Indian Mining Sector's Transformative Journey Towards A Sustainable Future

India's mining sector, one of the economy's key drivers, is on the anvil of a transformation. Even as the Government is encouraging new investments through attractive policy initiatives and a consistent regulatory framework, it is also inspiring players in the mining sector to adopt sustainable practices and climate-friendly processes for a cleaner, greener future. While India – the world's second-largest producer of coal and crude steel - continues the growth momentum, it is also conscious of the sector's tremendous potential to contribute to the country's climate-change goals.

For a country that is home to over 1,500 operating mines and produces 95 minerals, which includes four fuels, ten metallic, 23 non-metallic, three atomic, and 55 minor minerals, the dividends of a switch to climate-friendly processes would be significant. While India's mining sector conventionally had limited success in achieving environmental and operational efficiencies vis-à-vis the developed economies, it has awakened to the advantages of deploying technology for sustainable and climate-smart mining. Leading the charge, the Government is incentivizing clean technology even as it auctions new mines and allows expansion of existing mines. The way forward for the country's mining sector is to switch to technology-driven climate-smart mining that optimizes operations and ensures sustainable profits.

Redefining Processes
The transformation to climate-smart mining is fundamentally being enabled by three core trends ­ the shift from diesel to electrification, the adoption of digitalization, resulting in increased productivity, more sustainable use of resources and reduced input cost, and automation of processes that is changing the way the mining industry works and notably increasing efficiency, productivity, and a safe working environment. Together, these three trends shape what we call 'the mine of the future.'

The three trends are additionally critical success factors for the mining industry to continue its modernization and meet increasingly stringent environmental and sustainability goals, while staying globally competitive and attracting new talent. They offer real possibilities, which weren't available previously, to overcome today's challenges and ensure a bright future for the mining industry.

Technology partners are bringing best-in-class technologies and deep domain knowledge to help mining companies ­ right from start-ups to established companies ­ to plan, prioritize and execute enterprise-wide initiatives towards decarbonized autonomous mining, meeting compliance norms and creating value. Forward-thinking mining players are planning new mines and transformation programs with integrated solutions from mine to port and from plant to enterprise, yielding substantial capital savings through early involvement. Conscious that the future will be shaped by the innovations and advances of the present, companies in the mining sector are co-developing and collaborating to set new standards for green mining.

Automation Ascending
With the advent of automation, processes across the mining value chain are being redefined. Departing from the legacy of risky mining practices that negatively impacted the environment and endangered human lives, the modern mines are trending towards carbon dioxide-free and autonomous, with a safe, clean, and sustainable environment. Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the industrial internet of things (IoT) all have the potential to save the sector an estimated $373 billion by 2025 by automating machinery operation, facilitating predictive maintenance, improving traceability, harnessing the power of real-time data and analytics, and providing visibility across the mine-to-market value chain.

The Digitalization Imperative
In the digital mine, every operational detail is connected, improving safety, productivity, and efficiency. To achieve ultimate mining performance, total visibility and optimization across operations are essential. Seamlessly connected digital systems are required to ensure that data from across the entire fleet is always available in forms tailored to specific roles.

Data is critical for the mine of the future to oversee critical processes and increase the useful life of mines by improving cost efficiency, ore recovery, and asset management. Mining companies collect vast amounts of data from their equipment and operations, but this information is hardly used to generate insights.

Mining companies must have a solid digital strategy in place to ensure well-informed decision-making that will help them maximize energy usage, productivity, reliability, and safety while minimizing outages, emissions, and costs.

The benefits are not only environmental but also financial, with leaders already recognizing that the use of diesel machinery with high-fuel costs and its associated ventilation requirements ­ which can account for around 50 percent of a mine's energy use in some cases ­ cannot go on. Overall, the industry is responsible for up to 7 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification provides a chance to move away from this current reality, meeting the Paris Agreement and national regulations followed by the COP26 commitment, creating OPEX savings, developing pioneering mine designs, and increasing productivity and long-term profitability.