7:00

Registration and Networking
Andrew Scott Vice-Chair Working Groups, GMG and Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations

7:45

Safety Briefing
Venue Official

7:50

SAIMM Presidential Opening Address
M.I Mthenjane Exxaro Resources Ltd and SAIMM President

8:00

Welcome
Andrew Scott Vice-Chair Working Groups, GMG and Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations

8:15

Interactive Session > What Keeps You Up at Night?

For every mining executive, leader and forward-thinking professional, there are common concerns that disrupt our sleep as we strive for strategic change in our organizations and the global mining industry. With the era of “going it alone” behind us, we are coming together as an industry to strategize, pool resources and lay the foundation needed to make significant progress on key challenges to ignite the future we want for mining. In groups, participants will converse on a series of topics related to today’s biggest challenges and opportunities in mining.

8:45

Digital Transformation Success within the African Mining Sector
David Osborn Managing Director, Dassault Systemès

With the Forth Industrial Revolution upon us, mining companies are looking to other adjacent industries to see how they can apply technology to their own processes. Many mining companies have stated goals of digitally transforming their mining business. But how do they actually do this? We take a digital transformation journey of an African mining company to see how they have applied technology and where they see the real benefits for their operations.

9:15

Panel > What Are the Next Steps in Underground Mining Transformation?

Underground mines have advanced incredibly in recent years, allowing for deeper mines, better communication networks and increased productivity. Panellists will discuss new and improved technologies and practices that will continue this momentum.

9:45

Improving Mine Closure with Better Integration and Collaboration
Michael Arendsen SC Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Exxaro

Mineral resources are limited, making the closure of mines inevitable. Planning for the closure of a mine should be a higher priority business focus. But this is a costly, time-consuming and iterative process which is faced with pressure to comply with regulation, reduced funding and difficulty to justify costs for mine closure activities. An integrated approach to mine closure activities is needed that includes collaboration with all stakeholders to contribute to more responsible closure of mines, while creating opportunities for local communities to thrive.

10:15

Coffee Break

10:45

Mining Optimisation through the Application of Rock Recognition Technology
Phil Piper Managing Director, Groundwork Consulting

A detailed understanding of rock mass properties is desirable for optimising all aspects of the mining value chain from drilling, blasting, loading and hauling through to comminution and mineral extraction. Current methods used to obtain this data such as mapping, core drilling, chip sampling, and geophysical techniques require significant dedication and time commitment and can be onerous to update continually. They often rely on the availability and commitment of specific individuals and they are therefore time consuming and ultimately unsustainable. Recent developments from tunnelling in Scandinavia, which are now being deployed in the South African mining industry, make it possible to obtain key information on rock properties simply by recording certain drilling parameters during the drilling of normal production, exploration and support boreholes. Geomechanical properties of the rock mass are obtained every few centimetres in every borehole automatically as a by-product of drilling boreholes for other purposes. The resulting detailed 3D image of the rock mass which is created in real-time then enables key decisions to be taken immediately regarding value-based ore control. This in turn leads to substantial financial benefits being derived in the mining value chain. This presentation describes the technology together with a case study of its application at one of the largest open pit mines in South Africa. The density and quality of the data and the speed with which the rock property data is generated offers tremendous potential for increasing the efficiency of mining operations. Most importantly, the technology provides information at a far lower cost, at greater density and, in some cases, more accurately than conventional methods such as core logging and mapping.

11:30

Live Presentation from Lulea Forum!

Making Mining Better: Human + Machine for Safe & Sustainable Operations
Liv Carroll Senior Principal, Applied Intelligence, Mining Transformation, Accenture

The future of mining is autonomous and every mining company is somewhere on the journey to autonomy; from local manually-operated activities, to remote-controlled centralized operations, to completely unmanned autonomous operations and looking beyond to decision-making autonomy of the system itself. Mining companies have been working on automation for decades, largely to remove the workforce from harm and to reduce labour costs, coupled with an increasing unwillingness to work in remote locations for long periods of time. Alongside safety and productivity, the driving forces of sustainability goals, the energy transition and the push for carbon neutral, the changing workforce demographic and maintaining social licence to operate are all raising autonomous mining to the top of the priority list. Because we need to make our operations safer, more sustainable, more efficient and lower our footprint, not least to maintain investment, the business case is clear. Exponential developments in technology, including sensor resolution, connectivity, mobile technologies, computational power, data storage, analytics, machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), have brought forward autonomous operations of the future to now. This is not just about technology but also change in ways of working, data governance and the all important cybersecurity. The challenge is how do we successfully and safely combine human and machine? What can be transformed to autonomous, both equipment and process? What risks can be mitigated? What are our miners doing and what is the path to autonomy? What is the value opportunity? The future mining landscape – where mining is safe; meets the needs of all stakeholders, including communities, host countries and customers; and miners are operating with the highest environmental and social standards – is relializable and autonomous operations are key to stewarding our resources safely, sustainably and responsibly.

12:00

Lunch

1:00

Interactive Session > Defining the “Green” Collaboration Strategy

It’s time to strategize! During this interactive session we will build a clear focus on strategic priorities for the coming year for the industry. Participants will navigate through a series of questions to identify potential areas for collaboration to help the industry focus on the work needed to “go green”.

1:30

2020 GMG Projects: Driving Change in the Industry
Andrew Scott Vice-Chair Working Groups, GMG and Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations

2:00

Live Presentation from Lulea Forum!

iHuman: The Challenge of Change in Disruption
James Cleverley Global Product Manager – Geosciences, IMDEX

As the mining industry grapples with the rapid advance of digitisation in its operations it is not the technology that presents the greatest challenges. People are an integral part of any workplace, so what happens as we introduce the changes needed to implement digital systems, transformation of processes and automation. In particular the geologist, born of the love of rocks and the outdoors, will be faced with a transformed process to make decisions. Automated logging systems, analytics to provide first pass information, numbers instead of the hand lens? The process of digital change cuts at the very heart of who we are in the jobs we do. It is this challenge, not just the technology, that will determine the success or failure of implementation. In this talk I will outline experiences of the challenges of change management during implementation of disruptive geoscience technology, and open up the discussion for ways to address the sociological and technological implementation process in parallel.

2:30

Interactive Session > Building a Strong Future Workforce

The industry is changing. Employee needs are changing. Innovative technologies are propelling us forward at an unprecedented rate. Let’s discuss potential and real-life examples of the challenges and opportunities this is presenting.

3:00

Panel > How is mining responding to the skills gap?

Transforming our technology and culture means that skills requirements are also evolving, leaving gaps that can stand in the way of innovation. Panellists will take a deep dive into how our industry is attracting the right people and supporting the existing workforce as we transform.

3:30

Wrap Up
Andrew Scott Vice-Chair Working Groups, GMG and Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations

8:00

Safety Briefing
Venue Official

8:05

Welcome and Update
Andrew Scott Vice-Chair Working Groups, GMG and Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations

8:15

A Mine Operator’s View

8:45

Panel > Mine Digitalization: How do we Achieve Real Value?

We are more connected than ever. What are we doing to make sure we realize value in the short term while defining the future of mining?

9:15

Future of Surface Drilling

Wynand Van Straaten Mining Development Manager, Exxaro, Anesh Naidoo Capital Sales Manager Epiroc, Eeje Van Jaarsveld Solutions Analyst, Exxaro, Vikesh Chiba Product Manager Automation, Epiroc, Wayne Sterley Business Manager, Epiroc

Collaboration between Epiroc an OEM driving technology and Exxaro a Global Mining House with an appetite to implement technologies to drive Safety, Efficiency and productivity. The result culminated in a full transition from Manual drilling to a Full Autonomous offering delivering on all the initial Key performance criteria with the upskilling of labour as an added benefit.

10:15

Coffee Break

10:45

Interactive session > Operational Readiness: Is Africa Ready for Automation?

Automation leads to improved safety and productivity. What do we need to tackle to achieve a fully autonomous mining industry in Africa?

11:30

Implementation of Autonomous Haulage at Nevada Gold Mines
Kurt Crossman Engineering Manager, Sedna

12:00

Lunch

1:00

Interactive Session > Building a Better Future: How can Mining Help Achieve the UN SDGs

Help build a strategy to ensure that mining is at the forefront of efforts to achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).

2:00

Sibanye-Stillwater Digital Mining Laboratory (Digimine): Digital Systems for 21st Century Mining
Ahsan Mahboob Head of Sibanye-Stillwater Digital Mining Laboratory (DigiMine), DigiMine is hosted by the Wits Mining Institute (WMI), Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE)

Sibanye-Stillwater Digital Mining Laboratory (DigiMine) is a one-of-a-kind facility in which the Chamber of Mines building on the Wits West Campus was converted into a simulated mining environment. Complete with a surface (using the flat roof of the building), a vertical shaft (using a stairwell in the fourth quadrant of the building) and a mock underground mine with control room in the basement. DigiMine is equipped with digital systems to enable hands-on training and research for the mine of the future. Our research agenda is to transfer surface digital technologies into the underground environment, enabling a mine that can observe, evaluate and take action. The ultimate objective is to use technology to put distance between mineworkers and the typical risks they are exposed to on a daily basis, in addition to a mine that is efficient. A multidisciplinary research group accommodates students from all faculties at Wits University – resulting in an excellent facility working on some world-first projects, with both research intensity and impact growing quickly. Our research agenda includes any digital advances that can reduce risk in the mining environment; this includes systems for communication, monitoring positioning, navigation, detection of abnormalities and risk management – in short, innovation for real-time mining at reduced risk.

2:30

The Role of the System Integrator in the Mining Technology Value Chain
Mike Jackson Founder and Director, Ramjack Technology Solutions

Realizing value from production and safety management technology solutions in the mining industry is a challenge that has faced mining companies and original technology manufacturers (OTMs) for many years. Technology professionals from all sides of the equation have experienced successes and failures and, in general, can agree on the main key success factors in minimizing the risk of failure for any major system deployment. Ramjack Technology Solutions is a specialized systems integrator dedicated to supporting mining companies and OTMs realize value from technology deployments in challenging markets. Ramjack fills the gaps between OTMs wishing to successfully introduce, and grow sales of, their products; and, mining companies wishing to achieve a rapid return on their investment in operational technology. Ramjack believes the key to realizing the true value from real-time technology solutions in mining is not a one-size fits all solution, but rather an iterative approach focused on alignment of interests between the mine operation (and existing technology landscape) and the available technologies. At the 2020 GMG Forum in Johannesburg, Ramjack will present the role of the systems integrator, how Ramjack approaches alignment and some ideas for ensuring success with technology implementation.

3:00

Panel > Impact 2020: Defining the Key Elements to Transformative Change

What are the key actions that we can take right now to accelerate technology implementation in the mining industry in 2020? Join in as we brainstorm on all the possibilities.

3:30

Wrap Up
Andrew Scott Vice-Chair Working Groups, GMG and Principal Innovator, Symbiotic Innovations