With the incorporation of the Internet of Things, as well as various geoscientific data sources, the potential of data management as a service (DMaaS) for the mining industry is “massive”, says DMP South Africa MD Iniel Dreyer.

A mine’s ability to leverage its data, control costs and minimise complexity, and its capability to analyse and derive intelligence from the vast amount of sensor data generated across the various aspects of any mine will mark a revolutionary milestone for the sector.

“Mining has always been an intensive industry from the perspective of resources, time, labour and people safety, and, given the volumes of data generated, effective data management is essential,” he says.

“By using a service-based model, mining organisations can reduce capital expenditure and have access to skilled [workers] who understand data and how to work with it,” he continues, noting the prohibitive cost and complexity of undertaking data management in-house.

DMaaS is a scalable, flexible and agile data management platform that assists mines in managing data, enabling proactive monitoring and maintenance, greater efficiency, improved profitability and enhanced safety.

“Mistakes in the mining industry, which are costly not simply from a monetary perspective but also from the view of the human lives at stake, can be averted through digital transformation.”

The platform, he adds, facilitates the careful, real-time monitoring of underground temperatures and the levels of harmful gases, preventive equipment maintenance and forewarning of potentially dangerous situations.

Alongside this are the benefits of improved, proactive and efficient operational decision-making, which, in turn, can add an element of competitiveness and enhanced profitability.

Another digital transformation breakthrough is the ability to undertake accurate capture, collection and analysis at more granular levels of detail, and store critical information in the geoscientific field.

The potential for analysis has grown exponentially since it began to be digitally recorded and stored.

“[While] the potential for data analysis is exciting, the more data that is generated, and the greater the levels of detail collected, the more complex and costly data storage becomes.”

“Geoscientific and geophysical data is used in many aspects of the mining value chain. It is used to target exploration programmes in areas where we think there may be concentrations of economically extractable metals. Surface mapping and drill hole data are used to map the presence of mineralisation underground,” explains SRK Consulting principal geologist and partner Mark Wanless.

“This enables the construction of three-dimensional virtual models of the mineralisation and rocks, which allows mining engineers to design mines in virtual reality to allow for the extraction of metals from underground.

“With the right technology in place, decisions can be made in minutes that would previously have taken months, and, with automation in many areas, a large number of improvements can be realised,” Dreyer highlights.

DMP South Africa, a local branch of Netherlands-based Data Management Professionals, opened its doors in Johannesburg in January in its first venture into the African market and, according to ITWeb, subsequently launched a data centre in March.

“The move into South Africa is a highly strategic one for us, as it is a fast-growing market that has many synergies with Europe. By establishing a footprint in South Africa, we can now offer services and solutions to local organisations from a local provider that has international experience and expertise. “We will be deploying our offering using the same blueprint that we have perfected over the years with our European rollouts,” Dreyer said at the time.