Companies today are facing increasing pressure to rethink all aspects of their operations in order to manage more effectively, boost productivity, improve safety and operate in a more environmentally sustainable manner. Goldcorp in its latest 2017 Sustainability Report states: “Deloitte’s 2017 mining trends report highlighted the need for miners to unlock productivity through innovation and digital thinking: going beyond driverless trucks, sensors and advanced analytics to reduce cost, streamline equipment maintenance and prevent safety incidents. New technology such as drones, real-time modelling and geo-coding are driving the next wave of productivity gains.”

“Mining lags behind other industries in its digital maturity. Increasing the pace of technological innovation and adoption represents a massive opportunity to fundamentally reshape our business, optimise all aspects of our operations and drive net asset value (NAV) growth. We are already successfully applying many integrated digital solutions throughout our operations, but we need to do more to leapfrog us into the next generation of mining.”

“Our innovation strategy is to develop and harness new technologies to improve results in three key areas: exploration, safety and operational efficiency,” says Todd White, our Chief Operating Officer. “The key to productive, radical innovation at Goldcorp is getting the right information to the right people at the right time.”

In addition to embracing innovation to improve efficiency and drive productivity, Goldcorp says it is playing a leadership role in developing new technologies to advance its sustainability efforts by reducing water consumption and energy use, helping secure stronger societal support for its projects. As part of its Innovation Strategy, Goldcorp is targeting new technological opportunities in six areas, covering every stage of the mining life cycle, from exploration and development to operations and reclamation:

• Big Data and Machine Learning: Unlike traditional computer systems that, people program to perform fixed tasks, cognitive computing systems, leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI). They have the ability to learn through their interactions with both data and humans. This has been taken a step further at Goldcorp with IBM Watson. Watson, which is being piloted at Red Lake Gold Mines, is using the following technologies and methods to enhance exploration geology:
  • Cloud Computing (IaaS and PaaS)
  • Advanced Data Warehousing
  • Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Acceleration
  • Three-Dimensional Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)
  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Neural Networks
  • Computer Vision
• Virtual and Augmented Reality: Microsoft’s HoloLens virtual and augmented reality (VAR) technology promises to take mine planning and virtual interaction to a whole new level. The HoloLens projects three-dimensional digital images into one’s field of view as if it were appearing before them in real life. This technology will enable mining professionals to communicate and collaborate from remote locations by visualizing and interacting with high-definition holograms of the mine. To more accurately define ore tonnage and grade, VAR users can interact with and manipulate holographic images to visualize mine design, a bench in a pit or a block model.
• The Connected Miner: The Internet of Things, cloud computing and mobile solutions are enabling the connected mine of the future. Connectivity is the technological backbone of the 21^st century mine; it improves communication, response, and productivity. Creating a mobile-enabled workforce supported by digital identification, tracking and monitoring of personnel and equipment – “as we have done at our Éléonore mine for Ventilation on Demand technology – is just the beginning.”
• Autonomous Mining Operations: Driverless trucks connected wirelessly, as well as remotely monitored autonomous drilling, mucking and hauling operations removes workers from hazardous environments “boosting safety and providing more reliable, efficient operations, consistent with the results we are starting to achieve at Red Lake and Peñasquito.”
• More Sustainable Mines with Smaller Environmental Footprints: As a sustainable company, Goldcorp says it is committed to finding new ways to reduce its environmental footprint through greater use of renewable energy and carbon neutral equipment. “Our Borden Gold project is set to become the first modern day all-electric mine in Canada, dramatically reducing GHG emissions and improving worker safety and health. Filtered/dry tailings and a concerted effort to drastically reduce fresh water use in mine operations underpin our Towards Zero Water (H2Zero) strategy. One aspect of tackling the challenge is our new EcoTails technology representing a giant leap forward in tailings management.”
• Operations and Reclamation: Advanced data collection and real-time analytics improve insight-based decision-making and continuous optimisation – from mine planning and preventative equipment maintenance right through to production and reclamation. “At Goldcorp, planning for mine closure starts long before the mine even opens. Analytics, simulation monitoring and enhanced three-dimensional technologies are essential supports for geotechnical, hydrogeological and geochemical modeling. They ensure that a reclaimed mine site is structurally sound and leaves behind a positive sustainable legacy. This is the approach we’re taking in closing the Marlin mine, where we’ve already used 3.2 million cubic metres of filtered tailings mixed with cement to create an engineered structure in a seismically sensitive area, where drought and floods alternate with the seasons.”
• Safety and Environmental Re-Engineering: “We will continue to advance our use of smart sensors and monitoring to improve safety and enhance preventative maintenance as part of our tailings stewardship program. At Equity Silver, a customised automated monitoring system using radio monitoring stations, digital cameras and strategically-placed sensors and prisms capture: real-time information on water levels, the structural integrity of the dam, and other important parameters that ensure dam safety and reliability.”

Virtually every area of mining is undergoing a technological seismic shift. At the forefront of the innovative transformation of mining are disruptive technologies – groundbreaking new technologies that replace existing technologies and shake up an industry. “Our #DisruptMining challenge has catalysed accelerated innovation. Helping to bridge the gap between mining and technology, #DisruptMining has encouraged new ideas, generated new opportunities and tackled problems more efficiently.”