The Internet of Things

The Internet of things: Can Machines Save South Africa’s Mines?  

This a sobering presentation for the South African mining industry. It is raw, honest and calls to action mining participants to tackle the industry head-on.

The presentation was initially presented at ELB’s Open Day in the first half of 2015  to a select group of clients in Johannesburg, South Africa. At the time, the events of Marikana was still raw and the death toll in the previous year in South Africa’s mines was 84. While this was the lowest ever for South Africa, not lost on investors was 44 of these fatalities haled from the gold sector.

A slowdown in the commodity cycle, strike action the highest its ever bean and major investors considering pulling out of South Africa, despite a history spanning more than a century in the region. All this left South Africa’s mining industry in turmoil.

The presentation covers the following topics:

1. Mining as a labour-intensive business
2. Reasons for the technology discussion
3. Examples of where automation and the “Internet of Things” is transforming mining
4. Application for South Africa’s narrow seams
5. Can anything save South African mining?

Lara Smith

Lara is the CEO and founder of Core Consultants. She has been an analyst for over thirteen years and has focused on commodity markets for just over a decade. She began her career as a buy-side analyst at Foord Asset Management in Cape Town, before taking a Head of Research role at a mining corporate finance and investment firm.

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