Innovation in Mining: Report to the 2018 International Mines Ministers Summit

The report examines the urgent need for innovation in mining due to declining productivity and rising costs. It details advancements in automation, electrification, and renewable energy, while highlighting the role of governments in ensuring these gains are shared with local communities. Case studies illustrate specific applications of AI, solar power, and new business models across Canada, Australia, Chile, and other regions.

• The mining industry faced a 30 per cent decline in productivity over the decade preceding a 2015 study, driven by volatile commodity prices, rising labour costs, and the increasing difficulty of accessing deposits.
• Technological shifts toward automation and digitization could provide massive economic value; the World Economic Forum estimates autonomous machines could add USD 56 billion and smart sensors USD 34 billion to the industry by 2025.
• Electrification of underground mining equipment reduces the need for expensive ventilation and refrigeration systems required to remove diesel emissions, potentially cutting those expenditures by half over a mine's life.
• Rio Tinto's Mine of the Future program in Western Australia has implemented autonomous haulage systems (AHS) and autonomous drill systems (ADS), resulting in a 13 per cent reduction in operating costs and a 10 per cent reduction in drill downtime.
• Mining companies are increasingly adopting hybrid energy systems and renewables to hedge against fossil fuel price volatility; examples include B2Gold's 7 MW solar plant in Namibia and Sandfire's off-grid solar and battery facility in Australia.
• Co-disposal, the mixing of waste rock and tailings, is being researched to improve the stability of tailings impoundments and reduce acid rock drainage (ARD) by limiting oxygen exposure to waste rock.
• Goldcorp's 'Towards Zero Water' (H2Zero) strategy aims to eliminate traditional slurry tailings at new operations and increase water reuse/recycle rates to over 80 per cent at half of existing operations.
• BHP Billiton's World-Class Supplier Program in Chile integrates local suppliers into problem-solving processes, which has resulted in an estimated USD 121 million in cost savings for the company.
• Crowdfunding is emerging as a tool for mineral exploration to raise capital from the general public, bypassing the high administrative costs of public listings, though it lacks some legislative protections for investors.
• 3D metal printing has the potential to eliminate complex supply chains by allowing on-site production of repair parts, though the World Economic Forum warns that plastics-for-metals substitution could lead to sector losses of up to USD 195 million.
• Social innovations such as 'hackathons' are being used to crowdsource solutions for mining challenges, bringing in external perspectives from software developers and students to attract new talent to the sector.

APA

Crawford, A. (2018). Innovation in Mining: Report to the 2018 International Mines Ministers Summit. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/innovation-in-mining-imms-report.pdf

Chicago

Crawford, Alec. Innovation in Mining: Report to the 2018 International Mines Ministers Summit. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/innovation-in-mining-imms-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Crawford |first1=Alec |title=Innovation in Mining: Report to the 2018 International Mines Ministers Summit |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/innovation-in-mining-imms-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crawford2018innovation, author = {Crawford, Alec}, title = {{Innovation in Mining: Report to the 2018 International Mines Ministers Summit}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/innovation-in-mining-imms-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }