Mining Leaders Optimistic About The Mid-Term and Beyond Despite Global Geopolitical Tensions, according to Equinix

SYDNEY, Australia – 28 November 2023 —The Mining Technology Report 2023-24, a paper published today by Equinix, reveals mining leaders are less optimistic than the prior edition about the immediate future due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and economic concerns, but do have a brighter outlook for the mid-term and beyond. Importantly, they understand the role technology will play in achieving a digital competitive advantage, meeting evolving safety and compliance standards, with ESG analytics, operational technology security controls and digital twin investments all viewed favourably.

Commenting on the report, Guy Danskine, Managing Director, Equinix Australia, said, “Australian mining leaders have much to contend with right now. But equally, the sector is expected to grow rapidly as the need for critical minerals reaches an inflection point. To capitalise on this opportunity, mining leaders know they need to strengthen their infrastructure and digital capabilities, to connect and power a global ecosystem of people, devices and the millions of terabytes of data being generated by advanced technologies. While priorities may be changing, ensuring investment in the right technologies is critical in overcoming operational risks, rising costs and skills shortage.”

Aside from a cautious outlook in the near-term, a sharp rise in operating costs is putting significant pressure on mining organisations to gain efficiency via further technology investments. Additionally, there is pressure to build a skills pipeline necessary for the sustainable future.

Despite these concerns, there is optimism. As the global clean energy revolution gathers momentum, Australia finds itself in the enviable position of having many of the critical minerals needed to move towards a renewable future, such as lithium, copper, zinc and vanadium. Further, the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act has dramatically shifted investment towards countries with free trade agreements, including Australia.

This year’s report offers a comprehensive view of the latest thinking and activities in the mining sector while exploring the intersection of technology, people, and operations. The report draws on extensive interviews with mining leaders, gauging their business outlook, investment strategies and how they see technology shaping a more sustainable future.

Key Insights

• Digital Evolution - Australia’s mining and resources companies are well placed to take advantage of this new generational demand, and technology plays a vital role as they take steps towards becoming more innovative and digitally-savvy. As IoT, LEO Satellite availability and AI offerings mature, the next stage of digital evolution is underway with mining leaders shifting their focus to hybrid cloud, intelligent networks, and advanced automation.
• Productivity – Respondents agree that technology and innovation are key to managing through the current environment, while reducing costs, increasing productivity and operational efficiency. Mining leaders remain focused on building their digital capabilities to facilitate better collaboration and increase process efficiency, as speed, agility and responsiveness become more critical in maintaining a competitive advantage.
• Digital Advantage - Mining leaders recognise that having the right underlying architecture is crucial to building a digital advantage, with many now firmly focused on IoT, cybersecurity and AI as their priority technology investments. While technology priorities are changing, ensuring digital investment in the right areas is essential to overcoming operational risks, rising costs and a shortage of skills.
• Sustainability - While in 2021-22 sustainability was notably the number one priority, this latest report suggests that in the current environment, social trust, safety and compliance are equally important, with respondents recognising the role of technology and innovation in achieving evolving safety and compliance standards. Safety and sustainability are consistently viewed as the license to operate, and social trust is high on the agenda as the industry still has some work to do to shake off the perception that it does more to contribute to environmental issues than resolve them.
• Business Growth - While in 2021-22 one in five Australian mining leaders saw market demand fuelling growth, this year’s report suggests growth through acquisitions will be one of the future primary drivers.
• Future Skills - With mining sites and locations distributed globally, the increasing need for remote connectivity and global exchange of information is a trend expected to ramp up. And as the industry moves beyond just automation and more towards IoT, algorithms, AI, drones and other technologies, the focus is now on technically trained, or ‘skilled’, workers who need to be proficient in using new technology. However, finding the required talent continues to be challenging.

Industry Quotes

Natalie Taylor, President, WA Mining Club
“Despite the global economic downturn, the Australian mining sector has reasons for optimism. Western Australia continues to attract strong investments and overseas interest, while the energy transition is driving demand for metals and minerals. To increase productivity and reduce risks, miners are prioritising advanced wireless communication technologies, real-time location system sensors and tags, and automation systems. However, attracting and retaining skilled workers remains the primary challenge for the mining industry to fully adopt these technologies.”

Nicole Roocke, CEO and CFO, Mineral Research Institute of Western Australia
“The demand for commodities is soaring as global economies race to deploy clean energy technologies and the mining industry is well aware of the paradox staring it in the face: on the one hand, supplying the commodities to sustain the current appetite for decarbonisation will see it scaling up significantly. Conversely, it needs to work very hard to adhere to the tough ESG standards being put before it. The deployment of new technology is the big challenge for brownfields operations, due to the significant amount of sunk capital in infrastructure. For greenfield operations, which demand deployment of emerging technologies, they will face challenges in trying to secure capital and establish next-generation operations.”

Additional Resources

• Equinix Mining Technology Report 2023-24 [research paper]

About the Research
Equinix Australia Mining Technology Report 2023-24 canvasses the views of Australia’s leading mining executives at several companies across the resources sector. This year’s report draws on online survey and virtual interviews that took place between 17 July and 17 August 2023. Mining executives from a broad range of mining companies participated. Research design and analysis was conducted by Manning & Co., and field work conducted jointly with Equinix. The interviews were conducted over virtual video chat to capture a personal view and detect underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes and feelings on a range of areas and subjects.

About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world’s digital infrastructure company®. Digital leaders harness Equinix’s trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.

Media Contact (Asia-Pacific)
Annie Ho
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Equinix Media Contact (Australia)
Graham White
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graham@pratar.com.au