After being crowned the winner of #DisruptMining 2019, ANDRITZ is now ready to negotiate a contract or investment of up to C$1 million ($750,480) with Goldcorp.

The live finale of the 2019 #DisruptMining, the innovation accelerator that offers entrepreneurs a platform to bring disruptive and exponential technologies to the sector, took place last night on the sidelines of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada event in Toronto, Canada.

Sohail Nazari (second from right), Business Development Manager, ANDRITZ, and Arthur Gooch (second from left), Director of Innovation, ANDRITZ, said: “We thank Goldcorp and KPMG for their tremendous leadership driving innovation and digitalisation forward in mining. We are excited to be part of Goldcorp’s success to bring autonomous plant operation to mineral processing and we look forward to getting to work.”

David Garofalo (left), President and CEO, Goldcorp, said: “Innovation doesn’t stop or start with one idea, one technology, or one company. For the mining industry to reach the demands and potential of the 21st century, every company must step up and innovate. We must all be safer, more efficient, and responsible and we’ll get results faster through collaboration and the kind of break-through thinking the #DisruptMining platform is meant to uncover for our industry.”

ANDRITZ, a supplier of machines and automation solutions worldwide, developed a unique and continuous way of training artificial intelligence to operate a mineral processing facility using ANDRITZ’s digital twin as part of its award winning concept, Goldcorp said. “The AI is trained to respond to a variety of situations, making it capable of adapting to changing inputs and improving recovery time. The trained AI’s ability to quickly process information and recommend data-driven solutions will allow for the improvement of the operation, such as start-up and shutdown, and assist operators to achieve plant-wide optimisation.”

Deciding the fate of the three finalists was a panel of industry judges including Ian Telfer (Chair of Goldcorp), Katie Valentine (Partner at KPMG Australia and Global Head of Mining Consulting), Sue Paish (CEO of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster), Jacob Yeung (University of British Columbia student and #DisruptMining UBC Captain) and Wal van Lierop (President and CEO, Chrysalix Venture Capital).

Net proceeds of C$200,000 from the #DisruptMining live finale will be granted toward mining, innovation and technology scholarships to the University of British Columbia, Garofalo announced.