Digging deeper with digital: How the resource extraction industry is harnessing the power of digital communications

Faced with falling revenue and profits, the mining industry has turned to technology changes driven by today’s communications revolution to grow future business. For almost a decade, companies which made money out of digging for coal, iron ore, diamonds, gold and other commodities have tumbled from their position as $1.8 trillion market value leaders to investment losers, simply treading water to stay afloat. Basically, demand dropped sharply, commodities prices slid, investors withdrew, while operating costs remained high. This paper summarises the challenges this industry faces, describes solutions already implemented, and validates the critical role that communications will play, in the mines of the future.