No one ever said mining was easy.
Fraught with occupational hazards, our industry is highly competitive, sensitive to volatile fuel and commodity prices, and increasingly subjected to scrutiny by authorities, shareholders, and the public.
Bit by bit, innovation has helped address these challenges. Mining is safer today. The advent of computers, algorithms, sensors, and software has helped companies prepare for the unexpected.
But in an age of disruption, no technology will be more valuable than that which enables sustainability without sacrificing productivity. That’s true for mining, for industry in general, and for the planet.
Transitioning the world to a sustainable economy is one of the most critical issues we face. It demands technology solutions on a global scale. As a global technology leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions, Hexagon is taking the lead.
We recently launched R-evolution to demonstrate how our technologies can be deployed and applied to spur action with profit-driven business models that give back to our depleted planet. In June,
R-evolution launched its first renewable energy project to digitize solar production.
Hexagon is empowering customers across multiple industries to achieve their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals.
Transitioning to a sustainable economy is arguably even more critical for the mining industry. Mining is essential to almost everything we do and touch. It’s especially critical to the world’s shift to clean energy.
More copper, steel, rare earths and other critical energy metals will be needed over the coming decades to satisfy demand for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar power, not to mention the consumer appetite of a rising middle class and global population expected to top 10 billion people in 2050.
More mining means more impacts on sustainability requirements.
More mining means more impacts on sustainability requirements: land, water, forests, and Indigenous peoples. Your companies are addressing your own ESG requirements. You extract and use finite mineral resources. You face significant demands and expectations regarding your license to operate from across the value chain. You are under immense pressure to prove your mines are as sustainable as they are safe and productive.
Hexagon can help.
MinePlan helps one customer master responsible waste planning adjacent to a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Our planning software’s ability to optimize schedules and activities is helping mines to reduce fleet requirements and fuel consumption while minimizing wear and tear. It’s helping one mine to optimize dump planning within the environmental constraints imposed by a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our systems for fleet management and high-precision guidance are helping customers to drastically cut their refuelling trips and reduce loader hangtimes. Operator assist technology is ensuring operators spot right the first time, every time, saving fuel and emissions, not to mention time. And our asset health solution is extending equipment lifetimes, saving steel and rubber.
Comminution is estimated to represent 2% of the world’s electrical power consumption, according to the United States Department of Energy. Energy usage increases at each stage of comminution – blasting, excavation, crushing, transport and grinding – and accounts for a significant portion of mining operational costs.
Our customers’ efforts to optimize the blasting process are paying huge dividends downstream, reducing costs and energy consumption while helping to achieve sustainability goals. Hexagon’s holistic, tailored approach to drill and blast combines proven blast design executed by a high-precision drill solution with blast monitoring and fragmentation analysis. Our enterprise blast control solution ensures a feedback loop that drives continuous improvement, making each blast smarter than the last.
Hexagon’s unparalleled technology stack can create a smart digital reality of your mine, where your data does its best work to achieve sustainability goals while improving safety and productivity.
We don’t have all the answers. But, like you, we are highly motivated to develop the solutions that will be essential to our sustainable future. By partnering and putting your data to work, we can help you achieve your ESG goals, reverse the trend of resource depletion, and rise to the challenge of our age.
It’s the opportunity of a lifetime!
I hope you’ll join us at MINExpo, Sept. 13-15, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. At Booth 4057, we’ll be premiering a uniquely interactive life of mine journey, unveiling new technology, and presenting tech talks. Link to our event landing page for more details. And don’t forget to read the other blogs in our Road to MINExpo series.
The Road to MINExpo: Harnessing the Power of One
The Road to MINExpo: Staying one smart step ahead of adversity
The Road to MINExpo: Sensing an improvement in mining safety and productivity