Energy, ESG and economies in the spotlight
• Cape Town ready to welcome back sector players with diverse in-person programme, writes Pedro van Gaalen
Dthe African mining sector, investors and broader society can thrive amid evolving trends around decarbonisation, digitalisation and social upliftment and empowerment. Specifically, the conference aims to drive the next evolution in African mining by prompting critical dialogue. These discussions aim to promote new strategies and deal-making to fund an industry-wide transformation through a just energy transition and broader ESG initiatives that support economic growth and community empowerment. The conference will host various new events. These include the Junior ESG Awards, which will recognise junior mining companies that excel in
making a significant positive ESG impact.
The inaugural Investment Battlefield will pitch Africa s hottest junior mining companies against each other to a panel of investor judges.
The new Innovation & Research Battlefield, convened by Investing in African Mining Indaba, Business for Development and the Development Partner Institute (DPI Mining), will showcase and fund early-stage innovations focused on building sustainable post-mining economies, with a grant of up to $28,600 available for solutions that address critical sector challenges.
We want the Innovation & Research Battlefield to be a catalyst for closer, more agile collaboration between the private sector, academia and the mining sector to solve critical issues facing the industry, and to bridge the gap between proposed solutions and the funding needed for their implementation, says DPI Mining Executive Director Wendy Tyrrell.
Circular economy ticks ESG boxes
According to the latest EY Top 10 Business Risks and Opportunities for Mining and Metals” in 2022 report, global mining executives rank environmental, social and governance (ESG) as one of the top three risks/opportunities facing their business over the next 12 months.
In response to demands from regulators, clients and stakeholders, the mining industry has stepped up efforts to protect the country s natural resources, mitigate their impact on climate change, and implement measures to address social inequality while meeting evolving regulatory compliance requirements
Miners are embedding ESG at every level within their operation and value chain, from risk management and investor relations right down to supply chain partners and on-theground operations and mine closures says Sean Doel, MD: Environment at WSP in Africa. Effectively meeting these requirements needs a clear, economically-viable plan that covers a mine’s entire life cycle, he says.
There is significant focus on meeting due diligence requirements around broader climate risk mitigation measures. However, before the industry talks about climate change, we need to focus on water and community to deliver meaningful ESG impact.” Issues relate to managing scarce water and land resources, mitigating flood risks due to shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change, and addressing air quality. There is increasing pressure to meet these social and environmental objectives by achieving sustainable mine closures and ensuring miners leave communities with usable land once operations end,” adds Doel. Mark Gilbert, Head of Advisory at NSDV, says sorting technologies can address the mineral waste liability issue in the local mining sector, which is a hot-button ESG topic. SA has huge amounts of legacy and new mine waste. However, there are limited financial provisions to handle it, due largely to nonexistent regulations prior to the MPRDA and the poor application of this legislation following its promulgation, says Gilbert. As such, the state cannot cover the costs and cannot impose once-off provisions on the industry as this is not sustainable for miners.
“Various innovative technologies can help solve
Mark Gilbert better yields.
INSIGHTS: INVESTING IN AFRICAN MINING INDABA
Funding the just transition of SA’s mining companies to cleaner energy
Despite
piecemeal approach few have implemented end-to-end mine digitalisation projects.
According to Glover, it makes sense to start with data analytics that provide better insights into the operation in the current environment.
Data analytics and visualisation tools allow miners to monitor and report various operation-related and environmental metrics.
Most digital technology investments aim to gather data to identify inefficiencies or potential bottlenecks and better inform real-time decisionmaking related to production and operational efficiencies and safety, says Glover.
tariffs are higher can add to significant returns realised from investments made into solar technology,” says Manyara. Technological and digital transformation is the other investment focus within the industry as miners look to streamline operations, save costs, improve productivity and prioritise sustainability.
Digby Glover, CEO at United Mining Services (UMS) Group, explains that miners find themselves at different stages on their digitalisation journey.
Most mine operators are implementing projects across the mining value chain in a
Miners are also leveraging technology to establish new mining operations more efficiently, with automation playing a vital role in safety, and accelerating the journey to the extraction phase.
Applications start at the concept stage, with digital technologies increasingly used in mine design and 3D modelling, and continue through to the construction and engineering phases where digital engagement tools enable better collaboration and project management, says Glover. At the shaft-sinking stage, investing to automate and mechanise this traditionally manual and inherently
dangerous process enables miners to keep people out of harm s way and deliver shorter lead times to operation commencement.
Glover adds that the industry is increasingly moving towards remote operations.
These technological capabilities enable operators to sit anywhere in the world, with the ability to monitor progress, along with machine dynamics and human performance, which helps deliver more reliable and successful outcomes.
The State of Digital Transformation in the South African Mining Industry report released by the Minerals Council of South Africa reveals other ways local miners embrace technology to run more efficient operations, manage risk, and improve health and safety outcomes while reducing the cost of maintenance and extraction.
About 25% of miners surveyed for the analysis are spending about 0.3% of turnover on digital investments, says Cuma Dube, Senior Consultant at Mazars Advisory. Respondents typically deployed technologies in production, engineering and asset-management processes, as they felt these areas would help them realise better value.
The Internet of Things is where most money is going, followed
by condition monitoring and robotics process automation.
Miners are also using virtual reality to train staff.
For example, the Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) Swartberg mine in the Northern Cape recently introduced a modular digitalisation project at a Black Mountain Mining underground operation. This project provides the mine with real-time data for more effective performance monitoring and efficient decision-making, explains Xolani Qamata, Black Mountain Mine GM at VZI.
The mine s digitalisation journey has also paved the way for more value-producing opportunities that will lead to enhanced productivity, better safety and performance standards, improved equipment utilisation, and reduced production costs.”
Additional digitalisation projects under way at major mine operations across the world include enterprise-wide cloud-based analytics to aid decision-making and benchmarking, explains Erik Pretorius, ABB s Regional Sales Manager Mining, Aluminium and Cement Projects for Africa and Australia.
Miners are also deploying plant optimisation and improvement solutions to increase recovery rates.
Glover data analytics.
Nivaash Singh visibility