Industry 4.0 – Innovative market solutions for mining today and tomorrow
The industry's global demand makes the mining market a strategic segment for several countries. Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, for example, are major mineral producers, concentrating 85% of exports from all of Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 1970, mineral extraction has grown by 600%, reaching 3,97 billion tons in 2017. Investment in the segment is also large: 171 billion dollars were injected between 2003 and 2017, despite a small drop in the last five years.
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Digitalization Trends in the Mining Industry
The mining industry can benefit and gain competitive advantages by employing digital technologies and data analytics to optimize operations, asset performance and reduce risk. However, to do this, miners will need to overcome the barriers of their operations, which are often divided into individual operational silos, with ineffective integration between mine, processing and transport.
By bringing these elements of industry and supply chain together, there is the greatest scope for market change and an opportunity to find new efficiencies that drive results.
To overcome these mining industry barriers and achieve a digital transformation in the industry effectively, it is necessary to focus on systems, processes and, mainly, resources and mindset that must be implemented.
The mining market in Brazil
In Brazil, a large part of the extraction and production of sand is carried out in riverbeds, and is generally sold in the same way it is extracted. The state of São Paulo is the largest Brazilian producer, responsible for 39% of national production.
One of the main uses of sand in the civil construction market is: as an aggregate for concrete, mortar, filters, abrasives, concrete and prefabricated artifacts, bases for concrete and asphalt pavements, in the production of glass, among others.
One of the main characteristics of the iron-carbon alloy (stainless steel) is resistance and durability, attributed to the addition of chromium (11% in the composition), in addition to an elegant and modern appearance. This type of steel is widely used in coatings, elevators, sinks, floors and other urban furniture items, as it maintains its original appearance for a long time and does not require any protection against corrosion. In addition to these advantages in mining, the various deposits of iron minerals are mostly rich enough, pure and easy to exploit, in addition to the possibility of recycling scrap metal.
