in our approach to innovation” – Joe AbiDaoud, Vice President, IT
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billion in transactions and payments in these markets over the next year and are looking to have G-Coin become a widespread alternative to traditional payment methods, ultimately pushing gold to become the most liquid asset in the world.” For AbiDaoud, the future is one of possibility and collaboration. “There is great opportunity for us as an industry to become much more collaborative and unified in our approach to innovation,” says AbiDaoud. “What I’d like to see is an ecosystem that all industry participants are a part of, with real benefits to everyone. That would be a tremendous accomplishment for the mining industry.”
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