The global shift towards renewable energy significantly increases the demand for precious metals. With abundant natural resources such as gold, silver, cobalt, copper, lithium and uranium, Africa must seize the opportunity to meet this growing global demand.
Boasting 30%1 of the world’s mineral reserves, Africa’s mining sector is projected to see a sixfold increase2 in demand by 2050. This should position the African mining industry as a world leader, making significant contributions to the global supply of critical minerals.
The challenges
However, despite the opportunities, several challenges could hinder growth. Political instability, policy shifts and concerns about regulatory continuity are all impacting Africa’s mining sector. Furthermore, several countries are facing protests from local communities over potential disruptions to the environment as well as a desire to ensure that mining activities directly benefit the communities they operate in.
Miners are also facing new sustainability requirements. While mining is one of the world’s biggest emissions generators, it plays a crucial role in helping the world reduce carbon emissions through electrification. To build and utilise cleaner energy solutions, such as solar, wind and water, the amount of copper that needs to be mined will have to double over the next decade.
Overcoming the mining paradox
The mining industry needs new deposits, but accessing and securing approval for new mines also poses significant challenges. This is a global conundrum – if we can’t mine more copper, we won’t have the energy transition we need to meet decarbonisation goals. Deposits can also take up to 30 years to mature, in terms of the time it takes for a new copper deposit to go from discovery through exploration, permitting, development and eventually into full production, making the environmental risk significantly higher.
As the sector heavily depends on diesel-powered equipment, it’s critical to identify new innovative strategies and solutions to minimise its carbon footprint. Miners are grappling with huge cost pressures and are faced with the prospect of investing in new technologies and advanced equipment to alleviate these challenges.
Even as the industry invests in these new technologies, ensuring that the workforce is equipped with the necessary capabilities is essential. Upskilling and reskilling are critical to harness the benefits of technology, from higher productivity to improved safety. For instance, integrating robotics requires new skill sets, and workers will need to gain expertise in areas such as data analysis and system management.
Transitioning to new technology
Broadly speaking, there is a significant need for new low-carbon- motive technologies that address the unique challenges of the mining sector. Just as high-grade ore allows for more efficient mineral extraction, high-quality operational data enables more effective AI solutions. The key is not just having more data but having the right data (quality and granularity) in the hands of the right people at the right time.
Modern mining operations generate millions of data points daily, far more than any person or team could meaningfully analyse.
This is where AI can excel – sifting through this mountain of operational data to identify patterns, opportunities and potential issues that matter.
One effective approach that has already seen significant results is using AI and data to measure and optimise mining operations. This includes maximising payloads on mining vehicles, reducing idle time, minimising off-haul activities, and cutting down on wasted operations – challenges that we have known about for a long time, but have so far proven hard to solve sustainably. Leveraging AI enables more efficient driving and machinery maintenance to ensure peak operating efficiency.
By capturing granular data on how equipment is operated, down to individual machines and operators, it is possible to realise a range of performance improvements and cost savings that can have a critical impact on productivity and efficiency.
For example, understanding exactly what each piece of equipment is doing at any given time and benchmarking this against best practices can be used to coach individual drivers on operating trucks more safely and efficiently, mainly focusing on gear selections, productivity and speeds on ramps and through corners – think F1 meets mining.
Even as the industry invests in these new technologies, ensuring that the workforce is equipped with the necessary capabilities is essential.
Combining AI-powered analysis and human expertise could transform how mines operate, enabling more precise, confident decisions based on real operational evidence rather than instinct alone. In the face of rising global insecurity, market volatility and a rapidly shifting technology landscape, Africa must act quickly and capitalise on its mineral endowments or risk falling behind.
By Matt Long, director and chief customer officer, MaxMine
This article was first published by African Mining