By Dave Goddard
About 30 years ago, fresh out of university, I worked for Trimble on the Panama Canal. High-precision GPS technology ensured dredgers guaranteed vessels a six-inch draft – and not an inch more. Remove even one extra inch of material from a 50-mile canal and you are extracting vast, unnecessary tonnage at significant cost.
Then, as now, measurement mattered.
When Caterpillar and Trimble began applying this technology to mining equipment, I was involved in designing and developing some of the industry’s first high-precision machine guidance solutions. The goal was simple but transformative: give operators dig guidance versus plan directly in the cab, replacing physical staking and flagging of the muckpile.
It was an early example of a pattern I have seen repeated throughout my career – technology adapted from other industries to solve real mining challenges.
Another example is Hexagon’s market-leading collision avoidance system. It began life in the Swiss Alps, developed by glider pilots worried about near misses and mid-air collisions. The context changed, but the principle stayed the same: precise measurement saves lives.
Three decades of change – and uncertainty
Dave Goddard at Future Minerals Forum panel session “Startups and next-generation technologies that will redefine the future of minerals”, 15 January, 2026
For the past 30 years, I have been involved in most of the major technological developments the mining industry has seen. I have listened to more panel discussions about the “mine of the future” than I can remember, and I have participated in a few myself.
Today, as president of Hexagon’s Mining division, my role is to connect measurement and high-precision positioning solutions across surface and underground operations. We apply data-driven insights to help customers optimise resources and move material safely.
So here is my confession: I do not know what the mine of the future looks like.
But I do know how we get there. Progress depends on listening to customers, building trust, and investing in the miners of tomorrow.
Lessons from the 1990s
If we go back to the mid-1990s, the “mine of the future” would have been imagined around a few clear objectives:
- Plan sequencing to extract maximum value
- Optimise activities during execution
- Ensure safe operations
Interestingly, that vision looks a lot like many mines operating today.
We did not arrive here because someone imposed a grand vision of the future. We arrived here by listening, by being relevant, and by delivering measurable value. History shows that progress in mining comes from partnership, not prescription.
By listening to customers, connecting measurement and high-precision positioning solutions, and applying data insights, we’re helping mines to optimise their resources and move material safely, writes Dave Goddard.
A more complex operating landscape
Today’s mining executives face a far broader set of challenges than their predecessors. These include:
- Scarcer and more complex ore bodies
- Resource nationalism and geopolitical uncertainty
- Inflation and cost pressure
- Talent attraction and retention
- Energy transition and ESG expectations
A successful strategy must address all of these pressures at once. That requires a holistic approach, supported by technology that integrates across the mining value chain.
A true technology partner helps by delivering:
- Solutions that make previously uneconomic ore bodies viable by lowering cost per tonne
- Tools that reduce dilution and deliver the right material to the plant, every day
- Harmonised workflows that remove bottlenecks and improve alignment across operations
- Modular, scalable systems that grow with a mine’s maturity and capability
- Analytics that provide actionable, explainable insights – not just dashboards
- Safety embedded into every workflow, so everyone goes home at the end of shift
Optimising a single workflow is useful. Optimising the entire operation – from pit to port – is transformational.
From transactions to trust
Delivering this level of value requires a shift in mindset. It means moving away from transactional technology delivery and towards trust-based partnerships anchored on outcomes.
At Hexagon, we measure success by the value our customers realise, not by the tools we deploy. Our purpose is to help mining companies economically deliver the raw materials the world depends on, while improving safety, productivity, and sustainability.
But mining has no future without future generations.
Inspiring the next generation of miners
In 2025, I was honoured to be nominated to the SME Foundation Board of Trustees. The foundation’s mission is to inspire the next generation to meet the needs of a mineral-dependent future.
Through education programmes, scholarships, and public outreach, the foundation helps ensure mining engineering and geoscience remain attractive, accessible career paths. This aligns closely with Hexagon’s long-standing support for universities, students, and research partnerships around the world.
Hexagon’s Mining President, Dave Goddard
It also resonates with me personally. Mentors shaped my career, just as technology shaped the industry I joined three decades ago. While I no longer have a mullet haircut and tend to wear a suit jacket these days, my belief in the value of mines and miners has not changed.
No matter what the mine of the future looks like.
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