How remote operations, condition monitoring, and new skill sets like data scientists are helping mining companies reduce costs by moving labor off-site and into urban environments.
Video transcription
The Cost of Remote Mining Operations
Many times mines are located in very remote locations, and it means you have to fly people in and fly people out - which is expensive. You have to house them, you have to put them in camps, you have to transport them. For me, that is a very expensive operation.
Leveraging Technology for Remote Work
Now with many of the tools available, you can start thinking about how you do some of this work remotely. That also changes the gene pool that you are looking to bring to your business.
New Skill Sets: Data Scientists in Mining
In the past, things like data scientists were not really a skill set that was associated with mining. But today, because you've got data and you want to actually use that data, you can now hire those kind of skills into your business.
Condition Monitoring and Remote Maintenance
Even things like monitoring your equipment - condition of your equipment - there's things like condition monitoring now, where you can actually automate a lot of the equipment at site but you can actually monitor that equipment remotely. So that maintenance function that would have been done on-site can now be done remotely.
Reducing Costs by Relocating Labor
There's simple things like that you can do to try and improve your business cost position - by finding ways to remove that labor from site and employ the labor where the labor wants to be, which is usually in an urbanized environment.