Two of the most popular—and important—trends today are automation and digitization. They have merged to change how we live, work, play, and deliver. Additionally, they are helping accelerate the transition to the 4th industrial revolution.
Today, technologies that enable digitization and automation are being implemented on a large-scale across industries to create new opportunities for companies of all sizes. Moreover, they are being combined with IoT to enable Industry 4.0 and revolutionize every aspect of the industry. According to a Mckinsey study, the majority of the heavy industry sectors are at the middle stages of digital maturity. This means that they are enabled either by a digital control system or advanced process control. However, to truly modernize their operations, these sectors will have to get to the highest stage of digital maturity, which is the AI-enabled Digital 4.0 revolution.
The good news is that, according to a 2018 survey by Gartner, digitalization is one of the top 10 priorities for businesses across several industries. The mining industry is one of them. For most mines still using outdated technologies and experiencing the increasing need to push operations deeper underground, it is becoming harder to attain easily achievable savings in costs and productivity.
At the same time, market forces require the mining industry to be more innovative in areas where automation and digitalization are needed. Greater digitization and automation of mining operations will allow companies to overcome both challenges. To make this happen, mining companies will need to transition from digital 2.0 and digital 3.0 to the AI-enabled Digital 4.0.
