Clearing the Hurdles on the Way to Automation
Weighing the risks and uncertainty of short-term expenditure for long-term competitive advantage
Digitalization, automation and innovation became in recent years inevitable topics to address during mining firms’ board meetings, and this trend is forecasted to grow in the years ahead. Data-science, modelling and scenario-planning allow decision-makers to make more efficient cost decisions, but these tools provide advantages beyond financial insights. As put by Rockwell Automations' mining, metals and cement manager Paul McRoberts: "Automation and robotics is the largest growing business in mining in efforts to reduce the workforce and create a more remote, efficient and safer environment."
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a growing trend that emerged in the past decade: digitalization to improve miners’ safety and efficiency. Global technological companies with operations in Arizona, such as Hexagon Mining and Strayos, lead the charge in offering Arizona’s biggest mining producers process intelligence, platform development and cloud adoption services.
Investment in Remote Operating Centers (ROCs), remote sensing systems and autonomous sensing techniques is expected to grow as leaders mine digital transformation for the future. But moving away from the traditional human-centric approach to digital autonomy will not come without hurdles. Among challenges, enabling transformation through flexible leadership will be key to miners’ success. Another key topic for companies to consider early on is cybersecurity. Over the past years, cyber threats evolved at an alarming rate for asset-intensive industries, particularly mining.
Mining’s automation drive
From the upstream of operations, mines generate vast amounts of data, and technology-focused firms offering integrated platform services are likely to have their hands full. Analyzing data can provide value in terms of improving ore fragmentation and understanding ore dilution and hauling processes. Through its ‘Mine-to-Mill’ platform, for example, Strayos leverages Artificial Intelligence to optimize clients’ drilling, blasting and crushing processes. “Our platform allows clients to understand the ore body better through the data that has been collected from the remote sensing systems. Prediction modelling based on AI informs clients about the outcomes of their drilling processes”, explained Strayos’ CEO Ravi Sahu.
Analyzing information on a centralized platform, rather than putting together multiple data points, is crucial to improving an operations’ efficiency and minimizing downtime. With “Power of One”, Hexagon Mining offers clients a single set of hardware collecting data, sending it to a centralized platform. Beyond making logistics, maintenance and analytic processes more efficient, Derek Cooper, managing director US/CAN at Haxagon, explained: “AI involvement in decision-making processes makes operations more predictable.”
Scott Bedell, president of Caltrol, sees similar trends in growing reliance on technology: “There has been a transition over the last decade to utilizing preventive technology to minimize maintenance costs and downtime.”
Challenging the status quo
The adoption rate of new technologies in the mining industry is currently at its highest point, according to Deloitte Insights. Yet charting the path towards automation requires mining leaders to challenge conventional thinking in terms of productivity, investment, and trust in automated processes. “Companies are asking for more return from past automation investments,” explained Scott Bedell.
Automation adoption faces a peculiar challenge in Arizona. Changing processes takes time, money, and a different approach to command-and-control management. Such dynamics do not always resonate positively to decision-making teams of mines that have been active in the state for decades, sometimes centuries. “Most mining companies in Arizona have been here long. They have invested in equipment, possess older infrastructure and existing systems. Automating an entire fleet is not realistic”, explained Derek Cooper.
But beyond Arizonian and company culture borders, the appetite to adopt new technologies also depends on a company’s financial situation. “The industry is facing the challenge of willingness to look at – and invest in – new technologies”, explained Mining Plus’ Scott Britton.
Nevertheless, in an era where remote working is the new norm, leadership teams are presented with the opportunity to streamline the adoption of new technologies on the path towards full automation. In a period of looming recession and tightening budgets, the responsibility of leadership will greatly influence further decisions to heavily invest in digital solutions that require companies to be patient before reaping the rewards of their investment.
“Mining is a critical industry with critical assets. As firms digitize and shift more of their data onto technology solutions, cybersecurity threats will increase.”
Ravi Sahu, CEO, Strayos
Addressing a blind spot: cybersecurity
Will it take a catastrophic event targeting the mining industry for Arizona-based leaders to list the cybersecurity of their operations at the very top of their concerns? The exponential rate at which cyber threats are growing globally appears to have provoked a shifting mindset among key decision-makers. “The world’s leading mining companies now unanimously report that cyber threats are among the principal risks facing their organizations”, according to Marsh, a leader in insurance broking.
The mining industry’s strategic position in global supply chains make the industry a viable target for cyberespionage campaigns – BHP was targeted by attackers trying to access market pricing for commodities in 2011. Indeed, 71% of participants in EY’s 2021 Global Information Security Survey have seen an increase in the number of disruptive attacks in the past 12 months.
Mining is a critical industry, and all mining organizations today are digital, at least to some extent. In October 2021, mining supplier Weir was targeted by a cyberattack that shut down its core IT systems, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue slippage. Other scenarios in which a hacker could shut down a remotely operated system, drive autonomous trucks into each other, or shut off the air supply of an underground mining operation would be of major risk beyond the financial realm for miners. Heightened digital reliance, as seen with the increased use of the Cloud and cloud-based software such as AWS, will but increase the likelihood of such scenarios playing out and the need for companies to put mitigation measures in place. “What may not be a priority now might lead to future risks; untested backups can be obsolete and leave a company exposed,” commented Ravi Sahu, whose firm Strayos develops security protocols for Arizona-based clients.
Addressing the risks that come with automation will require a change in cyber awareness throughout all layers of mining organizations. Educating staff will be the key to improve cyber resilience throughout the industry. “Most breaches are human error as opposed to hackers penetrating systems on their own”, explained Derek Cooper. “The best things mines can do is educate people to look out for threats themselves.”
Image courtesy of Aaron Witt
“Mining rental opportunities are pretty big in the US, and we are putting in the effort to get mine producers to lean toward rental of larger gear instead of owning their own equipment.”
Cal Nowicki, Vice President, Heavy Metal Equiment and Rentals