The key challenge facing the local mining industry is the integration of information across the value chain, says Pierre Lundberg, group business development director at CS Holdings.
He believes the South African mining environment presents a unique set of challenges with regards to the management of information and systems.
"Although many mining companies are beginning to realise the necessity of including an IT budget across every component of the value chain, often the ineffective utilisation and integration of information prevents them from extracting its full value.
"Mining companies need to ask how they can integrate the real-time systems with the transactional environment in order to bring relevance and visibility to all the information contained therein."
He believes that visibility is key to ensuring that the processes are being managed effectively, and the real strength of the information lies in the ability to detect problems timeously, so that correct principles of short interval control can be applied.
"At present, specifically defined processes exist in every component of the value chain, each of which is unique to different types of mining operations.
"For example, in underground operations, there is a separate system for exposing the ore, another for mining it, and another for each process of loading the ore, getting it up to the surface and on to the processing plants."
Separate processes exist for each step of the surface operations too. Each of these processes requires a different software application, which provides it own set of information, he says.
"Consequently, it`s up to management to determine how the IT environment fits into the overall business strategy, and then to build a supporting information management philosophy so that business objectives can be achieved.
"The information must be utilised throughout the mining operation, from exploration through to marketing and eventual closure."
Lundberg says that by planning their strategy around integration, mining companies can implement relevant systems that will enable them to eliminate the so-called "black hole" that exists in the information that is carried from the real-time lower-end systems to the transactional enterprise resource planning level.
Lundberg believes the next five years will provide great scope for the utilisation of technology to enhance mining operations, but points out that no single solution exists for all mining operations.
"It`s important to understand where the mining operation is headed and how it can be supported through IT, plus how IT can be used effectively to assist the mine in its growth opportunities," he concludes.
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