Mining report predicts top-10 global trends expected for industry in 2017

Consulting firmDeloittehas published what it says will be the top-10global trends in the mining industry this year.

The annual report called Tracking the Trends was compiled after about 70 miningprofessionalswere interviewed aboutissues impacting the industry.

PhilHopwood,Deloitte's global mining leader and one of the authors of the report, says digitization will have oneof the biggest impacts on mining around the worldin 2017.

That is where companies integrate technology into all aspects of their existing operating systems.

"Connecting everything to the internet. Its called Internet of Things (IoT)," says Hopwood.

Thetechnology allows companies toextract new data about their resources that they haven't had before.

"They actually knowin real time how their operations are actually performing."

The problem with digitization, according to Hopwood, is that it puts mining companies and their mines at greater risk for cyber attacks or threats.

Hopwood says cybersecurity isanother trendthe report predicts for 2017.

Global trends

Among the other top trends the report lists are:collaboration between companies and governments, operating in an ecosystem, and creating healthy and inclusiveworkforces.

Hopwood says theannual report is used by mining companies to determine where the market is heading and it helps them plan ahead to determine where theirefforts should be focused.

"Our clients tend to use this report as a means to kind of look ahead and perhaps analyze where they might be willing to focus some of their thinking, some of their strategies, going ahead in the next few years," says Hopwood.

The report looks at global trends and is not broken down by regions.

However, Hopwood says thetrends and issues are relevant to, and have impacted the mining industry in Sudbury, Ontario.

He explains that lower prices for base metals over the past few yearsmeant for some hard times for the mining industry in Sudbury, where nickel and copper are a major commodity.

Those numbers have improved recently helping to turn the industryaround.

"So perhaps we'reseeinga bit more optimism in Sudbury."