E-Business
How Digital Solutions are Driving Cost Savings for the Mining Industry
By Kevin Shikoluk
Mining operations everywhere are experiencing constant profitability pressures from two directions: continued commodity pricing volatility and global demand variability. Africa-based miners are no exception.
These dynamics have caused mining companies to re-evaluate business models and seek smarter, more efficient modes of operation that focus on sustainable cost management practices and improved productivity.
The mining sector isn’t unique in this regard. Many of the world’s leading industries—manufacturing, oil and gas, healthcare, and others—have also recognised this need for change. While the exact improvements vary from industry to industry, the path to transformation is similar: an emphasis on improvements at both the asset and process levels through the application of leading-edge digital technologies across the Industrial Internet value chain.
By harnessing the combined power of machine sensors, edge-to-cloud connectivity, advanced data capture, and powerful analytics, the Industrial Internet can deliver deeper insight into mining operations than ever before.
These insights can then be used to drive intelligent recommendations for improvement—from asset lifecycle management to condition-based, prescriptive maintenance programs and strategies to optimize performance within the plant. This approach has already yielded breakthroughs in improved efficiency, increased asset availability, and optimised processes in many other industries and there’s a growing track record of success in mining.
Condition-based maintenance can help reduce total maintenance costs by guiding the timing of maintenance, avoiding over-maintenance when not needed, and triggering maintenance sooner than might have been scheduled, ultimately avoiding expensive repairs from a more serious failure.
Even switching to usage-based predictive maintenance can help lower maintenance costs by avoiding performing unneeded maintenance on idle or lightly-used assets.
The incremental cost to instrument a critical asset is dropping rapidly thanks to the introduction of digital solutions within the mining space. Asset Performance Management, for example, can make a significant impact by giving real time visibility and actionable insights around the data that is captured within the mining operation.
This data from smart connected devices allows for much more precise and focused service that not only increases asset availability, but also reduces overall maintenance costs.
The power of vertical integration
The real power of these connected technologies, however, is the leverage they provide when integrated vertically across the mine.
For example, Wabtec worked with a South African operator to deploy a collision awareness system on a contractor’s fleet at their above ground mining operation. This in itself is not unique as many companies across South Africa are doing the same in order to comply with safety legislation.
What’s unique in this case is that the customer is using other solutions within Wabtec’s Digital Mine portfolio to help solve another problem: ensuring consistent feed grade of ore into the concentrator.
In this particular case, downstream processing was impacted due to the varying ore grade quality. Leveraging solutions from our Collision Awareness portfolio as well as Operations Performance Management technologies help operators blend the ore to get a consistent feed grade into the concentrator downstream.
For miners, controlling these sources of variability is ultimately the key to improving throughput and metal recovery.
Vertically integrated digital solutions are only scratching the surface of what’s possible. As this example also shows, mining companies in South Africa are actively embracing these solutions, and in doing so, are at the forefront of transforming themselves into fully fledged digital mines.
Embracing transformation
To take full advantage of the promise of the Industrial Internet, mining companies must develop an overall strategy that includes a full assessment of the continuously evolving ecosystem of solutions that will help them reach their goals.
It can seem like a daunting prospect, but by working with knowledgeable and experienced partners, the digital transformation process can be manageable and affordable to deliver exponential cost saving and productivity benefits.
At Wabtec we’ve learned that in order to make the transition to a digital mine, operators require support in multiple capacities. One of the ways we’ve been successful in assisting mining operators is by leveraging robust monitoring capabilities around the globe to better understand their operations.
Working from high-tech hubs around the world, we can monitor customer operators’ assets and operations with sophisticated software. When the software flags anomalies that require action, we work with our mining customers to drive the required action.
We also monitor ongoing processes on behalf of customer operators. This means, for example, that Wabtec’s Digital Mine can make sure control loops are finely tuned to optimizing ore grade recovery as a collective mine site.
As a result, operators are able to advance from being completely reactive to being on the front foot of taking a proactive stance and defining how they want to work based on data-based decisions.
The change management aspects of this process should not be underestimated. But in our experience, it’s eminently achievable and ultimately rewarding.
Those in the mining industry who embrace this need for industrial transformation sooner will have a distinct advantage over competitors who choose to delay their journey to modernisation and digitisation.
Kevin Shikoluk is Global Strategic Product & Marketing Leader, Digital Mine at Wabtec Corporation
Dr Adebowale Adedokun, director-general, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to data protection in Nigeria.
He disclosed this in a statement at the weekend by Zira Nagga, head of Public Relations, BPP, following a courtesy visit by a delegation from the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Adedokun stressed that data protection is vital to Nigeria’s economy and development, particularly in areas such as demography, health, education, and other key sectors.
He emphasised that no country should leave its data unprotected, as it plays a crucial role in future planning and national development.
“Data governs the world. It is essential to technological progress and must be protected for a country or business to be taken seriously,” he said.
Adedokun described the visit, aimed at fostering partnership on data policy implementation and protection, as timely and aligned with national goals.
He said the BPP would collaborate closely with the NDPC to boost data development, capacity building, and enhance the procurement system.
“The BPP will support compliance as part of the ‘Nigeria First’ Policy, although it is not a core procurement eligibility requirement,” he explained.
He suggested a hybrid training model to help build strong capacity in data protection, privacy awareness, and policy understanding.
According to him, a dynamic training approach will reduce logistics costs and improve public confidence in data safety and privacy.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, CEO, and national commissioner, NDPC, praised Adedokun and the BPP for supporting data protection initiatives.
He said the partnership supports President Bola Tinubu’s vision and will strengthen data privacy across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
“The collaboration will create awareness and train BPP staff to ensure a firm grasp of data protection principles and policies,” he stated.
Olatunji said the NDPC would establish a working group to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding beneficial to both institutions.
He added that President Tinubu signed the NDPC into law on 12 June 2023 to uphold citizens’ rights and protect national and business data.
Olatunji also noted that strict legal measures were in place to enforce data protection and ensure full compliance nationwide.
Both agencies agreed to form a team to sign the MoU and focus on capacity building and data management in procurement and beyond.
President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.
He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.
“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.
“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.
He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.
In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.
The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.
Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.
It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.
African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.
The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.
It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.
“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.
“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.
Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.
Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.
“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.
From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.
Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.
In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.
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