DIGITAL MINING and robotic techniques , looking at how these approaches play out in terms of underground mine design .”
GEOVIA ’ s cities technologies can support approaches to sustainability with water management under different rainfall conditions that can influence dam designs from a water-shedding perspective and how that impacts communities . Applied to mining , GEOVIA can rapidly create significant sustainability outcomes for the industry and the communities it operates in .
How do you mine with less waste ? It ’ s a question driving innovation for GEOVIA . And recycling that waste holds the key to driving sustainability in the future with in-situ leaching and reusing tailings to extract metals , something sister brand BIOVIA is developing the capabilities to do . Meanwhile , Ash highlights that virtual twins can reduce the risk of implementing new energy solutions , test chemicals that are less impactful to extract metals or optimise how we store tailings .
Future-proofing to mine smarter “ We can build on the great capabilities we have , and I think we can rapidly then pivot to solving problems using digital technologies ,” says Ash . “ The mining industry is full of value networks ; OEMs , energy suppliers , battery suppliers … Driving their collaboration is key and something we ’ re doing as part of the Electric Mine Consortium , alongside mining companies , academics and other simulation providers to promote new approaches to mine electrification and decarbonisation . At 3DS , we can bring learnings from automotive in the manufacturing industry and make the connections that fast track innovation .”
Change is being led by medium-sized companies , says Ash , who believes their need to be agile and re-orientate sees them better placed than the majors to embrace a culture of innovation . “ It ’ s tough to bring new capabilities and products to any market ,” she stresses . “ It ' s just too hard to do it on your own . It ' s much easier and faster and less costly to do these things collaboratively ; build a market for products that they want . And then , if they want to compete against each other , compete on how rapidly they can implement those technologies and create that solution and those new behaviours which ultimately create value in a company . GEOVIA will focus on accelerating partnerships like these in 2021 to scale our capabilities and help drive innovation across the mining industry .”
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