Technology is advancing at blinding speeds: Artificial intelligence (AI), block-chain, the metaverse, and self-driving vehicles. The list goes on. Keeping track of new developments can be downright impossible, and it does not help that every month a hoodie-wearing start-up founder proclaims from their ping-pong table filled office that they are developing the next big thing.
It is certainly difficult to parse out what is important from all the noise coming from the tech elite. But that should not stop miners from trying, because the benefits of new technology are likely to be substantial. In fact, McKinsey & Co. estimates that AI alone will be worth up to US$390 billion in annual savings for natural resource producers by 2035, and the market for AI services in the mining industry is forecasted be worth US$240 million this year, up from just US$76 million only five years ago.
It is thus no surprise, in an industry that has yet to embrace technology to its fullest extent, that EY’s 2024 survey of mining leaders counts “digital and innovation” as both a key risk and opportunity for the industry. A risk for those that do not get it right, and an opportunity for those that do.
The promise of automation, increased safety, and more efficient operations is a big enough carrot to encourage the mining industry to invest in innovation. Indeed, according to a recent study by PWC, 49% of mining CEOs say that digitalization and automation are part of their companies’ long-term strategy.
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