It’s time for the ‘modern mine’ – Cutifani

There has never been a
more opportune time
to reinvigorate “the
promise of mining”,
in the view of Anglo American
CEO Mark Cutifani.
“The stage is set: we need
to do things differently, to
find new, safe, responsible and
cost-effective ways to mine the
ore bodies to meet the needs
of a rapidly
urbanising global population.”
He said taking the tough
current global market into
consideration mining houses
in Africa needed to ask some
tough, but necessary questions
about the future of mining on
the continent if a more resilient
industry was to be created.
“It is clear to me that
innovation holds the key to our
future,” he said. “Second, and
very much part of the need for
innovative thinking, it is only
through being responsible and
collaborative partners that
we will be able to achieve the
level of trust
that society
demands for us
to become the
most valued
industrial
sector, offering
real and
sustainable
social and
economic
benefits for
our core
stakeholders.”
Cutifani
said taking into account
how hard mining was hit in
the past few years and how
unprepared industry was for
the commodity price drop it
was clear that a more resilient
mining industry was needed.
“Resilient in terms of
our investments and our
businesses,
resilient in
terms of our
returns to
shareholders,
and resilient
in terms of the
contributions
we make to
society,” he said.
According
to Cutifani
this would
require the
mining sector
to continue reducing operating
and capital costs through
innovation.
He said Anglo American was
committed to developing “the
modern mine” by transforming
hard rock mining and
introducing new innovative
technologies – an essential step
for mining houses if they want
to remain viable in the future.
“Picture an underground
mine where our employees
are not in harm’s way. A
mine where continuous rock
cutting machines safely
extract the targeted ore – deep
underground – without the
need for explosive blasting,”
he said. “At our Twickenham
platinum mine we have created
a system that allows us to
develop low-profile tunnels in
hard rock – safely, quickly and
cost-efficiently.”
He said the company was
also finding ways to mine more
metals and minerals while
wasting less rock.
INSERT
The mining industry
needs to continue
reducing operating
and capital costs
through innovation.
– Mark Cutifani