Dassault Systèmes held its 4th Annual Natural Resources Forum in Johannesburg recently. The forum this year highlighted the need for collaboration in the mining industry and showcased how mining technology, and the thinking behind it, has evolved as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
International business keynote speaker Michael Jackson addressed the audience in a manner of looking toward the road ahead and how people will need to change their thinking, before the mining industry can change. He pointed out that we need to Simplify, Smarten up and Specialize The Road Ahead in order to identify what is important, automate as much as possible, delegate to get essential help, while eliminating the unnecessary work.
Michael noted that “Business has evolved faster than we have, and business has become complex”. He also pointed out. “We need a way of thinking differently, because the world has changed. The industrial revolution no longer exists. The industrial revolution began in 1760, ending in 1970, and it is now outdated, where it has come and gone.” Jackson added that humans limit themselves to grow and harness opportunities, we cannot just wait for the future to happen, we need to take action and set the path ourselves. “Upgrade your software and your business will follow suit.”
Michael Jackson | International business keynote speaker
Natural Resources Director Fiona Carew discussed orchestrating an ecosystem for mining success, highlighting that mining has evolved from planning on paper to company-wide use of disruptive technologies such as a computer, which opened the door for software. “Priorities and means of implementing them have changed rapidly.” She said the next disruption came, not from technology, but from people in the ecosystem – investors, who set conditions of sustainability before investing capital in projects.
Carew also mentioned that the opportunity for innovation did not come for many years, until miners decided to look at the value chain and talk to all the shareholders – smelters, refiners, logistics managers, suppliers and the end-user. “The ecosystem started centralizing around interaction and interceding, which is challenging in an industry that is isolated and insulated”. Fiona noted that we need to orchestrate the digital operation, bringing virtual and reality together, looking at the operability of the parts of the ecosystem and do things differently. “Ultimately, mining is still about the tonnes produced, but evolving relationships can bring about traceability, flexibility, productivity and efficiency.”
Fiona Carew | Natural Resources Director, Dassault Systèmes
GEOVIA Brand CEO Raoul Jacquand discussed how collaborative innovation is necessary in the experience economy. He pointed out that, in this collaborative environment, collaborative innovation stems from the use of social tools which in turn can then take an idea to monetization, all the while combining these social tools with those of engineering and scientific ones too. Not only can one then personalize the experience through configurability, but too use digital collaboration as an enabler to facilitate innovation.
Jacquand also added that collaborative innovation tears down organizational silos, owing to the free flow of data that enables co-creation and, ultimately creates more opportunity for creativity and business agility.
Raoul Jacquand | GEOVIA Brand CEO, Dassault Systèmes
GEOVIA Portfolio Management Director Andy Mulholland addressed the topic of 3DEXPERIENCE Mine, The digital twin of the mine. Mulholland explained that a digital twin consists of 3 components namely: a data model, a set of analytics/algorithms, and knowledge. He goes on to explain that businesses along with their engineers utilize digital twins as a complete bridge between that of the physical world compared to the digital one.
Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Platform can capture data from remote sensing information, input from experts, drone surveys, as well as from machines that operate on site, and even other asset management systems. Data is then combined into a single, unified model, which is accessible to other stakeholders in the mines’ ecosystem. Data can then be integrated into the software across the exploration phase, geology, engineering, scheduling and planning, production and logistic aspects around the mine, to create a digital mine twin. The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform along with GEOVIA software assists the autonomous mining process, enabling terrain modelling, virtual tours, interactive planning and geological modelling of the mine.
Andy Mulholland | GEOVIA Portfolio, Dassault Systèmes
Lastly, Shawn Ready, GEOVIA Senior Portfolio Management explored the evolution of the mining industry through the adoption of different technologies on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform while doing a live demonstration. He revealed how the enablement of these technologies allow for change in the workforce. He showed how collaboration on the platform drove efficiency while simplifying one’s processes, smartening up the way in which ecosystems work together and allowing for specialisation of different methodologies to achieve the same objectives but in a completely different approach.
Shawn Ready | GEOVIA Senior Portfolio Management, Dassault Systèmes
Watch the speaker interviews below as they recap on their topics addressed on the day:
Yolande is a marketing professional at GEOVIA, Dassault Systèmes based in Johannesburg South Africa. She holds a BCom degree in Marketing & Management and has over 8 years’ experience within the manufacturing and mechanical/industrial engineering industry. She is passionate about branding and ensures that the organisation's product and service offerings resonate throughout the marketing value chain.