MINING 4.0 HOW DO WE GET THERE?
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It’s a momentous time for mining. There has been a seismic shift in focus where sustainability is not just an auxiliary goal but an indicator of survival. This is reflected in the annual reports of Deloite, EY, KPMG and PwC, for 2022, where Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns rank high on industry trend and risk lists 1-4 . Notably, each investor group’s report recognises that ESG is no longer optional, but a minimum operating standard. Globally, mining companies have been under increased pressure to reduce emissions with the sector responsible for up to 7% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions and up to 30% of Scope 3 emissions 5 . Locally, the 2022 Climate Change Bill calls for a 43% reduction in Australia’s 2005-level emissions by 2030, with a net zero target of 2050 6 . — Drivers of change
Propelled by these goals, Australian mining companies have quickened the pace on decarbonisation. What should be explicitly clear, however, is that digitalisation is fundamental to decarbonisation; it underpins the energy system transition. Decarbonisation is not possible without the data, transparency, collaboration and control that digitalisation provides. In essence, the journey to decarbonisation and Mining 4.0 are one and the same. And while Australia’s mining sector has been digitising assets and automating aspects of their operations for some time, the pandemic has been a key accelerant of digital transformation. With the restrictions that COVID-19 brought, miners got first-hand experience as to the effectiveness of their remote capabilities, and the connectivity and exponential technologies required for this were better established. They are now fast becoming embedded into operations.
Explainer: Digital transformation and Industry 4.0
It can be easy to forget what the terms digital transformation and Industry 4.0 mean when they are used so frequently in business mining dialogue. Digital transformation is the adoption and integration of digital technology into all aspects of a mining business. Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution. It is the advancement and optimisation of computing technology that was introduced in the third industrial revolution. It is characterised by a merging of the physical and digital world through advanced automation, sensor technology, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine to machine communication, robotics, and machine learning. Connectivity of smart mines is also enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT), which simply refers to smart devices (any object that has a readable digital identity) that collect and exchange data.
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