Mining in the digital age: Adapt or get left behind

The mining industry requires constant innovation to optimize production, lower costs, and improve the safety for workers. The industry is changing, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies can make a big difference and help mining companies adapt, especially when facing unpredictable events. AI has many benefits for the industry; however, it is still very new and there is a lot of work that needs to be done while applying it, which requires a robust foundation of planning, research, communication, and change management.

The implementation of AI, ML, and autonomous technologies in the mining industry started more than a decade ago with autonomous trucks. These technologies provide many economic benefits through cost reduction, efficiency, and improving productivity, reducing exposure of workers to hazardous conditions, continuous production, and improved safety. However, this implementation has faced economic, financial, technological, workforce, and social challenges.

Several articles in this issue discuss the status of various technologies’ implementation in the mining industry and highlight potential applications. There are also two interviews with AI and ML industry leaders (pages 28 and 36) that discuss the technology offered by their companies/start-ups and what their perceptions are for the future. On page 56, an article in the Careers section discusses the threats, challenges, benefits, and potential impacts of these advanced technologies on the workforce. It is important to highlight that inefficient implementation can result in revenue loss, system failures, and other potential risks, resulting in labour’s resistance to the change.

I should mention that AI and ML start-ups in the mining sector could benefit from a recent announcement that the federal government is launching a new Crown corporation to help businesses commercialize their research and protect their intellectual property. The Canada Innovation Corp. (CIC) is a renamed version of a plan first announced in the 2022 budget, where it was called the Canadian Innovation and Investment Agency. The budget said it would have $1 billion in funding over five years, but Ottawa announced it would allocate $2.6 billion to the new corporation over four years and promised annual funding, thereafter, promising that it “will not be just another funding agency.”

We launched a new department called “Min(e)d your business” in this issue (see page 11). As the name suggests, the new department will discuss investments in the mining sector and potential risks associated with them.

I also invited John Sandlos, who is a professor in the History Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland, to contribute a series of articles on the history of mining (especially in the Americas) to the Canadian Mining Journal. The first article is published on page 58 of this issue, and several more will follow in upcoming issues.

Finally, if you are planning to attend the CIM Expo in Montreal at the beginning of May, please swing by The Northern Miner Group’s booth #1405 to collect a hard copy of this May issue.

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