Chilean technology transfer organisation Fundación Chile and the country's Mining Council have launched a roadmap for the digital transformation of the national mining sector.

The ‘Technological Innovation for Mining 4.0' project, launched in collaboration with mining investment intelligence organisation Corporación Alta Ley,  seeks to provide sector-level guidance on those areas where new technologies can add more value in the next 15 years.

The roadmap has also been designed to enable a portfolio of projects and public-private activities for the short, medium and long-term, aiming at the development of Industry 4.0 in mining and the interoperability of information systems. 

"The introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies will generate a paradigm shift in the way the mining business is operated", say the roadmap's authors.  "It is imperative to adopt a data model standard that considers a 4.0 reference architecture for mining operations".

The document calls for extraction and processing standards to be established and followed, and notes the need for an agile regulatory framework that is capable of adapting to the speed of technological change.

"This roadmap is in line with government initiatives such as Chile's National Mining Policy 2050," said Baldo Prokurica, minister of mining, which envisions a deeper digital transformation of production processes.

"Digital transformation is a reality that is knocking on our doors and, together with innovation in mining, these factors will be contributing to increase the productivity of the mining sector and position this industry as a safer activity," said Prokurica. 

Devising the roadmap took four months and included the participation of more than 100 industry representatives, including 16 mining companies, nine union associations, 65 suppliers and five public institutions.