Barrick Gold has partnered with Cisco to digitally reinvent their mining business to improve their systems, processes, and productivity.
The collaboration will mainly focus on research and development, with the initial step of creating a flagship digital operation at the Cortez mine in Nevada.
They plan to embed digital technology into all aspects of the mine such as sensing technology, real-time operational data, automated equipment, and predictive algorithms, to enhance the speed and safety of their operations.
With Cortez, Barrick aims to “redefine best-in-class mining”.
“Harnessing the potential of digital technology will unlock value across our business, helping us grow our free cash flow per share,” Barrick’s executive chairman John L. Thornton said.
“In so doing, we will make ourselves into a leading twenty-first century company—enhancing productivity and efficiency at our mines, and improving decision-making and performance across every area of our business.”
He added that they sought to “push the boundaries of [their] industry in entirely new ways” with this collaboration.
The digital technology will help the company improve their environmental performance by monitoring energy and water usage, as well as the amount of emissions released. Real-time data capture will also enable more transparency with the government, local indigenous groups, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
“We are going through the greatest technology and business transition ever—the digital era—which will dwarf the information era and the value of the internet to date,” John Chambers, Cisco executive chairman said.
“Any company that fails to reinvent itself by harnessing digital technology will soon be left behind.”