How do we make mining more innovative?

News this week of China's decision to impose restrictions on the export of rare earth element (REE) related technologies got me thinking about a common theme I get asked about at just about every panel or event - how can the mining industry become more innovative? While I spend my days with the Prospector team focused on leveraging new and emerging data and AI technologies and not processing tech, I believe this news is an opportunity for the mining industry to reevaluate its practices across the board and consider changes we can make to better foster innovation and accelerate the adoption of newer technologies.

To mitigate risk and reduce dependence on a single source or a single technology solution of any kind, the mining industry must pivot towards innovation-driven solutions. Here are my suggestions of what “The Industry” can do in 2024 to pivot, adapt, and win:

1. Collaborative Ecosystems: The industry needs to foster collaboration among established mining companies, startups, research institutions, and technology firms. By encouraging partnerships and alliances, there can be a more efficient sharing of resources, expertise, and technologies beneficial to the entire sector.? Not everything needs to be proprietary or super-sensitive, we can collaborate on infrastructure and compete where it matters.
2. Invest in R&D: Allocating resources and funding towards research and development initiatives is crucial. Supporting innovative ideas and technologies through grants and procurement targets for startups can lead to rapid advancements in mining technology.
3. Incubation Programs: Establish specialized programs or accelerators dedicated to mining-tech startups. These initiatives can offer mentorship, access to industry experts, infrastructure, and funding to help these companies develop and scale their innovative technologies.??
4. Open Innovation Platforms: Creating platforms where mining companies openly collaborate with startups and technology innovators facilitates the exchange of ideas, data, and technology solutions. This fosters a culture of innovation across the industry.
5. Education and Skill Development: Investing in programs that educate the workforce about emerging technologies in mining is crucial. Training employees to adapt to technological advancements ensures a skilled workforce supportive of innovation - if the industry doesn’t tackle this urgently, the workforce will continue to resist and slow adoption of new ideas and technologies.??

While these strategies are industry-level initiatives, you as an individual can immediately contribute to fostering innovation - what can you do today?

1. Sign up for trials: Sign up for that free trial or offer to try out a new product - what can it hurt?? If a group is working on a new tool or machine, offer to host a pilot or demonstration at your site.? If it’s a new software, play around with it and share it with your colleagues to take a look too - and of course start with Prospector if you’re not on already! ;)? It’s a big deal for start-ups to have users on their platforms, even in trial, because it gives us really important data that helps us improve new products and make sure that we’re developing tools and features that users actually want.?
2. Provide feedback: Offer constructive feedback during trial periods to refine and improve emerging technologies - we start-up folks crave feedback from users, we need it to make sure we’re on the right track or to figure out what we should be doing next.?
3. Allocate a 'Try Something Different' Budget: Set aside a portion of your team or company budget specifically designated for experimenting with new technologies or innovative solutions.? Even if it’s small, this sets an expectation with your team (even if it’s a team of one!) that it’s important to identify new tech and solutions as well as try them, and it’s okay to try stuff out that doesn’t work!
4. Provide a Transparent Procurement Pathway: A hugely helpful thing for start-upus and small teams at new companies is when companies clearly outline procurement pathways upfront, enabling us to understand the process and timeline to a purchase or order.? Start-ups and small companies have to be really careful about aligning their offerings and team resources to their business development pipeline, and just being blunt about how long procurement or evaluation will take makes a huge difference.?
5. Quantify and Track Innovation: Develop metrics to measure innovation progress and track its impact on operational efficiency and sustainability.? If we can’t measure it, it’s hard to measure effectiveness - so help us by sharing your innovation KPIs, that way we can do better at articulating and demonstrating value in a way that helps you move the needle.?

These are just my ideas on what we can all do together to make the industry more innovative and adaptable.? What suggestions do you have or what solutions have you seen that have made a big difference?

Fellow start-up / innovation champions, what else do you wish the industry would do?