Struggling with commodity prices, declining ore grades and operational challenges, South African miners have no choice but to focus on creating operational excellence to buffer the effects of declining margins, says research and consultancy firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

IDC worldwide mining practices research director Emilie Ditton says that creating operations that are interconnected digitally and built on processes enabled by data to deliver responsive and agile operations is of “critical importance”.

She believes that it is possible to have more efficient and sustainable ways of extracting value from minerals, which will also ensure safer and more productive workplaces.

“It is not new that mining companies are placing a value on their data, but the transformation that is required is about truly enabling the data – enabling it to control, manage and respond to the operation,” Ditton remarks.

She stresses that mining companies must enable processes and decision-making beyond the operational silos endemic within most mining companies. Ditton comments that thirdplatform technologies, such as cloud, mobility, analytics and social networking, can enable companies to cut costs, improve productivity and find room for innovation.

She contends that, if mining houses couple this with innovation accelerator technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), three- dimensional printing, cognitive processing and next generation security, they will be able to reinvent their business processes to support agile and dynamic operations.

Moreover, Ditton says that a critical component of the transformation is enabling the connected and intelligent management of people, material and assets during the execution of the mine plan. She comments that workforce tracking is the current priority, with 94% of South African mining companies highlighting this, but notes that this top priority will change to ore tracking.

“Many South African mining companies are already working closely with their information technology (IT) suppliers to improve network connectivity above and below ground to allow for the deployment of remote sensors that can be used to monitor everything.

“[The] ongoing bringing together of supplier ecosystems enabling IoT capabilities across original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), networking providers, IT services companies and operational technology vendors will be required to create that capability. The technology capability will change but so [too] will the way mining companies need to engage in the vendor ecosystem,” Ditton states.

She mentions that there is already a willingness for an increased partnering approach with technology suppliers among South African mining companies. Ditton remarks that the momentum behind cloud investment in mining is accelerating, with the number of companies not using the cloud in South Africa declining from 31% to 14% in two years.

Further, she points out that mining organisations in South Africa are leveraging cloud technology to drive growth, bring down costs and offer centralised functions and controls, which, in turn, will enable greater standardisation of operations across different locations.

Ditton contends that, going forward, South African mining companies must focus on operational excellence, business simplicity and a holistic approach to digital mining initiatives. She highlights that mines generate “enormous amounts of data”, but notes that the key to ensuring their success is being able to use that data to inform ongoing change and improvements.

Ditton adds that mining companies need to ensure that the right infrastructure, capabilities and governance are in place to allow them to use the data embedded in all their processes.

She says that enabling greater simplicity within the business is important and mining companies need to ensure that their processes are as simple as is practical to enable collaboration, improved decision-making and the creation of value.

“Finally, they need to ensure that digital mining initiatives are considered holistically if they are to extract true value from them,” Ditton concludes.