Technology, digitalisation and sustainability working hand in hand
These are the step-change innovations that will transform the nature of mining – how we source, mine, process, move and market our products – and how our stakeholders experience our business. It is about transforming our physical and societal footprint.
We envisage a much-reduced environmental footprint from new ways of mining, including by using a number of precision mining technologies and data analytics, while our collaborative approach to regional economic development and our ambitious global stretch goals, aimed at delivering improvements to areas such as health and education, are at the heart of how we will create truly sustainable and thriving communities.
In order to live up to our Purpose, we are changing the way we operate through smart innovation that connects technology, digitalisation and a holistic approach to sustainability.
The mining industry is playing a considerable role in helping the world decarbonise, both through our own emissions footprint and the metals and minerals that we produce that are critical to low carbon energy and transport systems. ”
Duncan WanbladChief Executive
Proven and scaling-up technologies
We are working on a number of key initiatives that show our FutureSmart MiningTM approach in action. These range from:
- Envusa Energy – our regional renewable energy ecosystem in South Africa.
- Zero Emissions Haulage System – following over 1200 hours in the NuGenTM fleet at Mogalakwena, further development and commercialisation are now being accelerated through First Mode.
- Coarse Particle Recovery (CPR) – the innovative flotation process, which permits material to be ground to a larger particle size, allowing the early rejection of coarse waste and greater water recovery, has enabled 16% increase in copper production without the need for additional energy at El Soldado.
- Hydraulic Dewatered Stacking (HDS) – we have successfully demonstrated Hydraulic Dewatered Stacking at the El Soldado mine. Our engineers hypothesized that fines free sand available from CPR (and readily available from many tailings) could be used to build a three dimensional drainage system to rapidly desaturated hydraulically placed tailings.
- SandLixTM– considers three elements: particle size, temperature and chemistry. Initial results on primary copper ores have shown recoveries of over 70% in half the time of traditional leaching methods. This technology could potentially replace conventional concentrator circuits and deliver metal more responsibly – at roughly half the embodied water and energy intensity.
In the pipeline
Whilst projects like HDS and SandLixTM continue to mature and hopefully deliver value faster, we also continue to develop new concepts:
- Microwave – preconditioning ores with microwaves weakens them for both rock cutting and downstream comminution processes, enabling the possibility of accelerated mining and development rates, allowing for access to ore bodies quicker and to mine them faster.
- Haulage re-defined – in attempt to address the shortcoming of mining trucks, namely cost, speed and energy consumption, we have created a unique alternative value proposition, using the vehicle as a sensor, almost halving the energy used, increasing speed and effectiveness, all at a reduced cost.
- Intelligent logistics – seeks to redefine materials movement, efficiency and scalability with the result driving new thinking for both underground and surface mine designs.
