Long-standing Mining Indaba participant Seequent, The Bentley Subsurface Company, believes miners in South Africa and neighbouring countries are likely to continue their strategic investment in technology to capitalise on the global appetite for more exploration to meet demand for critical minerals, as well as to support their own precise subsurface decision-making, says Marc Delport, Seequent’s Head of Customer Solutions - EMEA.

“Africa is rich in high-demand resources that support green energy transitions,” says Delport, “which is seeing a global expansion of exploration on these shores.” Mining Indaba host country South Africa, itself in the clutches of an energy crisis which has all stakeholders pulling together for immediate solutions, has laid out its own Just Energy Transition Plan, which spans 2023 to 2027 and which outlines the scale and need of investments required to achieve its decarbonisation commitments. 

“It’s our intention to help miners advance their subsurface investigation so that they can discover faster, drill smarter and make more confident decisions with their geoscience data,” he says. 

Drill and sample data are the lifeblood for mining companies when exploring, says Delport. “Technology must support strategies and deliver a tangible and meaningful return on investment. It’s crucial to have a seamless workflow for exploration to uncover insights to enable critical, strategic decisions at every project stage,” he says. 

Deport explains that this workflow must simplify drilling data collection and the capture and storing of high-quality core imagery that’s easily accessible from anywhere at any time. In addition to this, a miner needs the ability to integrate the data and images with a modelling tool which makes stakeholder engagement and decision-making far more efficient. “With all those steps in mind, in a digital age it is crucial for teams to be able to see and collaborate on projects, in real time, from anywhere. That’s how the promise of technology converts to real value.”

He says project data needs to be communicated in an understandable way to a wide range of stakeholders including investors, government, community and mining executives. “This is why we continue to broaden our mining software portfolio across every stage of the mining life cycle, including exploration and evaluation, to improve workflow and data capabilities to help the mining industry bring clarity to the decision-making process on resources and capital investment. 

“For example, to help reduce the cost of exploration programmes we can help customers create a more accurate resource estimation and enhance sustainability by better delineating between mined ore and waste,” he explains.

Seequent is not new on these shores, and Delport says it has a special relationship with Africa and the mining community. 

The company gained its first major mining customers more than 15 years ago when it introduced its revolutionary Leapfrog software, which fundamentally disrupted the process of modelling, enabling working models in hours not days. 

“We work with partners in diverse areas, from mining and exploration, to civil infrastructure and water security. We currently have local teams in South Africa, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana that are supported by our global team,” says Delport.