Technological advancements are fundamentally changing the face of the mining sector. While such evolution in mining is nothing new, today’s innovations are taking hold with remarkable speed and having widespread effects on workforce demand and beyond. Amid this transformation, governments must rethink how socio-economic benefits can be derived from mining both at the national and local levels.
On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, we hosted a webinar to explore how technologies in mining can generate new or better types of shared benefits for both host governments and mining communities. The discussion focused on drones, geographic information systems, and other technologies that have become integral to the mining sector. Panelists assessed the potential for the mining sector to widen and deepen shared benefits by sharing its digital infrastructure so that communities can use it for their own benefit.
Moderator:
- Lisa Stellner, Advisor – Extractive Governance, German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ)
Speakers:
- Aaron Cosbey, Senior Associate, IGF
- Thiago Curvello, Digital Transformation Manager for North Corridor (Brazil), Vale
- Boris Dolgonos, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher • Kees Hörchner, Owner, RebelGroup
- Dione Macedo, General Coordinator of Sustainable Development in Mining, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Brazil
- Cinthia de Paiva Rodrigues, Research and Development Manager, IBRAM
- Alexander Southwelll, Partner and Co-Chair of Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation practice, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
The event was co-hosted by the IGF, CONNEX, and the Extractives for Development (X4D) project on behalf of GIZ.
Background
This is the third webinar in a three-part series on technology trends and their implications in mining. The first webinar focused on legal and regulatory regimes, with participants discussing the degree to which such regimes are technology-proof or flexible enough to allow for the adoption of new technologies without affecting the socio-economic benefits derived from mining and, in turn, the relationships between mining companies, communities, and governments. The second webinar focused on the implications at the local level. Participants discussed the risks and opportunities the adoption of new technologies harbour for local communities.