Latest Agenda

Andrew Thake, Global Head of Content and Research, Mines and Technology

South32 has recognised that technology gives it a critical edge in process efficiency, mine safety and delivering bottom line profitability. Vanessa Torres shares South32’s approach, discussing:
• Platform integration – connecting equipment from different vendors
• Data analysis and instant insights needed to make fast, informed decisions to optimise entire operations & reduce costs
• How to integrate operational functionality and IT to monitor equipment and systems remotely and predict future behaviour • Improving safety and reducing inspection costs – deploying robots to inaccessible or dangerous locations • The impact of the digital transformation on South 32’s productivity and profitability.

Vanessa Torres, Chief Technology Officer, South32

• Rethinking your existing methodologies to create a driver for significant improvements in process efficiency, safety and environmental compliance
• Measuring the real ROI of digitisation
• Quick wins every mine should implement today
• Creating a culture to deliver profit increases
George Hemingway, Partner and Innovation Practice Lead, Stratalis

Sandvik is a leading technology vendor that has been at the forefront of supplying digitisation and automation solutions for miners. Andreas Simoncic discusses:
• How does a digitalised mine use data to operate more efficiently than a traditional one?
• The role of technology in creating lower cost, safer tonnes for long term, sustained profits
• The use of analytics in process and procedure optimisation to make operations more efficient
Andreas Simoncic, Automation Business Line Manager – Northern Europe, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology

Jointly owned by Trafigura and the Mubadala Investment Company, MATSA is a modern and sustainable Spanish mining company which owns and operates three mines. The processing plant has a technical capacity to process around 4.4 million tonnes of copper and polymetallic ore each year. It is designed to operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. In this presentation Antonio Alvarez will explain how MATSA:
• Implemented sustainable mineral processing technologies at its mining operation
• Defined what sustainable mineral processing means in practice
• Delivered innovations in sorting technology to boost ore grade recovery – what savings and efficiencies were made?
• What has been MATSA’s approach to dealing with tailings and ensuring that its solution is safety first?
Antonio Gámiz Alvarez, Operations Director, MATSA Mining

Technology Spotlight: Practical examples of how mineral processing has transformed operational efficiency and profitability
Having supplied mineral processing solutions to mines in Africa (Angola, DRC, Ghana, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe) as well as Australia, Canada and Russia, Bond Equipment’s expertise in this area is second to none. In this presentation the company discusses:
• How taking a modular plant approach to mineral processing can reduce your design costs and curtail project timelines.
• Copper mine case study of mineral beneficiation and physical separation done well
• Quick wins that you can implement at your operation in the following areas:
– Mineral processing plants
– Scrubbers and cleaning
– Vibrating screens
– DMS plants
– Feed and Surge bins
– Conveyors
– Feeders (Grizzly, Pan & Aprol)
– Spiral plants
Bond Equipment

• Instrumentation for better flow and level measurement
• Guided wave radar technology for fine-grained materials
• Measurement solutions to guarantee optimum performance in complicated interface applications
Andrew Reese, Global Industry Manager, Endress+Hauser

In May 2019 a consortium comprising Wardell Armstrong International, Natural History Museum and Cornish Lithium Limited was successful in securing a Faraday Battery Challenge Grant to investigate the feasibility of establishing a Lithium Supply Chain using UK sources of lithium. This presentation covers:
• Reviewing the inventory and characterisation of lithium UK hard rock deposits and unconventional lithium sources
• Identifying some of the challenges of lithium mineral processing – what are the potential solutions?
• Building a chemical conversion plant to create lithium compounds used in batteries
• What are the ideal locations for such a plant?
Chris Broadbent, Project Director, Wardell Armstrong International (WAI)

Dundee Precious Metals is a Canadian-based international mining company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, mining and processing of precious metals at operations in Namibia and Bulgaria, with exploration in Armenia, Bulgaria and Serbia. Raffi Jabrayan discusses:
• The advances in AI – aerial drones getting more intelligent to successfully navigate cavities
• Using the data to build a clearer picture of the next operational steps; identifying critical risk areas
• Guaranteeing ROI by matching aerial drone applications with zero harm and productivity targets
Raffi Jabrayan, Manager, Digital and Innovation Projects, Dundee Precious Metals

• Defining what to expect from a digital mine?
• Why does the mining industry fail to fully recognize the benefits of implementing their ‘digital strategy’?
• Guidelines for implementing a digital mine correctly
• Practical examples of the opportunities that are created as a result of a well implemented knowledge management system by using predictive analytics and machine learning
– as a short-interval control tool that will help guide short-term decision making
– to improve NPV based on mill targets.
Chris Novak, CEO, Centric Mining Systems

Technology can help to make zero harm a reality in your mine; not just saving lives, but positively impacting your business bottom line& increasing the attractiveness to investors. This presentation will discuss:
• Measuring and quantifying the impact of injuries and fatalities on your mine operations
• Where and how are technologies helping to reduce accidents?
• Are there any cases or circumstances where implementing technology has increased risk?
• What are the specific challenges of mobile mining equipment and deeper underground?

Invitation to mining company.

Big Data. Advanced data analytics. Data digital transformation. All great buzzwords, but how can you practically use data in your organisation to deliver results now? As former Chief Innovation Officer of Barrick Gold, Michelle Ash has practical examples of how good data practice can deliver real results. In this interview she discusses:
• Ensuring that the data is used not ignored
• Moving beyond data and analytics to data convergence
• Will we see the uberisation of data? If so, what does this mean in practice?
• Three key takeaways that all miners can use to transform their data operations
Michelle Ash, Chair, Global Mining Guidelines Group
Interviewer reserved for sponsor

Edson Antonio believes that the biggest challenge isn’t implementing AI in your mining operation but developing a long-term strategy that continually delivers value throughout your business. In this presentation he covers:
• Developing a long-term sustainable strategy to drive AI throughout your business
• Harnessing the power of AI to improve decision making
• Combining machine learning with proprietary stat tools to create accurate results
• Changing people and processes by highlighting the benefits of AI
• Turning data insight into ongoing actionable recommendations to improve operations
Edson Antonio, Global AI Manager, Vale

Predictive data analytics isn’t just for the big majors and mid-tiers. Any producer can achieve significant step-change improvements by implementing predictive data analytics in key parts of their mining operations. You just need to be creative in your approach to funding, partnerships and platforms.
In this presentation Denise discusses:
• What were some of the key areas where predictive analytics were deployed in the mine?
• Identifying and overcoming some of the organizational change issues involved
• Ensuring an ROI on the investment in analytics by engaging stakeholders and driving cultural change
• Lessons learnt – in hindsight what would Doe Run have done differently?
Denise Callahan, Director-PMO, Analytics and Strategic Planning, The Doe Run Company

Keynote Case Study: Using data to deliver efficiency, cost reduction and productivity improvement
You can easily save $250k per mine by using basic monitoring tools. This presentation tells you how. The Antamina mine is a large copper and zinc operation in the Andes. The open pit, truck /shovel operation is owned by BHP Billiton, Glencore and Mitsubishi Corporation. This presentation will deliver the following benefits:
• Outline the benefits of using advanced systems for data acquisition, monitoring and automation
• Explain the advanced control systems using Fuzzy Logic, Multivariable Control and Machine Learning
• Measurement of innovation – what purpose do they have, and what do they achieve?
• Next steps – including optimising processes with advanced control models and machine learning, extended data analytics applications, ecosystem development, and finally cybersecurity
Rafael Estrada, Manager of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Process Control, Antamina Mining