Electra Mining comes at a time when miners are in dire need of new ways that can help improve processes on sites.
This week, Electra Mining Africa 2016 is in focus for both local mining and construction companies looking to shop around for their new equipment and technological needs. The exhibition, scheduled for 12-16 September, gives fleet owners an opportunity to welcome new solutions that speak to their jobsite needs. Often these new products are upgrades of the currently available solutions in the market, coming with new features and benefits that allow fleet owners to execute jobs more cost-effectively and efficiently.
Speaking of the bottom line, one industry that seriously needs new ways of going about its business to remain financially sustainable is the mining sector. Already under pressure from the current downward commodity price cycle, exacerbated by declining ore bodies, newer technologies are definitely crucial for mining houses to be able to resuscitate their ailing businesses.
Mining is economically a very important sector, especially for Africa’s growth narrative. It provides employment, dividends and taxes that pay for schools, hospitals and all the crucial public facilities. This is also an industry that yields foreign exchange and accounts for significant portions of gross domestic product for many African economies. Mining also fosters several other associated activities such as manufacturing of mining equipment and provision of engineering services, to mention a few. That said, the economic opportunities and wealth generated from mining for the many mining countries are substantial.
With this in mind, it is also important that African governments start to realise how this important sector needs to be allowed to start implementing newer equipment and technologies to improve production and profitability. The tools of trade are getting so modern, the result of both continued incremental improvements and revolutionary developments from several OEMs.
Mining equipment and techniques used today may be the same as those used several decades back, but many important changes have occurred in equipment design and applications. Trucks and shovels are getting much larger, while equipment may now contain diagnostic computers to anticipate failures and in some instances work independently without the human factor. We would all agree that such equipment usually yields higher productivity, increased margins of safety and greater cost per tonne.
Electra Mining comes at a time when miners are in dire need of new ways that can help improve processes on sites. Opportunity offered by these new technologies is massive; innovation represents a fundamental shift in both potential safety outcomes and how value can be captured in the mining sector. Technology is changing every aspect of the industry, and companies that refuse to adapt accordingly risk being vanquished by tech-savvy competitors.
It is for this reason that I believe that rethinking the processes of using, managing and owning heavy equipment by incorporating new technologies, such as data analytics and human-machine interaction systems, is of essence. This helps make equipment more productive and efficient, while businesses remain profitable, even when times are this tough. Electra Mining promises to showcase all these technologies in one place.
Thina Bhebhe
Publishing Director
