{"id":160,"date":"2024-05-01T21:33:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T21:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatebiz.co.za\/?p=160"},"modified":"2024-05-01T21:33:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T21:33:22","slug":"for-the-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatebiz.co.za\/index.php\/2024\/05\/01\/for-the-record\/","title":{"rendered":"For the record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

4IR technology is being used to ensure responsible sourcing by helping to monitor the supply chain, from the pit to consumer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There aren\u2019t many places on Earth as remote, inaccessible and dangerous to reach as Rubaya. Here, deep in the green hills of Masisi territory, nearly 60 km from Goma in eastern DRC, roads are crumbling and bridges collapsing. But still, scores of people come here every day to join the group digging in the mud. If metals or minerals come from Rubaya, it\u2019s hard to know whether they were extracted by industrial, or artisanal miners (many of whom, because of red tape or outright corruption, go months without being paid for their work or discoveries).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new digital technology is hoping to change that. A barcode system, developed by supply-chain auditor RCS Global, was recently introduced at Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Mini\u00e8re de Bisunzu\u2019s (SMB) local coltan mine. Using a handheld, cloud-connected mobile device, government agents tag and scan the barcode, and then upload data to the cloud, including the bag\u2019s weight, and when and by whom it was tagged. According to Ferdinand Maubrey, RCS Global MD (Upstream), \u2018it allows purchasers of SMB material to be sure that it actually comes from that mine site and is not smuggled into the supply chain from other mines, as much as possible\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of a handheld scanner is not new to mining. Across the world, miners have been developing and deploying digital technologies on-site for the past few years. Robotics, smart sensors, the internet of things (IoT), big data\u2026 They may be novel, but they\u2019re nothing new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IoT, for example, is now widely used to control mobile vehicles, keep tabs on employee movements and monitor underground air quality. And \u2013 as Karien Bornheim, CEO of Footprint Africa Business Solutions, explains \u2013 IoT offers an integrated solution for the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018To fully harness the business potential of IoT, the mining sector has to understand precisely how it can add value,\u2019 she says. \u2018IoT needs to be implemented across the entire value chain in order to deliver fully optimised, relevant and turnkey operational solutions. It doesn\u2019t matter how large the project is, or how complex. What matters is that it is done in line with business strategy and with a clear focus.\u2019
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That is new. Deloitte\u2019s 2020 Tracking the Trends report notes that although some firms have made strong technological advances, \u2018many mining companies have yet to achieve the full benefits (or any value at all) of intelligent mining. [\u2026] While many companies have articulated a clear digital strategy, few have adopted the organisational changes needed to deliver on that strategy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bornheim adds that the cross-pollination of different data sets from across various mine sites can help shift the dynamics in plant operation and maintenance. \u2018In addition, with sensors and connected devices and systems, mining operations can be managed intelligently to ensure the best results from equipment and people,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018You can use IoT platforms to visualise mission-critical data for device monitoring, remote control, alerts, security management, health and safety, and healthcare. The sky is genuinely the limit, especially now that the cost of sensors has come down and the intelligence of solutions and applications has gone up. From real-time insights to hands-on security and safety alerts, to data that changes business direction and focus, IoT brings a myriad of benefits to the table.\u2019
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PwC, in a 2019 report, emphasises that \u2018digitalisation is a fundamental part of the new business model, encompassing and affecting all areas of business: supply chains and operations, marketing and sales, and interactions with current and potential customers\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is, in other words, no longer a case of connecting this or that piece of equipment, but rather of transforming the supply chain from a series of largely discrete, siloed steps to what PwC\u2019s landmark 2016 Industry 4.0 report describes as \u2018a completely integrated ecosystem that is fully transparent to all the players involved \u2013 from the suppliers of raw materials, components and parts, to the transporters of those supplies and finished goods, and finally to the customers demanding fulfilment\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence the cloud-connected tagging devices at SMB\u2019s Rubaya coltan mines. And hence, too, why Anglo American Platinum has issued digital tablets to people on the front line to capture and upload workplace information to a central platform and facilitate timely responses. By 2018 Amplats already had more than 200 devices underground at its Dishaba mine.
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In South Africa, Sibanye-Stillwater is among the leaders in the digitalisation of the full mining value chain \u2013 as evidenced by its involvement in Wits University\u2019s DigiMine mining laboratory. \u2018You don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know when it comes to these new technologies such as 3D printing, blockchain, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. But there is a generation that is coming through the ranks that embraces it, and it becomes completely natural to them,\u2019 according to Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman. For him, safety is the main driving force behind digitalisation. \u2018I have got to start with safety,\u2019 he says. \u2018In my view \u2013 and I\u2019ve said it publicly \u2013 unless we can really make a difference to safety and reduce the risk, I have to question whether we can morally keep on mining.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sense of morality is, to some extent, also behind the broader move to digitalise \u2013 and trace \u2013 products throughout the supply chain. Louise Mercer, chief customer experience officer at blockchain developer Everledger, explains the thinking behind this in an online post. \u2018Shareholders and customers \u2013 especially millennials and independent women, two major markets for diamond jewellery \u2013 are increasingly motivated by sustainability,\u2019 she writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Track-and-trace blockchain applications have become a popular means of addressing conflict minerals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Transparency enables visibility over how sustainable a diamond is, as its full life cycle is immutably recorded on the blockchain. However, doing the right thing isn\u2019t enough from a commercial perspective. You need to prove that you are doing it. Blockchain solutions facilitate tracking from mine to consumer, enabling easier compliance against increasingly strict measures.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercer says that, by exposing the whole journey of the diamond (or the coltan, or whatever other mineral is being tracked), supply-chain monitoring also protects against unfair trade and unethical sourcing. Referring specifically to diamonds, she says that \u2018this allows buyers to be more knowledgeable about their purchase in order to avoid the pitfalls of diamonds that don\u2019t meet Kimberley Process standards or originate from conflict zones\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet it\u2019s not just about millennials Instagramming their ethically sourced earrings: major automotive and electronics firms are also under pressure to prove the provenance of the metals used in their laptops, e-vehicle batteries, video-game consoles, and so on. In early 2020 Volvo Cars joined IBM, Ford, Volkswagen and Huayou Cobalt, among others, in the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) consortium, which aims to track ethically sourced minerals used in EVs. The RSBN tracks cobalt from Huayou\u2019s mine in the DRC all the way to the end manufacturer via blockchain.
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As IBM spokesperson Hannah Slocum told Supply Chain Dive, \u2018initially, the miner \u2013 in this case Huayou \u2013 will add data into the blockchain at the point cobalt is bagged and tagged. For key events like smelting, refining, etc, the inputs and corresponding outputs are added to the blockchain. With a trusted participant entering provenance data on to the blockchain [\u2026] supply-chain participants can know the percentage of cobalt that is verified to meet the guidelines and, in turn, ensure their downstream partners that they too are following these guidelines\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blockchain is not perfect (it is, after all, merely a ledger, open to as much fraud as any other), but the trend towards digital supply-chain management is nevertheless encouraging. For manufacturers, it offers reassurance that the minerals used in their products are ethically sourced. For miners, digitalisation enables greater safety at the proverbial coalface, closer management of equipment across an integrated system, and \u2013 in mines across Africa and the world \u2013 some measure of guarantee that the minerals in the supply chain are not tainted by corrupt or illegal mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Mark van Dijk
Images Gallo\/Getty Images, USAID<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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