What is FLSmidth's role in the mining industry?
FLSmidth provides technologies and services to global mining companies. Our technologies range from in-pit crushing and conveying to milling, grinding, flotation methods, and tailings management, among others. Our portfolio is as holistic as possible, and we are technology agnostic. We have also focused on securing a solid supply chain that spans over various locations in the world, so that we are not dependent on a single country. This particularity allows us to keep safe from geopolitical turmoil or unexpected global events, like it was the pandemic, for example.
In what way do you operate with AI and machine learning, and what place can these technologies have in the mining industry of the future?
A great variety of software solutions can be found in the actual mining pit, where there is complex equipment that needs to be handled efficiently. The plant concentrate space is somehow overlooked by technology providers, but our goal is to support all mining operations through basic automation, data analytics, sensors, and process optimization. Since AI plays a central role in helping mining companies streamline their everyday work, we acquired KnowledgeScape, one of the leaders in using sensors to enhance production. We use specific AI tools and camera technologies to look at the bubbles generated by the flotation process, thus being able to identify the performance, and adjust the parameters if needed. Because mining requires bespoke components, we try to work with commercially available hardware and build all the intelligence on the software side. This approach proves to be the most efficient and sustainable from a supply chain point of view, and it also helps keep the workflow timely.
When it comes to the demand for these technologies, to what extent are mining companies asking for and implementing them?
We have seen many companies interested in implementing some kind of automation features, and most of the time they go for the monitoring of the processing plants as a first step towards integrating technology in their operations.
A portion of our customers are already partially operating their mines remotely, and based on what the sensors pick up and the ulterior data analytics results, they execute the changes suggested. As they start to see more value in this type of mine management, they become increasingly willing to invest in more sophisticated technologies.
Critical metals are the fulcrum of the green transition, yet their supply could run low. Do you believe we are in danger of bumping into a problematic gap between demand and supply?
At the moment, the supply and demand ratio is quite balanced, but if we look at the rate of future development, it becomes clear there is not going to be enough copper, lithium, and other critical minerals. In the Western markets, the CapEx has been more maintenance oriented, but there is an urgent need to increase processing capacity, and with all prices dropping, companies must face inevitable productivity challenges. Getting the capacity ready to produce the indispensable minerals suffers from huge delays because of strenuous permitting processes. A new mine can be up and running in as long as 15 years, a period which exceeds the environmental targets we signed up for as a society. There is an obvious mismatch between the actual resources that we have and the targets that have been set for the future.
The EU’s urgency when it comes to the green transition is not matched when it comes to encouraging new mining projects. How do you see the role of policy in this conundrum?
Europe seems to take the stick approach, with no carrot in sight. Given the limited resources of the continent, speeding licensing and permitting to open up new mines should be top of mind for policy makers. In order to keep industries going, the absolute requirement is cheap and sustainable energy, and Europe is now passing through a crushing energy crisis. At a typical processing plant, the cost of energy can represent over one third of the entire OpEx. This challenge impacts both the EV transition and mining operations as a whole, and a first step to solve it would be to recognize it exists. Unfortunately, these issues seem to be ignored in Europe at the moment, but hopefully, we will see some future accountability come into play sooner rather than later.
