At MINExpo 2021, Hexagon’s Mining division announced the Power of One – described as a holistic, life-of-mine smart solution connecting sensors and software, infield apps and cloudware to empower digital transformation. Now in 2026, it has a new and bolder vision for the future of mining – Ore to Value; aimed at transforming how value is created from the Earth’s resources – by connecting physical reality and digital intelligence into one continuously evolving system.
The company argues that mining has always been about moving material. Hexagon said in a statement: “The breakthrough now is understanding it. Every interaction with the orebody – every drill hole, blast, bucket, and process step – is an opportunity to increase knowledge and reduce uncertainty. Hexagon’s vision is to ensure that this knowledge is never lost, siloed, or delayed, but captured, enriched, and carried forward across the entire value chain.”
Dave Goddard, President, Mining Division Hexagon
At the centre of this vision it says is a living digital twin of the mine. Not a static model or a planning snapshot, but a real-time, time-aware representation of the operation that spans exploration, extraction, processing, and closure. “Every block of material has a digital identity that evolves as it moves through the system, preserving its history while informing what comes next. As the mine learns, decisions improve – continuously and deterministically. This is how mining moves from reacting to variability to mastering it. By synchronising geology, planning, and execution, the digital twin enables the right material to be delivered to the right place at the right time every day. Long-term value optimisation and short-term operational decisions are no longer separate disciplines, but parts of the same system, aligned around economic outcomes, safety, and sustainability.”
IM Editorial Director Paul Moore caught up with Dave Goddard, Hexagon’s Mining President, to explore the concept and the thinking behind it. He states: “The Power of One sent an important message to the market about the breadth and depth of our technologies across the board in the mining process including the value of presenting one source of the truth and the value of unified technologies in the cab. And that is still the case today. But we felt it was important now to also emphasise that the real value is also in connecting workflows and data systems across the entire operation from the block model and the asset in the ground. It is about bringing the potential value of the ore as an asset to realisation.”
Goddard says one catalyst to this was the acquisition of indurad and its wide range of radar and RTLS based technologies that span the mine-to-port value chain including the effect of decisions being made in the pit downstream – measuring material in real time as it goes to the mill. “We call it material flow intelligence. It is a mindshift change from optimising the equipment and processes to really focusing on what actually creates value for the mine, which is optimising that transformation from ore in the ground to a saleable commodity.”
He adds: “The industry has always used a geological model to create an economic model. We know where the model says the material is and when it was drilled. But already today we can update the model in real time based on sensing while we are drilling. We then know from blast movement technology where the material was thrown to, exactly what truck it was put in and exactly when that material was tipped into the crusher. And we have the material flow intelligence on the back end to know where it went on the conveyor, how it flowed, and where it ended up in ROM stockpile or directly into the plant. We are effectively tying the original model and associated theoretical economic value all the way through into the processing plant to allow that plant to operate optimally.”
Hexagon has all these areas well covered, from its depth of mining software and mine planning capabilities through the MinePlan suite, to its blast movement monitoring solutions, fleet management system and range of Hexagon Split imaging analysis tools; all combined with the mentioned range of radar and RTLS scanning and imaging solutions from indurad.
Goddard: “There is so much value in tying the short-term plan to an executable operational plan and tying those two things together. Short-term planning often goes out the window because of something unplanned like a shovel going down – with this material flow intelligence you can ask not how do I get back to the short-term plan but given the current state and with all the real-time knowledge that you have – what is the best plan moving forward from today? What is the optimal value proposition for that asset in the ground? You want to minimise the degradation of that resource through what is happening operationally. It becomes a continuous process using the knowledge that you have from the downstream extraction operations and feeding that back into the mine plan to continuously refine it.”
Hexagon Smart Centres already apply advanced analytics and deep mining expertise to turn safety insights into measurable outcomes. This paves the way for broader ‘ore to value’ intelligence across operations, says the company
Of course, AI is playing and will play a huge role in this – behind all the sensing technologies is pattern recognition, and this is where AI really excels. “Plus that can be compared to previous modelling and mine plans going back over previous years of production. You get better resource estimation, more effective extraction sequencing and going to the next layer, you can even go as far as cash flows. The life-of-mine plan and production sequencing is designed to make sure that you have some level of commodity flowing through the largest CAPEX investment, that is the mill. Being able to optimise that flow based on commodity prices as they fluctuate will have huge value.”
So what does Ore to Value actually mean as a distinct offering to mining customers? What form will it take? Actually, Hexagon is already putting some of the building blocks in place with its Smart Centres. Today these are mainly safety focused – for example, analysing Hexagon’s Collision Avoidance System (CAS) and Operator Alertness System (OAS) data for customers. But fundamentally this means they are already combining advanced analytics with deep mining expertise to interpret complex datasets and highlight where interventions can deliver the greatest impact.
Mining customers are already paying Hexagon to provide these Smart Centre services, where it offers consultative and intelligent support aimed at converting raw data into measurable outcomes. The Ore to Value concept is that this could be done for material flow intelligence as well – and ultimately it might also be offered within the customer’s own Integrated Remote Operations Centre as well, in addition to or as an alternative to, a Smart Centre. Today Hexagon has Smart Centres in locations including Santiago, Chile and Balikpapan, Indonesia; it offers two subscription tiers, providing flexibility for mines seeking standardised reporting or more intensive analysis, follow-up meetings, and on-site engagements.
Goddard adds: “In addition to these Smart Centres, and in collaboration with them, we’re building a platform for AI and analytics to start looking initially at safety, but then also asset management and material flow intelligence in order to help customers optimise their operations.”
He also said that the development of this type of technology will partially help address the mining industry’s ageing workforce and the loss of all of that bound up knowledge. Today a lot of expertise and pattern recognition is in the hands of those who will be retiring in the next five to ten years – AI and software can help mitigate that loss of experience – especially if that knowledge is tapped into today while these technologies are being developed.
Of course, while Hexagon has an enviable suite of solutions – the reality is that most mining companies might have a few of them but rarely all. Will Hexagon be able to bring together data and analytics from a range of third-party sources as well? “Of course, if the customer has our entire product suite, the material flow intelligence is probably going to work better within that context,” says Goddard. “But including and having other data points in addition to those from our own systems will still allow us to provide the same type of insight and value. The other advantage is that Hexagon is not and never has been a machine manufacturer – we don’t make revenue from selling parts. We directly provide context and value through our sensors and software solutions and the resulting workflow optimisation, regardless of what the underlying machine is.”