The age of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) opened many new possibilities for virtually every industry, but one industry that urgently needs to embrace digital transformation is the mining industry. Many industries from construction to transportation and electronics are highly dependent on minerals that the mining industry supplies.
However, the rising demand for minerals in our ever-growing society is creating significant shifts in trends that will change the future of the mining industry. For mining companies to stay competitive in an industry that now faces many hurdles, it would be prudent to pay attention to new industry trends and key challenges in order to transform and adapt.
Mining Industry Trends and Challenges
One of the biggest trends in mining is the rising cost for exploration and production. Combined with volatile prices for important industrial commodities as a result of global manufacturing activity, this has led to lower profit margins across the entire mining industry.
Mining companies also face crucial concerns when it comes to their workforce. The mining industry has seen a continued decline in skilled workers due to a lack of focus on building talent from within. At the same time, worker health and safety are a top priority for mining companies, so there is a strong demand for solutions that are more effective at supporting safety as well as sustainability.
On a more positive note, digital transformations in the mining industry are pushing companies to use more automated mining solutions as well as data and digital technologies, which will help improve decision-making in companies and raise productivity and efficiency.
With these trends in mind, what are the immediate concerns and challenges that need to be addressed in setting mining companies on the path towards greater efficiency and business value? There are six primary questions that mining companies can ask themselves to help determine their objectives in initiating a meaningful business transformation:
- How do we stay competitive with scarce resources and volatile commodity prices?
- How do we eliminate wastage, poor communication, duplication of efforts and errors?
- How can we improve productivity and drive operational efficiency across the value chain?
- How can we better utilize assets within the value chain and share best practices?
- How can we ensure that safety is maintained at the highest standards?
- How can we minimize environmental impact and achieve sustainable operations?
A Transformative Solution for Mining Companies
DELMIA Mine Execution can equip mining companies with the capabilities they need to make the right business decisions, increase productivity and control costs across their value chains without negatively impacting safety and sustainability. As a unified digital application, DELMIA Mine Execution is a complete end-to-end solution for decision support and production management.
The platform integrates all data into a single source of truth for complete visibility, enabling mining companies to track and trace business processes from pit to port. This centralization of all operational technologies drives business excellence and operational efficiency and enables the sharing of best practices across the organization.
DELMIA Mine Execution helps mining companies:
- Manage production activities and data, including mining, transportation and processing
- Perform accurate material reconciliation and variance analysis for all operations
- Increase site operational visibility and worker productivity
- Manage inventory and asset performance
- Accelerate resolution of non-conformance issues
Advanced virtual modeling and simulation is the key to setting mining companies on the path towards operational excellence. Learn more details about how DELMIA Mine Execution transforms your mining operations and business by downloading our eBook.
Prashanth Mysore Senior Director for Strategic Business Development, DELMIA