Digital adoption in mining key to industry's future: EY

Future of mining industry in India lies in digital adoption that can enable new ways to drive productivity, an EY report released by FIMI said today.
The report 'Tomorrow's mine: How digital can shape the future' highlights the future of mining industry in India that lies in the bedrock of digital, with composite technologies spread but integrated across the value chain, EY said in a statement.
It said India has been a major participant of the global mining industry with a large resource base, and now with the use of digital in mining with technologies such as Robotics, Big Data & Advanced Analytics, Mobility, Remote centre, Wearable Technology, Social Media etc, it will have significant benefits for the Indian mining industry and help shape its future.

"The report expands on the potential benefits of digital to help exploit the number one operational opportunity in mining - productivity. Digital can enable new ways to drive productivity, manage the variability challenges of the sector and pursue commercial excellence," the statement said.
The latest report also explores the common pitfalls and how digital can be a solution to the challenges faced by the Indian mining industry.
It said use of digital in mining has slowly evolved with technologies such as, plant automation systems, global positioning systems (GPS), mine planning systems etc and recently to cloud computing.

The report underlines that significant benefits have already been realised but much more can be done with a holistic approach.

It also highlights the current trends and developments in digital mining in India pertaining to enterprise integration & organisational efficiency, productivity and growth, mine safety, exploration, governance, regulatory and procedural streamlining, infrastructure, human capital and skill development.
"The Indian mining industry is at the cusp of a transformational change, and digital is at the forefront driving this change. The average miner's focus has shifted from targeting volume growth to achieving cost reduction and productivity growth.
"The productivity challenge can be addressed by the miners by going beyond heavy equipment, and investing in cutting-edge technology solution such as VAR (Virtual and augmented reality)," Anjani Kumar Agarwal, Partner and National Leader - Metals and Mining, EY said.