GMG Leadership Summit: Program Details

Day 1 | Tuesday, Oct. 22

8:30

Welcome Address
Jared Harris, Field Operations Manager, Caterpillar

8:45

Opening Remarks
Michelle Ash, GMG Chair

9:00

STRATEGY SESSION

2020 Vision: Defining the Collaboration Strategy
We can see the end result – it’s time to strategize on how we get there. During this morning’s session we will build a clear focus on strategic priorities for the coming year for the industry. Participants will navigate through the following questions:

    1. What is an example of a successful collaboration you/your company participated in? Why did it work?
    2. What is an example of an unsuccessful collaboration you/your company participated in? Why didn’t it work?
    3. What is a priority for your operation/company that would be enabled through collaboration, and how?
    4. What is a priority area where more collaboration would bring value to industry? What does that look like?
    5. What are the important elements of success when developing a collaboration?

10:00

Coffee break

10:30

Report Out on 2020 Vision Session

11:00

Going Agile at Freeport-McMoRan
Cory Stevens
 Vice-President Operational Improvement, Freeport McMoRan

Since late 2018, we have been producing additional copper pounds from our Americas sites using a combination of Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and an Agile operating approach. Initially piloted at our Bagdad mine, and now being deployed across all concentrators, we are seeing a ~10 percent increase in tons processed per day and an increase in recovery.The analytics approach combines digital-twin prediction models and optimization models to give in-shift advice on settings for the concentrator controllable variables. An Agile way of work has unlocked ‘discretionary energy’ to drive productivity gains at rates not experienced before. We also have seen increased employee engagement and other positive changes.

11:30

Lunch

12:15

CAT Demonstration
Be treated to a demo of CAT equipment then head onsite to get a close look.

13:30

Battery Electric Vehicles in Underground Mining – A Case Study in Theory and Practical Terms
David Jacques
 Vice President Engineering, MacLean Engineering

MacLean Engineering along with many other OEMs have embarked for several years on the shift from diesel to battery electric power sources for underground mining. What started as theory has quickly evolved into several practical cases where BEVs are proving themselves to be as good or better than advertised. Along with those success stories have come important lessons that together provide the opportunity provide context in the pursuit of a greener future for the industry.

14:00

Decarbonizing Energy Intensive Industrial Sectors
Ned Harvey Managing Director, Rocky Mountain Institute

14:30

STRATEGY SESSION
Defining Industry’s Climate Change Action through the Lens of the Circular Economy

As investors and regulators are becoming more conscious of environmental issues, minimizing our impact – for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, using more energy-efficient technology and improving waste management – will become an important factor impacting our social licence to operate. The Summit is an opportunity to lay the foundation for an industry-wide strategy.

15:00

Coffee Break

15:30

ICMM Innovation for cleaner safer vehicles (ICSV)
Michael Murphy
 Chief Engineer – Mining Technology Enabled Solutions, Surface Mining & Technology Division, Caterpillar

ICMM and its member CEOs announced the Innovation for Cleaner Safer Vehicles (ICSV) programme in October 2018. The ICSV initiative brings together 26 of the world’s leading mining companies and OEMs to collaborate in a non-competitive space to accelerate the development of a new generation of cleaner and safer mining vehicles.

16:00

PANEL
What do we need to do as an industry to eliminate diesel from our mine operations?
Brian Weller
 Chief Engineer – Surface Mining and Technology Division, Caterpillar, Mikael Ramstrom Vice President – Product Portfolio Automation & Interoperability, Epiroc, Ned Harvey Managing Director, Rocky Mountain Institute, Kalev Ruberg VP Future & CIO, Teck

16:30

CAMPFIRE SESSION
How well were you listening?
Ignite the discussion! Participants provide feedback, insights and share their experiences.
Moderator: Michelle Ash, GMG Chair

17:00

NETWORKING COCKTAIL AND DINNER (HACIENDA ROOM)

Day 2 | Wednesday, Oct. 23

9:00

Paving a Path to Value
Kalev Ruberg
 VP Future & CIO, Teck

9:30

How OffWorld’s Swarm Robotic Mining Architecture is Opening up the way for Autonomous In Situ Mineral Extraction on Earth and in Space
James Jason Murray
Chief Engineer, Offworld

OffWorld is building millions of smart robots working with human supervision on Earth and in space, turning the solar system into a habitable place for life and civilization. What we require in space is a robotic workforce for tough jobs. We need to be able to excavate underground habitats and extract water ice and materials. From the collection of known volatile compounds, we need to make drinkable water, breathable air, and rocket propellant. In order to sustain expansion we need to be able to manufacture basic structures and solar cells so that we can produce unlimited power. Ultimately, these systems will need to replicate themselves for rapid and sustained economic expansion. In order to do this, we need to emulate the entire terrestrial infrastructure value chain from mining, processing, and fabrication, to assembly and construction. However, we cannot just export current Earth-based practices and technology. We must reinvent how we undertake these processes here on Earth, and transfer them directly to the expansion of human industrial civilization into the solar system.

OffWorld has undertaken extensive research and development in the field of extreme environment industrial robotics. This is initially applied to the mining, material processing, and construction sectors. The objective is the establishment of an end to end collaborative robotic system comprising of hundreds or even thousands of multi-species robots working together with internal and collective autonomy to achieve defined strategic objectives.

Key to the future of operations in space is the ability for robotic systems to undertake multiple complex tasks autonomously and with minimal human intervention. OffWorld has been developing a task agnostic machine learning framework to address and optimize any industrial process. This revolutionary approach to minimally supervised autonomy ushers in a new era of remote operations in extreme environments such as the Lunar or Martian surface and we are already developing the first suite of machine learning agents. The first robots will be deployed in industrial trials by the end of 2020.

10:00

Coffee break

10:30

PANEL
What are the Critical Elements of Interoperability to Enable Transformative Change for the Mining Industry
Glenn Kerkhoff
Head Worldwide Business Development, Mining, AWS, Michael W. Lewis General Manager – Technology Interoperability, Komatsu, Scott Schoepel Vice President Commercial Markets, Motorola, Carlos Erazo Principal Mine Modernisation, Anglo American

11:00

STRATEGY SESSION
How do we accelerate progress on mine interoperability and have impact in 2020?

Industry evolution depends upon digitalization, automation and integration, but poor interoperability remains the number one roadblock. Companies are feeling a sense of urgency, but none can solve it on their own. The summit will bring the major players together to dig deep to refine a strategic direction, commit to a plan and make key decisions.

11:45

Accessing the Fast and Furious Pace of Autonomy to Transform Mining
Satish Rao
 Partner, Clareo

In this session, we will share insights gleaned from our extensive interviews with executives of organizations across the global autonomy ecosystem. We’ll describe key trends that are driving the relentless pursuit of innovation in the autonomous vehicle space, as well as several emerging market and technology trends that are relevant to mining and broader controlled industrial environments, that will accelerate capability development and market adoption. As there are significant opportunities for autonomy to play a critical role in value creation in mining, we will also outline a path forward for the mining industry.

12:15

Lunch & Talent Show
Take advantage of the break to chat with University of Arizona students and check out their projects.

Blasé LaSala

  • Graduate Student,  Mining Geol/Geophys Engineering
  • Demoing Virtual Reality Prototype allowing people to explore and crawl through a cave.

Jingping He

  • Graduate Student, Mining Engineering
  • Title: Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Juilo Quijas

  • Graduate Student, Mining Engineering
  • Title: Experimental set up for measuring thermal conductivity values in different materials
  • 2nd Presentation: Remotely operated geophysical methods applied to environmental monitoring in mines

Leonard Vance

  • Graduate Student, Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREX) Laboratory
  • Title: Exploring Lunar Pits and Caves with SphereX

Niraj Altekar and Debashis Das

  • Graduate Students, Systems and Industrial Engineering
  • Title: Cooperative Connected and Autonomous Transportation Systems

Paulo Coutinho

  • Graduate Student, Mining Engineering
  • Title: Effects of Hydrothermal Alteration on the Geomechanics of Degradation in the Bagdad Mine, Arizona

13:15

Open the Pod Bay Doors, HAL. or Human vs. AI
Eric Case Information Security Manager, TuSimple

In 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) we see the famous human vs. AI scene were Dave Bowman says, “Open the pod bay doors, Hal.” Bowman wins and in the moves the humans always win. In real life, you are trying to build the AI and keep the human attackers from winning. In this talk we will discuss some ways humans are attacking AI.

13:45

STRATEGY SESSION
Reskilling and new requirements: identifying and addressing needs

As digital technologies transform how mines operate, the composition of and level of specialization within the workforce will change. We must train employees to thrive in the future, attract experts and educate the emerging workforce, as well as ensure a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. A global strategy is needed for the industry to prevent these issues from becoming a total roadblock.

14:30

Creating the Future of Mineral Resource Education
Mark Barton Co-Director, Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, and Professor – Geosciences, University of Arizona

Humanity is utilizing Earth’s resources at an unprecedented and increasing rate to support basic needs, economic development, and the critical challenges of a changing world. Meanwhile the challenges around providing a sustainable supply of responsibly sourced minerals are growing increasingly complex – requiring expertise beyond the traditional disciplines of mining engineering and geology. Today’s greatest challenges include complex scientific and engineering issues that demand unprecedented innovation, and often intersect with safety and health, social, environmental, political, and economic issues involving industry, communities, and governments. Lines are often blurred, and solutions require collaboration across skillsets and viewpoints, out-of-the-box thinking, and the ability to leverage the latest technology and large volumes of data.

Tomorrow’s mineral resource professionals will face a bold new world. And how they approach the challenges they face will shape the future of the industry, and impact people and the environment world-wide. That’s why the University of Arizona is redefining mineral resource education. Our future is holistic, dynamic, and integrated.

15:00

Coffee Break

15:30

FISHBOWL SESSION
Keys to a Strong Future Workforce
Diverse perspectives are required to enable global change and mining can only benefit if the workplace is safe and inclusive for all. Listen in as participants discuss the workplace of the future. Want to participate? A few seats will be open for people to jump in and out of the conversation.
Maxelino Nelson Global Industry Leader – Mining and Industry Alliances, IBM, Michelle K. Don Carlos Lawyer – Mediator, Law offices of Michelle K. Don Carlos, Peter Bullock Senior Manager, Accenture, Francinne Hansen HR Leader – North Atlantic and Asian Refineries, Vale, Michelle Ash Chair, GMG

16:15

STRATEGY SESSION
Commitment to Action
So, what now? How do we make sure action is taken and this isn’t just “all talk, no action?” What does industry commitment look like? We’re all in this together – let’s make change happen.

Day 3 | Thursday, Oct. 24

TOUR TO SIERRITA MINE
Sierrita is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex. The mine also produces rhenium, a rare and highly valued metal.

TOUR TO AMAZON FULFILLMENT CENTER
Experience the AWS technology and innovation that powers the massive Amazon.com supply chain network. Consider how your mining operations can innovate using these same concepts. Think about the options. Talk to the AWS experts. Consider what’s possible!

WORKSHOPS
Dive into the following topics at our half-day workshops on:
Interoperability Roadmap
Mobile Equipment Open Data

PARTNER EVENT
GEOVIA SUMMIT
While in Tucson, see GMG Chair Michelle Ash deliver the keynote address on “How to de-risk and increase the speed of your digital transformation”. Click here to learn more and register

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